Batter my heart

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/sonnet14.htm

That's a link to the text of John Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV. It is one of my favorites and has been going through my head like a prayer during communion for the past few weeks. In high school we were all assigned two poets. We had to present two of their poems to the class and tell a little about the poet. I had the great fortune of being assigned John Donne and he has been a favorite ever since. The link is specifically for Joanna to read it, and I would recommend reading some others too. (Holy Sonnet X and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning would be a good place to start).

The other poet was William Stafford, a poet who grew up in Kansas, and has a good number of Kansas poems. I was also very lucky to be assigned him. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the assignment no matter which poets I had to research, but I have a special fondness for these two. Thank you Mrs. Lance.

Uncommon

The tempurature has been in the 90s all week so when I started hearing the thunder I couldn't resist watching. I sat out on the front porch and watched the rain. Then it started to rain sideways and it was like I was standing in the rain. Rain and the semi-arid climate are the bomb, or the bestest, or the coolest, or just real nice. I then watched the weatherman's contemporaneous report of possible golf ball sized hail currently falling and the 75 mph wind possibly blowing. Neither were true, though afterward he did say we had a 61 mph wind gust. The rain was accompanied with nice thunder and lightning. I think that the summer green against a thunderstorm sky is one of the prettiest sights in the world. Pretty can be common, but for the semi-arid land dweller, pretty is not nearly common enough.

At Random formerly the Distaff Side

I think that everyone must be plagued at times by the thought that things could have been different. It seems like the key to overcoming those thoughts must be grounded in letting go of wanting what you don't have and hoping for what you might still get. The other path may have been fraught with peril or at least some downers. The current path is always wide open. (well mostly wide open, but I feel more comfortable not thinking of that).

Does fighting for something beyond what is reasonable mean that the fight is more just?

Why is it so much easier to think of solutions to a problem when the problem no longer exists? Sometimes I'm very good at coming up with solutions under pressure, but I think it must depend on whether or not I'm frazzled walking into the situation. Like when I get a phone call at 1:10 from a judge asking why I haven't come for the trial, how am I supposed to come up with a solution for the hearing that I scheduled over the top of a trial that I had forgotten to write down? Now I realize that the answer was simple, but it didn't even cross my mind this afternoon.

Swimming pools are wonderful things and so is leaving work early.

I was calling the A/C people when the Judge called today so I have another warm night and I'm waiting for the house to cool little before I try to sleep. So good night.

Article about Mom

http://www.gctelegram.com/news/2006/may/22/story4.shtml

I thought you all might enjoy the latest installment from the telegram on my mother.

No recuerpos esos anos

So I rented movies alone tonight, and I watched "Dummy". I really enjoyed it. So I googled the writer/director. Happy movies are so hard to write without making them predictable. It's even harder to actually say something about life through the medium. Point being is I thought he did a great job and succeeded. Not that I personally know about them being difficult to write, but seeing them seems so infrequent that I assume it must be difficult.

So I read an interview with Greg Pritikin about the movie, and this happens to be the funniest quote: "People in Kansas now know who he is. So, he's very happy." He's talking about Adrien Brody winning the Oscar around the time this movie came out.

I didn't think we were the cultural gage for making it big time. So, hold your head high, you ill-informed hicks. We've made an actor happy by knowing who he is. (I suppose in his defense, I should admit that I would have had to have driven probably 5 hours to have seen "Dummy" in a movie theatre and it's possible that the "Pianist" didn't actually play in the theatre in my hometown either.)

As a girl once said when I mentioned I was from Kansas, " Ohh, Kansas. I've always been intrigued by Kansas". I asked her why. "Umm... I don't know".

It's still pretty early and I think this Kansas girl hasn't missed the sunset.

P.S. the title is a cryptic reference to the fact that my dvd players always starts movies with the Spanish subtitles on.

P.P.S. Dummy is rated R for all the regular reasons, so I just thought I should tell you that in case it mattered to you.

Optional Question for extra credit

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060515_map_heavens.html

Please read article. Ponder the nature of time as it relates to the expanding universe. What are the philosophical implications of the nature of time as it relates to the individual, specifically its seeming increasing speed as one ages and the fact that the universe is expanding in an ever more rapid way? Seriously, is the universe's expansion related to the relative nature of time as it relates to God?

Observatory in a rented car

My weekend was all about graduation and driving with a little mix of Marland Mansion and wedding crashing. The Marland Mansion is something else. It made me feel a bit like I was in The Great Gatsby. I got to feel socially inept going through a receiving line and not being mentally prepared to fake my way through it. Alas, there are times when I realize I will never grow out of some things. Needless to say, I am very proud of my nephew, but mostly proud of what great people my nieces and nephews are.

Driving home reminded me of how much I hate traveling alone. I wanted to stop at the Great Salt Plains since I never have, but it feels like a non-memory if I do it alone. I would be much better at singlehood if I enjoyed my independence. The play list began with Groove Armada which is wonderfully mindless summer music, but not so wonderful for driving. I moved on to disc 2 of the Johnny Cash set I got for Christmas and listened to Cocaine Blues a few times because it is so much fun to sing along. I moved on the Randy Travis "Worship and Faith" since it was Sunday and all. I thought about Hannah and Rachel and their long sorrow before motherhood. I also thought about God's special thoughts toward them on account of their faith through the sorrow. I then switched to Delirious? "Mission Bell" to finish the drive home.

Bluestem is the prettiest grass in the world. I saw 5 dead deer: 2 in Kansas, 3 in Oklahoma. I'm not sure if that makes Oklahoma the winner or not. I may have seen a ferret in Oklahoma, but one can never be certain about ditch wildlife. Beware of the trick road near Copeland. It was paved with about 3/4 miles of unpaved that went back to paved without warning.

Black Cat Lucky

I did day two of the law enforcement presentation today. For those of you who spoke to me yesterday, I wanted to let you know that I was fabulous today. The room was much less crowded, which I insecurely believe to be a reflection on how badly the presentation went yesterday. As I walked over to the law enforcement center, it started to rain on me. Then, the black cat, "Omen", crossed my path. I was so humored by all of this that I began my presentation by telling them how badly it had gone yesterday, and the bad signs on my way over. They were actually humored by this rather than staring at me blankly which was the response yesterday. I also remembered to bring candy. Two officers asked if they could have a copy of my notes.

Sampling

I went to the Kansas Sampler Festival this weekend and had a great time. I really appreciated getting to hear about SE Kansas especially since it's the region of the State I've seen the least. I will have to go for a visit after meeting so many nice people from that part of the State. The festival just sort of lets you sample different parts of the State through booths and people. There was also the Kansas Explorers tent http://www.explorekansas.org/

I bought Marci Penner's book. It's been fun looking at the places I've been and realizing all the things that I have missed along the way. So I guess I'll have to make slower drives and wait an extra 5 minutes for my hamburgers along the way. It really doesn't sound bad at all.

Jailhouse Conversion

There are days when I believe that the best way to find Jesus is to be charged with a felony. I guess when you need forgiveness, He'll deliver. It's just a weird dynamic after a defendant leaves and the courtroom regulars all mock, until someone says "I hope that he really has changed".

Speaking of forgiveness, try talking to 8th grade girls about "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you". "Like I tried to be nice to her this one time, but then I found out that she hated me and was talking about me behind my back and so I wasn't going to be nice to her again because I don't want to be her friend and if I was nice then I would totally be a poser. So yeah, I guess that's like turning the other cheek." Do you understand that Jesus asks us to live differently? "Yeah, totally, that's why I'm not fake." (I really do love these girls, but sometimes talking to them is like talking to the television).

You can't force someone to understand forgiveness or to accept forgiveness when it's offered. You can't force someone to understand how much they need forgiveness. I guess you just do your best to say it. You do your best to believe in it. You do your best to see the world through his eyes and not your own.