Rain Rain Go Away...

Let me begin by stating.... I. Love. Rain. Being a fair-skinned red-head growing up in the South Pacific and the desert of Southeastern California, I have had my fill of sun and sunburns. Bluntly, I would be very happy living in perpetual cloudiness. With a soccer playing son, however, I need the rain to go away. Last September Kyle injured his knee--fractured growth plate--and missed most of the fall season, so we were looking forward to this year. Instead, Middle Tennessee has had rain every day for the past the last fifteen days with more predicted for the weekend. What this means to a soccer family is canceled games, canceled practices, canceled tournaments.... in other words, no soccer! On the plus side, we get to spend more time this weekend at our all-church retreat, so we're going to make the most of a soggy situation. Have a great weekend!

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

Church is for broken people...

...is the message on the roadside marquee at one of the several churches I drive by almost daily. I enjoy reading messages from different denominations. Many are inspirational; some are amusing; and then there are the ones like this one that strike a raw nerve. I am not sure exactly what they are meaning by "broken" and it bothers me. The impression I get, and keep getting each time I see this sign, is that of a vengeful dogma preaching the evilness of man. After many many years, my own spiritual path has finally veered from this shadowy path. Believe me I pile enough guilt upon myself that I do not need my religion adding to the mix. For me, religion should concentrate on the beauty of life and joy of miracles all around us. Why do so many religions, especially Christian religions, rely upon fear of retribution instead of embracing love? That old adage of "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar" rings true here. Instead hammering a person with a litany of faults and shortcomings, why not fill them with hope and possibilities? In short, why are there so many "glass half-empty" dogmas out there? Some days it's enough to depress even the most optimistic of the "glass half-full" among us!

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N

On the Road Again...

This morning I rediscovered the joy and the beauty of the open road at sunrise. Something about headlamps reflecting white off the lane markers and the emptiness of the roadways makes this nomad heart of mine sing and yearn to keep driving. I am a writer, but poetry is a prose that completely eludes me. It is akin to my high school years on the track team. I could run the 100- and 200-meter dashes and soar in the long jump and triple jump, but the dexterity of the hurdles and nuances of the high jump always remained beyond my grasp. This morning, however, as I drove east on I-40 in the pre-dawn shadows, I felt inspired and almost believed I could construct a poem good enough to honor the magnificence of the sunrise and voice the feelings such a vision evoked within me. Sadly, however, two hours later, under gray fog in the campus parking lot, that magic has faded. Should I have pulled over and scribbled the words filling my heart? Or at least spoken them aloud, given them life instead of allowing them to die undeclared? Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps instead I should remain alert for other such moments in my days and resolve that, if at that time I am not driving seventy mph down a freeway, I will then endeavor in my attempt to vocalize the splendors.

¡Hasta pronto, mis amigos!

~N