Taking a break from a day of SQL queries and deploying cubes and exporting data and all the stuff I need to do before 6:00p. Mondays are my busiest days, like they are for a lot of people. Data comes in at an alarming rate, and I am on the horn to catch it. I also spend a lot of my day working for a famous non-profit. I can’t tell you what it is, but I will leave a bread crumb… it stops stars on your arm.
Listening to a playlist I created on Spotify called “Kiss My Brass,” and includes stuff from John Williams, Wynton Marsalis, etc. It also includes the trumpet solo I played to get into HSPVA, “Petite Piece Concertante” by Guillame Ballay. It feels good to go back to that time in my life musically. I got to do a lot of things that other kids my age didn’t, like play a side-by-side concert with the Houston Symphony, conducted by Stephen Stein. I don’t remember a lot of what we played, but I do remember “Rodeo” by Aaron Copland. It was magnificent. I think I am a better singer than a trumpet player at this point, but I did enjoy it while it lasted.
“Fanfare for the Common Man” is now blasting in my ears, and it’s a mood lifter, for SURE. I remember playing that as well. Trumpet players are always trying to out-do each other, and I was no exception. I’d break out little snippets of “Grand Russian Fantasia” and “Cantaloop” while I was “warming up.” The only thing I didn’t get to do when I was that age was duet with Diane. We would have rocked it with “Summertime” or “Let the Bright Seraphim.” But that time in my life has passed, and I am sort of grateful. If I’d kept up with it, I’d be happy because I get frustrated that I’m not as good as I was when I was a kid. Getting into PVA required hours and hours of practice, and if there is anything I hate, it’s woodshedding… although I wonder if I would have been better at it had I been on ADD medication back in the day. I didn’t have enough focus to be able to play one measure eighty times, and that is the difference between good and great.
I do have that focus with singing, though, because I am sometimes amazed and sometimes disgusted at the sounds that come out of me… although as a trumpet player, I have learned that if you’re going to hit a bad note, at least splat it all over the back wall. If you’re going to make a mistake, at least do it right. 😛
Now Charles Ives’ Variation on America” is playing… a perfect analogy for our political climate. Donald Trump is all the minor seconds. He is just a political facepalm if ever I’ve seen one. He seems to be courting the “stupid fucknut” vote. In short, not a fan. In the words of Jed Bartlett, “these people don’t vote, do they?” Jesus, I hope not. In case you missed it, that was an actual prayer.
If there’s any hope in this, it’s that the other Republicans hate him enough to have a brokered convention.
I’m not satisfied with either Democratic candidate, but I’m satisfied enough not to vote Republican.
There’s this ad on now- T-mobile- that says you’re covered from NoVA to Adams Morgan, and I’m thinking that’s not really a brag because it’s not that far. Richmond to Baltimore would have been more effective…. but no one asked me.
This weekend was pretty incredible. I got to take my friend Scott to my little town, and we had lunch in Takoma Park. Then on Sunday, I went to Takoma Park Presbyterian for worship because that’s where some of my youth group attend. I’m keeping my membership at CCC, because ultimately, that’s where I belong. But if you want to go to Bridgeport UCC on the east coast, go there. The architecture is even so Portland- it’s in the round like Portland MCC.
At youth group, Mark, senior pastor of TPPC, Mark asked me if I’d be interested in pinch hitting for him, and I was grateful. I’ve been looking for a place to preach “in the flesh,” and I didn’t know if I’d get one on the East Coast or not. I did, and don’t think I’m not over the moon about it. I’m just not jumping up and down because I have a really bad cold and the Sudafed is making me a little out of it. I also led the parents through an exercise called the “Examen” Lenten practice, and it gave me some points in the moderation category. I realized that the purpose of this blog is that I can talk about my feelings because I’ve already written about them. I put my darkness out there as much as everyone else, because that’s what Lent represents- making amends for all the ways you’ve messed up.
When one of the parents said, “I’m really sorry about your divorce,” it meant more to me than diamonds. There’s nothing I can do to rectify my past, but there is always room to walk humbly and hope grace prevails.
Generally, it does.
Amen.
Stories That Are All True 