Random Thoughts on the Weekend

I took Scout to her second agility class yesterday. There are only three in the class, which my husband says is a good teacher/student ratio. However, one of the three is an over-achieving Jack Russell Terrier, who can do the entire course in about 12 seconds. Scout has issues with the teeter, which scares her, and she doesn't really understand "weaving." It's been a year since her last class, so I suppose I should cut her a little slack. Also, yesterday, she really wanted to play with the other two dogs (and the trainer, I think) much more than she wanted to "study".

Last night we watched the movie, August Rush. Heavily sentimental, and I was surprised that the authors did not give credit to Oliver Twist for large chunks of the plot. However, the music is lovely, and there was one piece of dialogue that stopped me in my tracks:

Wizard (Robin Williams charcter, modelled on Fagin): What do you want to be in the world? I mean the whole world. What do you want to be? Close your eyes and think about that.

August (11 year old orphan who has run away, looking for his parents): FOUND.

Today our outdoor service was held indoors due to rain. We held our annual event to honor veterans between the services. The last three to be honored were World War II vets, but this year's honoree was a young man who had served in Iraq. The person who gave him the award noted that this is a different kind of war than that fought in World War II; no islands or cities to take; the enemy is not before you, but beside or even behind you. He also noted that that we are not hearing stories of heroism from Iraq, and speculated that this might be because the war is unpopular. That may be so, but I also suspect that we don't hear stories for the reason he first mentioned: because this is a different kind of war.

At our second service, we honored high school graduates with a special ceremony, one we designed shortly after I arrived here. We call all the graduates who are present to come forward with their parents. First we have the parents lay their hands on their children, and bless their children. Then we ask the parents to kneel, and have their children lay their hands on their heads, and say a blessing for them. I really love this action, where children bless their parents. And today the graduates who showed up were five young women who were all in the same confirmation small group. They have remained close friends, even though they are from different communities and go to different schools.

They say the weather here right now is "unsettled." We are in an "unsettled" weather system, which means we have been having thunderstorms and rain off and on for several days, with brief periods of sunshine interspersed. It's not awfully warm, but it's been very humid, and the grass is growing faster than weeds. (the weeds are growing pretty fast, too).

By the way, what do you think of my new blog design? I have been thinking about "typepad' lately, but it might be too hard for me.