the unlikely orange

imagine two groups of people.  easy enough.  now, imagine that they are at odds with one another.  they don't agree on things; don't see eye to eye.  imagine that this rift grows and endures for generations.  children are taught (indoctrinated?) to disagree with the beliefs of the other group.  are you thinking hatfields and mccoys yet?  good.  you're on the right track.  now imagine that the money and power at stake in this disagreement is monstrous.  there are millions of people involved in this disagreement, both at macro and micro levels, and the two groups don't simply have a philosophical difference of opinion, but a downright contentious and stubborn refusal to listen to one another.  just like me and my sisters when we were children, when one group says "yes," the other, instincively, says "no."  and if the former switches and says "no," the latter completes the circle and changes to a vociferous "yes!"  it is ...

in one of our greatest moments as a couple, shannon and i thought it would be a great idea to put our three sons (7 years old, 5 years old, and 11 months old) into our minivan and drive 1100 miles to florida for what fancy people call "vacation."  brilliant. and so we tried it.  that's where i've been for so long, in case you've been wondering.  well, actually we've been back for several days now.  i just haven't been able to write yet, what with the therapy and recovery.  truthfully, i started writing this post in my mind as i lied in a hotel bed somewhere in the middle of virginia (which is for lovers, i am told). after a long day of driving north, i felt dizzy and sort of fell into the starched bed and began to see the trip flashing before my eyes.  i saw the whole week unfolding once again in my mind.  from our drive south towards reports of genesis-level flooding in pensacola, to the repeated image of my sons bent over the toilet...

i love this.  absolutely love it.  it is a clips from mr. rogers' tv show, edited and autotuned into a great little mashed-up song.  did i mention that i love this?  it is incredible.  i want more.  enjoy.  ps.  it's good to be curious about many things....

in case you wanted to start your your morning off with some classic agentorange hyperbole: i am at a conference here for a couple of days, and the college dorm i am staying in has graciously provided the towels and linens for the room.  and so i really don't want to complain, but... those towels are rough! i have used sandpaper that was softer, when i sanded some rough pine for my 7th grade candle sconces.  i'm pretty sure a good 60-70% of my epidermis is still sitting in the long and wiry fibers of that tiny towel.  it's an interesting water-removal strategy for a towel to take: don't just remove the water, remove the surface the water is on!  once you finish with that baby, you look like one of those anatomy models from freshman year, showing all the tendons and muscles.  and don't despair if you ever lose your towel, just find a wire brush or an s.o.s. pad and you'll be good to go.  however, wanting to retain my tendons and muscles, i think i'll...

today begins the susquehanna annual conference's annual conference.  no, i am not stuttering.  it's both our name and an event.  (reminds me of a joke...how many methodists does it take to come up with an original name for something?).  anyway, the time when we gather annually, to celebrate God's journey with us in the past, to commit ourselves most fully to what God has in store for us in the future, and to meet God now in the midst of holy conferencing, is now.  hundreds of methodists, clergy and lay, will gather on the campus of messiah college in grantham, pennsylvania, and i will be among them.  being an introvert, i will occasionally retreat to the silence of my room, just to retain my sanity and try and conjure up enough energy to go back and join the massive body.  every year i find the experience maddeningly frustrating (group think on a whole new level) and deeply enriching.  it's both-and, like most things in life, i suppose....

who am i?  it's a question we all ask, and, presumably, answer (or not) differently.  and yet there is something that certainly unifies us, beyond this universal quest for identity, and it is something that brennan manning (and others) would call "the impostor."  the impostor is that voice that i think we all hear from time to time (or nearly always), which speaks lies to us about ourselves.  we know this voice all too well, as the dark side of capitalism has, well, capitalized on it.  companies have become experts at singing in harmony with the impostor to create a siren song of mistaken identity.  the song goes something like this:  you're not good enough. you're empty. you're alone.  you're too fat.  your car is too old.  your skin is too wrinkly.  your hair is too gray. your hair is too gone.  you're not happy.  you will never succeed without what we can give you. you need more friends. you need ...

when i got home for lunch today, jackson was there.  which felt really weird, because he's usually at school.  so we were able to eat lunch as a whole family, which was really enjoyable, and which means one thing:  SUMMER IS HERE!!!

hey...happy saturday! full of bright blue skies after a stormy night here in central pennsylvania.  reminded me of a favorite song of mine, by a little-known acoustic duo from wheaton college in the early 90's called "harrod and funck."  they have since gone in different directions, but jason harrod continues to make great music.  since i couldn't find the original version on youtube, i found this version of jason singing it on his friend's porch in brooklyn.  it's not the best recording, but if you are a harrod and funck fan and miss those two the way i do, this one's for you.  hope you're all having a blue sky morning.