CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith & Life for the Years of Winter
CHOOSING THE PURPLE DUCK
Helen’s
grade school friend, Shirley, has a dog named Mr. Prince. She recently shared a
photo of Mr. Prince with his toys on their 9x12 rug. Each day he puts one of
his toys on each corner of the rug and then chooses one to play with that day.
But, says Shirley, “He always chooses the purple duck. Every day.”
I wish I were still preaching. I could get a sermon out of that. Not quite sure what the [pre]text would be.
OBITS AND BOOKS
I get obits by email from newspapers in the towns where I know people who might show up in those obits. For some time now, the ads on those pages are for books. Not high-level lit, like Marilynne Robinson, but entertainment reads, like Lisa Jewell. Why book ads with the obits? I surmise that they assume that people who read obits are themselves old and thus some of the few remaining readers of print books. Whatever the reason, if there must be ads, may they all be for books.
SEL
There is apparently a controversy over SEL in schools—Social Emotional Learning. What exactly is the issue? Isn’t there always social emotional learning in school? I’m sure the most important learning I did in school was not academic but social and emotional. The problem then, and, I assume, now, was that the teachers were not those with the most knowledge about social and emotional skills but those with the least—other kids.
SECRET HALL OF FAME
I never thought when I was a kid enjoying Grandma Pond’s
cylinder records phonograph, and then 78s, then 45s, then LPs, then cassettes,
that I would be considered old and out of date because I get my music from CDs.
But… yes. Sorting through them, I came across Joel Mabus’ “Parlor Guitar
Christmas,” so I played it for our morning coffee-conversation-music time. It’s
a really nice CD.
We met Joel when we lived in Iron Mountain, MI. He came up occasionally from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula to play and sing at the Upper Peninsula Second Sunday Folk Concert, hosted by Dean and Bette Premo, who perform as “Whitewater.” Dean introduced Joel by noting that he is in the Michigan Music Hall of Fame along with Aretha Franklin.
Joel said that it was news to him!
Turns out he was inducted into the Hall several years before, along with Aretha, which is pretty impressive, but nobody had told him!
Makes me wonder what HOF I’m a member of but don’t know about because no one has told me. Makes me wonder about what HOF you’re in secretly, too, and who is in there with you. You should probably check around.
THE LONG SEARCH IS OVER,
& IT WASN’T INDIANA JONES
Ad in the paper today: “Holy Grail mascara, now in deep blue.”
I HAD A STORY THAT
PROMPTED THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH,
I do not write because I think my stories are better than yours, or that I can draw out some pithy point for us to embroider on the footstool in our spiritual living room…
BUT BY THE TIME I GOT THE
COMPUTER OPEN…
I have truly entered the wonder years. I wonder what that story was… I kind of like the idea of a footstool in the spiritual living room, though.
John Robert McFarland
As they say at the raffle, “You must be present to win.”
No comments:
Post a Comment