Getting here...

I often look at where I am today and think how in the world did I get here.  There are so many reasons that my life shouldn't be as good as it is.  I could have easily been some statistic somewhere feeling stuck and trapped with no one. 

There are some people in my past who are just there.  I can't  remember or see any real difference they made on my future but then there are others who influenced the direction of my life in ways that can't adequately be explained.  Elwood, Tina, Eli, Evie, and Mary Lou McAllister are some of those people in my life.  I truly could not imagine where I would be today without them stepping into my life as a very impressionable 15 year old over 14 years ago.  They have now known me for almost have my life but I have had very little contact with them (except for Eli) over the past six years.  Elwood and Tina have lived in Florida for a while now and we just don't get down there and Evie and her husband lived in northern VA for much of the past six years.  Not since Eli's wedding, seven years ago have we all been in the same room together until this weekend. 

This weekend we all converged on Evie's house in Johnson City on the campus of Emanuel School of Religion.  It was only 24 hours but it was like we had never been apart.  All of the same personality traits were present and all of the good feelings abounded.  It was the first time that Elwood and Tina had met our kids.  It was so cool to experience them bonding. 

After my junior year of high school the McAllister's opened up their home to me in a way that is hard to imagine.  I lived there my whole senior year of high school and whenever I came home for the holidays in college I stayed at their house.  They were there for me at very rough time in my life and their love and guidance helped encourage me toward a better future. 

In the end they helped me believe that I had value and worth and I had something to give back. 

Thank you...Thank you...I can never repay you...

You Can't Hide...

I learned this past week that you can't hide from the flu.  You know in 29 years I don't think I've ever had it until now, but when it catches you it just doesn't let go.  It put me down for a solid five days; even with the $8 per pill medication my doctor had me on. There were too many symptoms to list but the worst symptom was having to watch me wife take care of the kids all week while I just lay there hopeless and dying. 

It really reminded me just how much my wife does.  She is an incredible family advocate for the families of The Restoration House but more than that she is a terrific mother and a caring wife.  Don't get me wrong; she wasn't all smiles when she heard me say I had the flu right after being away for two days in Chicago with friends.  But she did take care of us and she did it in a way that displayed her love for our family. 

How beautiful? 

Mancation

This is what my wife called the trip she sent me on to Chicago this past weekend.  Actually she joined up with two of her friends who also sent their husbands as well.  We had an incredible time. 

When I travel I usually have my laptop but this time it stayed home.  This was definitely the right move on my part. I'm so thankful I didn't find myself in front of the computer screen in Chicago.  If I had I probably wouldn't have found, free bratwurst, deep dish Chicago style pizza at Gino's East, ESPN zone, the view from the John Hancock building, U2 3D, the Jimmy Johnson band at the B.L.U.E.S. bar (the oldest blues bar in Chicago), the free Lincoln Park Zoo, the many samples of chocolate, the Chicago hotdog, The Mix (cheese and caramel popcorn mix at Garretts), Ed Debevic's Diner, and much much more. 

Its hard to say what I enjoyed the most but high up there was Chico Banks of the Jimmy Johnson Band.  This guy was completely amazing on the guitar. 

In my life I have been exposed to very little of the blues.  What I've heard I've liked but have never really understood why.  After listening to Chico and the rest of the Jimmy Johnson band for an hour or so I think I know the draw.  There is a repetition to the music and

Chico Banks

the lyrics.  It's simplicity becomes complex with each layer of creativity added to the underlying pattern of each song.  The songs touch a part of life that is often closed up in each of us.  You find yourself identifying with the soul of each song in a way you couldn't have fathomed before you sat down to listen. 

As you listen the thing that becomes evident is that the song never really ends no matter which blues song is being played.  Not only does it never end but hope never enters.  The sun never comes out.  This is where the blues leaves me short.  I hope to be able to lament like the blues but eventually I want the song to end. 

If we learn to despair with the blues where can we go to learn joy?