Our New iPhones

Dave and I have needed new phones for a while.  But we were afraid.  So afraid.

What should we buy?  Where should we buy it?  How does this system work?

We finally dove in.  We asked friends and relatives.  We shopped for plans and phones.  Dave's son was especially helpful, a combination of patience and expertise.

Finally we went to the Apple store and talked to a an older lady "genius."  She told us exactly what to buy.  We wrote it down.

Never, ever, in a thousand years, did we think we'd be in an Apple Store the first day new products were sold but, on September 19th, the day the iPhone 6 rolled out, we went back to the Apple Store, bypassed the block long line, and got our iPhones 4s.  Why that day?  They were a super bargain.  Apple quit selling them at midnight that night.

We bought only what we had on the list (covers, Apple Care, etc.) then - because the crowds and noise level were horrendous - we took our new phones to ATT for the rest of the work of switching over.

I love my new phone.  Dave's getting used to his.  He has successfully sent two texts so far.  


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Did He "Have" to Do It?

James Foley

This morning in Forum we discussed the concept of being "Called," i.e., doing something because you feel called by God - a "higher calling."

The discussion was based on the concept that Jim Foley, the journalist and photographer who was abducted by ISIS and was beheaded on August 19th, was in Syria doing his job because he was "called" to it.

 Jim was a devout Catholic.  He was a graduate of Marquette University, a Jesuit school.  And, like Pope Francis who is also a Jesuit, Jim felt called to help the poor and disenfranchised.  As his mother, Diane said, "He was so committed to the people whose suffering he was trying to humanize.  He wanted the world to know,  to know how people were suffering, particularly the children."

Foley knew the risks.  He'd been captured in Libya in 2011 and held for 44 days.  So what do you think?  Did he "have" to do it?

Is there a difference between a call and a career opportunity?  For me, the calling has been a totally different thing - way more sacrificial and scary.  I've been "called" to do things I would never have dreamed of doing on my own.  Sometimes they were connected with my job - sometimes not.

I don't think it's a matter of what we do - but why we do it.  And, sometimes, why we can't not do it.


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Banned Books Week

This week,  September 21st through 27th, is "Banned Books Week."  It's celebrated by libraries and book stores across the nation to draw attention to the books that we would never be exposed to if the book banners had their way.

When my kids were growing up I encouraged them to read.  Period.  Furthermore, they were encouraged to discuss books and newspaper articles with me.  However, I refused to listen to a TV or movie plot.

This year's most hotly challenged book is "The Adventures of Captain Underpants" by Dav Pilkey.  This, despite the fact that this series of books has sold tens of millions of copies.  I'm proud to say I've read this hysterically funny book about fourth-graders and their hero "Captain Underpants."  I have my younger grandsons to thank for this experience.

Has reading "Captain Underpants" enriched my life?  I'd have to say "yes."  Has reading all but four of the following 30 classic books that have either been banned or seriously challenged changed my life?  Will it change yours?

• The Great Gatsby
• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Grapes of Wrath
• To Kill a mockingbird
• The Color Purple
• Ulysses
• Beloved
• The Lord of the Flies
• 1984
• Lolita
• Of Mice and Men
• Catch-22
• Brave New World
• Animal Farm
• The Sun Also Rises
• As I Lay Dying
• A Farewell to Arms
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Invisible Man
• Song of Solomon
• Gone with the Wind
• Native Son
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
• Slaughterhouse-Five
• For Whom the Bell Tolls

I can't say for sure that these books will change your life.  But they changed mine.


***

Panama

Is this how you picture Panama?

The other day, in a class, we discussed Americans perception of people outside our country.  There are many folks who refuse to travel abroad and therefore have a somewhat skewed opinion of what life is all about outside the US of A.

In a few weeks Dave and I are going to Panama.  Neither of us has seen the Panama Canal, the eighth wonder of the world.  We're excited.

Meanwhile, a global poll came out recently on how people feel about their lives.  It's based on five facets:

• Sense of Purpose
• Social Connections
• Community
• Finances
• Physical Vigor

Or is this how you picture Panama?

Panama ranked Number One over all.  Countries in the Americas and Northern Europe rank highest, and those in sub-Saharan Africa rank lowest.  And just 1% of people in conflict-torn Syria and Afghanistan were found to be thriving.  

Here is how the USA ranked:

• 15th for social well-being
• 18th for sense of purpose
• 21st for financial well-being
• 25th for both physical well-being and community

What does this poll say to me?  Maybe we can learn something from our neighbors.  By the way, Costa Rica ranked second highest.  We're going there as well.  

***

Full Disclosure

Dave and Cess Now

Over the weekend we visited my daughter and family in Atlanta.  On Sunday morning we greeted scores of folks at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Buckhead.  I believe my daughter told every one of them how old both Dave and I are.

We're fine with that.  Proud even.  But, as time passes and negative things happen, we'll have to decide what to share and how to share it.

One of my heroes in that area is my old friend the Reverend Jim McWhinnie.  Jim continues to openly share his brave journey into Alzheimer's disease with insight and humor.

Recently he told us how his neighbor asked him to speak to her husband about his inability to acknowledge his Alzheimer's diagnosis.  Jim was surprised that this neighbor knew about his own diagnoses - but I'm not surprised.  He's become a hero with his openness.   Here are Jim's words:

...at first he was a bit annoyed with his wife's intrusion.  But after awhile, when she had gone to answer the telephone he confessed "Sir, I know I am losing it...but I want to stay strong for her."...Here is this man...trying to be strong by denying what he has come upon.  

Dave and Cess Later

Alzheimer's is still a rather private thing...only mentioned publicly in terms of pity or sometimes with jests in heavy-hearted honor...I think it is time for us to come out into sunshine and all of us who walk with the Grey Lady shout out..."Here I am...Alzheimer's and all!  Come and talk with me in ways that I still can."

With whatever debilitating illness that may (will) befall me, I want to mirror Jim's attitude.  Openness with love and humor.




***

Savannah

Which do you like better?  Charleston or Savannah?  Charleston is a bit more sophisticated and classy.

My pick is Savannah.  To me it's edgier and quirkier.  In the early 90s, the book and movie, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" put Savannah on the map in a big way.   It was chuck full of crazy, quirky places and folks.

Dave and I just spent a couple of days in Savannah.  It's our forth time there and each time we've stayed in the same hotel, gone to the same restaurant and ordered exactly the same meal.

Taken from our balcony at
The River Street Inn

• The River Street Inn - On Bay Street in a building that used to be an old cotton mill.  It's beyond charming.
• Huey's Restaurant.  Same building, but right down on the water.  We have fried oysters, red beans and rice. 

This time we walked for miles in the old downtown area.  Old Savannah has a park square about every other block.  Lots of history in the squares.   We also toured the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  As grand and ornate as almost any church in Europe.  

The River Street Inn has wine and appetizers at 5 PM.  Free!  We always sit with other folks and enjoy hearing their stories.  This time we met a lovely couple from St. Louis.  Turns out the woman was adopted.  She found her birth sister on Ancestry.com and they were going to meet for the first time the following day.  In Savannah!

By the way, the wine portions are gynormous.  When I questioned the barkeep she said:

We call it the Savannah Pour!

***

The Pledge

When Dave got up this morning he said to me, right out of the blue:

I promise never to knock you unconscious in an elevator.  


I said thanks and made the same pledge to him.  My guess is that other couples have done the same.  That's a good thing, whether they were teasing like us or not.

Of course, this relates to the revelation that Ray Rice, formally of the Baltimore Ravens, did exactly that to his fiancee.  There's a big brouhaha going on now but who knows what will come of it.

To me, it's just another casualty in the NFL's need to create monsters for our entertainment.  And don't get me started on what happens to these guys as they move along in life.

When I first heard the news about the Rice incident, all I heard was "concussion" so I assumed that another football player had been damaged for life on the field.  Concussions lead to a life of pain, capped by dementia.

Let's hope the Rice elevator tragedy is more than just one more minor casualty in the creation of football "Legends."


***

You Aint Woman Enough to Take My Man!

Loretta Lynn being presented
with the Presidential Medal of
Freedom

On Saturday Dave and I went to the movies to see Get on Up, the life story of James Brown, then came home, went to bed and watched Coal Miner's Daughter, the life story of Loretta Lynn, on TCM.

That's right.  I watched five hours of movies on Saturday!

On the face of it, these movies have a lot in common.  James Brown survived a hideous southern upbringing to become the King of Soul.  Loretta Lynn survived a hard but loving southern upbringing to become the Queen of Country.   I can't relate much to James Brown.  Loretta and I have a lot in common.  Her songs have been an honest reflection of her life.

I was born a coal miner's daughter, In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler. 

Loretta and I both went through our season of popping out babies and wondering about what more ilfe would hold for us.  

But here in Topeka the screen door's a bangin,' the coffee's a boilin' over and wash needs a hangin' ...one wants a cookie, one wants a changin'......and one's on the way.

As you know, I am a strong believer in the strength and power of women around the world being unleashed for the good of humankind.  For that to happen we have to occasionally stand up to our men and set some parameters.

Don't come home a drinkin' with lovin' on your mind.

While some folks think of Loretta Lynn as nothing more than a poor, white, female country singer with a bunch of kids and a philandering husband - she's been so much more.  As her world opened up she shared her insights with the rest of us.  As you know about me, I am a huge proponent of access to birth control for every woman all over the world.  One of Loretta Lynn's songs spoke to this issue in a big way and she suffered much adversity because of it.

I'm tearin' down your brooder house 'cause now I've got the pill.

Thanks, Loretta.  I got it too!

***

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Dave and I like Netflix.  One reason is that we get exposed to some foreign entertainment that we don't find on the regular TV.

One of our current favorites is "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries."  Taken from the book series by Kerry Greenwood, this series of mysteries features the very beautiful Phryne Fisher as our intrepid crime stopper.

The independently wealthy Miss Fisher lives in a downtown mansion in Melbourne, Australia in the 1920s.  She calls her butler, Mr. Butler.

But there's nothing old fashioned about Miss Fisher.  She's a witty,  James Bond type action hero -  only smarter, richer and better dressed.

Like James Bond, she has lovers from time to time.  Unlike James Bond, she doesn't kill hers when she's finished with them.  They remain friends.

Miss Fisher is a feminist.  Despite the lovers, she has an excellent moral compass and knows right from wrong.  However, she does have a "take no prisoners" attitude in her crime stopping.

If you have Netflix, check out Miss Fisher.  You'll like her.


***

He Needed to Find Himself

When I saw this cartoon in the current New Yorker Magazine I immediately thought back to a time in the late 1960s.  I was working at Emory University where my husband, Ken, was in seminary.

We had two preschool children.  I was supporting us because Ken wanted to work, without pay, in a downtown Atlanta church that was newly integrating.

Even then he was all about "the big picture," saving the world, discovering new things about himself, etc.  He had no time for the mundane.

I was all about being a mom and putting food on the table - not to mention being totally exhausted most of the time.

And then he came home one evening and told me about a trip he needed to take.  I kind of went berserk inside.  But I coped, as I did many times, by writing a poem about the experience and then selling the poem to a magazine for $25.

I don't remember but maybe that paid for gas money for "The Trip."  Here's the poem:

THE TRIP

You explained to me, 
    (as the father explains
    to the dull child why
    he must do Important
    Things and therefore is
    semi permanently unavailable-
    able)

That you had to go to one more
    seminar,
That explores the inner man,
At a lakeside hotel, 
in Florida,
Near Disney World,  (as stated
    in the letter)
At not a small financial and
    emotional sacrifice to
    all of us,

To, quote, 
"Find myself."

Tell me, 
Were you there?


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