behold the lamb of god

oaxaca update...

what's the shape of your blogg?

Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka: dr. seuss ) coined "Blogg" back in 1973 in his The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. the things you learn when you read to kids...

thoughts from a tired mother

The other day, my pregnant wife and mother of one already told me it was in no way practical to bear children. She went on to say that in other times and in other cultures there were many reasons to have children. A boy could help in the fields and carry on the name and trade; a daughter was a hand in the kitchen and would perhaps earn a dowry some day. But in my world, there is no practical reason to procreate. It is no surprise the urban intelligentsia is not interested in this ancient tradition. They have discovered that our children drain resources instead of expanding them, giving nothing, taking everything. We are disconnected from past generations, we don’t care if our names die with us or not. We have no use for children. They constrict our lives and bring added worry with no quantifiable payoff. They will make us loose sleep, require us to give up hobbies and consume all of our leisure time. As they grow they will begin to ignore us and see us as the bane of their existence. Then they will deplete our savings and go to college. If we are lucky they will come home at Christmas, only to mention how much they talk about us in therapy. At best they will keep in touch enough to sponge occasional “loans” and at worst will never write home again. And to top it off, they will entrust us to “assisted living” when we are too old to survive on our own. So... why have kids? Why give, give, give, give?

marked.

yesterday.
last year.
forever.
todd.

the world needs more walters

i lost my phone yesterday. it disappeared somewhere between downtown seattle and kirkland. i was without it for an afternoon until my wife called my number and walter answered. but before walter was in the picture, i experienced a huge range of feelings- rage, anxiousness, frustration, vulnerability, despair. where is it? who has it? walter had it. walter was crossing a street i had crossed earlier that day, he noticed my phone and then noticed a bus heading right for it. he flagged the bus to stop and picked up my phone. walter was on his way to a mental health appointment. he'd be back there the next day for his daily visit to the mental health clinic and i could meet him for my phone. sure enough, walter made good on his word, he gave me my phone with a firm handshake and generous smile. i gave him a starbucks card and said how much i appreciated his honesty and help. he said i should get a little clip-thing for my phone so i could wear it on my belt and never have to loose it again. walter is well on his way to mental health and i am on my way to understanding the second great commandment a little more fully.