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| The Queen on her Throne |
March truly is my least favorite of
all despite the Madness. Everything is still winter dead and the cold crisp winter
days succumb to a gnarly mixture of being just cold (and usually damp) enough
to make life miserable. It’s unfair to be so tough on March as there is no way
it can compete with a summer month, much less a glorious autumnal one. I should
be more respectful because some of the major events of my life went down in March.
I was married in March and that turned out okay. Similar in design and result thirty
nine years ago today I put the Army uniform on for the first time which also
turned out okay, going from private to full colonel.
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| New Carpet Dancing |
Looking back on that day in 1978 it
wasn’t really that memorable. My mother left for work and I can’t remember if
she even stopped to say goodbye. My sister, the redoubtable Great Aunt,
certainly did and gave me a big hug before I set out the door. I walked down
Valley Street leaving my childhood home for the last time (except for visits), unbeknownst
to me at the time. I walked down to the recruiter’s office and was shortly in a
car to Manchester where I took my first airplane ride ever (first of hundreds)
and landed first in Worcester (of all places) and then New York City and Louisville,
Kentucky (airline schedules were much different back then). It turned out to be
the best decision I ever made and led to finding my niche in life but the only
thing I remember clearly from that day is searing loneliness. So maybe I
shouldn’t be so hard on March. These thoughts were bouncing around my head this
morning when I took Buddy out back for his morning constitutional. I was
greeted with a devastatingly beautiful sunrise that I climbed the hill to see
more clearly. Sometimes the Big Guy just knows when you need a lift. His
coloring this morning was off the charts and there
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| Sunrise this Morning |
Speaking of the Big Guy I took the
advice of several friends offered after reading my tepid review of the movie
version of The Shack. They recommended I read the book which I did and finished
yesterday. They were so right. I don’t know if I could call it life changing
but it was certainly profound. As with most books it is so much deeper than a
movie can ever hope to be and the issues here deserve some depth. It’s the story
of a man broken by tragedy who spends a weekend with God, Jesus and the Holy
Spirit. The book takes the reader on a thoughtful journey into their own
beliefs without being preachy. I loved it on a very fundamental level. I’ve
always struggled with the bells and whistles man hangs on faith with organized
religion and this story really spoke to me. Anytime the written word can gently
force you to look into yourself growth will occur. Thank you to those friends who
suggested this to me. I also loved the ending in the book so much more.
I didn’t love Life, which I took in
last night and this surprised me. I was really looking forward to this mainly
because of the cast but anytime you’ve got a bad ass alien chasing humans down
in space – I’m in. The movie starts out promisingly but fails to finish as the seemingly
indestructible alien removes some of the most interesting characters too
quickly. We’re left with a dour pair fighting the good fight and some plot
holes you could drive a space station through. Maybe I expected too much given the
level of the cast but it turns out to be a semi-thrilling monster flick I’ve
seen too many times before in other modes.
My wife is making the most of her last
few days in Panama before returning for the tail end of New England March. Yesterday
she took her mom up into the mountains to swim at Los Cangilones de Gualaca
which loosely translated means the Canyons of Gualaca. It's a very neat place
where a mountain river cuts through rock to form a fun place to swim (even in
March - conversely one of the best months to be in Panama.
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