She's my friend, I have to go...

My friend Joan is the chief operating officer of a local Girl Scout council. The receptionist at the council is named Jan. I have been talking to Jan for the past twenty years, since every time I call, there she is. Joan told me that Jan’s mom passed away this week and the wake was to be held at a funeral home a few blocks from our house. No one likes attending wakes, at least I don't think so, but it's a fact of life as you get older. Kathy didn't see why I should go, but I could hardly stay home since it was so close I could practically walk there. I decided to go. Jan’s mom was part Cherokee, so they were having an Indian drumming ceremony as part of the wake. Before the ceremony, Jan’s sister was to sing “Amazing Grace” so I knew this would be no ordinary wake.

When I got to the funeral home, I saw Jan right away. She is fifty-ish, short and stocky I guess you’d call her. She has had a hard life somewhat, with a (mostly absent) alcoholic father. Her younger son died from leukemia some years ago. She is very friendly and pleasant, thus she makes a great receptionist. She also loves to talk, so that fits. I went up to her and said, “Jan, I didn’t know you were a double minority.” She smiled and looked a little puzzled as I went on, “You’re cute and you’re Native American.”

She was pleased.

Her sister has a beautiful voice and did very well with Amazing Grace. You almost felt you should applaud, but we restrained ourselves.

The drumming ceremony was interesting. Three men and one woman made up the drumming troupe. Two of the men looked they were in their late twenties, early thirties, and one in his forties or so. They had long ponytails, which added authenticity. The woman, probably thirty-something with her two young daughters sitting near her, wore a cloak with fringed with ribbons. The men sat around one big drum, each one using a drum stick that kind of looked like a cattail. The woman stood to the side and participated in the chanting from time to time. They did four songs (for North, East, South and West) and then one more that I’m not sure about. Some people talked softly as the drumming went on, some sat quietly. I was in the latter group, thinking about how this culture was driven to extinction, beginning with Plymouth Rock.

Jan was inspired by the ceremony, declaring that she would start going to powwows, and getting deeper into her heritage. Her mom apparently kept the kids in touch with the culture while they were growing up, and Jan wants to keep it going.

Oh, one last detail: it was an open casket wake, featuring Jan’s mom wearing the robe and slippers that she never got a chance to wear when she was alive.

Reading

Tonight was the Mass for Kathy’s mom. She passed away about two years ago. Kathy invited her sisters and their husbands to come and they did. One brother in law called himself a heathen, since he was never baptized into any church and certainly doesn’t attend any either. The other brother in law joked that we better wear hardhats when we go into church! We all came out unscathed, though, as the roof stayed intact.

The readings were very long, but I had a great time proclaiming them. The first reading from Nehemiah had an appropriate line for our occasion, about how today we should not be sad, but that rejoicing in the Lord must be our strength. The second reading was the one about how the body is one, though made of many parts. The pastor decided that I should do the long version, so it was lots of fun.

It also helps that we have a new sound system, so even the softest voiced of us can be heard.

While I was getting ready for Mass, one of our school teachers came into the sacristy and asked how she could become a lector. I told her she now a lector. I’ll meet with her next week to do a short audition and explain how things work, but she should be fine. A couple of weeks ago there was an article in the bulletin about lectors, so maybe the Holy Spirit did touch her as a result of that article. Maybe some more people will come forward, since we are finally talking about stewardship in our parish.

The Good Shepherd

We went to see "The Good Shepherd" tonight. Lots of intrigue and treachery. Without giving it away (if you saw it, we can talk privately), you have to pay attention in order to follow the story. It moves back and forth from 1961 and the Bay of Pigs to the 1940's and the beginning of the Cold War. Either living through that period or a couple of history courses would help you sort things out.

OK--nevermind. I'm going to give it away. SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen it, stop reading now.

Who knows what really happens with these guys, but this story was fairly plausible. I'm not sure now if Matt Damon was supposed to be the Good Shepherd, if he was supposed to care about the one lost sheep at the expense of the ninety-nine. After all, he was going to forego a chance to spare his son from career-killig disgrace. Not sure about the title, unless it has nothing to do with the Gospel story.

Not knowing whom you can trust, all the lying and posturing certainly takes a toll on people. As Matt Damon trudged to his office at the end, you could see in that last scene how the weight of everything he had done had hunched his shoulders and ground him down.

Then you wonder if it is a good thing to have people like him working for our government. Does he defend our ideals, or does he rather betray them? Now we have "Jack Bauer" doing the same things, albeit in a more flamboyant way.

I can't deny that there is something stirring in watching these characters beat the bad guys. And something equally compelling about the need to control these same people and their dirty deals done in our name.

God on our side

This is the time of year when I have to write evaluations on the people that report to me at work. I hate that. I did two evaluation meetings today, and have three more to do. Tonight I got juiced up on chocolate, plugged in my iPod, and wrote an evaluation. This one was easy, since the person is terrific. Someone who actually cares too much about her work. I’ll have to find a way to talk to her about that, but compared to some other people in the office who seem to excel in avoiding work-like situations, it’s a nice problem to have.

But that’s not what I want to talk about. Rather, the album I was playing was the one where Judy Collins sings Dylan. It got me thinking that I probably need to buy more Judy Collins albums. There is one acapella track called “With God On Our Side” that just smacked me right in the head. Sometimes Dylan’s lyrics are hard to catch, but with Judy Collins careful recitation, you can’t miss them. I heard these words:

For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

And immediately thought of our current situation, as the odometer of death has just turned another thousand in Iraq. At two thousand, the right railed against those who saw this as a terrible milestone, saying we shouldn’t think of the war in those terms, even accusing their opponents of being the uncaring ones. Now at three thousand, it seems that Bush is about to announce a further commitment of troops to a lost cause. But what do I know? I’ve been a conscientious objector for forty years.

Five things you don’t know about me:

1) I can’t stand peppers, onions, garlic or any spicy food, but I will eat mild salsa, so go figure.
2) Though I’m an introvert, I love to be on stage. I mean a real stage. In front of people.
3) I’ve worked in the same place for the last twenty years, though it doesn’t seem that long.
4) I have two Masters degrees: one in Political Science and one in Counseling. I’d rather talk about counseling, though.
5) I love to weed. Flower beds, gardens, cracks in the driveway, anywhere you can grow weeds, I’ll pull them out.