Big Brother

This post does not relate to the fact that my little brother out grew me years ago, but of extreme confusion and a bit of fear at exactly how much this world we live in knows about us. My friend had his phone stolen yesterday. He walked out of a restaurant, realized the phone was on the table, walked back in to all the same people except a new couple occupying the table he had been at but no phone and no one has seen it. Manager's office - no phone. Lame. Soon he realized the fully charged phone was off, thus confirming in his mind someone that he probably sat within 10 feet of eating his dinner slid a cracked screen G1 into their pocket and turned it off. (Thus disabling the GPS, yes he's been down that road). So beyond the lack of morality of these restaurant diners on a rainy Texas Wednesday, it is really his call to the phone company that is troubling. As he goes through the arduous process of explaining to ten computers and a dozen reps in several countries his story he gets to the all too bouncy and happy woman who has a series of questions to determine identity. Questions that could come from any number of places (thus not info he has given to the phone company. First, this was a business phone, so all purchasing, billing etc went to his boss. Still there was info on my friend. Which of these five addresses have you been associated with in the last four years... How old is Roy Carpenter. A name I'm willing to post here, because the phone company already knows it. Roy is an uncle to my friend. An uncle that except for a random visit when Joe (friend who lost phone) had a delivery in the building next door to Roy's home six months ago he would not have seen in over 4 years. Why does the phone company know some one's fairly distant uncle? And why do they assume we know the age of our fairly distant uncle's? What happened to your high school mascot? Mother's maiden name? favorite pet? street you grew up on? What happened to information that I give when opening an account? Who is your source T-Mobile?? You scare me!!

Texas Oddities

In all of my love and adoration for the great state of Texas, I do recognize we have our oddities. Bluebonnets are one of those. I've blogged on this before, but it gets me every year at this time. The beautiful flower of this great state blooms in full force this time of year. Thus, it is time to take our precious children, dress them in their Sunday best, toss them in the middle of the freeway and take their photo. I exaggerate not. So, we don't actually throw them into traffic, but if anyone has spent anytime with a toddler or young child keeping them in a ten-foot (at most) span of open space is next to impossible. As is keeping a large metal/plastic boxy robot machine at 80mph on a road and not the grassy, bluebonnet covered knoll along side. PEOPLE of TEXAS: There are bluebonnets EVERYWHERE! Please find a lovely patch in the field by the grocery store or the local park -not in the freeway median. It takes no more then about five feet of bluebonnets to get a great picture of your little child to send to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and refrigerators.
Second, of this week's Texas traits is tradition. And no more then at Texas A&M University will you find tradition. I had the joy of witnessing the acquisition and dunking of my little brother's Aggie ring. I have a high school ring, but have not invested in a ring from college or grad school, so some of the importance of the occasion is lost on me. I also have concern over folks that want to believe that the ring is more important then the diploma. I disagree. Your ring is nice and brings you a sense of community, but I'm not hiring you for your jewelry. Show me the diploma. And please clean the 4 cans of keystone off your ring before applying for the next job.
Finally, Houston. Houston is known to be humid. A place is humid because it gets a lot of rain. Houston not only gets rain, but also hurricanes. So, why do the streets of there very new (and not lacking in finacial resources) neighborhoods flood? I remain perplexed at the Houstonians who just shrugged at the flooded roads to say, that's Houston for ya and its common to get torrential rain in a couple hours. Now, I'm not a city planner nor have I spent more then 7 days total in the vicinity of Houston, but humid+hurricanes+rains a lot=produce good drainage systems. Houstonians: I'm confused!
I guess in the end, it is a good thing that Texas is God's promised land 'cause we're liable to be in a lot of trouble otherwise.

A Lesson in Faith

Let us all take a lesson in not judging others by this beautiful event. May we never let our dreams die. May we be so much nicer and more caring to those we meet.
Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Holy Weekend

This morning started with dark skies and just a few rain drops. Raindrops like bittersweet tear drops of that which must happen, which in the end will be good, but at the time just seems bad. The day cleared and then came the smoke. As the afternoon went on our skies turned grey, then orange as the sunset, though the sun no longer shone. Just thick smoke and the smell of burning and ash. Not the good smell of when fire places start up in late fall as the weather turns cold, but that of devastation. Warnings to close your windows and keep your asthmatic kids inside.
All this in the midst of Holy Week. I sat in our service tonight a combined experience of the last supper and the 7 last words and heard with new visions the reading of that moment when Christ breathed his last and the skies went dark for three hours. The depth and sacrifice hits a new level tonight as I see the images of devastation and remember that smell and orange sky of this afternoon. How different it is for me to feel this darkness and know that not just Sunday, but Easter is coming. That there will be resolution/resurrection. But, what about the whole communities that burnt to the ground today? Not just a single home, but a whole town burned. A community that will have to scatter just like the community Jesus built scattered upon his death. I can't imagine anything was ever the same after that night. Nothing for these communities will ever be the same. But, what happens for them on Sunday? Will their days go dark for three days and then resurrection? Will Ty and his Extreme Makeover come in and rebuild entire towns?
I am even more grateful in this Holy season and this Holy Week that not just this Sunday but every week there is an Easter. There will always be the resurrection for me. My prayer is that in the next days that will be so dark for some they find hope. Hope in tomorrow's full moon. Hope in the rains that will come Saturday. Hope in the Sonrise on Sunday.