Thank you, Creator,
for snow upon the Sandias.
For the wonderful view
and for the precious water,
we give you praise.
Appreciating the beauty you create
and the gifts you bestow,
help us learn to live
more wisely,
more carefully,
more faithfully,
within your creation
of which we are a part.
Amen.
25 December 2023
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Filed under New Mexico, Photo, Prayer
Walk. Albuquerque.
Snow on the Sandias.
Canticle of the Turning – Princeton Seminary Choir
Happy Christmas – Angelique Kidjo
Cry of a Tiny Babe – Bruce Cockburn
Christmas in the Trenches – John McCutcheon
Christmas Must Be Tonight – The Band
The Bushes of Jerusalem – Tommy Sands
The Rebel Jesus – The Chieftains & Jackson Browne
We Are Christmas – Spelman Glee Club
Away in a Manger – The Blind Boys of Alabama feat. George Clinton & Robert Randolph
We Wait for You – The Many
Mary’s Boy Child – Harry Belafonte
The First Noel – R. Carlos Nakai & William Eaton
It Came upon the Midnight Clear – Mahalia Jackson
Silent Night – Aretha Franklin
Go Tell It on the Mountain – Dolly Parton
Filed under Exercise, Music, New Mexico, playlist
No real exercise.
Cooked and lit luminaries in Albuquerque.
Snow on the Sandias.
Holy Night/Rise Up Shepherd – Jersey Boys Ensemble
For Unto Us a Child Is Born – Core Cotton, Jamecia Bennett, James Wright, Carrie Harrington, Pat Lacy & Sounds of Blackness
Cry of a Tiny Babe – Bruce Cockburn
Christmas Must Be Tonight – The Band
The Bushes of Jerusalem – Tommy Sands
The Rebel Jesus – The Chieftains and Jackson Browne
Uncle Carl – Aaron Lacombe
Canticle of the Turning – Rory Cooney, Gary Daigle & Theresa Donohoo
Midnight Christmas Eve -Trans-Siberian Orchestra
O Holy Night – Indigo Girls
Away in a Manger – Jack Gladstone
Sweet Little Jesus – Natalie Cole
The Huron Carole – Tom Jackson
Noisey Night – david m. bailey
Silent Night – Christine Anu
Christmas Eve – Robert Mirabel
Silent Night – Sweet Honey in the Rock
Filed under Family, Music, New Mexico, playlist
Inside walk.
We Are Christmas – Spelman Glee Club
God Rest Ye, Merry Jazzmen – Bill Carter and The Presbybop Quartet
Variations on Pachelbel’s Canon – Ed Gerhard
We Three Kings – The Rhos Orpheus Male choir
O Holy Night – Darlene Silversmith
A Star in the East – Harry Belafonte
Silent Night – Rod Stewart
The First Noel – Tracy Scott Silverman & Thea Suits-Silverman
Where Is the Light – Peter Mayer
In This World – The Many
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Karla Bonoff
Cry of a Tiny Babe – Bruce Cockburn
The Bushes of Jerusalem – Tommy Sands
Trepak from “The Nutcracker” – Modern Mandolin Quartet
Filed under Exercise, New Mexico
For almost two-year olds,
dressed in Minnie Pull-ups,
who greet your entrance
with shouts of delight,
a happy dance,
and a smile bigger
than the Grand Canyon,
I thank you God.
May everyone experience
such moments of joy.
Often.
Amen.
Walk. Albuquerque.
Christmas Must Be Tonight – The Band
I Believe in Father Christmas – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head – John McCutcheon
Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes – Bruce Cockburn
Angels We Have Heard on High – R. Carlos Nakai & William Eaton
Ode to Joy to the World – The Piano Guys
Love, Love, Love – Clarence Fountain & The Blind Boys of Alabama
Angels W Have Heard on High – Pentatonix
The Story of Christmas – Peter Mayer
Patapan – Julie Andrews
Little Drummer Boy – Jonathan Maracle
Merry Christmas to You – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Christmas Morning – Bill Miller
Christ Child Lullaby – Rosemary Beland
Mistletoe and Wine – Cwmbach Male Choir
Away in a Manger – Ed Gerhard
Filed under Advent, Exercise, New Mexico, playlist
Granddaughter Lucy continues to inspire and pass on new knowledge. As she grows and develops, honing skills, pursuing new interests, increasing her vocabulary, Lucy always teaches me something. Often, she imparts multiple lessons.
. During my recent visit as she and her parents began their move to Albuquerque, the insight that stood out concerned her use of the words, “help” and “me.” Lucy used those words in a unique way, and she did so often.
We frequently combine “help” and “me” to create a sentence. “Help me.” Come to my aid. Provide me with assistance.
Lucy takes those two words and creates a paragraph. A two-sentence paragraph. One word in each sentence. And in an order we might not expect given what she means. But a paragraph nonetheless.
“Help. Me.”
In Lucy’s usage, the words become an offer that she will extend help to you. Or perhaps they become a statement of fact that she will help you. In some cases they rise to the level of a demand that you allow her to help.
“Help. Me.” And Lucy wants you to pick her up so she can select your coffee cup and push the buttons on the coffee maker.
“Help. Me.” And Lucy staggers toward you carrying your shoes which she will help you put on so you can go outside together.
“Help. Me.” And Lucy starts to pull the dishes out of the dishwasher at a rapid rate and you struggle to keep up and put them away.
“Help. Me.” And Lucy climbs up beside you to pour, to mix, to dump, to stir as she helps you cook. She stays away from the stove when it is “hot.” But most everything else she might do to create a meal; she tries to do.
Same words. Different meanings depending on if they construct a sentence or a paragraph.
Will Lucy remember this stage in her life? Will her first paragraph last?
Hard to say. It may. It may not. She may go through phases where she wants to help and where she does not want to help. What seems important is the beauty and the wonder of the now and the memories we make and the photos we take.
Whatever may come next, I know I will ponder what Lucy has taught me about the difference between a sentence and a paragraph.
I know I will need to say, “Help me.”
I hope I can also find lots of times to say, ‘Help. Me.”
After the prayers had been said
and the motions had been made;
after the rulings had been dispensed
and the speeches had been delivered;
after the instructions had been given
and the buttons had been pushed;
after the votes had been tallied
and the results announced;
after the passion
and the decent order;
after . . .
. . . the assembly sat in quiet contemplation,
pondering who had won
and who had lost,
considering what was gained
and what the cost.
My heart sundered the silence,
breaking, softly breaking,
for those, who by official action,
had been denied their full humanity,
and, whose gifts, but that same official action,
had been rejected.
A tear slid down my check,
coming to rest in tangled whiskers.
A single tear
shed for those beloved of God
who the vote would exclude
and for those
who out of fear
or prejudice
or lack of love
or for whatever reason
sought to shut doors –
and build walls –
and keep out –
and settle once and for all;
and in so doing
lost an opportunity
to join in
God’s amazing,
welcoming,
including,
affirming,
door-opening,
wall-smashing,
never-ending
love.
This was written after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 208th General Assembly (1996). That assembly met in Albuquerque, New Mexico and took action to recommend a change the church’s constitution that would ban LGBTQ individuals from serving in ordained offices. I attended that assembly as an observer. As the United Methodist Church meets to wrestle with similar questions, I remembered this piece and choose to share it.
Filed under Current Events, Family, Friends, Human Rights, Poem, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
These “flowers” were in the garden decorating the restaurant where Takako took me to lunch in Albuquerque.
13 February 2017
Filed under Friends
If you follow this blog, or simply wander through a few of the posts, you will notice a fondness, a deep affection, for Northern New Mexico. It is one of several locations where I experience a profound affinity for the place.
When I was scheduled
for a meeting in Albuquerque, I made an airline ticket that would allow me to arrive about six hours before the meeting. The timing did not permit more free time.
As the day for the meeting approached, I began to see the flaw in my plan. I had no way to travel from the airport.
My friend Takako Terino came to my rescue with an invitation to hang out until I needed to go to the hotel. We went to lunch and had a long conversation. Then we decided to take the tram up to San
dia Peak.
The mountains were wrapped in cloud. While in made for poor viewing of Albuquerque, it was an incredible experience. Disappearing into the clouds and then the mountain emerging suddenly.
A winter wonderland awaited at the top. Snow made intricate patterns on the trees as the cloud swaddled us.
On the return trip, the person driving the tram looked at me and said, “Your hat is on backward. And there is a tag showing.” See the photo.
Before I could reply, the person removed my hat, put it back on “correctly” and tucked in the tag.
As the person did, I thought, “Seriously? I look like someone who cares about how my hat looks?” But I said nothing.
When Takako and I left the tram, I readjusted my hat and let my free tag fly.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Friends, Uncategorized
Along the Graybeard Trail 