Time Travel

I recently heard someone say: "Some people claim that they do not believe in time travel. But right now I am traveling forward in time at the rate of 1 second per second."

Self Revelation

On a recent trip to Peru I experienced what can only be described as an amazing self-revelation.

The temperature was over 100 degrees Farhenheit. We were zipping along the Pan American Highway just outside the city of Lima on our way to the site of some ancient Mayan Ruins. I snapped two interestiing pictures from the window of our "deluxe air-conditioned motor coach" as our tour guide often referred to it. (See the pictures at the right)

The first image shows an entire mountain of sand, compactly covered with hundreds of tiny, pitiable shacks. At first I thought that the place was abandoned but I soon saw that these hovels were literally crammed with people. How could any people live here? How could people live like this? I began to imagine the possible reasons for their poverty. They are probably lazy, uneducated and unskilled, ignorant folk. Perhaps they had been betrayed by their government, over taxed by greedy officials, and left to fend for themselves in this brutal climate. Their only success seemed to be having multiple children, which they could hardly provide for.

The second image shows another mountain of sand. This one had hundreds of trees planted on the steep slopes and was immediately adjacent to the shanty town. These green trees were planted in neat rows all across the mountain but they had not yet grown large enough to provide any valuable shade or fruit. Someone asked our tour guide about these two areas. He smiled and said, "Oh yes, that is a region of great pride to the people of Lima". What? How could this place represent anything but an embarrassment, gloom, and even despair?

It turns out that the people living in this area were recent war refugees. The tour guide frowned and refused to even speak the name of the place where the conflict had occurred. He told us that when these people came here they had nothing. They chose to live on this particular hill because the elevation offered at least a sense of safety. But their personal wealth was zero. Yet they imediately began to gather together and comfort one another. Everyone contributed what they could to help, if not with resources, then with labor or just moral support. Soon "homes" were being built. The new democratically elected leaders laid out a street plan and extablished property boundaries and wrote "rules to live by".

Eventually they applied to the government, not for money, but for materials to build steps, to connect the levels. They constructed a basketball court and a hard surface soccer field to keep predominately young population occupied and happy. Once again the government was petitioned. This time for the trees which were planted for the future benefit of the community as it grew both politically ad economically.

I learned that this area had named itself the "Municipal de Lima Escaleras" a city of stairs, and the government of Lima officially recognized them for their community spirit, social equality and economic growth. They serve as a worthy example and goal for each of us.

What I had first observed as a worthless area of hopeless poverty and urban failure was actually a model loving group of hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.

We are "Living Stones"

In tents or homes or mansions, Wherever Christians meet
He gathers in the midst of them; We study at his feet.
With joy and love together, To sing and give, and pray
We celebrate the supper, Upon His holy day.

Some day He'll come to take us, Up to the glassy sea
And keep the bride for which he died, From pain and sorrow free.
The Rock is sure and solid, 'Tis faith in God above
Hearts, souls, and minds together, We join our Lord in love.

The body of our Savior: The mystery now revealed
He adds us to the membership; We labor in the field.
We share this gift with others; There's work for all to do.
The church is not the building, The church is me and you.

The church is not the building, It's "stones alive" today.
The deeds we do in love for Him, The things for which we pray.
The kingdom and the vineyard, The love along the way.
The church is not the building, It's "God in us" today.

Mets or Brats?

Tonight, as I was leaving one of my granddaughter's choir concerts, I passed by a food concession stand. The nice lady behind the counter asked if I wanted some free food. They were closing for the night and she was just going to throw it away. Free food always sounds good to me. Two groups of sausages were wrapped in silver foil. She asked if I wanted a Met or a Brat? I asked her, "which is which?" She said she didn't know. I said "then it doesn't matter, I'll take the darker one". I like spicy food. I told my daughter what had happened and she said she was 100% sure that Mets were dark and Brats were white. When I got home I went to my often-used source of information, the internet. To my suprise there are numerous kinds of sausages. White, black, brown, large, small, hard, soft, strong, weak, some for spreading on crackers, and others for eating on buns. Some were spelled Metts, some Mets, some Brats, some Brauts, but most with names I couldn't pronounce. I picked out one labeled Metwurst. It looked sort of white so I showed it to my daughter to "prove" she was wrong. My son later told me that he also was sure that Mets are dark. Maybe if I don't mention it anymore she will just forget it, but I'll bet I know what we will be having for supper tomorrow. Oh well, more free food.

A Dog's Life

I am sometimes envious of dogs who seem to always just "live in the moment". What's past is past and the only thing important is what's happening right now. They can patiently wait for hours alone by themselves, then hop up to joyously run around and go pee, whenever the owner gets home. What do dogs dream about? Big meals, running in the woods, other dogs? When they are in pain, lonely, or sad, how do they just "suffer in silence".

Age

It often suprises me how fast the days, weeks and years go by. Adding an adverb to any age lends some clarification to this observation. For example, am I?: Suprisingly Sixty, Shockingly (or suddenly) Seventy, or Unexpectedly Eighty. My objective now is just to avoid being Decidedly Dead.

Election Thought

The 2010 national election resulted in a Republican wave winning back the House and increasing its gains in the Senate. It reminded me that James Madison, one of our Founding Fathers, wanted our democracy to work just this way. The House of Representatives would be immediately responsive to the will of the people, while the Senate would be more resistent to swift action, taking a more measured, long term course. It is reassuring to know the wisdom of these men is still in play today.