family | dual personalities

A day of remembrance

by chuckofish

Lord…
We thank you for your church, founded upon your Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray,
but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon you.
Help us to realize that humanity was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity.
Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace.
Help us to walk together,
pray together,
sing together,
and live together
until that day when all God’s children
– Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow –
will rejoice in one common band of humanity
in the reign of our Lord and of our God, we pray. Amen.
– The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we remember the tragic event that happened 50 years ago, the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Bells will toll at places of worship, college campuses and institutions 39 times across the nation “to honor the number of years Dr. King dwelled on this earth and to pay homage to his legacy.” Oddly, I see no mention of this on our cathedral’s website–only a link to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

I do not have many memories of this event. I was in the sixth grade and not terribly clued in to current events. I remember that it was our father’s birthday and we were focused on that. He turned 46. A pall was thrown over the day, much as a pall was thrown over daughter #1’s birthday years later on September 11 in 2001. The world intrudes.

My father had many shortcomings, but he was a gentleman of the old school. He treated everyone the same; he was kind and courteous, regardless of race, color or creed. I try to be like that as well. There is certainly not enough kindness or courtesy around these days.

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April 2, 2018

“Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe”*

by chuckofish

It was a busy weekend and I feel like the wee laddie (above) at church–overstimulated and worn out.

I don’t want to give you the wrong idea though–It was a joyful and fun weekend. Daughter #1 and I managed to fit in an estate sale, margaritas, and watching Ben-Hur (1959) in its entirety. We enjoyed Ben-Hur immensely as always. Traditions are a great thing and I encourage you to start your own movie-watching ones. Teach your children (and grandchildren) to sit and pay attention to movies–I fear this is fast becoming a lost art.

We toasted Yakima Canutt, did you?

I made Episcopal Soufflé, a family favorite, for Easter brunch (because that’s what the boy always requests) and it was a crowd pleaser. The wee babes liked it too. They are little Episcopalians in the making, I tell you.

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Now it is back to the salt mines and the start of a busy week. And, oh yes, did I mention a winter weather advisory?

*Elvina M. Hall (1865)

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March 30, 2018

“Rise heart; thy Lord is risen”*

by chuckofish

Daughter #3 could not resist having yet more pictures taken of her wee babes–this time in their Easter outfits. I gather that the only way this could happen was if they confined/trapped the wee laddie in the wheelbarrow prop and clearly he was not having it.

I mean, not fair, dude. Little Lottie mustered her good will, but…

Mom, where did my brother go?

Well, at least there wasn’t a big rabbit in the mix.

Meanwhile I went to the Maundy Thursday service (complete with foot washing) last night and stayed for an hour “in the garden,” which I spent reading the Psalms and the Good Friday service.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, our God now and forever. Amen (BCP)

Have a joyful Easter! Watch Ben-Hur (1959) on Saturday night! Go to church on Sunday!

*George Herbert

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March 26, 2018

“Let thy blood in mercy poured, let thy gracious body broken, be to me, O gracious Lord, of thy boundless love the token”*

by chuckofish

Our bride-to-be seemed pleased with her shower and I think everyone had fun. The champagne punch was a hit.

It was a busy Saturday, but daughter #1 and I still managed to go out to breakfast and hit a couple of estate sales prior to the festivities.

We also watched two great movies over the weekend: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966)

which is a really funny movie. The screenplay is hilarious; it was even nominated for an Oscar. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Film Editing. If you have not seen it lately, treat yourself. Jonathan Winters repeatedly saying, “We have… GOT… to get organized!” is worth the price of admission alone. Also, I think I am becoming Muriel Everett.

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The other movie we watched was The Quiet Man (1952)–the classic John Ford/John Wayne fantasy about Ireland–also very enjoyable.

As usual this poster shows a lot more cleavage/bosom than ever would have been appropriate in the actual film. Zut alors!

We went to the Palm Sunday service at Grace.

All went well with the Passion story as read by the lay reader stars. I was the Narrator again, which I enjoyed. But, you know, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Cor. 1:31)

Afterwards we went over to see the wee babes at their house before daughter #1 had to hit the road and head home to Mid-MO. It is always a joy to see the wee babes in their natural habitat.

And now it is back to the salt mine. Let’s try to keep our focus where it belongs during Holy Week!

*Episcopal hymnal

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March 21, 2018

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

by chuckofish

I am home after a lovely five-day visit to Virginia with some of my favorite people.

I’ll have pictures tomorrow. First I have to recover from my 5 hour delay at BWI following a trip to the airport in a sleet storm. Oh brother. Modern travel. C’est la vie. I’m home in flyover country. Thanks be to God.

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March 12, 2018

Restore thou those who are penitent*

by chuckofish

It was a busy weekend filled with chores–going to Target and other shopping, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, vacuuming–the usual weekend to do list. I don’t mind. I got some of my bunnies out since it is that time of year.

And I did a little spring cleaning in the Florida room, but I may have jumped the gun on that.

I went to church on Sunday and I was the first lector. My passage was from Numbers, the classic scene where the Israelites are grumbling–“Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”–and the Lord punishes them by sending poisonous snakes. They repent and He takes the snakes away. This leads nicely into the gospel lesson, “Jesus said, ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world…”.

It was raining when I left the church and soon it was snowing, really coming down like soap flakes in a movie. It was pretty to watch.

iPhone cameras can never capture snow falling! It was coming down in giant chunks!

I also started to pack for my trip this coming Friday to visit sweet daughter #2 back east. We have a little road trip planned to Virginia where we will stop in for a few days to see my oldest/dearest friend who lives in Norfolk. Can’t wait to get out of Dodge!

Meanwhile the boy’s BFF (and the wee laddie’s godfather) was ordained to the diaconate at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.

imagejpeg_0 We are all very proud of him.

Ah, sunrise, sunset…swiftly flow the years!

Speaking of which, the wee babes are now 15-months old! They came over for dinner on Sunday night. They had fun playing with vintage toys.

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After they went home I watched The Robe (1953)–the first of my Lenten movies!

Were you…out there?

I enjoyed it immensely.

*BCP, General Confession, A Penitential Order, Rite I

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March 9, 2018

Rest and be thankful

by chuckofish

I am so glad it is Friday and that the weekend is just around the corner. I plan to take it easy.

I’m going to clean up my kitchen after having some work done in there this week. And I’m going to start thinking about my trip east next weekend to see daughter #2. Maybe I’ll even pack!

I’m looking forward to seeing the wee babes.

It is rumored that the sun may be out this weekend, at least partially, so I’m hoping to get outside and survey the south forty.

And, by the way, Sunday is Johnny Appleseed Day.

“Oooooh, the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the appleseed. The Lord is good to me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPs_zvWwNQU

Wise words to ponder as are today’s Daily Bible Verse.

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Have a good weekend!

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March 5, 2018

“Shut up and kiss me”*

by chuckofish

Quelle fun weekend! The weather was beautiful. Daughter #1 came into town on Saturday and we went to a couple of estate sales, had margaritas with our lunch, shopped locally, took a long walk around town, and tried to get the wee babes interested in a dance party when they came over that night.

The wee babes were having none of it though, preferring to cruise around on their own–the wee laddie toddling on two feet

and the wee lassie careening around on all fours.

She is fast!

Daughter #1 headed off to DePauw in the morning. Her cousin Tim and longtime girlfriend Abby drove down from Crawfordsville, Indiana to meet her and go to Marvin’s, a Greencastle landmark.

I caught up with daughter #2 on the phone and then the OM surprised me by wanting to do something. We decided to go to Lone Elk Park, which was always a fun Sunday drive when our kids were little. Of course, it has been awhile and the OM got lost (several times) getting there, but we made it eventually. We saw some big ol’ elk and a little herd of buffalo.

Don’t worry–we did not get out of the car and try to take selfies with the buffs. (Pardon my iPhone photos taken through the window.)

I skipped church to have breakfast with daughter #1 before she left Sunday morning, but I did watch most of Billy Graham’s funeral. I was especially struck by his three daughters’ eulogies, especially Anne’s (below at 1:24:17).

Wow. Of course, there was a piper at the end.

And if anyone is wondering which movie I chose to watch on Sunday night instead of the Oscars, it was The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).

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Excellent choice. Best direction, best script, best use of technicolor, best star, best supporting cast, best choreographed swordplay, best stunts, best music, best everything! And the movie is 80 years old! Zut alors!

Have a great week!

*Mary Chapin Carpenter

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February 19, 2018

Postcards from Mid-MO

by chuckofish

Our quick trip to Mid-Missouri–although the drive there was in a rainy/snowy mix all the way–was short but super fun.

We went to the state capitol, Jefferson City, which looks like a movie set of a small town.

We toured the capitol,

which was deserted on Saturday. We wandered around and saw our favorite murals.

Some nice guy unlocked the House lounge so we could see the Thomas Hart Benton murals.

Daughter #1 used her secret code to get us into the Supreme Court building and we checked out her office.

It was much nicer than she had led us to believe. I was glad to see that my favorite elephant planter had found a nice home there.

I was also happy to see that the 10 Commandments are still outside.

And also these guys.

It was a rather cold and bleak midwinter day.

But the sun came out and it cleared up around three o’clock. We took the OM back to daughter #1’s apartment to chillax (nap) and then we headed into bustling Columbia to check out a nice shop and the wine bar.

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When we finally packed up and made our way home, daughter #1 made pesto and we watched those favorite Simpsons episodes I wrote about last week. We watched some Olympics and then turned in around 9:30 pm–par for the course.

We headed home on Sunday morning.

I finished re-reading Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry–not as good certainly as Lonesome Dove, but a good adventure story which held my interest. Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae fighting off hostile Indians is quite diverting in 2018 and I may read more in that genre. I need diversion.

Also diverting are the wee babes who came over on Sunday night. The wee laddie was a little under the weather with a cough and runny nose,

Pappy has a grip on the wee laddie.

but that didn’t slow him down much. He reunited with his old friends the handles on the highboy.

Who said, “The vandals took the handles”?

Little Lottie was on the go as well.

They chased each other around the dining room and under the table. They ate meatloaf. We listened to their favorite song–“In the Bleak Midwinter”–such nascent Episcopalians.

Good times. Now we’re off to the salt mine again. Have a good week!

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February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish

So how is your Lent going so far?

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 4.53.26 PM.png Here’s a little book –“A Few Words About Lent”–that may interest you. It was written in 1861 by Charles Todd Quintard, whose feast day is today on the Episcopal Church calendar. Charles was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South.

Mighty God, we bless thy Name for the example of thy bishop Charles Todd Quintard, who persevered to reconcile the divisions among the people of his time: Grant, we pray, that thy Church may ever be one, that it may be a refuge for all, for the honor of thy Name; through Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anyway, it is finally Friday. The OM and I are planning to road-trip to Columbia this weekend. On Saturday we will tour our state capitol with daughter #1. We are living in the fast lane, right?

I am pretty excited to see the old river town. I have not been there since I accompanied daughter #2 and her fourth grade class on a field trip to Jefferson City back in the day.

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 1.33.26 PM.png Jefferson City is on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau on the southern side of the Missouri River in a region known as Mid-Missouri. The Jeff City website proudly announces that Jefferson City was chosen by Rand McNally as “America’s Most Beautiful Small Town!” However, it does not say when that was. [I searched around the internet and it was 2013!]

When we get back on Sunday, we’ll hopefully get to see the wee babes. Last weekend little Lottie was sick with an ear infection, so only the wee lad and his dad came over.

Here they are reading quietly together. Such book worms!

Here they are in their Olympics-watching outfits–remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice? Eruzione’s goal against the Soviet Union to clinch the “Miracle on Ice” victory is one of the most iconic sports moments of all time.

But did you know that ESPN officially recognized it as the No. 1 greatest sports highlight of all time and Sports Illustrated has named it the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century? I did not know that. I remember watching the game in the living room of the St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, when I was on hall monitor duty that night. It was, indeed, rather exciting. I seem to remember a lot of screaming, my own included.

If you need a break from the 2018 Olympics, you might want to watch Miracle (2004), starring Kurt Russell as the U.S. ice hockey coach, Herb Brooks. It is pretty good and worth it to see Kurt Russell rock the (terrible) 1980 fashion and hair.

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Have a good weekend!

*Psalm 51: 3

BTW: the painting at the top is Saint Catherine of Siena besieged by demons (Anonymous). St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, on the other hand, is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of young women.

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dual personalities

Category: family

April 4, 2018

A day of remembrance

by chuckofish

April 2, 2018

“Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe”*

by chuckofish

March 30, 2018

“Rise heart; thy Lord is risen”*

by chuckofish

March 26, 2018

“Let thy blood in mercy poured, let thy gracious body broken, be to me, O gracious Lord, of thy boundless love the token”*

by chuckofish

March 21, 2018

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

by chuckofish

March 12, 2018

Restore thou those who are penitent*

by chuckofish

March 9, 2018

Rest and be thankful

by chuckofish

March 5, 2018

“Shut up and kiss me”*

by chuckofish

February 19, 2018

Postcards from Mid-MO

by chuckofish

February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish