Carnival Ride Sun, 7th July, 2013
My life this past week has been an exciting and riotous mixture of activity and new friendships—more adventure than I ever could have thought possible while traveling no farther than downtown St. Louis.
The Pridefest Parade on June 30, experienced with my fellow Unitarian-Universalists, was the opening event of my week. We marched proudly in support of the worth and dignity of every person, in this case our friends in the LGBTQ community. With our beautiful float (see last week's blog), I felt like we were floating down Market Street on a wave of energy unleashed by love. Fear and exclusion were nowhere to be seen.
Then my family and I switched gears from celebrating the freedom of the individual to celebrating the birth of our freedom-loving nation. On the eve of Independence Day, we enjoyed the InSight Theatre production of 1776, starring Martin Fox as John Adams. It was an inspiring performance and underscored the historical reality that human and social progress is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Getting the Declaration of Independence drafted and signed by a diverse collection of colonies was an extraordinary feat. It's no different today as we're reminded that we are continually called upon to do the hard work of preserving and extending human freedom.
Our 4th of July was a classic slice of Americana, starting with the traditional parade in Webster Groves, time with family, a generous slice of watermelon and the shared experience of the local fireworks display. Betsy and I topped off the festivities the following day with a beautiful dinner for two atop the Four Seasons Hotel downtown, with an awesome view of the fireworks bursting over the Mississippi near the St. Louis Arch. It felt like we were in a dream, on top of the world, just the two of us all alone in a crowd of people.
After a wonderful afternoon BBQ with Gateway Men's Chorus friends, the week came to a climax last night as I accompanied my daughter and a friend to the Lion's Club annual carnival back in Webster Groves. It was a beautiful evening and setting was visually stunning as the glowing western sky formed a backdrop to the bright lights and whirring motion of the thrill rides. We were spun and tossed and slung until the cash finally ran out.
After all the floating and soaring and gazing into the night sky, I'm ready to come down to earth for a while. Today, let me be still and quiet and feel the solid earth beneath me. Let me breathe in, let me breath out. For, despite our longing to be launched skyward, we are after all creatures of the earth and must be reunited with our nurturing mother eventually. The carnival ride is but a momentary thrill and, thank God, they always come to an end and put us back on two feet where we belong.
My life this past week has been an exciting and riotous mixture of activity and new friendships—more adventure than I ever could have thought possible while traveling no farther than downtown St. Louis.
The Pridefest Parade on June 30, experienced with my fellow Unitarian-Universalists, was the opening event of my week. We marched proudly in support of the worth and dignity of every person, in this case our friends in the LGBTQ community. With our beautiful float (see last week's blog), I felt like we were floating down Market Street on a wave of energy unleashed by love. Fear and exclusion were nowhere to be seen.
Then my family and I switched gears from celebrating the freedom of the individual to celebrating the birth of our freedom-loving nation. On the eve of Independence Day, we enjoyed the InSight Theatre production of 1776, starring Martin Fox as John Adams. It was an inspiring performance and underscored the historical reality that human and social progress is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Getting the Declaration of Independence drafted and signed by a diverse collection of colonies was an extraordinary feat. It's no different today as we're reminded that we are continually called upon to do the hard work of preserving and extending human freedom.
Our 4th of July was a classic slice of Americana, starting with the traditional parade in Webster Groves, time with family, a generous slice of watermelon and the shared experience of the local fireworks display. Betsy and I topped off the festivities the following day with a beautiful dinner for two atop the Four Seasons Hotel downtown, with an awesome view of the fireworks bursting over the Mississippi near the St. Louis Arch. It felt like we were in a dream, on top of the world, just the two of us all alone in a crowd of people.
After a wonderful afternoon BBQ with Gateway Men's Chorus friends, the week came to a climax last night as I accompanied my daughter and a friend to the Lion's Club annual carnival back in Webster Groves. It was a beautiful evening and setting was visually stunning as the glowing western sky formed a backdrop to the bright lights and whirring motion of the thrill rides. We were spun and tossed and slung until the cash finally ran out.
After all the floating and soaring and gazing into the night sky, I'm ready to come down to earth for a while. Today, let me be still and quiet and feel the solid earth beneath me. Let me breathe in, let me breath out. For, despite our longing to be launched skyward, we are after all creatures of the earth and must be reunited with our nurturing mother eventually. The carnival ride is but a momentary thrill and, thank God, they always come to an end and put us back on two feet where we belong.
