Just out of the Pool of Dilemmas. Phew. I must have left a good 4% of the world's problems behind. I pity the Pool Man who has to scrub all the residue and debris left by all the swimmers in the pool that the chlorine cannot scrub out--all the personal detrius, political strands, project grains and all problems that are dispelled in the daily back and forth in the magical blueness down the tiled line, between the blue crosses. Think about the leavings. And the takings? The Pool of Dilemmas solve more than surface them... Or maybe it dissolves them?
Could it be the chemistry of the water? Or just the flow of water to water...the osmosis of our 94% water to the pool and vice versa?
The Mount Everest of Super Bowl dining (making a pile of chicken wings) was attempted--and from the responses--it was achieved. The novel phrase "Mad Chill" and "Madgood" were impulsively spouted by the silent and stoic, non-evocative teen male. Our gal was, as always, positive, bubbly and happy to eat any and all (no sauce please). We are down to 2 scones and a pyramid of chicken bones. Those went down too...without a blink. It is nice to have an audience to perform to ...and all the output is input immediately. The Super Bowl made the boys happy. I watched YouTube videos about Gordon B. Hinckley, the former President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
I am interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--This has been a longterm fascination for me after visiting Salt Lake City in my teens on a family trip out West. Since then, we have visited Independence, MO (on a business trip...with a side bar to Independence), the the NYC church, to Palmyra NY for the annual Hill Cumorah pageant. Since high school, I have been devouring books about the LDS faith, Joseph Smith and all the history and controversies surrounding the faith, the facts and the lifestyle. It was coincidence that we moved here, to NY State, particularly that of Central New York which was the hot bed for social changes, religions and religious communities and thought--giving this region the nickname of the Burnt Over District. Some of the leading lights of this time period (1800- 1900) include: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglas, The Fox Sisters, Joesph Smith( First Prophet of the LDS Church), William Miller and the Millerites, The Shakers, The Perfectionist Community --The Oneidas, to name a few. I love all of these local groups and delve into their history and imagery.
However, the LDS Church has become more dimensionalized for me since the web has come on with the blogging community and podcasts. I listen to most of the Mormon podcasts with my favorites being Steven Kapp Perry's Cricket and Seagull, a weekly half hour music and church related interview show; and John Dehlin's Mormon Stories. John Dehlin presents all sorts of aspects of the church, turning over ideas, philosophy and practices with experts in a very thoughtful, careful and prepared way. He shows great respect towards his listeners and his guests--providing, I would think, a huge resource for those members of the faith who may have questions without a place to go within the church at large to surface questions and get some direction. I admire the work and time John Dehlin gives to his podcast, his candor and the strength of his beliefs. Combined with my reading on history, lifestyle, the FLDS subset, and visiting the various locations, John Delhin provides balance and makes this American church real and somehow less victorian and kooky that is presented ink on paper. He has made me think of religion beyond beliefs--but that of community and lifestyle that are meshed together.
Take a listen through iTunes. It is an education--particularly in the visibility the church has with Hinckley's death, the new Prophet (to be announced), Mitt Romney and all the other LDS people and organizations beyond the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Donnie and Marie.
More later>>