Going on a little musical holiday road trip. What better place to start than New Orleans?
General
Good Morning Blues
It’s cold and dark and I have the Good Morning Blues all right. Thank you, Ella, for making it all better. ❤️
Cool Yule
It’s December! I ❤️ Christmas music and I ❤️ Louis Armstrong. So we’ll kick it off with the lesser-known yet awesome Cool Yule. Enjoy!
Tempest Tossed
I learned these words when I was selected for a middle-school choral group and have remembered them all these years. I am thankful for the America that welcomes the homeless tempest-tossed, and pray that we are able to remain so.
All Creatures Great and Small!
Post hike visit to Thirsk, home of The World of James Herriot. Great day. Porridge at brekkie, fabulous museum, train ride back to Manchester. Sea Bream and a South African wine for dinner. Not looking forward to the long plane ride, but ready to come home.
Pic is on the set of All Creatures Great and Small. Too cool!
Wonders of Technology
So this is our new bff. Downloaded the trail map so that my iphone serves as a gps to double check our location. Could have saved our skin the past couple of days but now we are getting the hang of things and just in time because tomorrow should be the hardest day.
Hello, There!
This was our greeting at tonight’s b&b.
Trust. Your. Instincts.
If you don’t think you have gone as far as your hiking companion insists, double check the map BEFORE crossing the stepping stones that obviously do not pass for a footbridge. BTW we both ended up in the river, although my slip was not as spectacular as Phil chasing after his hiking stick as it floated away. Yes he got it back and yes we found the footbridge. Safely in Aysgarth for the night at the George and Dragon Inn.
Anger Is Easy
I’ve read the blog don of all trades before; last fall the author, a police officer, wrote a post about Ferguson that went viral. Sadly, his second viral post has to do with yet another St. Louis area tragedy, the shooting death of 6-year-old Marcus Johnson during a traffic dispute. It was difficult for me to understand what could possible lead to such senseless violence, until I came to this excerpt from the blog: “. . . anger is easy. Patience is hard. Kindness in the face of adversity is hard. Understanding is hard.” That goes a long way toward explaining what is still happening in Ferguson, in the St. Louis region and beyond.
I too am convicted by these words. Anger is easy. Understanding is hard. I generally refrain from posting about divisive topics such as religion, politics and current events, but I confess to having opinions and prejudices. For instance, if I had a son, he’d look like Darren Wilson. (Oops, that was snarky – see how easy it is to fall into?) In point of fact, I do have a son – a tall, lanky, fresh-faced, smart, funny, considerate 17-year-old with an interest in law enforcement that fills his mother’s heart with simultaneous pride and dread.
God forbid, eleven years from now he may face a life-or-death situation with a no-win outcome. Thank God, eleven years ago my six-year old cutie never came to any harm when I took him to play in the park on a beautiful spring day. Please God, keep him and his friends safe as they navigate their teen years in a challenging and hostile society.
And as long as I am in prayer, may God please give me the strength to choose patience, kindness in the face of adversity, and understanding instead of anger.