Authenticity Resonates Well

The Swell Season just played at the Paramount this evening. My insides are still spinning. This is the second concert I have seen this week and this one, hands down, blew the other one out of the water, and I love the other band, I’ve seen them at the Triple Door three years in a row! There was something so Authentic about these two. Glen told stories that gave context to many of his songs. They had us sing along. They met a girl singing on the streets of Seattle today and asked her to play at their concert tonight… so she did!!!  He honored the Clancy Brothers, The Frames (his band before the Swell Season), a woman in an elevator with a blue coat, the woman up in the third tier who “opened up” to him and the entire audience, and he honored us, his audience… each with a song. He played one of his songs as he stepped away from all the mics… and the place was silent, you could have heard a pin drop. The Van Morrison song he played, made me nearly float, it was so amazing. The man can play a guitar!!! He broke strings on 3 guitars before the song was over!!! He told stories of real people in a way that you knew he valued them, not just the story he was telling about them. All of that was bonus… because then, they played their sweet music…. and all was well within me. …and did I mention the 6-song encore???? There is something so nice about seeing someone be who they are instead of putting on a show.

Mushrooms: From My Lawn To My Tummy

Yesterday, I had a less than desireable day. While driving home, I decided to mow the lawn when I got home, to take my mind off things. I finished mowing and was workin’ the weed eater when along comes a lady walking by. She asked me if she could cut the mushrooms from my front lawn. Well, that intrigued me, of course. My curiosity got the best of me as per usual, and I had plenty of studying to procrastinate from, so I engaged her and asked her to tell me all about the mushrooms, and how she knew they were edible. She mentioned she was from Russia and she grew up knowing about mushrooms, and that Americans are so out of touch with nature. She said this kindly, but matter-of-factly, and I agreed with her!  So, we knelt down on the grass and I got my first mushroom lesson. She taught me how to cut them, wash them… and how to cook them. Then she looked at me and said, “now you probably want to keep them.” And she was right… now I wanted to keep them, cook them and eat them… so I offered to split them with her… She gave me her phone number and told me to call her and tell her how they were. When we got up from the grass, I realized that she had made my day and I felt so much better. I shared that with her and… turns out that she had had a rotten day too, and now felt much better. Such a beautiful thing when we stop to interact with one another. I was touched by her sharing a part of life with me, and she was touched by someone being interested. It was a mutually beautiful thing.

So… tonight, I cut, cleaned and cooked the mushrooms, exactly how she had taught me… and they were delicious!!!

A Brief Reprieve

Over Thanksgiving week, I got to co-lead a team from my previous church: Pathways on a servant project to Tacna, Peru. We were able to help a few families by building a house, pouring a foundation for another house, and general clean-up. We were also able to spend time with the people, which is always my favorite part of a trip like this. Jeremy (pictured above) is a young boy with a lot of pre-mature family responsibility. His father is no longer living, and his mother just recently lost her second husband to death from a strange accident. Jeremy has three younger siblings that he helps care for, so is no longer able to go to school, at his young age of eleven. The stress of adult responsibility is evident on his child-face. He is living adulthood way before his time, at the loss of his childhood. One day, he brought out a deck of cards and was just sitting there, while his little sister was napping. I went over and we ended up playing cards. I taught him a few tricks, and we mostly played “go-fish”, “war”, and “slap-jack”. The smile on his face was priceless. It was a brief reprieve for him, from his normal responsibilities, a bit of childhood allowed to reign for a few moments. As I left towards the end of the week, I said goodbye to Jeremy as he was in a circle with his siblings and a few friends… playing go-fish. It didn’t change his life, but it brought a bit of childhood back to his reality.

None of us can ever choose how or where we enter this world, but we can share a bit of love along the way.

Chicken Bus Please!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are all kinds of busses in this world. I was on the bus, here in Seattle the other day and lo and behold, I learned another piece of good information. But it made me long for Chicken Busses in Guatemala. Apparently, there is no eating on the city busses in Seattle. I was sitting on the bus minding my own business, when I decided to have a bit of a snack. I took out my banana and began to eat it. A few minutes later, the loud speaker came on and the bus driver said… “Please cover your food at all times”. I had no idea what he was saying until it sunk in that I had uncovered food. Then I caught him staring at me in the rear view mirror… and he said, “NO Eating on the bus”. Wow… all I could say was, “Sorry, I didn’t know”. Which was true… I didn’t know… but I sure do now!!!

As I was thinking about eating my banana, my mind went to countless chicken bus rides when I lived in Guatemala. They are called Chicken Busses for a reason… everything is transported on a chicken bus, including chickens, dogs, goats, etc… and everyone is allowed to eat… and if it’s a long, hot bus ride… there are smells that make that food not really want to stay in your stomach, and that makes for a pleasant ride, you can imagine! When you don’t fit in the bus, they even let you ride on top, which I did many times!!

There are definitely different kinds of busses in the world… I actually would prefer a chicken bus over a Seattle city bus any day. Call me crazy, it’s just a bit more real.

Things Remembered

Going about life, day by day… sometimes we forget the important little things that actually make a big difference… Here are a few things I remembered today:

• Things aren’t always what they seem to be.
• It’s usually the right thing to do when you feel it in your gut.
• People do care, if you give them a chance.
• You’re not allowed to eat on the bus.
• It’s good to remember.
• Courage and Strength.

Tomorrow is a new day, full of freedom.