Saturday, February 27, 2010

Post 20 (A Different Kind of Cheating)...

So for my final post, I am going to do a little cheating again. A couple of days ago I posted something I've already written. Today, I'm going against my word of writing more than a simple narration of my day(s). These thoughts will be bulleted...

-- The other day while at Barnes and Noble I noticed an old favorite, Salvation on Sand Mountain, Dennis Covington's look into Snake Handling Pentecostalism in Appalachia. There is currently a fifteenth anniversary edition of the book with a new Afterword. I highly recommend it for the humility with which he covers a subject that most would report on with mocking and derision.

-- In perusing the posts I have written for this little February project, one theme seems to be dominant. Church. No secret there. I could run from it, but it wouldn't matter. It would still catch up to me. This is in my blood, the companion I will probably always find myself running beside, wrestling with, and embracing.

Last night I had dinner with the people who are my current church. We sat in the living room, watching children dance and play. We ate and drank and shared the contents of our weeks past and those to come.

This morning I met for brunch with more of those who are my church, while others were across town playing kickball. The original reason for the brunch fell through, but who needs a reason to sit across the table from each other and share stories? We talked about the kickball tournament, rats chewing through car pipes, and Texas Country Reporter. In the middle of a conversation about the past week's snow and the building of snowmen, while Emily was in another room, her four year old son Hogan interrupted us all to let us know what we previously hadn't known-- His mommy has a baby in her belly.

Like I said, I could run from this. But why would I want to?

-- Yesterday morning at Cafe Cappuccino I sat at a table next to an older couple. The husband was complaining about the Democrats as the wife sipped her coffee, not uttering a word the entire breakfast. He kept yelling at an imaginary Obama sitting next to him and I was reminded of what one of my friends' (I can't remember who) has as his "political views" on Facebook: "Whatever will make you not yell at me."

I constructed a future story in my mind that included this wife killing her husband, stuffing his body in the freezer, and running off to a Mexican Island for peace and quiet.

Today I ate dinner at Uncle Dan's Bar-B-Cue and sat next to a couple about the same age. This time it was the wife doing the talking. She said she was going to church in the morning, and wondering if he was going to go as well. He said no, he wasn't. She responded that he needed to. He gave her the look that I would probably give someone telling me what I need to do.

I hope someday he can find people like those I have found. I also hope one day that the Obama-hater can find a peace of mind that doesn't include fear of an imaginary enemy.

-- Last thought for the day, and month. This morning the Waco Trib Reported that the Hippodrome Theater has closed its doors, maybe for good. I was reminded of all the things I have written in the past about the sacredness of place. I also thought back to a certain popular religious leader among college students who made a name for himself in that very building, and how great it would be for him and his organization to try and save that building. I'm not holding my breath, any more than I hold my breath for any other evangelical church to value something old and tangible. It is unfortunate that the things we can touch have lost all sense of holiness among contemporary leaders.

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So, this has been fun. Thank you to everyone who has donated. I am excited about going to church tomorrow to see how much we have raised for the Bernards. After this, I will return to my old blog. I will probably rework it, and will not post daily. But I am going to try to give you at least one thing a week.

1 comment:

  1. Don't give up on the Hippodrome just yet. Things are going to have to change pretty dramatically, but I believe there's a future that can be embraced for the theatre. And it will be up to a diverse group of people to make it happen. That's churches, schools, government, patrons, playgoers, non-profits, and performers too.

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