Cheese Biscuits in Dubai

We here in Florida are proud to be the center for Darden restaurants.  We love our Olive Gardens and Red Lobsters. 

This morning's business news tells us that more Darden restaurants are going into the Middle East.  At least 40 of them in the next five years will go into places like Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon.  It's hard for some folks to picture western style fun stuff happening in that area of the world.

But it does.

A Red Lobster will open this summer inside the Dubai Mall, a 12 million-square-foot space that includes an aquarium, dancing fountain shows and more than a thousand shops, including Ethan Allen,  Nautica, Wendy's and Arby's.

Aside from not serving alcohol or porky things like bacon wrapped shrimp, the Red Lobster menu will be the same.

But for those folks who picture most everybody in that part of the world plotting against us, I guess they can now picture them hunched over soup, salad and bread sticks in the Kuwait Olive Garden.


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Black Swan Event

We've been reading lately about "Black Swan Events."  These are events that seldom happen.  Like when Dave and I walk around Lake Eola in downtown Orlando we see beautiful white swans on the water.  Rarely a black one. But it seems that there are so many world wide "black swan" events taking place almost daily that our schizophrenic stock market doesn't know what to think.

Yes, crazy stuff is going on in the world.  Some of us want to blame our many 24 hour news stations.   Remember when we went to the movies and saw news highlights that were several weeks old?  We're never going back to that.  It was a calmer way to live but that's because we were clueless much of the time. 

So now we have a tough time admitting to ourselves that events that keep happening are no longer black swan events.  They're patterns - and patterns need to be faced, researched and dealt with before they destroy us.  For example: bizarre world wide weather events, unrest in the middle east or your husband coming home drunk four nights a week are not black swan events.  They're patterns.

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Would You March in a Parade With an Atheist?

One of the new labels I see being put on folks these days is "Atheist."  They're supposed to be big enemies in the "them vs. us" wars.

A while back a person was telling me about this parade in Washington where they let anybody march - even atheists.

Here's the thing, I know, and occasionally hang out with, people whom I have no idea about their concept of God - or if they have one.   But they are good and decent people with many of the same needs I have, like feeding the poor.  We just come at it from different places.

Sometimes I'm honored by having friends be comfortable enough with me to tell me about their spiritual journeys.  And detours.  I certainly don't think any less of them.  Have you ever had doubts about your faith?  Have you ever felt, just for a minute maybe, like this whole universe was put together with silly glue?

Some firm believers and non believers I know are difficult to be with unless you're ready to buy exactly what they're selling.  Some folks I know are not where I am spiritually but they have other, very positive, values.  Values that I respect. 

So, in answer to the question "Would you march in a parade with an atheist?  I already have. And I would again.  Because, as a wise man once told me,

Every person God loves belongs to every person God loves. 


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More Age Stuff

It's that time of month again when we discuss the birthdays in the AARP magazine.  In April:

- Eddie Murphy will be 50 years old.  Wow!

- Ryan O'Neal will be 70 years old.  Remember how young and innocent he was in "Love Story?"

- Ann-Margaret will be 70 as well.  Remember when she had that terrible accident, falling off a swing?  Remember when she married Roger Smith and the press said it would never last?  They've been married 43 years.

- Next week Leonard Nimoy will be 80 years old!

And speaking of Mr. Spock, have you seen George Takei (Sulu in the original Star Trek,)  age 74, doing an excellent job of pleading for help for Japan?


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Does It Matter What They Think?

A while back I was exposed to a list of things that young adults who don't go to church think about those of us who do go to church.  The list is not flattering but I found it helpful to study the list.  I don't want to be any of these things. 

I've shared the list with some other folks and most of them feel like I do but some don't and a couple of them were extremely defensive and immediately started their own negative list describing young adults who don't go to church.

Here's the list of what the majority of 16 to 29 year olds who don't go to church think about us church goers.  Are they right?

Judgmental                                 87 %
Hypocritical                               85 %
Old fashioned                            78 %
Too involved in politics              75 %
Out of touch w/ reality               72 %
Insensitive to others                   70 %
Not accept other faiths              64 %
Boring                                      68 %
Confusing                                 61 %


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The Irritating Duck

Dave loves the Aflac duck.  He especially loves the current ad where the duck is break dancing.  I find the Aflac duck's voice extremely irritating. It sounds remarkably like abrasive comic Gilbert Gottfried.

Now we know it is Gilbert Gottfried's voice because Aflac fired him yesterday for telling offensive jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

It seems to me that telling ANY jokes about the tragedy in Japan, at this point, is offensive.  The duck has apparently been an excellent representative for Aflac so ccongratulations to them for doing the right thing. 


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Revisiting the Oldies

I don't write much about my Oldies anymore.  Not much to write.

I used to enjoy telling you about how he stopped parades to get her to the hairdresser; about how, for years, the folks at Panera Bread fried two eggs and served them up at the table every morning; about how, as a V.P. for Public Relations in an international company, he was continually frustrated by having to deal with spoiled celebrities.  (The stories about them were hilarious.  I so wish I'd written them down)

Then things became sad and frightening.  Routinely getting lost, losing the car, her purse, credit cards, police involvment, and so on.

Then there were the accidents, both with the car and falling down.  But, the worst was the anger and paranoia, directed at most unlikely family and friends, namely, anybody who tried to tell Mr. Oldie he was losing it. And those were always folks who loved them.

We visited them today, as we do regularly.  They're happy and content, but the best part is they're safe. Both of their memories are essentially gone.  Conversation is hard.  They, essentially, have none. 

A few of their friends (they're my friends as well) don't believe that they should be there.  The rules where they now live are very strick.  These friends believe that the Oldies should have had the continued freedom to make their own choices. But I'm so grateful that they're safe, comfortable and together.

And, of course, the lesson for me is to have decisions in place now for the time in the future when my mind might fade.

My preference would be to "just shoot me!" But that's probably not an option.


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Change is Hard

I've had many changes in my long life.  As a consultant and writer I had scores of "jobs."  As the wife of a United Methodist minister, I moved often, always to different cities, and changed churches each time.  As the mother of four children and now ten grandchildren, change is still happening.

Dave, on the other hand, lived his entire adult life in Minneapolis.  As an architect, he changed his work environment very little.  He married and raised children in Minneapolis.  He's lived in his house for 47 years  It's full of happy memories.

In just a little while his house is going on the market.  He says its time.  And it is.  But it's hard.  I like to think it has very little to do with me.

Yesterday, when we were walking - here in sunny Orlando - I said to him:

"I hope your neighbors don't think I seduced you into leaving Minnesota and selling your house."

He answered:

"You did.  And they do."


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My Uncle Bob

My mother was one of 13 children.  I knew all but 2 of my aunts and uncles.  They were all good to me and my brother.  Don't know how we would have survived without them.

By the way, most of these aunts and uncles were really good looking, including my Uncle Bob.

My cousin, whom I've not seen in many years has written a remarkable story about my Uncle Bob.  In a nutshell, Uncle Bob fathered an out of wedlock child when he was a young man.  Now, 70 plus years later, a long time friend of my cousin told him that she is that child!

The story is much more complicated than that - in fact, with Uncle Bob having 12 siblings and them having multiple next generation children - you can't tell the players without a score card.

But, to me, it's an absolutely wonderful story about reconciliation and redemption.  Uncle Bob is long gone but this woman is his child and that makes her my first cousin as well.


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How Important is Loneliness?

Lent starts tomorrow.  For some denominations it's not a big deal.  For the "High Church" folks - and Methodists - it is a big deal.

My understanding is that Lent (the six weeks prior to Easter) is a time for introspection. It's the time to think about relationships.  Christianity is a relationship religion.

How important are relationships?  Mostly because of the way I grew up, I've felt lonely much of my life. But I'm in good company.  Jesus had the same issue.

New York Times columnist, David Brooks, has written a new book called The Social Animal.  Here's a quote from Newsweek about the book:

...In essence, The Social Animal is a book about the human need for connection, friendship love...all of us are caught up in ..."the loneliness loop."  We yearn for "community"; we have "the urge to merge."  When two people are having an intense conversation, their breathing synchronizes; laughing together creates a feeling joy; soldiers drilling in unison experience a surge of power.  What drives us ultimately, is the need to be understood by others. 

I believe this.

One of my favorite writers, Jan Richardson, in her book "In the Sanctuary of Women," says that our three basic needs are for food, security and love. 

I believe this as well.


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You Are What You Seek

My Power Rangers and I have been grappling with the above phrase for several days.  Then one of us led our amazing Sunday school class this morning on the same subject.  She talked about "Spiritual Materialism," which to me means the constant striving to DO more vs. accepting who were are created to BE and finding God deep within ourselves.

In the midst of all this Dave and I went to the movies on Friday to see "The Adjustment Bureau."  As you know, I love movies.  Always have.  I love the big screen.  I love being with a lot of other people but not having to talk to them.

But "The Adjustment Bureau," starring Matt Damon, one of my favorite actors (and he seems like a pretty good human being as well), is a mess. 

It depicts God and a bunch of angels dressed like 1960s IBM employees as controllers of our lives.  And the goal is to get from point A to point B.  As one of the angels says, God  (The Director) doesn't care about our emotions, just our actions. 

What?

I thought our emotions; love, hate, guilt, greed, sadness, joy, courage, to name a few, were the whole ball game.  They're what prompt our actions.   Remember when Jimmy Carter got into trouble because he confessed to lusting in his heart?

I always thought God wanted our biggest motivator of our actions to be love.

By the way, just so's you know, "The Adjustment Bureau" has a terrible ending.  It's the equivalent of the big car chase - only on foot - then it's over.

To top off this deep theological dilemma dealing with the statement "You are what you seek,"  my minister ended his communion sermon this morning with a reminder of the ending of the 1984 Sally Field movie, "Places in the Heart."

The ending takes place in an old country church in the south.  They're having communion.  (I may not have this just right because I saw the movie 27 years ago.) Sally takes the communion plate, passes it to her long dead husband.  He passes it to the man who killed him.  He passes it to a black man who was brutally murdered, he passes it to a blind man who can now see, and so on. 

One of the best movie endings - ever!


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Works of Art

Dave and I just spent a couple of days in and around Sarasota, Florida.  Most of Wednesday we toured the Ringling Museum of Art.  Quite a treat.  We covered the 50 acre campus on foot. 

Two highlights were the miniature circus display (so huge and intricate that it can't be described) and the world class art museum. 

Loved seeing the Peter Paul Rubens paintings.  As you know, all of his people are chubby, even the starving ones.

But the totally fun art work was this statue at the Sarasota pier.  We all know it well from W.W.II.  It's called "Total Surrender."  That's me next to it in the second photo so you can get an idea of the size.

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A Couple of the Things He Said Made Sense

Last night we watched the last half of CNN's Piers Morgan interview with Charlie Sheen.  Very, very sad.   

We're watched a few "Two and a Half Men" episodes but, after a while, we just couldn't take it anymore.  Every character on the show is self centered and narcissistic. (What is it about us that we want to see this?)  I think it would be cool and funny if at least one of them lived in the "clean" world.  

But all that's probably a moot point now.

Along with all of the weirdness, Charlie said two things last night that hit home.

- At it's inception the network modeled Charlie Harper after him (Charlie Sheen.)  Well, duh.  We (the audience) knew this from the get-go.

- After watching a clip of Anderson Cooper introducing his up coming show featuring Gaddafi and the conflict in Libya, Charlie allowed as how that's the villian the American people should be dwelling on - not him! 

I couldn't agree more.

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