And just like that, we are back!!
Greetings, friends! What a treat it’s been to sit back, read and digest the opinions of our excellent Guest Writers! It is always insightful to sincerely listen to someone other than self. (Did I mention it is wise, too??)
But thank you, too, for the respite. I find myself returning to the pen and the post with a renewed energy and commitment to do this well. By “this” I mean to discuss all things respectfully… to recognize that none of us have life all figured out… and to articulate with a raw humility, well aware that there is always more to learn.
I was affirming one of my bright young nephews recently — one who shared that he was approaching a select topic with an open mind, knowing that the great big God of the universe could always teach him more — and I said, “How wonderful! If only we adults could be more like that.”
Yes… to realize that we can always learn more… that we don’t have life all figured out…
I’m struck by the inherent humility such a realization would bring to our every conversation.
So on that note, what should we converse about?
Much has happened in my absence…
… Andrew Luck left the NFL… Colin Kaepernick hasn’t been invited back… A hurricane kind of came and went; granted, it decided to be really, really slow… oh, the Bahamas… my heart breaks for the Bahamas… what can we do?
… the Pan Am games concluded; they were held in Lima, Peru this year with 41 nations included… U.S. led the medal count, with Brazil and Mexico following… bodybuilding made its debut (with El Salvadoran athletes dominating), and also, the daughter of Apple’s Steve Jobs came in fifth in an individual equestrian competition…
… cable news maintained its not-so-quiet deference to a lack of objectivity. As has become my routine, in my multiple weekly trips to the gym, while on one of the machines equipped with TV capabilities (oh, the beauty of technology), I devoted 10-15 minutes circling back-to-back-to-back-to-back between Bloomberg, CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC. Allow me a quite crude (but accurate) analysis… CNN and MSNBC hate the President… FOX likes the President… and Bloomberg tries to focus less on the President… Once again on respite, my concerns were renewed that so many actually think this is “news”… just imagine… if every story is influenced by said angle…
… Pres. Trump did something with a marker — or maybe not… Joe made something else up — or maybe not… is it a gaffe? Is it a lie? Is it misspeak? Does it matter who says it?…
… more presidential promises were made, some spending billions and trillions, especially on climate change… climate conversations brought talk of bans, too — from straws to meat to even people, thanks to Bernie… Beto also seemed to decide utilization of the “F bomb” may infuse new life into his campaign…
… gun control… ah, yes, call me naive; call me an optimist… I believe our leaders (and us) are capable of crafting a sensible approach. It seems Democrats and Republicans are actually — at least somewhat — meeting together on this… what can be done… what can’t… what’s actually effective… and what’s more emotional speak… I pray they can make some progress — and resist, too, the temptation to denigrate the other — or — to fall prey to the (in my opinion) arrogant ideology that they are the ones that have it all figured out (see above recognition, please)…
… the squad came back… trying to decide do they play overseas, not play overseas, and/or whether they will wear the appropriate attire. What? Ah, yes, I’m speaking football, friends… New/now-ex/Oakland/LA/Las Vegas/whatever-for-now Raider Antonio Brown was arguing about his helmet (and more) as both the Saturday and Sunday squads are back on the college and profession gridiron… how exciting!… are you ready for some football?!
And just like that, we are back… ready to converse, ready to play, ready to learn, talk, and even embrace a little tongue-in-cheek.
What a joy and privilege to share this journey with you. As our country too often divides and conquers, we will not. We will always converse… always respectfully so.
Respectfully…
AR