The Element of Surprise

(On the occasion of my 70th Birthday Weekend)

I like to think I'm an unsuspecting, non-conspiratorial kind of guy,..floated along in life, had my successes, certainly had my failures, tried to be helpful where I could,.. you get the picture.  But through all of this tries to generally lay low and fade to the background....  But that just my lowly opinion,.. am I laying it on too think....  Pat, says I should just tell the truth, ..if I'm capable of that.  Truth is, ..as humble as I think I am, there's never a time when I'm not talking and I'm certainly very opinionated.....  To which I say, that in itself is a matter of opinion.

Any, Pat and I headed for Miami the past weekend, ... a little R an R,  .. to celebrate my 70th birthday.  She said I need ed to get out the winter doldrums,, certainly the truth, and away for the Northeastern gray skies of February.  Neil Jr. had agreed and off we went to spend some quality time with my eldest and his wife.  I knew there'd e some outside activity, it is Miami after all, and at some point we'd have dinner. And after 4 days, back to Philly. All of that proved to be true,... its just what happened between the lines got me off balance..... and, at the same time got me on balance,,, for the next 70 or so years. 

On Friday, I'm up, heading downstairs,  and playfully exclaim,.." Good Morning Family"...  no response,,.. didn't think too much of this, but then Neil's Mother-in-Law, Sheila Monroe comes into view as she rounds the bend of the 1st floor balcony.   Hugging her I say."Sheila,,...  I thought you had gone back to Philadelphia,, what a pleasant surprise" ,  and it indeed was. Note: she had been done to run the Miami 5K,.. as had Marcella's sister Rhonda Johnson, who just at that time materialized out the downstairs bedroom,....  " Rhonda,  I had no idea you were still in town,,.... What a pleat surprise,.., and again,.. it was indeed.  I was oblivious to the plot that was brewing,.. or, in fact had already been cooked and was about to be served.

An hour passes,.. the apartment door opens,  Pat: "Look who I ran into downstairs".   My youngest brother Isaac and his family was emerging from the door into the apartment.  For a split second, I actually thought she had just run into them on the streets of Miami.   Isaac, his grandchildren, Owen and Sophia and my niece, their mother, Bianca.  We hug and then, it occurred to me that they had planned to be there, invited by my cunning wife, Pat.  And I'm relatively speech, but absolutely beyond thrilled to see them.  But, I know that I'm in the presence of greatness.  A Mastermind was indeed at work and behind a master plot. By contract I'm really slow to catch on.

Isaac and I go out to lunch,... had a nice lunch at a restaurant around the corner from Neil and Marcella's apartment.  Two hours pass,,,,,, another sighting,...   this time Derrick and Linda.  This is no coincidental happenstance, and I'm dumbfounded, as well as speechless..  This is too much,  we laugh, my mind soars again, I sit down from laughter and exhaustion.   Can't get the smile off my face or the giggles out of my mind. Then I'm let in for the plan afoot for that evening: Two nights at an Air B 'n B with Isaac , Derrick and Linda and of course the Master mind (Pat).   I'm jumpy, nervous and waiting for another coincidental appearance, at this point..  Whose, next Julia and Robynn?,,.. Bob?  Ritah?....No one shows up,, I look out the apartment door to make sure.  No one's there,.. the coast is clear,.. this is the end of it.  I can relax,.. and I do, although a part of my mind is still on Cloud Nine.

Had a great dinner that night at the apartment, then headed for the Air B'n B, a few blocks away, sttle in, have a conversation, before bed, and marvel at the surprises that have unfolded that day.  Its been a full and awesome day,.. and I've been completely blown away.  I'm not one for surprises,... never know how to respond and always feel a bit awkward, but not so today. I'm so glad they've arranged these surprises for me,.. and everyone was in on it, I came to discover later on.

The next day we meet up at Neil and Marcella's apartment and head over to the local popular hangout Mall in Miami. Put in our coffee and danish orders,  arrange tables and chairs, and are ahvimng a real good time.  Lind and I are talking, she glances off to the side, then I glance to the side,,.....Robynn, Julia, Mara and Andrew standing there grinning, at how oblivious I was to the fact they had been standing there for the last 2 minutes. I didn't have a clue that they were going to be there,  had been planning to be there for close to be months, ... The Master plot had been brought to completion.  I was completely floored, that my family had driven to Miami, taken planes, had discussed showing up in Miami on my 70th Birthday for months.

The Element of Surprise. Author Julia Cameron once said, "Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise."  This was a weekend of surprises for me, A weekend drenched in love, saturated with joy, and for me, manifest with lots and lots of gratitude.

Peggy

 
I didn't have any pictures of Peggy.,... that is until I found this one on the internet.  It's from her legacy obituary page. Typical Peggy!

I Haven't thought about her in years, ..although I'm very close to her  Brother, Bob. Bob was married to my cousin, Judy, and over the years Bob's Family became very much apart of ours. In fact our 2 families became one, with Bob's parents becoming quite close with our matriarch. Then there were Bob's siblings, Bill, Ed and Peggy.

Peggy lived in Los Angeles where she was an "Imagineer" for Disney.As it turns out Pat, my wife, also had become fast friends with Peggy. Well, Peggy is no longer with us. Neither are Ed, Bill, Judy, their parents, our matriarch,.. its a lonely planet without them. But Pat, Bob and I are in for the long haul,..  In fact Bob turns 70 this week,..we've known each other for some 40 years. Happy Birthday, Bob.

So, I was thinking of Peggy this morning, not sure why,  I'm sure it has something to do with the gorgeous cloudless day,  also strangely Starbucks is mixed up n there somewhere,.. yes, that Starbucks. Another piece, Riverside, CA, is there, Uncle Joe and yes, Peggy.

It was a cloudless day in Southern California. I had been visiting my Uncle Joe, at his home in Riverside, CA. The day I was scheduled to leave from LAX, Peggy had a Doctors appointment scheduled. You see, she had stage 4 Ovarian Cancer, was resisting receiving chemotherapy, and I thought I'd go to her
appointment with her. Heading up from Riverside to LA took about 1 hour. Uncle Joe had told me it wouldn't take any less than 2 hours. But traffic was as clear as the sky and it was smooth sailing up to LA. Arriving early, I thought I'd get caught up on some work for about and hour at "Starbucks". Bu there were no parking spaces on the busy thoroufare where the "Starbucks" was located about a mile away from Peggy's apartment.   So I thought I'd head to her place,.. can't hurt to be a bit early.

"Hey Peggy,  how are you", hugging her somewhat frail body.. "I had a rough night ,.. called my Doctor, he said I should get to the hospital" " Well let's go what can I do to help you?"  So we spent the next 10 minutes, sorting through some things, she had her bag packed already., the we hit the road to the hospital.. can't remember which on, now.

So I sat with Peggy in a hospital in LA, not expecting that that's where I'd be on a cloudless day in Southern California . I had to say good bye to her in a couple of hours, to head for LAX, not knowing it would be the last good-bye we'd  share.

But a few things stand out for me:  I-91 from Riverside was absolutely clear, as if to beckon me on  to Peggy's, clearing a path for my early and urgent arrival; The "Starbucks" blocked and refused my entrance, say if to say,.. "got to turn around and get to Peggy's"; the amount of time I spent with her that morning was short, but enough to usher on to the next phase of her journey to what proved to be one of her last hospital visits, enough time to get done what needed too get done.  No time to think, but enough time to showing caring and love, whatever the universe chose to channel through me to her.

How many times do we get to be conduits of caring and love in brief moments that the Universe totally orchestrates.  Leave yourself open for that.  As we touch each other, its all part of your story,.. and their's.

Pi Gardens: Endless Beauty

 

Welcome to 'Pi' Gardens! A concept I've been tossing about the past few years is the concept of endless beauty. With the inundation of seemingly endless tragedy, street violence, mass shootings, political turmoil and even, as my youngest put it 'the people who make us laugh are on strike ', there must be a push back... somewhere. So I took a look around this morning and decided that I'd just put it out there. 'Pi' Gardens is my wife's creation. Not only are P.I. (Pat Imms) her initials, but 'Pi' (3.14159......) is the most elegant expression of relationships in the world of mathematics (and anyone who knows my wife knows she is all about relationships). But in all of its elegance and beauty 'Pi' is also infinite: 'Endless Beauty '.

Take a look around you!. You're sure to find 'Endless Beauty', in your neck of the woods.

 

Evangelism: Is this really a thing? Do we need another language?

 Where do we get off telling another human being how and what to think?  We're not them.

 I was reading "Working Preacher" this morning. Working Preacher is a website intended to inspire conversation, provide thought and context for individuals'  Church sermons/homilies. This week's commentary was on presenting the Gospel to audiences who have either rejected the concept of organized religion, the concept of Jesus, or, the concept of God. I other words, How do present the Gospel to those for whom the Gospel is foreign?

 Well, this commentary achieved its goal with me.

My story: I've been well schooled in concepts relating to God, Jesus, afterlife and religiosity. I know the language well. So well in fact, that its literally written on my soul. For me, and the way my wiring has evolved, it makes sense. Perhaps it can be described as genetics of the soul.  My genetics of the soul are deep. At least 100 years deep (from what I know, my family has been associated with Zion Baptist Church for close to 100 years). Is been in the air I've breathed, the food I've eaten, the word's I've spoken and the. words I've heard. Its been in the life I've tried to live.  Its been given to me.

 But this is not true for everyone. Most of us do in fact live " Lives of quiet desperation", as Henry David Thorough might say. And in that living, that human experience there a 8 million ways of looking for something. If we're alive, what we have in common is looking for a path to experience life.  Many experience life through the senses of trauma where varieties of trauma has shaped their existence. When those of us who have lived hundreds of years through the senses of religiosity speak to those who've lived 100 of years through the senses of trauma without reprieve, relief or hope are we speaking in language that is understood?

The changes in our world are colossal and daily. It would be fair to say that in discussing concepts related to religiosity, particularly where Christianity is concerned, to audiences where unfamiliarity reigns, the existence of Jesus can't easily be explained. The concepts of the virgin birth, the resurrection, the ascension, are complicated. How do we explain them: "Jesus Saves".  Really?? What if I don't need saving? What am I being saved from?  " No one enters the Kingdom, but through me". What Kingdom?  Why do I want to enter the Kingdom? "The Kingdom of God is at hand".  Is that a fact.  I can't see it.

If I were not well schooled in the "art" of religiosity, would any of this make sense, or be compelling to me? Yes I may be looking for changes in my life. Yes, I may be looking for hope. Yes I may be looking for a guidepost. And, in the moment, some of this may be the remedy I need. But what about the endurance required for the long run?  For me, if I'm unschooled in matters of religiosity or faith, I don't hear attractive arguments. Is this even a good place to start. Let's talk about God. Who, What, Where, is God? In the words of astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson: "I don't see evidence".

The continued use of language such as "sin", "resurrection", and "being saved", language that is at least 2000 years old is of questionable value in a day when there is "no evidence" that these terms are related to God. Religion is a complicated matter to be contextualized for understanding. Two-thousand year old language does not contextualize or connect ancient events to present day living.  Maybe the language we're looking for is different. Maybe, we're past the time when spoken language adds relevance to the words. Maybe its time for us to realize that spoken language has always underrepresented the words. Maybe its time for us to realize that Actions do that!!

     

Healthcare and Zion Baptist Church

 

 

In January, 2011, Lawrence Onishi, a Temple Medical Student, contacted me to inquire about being mentored through an Albert Sweitzer Fellowship at Zion Baptist Church. Lawrence was interested in studying the intricacies of providing health services to faith-based organizations. This was seen as an excellent opportunity to connect with the Temple Medical School, located directly across the Street from Zion Baptist Church. Furthermore, because healthcare access and healthcare trust are significant factors in creating health disparities in African American communities, there were abundant reasons for connecting with the medical school that could possibly result in decreased barriers to healthcare in this North Philadelphia neighborhood.   

Zion Baptist Church has a rich history of service the surrounding community, the city of Philadelphia, the Nation, and the World. While the Health Ministry of the Church has been an integral part of this journey, the connection between the Church and an Academic Institution is a unique partnership. In fact, it honors Zion’s long-standing tradition of coupling faith-based pursuits with education and in so doing furthers the tradition of healing communities and making them whole. Thus, the Church’s Christian Foundation is made manifest. 

Healthcare is a civil right.  This year marks the 11th anniversary of the partnership between Zion Baptist Church and Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine and Temple’s Heath System. Through this partnership, several programs have been initiated, and resources martialed, which have much historic consequence in that many lives have been touched for enhancing health literacy. These programs are: Screenings for hypertension, diabetes, heart, lung and eye diseases; Dental health education; HIV/AIDS education; COVIVID-19 and Influenza vaccinations; Medication reviews and education; clothing and food donations to help benefit the Zion Cares Ministry; Smoking cessation information; resource information to assist in homelessness and food insecurity assistance. These outreach missions continue, and are essential to the Ministry of the Church. 

The collaboration of Church and Academia is Historic. In this partnership we see the epitome of Faith, Learning and Science---the basic ingredients of what it means to be human---- motioned in the same direction, at the same time to achieve the same objectives: Community Healing and Wholeness. 

The future holds much Hope for this partnership. Students from Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicines continue to serve faithfully at the Zion Cares Ministry. Student’s from Temple’s School of Pharmacy continue to offer medication reviews as part of their community service. Zion will continue to be a source of healing through administration of the COVID-19 vaccination, provided through Temple University and Miriam Medical Clinics.  Hope is always historic, especially when it offers the opportunity for changed lives. This is the historic consequence of the Health Connections of Zion Baptist Church.

 

Cat Stevens

 

 Clarity is a strange and wondrous animal. Being prepared is the key since where clarity will take you,  well,.. you'll never know. That in itself is mystery. Listening to Cat Stevens/Yusuf this morning and heard interesting aspects of his music: the resolution of his quest for clarity of perhaps one could say, certainty. The quest seemed to land him in the world of Islam.

Much of our faith journeys are just that, Faith. The hope that something will happen, the hope that what we think is to happen, under-girded by mystery.  But maybe that mystery is insufficient for the certainty our brains crave. I mean, let's be real, hoping that something ladened with and shrouded in mystery, will actually or has actually happened, is a huge leap of,.... faith (pun intended).  All of our wiring does not accept the voltage offered by the mystery, say, of Judaism or even Christianity. And maybe, and this is sheer speculation on my part, when we try to adapt our acceptance of the wattage of Judaism or Christianity, short cuts are inevitable,.. the context is often missing. We see it all the time in scripture quoting or even the story telling of Judaic customs. So consider: Does Islam offer a different path?

Cat Stevens moving lyrics are a stunning example of a journey contrasting hope and mystery and looking for change contrasted against the joy and love of accepting community that has already happened as well as prayers for the here and now.

The longing of Where do the Children Play? is palpable as it looks for hope in a commercial world that's lost is bearings and wonders where the wrong turn was made form the hope and innocence we had as children.  Or "Will you carry the word of love with you?" as enshrined in Oh Very Young where he looks for a better day through the lives of generations to come. 

And this is not just a prelude leading up to Islam (from Judaism or Christianity). Afterall, these are values espoused by Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and the like  (remember Cat' Stevens' Buddah and the Chocolate Box?).

But I hear something different in Ramadan Moon. Maybe its the mood I'm in, I don't know,..  but I hear and see joy, laughter, community, the moon is, after all, the here and now, the tangible, the seen. And signals still, New Beginnings.  Maybe I'm overthinking, but I can see , and feel, the attraction. 

Take this for what you will, but we shouldn't be quick to dismiss others' way of looking at God. We're wired differently, all 8 billion of us, each one looking for clarity. For me, well,...I'm still looking. When you look, be prepared for where the journey might take you.

Clarity: Let your mind do its own marvelous thing

 

Day 2 .... Vermont 2023,  what a gorgeous day, shadowy sunrise in the eat, calm lake waters, presage of a brand new day.  No one up yet,  house is settled, time form my morning cup of coffee and morning meditation. The word "clarity" is settling in my brain. Taking residence and root for at least a few days. Hopefully clarity will blossom and grow, nurtured by he sun and lake water. But that sun and lake nurturing, my hope is that my brain will settle into itself, without interruption or interference from me. 

Too often, I think, we sabotage our own quest fro peace and contentment. We are, after all, thoughtful beings, or at least, at times, we should be.  But what would happen if we took a few minutes to "not think"? What would unfold,if we just lest our brains, do its own marvelous thing?

Years ago, I took a course oddly named Managing Technical People. At the time
I was supervisor of a data management and entry group (a technical group) at SmithKline.  The instructor was wise, weaving stories and anecdotes designed to enhance communication acumen.    One such story involved the news paper "Jumble" He pointed out that when the Jumble seems impossible to solve, put it away for a few, or even several minutes, the come back to it. You'll find that when you return to the puzzle, as if by magic, there it is... the solution. When rested your mind has done its own marvelous thing.  Clarity!!

These days I'm haunted by the phrase Be Still and know that I am God! The act of being still, of clearing your soul, of letting go, of meeting the Universe on its own peaceful terms may lead to an understanding of yourself, and hence the clarity that we all desire.  A thought: In the end, the clarity may have its own way with us. So why not take a shortcut and go there now. Let your mind do its own marvelous thing!

The Home Stretch

Arrived in Grande Isle, Vermont Yesterday...  somewhat overcast weather, very cold,, safe and sound, calm lake and grateful to be here.   Vacation!! Ah vacation.  But can't get my mind off goals,..things I need to do,.. keeping my "to-do list" updated,, crossing off each achievement as I go,.. you get the picture.

One milestone I'd like to achieve is making it to 100. No, not that 100 as in 100 years old, although that would be nice.  No, the 100 I'm talking about is 100 posts to this reflection blog.  Have 69 published, ---this will be the magic 70---, and 14 in draft. So if I can turn some of the draft into published and publish 16 more, I'll be there.  Let's call it The Home Stretch.  And the be accomplish during this vacation.  Think I can do it?  Well we'll see.  I have view in the can. Wish me luck!!

Looking for Change Part 2

Beggin’ for Change

Urban Bioethics @ Temple

Dr. Cornelius Pitts

Off the radar screen, this year marks the 60th anniversary of a song made popular by Gospel/Soul pioneer Sam Cooke that became the theme song of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement:

‘A Change is Gonna Come’ is a song for all times really. Truth is, we’ve gotta keep showing up, looking for that change, making that change happen. But these past few years have been tough… global pandemic, racial strife, mass shootings, neighborhood shootings. It’s all too much, and sometimes we feel like we’re at the breaking point. I recently heard my youngest say: “The people who make us laugh are on strike.” (Comedy writers for late-night TV were on strike at the time of writing, for future readers). Keeping our balance and our wits has been a challenge; but, on the other hand, there are victories. For me, it’s been about learning how to engage with each other, how we recognize each other’s traumas and how we “go deep” into lending a hand to aid our companion travelers. And that’s all of us… Right?

One such situation that’s caught my attention lately is the number of our ‘siblings’ experiencing homelessness and wondering whether or not we even see them.

If this poster were a homeless youth, most people wouldn’t even bother to look down.

According to HUD’s Annual Homelessness Assessment Report 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2022. That’s half the population of Hawaii and not far below the entire population of Washington DC. This means that families with children as well as individuals, veterans, teens, all, are still occupying park benches, cold sidewalks in the winter, porches, abandoned houses, under bridges. You name it, those experiencing homelessness are there.

This is a side of America that many don’t talk about, or many look away from… no eye contact, no recognition, only an unsigned agreement with myself that if I ignore, I won’t be bothered. I’ll get through these next few seconds to the other side of my conscience unscathed by the torment of acknowledging that this could be me, hoping, begging, for a change in my life. But isn’t that what we all have in common? We’re all looking for some change. We’re begging for it, desperate for it. And the reminders are constant.

And we never know when or where we’ll find a reminder. Consider this:

On my way to class one day, running a bit late, not much time to spare, and surprised to see “Tracey” across the street from my driveway rolling a shopping cart with what appeared to be all of his belongings. It was a bit incongruent for the neighborhood, but there he was. A slight rain had begun to fall, and so I pulled alongside him, pulling out of the driveway, to offer him an umbrella.

Trying to get his attention and rolling down my passenger side window: “Hey man,…you ok?” “Naw, man, …been walkin’ from Germantown (a section of Philly),… “I’m homeless, and need somethin’ to eat”. I looked at the apple I had on my car seat, just pulled out of the fridge, but he himself acknowledged that he “didn’t have any teeth”… “Do you have anything you can give me?” Having only some change in a cup in my car, I gave him a few dollars, and told him about the 7–11 just around the corner on 5th street. There, he could buy a cup of coffee. But then, he had another request: “Can you say a prayer for me?” And I asked him his name, said a little prayer before he headed to the 7–11, and I headed to teach my class.

It’s almost summer and there “Tracey” was asking for some change. But then, so was I. We’re all looking for some change…. Had me thinking about, and playing, the Keb’ Mo’ song about “Beggin’ for some change.” Its words are telling and meaningful in these uncertain times, where there is tremendous need all around us. Just look up and it’ll smack you and sometimes even startle you. The resurgence of humanism beckons us to change and to offer a changed society to each other. A society where the “Traceys” — and that’s all of us — realize the change we’re all seeking. So, from Sam Cooke to present day balladeer Keb’ Mo’, we’re still looking for societal change, and I suppose that’s where we’re always called to be. Keb’ Mo’ seems to think we can help each other get there.

Take a listen.