Double Dactyl

This is one of my favorite poems as it was so much fun to write and I really like the form. It's rollicking. The lines are dactyls, which mean feet of 3 syllables with the first stressed and the second and third unstressed. Each line has two feet, (six syllables). It also requires the first line to start with nonsense words and one line has to consist of one six syllable word. Great fun. If you write in dactyls you start to think in dactyls. Try it sometime.

Hoitety-Toitety

Grandmother Mergatrude

Crams in her noggin the

False information.

Cavorting anonymous

Antiestablishment

Loonies in lingerie

Shock her the most.

(If you want the complete rules for the form, look it up)

War

What is war? Is it Hell, like the popular phrase? I don't know from experience, but I know that it is a nasty business. It is horrible, it is death and suffering. It is the product of a fallen world. "There will be wars and rumors of wars." It is, however, a fact and a presence in this world and it is sometimes a necessity. I believe that war, however, is not limited to this world. I believe that there is a spiritual war, and we are involved. We are warriors whether we want to be or not. I think that we often discount the power and influence of the spiritual world. We attribute things to coincidence and we tend to caricature the devil and his servants. We also tend to make angels into soft, feminine figures. Instead, when the Bible mentions angels, they are described as warriors. As having fiery swords like the angel standing guard at the garden of Eden. Angels are fighters. One angel wiped out the entire Assyrian army. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers. And I often forget or act like this does not affect me and that I can do what I want and sit on the fence. That is a dangerous mindset. Thinking that what I do doesn't matter. It does.

That was a tangent. I watched the Patriot last night. It is one of my favorite movies, even if it has been criticized for being inaccurate. Also, today I went to a fish fry in support of a soldier from my area who is being charged for his participation in the Iraq war. What is acceptable in war? War brings out the worst in people. You follow orders. It's for the good of the cause. Is an order good, is it bad? What happens if a soldier refuses to obey orders? Chaos. When does a soldier decide what orders to follow and what orders to disregard? Do they even have that luxury? Some things are obvious. Don't kill innocent women and children. Don't burn churches full of civilians. But what if you can't tell if the person is a soldier or not? What if they don't wear uniforms that distinguish them as the enemy? What if they are trying to kill you and will go to any length to do so? What if the enemy does not have the same scruples and moral code that you do? What if they don't follow the "rules of war?" What then? What then?

There was something to the old ways of fighting. With all the rules and "gentlemanly conduct." As the soldiers bayoneted each other and died in the field.

Lazy Bum

Being a lazy bum has its advantages and disadvantages. It is good to relax and I now have time to do things that I couldn't do before. I can be more spontaneous. If someone calls me up and asks if I can go out or help them with a project, I can usually go. On the flip side, I don't necessarily get much accomplished. There are always the plans and projects, but they invariably don't get done because I have time. And then I don't. Soon it will be time to go back to Hillsdale. I tend to be more productive when I am by myself, but not always. I like making my own decisions, doing things because I decided to and want to, not because I have to or am told to. Things get done, they always do. Eventually.

I am now 23. I like that age. It seems like a good age, though I don't know yet. We went out and ate Thai food and then went to see Kung Fu Panda. The movie was ok, but not really my thing. Some funny parts and pretty good for Dreamworks. I'm really looking forward to Wall-E, but I may have some difficulty finding someone to go with me. I also received the A and E Pride and Prejudice for my birthday. So excited about that. I'm so glad that I have my own copy.

My best thoughts and ideas seem to come at night. I guess that's why I often post late at night. I just feel kind of dried up right now, though it will probably pass. I wish that I had public library type access this summer. I like watching episodes of British television shows. I caught an episode of Allo, Allo, and it is really funny. It's about a French cafe that is a hub of French resistance in WWII. I would like to see more episodes. I'd also like to get ahold of Robin of Sherwood. It's from the 80s, and I think it's a grittier, more mythological and magical take on Robin Hood. I am interested in different perspectives on Robin Hood. So far, the best portrayal of him and his band is in the book Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Anyway, we get BBC catalog's and I look through them to see if there are any shows that look good, then I try to find them on Melcat. But, I don't have access over the summer. Aye well.

TTFN

Doldrums.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them: and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

It stinketh

The water has subsided. We have a yard again. The houses on the other side of the highway got it worse than us. Some people actually have water damage in their houses. We are very blessed. We have been praying really hard all day that it wouldn't rain. We are supposed to have storms, but it has bypassed us so far. Some of the worst part of flooding is the smell. The smell of stagnant pond and dying worms and decaying vegetation.

I guess Wisconsin has been hit really hard too. Wisconsin Dells had houses floating away. At least that was the footage on the weather channel.

This is a bit depressing, but it is the news here.

I went put putting with a church youth group last night. It was a lot of fun. I like the youth pastor. She and I are going to be working with the jr. high kids at VBS later this month. It should be good. Lots of community service. :-)

Now I Know How Noah Felt

We have had a flood. Ten inches of rain last night, I guess, and we were already saturated. I woke up to find my backyard a lake, connected with the other backyards in the neighborhood. My brother constructed a waterfall and a river to drain into the street. I call it the river. The last picture is of the waterfall and the one before it is of the river. The pictures don't really do justice to what we've dealt with. Mom and I cleaned the street drains, scooping out the leaves and trash so the water would drain better. Our waters are just starting to recede because the big culvert in the back was draining into us. Route 133 was impassable, and the whole South side of town was under water. Before this, we have had storms, and at least one tree was uprooted and others fell down or lost big branches and limbs. No one can remember it ever being this bad, even thinking back to 50 years ago. We've flooded before, but never like this. We are blessed, however, as it has not damaged the house. Please pray that it would not rain anymore. We cannot handle it.

I mentioned the storm. Well, a storm with tornadoes came through yesterday. That was the storm that uprooted the tree. Yesterday was wedding rehearsal and today was the wedding. Many roads were impassable and people were unable to make it to the wedding, which was disappointing. The wedding was beautiful, and not just physically. The music went well, and I did not make any major blunders. It was a beautiful, sincere, Christian wedding. Short though. I'm used to weddings with sermons in them. :-)

Again, I'm up late. I should probably be better disciplined. Don't believe the time on the post, though. My computer is still on Eastern time.

Faith

Preaching was really good at Bible study tonight. I was reminded about what Christianity is. If I really believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on a cross for the sins of myself and everyone else in the world and that only an active faith in Him will grant eternal life, then I should act like it. If I really believe that if people do not have a saving knowledge of Christ they will go to Hell, then I should not be complacent. I should want people to be saved. It is easy to be complacent, not bother people or make them uncomfortable, let them do what they want. I believe what I want to and you believe what you want to, that's OK. No, it's not. I should pray not only for people but for opportunities to share my faith. There are good and bad ways to share one's faith. It's a lot about timing and often about just answering questions when they arise. Talking about faith and religion can be daunting and uncomfortable at times, but it is good to know what you believe and be willing to share and articulate these beliefs when asked about them.

Home

It's almost 2 AM and I am not sleepy. I was wondering why, as I looked at the screen and realized that I had a Coke. I rarely drink pop, especially the dark caffeinated stuff, and that's probably it, though it was several hours ago. I tend to post at night. Usually late at night.

Not a whole lot to say. Home is home. I feel very indolent. I don't want to really do anything, but mainly I feel like there is nothing to do. So I bum around. The main thing is that we have a lot of rain and storms. The river is really high and the water is leaping out of the spillway. Some farmers still haven't finished planting, which is not good. And, they may need to replant because of the water. Water water everywhere.

The music rehearsal went ok. The bride and mother of the bride like it, so that's all that matters. This is the first wedding in which I'll be by myself instead of in a quartet. There is a pianist, but I have a solo piece without piano as well. The main thing is getting the rhythms for Pachebel's canon together, which is coming.

I want to be motivated. Home is just so different. I will be helping with vacation Bible school at one of the local churches. I'll be helping the youth minister with the junior high students. It was good to finally meet her.

You know, it really is true about Hillsdale. It's the people. I miss you all.