More Delights and Disdains . . .
of a diminutive nature of late . . . Number 12
Disdains:
Suffering from the lingering symptoms of my fourth bout of this stupid COVID virus acquired over the holidays. I call it stupid because it is. Stupidity remains the hallmark of all things COVID related. I have nothing but an irrational disdain for this virus that aggravates every single Parkinson’s symptom that I have. Now, I am finished venting . . . at least for the time being.
Delights:
Attending my extended family’s COVID delayed Christmas party. Old news but still created a great memory . . . though a memory filled more and more with memories of those who have passed.
Lunching with my aunt Margaret (my father’s sister) and discussing why we Christians believe what we believe - the topic of a future post. She spent over 40 years as a missionary and translator with the Citak tribe in West Papua, Indonesia. Her incredible story includes tales of courage, loneliness, sickness, joy and ultimately success, so I figured that she would be an excellent source to hear from.
Celebrating the life of my brother’s father-in-law who passed away early this week. Lewis was a beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He didn’t say much but had a great sense of humor and was a great shot. As a boy, I once witnessed him shoot the head off of a five foot long snake in his carport using a small bore shotgun. The snake had wrapped itself in the metalwork on the door that led into the house. His wife tried to remove it from the door with a pair of hedge clippers when the snake released suddenly from the door and flung itself toward her. That’s when Lewis stepped up with great confidence and fired. After being congratulated by all, he said with a small grin that he was surprised at his success . . . but he probably wasn’t as surprised as the snake or his wife. I could go on and talk about his federal tax credit driven ethanol production project and the two gigantic stills that he built to turn peaches into ethanol, but that would ruin the mystique of his financial skills which were legendary. Lewis and I weren’t that close but I have always felt a kinship to him. Like me, he survived the death of a son - his just before his son’s high school graduation, mine just before my son’s third birthday. Having come to Christianity as an adult, he too would have been a good person to ask why he believed.
Listening to my brother, brother-in-law, niece and various nephews as they sang and played at Lewis’ memorial service. I inherited no musical talent to speak of (or maybe I just lack discipline), but I am an adept listener. My family’s unnamed musical group contains the traditional acoustic bluegrass instruments: a couple of guitars, a banjo, mandolin, and an upright bass. They started the service with Ashoken Farewell and ended it with Will the Circle Be Unbroken with several hymns in between. They always play well and they did so today. Remarkably well since Lewis was the grandfather to two of the band members.