dual personalities

The OT lesson in church on Sunday was about Joseph (a hero of mine) revealing himself to his brothers.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. ⁷ God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’  …And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:3-11, 15)

It is the climax of a wonderful lesson about trusting God when bad things happen. Of course, the rector did not mention it, but preached on the Gospel–which is appropriate, no doubt, but I wish he had at least mentioned it and how great it is. I wish I had been the reader–so much drama!

Speaking of drama, we had a very windy weekend here in flyover country. Saturday night the wind whistled and roared around our house (66 miles an hour!) and even set off the burglar alarm at 1:30 in the morning! The sun came out on Sunday, and although it was still quite windy, it was a beautiful day.

On Saturday, after I struck out at a couple of estate sales, the OM and I ventured down to the Eugene Field House to hear Harry Weber talk about his art and the process of making it.

It was a fascinating talk by an engaging old fellow, who had many a story to tell about his life sculpting bronze statues of the rich and famous and of the more obscure subjects, including several in Nacogdoches, Texas. Locally, we love the one he sculpted for the Mississippi Riverfront, “The Captains’ Return,” which is submerged by flood waters regularly.

We went to Steak ‘N Shake afterwards.

In other news, I discovered that one of my Christmas cacti is blooming again in a spare bedroom!

Also the Christmas amaryllis has really gone to town–5 blooms so far.

And did you hear that director Stanley Donen died? He directed On the Town and Singin’ in the Rain, with Gene Kelly, plus Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Pajama Game, Indiscreet, and Charade. He had a light touch that others could never replicate. He never got an Academy Award nomination (typical), but he did get a special Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

Watch one of his movies! You’ll be glad you did.

And, of course, what would a weekend be without a visit from those wee babes? I found some more old toys in the basement and they were thrilled…

Life is good.