Goudi's Unfinished Church

Several years ago Dave and I were in Barcelona for a day.  We got to visit the world famous Sagrada Famila (Sacred Family) Roman Catholic Church.   It was originally designed by Antoni Gaudi.   Even though it was started 130 years ago,  it's still unfinished.  In 1926 Goudi was walking to the church when he was hit by a tram.  The eccentric 73 year old world famous architect was mistaken for a homeless man and pretty much left to die.

But the building of the church goes on.  For instance, the church currently has eight towers - but when it's completed it will have eighteen towers.

I had heard of the church but had no idea what to expect.  I found it to be overwhelmingly over the top.  But then when we were able to see smaller areas of the facade we saw the life of Jesus depicted in sculpture.  We saw the Nativity, the Suffering and one called Glory that pretty much tells the entire Jesus story - life, death and resurrection  - in exquisite carvings.

 This was all on the outside of the church.  We never got inside.

Tomorrow David and I are taking an overnight flight to Barcelona.  We have our Sagrada Famila tickets and plan to spend a good portion of Saturday exploring the inside of this cathedral.  I'll let you know how it goes.


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Loss

In last Wednesday's  "Life Changes" class that I'm currently leading along with our church Parish Nurse, Betsy, I asked folks to describe a specific loss.  It could be anything but needed to be stated as a loss.  For instance you may say you had an accident or received a bad diagnosis or your lover left you - but that's not the loss.  The result is the loss and being able to articulate your feelings of loss is, many times, the beginning of healing.  (I can't walk.  I'm depressed. I'm lonely and miss having dinner with my lover. ) 

The conversation on Wednesday was rich.  After a while a woman I've known for a long time - but not well - told us something that touched my heart.  Elynor told us that she'd just had to have her 17 year old dog, Mikey, put to sleep and, as you can imagine, she was devastated.

But that's not the part that got to me.  This is.  She went on to say that 17 years ago she was caring for her  husband and her mother, both of whom were terminally ill.  She was struggling.  Then one day she saw a sweet puppy in a pet store window and instantly fell in love.  She went in and inquired about him but was told that the owner was planning to give him to a friend.  So she went home empty handed.

But the next day Elynor, whom I would describe as a lovely, quiet woman, called the pet store and told the clerk they should not have put the puppy in the window if they weren't willing to part with him, and that the owner had a choice of all the other dogs to give to his friend...AND that she was coming back to get the puppy.

And she did. She named him Mikey after the popular television commercial at that time.  ("Give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything!")

Elynor's friends and family thought she was crazy to buy a pup when she was overwhelmed with caring for her dying husband and mother.  But for 17 years of the kinds of ups and downs that we all experience as we get older,  Mikey was Elynor's constant companion.

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I wanted to write this the minute I got home last Wednesday but had to first get Elynor's permission.

Wait, Wait, It's Bill Kurtis

I love the super popular NPR game show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."  It's not so much a radio game show as it is a witty, intelligent discussion by a bunch of nerdy, smart, off-beat folks.  For a certain segment of America, "Wait, Wait..." has a wild cult-like status.  The audience treats the team like rock stars.

The host, writer and Harvard alum, Peter Sagal, is perfect.

Paula Poundstone

My favorite panelist is Paula Poundstone.  She's had a rocky road life which she still shares (worts and all) in her stand up.  On "Wait, Wait.." she entertains mostly by asking provocative questions of the guests - famous or not.  One of the things Paula is known for is her cats.  Peter Sagal once asked her how she could have 13 cats.  She said something like this - Well, Peter, I had 12 cats and then got another one.

When the long time announcer, Carl Kasell, retired I though he could never be replaced.  But (Oh My Gosh!) they hired Bill Kurtis.  I love Bill Kurtis.  He's old, almost my age.  But still has the magnificent voice that helped make him famous decades ago.  He has a law degree but news was always his game.  He broke through in 1966 when he took charge at the radio station when the terrible Topeka tornado came through.

And here's a coincidence, Bill Kurtis was raised in tiny Independence, Kansas, the same as Dave.  And his favorite high school English teacher was Miss Todd, i.e., Dave's Aunt Lora.

I mentioned all of this to my son the other day.  He doesn't know the game show and said he never heard of Bill Kurtis.  But then I reminded him that Bill Kurtis was in the Will Ferrell, "Anchorman" films.  So he did know him.

To spoof himself on "Wait, Wait..."  Bill Kurtis sometimes introduces himself as "Legendary Anchorman, Bill Kurtis."
 
But he's telling the truth.  That's exactly what he is.  But who knew he was so funny and entertaining?


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Write What You Know

Trinity College Dublin recently presented writer Caitriona Lally with the prestigious Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for her book, Eggshells.  Over the years, winners have become some of Ireland's best- known writers.

Eggshells is about a woman who has no job, no friends and few social skills.  So she puts out an ad that reads:

WANTED:  Friend Called Penelope.  Must Enjoy Talking Because I Don't Have Much to Say.  Good Sense of Humor Not Required Because My Laugh Is A Work in Progress.  Must Answer to Penelope:  Pennies Need Not Apply.

To me, the book is about overcoming. The prize committee describes it as "a work of impressive imaginative reach, witty, subtle and occasionally endearingly unpredictable."

But here is the interesting part of awarding Caitriona Lally this prize.  They didn't have far to go to find her because, for the last 3 1/2 years, Lally, who has a 14 month old daughter,  has worked as a janitor at the college.

A 2004 graduate of Trinity College, Lally found herself unemployed in 2011.  It was then that she got the idea for Eggshells.  She describes it as:

...about a socially isolated misfit who walks around Dublin searching for patterns and meaning in graffiti or magic-sounding place names or small doors that could lead to another world.


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Why Do I Relate More to Psychological Killers Than Troubled Families?

This summer, for my book club, I read three novels about families:  Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan is about three generations of troubled women who spend their summers at the family beach house.  Flight Patterns by Karen White is about a troubled family in Georgia with lots of secrets.  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng is about two troubled families in Shaker Heights.

Also this summer (as you know) I read several books by Stephen King.  While each of the "family" books had something to offer, I enjoyed King far more.  I just finished Finders Keepers. It was written in 2015, after his best seller Mr. Mercedes (which I loved.)

One of the cool things about King's novels is that they intertwine.  Early in Finders Keepers a Mercedes crashes into folks lined up for a job fair.  Wow, that's "Mr. Mercedes" driving that car.  And King's characters, like Mr. Mercedes's Hodges and Jerome,  are not confined to one book.  They show up to save the day in Finders Keepers as well.

Good.  I wasn't finished with them.

Finders Keepers deals with how reading great novels can change us forever, in both good and bad ways.  Stephen King is all about good and evil.  And about how some of us who see ourselves as good can do evil things.

And that's exactly what the two excellent theology books I've read this summer deal with as well.


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Letting Off Steam

I've been laying low the last couple of weeks because I've felt like I have little to contribute to the public discourse.

• The country is falling apart.
• My denomination is falling apart. 
• Several of my friends and family members are falling apart. 

But today I was inspired by this cartoon in the New Yorker to let off some steam about containers that you cannot empty.

Frustrating!

It's not that I absolutely have to get every drop of lotion out of the bottle.  But, for years, I did.  Every cent counted.  I upended one ketchup bottle over the other, I added water to the kid's shampoo bottles. and I watered down the orange juice.  However, in my defense, I was concerned, even then, that an 8 oz. glass of a sugar loaded beverage every morning wasn't good for anybody, even if it was juice.   

Now I'm frustrated by the Fabreeze container.  It stops squirting when it's down about two thirds and it's all but impossible to get the lid off.  Likewise a myriad of other containers.  

This New Yorker cartoonist has confirmed what I've known for decades.  

As for our country, the United Methodist Church and the people I love who are suffering, God will ultimately prevail.  Until then I am here for you. 

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