a day off

It was a nice day off. I awoke to learn that Jacques is still in Miami, having missed his flight to Cap Haitien (:-(...and so we worked out a solution, which involved going to a couple of banks, which I was glad to do. Jacques, I hope you get there soon! I exercised at the Y, where I saw a couple of church members and a pastor-friend in the district. Then I went to Borders, where I browsed for awhile, finally using a coupon to purchase a Wilco cd, the one with "Jesus, etc." on it. Then home, where I read the midday office ---I REALLY like Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours pocket edition; then lunch at one of my three favorite Charlotte mexican restaurants (this one prepares all of their food with no trans-fats, if you can believe it). Then I began reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road. One gem early on: "You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget" (12). I love depressing movies and books, so I think I will really enjoy The Road; if you saw No Country For Old Men you will understand. Pam is in Haiti for a few days, checking out a school that we may enter into a partnership with, so it is just me and our younger daughter. Last night we had gone to see Get Smart. I had heard lukewarm reports about it, but I liked it. But then again, I like Steve Carell (as an aside, it was ironic that a clip on diversity from The Office was played at General Conference, since the whole point of The Office was how cheesy that sort of thing usually is...but that is another story. Note: Diversity is not cheesy; the mainline bureaucratic portrayals often are.). Back to the movie: Get Smart is about discovering your true vocation in life, as Agent 86 pursues his dream, and it is about finding that special person with whom to share this life's journey, in this case Agent 99. Again, I liked it. But then my wife would say that I like not only depressing movies but also stupid ones. Anyway, late in the afternoon I grilled, cheeseburgers and corn on the cob, all on the grill, using a technology I have come to really love that does not involve gas or lighter fluid, but a chimney type device that heats the brickets very quickly and efficiently. The food was excellent. Then my daughter and I watched an episode of Scrubs---which I have decided is all about daydreaming on the job. This evening the first Monk episode of the season airs, and I am ready for it. A totally mindless day, and tomorrow I will look forward to getting back into Romans 8. 26-39, which is the Sunday text, for those who are living by the lectionary.