Kip: The Loss of My Friend

Today is a day long wanted to be avoided, but, yes, here it is.  The loss of a friend - a dog - but a beloved dog.  Kip, Mothers 16.5 year olf Chow/Alsatian, is to be put down tonite - 8.5 h left.  I've only known him for a year and a half, but that's far more time to have him lodged in my heart. 

He has that hip thing that Alsatians get when they get to be elders.  He can no longer walk rite and falls down all the time.  We constantly have to pick him up.  His poor body and spine has been twisted terribly to try to overcompensate for his failed hips. It is deeply harsh to watch him ragged around - fall - pick him up - and then limp again.  He can no longer dump w/out being held up by his hindquarters.  He can't whizz w/out walking doing it.

Although his mind is still sharp - tho' not his hearing or eyesite - his body has just failed him. It'll be impossible to deal w/out seeing his face and personality. So used to him.  I've never been able to experience him in full bloom.  Love to hear tearful stories of him young and racing and jumping and being a scamp.  Days never to return. 

And now his days are gone.  This has been a deatchwatch week.  Was @ her place on the weekend.  Brought up Bolo and Captain Monday to share the house w. him this week.  Wednesday Mothers came over to enjoy one last day @ my house (no longer will he be in the yard.  No longer will the carpets be brought out to help him be steady as he tries to walk.  No longer......).  Stayed over last nite @ her place so I could max out on these last hours w. him.  And now...

I'll leave for Mothers place after school today.  I'llbe able toshare his last few hours w. Mothers and he rother dog Scout and Bolo.  Sometime around 8, I guess.  Today is just dreadful.

Life is so short. 

"http://www.youtube.com/embed/4DHGZZ-apMk"

comissioned

An officer again.

defender or wing or stopper: equally bad

Played my first organized game of soccer in ... 28 years, and boy was it a test. The guys I coach with have run/been on the team for years, part of a complex of under 16 boys teqams, girl teams, and this one - the 'Verten' team. It is a mix of older and younger guys who play for fun - but are also very competitive. The league - CLASA - is mainly Mexican Americans and Mexicans who all have played the whole lives and want to continue playing as they get older. Pretty skilled an dknowledgable, it's not aleague for beginners. And ... Im sorta a challenged player, so I'd've been happy to get a few minutes in each half to break meself in - but ...

We had a team of 11. In a sport thta plays 11 @ a time. So there would be no rest for me. 90m full of running and covering and muscling and trying to control and pass the ball. Yikes!! So out of shape I am. We played Saturday in the 90+ heat, and I was wilting. From the kickoff. Prtetty much all I could do was just run into the other players to try to destroy what they were doing. My tramates put up with me - there were no replacements, so it was better w. me on the field than me off - but I felt oftentimes embarressed @ my skill level/fitness.

1/4 of the way into the game my team -Atlante Veterns - got an extra player. I immediately signelled "cambio" and sat for the last 20m of the half, just drinking ater and pouring it on my head. Oi so devestated!! I was somewhat recovered for the second half and actually played the entire second half - but was so gassed that I was inneffesctual. I could break up someplays, but others my guy was left unmarked. Sometimes I got to the ball, but often it would be just stolen off of me. Once I was open and there was a real long pass from the back - agreat play on me an dmy teammates part - but I was not fast enough to catch up to it.

I felt I left them down a lot - but they were more thna happy to have me on the tram - crappy as I played. I need to play more to get myself to a place where I will not embarress myself. I was glad none of the kids I coach witnessed me playing.

But I was also happy I finally played. It was a goal of mine to get on a team. I almost did last spring, but then I had my knee injury. I was prodded by the other coaches to join this team, and I'm glad I did.   Must get inbto shape, eat less macdonalds, and love water ever more. 

Loved wearing #33.

monk

She can hardly wait till "C"

But what about "B"

courtesy Gallo

the olde school

Gamed'up @ Gately Stadium today - where i actually played in grammer school and across the street from where I used to teach about 10 years ago. Game was really fun, but ultimately frustrating - varsity again tied, and this time so did we. I had two girls back from varsity - not my chpoice as it was the people above me, but deeply welcome as it meant we actually had a bit of skill and some talent and the possibility of offense. However, we still hav enot scored, despite the fact we had chance after chance bounce off the side of the net or dribbled into the other goalies hands after a tepid strike fromone of my girls. Should've won. Scored. But no.

Brite side? Our spirit. The girls love being part of the team. JV is much less.... less issues than the varsity, lets say. Despite my gloomyness about not getting the 3 points, they were cheering and happy. Good thing.

And, hey, across the street from the old school. Taught there about 5m and in the middle of the year mentally collapsed. One weekend during that year I had gotten myself into a position where I actually thought I ws gonna be killed - and my mind just snapped out. Never went back to that school and quit it. Ten years on I can see my mistake now. Was @ several schools since then and haven't been able to stick @ any. NOW so wish do i could have that chance back. Such a rough school - but have been in tuffer.

Ahd an interview @ a grammer school earlier in the week. Englewood neighbourhood, so I bet it'll be tuff as hell if I were to get the job.

Except Im shure I will never get hired again.

The interview went well, and the school library - of the 35 things I'm certified to teach, this position is a librarian spot - has so much potential. great space, windows so i can smother it w. plants, and a decent -but oolde - collection of books. Only four computers, but we can work on getting more.

Well, except i will neve rget the job. Or any job again.

Except soccer coach @ the school I coach @ now. A job I will never lose, actually.

Twice in a 25h span (Monday and Tuesday nites)

Twice in two days @ Vic. Mothers bothtimes. Firsttime wayupstairs - backittybackrow away from the pit area where the heat and closedin gatherdness of the young people awayed us. Second nite - the pit, where it was far more hospitipal w. the above18 crowd being all old and that sorta stuff.

We went out to eat first. Of course we have our favourite places. Monday was the Noodle shop @ the end of her street. Ate the regular goodies - Mongolian beef for me, w. chopstix i so love to use after seventy too many Kurasawa flix - her Pad Thai. Thai Ice cafe allaround. Quickwalk 'cause we were time budgeted. Pregame meal the second nite was that baked chicked place on corner of Broadway and Belmont - we shared the 1/2chix special. Suck great mashed poataoes and bread to go along w. ther chicken that made the place name. We eat @ either maybe once every two weeks. Good, cheap, and these two nites onthe way to walk to the Vic.

Both shows basically identiucal, except for our viewing stations - upupandaway -v- @ their feet. Both shows basically shining. Ive made the remark before that I love this band best when the guitarist strums - he's so pickish and quiet, but when the chords come out, i tend to move. Best exemplified in "Chicken with his head cut off" Most of the show, however, were those quite and slow songs which i enjoyed - but wishing they'd rock more. In truth, "chicken" was one of the very few uptempo sides the whole nite. Dominate did the dour deep sides that to me characterize most of the stuff they have done since ... well, 1992.

And QUIET Laet we feared we were and we walked into such a quiet arena - a place where Ive seen Oasis, for Gods sake! The magnetic Fields are kinda like a chamber group, if i'm correct inwhatever achamber group is - but the acoustic guitar, cello, grandpiano, ukelale and Stephin merrits dour demanear hush the entie crowd always. Nobody talks during the songs. Nobody. well, hushed asides like 'i need to visit the loo' but no banter or yobbo yap. Mothers had no clue what to expect, and I was amused in showing her this sorta rock show.

As always, when you see this band twice in 24h, you want to see them more. verymuch fun to go bothtimes, and'dbeen fun to hang w. Mothers on wednesdaynite w. the magnetic fields as well.

Except they were in Iowa.

The best song of all time

new beginnings

Totally looked fwd to this years soccer season - varsity promised to be good and my team even better (@ the JV level). I was looking @ a team that finished in 4th place in the regular season and promising even more this year. But.

Things aint always werked upout to be what day supposed to be.

Four of my girls were taken up to varsity, and my 'set @ 9 of 11 positions' evapp'ed. Instead of an experienced group of tuffgirls JV has tonnage of new faces. So, as Winters taught us, we improvise. Some of last years girls came back (Tuffgirls @ sweeper, stopper, side defender,and a midfield who switches betwixt defensivemid and side mid, a powerful but slow forward -- plus a talented and fast learning, tho' w.slite confidence in herself because she really should be on varsity mid/forward)) and we mix them with the new girls.

The new girls? That characteristic mix of 'never played before' and 'hey - talented!'. Paramount is a girl who doesn't want to be on varsity (why?) even tho' she more ready than the four girls who left us for varsity . She's a sophomore and we have her in @ midfielder, tho' she'll drop to stopper in some cases. Her freshman sister is also on the team - the other coach believes that she only plays because when young he parents probably made her play - that joy isn't there (yet). We're developing two new goalies - both seem to be good, and are freshman so they will hav elots of time to develop. Several tuffgirls (c'ant tell you how wonderful it is to see teenagegirls not shying away from being physically aggressive - this is so important in soccer)who still have lots to learn in the game but are a joy to be around - one who may be a defensive mid, two side defenders, a girl who came over from softball and is good, and finally another side midfielder.

Above pretty much defines the starting lineup and the girls who will get most of the time on the field. And then there is the rest of the team - bubbly all. Two of the thinnist longlegged girls ever. Several girls so shy I'm so shocked whenever I hear their voices. A sister set, where the younger seems to be better than the older. And lots os silly girls whoknows where thier talent and determination will take them.

Bit dissapointed on not having my set of killer sback fromlast year. Estatic that I have a new set of girls to mold into killers this years. And the small realisaation that I had a part in molding some of those girls from last year and now on varsity into a murderous crew. So, well, that's really what JV is for. It is.

Christmastime is here again!

Basically it's a nitemare to be around children anymore - it's just really really hard. As my frenz are of the age a late age, n'atch - where they're finally having kids, that sorta life seems fades off of any future I may see. Many reasons.

Parents came to this country from a very poor background. Very poor -Appalachian style poor - Mom had that grammar school education and Dad had that .... well, he never set foot in a school and started in the boats when he was 7. They wanted - genetics go calling - a better backdrop for their offspring, and the Promised Land of America was the only place for it. They had as many kids as they could and worked hard - always w. me understanding that they had sacrificed everything for us. Left the country (Dad never saw his parents again, Mom saw Grandmother once more and Grandfather three more times) , overtime and extra jobs, saving always for our schooling. The deep importance of children and th future - well, everything - depended on these two things. Always knew I was wildely loved - but also understood it wasn't me, it was the family and my part in it.

Then came the kids. Nephew.1, Niece.1, Niece.2 etc etc etc... Sisters lived so close, we constantly babysat or visited or were visited. Intoxicating. The kids were so fun, and again to be part of a whole working forward. So much fun them being about - BUT MORE!!! trying to expand them by taking them wherever. Lots of games - easy: Fire, Sox, Bulls, Hawks, etc... Movies, plays, the odd street theatre, a free music in Grant Park. Coaching them year after year in soccer. Wasn't a job, being an Uncle.

And Q. We shared that FirstLove between us, and like all young lovers, we wanted to burst our love all over the whole world - couldn't everyone see how great and wonderful existence @ this time and place is. And of course, we really wanted to help out the world by spreading our love even more with our "VirgilQ's" or "QVirgils", depending on which of us happened to be romantically romanticised our relationship @ that moment. We settled on seven kids we would have, and all were named both first and middle.

It was nice being a Freak amongst my college educated frenz (Many non university trained had kids outta HS or soon after) in the whole kid. I really liked that I'd changed hundreds of diapers by the time I was 25. I liked bringing the kids around frenz who probably had not had much real interaction w/ kids up to that point. I liked being not an expert but The Expert in real terms on children.

And now.

Modern times, ,modern country, modern economics.... Took a long time, but now it's the time for many of my frenz to finally have kids. Again - many non university types already had kids - but the educated ones, nows the time. And it's not me taking munchkins everywhere anymore - it's people who were once young now doing that. And - there's me wasting away in Moms basement, unemployed, and now surrounded by everyone elses kids. Even those that gave me so much joy - the 8 nieces and nephews - have dwindled away as they grow up and are now getting jobs and off to colleges and etc... They have their own lives and are rarely over - and I can see into the future where I probably will see some of them once every two years or whatever.

Where I once was rare in a great way, it seems Ive passed into rarity once again - but in a way I never wanted. Where once I was once surrounded and glorious - now sequestered and dimmed. Rage rage and the dying of the lite and all that, all playing out in my spirit.

In many ways it's like March of 1814 and Napoleon est moi. It's that soccer team and being a coach and it's importance to me. However much I feel that life has totally passed me by, there still are 40 girls and 55 boys each year that look to us three coach's for guidence. It's still me who makes out lineup cards, pulls kids aside to correctly show them how I want whatever done, subs in kids, gives the halftime speech, etc...

Except for these 100odd kids or so, it's next to impossible to be arounbd young people these days. I hate it.

letskillourselves

Naan on Devon

Hadda happen sometime, but finally it did - excited to try anew Devon Indian food pace - Naan on Devon - and came away .... disappointed. A Friday in Lent so I was meatless - and since Gahreeb has so many succulent veggie meals, Mothers and I decided to Devon it - but w. a twist. We had a 1/2 priced coupon for Naan, and decided to cash it in there instead of the more familiar Gahreeb. She - no catholic - got shik kabob beef and I got veggie byrani (rice), plus 4 paratha.

Took it to her crib and ate. Paratha? Dry. Yougert sauce? Waterey. Byrani? Eh. I tried the beef this morning - that was pretty good. So, an underwhelming dining experience - but, there were 'conditions'. I was having a blueday in my head, so that kinda took away my appetite. I'm mainly a carnivore, so stuck w. a pure veggie meal isn't always good for me. based on these conditions, I will try Naan again, except w/ meat meat. I will give it another try.

Now - the atmosphere of Naan - quite kool. Gahreeb has plenty of people who are not Indian chowing there. Loyola students, , random crackers, Africans and African Americans, Hispanics - all are in the house there (plus, overwhelmingly, Indians, Indian young people on the town, Indian families, etc etc - 80% of the faces there are Indian. Given that it is open all nite, well lit from the outside calling the hungry in, the easternmost food place on Devon, and the cheapest pace on the strip make it a draw for all folk.

Naan? In the middle of the strip (across from Chopal, where we ate on St. Valentines Day, near tiffen where we ate Wednesday). Clientele? Bunch of old Indian dudes eating w. their hands. Felt slitely outta place. But best of all was the additions. The Muslim Observer newspaper to read. Mothers spotted a prayer room and I spotted a sink to correctly wash oneself before meals. Want to go back again to give it another shot, and because, well, mainly for the atmosphere.

Just hoping the paratha isn't as dry next time.

Tiffin on Devon

All things Indian food continue. We had such a good time on St. Valentines Day eating @ Chophal kabob on devon that we decided to have a second St. Valentines Day, except this time we ate @ Tiffin - favoured place of the Gallos.

Excellent. We split lamb and chicken plates and got rice and parathas. One was better than the other. My taste in Indian is so conditioned by Gahreeb @ this point - it's always good to have something diferent.

Gahreeb is such a utilitarian place. There's the counter and the seating area that basically looks like a typical hotdog place seating. There are the nods to Indian culture - rite now cricket is always on the telly, plus posters of places like the Taj mahol etc... Basically, however, it would fit in my neighbourhood (clientel'd stick out, tho'). So, these other places we are now going to - more real restuaraunt places - are terrible different.

Um, cluttered. Stuffy, oftentimes. No blanket statement this - well, actually it is - but totally typical of each place we've eaten so far. ndian Garden on Ontario. Those several place sout in the subarbs when we went to see Nephew.3's football games. Everywhere on devon. Whyso??

The thought has passed my mind - this shit is so tasty, would it be a good idea to open a like place in my neighbourhood? Again, the population down here is different than on Devon - we lack, for example, the mass of Haseids who stroll the area - but the foods the food. However, i have no experience in restauraunts or anything like that - plus, you know, the capital and the dismal lifespans of restauraunts - but it has again and again crossed my mind. Trust me - there's no place anywhere on the Southside (exception is on ok place in, of course, Hyde park) that has Indian food - believe me, Ive looked long and hard and dissapointedly on the interenet.

So, an idea, but just.

Tonite? It's a Friday in Lent, so it's veggie for me. Hoping to corral Mothers to gahreeb so we can get, oh, a Veggie mix and Channa Masala and biyrani and 4 parathas.

Who's hungry?

Gospel Music

Seen @ Empty Bottle 2m ago:

music

I figgered when i got a few frets of my own in my hands the original music would spill quite easily. I've got it all figgered out and dont bother me. I mean, I hear it all the time in my head, it's gotta be easy to translate that thru' instruments once mysteries and codes were cracked. It's one thing to be able to rock "Brimfull of Asha" on my guitar - but for somethig compelling to be created?

Voice and guitar are my instruments of semi proficiany, but a spare snare drum, an olde Irish tin whistle and harmonica from the New Association days of the late 70's, a washboard, several noise makers, a tambourine, a recorder willed to me from Rabbi Hecht, a piano, and ....a computer.

Doesn't really work that way, for me. Oh like lots of other rockers - i've got some riffs in me. Sure it's kool, and god what would this shit sound like fuzzed on an electric? But to create somthing compelling to listen to - well, first and foremost, something to danse to - es duro.

I'm still waylearning all this guitar stuff, so I'm mainly tied to choirds still- but wonderwonder of computer recording (w. excellent microphone - i love excellent microphone) I can easily lay down a backing track and fiddle w. leads over that. Very simple.

But again, what is not simple, is "would a person danse to this?".

And the process. Ive sytarted from riffs, Ive started from faux bass parts, Ive tried to lay down percussion - it's all too much, so to speak. I love the sound that comes out - but it is not the sound that I want to come out.

Worrynaught lovers, there is that one key to success that i do have - just keep pushing. Soccer season has aagin started, and the swirl of teen girls - all varying in sporting proficiency - are in need. Especially those that will be on my team - they need so much help in so many areas. But my constant refrain - This is what we want you to do in this exercise, these are the three things we want you to learn from what we are doing rite now, work on this skill, put the gard work in conditioning yourself - and trust me, young lady, keep pushing here and you will be just as good as any of the varsity girls when you are a senior. Trust me, I remember them when they were 14 as well.

So, Keep Pushing. It's there, just deeply tepid.

52d Street exists - Ive seen it - but 52d Street is forever gone

Oh, Ive forced myself to listen to some rock during this ride - but since summer, Jazz has really taken hold (Fearnought - I am a Punk Rocker till I die) and the incessant need to try to capture what I'd never appreciated before (Well, besides a love of "Hello Dolly", but everyone loves that song). So, tonnes of jazz listened to, on CD, Mp3, Lp, Internet, and 90.9.

A learning experience , it is. Enjoyable as well.

But the key is to watch the shit live. And for me, a neophyte, really not knowing who is good these days. Yes, I know all the historical names - Armstrong, Morton, Basie, Ellington, Webb, Dizzy, Bichet, Coleman, Roach, Davis, Rollins, Coltrane, Mingus, etc etc etc... Even SAW MILES DAVIS in his last show ever - but had no appreciation for it (Girls were the reason iwas @ that Jazzfest that year) But all these greats (Rollins lives, actually) are all dead and gone. Comme 52d street.

So, who do I see?

Been to a few show w. Mothers.

In San Francisco, went to Yoshi's and saw an 'open Mike' sorta show - Yoshi's supplied the Bassist and the drummer, and horn players came up themselves. Amateurs. No slite on them , but....so bad.

Saw a nice duet between a Brazilian guitarest and a Polish singer @ The Jazz Showcase on a Wednesday nite. One sang, one sang and played the acoustic.

Saw two experimental shows @ the Cultural Centre. Experimental.

Dave Brubecks sons @ the Old Town - a trombone on one song, no horns elstwise.

And,,,,other,,,,shows,,,,,

Great times all, but still something was wanting in me : I wanted to experience a drummer, a sax, a bass, a trumpet (or close approximation) - a more or less classical jazz concert. I mean, I just want to experience expert jazz musicians in a somewhat traditional enviroment w. trad. instruments, swinging. And - yay!-last nite, finally, got it. Mothers and I went to see a "Charlie Parker with Strings" homage @ the Harris Theatre featuring alto saxman Miguel Zenon backed not just by the Chicago Jazz Emsemble but also a string section- and it was brilliant. Even, beyond...

Strings?? Parker is mainly id' w/ the bop revolution in Jazz music that occurred during WW2 and totally exploded after the war. First, history: during the 20's thu' the end of the war, Swing music, played by big bands and featuring the audience dancing, was the big deal. When you thought jazz in the 30's - excuse me: 'when you thought "jazz" in the 30's (because the music was called swing @ that moment)', you thought of massive ballrooms (The Aragon!!) and hundreds of people dancing - dancing was SUCH a major motif of seeing/jazz in that period - and 16-24 players on the bandstand.

AND THEN: basically, after 20 years or so of Swing being the thing, many of the musicians themselves began to feel superstifled in the bigband/play every song like the recordtype/straitjacket type deal - and began to change things. Now, I'm a little weak on this - bop is such a bizarre thing - but what the really frustrated musicians started to do was change the nature of the songs that they had always played.

Jazz musicians previous to bop tended to cover the same songs all of the time, but they would arrange them differently. So, a song may be chorded, say, A A Em D , but whereas a song played by one group may play the A section in one way, another group may play it differently - say, faster, or more emphasis on the first A, or one group may use the trumpets in the section while another group would use that as a place where the piano could go... It's funny - you listen to a song done by by two or three groups, and unless it's arraigned the same - they are different songs totally.

And then, bop. This up here is all confusing? Gets worse.

Chords are collections of individual notes. The A chord, f.ex, is made of the individual notes E A and C#. Bop musicians took those individual notes and played them where the chords were - so, instead of an A, they'd quickly play some combo of E,A, or C#. Or something like that. Bop musicians had to stuff all of those individual notes where before they played a full chord, so Bop - when it started - sounded like outofcontrol speeding musicians racing through these songs.

To me - bizarre!! Who thought of this??

But also:

Kool!!

And so as swing disappeared, so did the big bands and the ballrooms and all the dansing. Jazz- as it is now called - performances transformed into no dancing, no ballrooms, and no big giant bands - what you now had were small smokey clubs where there mite be a trumpet, a sax, a piano, a drummer, and a bass player, or some combo like that.

And, as Mothers and I sat in our seats, that's exactely how the concert started. Not a smokey club - but sax, trumpet, bass, piano, and drums were featured in the first song "Ornithology" Tho' this concert centered on 'Parker w. Strings' - and a huge big band and string section - the organizers wanted to give us a taste of the small combo structure. And, "Ornithology" was such a joyous moment for me. They just sounded so good, pro's, and it was a treat to hear a familier song done brilliantly. But the best moment - that first solo, given to the piano player - when he solo'd, it just sounded so good, so good. So good, man. Just good. And then to just revel in the trumpet , then the sax solo, bass, drums, and then they all solo'd off the drummer.

Again, what I'd been waiting for these last, say 9-10 months. A pure joy.

And then ..... they added strings. Charlie Parker had wanted to record an LP of standards songs - again, think of the same recycled songs again and again - but now with 4 fiddles, 2 violas, a Harp, a cello, and English (sometimes she played an oboe) and French horns (not strings, but). What he wanted to do was combine the strings w. his playing his alto sax over it bop style. Nice vision. And the instant it hit - BAM. Strings, sounding so kool, so funny recreated onstage too.

There were two leaders in the band . One was the director of the whole Ensemble, Dana Hall. He'd give a brief background to each song - I didn;t learn much new- but I enjoyed his emphesis. And the superspecial guest was Miguel Zenon, a superior Alto saxman who has piles of credentials. It would not be good to say that he was superior in this show - because everyone onstage was superior. Just good.

And just pile that shit on. With the strings still onstage with the small combo, out came the big band of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble - sax's, both alto and tenor, trombones, and trumpets. So, there we were, watching maybe 25 musicians rock the shit out of the place.

I'm so cheap. 2h before the show I was still debating on whether to spend the $18/tix. Was it worth it? Well, worth much more.

Took no foto's. Mothers took a few, and I'lla ttach them sometime. So good. Trib review.

Witness to some Jehovahs Witnesses

Round the neighbourhood they go, door to door, generally middle-aged women, trying to scout for new converts. Me. Scraggled, in sweats and a jumper and weeks away from lastshave, said to the ladies 'yeah you can come back next Wednesday and we can talk'.

Admit it: You wanted to jabber about the bible and see what little these peole know.

Admitted? Ego, and not much else? Still not shure.

Soccer practice and being on the wrong side of the city and the evercall of everjenx meant that the 'meet'would be delayed a week - but Thursday, again me notshave/sweats/jumper, they show up. It was the original lady - and this time a heavy. Not two women this time - the original woman and a nicedressed dude who I surmised was a little higher up on the hierarchy chain.

It was he who lead the discussion.

And, for ten minutes, I listened and nodded and read what they wanted me to read. They had their few verses that they attached great meaning to, and I was there for them.

For ten minutes.

Then, it was my turn to jabble. Out came Spong and Erhman and Borg and Crossan and Wills and Pagels and King and them all. Couldn't help it. Wanted so badly to have an intelligent conversation about the bible - teach them even - or was it just my ego? With frenz, I'll talk on the bible, not preach of course but only to illuminate some interesting things* ideas, etc etc etc... With Jakovv (nee Jamie) - so much bible talked between us - when I get something new =either an interesting find or a damning denouncement of his views - there is great joy in "HEY, guess what this author thinks!!!"

But with these two .... not shure my motives...

And, inevitably, as I was talking on about .......... well, the seven authentic letters of Paul and the movement of the bible from something in the oral tradition that was finally written in Aramic to Greek to Latin to English and a favoured original line about Genesis: "If I'm Abraham and I got my son tied to the sacfifice atlar and the Voices in my head are telling me to slaughter my son - I'M NOT LISTENING!" ....as all that was going on - suddenly they had to leave. Work, I think they needed to suddenly go to.

"BUT WAIT!", but too late, as I wanted to show them the books I was talking of and challenging them to read and also feeling bad: was it just me wanting to show off?

Or did I want to convert them?

.................................................................

*='light to the gentiles"- sorry, Ulysses has be leaved again - first time sonce 2006. I'm so ready.

biu