Posted by Brian June 26, 2006
My MINI was due for an oil change. I wanted to be sure to get it done, since we’re going on a Big Trip on Saturday.
In the past, I had to drive to Memphis for all service to the car, since the warranty required that service be done at a MINI dealership. But that’s all over now, so I was going to get my oil changed here in Little Rock.
But apparently, nobody carries the oil filter for a MINI. Arrrrgh! I had to drive to Memphis anyway, and pay three times as much for the oil change as it should have cost. I bought 3 filters while I was there. Next time the mechanic says he can’t get the filter, I’ll just hand him one.
Posted by Brian June 26, 2006
Our Gospel reading on Sunday was Mark 4:35 - 5:20. In that reading, Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galillee, and then heals a man who was possessed by many demons. After both miracles, people are afraid of Jesus.
In her sermon, Bean shared this poem, “Maybe”, by Mary Oliver:
Sweet Jesus, talking
his melancholy madness,
stood up in the boat
and the sea lay down,
silky and sorry.
So everybody was saved
that night.
But you know how it is
when something
different crosses
the threshold — the uncles
mutter together,
the women walk away,
the young brother begins
to sharpen his knife.
Nobody knows what the soul is.
It comes and goes
like the wind over the water –
sometimes, for days,
you don’t think of it.
Maybe, after the sermon,
after the multitude was fed,
one or two of them felt
the soul slip forth
like a tremor of pure sunlight
before exhaustion,
that wants to swallow everything,
gripped their bones and left them
miserable and sleepy,
as they are now, forgetting
how the wind tore at the sails
before he rose and talked to it -
tender and luminous and demanding
as he always was -
a thousand times more frightening
than the killer storm.
Posted by Brian June 03, 2006
Hmmm. Tomorrow is Pentecost. And my last entry here was posted on Holy Saturday. That means that it’s been FIFTY DAYS since I posted anything here. Sorry, Mom! (I figure you’re the only one who is still checking.)
So, I guess I’d better say something, or else change the subtitle of the blog…
Let’s see.
Speaking of Pentecost, I’ll be reading the Gospel in Greek during worship tomorrow. Actually, there will be lots of people, reading it in lots of different languages, all at the same time. The deacon will announce the Gospel, then we’ll all read in our different tongues, then the deacon will read it again in English. We did the same thing last year, and I was still reading in Greek after everybody else had finished. It made me nervous, and I began butchering the pronunciation. This year, I’m going to read faster, and if I’m the last one still reading, then I’m just going to cut it short. Nobody will know, anyway. 
Other Pentecost practices at St. Michael’s: Everybody is supposed to wear red. And they have big poles with streamers which they wave around over the congregation (like wind) while we all sing Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit). Sounds cheesy, perhaps, but it’s actually pretty cool.
What else?
In a month, David and I will be visiting the Grand Canyon.
My sister had her third baby - my first nephew. She told me, helpfully, “He needs a baby blanket!” (I made one for each of her first two kids.) So, I’m working on something. I don’t want to spoil the surprise by saying what it is, but I will say this: It is the Cutest Thing Ever!
I switched my laptop computer from Windows to Linux. So far, everything is cool (and free!) except that I’m having trouble getting my wireless network card to work. Blah. What a bother to be tied down by a wire!
We might go to the zoo today. Or the farmer’s market. Oh, and it’s almost time for the peach orchard to open. Hooray!
OK, so there you have it, my very exciting 50-day update. I’ll try to be more diligent in the future.
By the way, I have no idea what that picture is, but it’s the coolest thing which came up when I did a Google image search for “50″.
