Wednesday, October 29, 2008

29 October 2008

I volunteer at a nursing home once a week. Most people tell me they think that would be depressing but its not. As a society, we would like to ignore the infirm, the elderly, the unborn. We miss out on so much when we do this...but I digress. I once entered a room where the occupant had just passed away. It didn't bother me to be in there with the body talking with his family because I knew he was no longer there. Today I went with a priest to give a friend the annointing of the sick, a.k.a., "last rites." I'm a convert so I have never witnessed this before. What a beautiful thing to see the comfort words can bring. My friend has no legs and hardly no mobility and, yet, such a profound grace radiated around him as he mouthed the Lord's Prayer. I never knew Jack when he had a good "quality of life" and, yet, he brings joy and laughter wherever he goes. To watch him lying in that bed, knowing his final days are here, there was so much humility, so much trust in his God and, yet, so much dignity. So many people say, "I would rather be dead than stuck in a nursing home unable to care for myself." If Jack had felt that way I would have never known him...and I'm proud to know him.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

28 October 2008
Greetings! If you have stumbled onto this page let me offer an explanation. This is my "attempt" at blogging. I never understood blogs. It takes a certain amount of self-absorption to believe that you have something so important to say that people will want to log on every day just to read your thoughts. With that in mind, this blog was begun for a selfish purpose: to jump start my writing...to call back the muse, if you will. If you like what you read, I would be honored if you come back.
As you can see by the date above, we are one week out from the election. Politics is a funny thing....much like a sporting event with an outcome that will effect us longer than Sunday's football game. One of my favorite quotes on politics is by Mark Twain: Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself. It used to be members of congress were well-respected. But that was in the day they were true public servants. Now they are self-servants, dedicated to the special interest groups that fund their campaigns. But I digress...this blog will not be about politics. God knows there are enough of those out there already. It will be about finding grace and humor in the everyday. It will be about remembering to smile when your daughter asks for a hookah or finding the courage to cry when a friend is dying. There is a holiness to the every day that we must always recall. My wish is to remind myself of that...