Summer, Time for Nothing

Every time I hear or sing the lyrics to the popular old song, Summertime, I envision a tall, white stately old Louisiana plantation porch. I'd be sitting in a tall rocking chair with an oriental fan in one hand and a mint julep in the other. Stretched out in front of me are tall moss laden oak trees swaying in the soft warm breeze. The air is filled with the melodic sounds of birds and locust. Ah...no obligations whatsoever at that moment. This is truly summertime bliss.

Summer is the season to wear limp cotton clothes, flip-flops, and shorts. Summer is the time for coffee leisurely sipped while waking up late before a carefree day. Summer is watching our cats stalk lizards among the tall plants in our backyard. Summer is the smell of fresh mowed grass and the sight of blue wildflowers heroically blossoming among the weeds.

Summer is the Fourth of July in the park listening to concerts and watching fireworks soar high into the dark sky before exploding suddenly into a million and one multi-colored glittery strands of fire. Summer is an evening at the baseball park cheering for the hometown team, with high 5's all around as Berkman slams one more homerun into the Crawford boxes.

Summer is melted ice cream, ice cold watermelon, and frosted sugar cookies enjoyed with laughing children. Summer is a trip to the beach and a breezy evening ferry ride across the salty bay waters with noisy seagulls feeding in the boat's wake. Summer is the feel of cool wet sand beneath bare feet.

Summer is lunch with girlfriends in a quaint tea room punctuated by girlish laughter from 50-something aged women enjoying the company of their sisters. Summer is lazy tunes from a late night jazz combo drifting out into the hot night sky. Summer is an evening out with friends who share that special feeling one can only get while sitting outside on a warm Texas night.

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy".

Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, or Chicken Takes a Risk

Why does the chicken cross the road? Probably one of the most asked “why” questions of all time. The setting is a hot summer day in Texas on a dusty dirt road in the country. The occasional 1957 Chevy pick up truck or slow moving tractor is bouncing its way back up the road to the barn. The white chicken is standing on the side of the road; red comb flopped to one side, watching the vehicles amble by while contemplating her venture to the other side.

Perhaps more importantly instead of asking “why” the chicken crossed the road, one should ask, where it would get her to cross to the other side and what she hoped to accomplish by crossing the road? That would have answered any question of “why” one might have had in the first place.

Where did the chicken think it would lead her once across the road?
The chicken was going to the wheat field she saw just beyond the wire fence on other side of the road. Tall “amber waves of grain” leaned back and forth in the hot summer breeze. Small kernels of wheat gently drift to the ground where they lay in wait for an adventurous chicken such as herself to peck it up. This road crossing could lead to other wheat fields where the little hen could have her fill of grain to eat. The wheat field stretched as far as her little black eyes could see. It presented her with an endless possibility of food for life.

What does the chicken hope to accomplish by eating her fill of the wheat found on the other side of the road?
She thinks that if she eats the grain she’ll produce more eggs and the farmer can sell them to make money. The money will buy grain to grow wheat on their farm, thus ending the need to cross the road. Now the chicken will have wheat on her side of the road to eat. The farmer might also buy a handsome rooster and a new coup where they can raise chicks. Then, the farmer will have more hens to lay eggs. More eggs to sell will mean more money for the farmer and more grain for the chickens. It’s a win-win situation.

Where does the farmer see himself in 5 years now that the chicken crossed the road to get more grain, to produce more eggs for the farmer to sell?
The farmer sees himself on a large chicken farm with lots of hens laying eggs daily. The markets in the city will buy the hens’ eggs. That will bring him wealth and he will be able to afford the two-story farmhouse his wife has always dreamed of owning. All of this just because the chicken took a risk and crossed the road.

So, that is why the chicken crossed the road. However, she wouldn’t have crossed the road had she not seen the potential in eating more grain from the fields beyond the fence.

Therefore, do not ask why someone does a certain thing. Instead ask, “Where are you going with your idea or plan?” Also, ask, “What will you do with what you find there?” and, “What will it look like 5 years in the future?”

There’s a lesson to be learned here somewhere. Perhaps it is this: Take a risk; it is not about why you do it. It’s about what you do with it and where you hope to take it from here.

Endings and New Beginnings

This has been "one of those weeks". You know the kind where you are trying your hardest to please everyone and get all the jobs done that are on your calendar. Then, in among the hurry of the days' chores, you remember a loss and that wave of sadness washes over your heart for a moment. I had a few of those this week.

An old building where my family and I preformed and worked on many theatrical productions came down this week. The old building had been home to the Baytown Little Theater for 48 years. My participation with the theater group began 33 years ago when my husband and I got married. I have known for a year now that the theater was to be destroyed. Last July a woman having a seizure, drove her car through the side wall of the seating area, fatally damaging the main support beam to the theater. The building was constructed in the late 40's as a grocery store and meat market. It was already way past its prime. So, it didn't take much to cause serious damage to the structure which led to her inevitable demise.

After the date was set to tear down the theater, I made my plans to be present to watch this small, but rather historical thing happen. Wednesday came and I fell out of bed at 7:30, pulled some clothes on, slipped on my flip-flops and drove down to the site with my camera. There were a couple of my friends there to watch too. At a quarter past the scheduled time to begin, the bulldozer's backhoe made the first crunch into the roof of the building, just above the marquee that still held last season's poster. It sounded like a giant animal eating rocks as the jaws of the machine's shovel munched the wood, metal, and fiber glass that once was our box office. A handful of theater friends and onlookers appeared and disappeared to witness the demolition of a building where countless memories, careers in theater and even marriages had taken root. Alongside the numerous theatrical performances, the old building had also played host to many New Year's Eve celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, and engagements of the actors, families and crew that played and worked inside those walls.

I was glad that I got to witness the demolition because it made the occasion less of a tragedy and more of a bittersweet drama. Seeing the brittle wood splinter like a twig and the rotten walls buckle under the slightest pressure of the shovel, evidenced to me that it was time to bid farewell to this building. On that warm Wednesday morning as I clicked my camera taking pictures of various stages of the demolition, I knew it was the right thing to do. Now working in a temporary space, the BLT board of directors will be working toward the future with plans to rebuild the theater.

Earlier in the week we got news about a dear friend that really is more of a tragedy than a tired old theater being laid to rest. Our friend, who was the associate minister at our church for 28 years, will no longer serve in that position. Our friendship with he and his family has spanned over 33+ years. My husband and I naturally feel sadness and loss over his leaving the church staff. There is a long story behind his resignation, but suffice it to say, his absence will leave a hole in the heart of our church. So many of us came to depend on his wisdom and Biblical knowledge. We asked questions and he always gave us a thoughtfully patient answers. He was available most anytime to help with everything from making coffee, to teaching the proper use of the copy machine, from teaching a class of toddlers about Jesus, to teaching a class of kids to sing classical music. He is always up for a dramatic rendering of a Bible story or singing Beach Boy tunes with a couple of old friends. His knowledge of Bible history is as accurate as the Internet with his research coming from his own library of literature sources and scholarly aptitude not to mention a Master's Degree in Biblical studies. His compassion for those less fortunate often lead him to seek aide in whatever form is applicable to their need at the time. Unlike the theater, there is no replacement in our congregation for one such as our friend and brother. We pray God's blessings on him and his wife as they continue to serve the Lord wherever and in whatever capacity He wills.

Endings and new beginnings are a continuum in all aspects of life whether it be an organization, a church or a life with Christ. The passage of time and events isn't always easy, but with God in control, we must believe that the new beginnings will be nothing short of marvelous. Therefore, I will not look to these endings with sadness but with the hope of new beginnings.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1