Gayle - A Remembrance

 

Why Couldn't You Stay?

You walked away; you left us
Bereft, bereaved.
How could you go?
It wasn't your doing,
I know, I know.
Yet, how could you go?

Two years passed and gone,
Slipped away.
After you left, I'd think
I'll call her; I'll email.
Oh no! None of that!
You won't answer.

Now I know you're gone.
No thoughts of visits to come,
Seeing your face, hearing your voice,
The sound of your laughter.
Sadness lingers, emptiness remains.
Why couldn't you stay?

June Butler - 04-27-08


Yesterday was the second anniversary of the death of my sister, Gayle, from pancreatic cancer. I still miss her. The picture above was taken on the grounds of the Tower of London during a trip we made together. I stopped to take a picture as we headed to see the Norman chapel inside the White Tower. Gayle walked on and I caught her in the picture. For her memorial service, we searched for pictures to include in a small display, and I found this one - Gayle walking away from all of us who loved her. I have it framed and on my mantle. For me, it says it all.

Look Who's Here!

Our friend Paul has touched down in New Orleans and already has his feet wet. It's raining. He'll soon grow the tiny gills that help us survive the humidity, and he'll be right as rain. He will never be the same, and New Orleans will never be the same.

Bienvenu à la belle Louisiane!

Caution! - Leave Them Home!

This is why women should not take men shopping against their will:

After Mr. And Mrs. Shearn retired, Mrs.Shearn insisted her husband accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, Terry is like most men--he found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, Georgie was like most women--she loved to browse. One day Mrs. Shearn received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.

"Dear Mrs. Shearn

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Shearn are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's Carts when they weren't looking.

2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at Five-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in housewares. Get on it right away.'

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on Layaway.

6. September 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other Shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets From the bedding department.

8. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began Crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a Mirror while he picked his nose.

10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked The clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly Humming the ' Mission Impossible' theme.

12. December 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' By using different sizes of funnels.

13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, Yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he Assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least

15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, Then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!'

Regards,

Wal-Mart"

Doug, of course.

They Tell Us What To Think

Rmj at Adventus had the jump on the media who had the jump on the Bill Moyers interview with The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, which had not even been aired yet. Of course, we are not permitted to watch the show and decide for ourselves what to think. We must hear the high-paid talking heads tell us what to think.

From ABC, the network who brought us the recent great debate, with the help of the two outstanding (for their failure) moderators, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulas (remember them?), we get this:

"If he [Wright] was a Barack Obama supporter, I think he would pull himself off of the stage at this point," said National Public Radio senior political analyst Juan Williams...."If you're with the Barack Obama campaign this morning, you're pulling your hair out," said Williams.
....

"Nothing good comes of this for Barack Obama," concurred ABC News political contributor Cokie Roberts...."Even though he was defending himself, quite nicely, he said Barack Obama spoke as a politician. That is the last thing Obama wants people to think of him as. He has approached the American people as a pastor-type himself," said Roberts.

Oh, Juan, you are so not cool. I have heard you be not cool so many times I don't question my assumption of not-coolness in watching and listening to you. I'm afraid my opinion on your lack of coolness is quite settled.

And Cokie, my home girl, you so need to retire. I see you and Steven riding off into the sunset days of your retirement. Take it from me, your Louisiana sistah, retirement is goooood. On one occasion, I emailed them voicing a wee bit of criticism regarding the opinions in one of their joint syndicated columns, and Steven responded with a personal attack. I criticized their words, and Steven attacked me for daring to voice disagreement. He called me names. I wish I had saved the email. The names were not naughty, but they were not nice, either.

On Friday evening, I watched the Bill Moyers' interview with The Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ. I sat transfixed for the whole hour, and the time zipped by. It was a great interview, and Wright did not frighten me one single time. Moyers played longer clips from some of the controversial sermons, so that the viewer got more of the context than from the sound bites which have been circulating on the tee vee, and then he let Wright comment afterwards.

What I hear from The Reverend Wright is a caution against vengeance and a message of hope going out to his congregation, some of whom may have very little in their lives to give them hope. Perhaps Obama learned his message of hope from his pastor. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing if he learned hope from his pastor? Wouldn't any preacher be happy if even one person in the congregation learned hope from a sermon?

In the coming months of the campaign, you will hear the same sound bites from Wright used to vilify Barack Obama. You will hear them ad nauseam. Oh the stupidity! Oh the ignorance! I can hardly bear the thought of what's to come. The folks in the sorry, sorry media will have no knowledge of the tradition of prophetic preaching in black churches. They will know nothing of black liberation theology, except that it's a very scary thing. Ooooh. It might make black men angry, and what's scarier than an angry black man? White men? Well, they can get angry. Sometimes they look very manly when they get angry, but an angry black man is a whole other thing.

Look, I know very little about the traditions of preaching in black churches, but I know more than the ignorant, but extremely well-paid talking heads in the media, who will spew their drivel over the coming months. If they wanted to, they could learn, but methinks they believe that they already know it all. After all, theirs is the conventional wisdom, and we must listen to them.

Bill Moyers is a national treasure, and I fear he may be the last of his kind. We must value him while we still can.

Here's the link to the video and transcript of the show. When you have time, if you have not seen the show or read the transcript, I suggest strongly that you do, because then you will have a frame of reference from which to judge the idiocies that you will see and hear and read in the media.

At Adventus, you can find a second post by Rmj which includes lengthier quotes from the transcript, if you cannot get to read the whole thing or watch the video. The show will be replayed on public television stations. Check your local listings.

"Lady Tambourine"

From the Times-Picayune:

Friday, April 25, 2008
By Doug MacCash

She's one of those only-in-New Orleans institutions. To some, she's a star; to others, a nuisance. Either way, she has been a constant presence for more than a decade to those crowded under the Gospel Tent at The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell.

Though she is rarely listed among official performers, today from 1:40 to 2:20 p.m. she's the main attraction, with her professional name spelled out on a stylishly lettered Jazzfest stage sign for all to see: Rosalie "Lady Tambourine" Washington.

Rosalie tends to attract a good deal of attention with her movements, sound, and great energy, sometimes more than the star performer, so not everyone welcomes her. I have never seen her perform. Since the jazz fest became so large and crowded, I no longer attend. In truth, although big name stars appear there now, I liked it better when it was smaller and the entertainers were, for the most part, from New Orleans. I could have spent days in the Gospel tent. One excellent group after another performed, many of them choirs from the black churches around town.

Here's a video of Rosalie performing with Cowboy Mouth, or should I say taking over from Cowboy Mouth, who does not seem to be threatened by her. In fact, he gives her the stage. I love it.

Spiritual groove

Washington was born 51 years ago in Denham Springs, one of six kids raised by second cousin Wilhelmena Jackson Landry, who played tambourine in a Pentecostal church.

"She looked like she was 6 feet tall," Washington recalls of her percussive role model. "It looked like fire was coming from the tambourine. . . . I said, 'Lord I wish I could play like that.' "

Washington took up the fiery instrument, rattling along with sacred music on Sunday mornings, as well as with the more secular selections she found on her older sister's Carlos Santana albums.

"People say I sound like a set of drums," she said of her aggressive style. "It's very spiritual, giving God all you have."
....

"A lot of choirs didn't want me to play," she said. "I get all the attention. I'm glad they can't throw me out of heaven."

Rosalie, I know the feeling.

Prayers For Kirstin

From Kirstin at Barefoot and Laughing:

Prayers

My eye is gunky, red, straight, and healing well. Thank you for all of your prayers.

I got a call from my dermatologist this afternoon. The bump on the back of my ear, that we thought might be basal-cell skin cancer, turns out to be melanoma.

I'll know more on Monday.

I am, in a word, terrified. Pray, please.

Posted by Kirstin at 10:15 PM

"I Iz Contractr"

Please go read Scout Prime at First Draft to see her satirical take on the story of the contractors who used newspaper instead of rubber tubing to fill the cracks in the levee in New Orleans. I'm not kidding.

This falls into the funny-but-not-really-funny category. It's a disgrace and could have major and tragic consequences.

"Homeless Need Compassion, Not Criminalization"

Ormonde Plater, at Through the Dust shares a letter from Episcopal Deacon Lydia Hopkins to the New Orleans City Council Housing Committee. An excerpt:

Elaine and I both had an opportunity to speak and Fr. Baer read the Bishop's letter, listing most of the names we had available this morning. The consensus--apparently shared by Ms. Midura and Ms. Head by the end of the meeting--was that criminalizing homelessness will NOT help to solve the problem, and that housing, social services, and case management must be in place before there is any serious talk about forcing the homeless off of the streets.

Unfortunately, the chair of the committee was not present, nor were there sufficient members present to take a vote.

The full text of Hopkins' letter is at Ormonde's site and at EDOLA, the website of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

Bishop Jenkins' letter:

Homeless need Compassion, not Criminalization

Dear Members of the City Council,

We write to you today to express our grave concern over the proposed ordinance on public habitation, section 54-419 of the City Code.

Please know that we are not bystanders offering our opinion on the work that others are doing. We, along with countless other members of the community, have been actively involved in ministry to the homeless and precariously housed in our city. We provide food and clothing to those living on the streets; we assist with re-housing efforts as well as the transition from FEMA trailers to permanent housing; we provide case management services and resources to help families remain housed; and we help to rebuild homes for the most vulnerable members of our community. We see first-hand the varied factors that contribute to the homelessness crisis, and our experience has taught us that the homeless need compassion, not criminalization. A simplistic “quick fix” as proposed in this ordinance will only exacerbate the dire conditions that are keeping residents down-and-out.

The failure of our community to develop and implement a comprehensive affordable housing strategy in the wake of unprecedented disaster is a communal failing. Yet this ordinance penalizes only those individuals who have fallen through the cracks—and we expect that there will be many more yet to come.

Furthermore, the ordinance will divert precious city resources to policing and jailing the destitute, at a time when our city is in the grips of a wave of violent crime and our jails are stretched to capacity.

We call on you to adopt a policy that affirms the dignity of every human being in our community, including the homeless.

We believe that our limited resources can be more compassionately and effectively utilized to house rather than criminalize the homeless.

We ask you not to pass this ordinance.

We stand ready to work with you and offer our experience, our time and our energy in order to draft a comprehensive, effective, and ethical solution to our city’s homelessness crisis.

In faith and hope,

Rt. Rev. Charles Jenkins
Bishop, Diocese of Louisiana

Rev. Jerry Kramer
Rector, Church of the Annunciation

Rev. Jim Quigley
Rector, St. George's Episcopal Church

Rev. Lydia Hopkins
Deacon, St. George's Episcopal Church

Rev. Elaine Clements
Deacon, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Nell Bolton
Exec. Director, Office of Disaster Response
Diocese/ACT

Shakoor Aljuwani
Community Organizer
Diocese/ACT

Amen, amen, and amen!

Saturday Morning Wake-up Laugh

A Department of Water representative stopped at a ranch and talked with an old rancher. He told the rancher, 'I need to inspect your ranch for your water allocation.'

The old rancher said, "Okay, but don't go in that field over there."

The Water representative said, "Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me. See this card? This card means I am allowed to go WHEREVER I WISH on any agricultural land. No questions asked or answered. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?"

The old rancher nodded politely and went about his chores.

Later, the old rancher heard loud screams and saw the Water Rep running for the fence and close behind was the rancher's bull. The bull was gaining on the Water Rep with every step. The Rep was clearly terrified, so the old rancher immediately threw down his tools, ran to the fence and shouted out.....

"Your card! Your card! Show him your card!"

UPDATE: I forgot to add that this is from the usual suspect, Doug.

Feast Day of St. Mark The Evangelist

Modern icon by Laternix, taken from Wiki.

The Apostle Peter had a co-worker whom he refers to as "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). Papias, an early second century writer, in describing the origins of the Gospels, tells us that Mark was the "interpreter" of Peter, and that he wrote down ("but not in order") the stories that he had heard Peter tell in his preaching about the life and teachings of Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark, in describing the arrest of Jesus (14:51f), speaks of a young man who followed the arresting party, wearing only a linen cloth wrapped around his body, whom the arresting party tried to seize, but who left the cloth in their hands and fled naked. It is speculated that this young man was the writer himself, since the detail is hardly worth mentioning if he were not.
From James Kiefer at the Lectionary.

Readings:

Psalm 2 or 2:7-10;
Isaiah 52:7-10;
Ephesians 4:7-8,11-16;
Mark 1:1-15 or Mark 16:15-20

PRAYER

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The readings for the feast include one of my favorite passages from Isaiah:

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.