Just Another Birthday

I turned 42 on Monday. I had a birthday party tonight - four days later. It seems that the older I get, the less I celebrate. It really seems like it should be the other way around. Instead of a little family get-together crammed in between the teenager's social events and a generally busy day, perhaps I should be kicking my heels up at a big blow-out birthday bash, really celebrating the wonderful reality that I have lived this long and been so blessed for this many years. In some countries, 42 is the life expectancy, and in other countries, it's waaaay past middle-aged. By 42 some women have been divorced multiple times, had children, lost them, been kicked around plenty by their husbands or boyfriends, and generally feel washed up and done with life. Honestly, sometimes I lose track of whether people over 40 are really considered old, or not. I used to think that anyone over 40 was old, but now I know better.

My parents gave me a little book tonight: 1965 Remember When: A Nostalgic Look Back in Time. I was feeling pretty good until I started flipping through the book and read little factoids such as the average income ($6,469 a year), cost of a movie ticket ($1.25), price of a postage stamp, 5 cents. Now I feel old enough to say something like, "Back in the year I was born, you could buy a stamp for a nickel".... the kind of comment that makes teenagers roll their eyes. The book contains ads from 1965. The women have boufant hair and they are wearing APRONS. There is an ad for a Super Nova car by Chevrolet. I'm sure most of these cars are now rusted junk, or they have license plates that define them as a "historical car." Okay, enough whining. I really believe that you are as old as you feel. So I'm thinking that 42 is young, or at least not old. So I had a good birthday, even though it was crammed in between life in general. So I'm celebrating tonight and remembering the words of Frederick Buechner:

"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace."

Invisible Sun

We flew out of Tulsa on Tuesday in a rainstorm, and landed in Dallas just ahead of another rainstorm. I hate to whine about the weather, but it's been raining for a MONTH! Anyway, we escaped one soggy state for another so that we could see history...the reunion of The Police. We took Colin and his friend Sean. Sean plays the drums, so he was especially interested in watching Stewart Copeland, and wasn't disappointed despite the fact that we had to rent binoculars for our nosebleed section seats. Once the music started (they opened with Message in a Bottle), it didn't matter where we were sitting - it was an awesome experience that took us back to the College Days. Hate to sound old, but it's been a while since the Police were together. I've loved Sting and been a loyal fan post-Police, but there is something unique about the sound of this punky reggae-inspired band. They were awesome, and although they didn't sing One World (shame on you guys), the set list was packed with the best of the best. And these guys are not-so-young. Sting is 54, and Andy Summers is 64. There's hope for those of us who might be tempted to believe our best days are behind us. Not a chance.

Guess who got glasses!

Now the world looks so much more beautiful. Although the first thing she said when she put them on and looked at me was, "Oh, you look strange." What did mean by THAT? I took it as a good thing. I think she had mostly been seeing me in a blur, although I hate to think that. I asked the eye doctor why she didn't tell us that everything was blurry, and he said that young children usually don't know that it's NOT supposed to look blurry. So now I'm wondering how effective that kindergarten eye screening test was...or wasn't.

So now she and her big sister are the glasses girls. It's cool to have something in common with your fifteen year-old sister. Yeah girls!

Bird Watching

We watched the mama bird build this nest - it took her all of about 24 hours. This spring has been filled with rainstorms, windstorms, hailstorms, thunderstorms. It's rained for 21 days. No kidding. It's some sort of record we've set and it's making us all a little crazy. Which makes this mama bird all the more amazing, since she put together this nest, made of twigs and mud and who knows what else, and built it to withstand this frightful Oklahoma weather. The nest started with three eggs, and somewhere along the way one of the eggs must have blown out of the nest. But that little mama bird made sure her two surviving babies made it through. She sat on that nest, and we would watch her fly away and bring back worms and then she would get back on that nest and watch us all as we watched her. It all paid off. Within a few weeks the two babies had feathers and big black eyes and they were ready to leave the nest. A few days after I took the photo of the bright-eyed birds, they flew away. And some of us were a little sad. We'll miss watching the mama, and climbing up on the ladder and trying desperately to get a good photo while she was away gathering food (that nest was waaaay up there). We're keeping the nest though. I still want to know how she put together that masterpiece in 24 hours.

U2charist

What do you get when you combine ancient rituals and Irish rock music? A U2charist. Which is what we went to tonight at Trinity Episcopal Church. I have to admit we went with a certain amount of trepidation. Would the U2 music be a cover band? (ugh...I only know ONE band that can cover U2 music and they don't have a name, but they're amazing. Geoff Logan.) Or would it be a campy orchestra? A simple piano? One guitarist? The possibilities are endless. We took Colin and his friend Brendon. They slumped in the seat beside us, waiting for it to begin while we watched the people file in, bend on one knee, cross, enter the pew. The boys were looking skeptical. We're Methodists. The boys haven't been out in the world enough, no doubt about that.

Then the music started. It was U2. No cover bands. No orchestra. No piano. It was really U2. Okay, they weren't there, but the music was piped in, and I was relieved because I think if you're going to have a U2charist, it should be U2 doing the music. Some people might disagree with the whole idea of a U2charist. I had a hard time explaining it to my Dad. He kept shaking his head, and asking about the "point." Okay, here's the point: for some of us, the music is kind of a spiritual experience. I hate to even admit that, and wouldn't unless I felt that there were enough people out there who felt the same way. Songs about love, and peace, and grace, and bloody Sundays, and beautiful days, and mysterious ways, and Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. seem to make sense. So just in case you were wondering, here's the set list for Trinity's U2charist:
Pride
Mysterious Ways
Elevation
One
When Love Comes to Town
Love and Peace or Else
Miracle Drug
Beautiful Day
Peace on Earth

Let us go forth in the name of Christ.
Thanks be to God.

Putin Offers to Base U.S. Missile Shield in Azerbaijan

Bush and Putin are having a bit of a riff. The main point of contention is a U.S. anti-missile program that envisions a radar screen in the Czech Republic to detect incoming rockets and 10 interceptors based in Poland to shoot them down.

Unhappy about NATO's expansion to Russia's border, the Kremlin is suspicious about the U.S. putting rockets in former Soviet republics.Putin's counterproposal would use an aging radar installation at Gabala in northern Azerbaijan, a central Asian country bordering the Caspian Sea, to watch for missile threats. Apparently, President Ilhim Aliev is agreeable to this. No surprise.

Azerbaijan has exchanged opinions on missile defense in talks with Russia and the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the issue with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov during an official visit to Baku last week, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said, according to Russia's RIA-Novosti news agency.

Rasim Musabeyov, an independent political analyst in Azerbaijan, said U.S. involvement would anger Iran and strain Azerbaijan's relations with Tehran, but added that support from Washington and Moscow could counterbalance that effect.

So, Azerbaijan is in the precarious positiion of trying to please everyone. This tiny country, with so, so much oil and natural resources continually walks on eggshells so they can keep the West convniced that they are an ally, and try to keep Russia on their side as well.

Meanwhile, the people of Azerbaijan may never reap the benefits of all that oil...all that natural resource. The government will continue to do what is best for the government, with little regard for the people. By the way, the people of this country are so very gracious, and they are survivors. In their eyes you can see pride, and determination. Regardless of how the goverment continuees to misbehave, they will rise above it.

Queen of Sheba

We went to Oklahoma City for our eighteenth wedding anniversary. So you might be wondering what is so exciting about Oklahoma City. Well, Bricktown is really cool. Shops, restaurants, nightlife. We ventured out of Bricktown however so that we could eat at the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant. I read about it on a Yahoo group I am a member of, and thought it might be fun to try. Kyle and Colin are hoping to travel to Ethiopia next month to visit some orphanages and deliver supplies. We weren't sure about the restaurant - we didn't know anyone who had tried it, but we were feeling adventurous. After all, we had made it eighteen years, what harm could come to us at this point? It is located in a strip shopping center not far from downtown, and driving up, we still weren't sure what we were getting into. It wasn't impressive from the outside, but as soon as we walked in, we knew we were in for the real deal. If we were worried about it not being authentic, we were wrong. If we were worried about the people not being from Ethiopia, we were wrong. If we were worried about the food not being good...we were WRONG!! All the way around, the evening was extraordinary. For starters, the owners, Mimi and Begib Younis are from Ethiopia, and they are the most gracious people you could ever hope to meet. Also, the food was beyond wonderful. We got a sampler plate, with lentils, spiced beef, chicken and boiled eggs, chickpeas, carrots, potatoes...the list goes on. It was all smothered in a combination of spicy and mild sauce, and served with injera. Oh my - a bit of bread with every bite. Oh, did I mention that your silverware is a small piece of flattened bread? This is MY kind of meal!!

So here's the most amazing thing about the evening. In walks a family, with their daughter and her boyfriend, who was born in Ethiopia and adopted when he was fourteen. The four of them are leaving the next morning for Addis Ababa, and it just so happens that Alan and his girlfriend will be in the capital when Kyle and Colin are planning on being there. Alan just graduated from Oklahoma Christian University. He is looking forward to Kyle and Colin getting in touch with him when they get to Addis. And as we are leaving, Alan says, "I don't know how you look at things, but I believe that there are no accidents. This is God." Wow. Must say that I agree.

We met several other Ethiopians. They are warm and precious people. I can't imagine a better anniversary evening.

Eighteen Years

Happy Anniversary, Love. You're still the one.