I have 3 points

1. Cupcake sweater.
2. "Helping" do dishes by drying cutting board.
3. Doing it with joy by making towel into cape.

Sick Day

Molly suddenly came down with pneumonia last week. We got a call from daycare that she was not breathing well and that she was lethargic. She was in pretty sad shape by the time we got her to the doctor, but she responded to treatment almost immediately. She woke up, started smiling and laughing, and quickly returned to her normal, happy self. She's over it now, and we're all glad.

This picture was taken during our "sick day". I, of course, promptly got Molly's cold, as is my wont. So I stayed home with her on the first day and we were sick buddies together. For being sick, I think we both had a pretty good time. As you can see from the photo, she bossed me around quite a bit, but it was still fun.

The Heart of the Matter

This is a bit of a political rant. Sorry if you've heard all this before, but the way things are going, it doesn't hurt to repeat them once in a while. Our country is being taken over by a fundamentalist movement that has been in the works for 30 years and silence will do this country no good.

A lot of people on the right want to post the Ten commandments in our schools and public buildings. What if they elected officials that didn't break the 10 commandments? I mean sure we all break the commandments now and again, but it is inexcusable for elected officials to do it regularly and unapologetically as a matter of public record. (Bush has been caught swearing on mic, working on the Sabbath, killing tens of thousands in Iraq, killing Lord knows how many in our own country through policies of neglect and preference for the fortunate, and stealing from the poor and giving to the rich and calling it the culture of responsibility. That's 4 out of 10 and the the last two aren't mere oversights, they're his policy for governing the country.)

A lot of people on the right want to defend the sanctity of marriage by outlawing gay marriage. What if they worked to lower the divorce rate and stop domestic abuse, not whip up the hate of the masses to discriminate against homosexuals? I can't believe people actually defend this discrimination in the name of preserving marriage. What if we were talking about banning African-American marriage? Would any God-fearing American say or do something so discriminatory against African-Americans? Then why would they do it against homosexuals? They have no right, no moral standing, and they should practice Christ's love instead of the apostate's judgment and divisiveness.

A lot of people on the right want to stop abortion. What if they worked to reduce the need for abortions by making birth control available to those who need it, provide prenatal care for those who can't afford it? What if they worked to eliminate poverty that might lead someone to give up a baby because they can't support it, worked to promote adoption programs? Don't incite the masses and divide our country by shouting names at people and wasting a lot of time, energy, and money on trying to overturn a supreme court precedent. These efforts will only affect the U.S. anyway. What about abortions in other countries? I mean really, if abortion foes put all their resources into prevention rather than outlawing and shaming, how many abortions would have been avoided in the last three decades? How many?

A lot of people on the right want to make this a God-loving, God-fearing country. What if they read John 18:36 which is what Jesus said when Pilate put him on trial for his life: "My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn't be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here." If he didn't ask his servants to fight for his life, do you think Jesus would ask his servants to fight for prayer in public schools? So instead of handing out voter guides in worship services, ponder the beatitudes and share love, mercy, humility, peace, and justice with your fellow human beings.

Just my two cents. If any of this makes you want to ask your political leaders why they are focusing on the wrong priorities, why not ask them? Get in touch with them today and let them know how you feel.

Off the soap box for now . . .

Hamlet at The Guthrie

"Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special providence in
the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be
not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come:
the readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he leaves,
what is't to leave betimes?"

- Hamlet: Act V, Scene ii

Lori and I went to see Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis on Thursday. We like seeing Shakespeare and of course Hamlet is as good as it gets. But this performance was special because this is the last play being performed at the Guthrie Theater on Vineland Place. They are building a new theater on the river that opens this Summer. Founder Tyrone Guthrie opened his theater in 1963 with the performance of Hamlet and now Artistic Director Joe Dowling closes it with Hamlet.

It was a little sad, as you might expect. I don't know how many plays we have seen there. Shakespeare, Albee, Chekhov, Aeschylus, Chaucer, OK, a LOT of Shakespeare. We've taken the behind-the-scenes tour, seen where they make all their costumes, furniture, and props; seen below the proscenium stage where the elevator raises and lowers actors and props like magic before the audience.

The fact is that even when I have seen a play there that I didn't like, I still admired the quality, the thoroughness, and the imaginativeness with which the Guthrie team approaches every production. It is a feat. It is an event. It becomes a memory that I never had before.

And it follows that it is the people of this great company that make these productions great -- not the building. These people will change address and work the same magic in a new space.

But it is sad, still. Part of any memory is the space in which it was created. And these Guthrie memories of mine become memories once more removed -- a little more remote because the space cannot be visited any more. When Horatio said, "Good night, sweet Prince" I was a little choked up and I'm sure I was not the only one.