Monday, May 25, 2009

The Importance of Remembering the Past

Memorial Day, more than any other holiday, has an aura of poetry. A day of mourning, a day to remember; like good poetry, we can derive wisdom from it.

The educator part of me is always looking for a new & improved teaching strategy. But in this no-nonsense holiday at the ending of Spring, I am finding the importance of the ancient & proven.

Memorials quite literally date back to the ending of time immemorial. For once a record, a tradition, or a monument came to be, so did a continuity of memory. Fathers could pass memories and purpose on to the next generation. Purposeful remembrance shows care and oversight; it defines value.

Memorials give us a 'bigger picture' viewpoint. It is often easier to see God in a sweep of history than it is to feel Him in the urgency of the moment.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Tuesday Afternoon in the Shire

Ready for some Moody Blues?

Tuesday, afternoon,
I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way.
It doesn't matter to me, chasing the clouds away.
Something, calls to me,
The trees are drawing me near, I've got to find out why?
Those gentle voices I hear, explain it all with a sigh.

I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind.
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love,
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of

Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon.


Visa check card has been showing a Tuesday afternoon at the aquarium ad for a couple months now; I think it is finally starting to sink in and become an effective ad campaign because the Moody Blues background music has been flowing through the quiet moments of thought most of the afternoon—which happens to be Tuesday's.

I think the adorable little girl in the commercial must be part hobbit. Yes, there is a familial kind of resemblance to Elijah Wood, but more than that her expressions capture the delight of being in awe. I think that is the worldview Tolkien wanted to give his hobbits: a pleasure in the weekday wonders.