Sunday, May 22, 2011

home by another way

My friend Lally and I have made tentative plans to meet for shopping after the Rapture.  And Jelli-donut has agreed to allow me to carry the bags of yarn we're both gonna need in the Hereafter.  So it looks like we're all set.  (pause)


My RC background barely allows me to joke about this stuff.  We weren't versed in hair tugging/rapture as pint-sized catholics, but there was an awful lot of ring kissing, incense burning, genuflecting, sign-of-the-Crossing, and Saturday night confession. Not to mention empty growling Sunday stomaches before the Host was passed.  We all wanted to believe in something - we all continue our search for signs in the universe.  And as for me, I'd like to believe that this uncivilized crowd will go the way of the dinosaur- with a slight twist -  that we just might smarten up before its time to bend over and grab our collective ankles.


On the way home from my mom's there was a motorcycle fatality.  Traffic was completely backed up for miles and my fire fighter son, who had to respond to this tragedy, was able to send word to take another route.  It made me think of a song that I've always loved - James Taylor singing 'Home by Another Way'.  I tried to embed the Youtube version for you all, but failed.  Go and have a listen yourself - http://youtu.be/YI9ORNri7hA  (sorry, I'll try harder IF there is a next time)


"Steer clear of royal welcomes
Avoid a big to-do
A king that would slaughter the innocents
Will not cut a deal for you ...."


I am reading an important book, one which endorses the notion of avoiding royal welcomes.  In fact, this author is making an attractive case for going out, getting lost, finding oneself.  Taking another way home.
Listen to this-  "Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark.  That's where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go."  She asks the question - "How will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?" I'm having a hard time putting this one down.  I hope that I can finish before the hair-tugging commences.


There were a few things that I didn't get to cross off the Rapture Bucket List -
I meant to weed the east garden and get rid of the old grasses.
The front porch needed painting and that didn't happen either. I DID spend a lot of quality time with Jack Russell, who is recovering from dental surgery - quite an ordeal for such an elderly fellow.
He's pushing his luck - carrying this post-surgical thing a little too far. You are looking at the sheers blown across the sofa from an opened window - he's claimed them as part of his bedding.  The sofa is permanently lost to me. It has DOG written all over it.  Jack Nirvana.


Anyway, I took a road less travelled this evening.  I thought about the poor luckless soul who lost his life on a motorcycle today, I thought about his mother and how this irrevocable event will alter her existence.  I thought about my brave son, my lovely daughter.  And I saw an Indigo Bunting fly across the back country road, its blue intensity disappearing into the thicket.  I swear to God.















7 comments:

JelliDonut said...

Thank you. Now I know what to get DD for a graduation gift. I have been trying to teach her this stuff for 18 years and I'm not sure she gets it. Maybe if she hears it from somebody else... This really is bizarre. How did you know I needed this?

My entire house has DOG written all over it, now that Katie Cat is gone.

Jody said...

we are on the same wave length, Jelli. After all, you wouldn't have just ANY old Tom, Dick or Harry carrying the yarn! It's an important, perhaps ESSENTIAL read. Thank God we humans have the ability to welcome change at any age.
No rapture means that there is a garden to plant!

Suz said...

I like your take on the rapture that didn't happen
or maybe it did and we rc AND lUTHERANS WERE JUST LEFT BEHIND
This book sounds like the one I'm writing
bummer...may have to get it
I have lived it
I loved getting a peek at your stone patio in the picture....is it a circle?
I hope so
I have had this kind of experience of someone dying just ahead of us...haunting really
yes, give thanks for your wonderful children
and may love be the only thing that sweeps us away
I love that you love your dog so much

Diana LaMarre said...

It sounds like the motorcycle accident made you stop and think about what's really important. That old grass can wait--in the big scheme of life it matters not when or if it ever gets cut down!

Your poor dog....I hope he recuperates fast.

Delisa said...

Hi Jody, sorry to hear that your little Jack Russell had to have dental surgery. I hope he is feeling better today! My house is definitely a "dog" house, with Barkley toys everywhere. It looks like "Romper Room" sometimes. :) I found a new yarn store this weekend and had a field day, getting to see all the new colors and textures.

I'm sorry you had to witness such a tragic accident. That has happened to me too, and it rattles and shakes up life, making me feel suddenly vulnerable and aware of how much can be lost in an instant. It also makes me want to hold everyone to my heart and never let a day go by without telling them that I love them.

I hope you have a good evening ahead and rest well. Delisa

farmlady said...

Well... OK! This is what I"m talking about. I love this post.
In the whole scheme of things, it's all about Indigo Buntings and taking care of your dog. If this is any indication of what you write and feel, I'm a follower for life.
I came over from Suz at Begin Again. Glad I did.

Michele Bilyeu said...

I was raised as a Catholic, too. It gave me a lot of strange gifts that are with me to this day in magical ways that came out of the dark and the incense and the rhythms of the chanting and the Latin and all of the unknowns. I have been so immersed in those darks, those shadows, and been made stronger by them, as well. Coming out from them all, enriched and accepting the strange gifts has made me stronger to hold my own within the brightest lights. I loved the quote from the book and am writing it and them down in my journal of thoughts for today and every day. In the end, they are all gifts not challenges or pains and I'm blessed to finally see that.