Joni Mitchell, the 60s folk singer, looked at clouds from both sides – ice cream castles in the air and the many things she would have done but clouds got in her way – and concluded she really didn’t know clouds at all.

The World Meteorological Organization says, “A cloud is a hydrometeor consisting of minute particles of liquid water or ice, or of both, suspended in the atmosphere and usually not touching the ground.” I’m sure that is a fine definition, but it really doesn’t help me know clouds at all.

The photo was taken from our backyard. Earlier in the week Becky and I were enjoying the late afternoon on the back patio and the clouds in the Midwestern sky were more of the ice cream castle sort.  By midnight they were bringing rain and thunder and lightning on everyone.  Yes, both sides of clouds.  If I look at clouds by the standard of ice cream castles in the air or things that get in my way, I suppose I cannot really know clouds at all. Continue reading →

My early morning routine has me up for a run through the neighborhood at about the same time as school buses rumble by picking up students for a day in the classroom. Not too early for my run, but way too early for children to catch a bus. That’s a story for another day.

Earlier this week I ran by a cluster of kids waiting for their bus and overheard just a snippet of conversation between what I assumed was an older sister, maybe ten years old, and a younger brother, seven or eight years old.

Older sister: “Yes, you did!”
Younger brother: “No, I didn’t!!”

I was out of earshot by the time the next round of the debate came around. I have no idea whether little brother was guilty as charged. Maybe he did, and maybe he didn’t.

The words and the tone of the conversation were classic. We’ve heard such sibling dialog a thousand times and probably spoke one or both sides of the conversation when we were children. It’s what children do. Continue reading →

Becky and I watched the George Clooney-produced movie, “The Boys in the Boat,” this past weekend. We thought it was a good film, and apparently the book by the same title is even better.

“The Boys in the Boat” tells the story of the 1936 University of Washington eight-oared rowing crew that represented the United States at the Berlin Olympics and ended up winning the gold medal, defeating, among others, Hitler’s German crew. It is a feel-good story that is true. No plot spoilers because everything that happens is predictable. The good guys win.

The boys in the boat are good guys not just because they are American. They are good guys by virtue of, well, virtue.  The eight rowers and their coxswain are all from Washington state, the sons of farmers, and fishers, and lumberjacks. Their hard work and loyalty to the team, their perseverance and indomitable spirit was not instilled by coaches or university professors. It is who they are and how they were raised. Mothers and fathers and small towns are to be thanked for who they are. On their way tp Olympic gold, the boys in the boat defeat the teams of rich boys from the Ivy League and German and Italian rowers drafted into the service of oppressive regimes. Virtue defeats money and power. Continue reading →

No, And Its Fate is Still Unlearned

I ordered something online last week. While I wasn’t promised next day delivery, I was told to expect my package by Monday of this week. The shipper sent me a Post Office Tracking Number to monitor the progress of  my order as it made its way from Portland, Oregon, to Auburn, Indiana. All was well until Saturday. The package had arrived in Indianapolis early Saturday morning and had just one short trip up Interstate 69 to Auburn, but instead it seems to have been put on the wrong truck or plane. It was in Houston, Texas, by dinner time Saturday and then made a middle of the night trip to a place called Missouri City, Texas, a Houston suburb. As I write, the Post Office thinks it may have left Missouri City, but apparently has no idea where it is now, certainly no idea when it might make it back to Indiana.

Yeah, 21^st Century and first world problem. Still frustrating.

In my frustration I read an article about a Post Office-commissioned audit of the Indianapolis distribution center. Apparently, it is not all that unusual for packages headed for Auburn, Indiana, to take a wrong turn in Indianapolis and end up in a place like Missouri City, Texas.

So, I could rant about how nothing works anymore – you know, go postal. But it’s not true that nothing works anymore. Actually, it’s quite amazing how well things work. They work so well that a late-arriving package is really frustrating. What should I do with my frustration? I could write to the Post Master General (Ben Franklin, where are you when we need you) and complain about my mistreatment. I may fill out the feedback form at the USPS website. Or I can wait for my late package to arrive from its long trip – or deal with it if it doesn’t. Continue reading →

Why Hope Beats Optimism Every Time

I begin most days with a devotional reading of Scripture texts from the Daily Office of the Common Book of Prayer.  This past Wednesday’s morning psalm was 72, and as I read it, contemporary events popped into my mind for obvious reasons.  Consider these verses.  Not quite “From the River to the Sea,” but close enough.

Psalm 72:8–11

May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him! (ESV)

The ancient superscription for the psalm is a single Hebrew word translated into English as “Of Solomon.” Continue reading →