Eep.

I just made a point of looking at the date of my last post, and I owe all of you out there in cyber-space an apology. I should have updated by now. I should have taken before and after pics of my office, which I am nearly done re-organizing. And I mean completely reorganizing. I was given a copy of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen Allen's theory seemed to make sense, so I jumped in with both feet when he started asking me to put the book down and actually do some of the things he'd been talking about. It's taken a lot of work, but the end of the tunnel (or the beginning of a new system of working efficiently) is just ahead. I hope this means more time to blog, among other things!

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
012507

An Unselfish Deed

I love the interenet. Granted, it isn't a very reliable research tool. And you have to be careful, or you might see something awefully naughty. But it brings me my e-mail, and allows me to journal where you all can enjoy it, and it brings me Yahoo News, which, despite the national trend to the contrary, actually gives me some good and uplifting news every so often. The kinds of stories that might help bolster a person's faith in humanity, rather than shake your head sadly and go numb inside. News like the story of Ray Heilwagen. You see, the other day, Ray got a phone call from a man named Stephen Breitenstein, who told Ray that he had found Ray's wallet, and was going to send it back to him through the mail.

I know what you're thinking. Just wait a minute. People return wallets all the time. Sometimes they're hoping for a reward rather than doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, but they still do it! Every day! What makes Ray's wallet so special?

Well, besides the fact that it was very special to Ray, I suppose you might be impressed that he had lost the wallet in France. During World War II. After being hauled off the field of battle because he'd been blown into a river by a mortar shell. Ray recieved a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, but he lost his wallet.

That is, his wallet was lost until Stephen found it among his late father's belongings. It seems that Stephen's father found it during the war, and brought it home, hoping to return it. Not knowing how to go about it, it sat, forgotten, in a drawer for six decades!

So how did Stephen find Ray? He used the internet.

I love the internet. Sure, it isn't always a reliable source of information. But at least Ray got his wallet back.

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
011007

Cries at Movies

So, a bunch of us did get to go see Charlotte's Web last Saturday. It was good. It was very good. I cried. A lot! I was going to outline what bits did it to me, but I don't want to give anything away on the outside chance that you don't know the plot. Suffice it to say that the third act got me going, one thing after another, and leave it at that. Jenny was very comforting!

But it got me to thinking about the social relevance of a full grown man crying at a movie. And it reminded me of Dar Williams, or rather, her song, "When I Was A Boy" Here are the first and last verses, I think you'll appreciate why it comes to mind...

I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate deck.
And I remember that night
When I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe, someone should helpme
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.
When I was a boy, I scared the pants off of my mom,
Climbed what I could climb upon
And I don't know how I survived,
I guess I knew the tricks that all boys knew.
And you can walk me home, but I was a boy, too.


And like the woods where I would creep, it's a secret I can keep
Except when I'm tired, except when I'm being caught off guard
I've had a lonesome awful day, the conversation finds its way
To catching fire-flies out in the backyard.
And I tell the man I'm with about the other life I lived
And I say now you're top gun, I have lost and you have won
And he says, "Oh no, no, can't you see
When I was a girl, my mom and I we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked.
And I could always cry, now even when I'm alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you.

I think it's time to take back the notion that you are just like me, and I am just like you, don't you? I won't care if you're a gal who climbs trees, as long as you don't care that I'm a guy that cries at movies.

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
010907

PS The last movie that made me cry was The Iron Giant What was yours?

Charlotte's When?

Hey, just in case anyone is trying to check this blog for information about tomorrow afternoon, the showtimes for Charlotte's Web did change. So be at the theatre for the 1:10 showing of Charlotte's Web, because there is no 2pm showing!

Hope to see y'all there!

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
010507

The Most Mighty Purple of All...

Elizabeth and I were talking over the instant messanger (AOL Instant Messanger, my screen name is RevJosh211) and she asked me if I wanted to hear a new song by Mighty Purple.

I do!

And maybe so do you, so here's the link Elizabeth sent me:

Mighty Purple Live

Enjoy!

Oh, and be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
010307

PS Happy New Year!