Life is a game of whist. From unknown sources
The cards are shuffled and the hands are dealt.
Blind are our efforts to control the forces
That though unseen are no less strongly felt.
I do not like the way the cards are shuffled,
But still I like the game and want to play
And through the long, long night, I play unruffled
The cards I get until the break of day.
24 May 2009
14 April 2009
In Memory
Take some time out from your busy schedule and tell those who are close to you that you love them. Tell them how much they mean to you. It will make them feel good and it will make you feel good as well.
As the years go by (with ever increasing speed), I have begun to realize how fragile life really is. I have seen too many friends and family members become memories for me not to realize that life can be snuffed from any one of us at any given moment. This is what lead me to begin this entry the way that I did. An expression of love and thankfulness for someone can be priceless if such an expression is the last made to that person.
I saw Ms. Portillo for the last time at the memorial service for Susan Kunkel of all places. I wish that I could have said something to her, but time got away from me and by the time we headed for the door, she had already gone home. Two weeks later when I found out that she had died, I wondered (and still wonder) what I could've said to her that day to let her know how much she meant to me and to a lot of students like me. It's sad, in a way, that we can grow to love and appreciate people the way that we do (according to human nature) and not be allowed certain opportunities for closure when time calls for change.
It is this change that has been so hard for me to deal with these past couple months. Most recently, I recieved word that a friend of mine, Ivan, hadn't woken up Wednesday morning. I know that Ivan will be profoundly missed by his family and by his church family. We got to know him over the past several months as a brother in Christ--always a smile on his face and a friendly handshake to extend your way. His energy and passion for ministry through music was palpable. When I see him again, I am going to thank him for being a good friend. When I see Ms. Portillo again (soon), I am going to thank her for being a good friend. Don't wait until then, though. Tell your friend what you appreciate in them. God forbid that you'll be thankful for it one day.
As the years go by (with ever increasing speed), I have begun to realize how fragile life really is. I have seen too many friends and family members become memories for me not to realize that life can be snuffed from any one of us at any given moment. This is what lead me to begin this entry the way that I did. An expression of love and thankfulness for someone can be priceless if such an expression is the last made to that person.
I saw Ms. Portillo for the last time at the memorial service for Susan Kunkel of all places. I wish that I could have said something to her, but time got away from me and by the time we headed for the door, she had already gone home. Two weeks later when I found out that she had died, I wondered (and still wonder) what I could've said to her that day to let her know how much she meant to me and to a lot of students like me. It's sad, in a way, that we can grow to love and appreciate people the way that we do (according to human nature) and not be allowed certain opportunities for closure when time calls for change.
It is this change that has been so hard for me to deal with these past couple months. Most recently, I recieved word that a friend of mine, Ivan, hadn't woken up Wednesday morning. I know that Ivan will be profoundly missed by his family and by his church family. We got to know him over the past several months as a brother in Christ--always a smile on his face and a friendly handshake to extend your way. His energy and passion for ministry through music was palpable. When I see him again, I am going to thank him for being a good friend. When I see Ms. Portillo again (soon), I am going to thank her for being a good friend. Don't wait until then, though. Tell your friend what you appreciate in them. God forbid that you'll be thankful for it one day.
21 March 2009
Give It A Rest
I'd like to take this time out while sitting at church with absolutely nothing to do to give some words of advice to anyone who reads this: Don't try and please everyone. Being a PK (preacher's kid), I feel as though I am qualified to give such advice as I've seen many good people leave the church because they don't necessarily conform to the "Adventist" agenda. Which is what, by the way?
I love pulling a reference from something that I've read because I feel smart. So here it goes: I'm reading a book about SNL. During its beginning, writers and producers didn't worry about the lines they'd be potentially crossing with sketches and short films. They just did it because that was what they wanted and who they were/are. They figured whoever appreciated what they did would tune and if anyone didn't care for it, they didn't have to watch. Now one of the longest running and most successful broadcasts in history, time as testified for the effectiveness of this technique.
Happy Sabbath everyone! Eat haystacks.
04 March 2009
Nostalgia
Nostalgia can hit you like a brick wall, can't it? It's quite possibly the best way to remember an event that was particularly good or enjoyable. Watching old family home-videos can be very entertaining and make for some good laughs. I'm sure you can't deny that watching old films of yourselves together creates a strong bond among you--a reminder of sorts that highlights the common history you all share.
Nostalgia, for me, is totally different. Something will set off a flood of [usually] pleasant memories that I find myself wishing I could relive. Walking back to my dorm room, I could get a whif of burning fur and be taken back to my childhood, walking through "Christmas Tree Lane" with my family on Christmas Eve. I can be listening to an old Odyssey episode and travel in my head back to a two bedroom apartment in Michigan, staring up at the springs of the bunk above me, listening so intently. Or having a scoop of Ghirardelli ice cream can trigger a time walking down Fisherman's Wharf in shorts and a sweater, laughing with good friends.
Moments that I obviously cannot relive--but how I wish I could! I suppose the present and future hold memories to come that I will no doubt cherish someday and wish I could relive then. Perhaps there is value in cherishing the "todays" and the "tomorrows."
Nostalgia, for me, is totally different. Something will set off a flood of [usually] pleasant memories that I find myself wishing I could relive. Walking back to my dorm room, I could get a whif of burning fur and be taken back to my childhood, walking through "Christmas Tree Lane" with my family on Christmas Eve. I can be listening to an old Odyssey episode and travel in my head back to a two bedroom apartment in Michigan, staring up at the springs of the bunk above me, listening so intently. Or having a scoop of Ghirardelli ice cream can trigger a time walking down Fisherman's Wharf in shorts and a sweater, laughing with good friends.
Moments that I obviously cannot relive--but how I wish I could! I suppose the present and future hold memories to come that I will no doubt cherish someday and wish I could relive then. Perhaps there is value in cherishing the "todays" and the "tomorrows."
25 February 2009
Waldo's Last Stand
This is a video clip from the "Our Gang" comedy series featuring my grandpa as "Waldo" in a 1940 episode.
21 January 2009
Racist Prayer
I hate to blow off some hot air but I can't help but do so at this time. Several of you have agreed with me that the benediction on inauguration day yesterday contained racially offensive material (thank you, Joseph Lowery). Among other "clover" poetic puns about different races, "whites should embrace what is right" was thrown in there as if 1) racism is still as big a problem as it was in the 50s and 60s and that 2) racism is predominately a "white" problem.
I regret what was said yesterday by Lowery, but I regret even more the reaction that such a comment made. There has been no media attention given to the prayer. And thinking about it (and I hate to be complaining about the past when we should be looking ahead), if something had been said in the 2000 Inaugural Benediction about "blacks" or "browns" needing to stay out of "our restaurants", there would media attention galore attacking the person who conducted the prayer as well as the President and the party associated with the President.
Don't take this the wrong way. Of course, I'm not saying that the ethnic people of our country need to stay out of restaurants. I'm illustrating how someone on the flip side can be stuck 50 years ago in a time where racism was a real problem. But for a nation who is moving ahead with change (including the election of Barack Obama), then we shouldn't be saying things like this in our prayers.
I regret what was said yesterday by Lowery, but I regret even more the reaction that such a comment made. There has been no media attention given to the prayer. And thinking about it (and I hate to be complaining about the past when we should be looking ahead), if something had been said in the 2000 Inaugural Benediction about "blacks" or "browns" needing to stay out of "our restaurants", there would media attention galore attacking the person who conducted the prayer as well as the President and the party associated with the President.
Don't take this the wrong way. Of course, I'm not saying that the ethnic people of our country need to stay out of restaurants. I'm illustrating how someone on the flip side can be stuck 50 years ago in a time where racism was a real problem. But for a nation who is moving ahead with change (including the election of Barack Obama), then we shouldn't be saying things like this in our prayers.
06 December 2008
Priorities and Acting Your Age
My mom and I were talking this evening and we came to the conclusion that all Adventists are selfish, coniving idiots. Of course we don't really think this (at least I don't)--it just so happened that in the heat of our conversation we discovered that at every church we move to, there is always a group of people (very influential people) who just act like immature brats on an elementary school playground.
I'm tempted to go ahead and include the names of the parties involved, but to show that I am better than the low performance they exuded today, I will refrain. Today my dad and I were talking in the mothers room of our church and an army of Pathfinder mothers from our church came into "talk"/complain to him about something that he no doubt had nothing to do with.
A loud banging on the door interrupted our conversation and a mother entered and hastily asked if our conversation was done. My dad, assuming that things were finished (we pretty much were) said that I was just leaving and that they could come in. Knowing from experience that these people were probably here to complain about my dad's performance as pastor, I almost felt as if, to spite them, I should just tell them that I wasn't done and that they could have their time with him when I was done.
But I promptly left after my dad pretty much verbally ushered me out so these people could come in and harass him. I won't go into the specifics of the conversation they had (my dad filled me in later), but I will say that it was over a very childish issue that could've been solved by referencing something my mom would say when my brother and I fought as children: "You guys just need to get along!"
There were two things that disappointed me in this whole situation: the fact that my dad allowed his job as pastor for the past 10 years affect his perception of priorities, and the juvenile exploitation of my dad for their own selfish gain. There is no doubt in my mind that he loves my brother an I very much and that we are his priority. But I saw today that he didn't really have his priorities straight. I don't really fault him. More so, I fault the extremely insensitive and immature mothers that walked in like they owned the place. They think that because my dad is the pastor of their church, that he works for them and that they have priority of his time over mine. Who the hell do they think they are?
Last I checked, our churches aren't places for all the political bullshit that often leads to corruption in a congregational setting but a place where Christian believers can come together and worship together in community. But it has been my family's experience that we just can't find a church where that is the central focus. Where is our church going to these days? I guess that's the question that I need to answer and will need to decide for myself whether or not I want to be a part of that.
I'm tempted to go ahead and include the names of the parties involved, but to show that I am better than the low performance they exuded today, I will refrain. Today my dad and I were talking in the mothers room of our church and an army of Pathfinder mothers from our church came into "talk"/complain to him about something that he no doubt had nothing to do with.
A loud banging on the door interrupted our conversation and a mother entered and hastily asked if our conversation was done. My dad, assuming that things were finished (we pretty much were) said that I was just leaving and that they could come in. Knowing from experience that these people were probably here to complain about my dad's performance as pastor, I almost felt as if, to spite them, I should just tell them that I wasn't done and that they could have their time with him when I was done.
But I promptly left after my dad pretty much verbally ushered me out so these people could come in and harass him. I won't go into the specifics of the conversation they had (my dad filled me in later), but I will say that it was over a very childish issue that could've been solved by referencing something my mom would say when my brother and I fought as children: "You guys just need to get along!"
There were two things that disappointed me in this whole situation: the fact that my dad allowed his job as pastor for the past 10 years affect his perception of priorities, and the juvenile exploitation of my dad for their own selfish gain. There is no doubt in my mind that he loves my brother an I very much and that we are his priority. But I saw today that he didn't really have his priorities straight. I don't really fault him. More so, I fault the extremely insensitive and immature mothers that walked in like they owned the place. They think that because my dad is the pastor of their church, that he works for them and that they have priority of his time over mine. Who the hell do they think they are?
Last I checked, our churches aren't places for all the political bullshit that often leads to corruption in a congregational setting but a place where Christian believers can come together and worship together in community. But it has been my family's experience that we just can't find a church where that is the central focus. Where is our church going to these days? I guess that's the question that I need to answer and will need to decide for myself whether or not I want to be a part of that.
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