Gay Pride Weekend

It was Gay Pride weekend in San Francisco, culminating in the 46th Parade down a red-painted Market Street on Sunday morning.  Normally, I wouldn't consider going into the City at this time because I really do hate crowds.  It was predicted 300,000 to 1 million people might attend events.  But this weekend, as it happened, I had a Symphony to go to on Saturday evening and an opera on Sunday afternoon.  The opera and symphony halls are just across the street from the Civic Centerr where the big party was to take place.  The whole Civic Center area for several blocks was condoned off and liberally laced with an increased police presence.  The SF Chronicle reported: "(Security) Lines moved faster than at the airport, in some cases, because there was much less clothing to inspect."  I strengthened my resolve to be calm and allowed extra time both days.  The BART trains were very crowded with happy folks, mostly young and dressed for a party, some quite colorfully.  Sunday, sitting on a shady ledge by the opera house waiting for Arne, I watched people.  There was a happy party atmosphere, loud music blasting and all sorts of people, young and old, walked by many wearing rainbow colors in support of the weekend.  People expressed their freedom, their gender identity, their sexual preferences, their uniqueness and nobody minded at all.  I watched a fellow with 12 feet tall angel wings attached to him walk by slowly and a bevy of 6 foot tall drag queens in brightly colored satin dresses bedecked with many strands of beads coming out of Civic Center.  It was San Francisco's Madri Gras.  There is great acceptance and general a sense of giddy celebration for this weekend.  And it was a wonderful Symphony and a fantastic Opera.  What a place to live!

Brexit Vote

The world is changing so fast, it takes my breath away when I consider it.  Change is happening on almost every front--social, political, environmental, cultural.  In many ways, it's hard not to grieve the loss of how things were and embrace all this newness.  It's hard not to be nostalgic and romanticize the past.  The Brits voted yesterday for the UK to leave the European Union.  What will the first fracture in post-war European unity bring?  Will other members follow?  Will the UK itself break up with Scotland voting to leave?  Listening to commentators and reading the newspapers, I have come to the conclusion that the referendum mostly divided between young, educated, urban people voting to stay with older, less educated, rural folk voting to leave the EU.  Fear of the future and anger at too many immigrants taking their jobs fueled in large part their vote.  Any way you look it at, it is a rise of nationalism, a pulling in of the wagons.  It is scary to compare the burning fear and anger with the energy to our up-coming election, especially Trump supporters.  What I know is that the world has already changed and is changing at an increasingly incomprehensible fast pace.  There is no going back.  We can't hold off a future that is already very different and changing rapidly.  In a democracy, it is our responsibility to vote for the leadership we think will best serve the changes we want.  Can we peaceably adapt to change?  The scary division between the voters seen in the UK is a gulf everywhere present in our world.   I pray this return to tribal consciousness will not lead to war as it has in the past.   Hopefully I see a new consciousness around aware of how small our Earth is and how we humans are all in this altogether.  Global warming affects us all.  Overpopulation affects us all.  The environmental challenges affect us all.  Tribalistic thinking is us/them thinking and inevitably leads to a win/lose game, to repression and domination, to fear and intolerance.  We must move past that kind of thinking into a mind-set of cooperation and sharing.  It's a hard change, but one that is essential for our survival as a species.

Perspective

Today it struck me how fast the week babysitting Elsa after her Crowden Camp has passed.  We went to the concert/demonstration at the end Summer Camp week.  More than 60 bouncing 5 to 8 year olds sang a beautiful two part song.  In their  small groups of piano, violin, cello and fife classes they demonstrated what they learned   Was it really thirty five years ago that we sat in the audience and watched her father perform at endless Crowden concerts?  Where does the time go?  It is hard to realize that decades have passed since I taught, yet in my mind memories are so clear from when I stood in the classroom.  It is hard to believe that 8 years have passed since I retired from ministry.  Where has the time flown?  How did I get so old?

Orlando

I am sick to my stomach about the shooting in Orlando.   So many shootings, so many questions about guns and mental illness, so much crazed violence against the innocent.  This time 49 beautiful mostly Hispanic gay young adults were slaughtered.  If it weren't just so terrible, one could become inured to such events.  President Obama called this one "an act of terrorism and an act of hate."  Which explanation one chooses mostly depends on one's political persuasion.  Trump, lowering his gutter scraping rhetoric even lower,  blamed radical Islam and called for blocking all Muslim immigration to the US.   Never mind, this assailant is US born and bred and it's now Ramadan and any practicing Muslim wouldn't commit such an act of violence especially at this time.  Clinton called for gun sales restriction and condemned the act of hate against LGBT folk.   Scary how deeply divided our country is and how much anger, fear and hate is out there.  Can we not come together and grieve the loss of life and the attack on our freedom?  Can we not stand firm against hateful talk that leads to violent action?  There is so much hate vomited out in our social media:  hate against LGBT folks, hate against Muslims, hate against anyone different.  What will it take to bring us together in this country, in our world?  I deeply believe that love is stronger than fear and hate.   Hate only breeds more hate and more violence.  It is our work being fully aware of all that challenges us and our democracy to be kind and compassionate and strive to shine love into our increasingly dark world.

Hillary!

The one inch high bold headline of San Francisco Chronicle read "Clinton claims her place in history."  Hooray!  How profound it is that at last here in the United States, the final glass ceiling has been shattered.  It's a big deal.  I voted for Hillary, but not just because she is a woman.  To me she seemed to be the best prepared of all the candidates.  She has given her entire life to public service, fought for the underdog and children, worked in Congress and headed the State Department.  She knows the leaders of the world.  Now the work of consolidating the party, pulling in Bernie's supporters begins.  I hope he has the grace to help with this.  Then the big battle with Trump begins.  I certainly hope she does not lower herself to his level, responding to his inevitable slurs and petty attacks on her character.  This is a race for the President of the United States, not a reality tv show.  But as for now, I hope Hillary is taking in her historic victory.

Immediacy

One of the lessons I am learning in my old age is to pay close attention to what is happening at the moment.  It is precious and won't ever happen again.  I want to savor and remember the particular and specific experiences, the little and big expressions of love that come so often in unexpected ways.  As I reflect upon our time in Michigan, I found our granddaughters totally delightful and quite changed from when we saw them last at Christmas.  Erika, almost ten, is quickly becoming a tween.  She is very aware of her peers and her place as a 4th grader.  When her peers are around, she won't talk to us or even give a little wave.   She is very proud to have been chosen to be a co-captain of the Safety Squad at school.  "Gramma, this is a big deal," she told me.  She is interested in jewelry and is very private with her emotions now.  Yet one still most often find her with her nose in a book.  Erika told me when I asked, she wanted a jewelry box for her birthday.  So we made a date to go to the Mall to find one for her.   In Williamston, after the Memorial Day parade, we happened in a junk shop  called "The Sign at the Pineapple."  Erika was entranced by all the old antiques and junk they had for sale.  She sorted through boxes of used buttons to buy just one for 25 cents.  After lunch she got me to go back to the store for another look around.  I spotted tall wooden four drawer box tucked behind a gaggle of dolls.   Could it be a jewelry box?  It was and Erika loved it, beat up edges, chipped paint and all.  Sonja, now seven,  has in the past been reserved with us, but now has become very affectionate.  I treasure the moment standing by the deep blue Siberian iris in our garden when told me, "Gramma, I really going to miss you."  This girl is so funny, so very expressive (she sings when she plays the piano) and so very kind to others, I just want to hug her.  The morning we left, she had a present for us, all wrapped up.  It took her 3 days to make.  It was a beautiful drawing of the family including Gramma and Grandpa.  Love is shown in so many ways.   Paula took us to have our pictures taken with the girls and then out to dinner.  She cooked up fabulous meals over the weekend:  brunch for our new church friends and for our last night she cooked a very special goodbye dinner complete with rhubarb strawberry pie made with rhubarb from the garden.  These moments are jewels in my treasure box of memories.