Thirsty

In case I don't come back on Sunday, here's where to start looking: This weekend, I am here with these people. :) Update: The trip was good. I ended up driving, with Mary Wanta riding with me, and we met the other five at "The Gallery", a family-style restaurant attached to Day's Inn in Danville, and then one at the trailhead waiting for us. Glen County Forest Preserve seemed to be in relatively good shape - the trash can at the campsite needed to be secured from being opened by animals, and other than that things were good. There were a number of large trees down over the trail, though I didn't particularly mind them. There were just a few steep climbs through ravines, though again I enjoyed the challenge. The group was very friendly, everybody was pretty easy-going and while a few of them knew each other, the general lack of knowledge people had about each other going into the trip did not turn into a bad situation. Other than the vast overabundan...

(post title is an inside joke with myself. explanation will follow when i can better explain what needs explaining) We sinned each day we passed you by And did not bind your wound, To this one's pain and that one's cry Remaining unattuned. So doing to the very least, We did, Oh Lord, to you; For, like the Levite and the priest, We had so much to do. We left you lying there for dead, Abandoned and unhealed; In your unheeded cry for bread Is selfishness revealed! I have a subscription to Magnificat at Therese 's suggestion, so that I can easily follow the Office of Readings which is a wealth of scripture for your daily prayer time. I'm very inconsistent with my reading of it. This morning, Magnificat had a very poetic and reflective reference (above) to the parable of the good samaritan ( Luke 10:30-37 ).

Time for a quick recap of the weekend. Friday after work I stopped at McDonald's to stuff my face because I didn't think I could even make it home. My Ramadan-Lent is a constant challenge.. sometimes it's success brings failure elsewhere. Then I biked up to St. Josaphat for their monthly Taize service, which is a very peaceful use of a Friday evening. I thought about how much I would miss it if/when I leave. Then I biked home, stopping briefly for some groceries. I was able to get to bed at a decent time after forcing myself up at a decent time that morning. Sleep patterns make or break my whole lifestyle. Saturday morning I drove down to Hyde Park to help Rachel & Joanne move, including spending an hour trying to obtain the rental truck. Made it back up to the loop in time to find street parking and bike to where the St. Patty's Day (not yet) Parade, Northside, was getting ready to start. The SJC marching band wasn't present due to their very necess...

As I sat in the back of the scout truck, bumping along an especially pock-marked portion of the highway during our return to Banjul , one of my brothers who sat back there with me - Abdoulie - taught me a new phrase. After a particularly jarring pothole, it is appropriate to mutter " Pouno mega dat !". I gave him an "Oy vey!" in return. See me for the proper pronunciation. That's a completely arbitrary approximation, as there is no standard written form of Mandinka. My brain is exploding. I've been attending a Friday afternoon service at a Muslim Mosque downtown with my co-worker Mehdi for awhile now, I think I've been 4 times now. I'm looking at Hindu-Christian dialogue via a book recommendation I received a couple weeks ago about a Catholic Sanyasi , a seeming contradiction in terms. I've discovered that I can possibly embrace my Jewish heritage more fully by learning the ways of Messianic Judaism. I'm arriving very close to my rel...