The Annunciation

Henry Ossawa Tanner,. The Annunciation, 1898. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

"She shut her eyes and trusted in God who could bring all things to pass, even though common sense were against it; and because she believed, God did to her as he said"

Martin Luther's Christmas Book
..

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”

I'm not actually a big fan of Ghandi because of some things I know about his personal life and how he treated his wife, but I keep reminding myself,  nobody's perfect!  I agree with the above quote of his.

Earlier this week someone threw a starved dog they probably thought was dead, down a garbage shoot in an apartment.  The maitenence buy noticed the bag was moving and thus began the story of Patrick the Miracle Dog.

I don't know the story of the person who starved and threw this dog away.  I don't get into the hatred and wish to torture people who hurt animals.  Some people are monsters.  Some people are ignorant.    Some people just don't think about the suffering of animals.  Maybe it was someone on drugs who couldn't feed it and was too into their own horror to notice  his suffering.  Maybe the person who threw him away found him and thought he was dead (although how a starving stray pitbull got to the 22nd floor of an apartment building on his own is hard to answer.)

It's not about the cruelty of people.  That's not a story.  That's the way we are.  The story is the half dead dog who is not dead yet.  And the compassion he has evoked all over the country.  That's a good thing.  That's where I see God.

There are a lot of Patrick's.  People are raising money for his medical bills.  I'm not going to share a link to that.  I'm going to encourage you all to pick an animal rescue group near your home and give it some money this Lent.  Not instead of what you give for people and to your church and to all the other stuff you support.  Along with it.  You can afford an extra $20 for the animals.   Because there are Patricks near your home and I promise you, even if there isn't a facebook page or You tube video for them, they are there and your gift will make their lives better. 

Sometimes the Show CAN't Go on

So it looks like on second thought, with the problems of the nuclear reactor and travel not recommended to Japan, the World Championships are being postponed or possibly canceled.  It would be quite a feat to try to pull such an event off somewhere else with so little notice.  I know in the enormity of such loss to Japan, a skating championship is a small thing.  And yet I'm sure they were looking forward to hosting it and hoping they could go on despite the difficulties and I'm sorry for the Japanese skating community.

And I still think Phil Hersch is an idiot and his column insensitive.  They hoped it could go on and then realized it couldn't.  They don't  his need paternalistic second guessing.

Speaking of  the show, my daughter and I saw Stars on Ice in St. Paul yesterday.  It was their 25th anniversary show.  We've seen 12 of them together.  It was a great show.  It was nice to see the large cast numbers that were missing last year back.  And nice to see some real fast, centered scratch spins.   You don't see those in competition anymore because people are too busy trying to wrack up points  by changing edges and getting into weird positions.

Let the Show Go On!

Mao Asada 2010 World Champion

For the last several years my opinion of Phil Hersh has gone further and further down everytime he pontificates about what figure skaters and Figure Skating in general should do.  Now he opines  that its  Too soon for figure skating worlds in ravaged Japan. 

The World Figure Skating Championships is set to begin in Japan next week.  He thinks they should be moved, postponed or even canceled.  CANCELED?  Really Phil?  You think  THAT is the sensitive thing to do for the Japanese skaters who have been looking forward to competing in their own country?  Yea he's worried about the "emotional impact" on the Japanese skaters.  HELLO?  How long has this guy been writing about sports to say such a STUPID thing about athletes?  Did he forget about Joannie Rochette's  stunning and courageous performance at the Olympics after her mother's death?  Does he not see how this would be an opportunity for the skaters to show how they can rise above adversity and use their skating to deal with the tragedy?

What does the Japanese Federation want?  Maybe we should listen to them.  They say they are prepared to go ahead with the Championships.  But Papa Hirsch wants to protect them and take it away with them.  

I say let's trust the Japanese and go on with Worlds.  And let's all cheer extra loud for the Japanese skaters

Friday Five - Cars

They say you are not supposed to blog about why you are not blogging.  Well I'm very busy.  I'm in an interim position that was really just supposed to be a life saver for me when I desperately needed a job having been run out of town when my congregation decided to leave the ELCA.   Turns out this is more like an intentional interim so I'm learning on the job about intentional interim ministry.   I also am going to look into intentional interim as a career.  I think I'm suited for it.  Ironically, I think there's actually more job security in interim work.  My last experience and my age and my debt has made job security an important thing to me.

So I told myself I would do the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five no matter what it was, just to get something on the blog.  So it's all about cars.

1. The earliest recollection you have of a family car

The only car I ever remember was a red station wagon.  My mom had that car forever.

2. The first car you drove when you could (legally) get behind the wheel yourself.

I learned to drive with that old red station wagon.  We lived in an apartment building with carport parking that was very tight.  Trying to learn to get that car out of their without scratching the door on the poles was quite tricky.  To this day I'm pretty good at getting a large vehicle in and out of a tight spot.




3. A memorable road trip

The above picture was taken as I left San Francisco to my first call in Wisconsin.  I had lived in San Francisco for several years and had not driven for a long time.  A friend from seminary drove out with me.  We stopped in Reno and told all the guys trying to pick us up while we were drinking and gambling that I was going out to be a pastor of my first church.


I've mentioned before the trip my husband and I took before we were married from Wisconsin up to Seattle, and down the coast to LA.  We had lots of fun family road trips.  To Colorado Springs, to Door County Wisconsin, up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan.  It was always such a great feeling when we would pull out on the road....leaving all our worries behind.  

4. The car you drive now. Love it? Hate it?

I don't have emotional attachments to inanimate objects.  Except for my skates.  And sometimes I love them and sometimes I hate them.

5. An interesting story that involves you and a vehicle. (No, I do not have a dirty mind!) 

Oh.  How could I forget?  There was that rent-a-wreck van we rented to drive from Iowa to Louisiana on a mission trip.   The brakes went out and at first the rental company refused to pay to have them fixed.  Then they sent me to a cheaper place and they crashed it it while driving it because -- THE BRAKES DIDN'T WORK!  Then we were stranded for a day in Houma for a day.  And then they fixed the breaks and we drove home.    That's the short version.  But the good news it was fodder for my daughter's entrance essay to college.

Bonus question - My idea of good car music?  Lectures from theThe Great Courses