Preschool Christmas Rehearsal

So about this time every year I get a phone call from the preschool department at my church asking if I will play the piano for the annual preschool Christmas program. The children range in age from 2 - 5 years. The 1 year olds are wheeled in on the last song in one of those multiple children strollers.

Today was dress rehearsal and so the kids were dressed as angels, sheep stars, shepherds etc and there was a lot of excitement. Seated at the piano I could see only the children on the top stairs at the front of the church. The piano was blocking my view of the children on the bottom steps. Mary Liz, the choir director, gives me a nod and I begin to play. About halfway through the song I hear a disruption but continue playing as about half of the children are still singing. At the end of the song I glance up to see the choir director's son, Patrick, being comforted by his mom and some of the other teachers. Patrick had somersaulted down about 3 carpeted stairs and had a bloody nose. His mother left to administer first aid and the practice begins again with other teachers filling in. Jingle bells are handed out to the children to play for "Jingle Bells". I begin the song but sense another disruption. Some of the kids are still singing and afraid of losing my place I keep going. When we finish I find that another mishap has taken place out of my view. One of the children had gotten his jingle bell stuck in his mouth. Luckily the bell was attached to a handle and one of the teachers was able to dislodge the stuck bell. We had made it to the end of the dress rehearsal with one bloody nose and one unstuck jingle bell!

November 6, 2011

Politics Again

I received a call from the Republican party the other day. After some chit chat the conversation went like this:

Republican Caller: "I hope you will support the Republican party."

Me: "Well, I do think that the Republican Party speaks for the Unborn,"

Caller: (excitedly) "Yes, yes! We certainly do!"

Me: "But I think that the Democrats speak for the Poor,

the Marginalized

and the Environment."

Caller: (In a hurry to hang up) Good Night!

I WAS THERE WITH WALDO!
The Rally to Restore Sanity held on Saturday, Oct. 30 was a massive event! The Rally, held on the DC mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, smashed all time metro records but has gone largely unreported by the media. CBS aerial photos estimate 215,000 attended. After standing in a ticket line for 30 minutes at the East Falls Church, VA metro I finally reached the crowded platform with friends. Two metro trains came but were so crowded that we were unable to board. Finally the third train came, we held our breath and squeezed in.
The event drew a diverse crowd. Younger people and some brave older folks stood for 3 hours trying to get a glimpse of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Unfortunately there was not enough monitors and audio equipment to serve the crowd. Older folks, even people on walkers, and parents with young babies chose to “people watch” from a distance. Some people came in costume. Where’s Waldo? He was everwhere. Waldo was probably the most popular costume on the DC mall. I was over 1/2 mile from the stage but still enjoyed reading the signs which could be serious, funny or inane.
Some people may think the whole thing a spoof. It was a serious event for me. It was a way to express my anger at all the misinformation that is out there in the form of media and emails. A way to express anger but in a civil way. I met other Alabamians at the Rally. The DC mall is a great place to think about the diversity, history and freedoms of this great nation! And to react civilly! As one sign said, “ If you keep shouting like that you’re going to get big muscles all over your face.”

Brain Surgery

If you needed brain sugery just who would you go to for advice? A businessman, a school teacher, an accountant? Of course not, you would go to an expert on the brain. You would see a brain surgeon. Right? If you need a car repaired, you would go to an expert - a car mechanic. Right? It is fairly simply. Find the expert in the field where you need assistance and seek their counsel. Therefore I am amazed at the people who say that there is "no global warming". I read in Time Magazine this week that a man who manages a fast food franchise in Memphis declared that global warming was "baloney". Believe me, if I need a hamburger and fries I would definitely check this man's establishment out. Actually I would make that a cheeseburger and fries. When it comes to global warming I think I will pass on that man's advice and listen to the -----EXPERTS.
I went to an event about 2 years ago at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens about the environment. I listened to two SCIENTISTS talk about global warming. They were professors at local colleges - Birmingham Southern College and Samford University. The Birmingham Southern biologist takes frequent trips to the artic. They drill down several thousand feet into the ice and takes out plugs of ice, ice that has been frozen for hundreds of years. It reminded me of looking at the rings of a tree that has been cut down and seeing the growth cyles. Scientists are able to look at the plugs of ice and see weather over hundreds of years. They can l determine areas of large amounts of carbon dioxide in the ice that indicate warm periods in our earth's history. This biologist has concluded that there is in fact global warming because of the larger areas of co2 in recent years as opposed to the past.
As a Christian I belive that "the earth is the Lords and the fullness therein". The earth belongs to God and everthing in it. We are the caretakers and we need to start doing a better job. Isn't taking care of the environment just the Golden Rule across time? None of us would think about leaving a picnic site with trash all over it. Why would we trash the environment for future generations? " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Books and a brain!

I know that all of you have been waiting for my second post with bated breath! - All two of you! Sometimes I feel that I have had two lives. One before and one after having kids. At one time I felt that I was really smart. My teachers and friends would tell me. I received an owl as a present from a good friend of mine after my senior h.s. English teacher called me a "wise old owl" in class. Even when hubby was in law school I felt smart since I was making A's in subjects like topology and advanced calculus. However as a stay at home mom none of these academic skills were needed. Recently three friends and I started a book club and I rediscovered my brain! Exhilarating! I can't wait to start reading the next book. So many good books and so little time!
I just read "A Mercy" by Toni Morrison and finished "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young last night. I recommend both. The first book made me count my blessings that I live in this day and time and not back in the 1600's when women were dependent on men. "The Shack" is an interesting book. At a recent Christmas party two women gave me two completely different opinions on the book. One thought it was silly and the other loved it. I agree with the latter opinion. The book is about a man whose 6 year old daughter is abducted and murdered. The man gets an invitation from "papa" (God) to come to the shack where his daughter was killed. The book brings up questions like "Why do bad things happen to good people?' Do people other than Christians go to heaven?" Do we spend most of our time in the past, present, or future?" All very provocative questions and set in the form of a murder mystery. In this book God is not the "old man with a beard" type figure that many people envision but a real surprise! But I guess God's ways are frequently a surprise. Look at Jesus virgin birth to poor parents!
Our next book is "Three Cups of Tea" and then a book called "The Kabul Beauty School" I can't wait!

First Blog

This is my very first blog! Actually my son has set it up and hopes that I will eventually be able to do this on my own. Son, you are an optimist!