Required Reiding

White Genesis / The Money Order (1965) by Sembene Ousmane

2012-01-25T13:18:00.003-05:00

I recently read two short stories written by Senegalese author Sembene Ousmane (published in a single volume as part of the African Writers Series). The first story (White Genesis*) tells of the social fallout resulting from an incestuous relationship involving the village chief. The story is interesting as it contains a lot of cultural touchstones for village life as well as life in an Islamic community. The second story, The Money Order, is about the trials and tribulations that one man faces when he attempts to receive a money order from a relative in France. I liked this one more than White Genesis and it was almost comical in its depiction of the double whammy of bureaucratic red tape and the demands society places on us. I say almost because it’s ultimately not very funny at all.

A few thoughts: While this is a story of fiction, it holds many truths that resonated with me. I’ve only been here in Tanzania for 3 weeks, but I can already see how hard it can be to do something as simple as picking up a money order. Again, it’s fiction, but this story made me appreciate the lengths some of my international students had to go through and some of the bureaucratic hoops they may have had to jump through just to get to the US to study. Secondly, the story delves a lot into the conflict between “traditional” and “modern” values, both for African values as well as Islamic values. There is a great expectation among people in the story that if one can help another person, there’s a moral obligation for them to do so (like “in the old, more traditional” days). But the author also sees the darkside of this value and creates a scenario where everyone is so desperate to demand their share that no one ever gives a thought to the wellbeing of the person who is fortunate enough to offer anyone else help. The protagonist is totally at the mercy of social expectations and in some cases the manipulations of others. There’s a lot to unpack in this little story (such as the conflict between keeping traditions alive vs changing social norms that actually may hinder society) as well as some interesting parallels to the modern welfare state (both pros and cons) that would be worth exploring, BUT I’ll digress for the sake of brevity. Incidentally, there’s also a movie that was directed by the author himself, so that may be an interesting film to hunt up.

* After finishing the story, I still have no idea why this story was called White Genesis.

Home

2012-01-24T13:59:00.002-05:00

Had a rough morning in class but a good afternoon of Frisbee and a walk around the nearby neighborhoods (villages, really) trying to chat with people and joking with little kids. But right now, I’m sitting here at my study desk, chugging through some vocabulary words, watching a line of ants crawl across the wall, and glancing out at the dark night sky while listening to Social Distortion. I’m tired, and I wouldn’t call it homesickness, but I am struck by just how far away I am from friends, family, my house, and everything that, until recently, was associated with “home.” It'll be a while before "this place" really starts to feel "like home." As for now, I think it’s time for some sleep…

A Few Quick Book Reviews

2012-01-23T07:53:00.002-05:00

We have purchased a USB satellite modem that plugs into our computers and gets us pretty decent internet, though it’s not super fast and we pay for a certain amount of bandwidth. The result is that my habit of surfing the web 24/7 has ended with a quickness. This has been one of my biggest adjustments here to Tanzania, because constantly reading status updates on facebook or perusing music/movie reviews or looking at pictures of kittens or watching videos of people doing stupid things and hurting themselves- that’s what I DO with my time. And I cannot do much of that anymore with our finite amount of internet access (which is still enough to jump on a few times a day, but the usage is much more precise and limited). So, I suddenly have a lot more time on my hands. This is not a bad thing; it’s high time I cut the cord a little and did something other than the internet.

Like reading a book. Even with our classes and the study of Swahili, I’ve managed to read a book and a half since the start of language school a week ago, and I managed to finish another on the flight over a few weeks ago. Here’s some quick reviews of two books:

Biko (1978), by Donald Woods
This is the book on which the film Cry Freedom is based. It is written about Steve Biko, the black South African activist who was tortured and killed while in police custody in 1977. Written by Donald Woods, a white journalist who was very close friends with Biko and who risked his and his own family’s life by supporting Biko’s activism, the book is a very clinical and detailed overview of Biko and the world of late 1970’s South Africa. It is not always an easy read, but it is a fascinating look at Apartheid and the depths that such a racist system will stoop to protect its own ideology.

To A God Unknown (1933), by John Steinbeck
I had never heard of this book, I found it on a shelf here at Mokoko, I needed a book to read, and I like Steinbeck, so there you go. A strange little book. I’m glad I read it, it kept my interest, but I was kind of glad to be done with it. It’s about a homesteader in California and life on his ranch. The protagonist is a strange character; he’s good, but I couldn’t really connect with him at all (and in fact, no one can- that’s part of the story). If you’re a big Steinbeck fan, read this. If you aren’t, then don’t read this one. And if you haven’t read much Steinbeck and want to know where to start, then don’t start here; read The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men.

I found a whole shelf of books by African authors in the Mokoko library. I’ve read a lot about Africa, but very little of it has been written by Africans. Expect more reviews to come.

T.I.A. (This Is Africa) Moment #1

2012-01-21T05:39:00.002-05:00

One day last week, we decided to venture into Musoma to explore, and we decided to take a dalla-dalla to get there. Now, dalla-dallas are minivans that serve as the public bus system here in Tanzania (and in Kenya, though there they are called matatu). They are licensed to run specific routes, but they are independently operated, so they all compete with each other. People paint pictures and funny phrases on them to make them memorable. I’ve seen Che Guevera on one with “Freedom Fighter” painted on it (illustrated in the picture); I’ve seen a Tupac bus, I’ve seen T-Pain, lots of phrases about Jesus or Allah, I once saw one with the Pope. I saw one with a little envelope icon painted on it with the words “Message Sent!”; there’s even a “Bin Laden” dalla-dalla. They cost about 400 tsh (Tanzanian shillings) to ride, which is about $0.30 USD.

Let me paint you a picture: imagine you are sitting in an old-school Volkswagen minivan. Now imagine there are 18 more people in there with you, and THAT is the experience of riding in a dalla-dalla. Literally, you’ll think the thing is packed to the gills and then they’ll add 5 more people. People load up until everything is filled, then people stand in the spaces in between. It’s in the owner’s best interests to get as many people as they can onboard. Believe me when I tell you that a mzungu on a dalla-dalla will get plenty of stares, but everyone is nice, so the only stress in riding a dalla-dalla is figuring out where to wait for one, where it’s going, where to get off, and how much to pay- you know, minor details. It’s actually not a big deal once you’ve done it few times. There are scores and scores of dalla-dallas in Mwanza going in all different directions in and around the city; the ones in Musoma seem to pretty much run the same few circuits, and all appear to end in the middle of town, so it’s safe and easy to just jump on one, as they’ll all end up in the same place.

So the other day, we decided to go into Musoma town to walk around. The thing is full but not as packed as it could have been. Now, a brief note about the roads here. While there are most certainly paved roads in the cities, if you’re off a main road, you’re on a dirt road. A rough dirt road. Imagine you are driving in your car, then imagine a really bad rough road that would give you serious pause about driving your vehicle on it. OK, the road in your mind, that’s a GOOD Tanzanian road. These can be way worse than that. So we’re bopping along (there’s 5 of us Maryknollers onboard) and we come to a really rough spot due to construction. Suddenly, BOOM the bus is at an awkward angle and we’re solidly stuck in a muddy ditch. Now, getting stuck in the mud- not a huge thing, it happens in the US, too. But the strangest thing was that the operator opened the side door and everybody just quietly unloads and begins waling down the road, continuing on to their destination. We all look at each other, shrug, and get out. We stand around for a few minutes, and then we follow suit and just start walking down the dusty road in the hot sun. All I could do was laugh. It must be a common enough occurrence that everyone knew the drill and just kept going. I think that’s a good lesson for life in Africa: sometimes shit’s gonna happen, and you just have to keep on going. Actually, that’s a good lesson for life in general.

Here’s the happy ending: We were pretty far out of town, and we had been walking about 10-15 minutes. Suddenly, the dalla-dalla pulls up beside us and gestures for us to get back inside. The owners managed to get the thing unstuck and made sure to stop and pick up everyone that had abandoned ship earlier. I was impressed at the honesty, as it would have been very easy to just cruise on by with our money and go load up with new passengers. I doubt anyone would have paid much attention and recognized the dalla-dalla as it zipped by. It was a good learning experience and another little Tanzania adventure under my belt.

Goodbye to Mamaw Bane

2012-01-16T10:35:00.002-05:00

I have just received word that my grandmother, Juanita Bane, has died around midnight US time. This is my mother’s mother. The day before we left for Tanzania, my mom called to tell me she was being put in hospice, so we’ve been expecting this and we’ve known this was coming for even longer. The last few times I visited her, I was pretty certain she had not known who I was. She had been in a nursing home for a few years now, and while at times she was relatively lucid an in decent health, more times than not, she’s been unwell. While it is a strange thing to be so far away from family and friends during this milestone in our family’s history, I cannot say I am particularly saddened by the news. I loved my grandmother, but she’s much better off now than she has been trapped in such a sickly body; it feels like my grandmother actually died years ago. So here are a few reflections in honor of my grandmother.

Orange marmalade. If there’s one thing that always, without fail, makes me think of my grandmother, it is orange marmalade. My sister and I would often spend the night at my grandparents’ house, and every morning, there would be toast and orange marmalade. It was a staple and a treat, and for whatever reason has engrained itself in my mind as a symbol of happy childhood times. Oh, and apple turnovers. Those, too.

My mamaw played the piano/organ at Highland Baptist Church for 40 years or o, so when I was kid, she would always be in her choir robe at the front of the church when we arrived in the sanctuary. We’d run up and see her before and after the service. This special role during the service made her a bit of a rock star, and me cooler by way of association.

I took piano from my grandmother for a little while, as she was also a piano teacher. I never could get into it, so I eventually quit taking lessons. I kick myself for that now.

I am actually at this moment not even sure how old she was because for most of my childhood, she always said she was 39 years old, then maybe a few years older as time progressed, but I never could get a handle on her age. That is funny to me.

Mamaw loved butterflies.

Mamaw also loved soap operas. There was always a soap on the TV.

I have always held my grandmother up as an example of a loving wife and a woman of quiet strength. My grandfather had Alzheimer’s and went downhill over the years to a state where everything had to be done for him, and my grandmother took care of him at every step of the way. I am sure it wore her down, but I don’t ever remember her complaining about it. She just took care of her husband until his death. Consequently, after he died, I am not sure she ever really figured out what to do with herself.

My grandmother loved parakeets, and she always had birds at her house. She would also time and again have fish, and I remember as a kid preparing the fish tank for the new arrival of guppies and the like. Speaking of pets, many years ago, my grandmother’s last parakeet had died and she was without a pet bird, so I bought her a new bird for her birthday. She named it “CJ” after me (Christopher Joel). Eventually, she bought another one to keep the first one company, and lo and behold, the two birds ended up having babies (which is not unheard of but rare for pet parakeets). They ended up having 5 baby birds. What dividends on my initial investment! That was the best $20 I ever spent on a birthday present.

My mamaw was one of my greatest supporters over the years, whether it was showing up for countless school performances, hanging my artwork in her house, paying a portion of my car loan while I was in Americorps*NCCC and making little money, to my decision to become a Catholic. She always seemed proud of me and was always happy to see me.

Erica went through a huge process of scanning all the old photos they found when they cleaned out her house a few years back; when I saw all these old pictures of her as a child, I realized that I really didn’t know much about my grandmother, about her life as a child, as a young woman, etc. She’s always just been my mamaw. It’s hard to pull out specific memories about someone who always seemed to be there, a constant over all the years of my life. I will miss her, and I loved her very much. She played a role in who I am today, and I am grateful for that. I am sorry that time and distance prevented me from seeing her more over the last many years, but such is life, and she understood. She was a good woman and great grandmother, and I know she’s been reunited with all her loved ones who have passed on before.

Life at Shule Ya Lugha

2012-01-13T11:38:00.002-05:00

Karibu! Welcome!

We’ve been at the Mokoko Language School for a week and have now completed our first week of classes. It has been a challenge, but it is fun. I’m especially enjoying it because I can almost feel the information hidden away deep in the recesses of my brain being pulled back up to the surface. For those readers that don’t know, I took Kiswahili classes back at USC, but that was 5 years ago, and most of it has been lost due to lack of usage (you may find it hard to believe, but South Carolina doesn’t have many Swahili speakers. It’s true). So with every lesson, I am remembering more and more. I fully expect this surge of memory to plateau pretty soon, but nonetheless it’s fun to know I really did learn a few things back in 2005-06. Katie is doing a very good job with the language. She’s never studied it before, so it’s a bit overwhelming for her, but she’s doing very well so far, and I expect her to continue to pick it up at a quick pace.

A little about the school: This school was started by in the 1960’s by Maryknoll as a training ground for its priests and nuns in East Africa, but over the decades it began catering to anyone who was interested, and eventually the Maryknoll Society handed it over to the Diocese of Musoma to run. One great thing about the school is the relatively small number of students here; we’re in a cohort of 19 people. That’s less than the people in my one Swahili class back at USC, and that’s the whole cohort. We’re broken into smaller classes, so I’m in a class of only three people, which is great because we are getting a huge amount of individual practice while also having a few folks with whom to interact. Everything we are doing so far is by listening and speaking only; we’re not allowed to have a book for at least another week, which is a challenge, but I must say it forces you to really pick it up quick. The instructors are very nice and supportive, and the method they use seems to be working quite well so far. We have five classes a day, plus a language lab in the afternoon.

The students studying here are from all over. In addition to us Maryknollers, there are three more Americans, two nuns from Poland, a nun from the Congo, another from Ghana, and another from Chad, yet another from Colombia, three people from Switzerland, a priest from the Philippines, and a Korean woman working on her Masters in Development studies in the UK. It’s quite a diverse group.

We’ve been venturing into the town of Musoma and wandering through markets and into some of the neighborhoods close to the school to try out our newfound language skills. There’s lots of kids shouting “Wazungu! Wazungu!” (“White People!”). We can tell people we’re students and are studying Swahili, and we can ask people their names and tell them ours. Generally after that, the folks launch into a flurry of words, and we give panicky blank stares and say “Sijui! Sijui!” which means “I don’t know!” It’s pretty fun.

To show off a little of our developing vocabulary: Jina langu ni Chris, na mimi ni mwanafunzi wa Mokoko Shule ya Lugha. Mimi na mke wangu tunakaa Musoma sasa, lakini tutakwenda kukaa Mwanza. (I cannot verify that that is all correct, but it’s a good faith effort at using some of what I’m learning so far!)

Yesterday, a group of us had headed into town to buy a few things and explore the area. We spent the afternoon walking through a bustling market, crowded and full of energy and chaotic busyness. Afterwards, one of our group decided to have her car washed (it was covered in mud from the trip from Arusha in the East to Musoma). As we waited we sat outside a store (a duka) and drank sodas and visited with the store owner. People were walking up and down the street hauling their wares to sell, kids were running around, people were coming up the street from a nearby mosque, the sun shone down while a cool breeze carried the sound of a radio through the air. For a few minutes, I held a little baby that someone just randomly handed to me. Very often, in little moments like that, I have to stop and marvel: we are actually doing this. It’s a crazy thing to up and move to another side of the world, but we’ve dreamed of it for so long and here we are, living the dream. It’s quite a blessing, and I am humbled by the opportunity to do something like this. Asante, Mungu.

The First Few Days

2012-01-01T13:42:00.006-05:00

Katie and I (along with our three fellow missioners) have been here in Mwanza for a few days now, and it has been quite an experience. Our Maryknoll colleagues have been tremendously welcoming to us, opening their homes to us, cooking us excellent meals, and really making sure that we get what we need to get adjusted to our new environment. We’re all doing well, still a bit tired, but the effects of jet lag are decreasing with each passing day.

We’ve had some fun experiences so far. We went to a Swahili Mass this morning (couldn’t understand a thing), have twice walked though a herd of cattle in the road, went shopping at a market not far from the house (sandals purchased), and experienced a New Year’s Day celebration involving a gang of kids running around in the dark banging on pots and pans and chanting.

It is interesting being back here in Mwanza. We visited here in 2006, but our experiences in the city proper were somewhat limited. Yesterday, we took a trip into the city (our hosts live a little ways out of the downtown area in the Pasiansi neighborhood) and we had a good lunch in the same pizza parlor where we had lunch with Fabian Maganda on our previous trip in ‘06, so it was fun to have some sense of familiarity with the place. But I’ll say Mwanza is much more busy and chaotic than I remembered. The hustle and bustle was a bit overwhelming, yet still exciting.

Of note: the drivers here drive on the left side, and most all cars are standards, and from a newly transplanted set of eyes, the driving looks to be real loose and haphazard. In some ways, it looks fun; in other ways it’s a little horrifying (like in the I-don’t-really-like-driving-and-I’m-not-good-at-driving-a-stick-and-city-driving-stresses-me-out-big-time kind of way), especially since I’m certain that my work will have me driving the most of all the new missioners. Yikes, folks. YIKES.

It’ll be a while before we really establish ourselves into our own routines and patterns. We start language school in the city of Musoma in a week, and until then we’re guests in someone else’s home. Our hosts are VERY generous, but we also don’t want to disrupt their own patterns any more than we already have. It’ll be at least 3 more months before we get into our own places (once we return to Mwanza from langauge school).

The reality of our new life here in Tanzania is still sinking in. Our training in Ossining spent a lot of time preparing us for culture shock and the low-points of our transition, and I am sure that we have lots of those low-points to come, but I was surprised by the flood of anxiety I got not five minutes from the airport upon our arrival. We’ve been working toward this move for a decade; I really don’t think I could have been much more prepared for the move. The sounds and smells upon arrival were wonderful; in fact, it was so familiar it was like a homecoming to experience those sensations again. However, once we turned off the main road into the neighborhood where Joanne and the Ottes live- onto terrible dirt roads and the small houses and the poverty and all the immediate and overwhelming difference- once that was starkly in our face, I had an honest-to-goodness moment of asking myself “My God, what have we done?!” It didn’t help that we were exhausted.

However, that fear subsided quickly. Getting out and starting to familiarize myself with the area has helped and has been a fun time. I’ve talked with our fellow missioners who arrived with us, and that was not an uncommon feeling, and we all agreed that we cannot take it all in right now. We can’t approach this from a "big picture" view everything we will have to do in the next 3.5 years; that will just paralyze us. We need to break it down (“partialize” it in social work terms) and take it in small steps. Language school is our next step, and that should be our focus; we shouldn't worry ourselves about whether we will be effective in our jobs (or whether we can drive the car). It also helps that we have people here who are very much committed to helping us get on our feet. Another thing that helps my processing of our move is to remember why I made the decision in the first place. I’m here because I am passionate about social justice work; I’m here because I want to learn about another culture; I’m here because I want to make a difference, even if it is modest and small; and most importantly, I am here because I have answered a call to live my faith and to serve the least among us. So here’s to a New Year, a leap of faith, and baby steps into our new life.

Here’s a few photos of the neighborhood where we are staying for our first week (and likely will live once we return to Mwanza) as well as a few shots of downtown Mwanza.

This is the home where we are currently staying.

George shopping at a local market stall.

Walking down one of the roads in the Pasiansi neighborhood.

Downtown Mwanza

Happy New Year From Tanzania!

2011-12-31T15:59:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone has a blessed New Year! We'll get some more photos up once we get more internet access (we're having to use our hosts internet, and we want to be respectful of their resources), but we're alive and well!

Also, this happened yesterday.

The End is Near!

2011-12-08T00:19:00.001-05:00

This will likely be one of the last posts I do until we are done with our training. I had the intention of posting a bit more regularly with updates and insights about what we have learned and experienced here in Ossining, but the time has gone by in the blink of an eye. We have our final sending ceremony (our “graduation” if you will) this Saturday, and almost immediately folks are heading off to spend their final weeks in preparation for our imminent departures. It’s mind-boggling, actually. As I walk through the building, the chapel, and the classroom, there’s such a flood of emotions that come at the realization that we’re done here and that the next step is a REALLY BIG step. The last few days have focused a lot of preparing for the transition and embracing the complexity of emotions we may be feeling at this time.

And it is an emotional time. We’re lucky that 5 of the 16 are going to Tanzania, so we don’t have as many goodbyes to say, but there are still many goodbyes to come in the next few days. Some folks I’ve gotten to know better than others, but everyone in the group is a person that I am so happy to be able to call a friend. Not only are there feelings of sadness as we experience these farewells, but the swirl of emotion inside is intense. I am so excited to be reaching my goal of moving to Africa- I told someone the other day that I have been so fixated on just getting to Africa that at this point I don’t even have to be good at what I am being sent to do to feel like I accomplished my goal; “boots on the ground” is enough at this point. So I am excited, but I’d be lying if I said I weren’t a bit freaked out. Anxiety can get a pretty good foothold if I let it. The other day I found myself lying in bed just staring at the ceiling, having a moment where I was filled with doubt, filled with a feeling of truly second-guessing myself and my decision. But it passed. I am ready to do this. I offer my anxieties up to God; my spirit is ready to take on the challenge.

So when people ask “How are you feeling? Are you excited?” please bear with us if we hesitate or give a slightly confused answer. Yes, we are excited, but that excitement comes all bundled up with lots of other thoughts. In the next day or two, I’ll try to get some quotes up here. We’ve had lots of excellent quotes, passages, and little sayings passed on to us, many of which contain lots of wisdom and points to ponder. I hope to be able to share some of these with you soon.

Four Years

2011-12-02T00:07:00.004-05:00

Today is the four year anniversary of my dad’s death, which is hard to believe. I’ll keep this short and sweet: I am on the verge of the biggest adventure of my life, one that requires a huge leap of faith, and one for which he gave his blessing years ago without details or structure. He knew we felt called to Africa and he supported us in that pursuit though at the time no one really knew hat that would look like. While he may not be here with us physically, he is always with me in spirit; I look to his life for guidance and for an example of a loving, compassionate, Christian man. I could not have made it to where I am today without him; I just wish he could have made it here with me.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE POST I WROTE IN TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER SHORTLY AFTER HIS DEATH.

Dogs and Cats

2011-11-26T13:06:00.010-05:00

When we moved out of our house in Columbia, we purged a majority of our belongings, including most of our books. Now, I’m someone who always has quite a number of books on my shelf that I have not yet read. Two of these books, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Scribbling the Cat, both by Alexandra Fuller, were given to me in the last few years by Katie’s dad and stepmom, and Katie had read both, but I had not (though not because I didn't want to). When Katie saw them in the “give away pile” she told me I should pull them out and read them if I could, because I’d like them.

Indeed, they are really good, and despite all of our training and preparations, I managed to get through both of them. Both were bestsellers and have been out for years, so I’m certainly not the first person to have read them, and I would recommend them if you like non-fiction and autobiographies. Alexandra Fuller was raised in Rhodesia and was a child when the ruling (all White) Rhodesian government fell to Black freedom fighters (led by then-hero-now-dictator Robert Mugabe) and became Zimbabwe. During her youth, Fuller lived in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia.

Her narratives mix in a good amount of history but are told in first-person, so the books are both educational and personally engaging. One of the more interesting aspects of her stories is the inescapable “whiteness” of her family in a world full of "color". There comes a point in Dogs where the family has been through so much loss and heartache that I found myself asking “Why don’t they just leave Africa?” But the answer is clear: regardless of their English roots, they’re African, and Africa is their home. In fact, at some point, they do leave, and within a few years they return "Home" to southern Africa. The author, in her adult years, lives in the US and always talks about feeling Africa fill her lungs when she steps off a plane to return to see her parents In Zambia; it is at that moment that she truly feels “home.”

She spends a good amount of time contemplating this aspect of her life as well as atoning for her “sins,” the sins of the White Rhodesian culture that brutally subjugated the majority Black population. She is not racist, but her family was, and Dogs discussed this with brutal honesty. In Cat, she befriends a former Rhodesian soldier and travels back with him to the regions where he fought, so she delves deeply into the Rhodesian war and all of its horrors (committed by both sides).

Fuller’s strength is her ability to humanize people that would at first glance seem like “bad” people. In her youth, her parents are unrepentantly racist. The soldier in Cat (known only as “K”) could be tried as a war criminal for the things he has done in his youth and has been psychologically damaged by what he has seen and done. Yet, these are real people, with real lives and dreams and feelings. "K" is plagued by the guilt of what he has done and has become a ardent Christian in seeking forgiveness. For all the negative things Fuller writes about her parents, especially her mother, she loves them. They are quite amazing people; their resiliency in the face of the obstacles and adversity they face is amazing. They do some bad things, but they do a lot of good things, too. They aren’t “bad” people, just damaged souls trying to make it through life.

So read these books. Both are worth your time. She has a few more books that I have not yet read, the newest being a full biography of her mother. I’m sure that would be a fascinating read.

Rabble-Rouser in the House

2011-11-05T17:39:00.007-04:00

This last Wednesday night, our training group hosted Fr. Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll priest and a controversial figure in the Catholic Church. First and foremost, he’s a really nice guy and he’s very earnest about what he believes. The controversy stems from WHAT he believes, some of which flies in the face of the Catholic church’s structure.

He’s known for his stance on two major issues. Most recently- and most controversially- he has been outspoken in favor of the ordination of women priests in the Catholic Church. It is an understatement to say that the Vatican is not cool with this. Because of Fr. Roy’s stance and his participation in the ordination of a woman (he delivered the homily at the service) he has been excommunicated. He is very clear that his conscience will not allow him to recant, as he feels that it is sexist to state that a man’s call to the priesthood is authentic, but a woman’s is not. He has appealed to the Vatican to at least allow this topic to be discussed and debated in an open dialogue. His is a very controversial stance, and I know there were people in the audience that were not in agreement, and that is OK. In no way are we asked to agree with this if we are opposed. MKLM is a big enough family for multiple viewpoints.

Here's my quick opinion: I've not really given much thought to the issue, honestly. Personally, while the idea of women priests seems strange to me, I find no moral reasoning to be against it. The Vatican has a clear stance on the issue (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis), so I expect Fr. Roy will ultimately get booted or they'll just tolerate him and never actually finalize any of the threats; I certainly don't expect a reversal of the Vatican's opinion. And I also expect that the idea of women priests is a predominately Western viewpoint; I cannot imagine there's much support for it in Africa or Latin America, and what Fr. Roy is asking would affect every Catholic, so worldwide support would be a must. I expect we'll have married priests before we'll ever see a woman priest officially recognized by the Vatican. But I commend the man for staying true to his conscience, even in the face of a great loss of what he holds dear. CLICK HERE to read the statement Fr. Roy sent to Maryknolls when asked to recant his support. (It should also be pointed out that Katie and I have had some pleasant chats with Fr. Dougherty, to whom the letter is addressed and whom Fr. Roy still calls a close friend.)

The second issue- and his primary claim to fame- is the School of the Americas at Ft. Benning, GA, which has been renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. The school serves as a training academy for military personal from Central and South America. The crux of the matter is as follows, according to the site www.allgov.com:

"WHINSEC is a Defense Department facility at Fort Benning, near Columbus, GA, which provides “professional education and training for civilian, military and law enforcement students from nations throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

...It is the Defense Department’s principal Spanish-language training facility and, along with the U.S. Air Force's Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA), attracts the largest number of Latin American military students.

…Ask critics, and they will tell you that the institute has trained more than 60,000 soldiers in the counterinsurgency techniques, military intelligence, psychological warfare and interrogation, sniper training - and even torture, that have been the building blocks of the region’s history of bloody oppression and dictatorship. Ask a supporter, and they will tell you that the Institute has carried out a mission they consider crucial to national security, under fire of false accusations and Leftist propaganda."

There have been more than a few people trained at the facility who have been implicated in human rights abuses and murders. In protest of this training facility, Fr. Bourgeois founded School of the Americas Watch. Every year in November, this group is joined by thousands of others to protest outside the gates of Ft. Benning.

Now, here’s where the evening gets surreal and very amusing to me. Years ago, I bought a punk music compilation which contained the song “School of Assassins” (about the School of the Americas) by the band Anti-Flag. In the middle, there’s a sample of a guy yelling in protest of the SOA, and lo and behold, it’s Fr. Roy. So here I am Wednesday night, sitting across the table from the man himself, and I tell him I have a song in which he’s sampled. He’s never heard it, so I go get my computer, and minutes later find myself playing the song to the very man sampled within.

He was so freaking excited about this song. When we were wrapping up dinner, I took 2 pictures with him. The first is the more formal shot:

Then, he asked Katie to take one more shot and he threw his fists in the air and yelled “Anti-Flag! Get Those Motherf@#@$!” AWESOME.

Here’s a YouTube video of the Anti-Flag song that contains images of the yearly protests. Click HERE to see the lyrics of the song.

Feel free to post comments and thoughts in the comments section. There’s a lot to talk about in here.

Happy Halloween + MUCHADOR MADNESS

2011-10-31T23:20:00.004-04:00

In a fortuitous alignment of the moon and stars for this Halloween evening, it just so happened that a certain someone and his significant other, Jan, were in town for work, so we were treated to a fine evening of MUCHADOR MADNESS. We met up with several of their friends, watched people set pumpkins on fire, and chatted the night away. Our conversations ran the gamut of topics.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Guests of the Franciscans

2011-10-31T16:37:00.008-04:00

In our preparations for heading overseas, we've found ourselves all over the place lately, and this week is no exception. Remember how just a few days ago I was in the middle of a massive snowball fight in Ossining, NY? Well, now we're guests of the Franciscan Mission Service in Washington DC. We're staying at the the FMS house, while several others in our group are spread about at a few other sites. The FMS house ("Casa San Salvador") is less than a block away from the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, a beautiful building where our trainings will be held for the next week. Today we had a very interesting discussion about Catholic Social Teachings and social analysis of unjust social structures. Really great stuff, and more on that to come.

Coyote Not-So-Ugly

2011-10-29T23:04:00.003-04:00

Every few days, we'll see a coyote hanging out in the back field of the MKLM property. This coyote was contentedly lounging in the sun for well over an hour (until some dude with a camera spooked it back into the woods). Picture taken 10/28/2011 (the next day this field was full of snow!)

October Snowpocalypse 2011

2011-10-29T18:04:00.007-04:00

So we’re in the thick of the big, anomalous Great Northeastern October Snow Storm. It started this morning around 10:30am and it is currently 10:15pm and it hasn’t stopped yet. One of our fellow residents has been saying "Merry Halloween!" since it appears there are several holidays rolled up into one today (Memorial Day and Easter, I think).

Our friend Melissa was in town for a visit, and we managed to get her out of here before it got too intense.

Later in the afternoon, it was decided that we needed to venture out and let out some of our stir-crazy energy, and thus ensued a hour-long snowball fight. This snow fight also featured a very special appearance by Maryknoll Lay Missioner Extraordinaire, Liz Mach.

To see the whole set of photos, CLICK HERE.

Motivation: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2011-10-25T23:55:00.006-04:00

While I have not posted much about the content of the training we're having here at Bethany, there’s been some very thought-provoking discussions and topics. One of the trainings discussed the “spirituality of fundraising,” viewing the relationship between missioner and donor as more than a one-way flow of funds, but rather a partnership where BOTH individuals are participating in mission. The discussion for the day focused a lot on the writings and thoughts of Fr. Henri Nouwen, a name I had heard but someone about whom I was largely unfamiliar. Henri Nouwen, though not a Maryknoll priest, worked with Maryknolls and he published his journal about his time in Latin America entitled Gracias!.

We read several excerpts from this book, but the one I picked up struck me as very profound. The quote discusses the motivations for why an individual would choose to be a missioner (more on the quote in a minute). This is a question that is not always easy to answer. As one of our leaders mentioned today, there’s something that certainly draws us to living in a certain ‘intensity” by living overseas; if we want to serve others and follow Christ’s teachings, we can do that HERE in the US. There’s some other draw that makes us give up our lives here and move to unfamiliar cultures and learn a new language and get sick and move to potentially dangerous areas. Something about that scenario speaks to us. It will be different for each of us.

There’s been quite a lot of discussion about motivation during the trainings, and actually some debate over whether one can have a pure motivation or whether we are each a tangle of different (and sometimes conflicting) motivations. I think the latter concept certainly describes me; I know that I am answering a call and feel driven by my faith, but I know there’s a lot more motive mixed up in there, and not all of it is good.

For me, there’s a lot in my head, certainly more than I have unpacked and understood, but today I gave this some thought. Certainly, my driving motivation is to live in solidarity with the poor, to live my Christian faith, but in a really extreme way. I have a hard time disconnecting from my normal routine and “living mission” here at home, so the act of uprooting myself and immersing myself completely in mission is appealing to me- but on some level, it’s a cop-out. Why can’t I do that here?

Well, another motivation is that I want to live in Africa. This to me is a very pure motive and yet one that is solely focused on MY desire. Yet it is one that I can easily merge with the mission call. Africa interests me, and I want to go there and experience it, the beauty, the struggles, the happiness and sadness, the overwhelming joy and the unbearable pain. I want to live in solidarity among the people and seek to better understand what it is to be a part of this world.

Another motivation is a little harder to admit because it is rooted in pride, but here goes: at some deep down, subconscious level, I think I want to do this because it seems to impress people. I come from a small Mississippi town, a place that does not exactly spur within people the desire to head to far-off lands. When people hear what we are doing, people seem impressed, or people think we're crazy, and both are OK to me. I want to live an interesting life so people will say “Man, that Chris Reid. He certainly did some amazing things!” This desire to “be impressive,” to break free of the shackles of a small-town life- is both arrogant and insulting to the people of my hometown. The desire to look “cool” in comparison to other’s lives is about as UN-Christian as one can get. I’m not proud of it, but I will at least own it and acknowledge it as one of the darker aspects of my self.

So back to Henri Nouwen. In the quote below, he discusses two dangerous motiviations for choosing mission, and both resonate with me. First, the quote (emphasis added by me):

The two most damaging motives in the makeup of missioners seem to be guilt and the desire to save. Both form the extremes of a long continuum, both make life in the mission extremely painful. As long as I go to a poor country because I feel guilty about my wealth, whether financial or mental, I am in for a lot of trouble. The problem with guilt is that it is not taken away by work. Hard work for the poor may push my guilt underground for awhile, but can never really take it away. Guilt has roots deeper than can be reached through acts of service. On the other hand, the desire to save people from sin, from poverty, or from exploitation can be just as harmful, because the harder one tries the more one is confronted with one’s own limitations. Many hard working men and women have seen the situation getting worse during their missionary career; and if they depended solely on the success of their work, they would quickly lost their sense of self worth. Although a sense of guilt and a desire to save can be very destructive and depressive for missioners, I do not think that we are ever totally free from either. We feel guilty and we desire to bring about change. These experiences will always play a part in our daily life.

–Excerpt of Henri J.M. Nouwen’s March 5 journal entry from ¡Gracias! A Latin American Journal (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983)

This text really speaks to me: if you are going to atone for guilt- your own guilt, or guilt from a unjust history that has provided you benefit- that guilt is only going to get worse when you immerse yourself in the pain and poverty of another nation. If your wealth or power makes you feel guilty NOW, wait until it appears in such stark contrast as to make it inescapable. The desire to save- that’s also a hard one that challenges my social work instincts. Now, this does not mean we cannot work for change, but it does remind us to know our role. WE aren’t saving anyone. We’re going to accompany the poor and marginalized, to listen to their stories, and assist how they want. But we need to know that we may not leave with a resume of amazing accomplishments. Hopefully we will leave with new friendships and with a sense of gratitude that we have been able to be a part of these people’s lives.

Fr. Nouwen continues on to say that whatever the motivation, all missioners lives should work toward being Christ-centered. That’s the crux of Henri Nouwen’s thought here: live in humility and in gratitude. Gratitude that we have the blessing to serve others in solidarity. I cannot be the savior; that’s not my role. But I can be the hands and feet of Christ, and for that I am thankful.

One last thought on my personal motivation: another reason I want to go overseas is to grow in my faith. I’m not going over to convert people. I’m not going over to teach people about how to be a good Christian. I’m going to Tanzania to let the poor and disenfranchised show ME what it truly means to follow Christ. I’m not serving as a missioner because I'm a good Christian; I’m serving because in many ways I don’t think I’m a particularly good Christian at all. I have a lot to learn.

Bad As Me (2011)

2011-10-20T23:56:00.005-04:00

Tom Waits has a new album, Bad As Me coming out next Tuesday, October 25th. For the fans out there in the interwebs, he allowed streaming of his entire album in advance of its release, so this is a review based upon a handful of listens. My opinion on the album will undoubtedly change as I hear it more, but I wanted to get something up now about my initial reactions.

Everyone likes when their favorite artists release a new album, but Tom Waits fans are a particularly excitable bunch. The release of a new album just gets us all in a tizzy. Being a Tom Waits fan, it’s like being a club. Granted, it’s a BIG club, as there are a lot of us, but Tom Waits is one of those polarizing artists. There’s a few folks that are hardcore fans of one era of music but not so much other eras of his career (he has a 30-year recording career so there are definitely “eras” in his discography), but most fans dig the whole spectrum. And as he gets older, his music gets weirder. And in general, you either cannot fathom why someone might listen to his increasingly challenging, dissonant, cacophonous albums or you freaking LOVE it. I fall into the latter camp (and this is understatement).

Now, before I give you a quick run-down of the new album, I want to say that there are no Tom Waits albums that I don’t like. EVERY album is good, most are great. There are some I listen to more than others. And lately, I must confess, his albums haven’t always been so listenable for me. What I mean is this: I think Real Gone has some amazing tracks, and all the tracks are good. But I just don’t find myself listening to it often and rarely beginning to end. I played it steadily when it came out, but not much these days. There’s simply something about it that rattles me to much to put it on beginning to end. This is not a criticism, per se. I actually think some of the most “difficult” songs are the best on the album. Maybe it’s that my “listening” tastes have changed a bit over the last few years. And Orphans, man, that’s an amazing 3 disk set, but I will also confess that there are songs on there that come on my iTunes shuffle and I’m like “What the hell Tom Waits song is this?” I’m still just not familiar with everything on those albums, even years after its release. That’s a lot of music to digest.

So here we are at Bad As Me. The first track is all driving relentless horns and non-stop rhythm. It builds and builds with a tension it never let loose. The title track is also a fun, funny, and nasty little tune with a clamoring, funky vibe with Tom’s haunted growl above the fray. All the weird experimental stuff is there. But I find this to be his most listenable album in years. It works well as a cohesive whole, and I find it both challenging AND accessible. I think that may be because this album feels a bit “retro” on some tracks, a bit like a throwback to his earlier albums, but not like a retread. It doesn’t sound old, but it sounds familiar, and that’s not a bad thing. Several tracks make me think of Frank’s Wild Years (“Chicago”), while others summon up the vibe from Swordfishtrombone (“Pay Me”) or Blue Valentine (“Kiss Me”). Yet there are other tracks that sound fresh and unlike anything he’s done before (“Back In The Crowd,” which for some reason seems like a cousin to a Roy Orbison song). AND for the first time (I believe) in his whole discography, Tom drops the F-bomb on a track, which surprised me, but really works in the context of the song (“Hell Broke Luce”).

So it should be clear by now that this is a glowing review. I don’t really “star” albums of give them grades, but this is a solid "A" in my opinion. Pick it up on October 25th. I will, for sure.

Reflections on Reflecting

2011-10-18T22:07:00.005-04:00

Up to now, I’ve only been posting about life here at Bethany: our room, the buildings, a little history. But it’s not all hiking and tours and dinners. We are actually in classes covering a variety of topics such as how to read and interpret scripture, the theology of mission, racism, Dialogue-Based Education, and the spiritual dynamics behind fundraising for mission. A lot of these courses require self-reflection, and throughout this process, I’ve learned something about myself: I’m not a particularly self-reflective person. This is not to say that I don’t think about stuff. In fact, I think I can be an overly analytic person. I just don’t think about MYSELF that much.

This experience- moving to a new country and immersing myself in a new culture- it requires knowing yourself pretty well: your strengths, your weaknesses, your talents and skills, your desires, and most importantly, your needs. Knowing your needs- this falls squarely in the realm of self-care, a subject frequently discussed in social work circles: you won’t be able to help anyone if you yourself are falling apart. I appreciate the emphasis that has been put on this. We each need to know what we need; we might need to make some allowances and sacrifices, but there may be certain things that we need in order to function and thrive in our new environment. This doesn’t mean things such as high-speed internet, or perhaps cable; those are wants. Rather, it’s things like time alone, 8 hours of sleep, or community- the types of things that you need in order to stay sharp and well-adjusted. It will especially be important for the first months, when we might not be able to have much within our control and everything is cloaked in stress and confusion.

So the last few weeks have been a challenge in this respect, because in many ways, I don’t take the time to think about this type of stuff very much. In fact, I don’t tend to have much of an interest in doing so; I tend to roll along doing pretty good, so I don’t feel like I need to stop and dwell on anything for very long, However, I am being forced to do so, and that’s a good thing.

I can say that the overall experience here has been one of solid affirmation: neither Katie nor myself have any doubts that this where we are supposed to be. In fact, that has been one of the best aspects of this experience: when I put myself out there, when I really open up, the answers have been exactly what I needed to hear. This is not a case of simply having someone reinforce what I already think, but rather moments when I realize that ”I’m not alone! Other people think this way, too!” It’s connected with me in the way I view scripture, in the way I attempt to understand the world, and the way I try to live my faith. So I’m happy to be here, living the spirituality of the Maryknoll charism and growing in my faith. Some might say I'm as happy as a little field mouse in a bunch of flowers.

The Heart of Maryknoll

2011-10-10T21:15:00.016-04:00

One of the neat things about being here in Ossining is that we are in the heart of the Maryknoll community: The official Maryknoll Society house and the campus of the Maryknoll Sisters are within walking distance of the Lay Missioners campus.

Now, if you are like me, you may not have heard much about Maryknoll. In fact, I reckon for most of the readers of this blog, you had not heard of Maryknoll until I mentioned it. So here’s a little super fast history for you, pulled from the Maryknoll website :

“When two American priests from distinctly different backgrounds met in Montreal in 1910, they discovered they had one thing in common. Father James Anthony Walsh, a priest from the heart of Boston, and Father Thomas Frederick Price, the first native North Carolinian to be ordained into the priesthood, [had a]… mutual desire to build a seminary for the training of young American men for the foreign Missions...

…With the approval of the American hierarchy, the two priests traveled to Rome in June 1911, to receive final approval from Pope Pius X for their project. On June 29, 1911, Pope Pius X gave his blessings for the formation of The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, now better known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers...

...By 1918, three young priests...were ready for the foreign missions in China, just after the first world war...Today there are over 475 Maryknoll Priests and Brothers serving in countries around the world, principally in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Over 10 decades, more than 2,000 men have been ordained to the missionary priesthood, and several hundred have taken oaths as Brothers.

Equally important in the development of Maryknoll was Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, who worked alongside Father Price and Father Walsh establishing the sister congregation--the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic, commonly known as the Maryknoll Sisters.

I’ll give you the history of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in another post, but for now here’s some shots of the inside of the Maryknoll Society House (I don’t have any shots of the inside of the Congregation’s building, but I hope to get some in a few days.

Summary: The First Days of Orientation

2011-10-05T22:49:00.007-04:00

Well, so much has happened in the last week, it’s hard to even know where to begin. We arrived at Bethany, the Marykoll Lay Missioners campus here in Ossining, NY (see picture below) and since then we’ve had some very packed days full of meetings and tasks. It’s been hard for me to really find the time to reflect and spend some time drafting up a post that addresses some of the more introspective and thoughtful moments of the last few days. Much like during my AmeriCorps*NCCC, another experience where I was placed out of the day-to-day grind and into a communal living arrangement, experiences seem to occur at hyperspeed and it’s hard to believe that we have only been here for 1.5 weeks. I feel like I’ve known these people for a long time.

Bethany, the headquarters of Maryknoll Lay Missioners

Katie has a blog post with pictures of our apartment, so click here to see the pictures.

So, let’s talk quickly about the people. Our fellow candidates* are great people. Everyone is very nice. There are 13 of us and we’re from all walks of life, from all different ages, and three different countries. In addition to the fellow mission candidates, we have four nuns going through the training as well, so that brings us up to 17 folks from five different countries (the USA, the Philippines, India, South Korea, and Timor Leste**). By virtue of the activities of the training, we’ve had to be very open and share a lot about ourselves, and we’ve all hit it off very well. There are five of us that are going to Tanzania, and we’ve all become fast friends.

The staff here are also very nice. Almost all the folks are past missioners and they have each done amazing work. Really put themselves on the line for their faith and dedicated their lives to the poor and marginalized. Today, we were reviewing the history of Maryknoll and the MKLM program, and I was humbled at the fact that this organization and these people have invited me into their midst. It is a privilege to be here. Additionally, we've met many welcoming priests and sisters in our time here. These folks are very happy to have us joining them in their mission.

Also, Joanne Miya, the Regional Coordinator for Tanzania, has been here at Bethany for a week-long meeting, so we’ve been spending quite a lot of time with her which has helped provide a great deal of detail about our upcoming lives in Tanzania. She’s been super supportive and excited, and it does help lower the anxiety of the move knowing she’ll be on the other side waiting for us to arrive.

I’m not going to recount all the details of what we have been doing so far, but the week has been chock-full of meetings, and lectures, and discussion groups, and dinners, etc. Just busy from morning until night, hence the lack of blog posts. Our brains are just a bit fried. But as I pointed out to Katie after a particularly long day, “We might be tired now, but at least we’re tired in English.” This is just the start of what will prove to be an exhausting year of training, then travel, then language school, then settling in and starting to live and work in a completely new culture. The fatigue we have now is nothing compared to what’s to come.

A lot of what we’ve been doing on the front end of these 11 weeks is housekeeping and logistics type stuff, but we’ve been able to get into some “content” classes. Two days on the Theology of Mission, a day of Scripture discussions, and sessions discussing the history of the organization as well as its core values. Tomorrow we spend a day discussing Racism! These discussions have been very illuminating, and I want to share some thoughts, but not right now. The brain’s fried, as you know.

I’ll try to get some more photos up in the next few days to give you, Dear Readers, a feel for the place, as well as a glimpse into the Maryknoll Society world headquarters (the front gate is pictured to the right). Six of us managed to slip up north to Bear Mountain State Park and get in a pretty strenuous 4 mile hike last Sunday, so there’s some nice pics in there, too.

* Technically, we’re “candidates” as we move through the discernment process. We won’t officially become “missioners” until the end of the training when we sign contracts.

** Don’t feel bad. I couldn’t have found it on map, either.

Quick Update

2011-09-27T22:05:00.002-04:00

I hope to get some more photos up from our trips as well as start reflecting on our time here in Ossining, but I AM EXHAUSTED. We've had jam-packed days so far, and it only looks to get busier and busier. Like "grad school" levels of busy. The calendar of events is insane.

But I am with some of the most amazing people that have done some of the most amazing things in their lives. This is a life-changing place. No way we can come out of this experience without experiencing a powerful transformation.

That's all for the day. Off to bed. Full day of Theology classes tomorrow...

Goin’ Out West, Part 3: California→MS→Alabama

2011-09-24T22:10:00.005-04:00

The final part of the trip out West was to see my old friend* Jeremy Mucha’ (AKA Cap’n Hardqore AKA Homeskillit) out in San Diego. It was a brief trip-just two days- but it is always great to see him. I went out to see him back in 2009, but this was Katie's first trip to California, so for her this was a chance to check something off the list of states to visit.

We spent the first day driving up and down the coast, checking out some sights, just hanging out. The next day we spent the day at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido. Really cool place.

Up Close and Personal with Lioness

But the most exciting thing was the Great Power Outage of San Diego AKA San Diego Unplugged 2011. Around 3:30pm on that Friday, the power went out at the zoo. OK, whatever. Then Jeremy starts getting texts from a friend saying that the power was out in all of southern California. Eventually we realized that the power was also out in some of Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico. The entire grid went down. We assumed this was big news, but we now realize that this didn’t make much of a blip on the radars of national news outlets (thanks, lamestream media!**) But it was a big deal for those of us stuck in it. No traffic lights worked. Airport shuts down, all flights cancelled. The radio announcer starts telling everyone that the power could be out for days and to enact your emergency plans immediately. It was quite surreal. Now, in the grand scheme of things, the power was back on in 10 hours and we left on time the next morning, but for a while, we really didn’t know what was happening, so we raided a target, bought a bunch canned food and went back to Jeremy’s for a bonfire behind the “Adventure Shack.” It was a great evening. Who needs power when you're with such good company?***

Looting Target (You pay for stuff when you loot, right?)

The fire behind the "Adventure Shack"

We flew back to Mississippi, stayed the night with my Uncle Carl and Aunt Mischelle, then took off to Alabama to see Gringo Star in concert in Opelika, AL. Great show, great to see the guys.

To finish out this blog post, here’s the video of the first single from their soon-to-be-released album Count Yer Lucky Stars:

* I’ve known the guy for 27 years now.
** I hate this term. Please don’t ever earnestly use this term in conversation with me. Seriously.
***Robots. Robots would likely need power.

Goin’ Out West, Part 2: Arizona

2011-09-24T14:07:00.018-04:00

After our visit to Mississippi, we ditched our car at my Uncle’s house and flew out to Phoenix, AZ to see Garry and Holly, Katie’s dad and step-mom, plus her sister Rachel who had joined us for a few days. I had been THROUGH Arizona before on my road trip out to LA back in 1999, but we didn’t stop in Arizona, so this was all new to me. Garry and Holly really went all out to show us a good time, so we took in the Grand Canyon and Sedona, both of which were stunning. I’m glad to have sen the Grand Canyon, because so many of my international students had seen it and were always very surprised when they found out I had not. Since we are on the verge of leaving this country/continent/ hemisphere for several years, I was very pleased to be able to see this beautiful sight right here in my own “backyard.” Seemed patriotic, almost.

But whatever, we went to a MUSIC MUSEUM!

On our first full day there, we went to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix. I’ll be honest: I LOVE music, I can play trumpet, I can read music, but I’m not particularly “musical.” Music theory, and chords, and all the technical stuff about music escapes me, so I was not quite sure that a whole museum about instruments would be a whole day’s worth of activity. I was nervous it would lose my attention pretty quickly. I WAS WRONG. We spent SEVEN HOURS at this museum. It had a separate display for every country on the planet. Which means it was really a world music museum and THAT is exactly the kind of thing that can hold my attention for at least, oh, uh, seven hours. A few observations:

1. I have a lot of world music in my collection (some of which I cannot understand) and within the first 10 minutes, I had already learned which instrument makes a very unique sound that appears all throughout my music collection from West Africa. It was great. This happened more than once.

2. The instruments themselves became rather repetitive and similar, which was actually very interesting. It is interesting to see which instruments spread throughout the world thru migration, cultural sharing, and conquest, and also how many of the basic shapes and styles of instruments are universal.

3. This was one of the most aesthetically pleasing museums I have ever seen. The displays had video monitors playing videos of instruments representative of the featured country. You wore a headset, so as you walked through the museum, you headset picked up the audio for the video playing in front o you, so as you strolled along, the music changed along with the countries. Great layout, great displays. Even the restaurant was great, offering one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. I highly recommend this place.

We spent the following day at the Grand Canyon. I won't write much about it because it’s really impossible to describe. Let’s just say it’s pretty GRAND. However, I will talk about how my never-really-gives-me-a-problem mild-at-best fear of heights came blasting to the forefront as I approached the edge. Really wasn’t expecting that. Factor in the fact that I had been experiencing some mild vertigo that was keeping slightly off-balanced, and I’ll say the trip- while beautiful and amazing and totally worth it- wasn’t qute as relaxing as it could have been. Especially hiking down some of the switchback trails leading down into the canyon. The picture below shows that I pretty much hugged the inside edge as much as I could and tried to keep away from other people as I hiked.

Two days later, we went to Sedona, and while it is not as overwhelming as the Grand Canyon, it is still equally as beautiful, in my opinion. First stop was at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a functional Catholic chapel that overlooks the area.

Garry and Holly treated us to a Pink Jeep Tour and took us up to Schnebly Hill Vista. As we stood on the rim, a rainstorm was blowing in, and we could see the rains begin to fall on Sedona in the distance. Truly a beautiful sight.

To see the full set of pictures from the Arizona potion of the trip, CLICK HERE.

I Can See Clearly Now

2011-09-21T16:25:00.005-04:00

I’m going to take a brief detour from party pictures and vacation stories to veer into honest reflection; bear with me, it’ll be brief: Tuesday evening, I was sitting in Fiesta Pizza in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, which is Katie’s old stomping grounds. We were talking about the future, but not the immediate future. Rather, we were talking about POST-Africa plans. Will Africa be 3.5 years, or will it be 20 years? Where will we go when we return? What will we do? Will we rent? Will we buy? Will we go back to Columbia? Will we move to Philadelphia? Chicago? San Diego? Wherever there’s a good job waiting? Will we have a kid? So many questions that we simply cannot begin to answer. We have 3.5 years in Tanzania ahead of us. So much can change in the next few years, it’s silly to even try to make plans. It occurred to me that for the first time, I really don’t have a long-term goal. Yes, obviously, we have the HUGE adventure of years in Africa ahead of us, but after that? Who knows? I really have no clue what the future will hold and it feels GREAT.

There is a lightness of spirit that I haven’t felt in years, and I realized it is because this urge, this passion, this obsession with getting to Africa is gone. We’re not there yet, but barring a major catastrophe, we’ve made it. For almost the last decade, we’ve been working toward this goal, and this drive has been all the more intense due to the spiritual nature of the pursuit; we’ve felt called to do this work from our Christian beliefs, so to contemplate NOT being able to do was a very intense feeling of frustration. All my thoughts and plans for the last many years have been run through the filter of “How will this affect our plans to get to Africa?” Anything that could even be remotely construed as an obstacle for getting to Africa could send me into a tail spin. And while this single-minded vision and drive has obviously paid off- we’re moving to Africa to answer the call!- I am realizing just how much of a psychological burden it has been.

So I have no idea what is really waiting for me in Africa. I have a lot to learn, and there will be challenges, and stress, and failures, but there will also be joys, and successes, and life-changing moments that I will remember for all my days. And after that? I don’t know. And that is wonderful.

Goin' Out West, Part 1: Mississippi

2011-09-21T00:04:00.009-04:00

As the photos I posted a few weeks back attest, Katie and I took a cross-country trip to see friends and family. The trip took us to Mississippi, Arizona, and California. The trip was great, but it is, of course, tempered by the knowledge that these trips and visits are also “goodbyes.” We’ll see several of these folks again before we head off to Tanzania, but the emotions are still there in the back of our minds.

We spent a few days in Vicksburg, MS to see my family. On the way into town, we stopped over in Jackson to have dinner with my old pal Ian and his girlfriend, Mary. Now, I have to publicly state something here: Ian’s been one of my closest friends for 16 years now, but with his close proximity to Vicksburg, it has been difficult over the years to get in a substantial visit. There's other people around, or people waiting for us to arrive in V'burg, or there's a project to be done, or SOMETHING. I know this, so I want to state for the record: Ian, I know you kinda get short shrift on the visits. But I still love ya, man. I didn’t get a picture from this visit, so this one will have to do:

Of course, we visited my mother, as well as my grandmothers and multiple aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides of the family. We also made our requisite trips to the Attic Gallery / Highway 61 Coffeeshop. But the most notable part of the trip was that we sold my mother's house. This was a prayer answered to have this burden taken away before we head overseas. The house was a good house but also an albatross around our necks, so when we sold it, I called my sister and said “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over,” at which point she pointed out that the house was located on National street, so my quote was especially appropriate.

Anyway, the trip was a good one. I managed to see some cousins who I had not seen in years. Got in a dinner visit with my cousins Emily, Austin, and Jamie. I am a lot older than these cousins; in fact, I’m twice as old as Austin. I just don’t know these cousins very well at all, but they’re good folks, and it was really good to see them. After the dinner, Jamie joined Katie and I for a bad game of pool, some half-assed darts, and some good conversation (and salt and pepper in my water- thanks, Jamie!) at the Biscuit Company. I’m glad I have had these chances to get in these visits, but I am sad that I’m taking off overseas for a few years and that will be that many more years before I get much of a chance to see these guys again. But hey, there’s always facebook!

Here’s a shot of some of my family gathered for a dinner, generously funded by my grandmother and Aunt (as was the hotel room where we stayed for 4 nights). Thanks!

To see some more pictures from our Mississippi leg of the trip, CLICK HERE.

At the tail-end of our trip, we flew back from San Diego to Jackson since we left our car at my Uncle Carl's house in Mississippi. We crashed at their house that night and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting around and talking with Carl and Mischelle. Since I have been unable to make it to any of the family reunions in recent years, it was great to catch up. Super cool aside: Carl found a letter tucked away in an old torn up family Bible. The letter was written by my Great-great-grandfather, Tavner Hed Elliott (for real, y'all) when he was a young recruit in the Rebel army in the Civil War. Anyway, it was perfectly preserved and it is written on Confederate States of America letterhead, watermark and all. Pretty amazing. It was written almost to the day that we were at my Uncle's house, so it was surreal to be reading a letter written 150 years ago.

The Final Party

2011-09-19T22:11:00.003-04:00

One of the things we have enjoyed while living in Columbia- and one of the things I think for which we will be remembered- is that we knew how to throw a good party. We have always enjoyed hosting people, and it’s one of the things that we loved about our house; it was a good welcoming place to visit with friends. We would host friends over for dinner, we would have small gatherings to sit around fires, we would host Bible studies, and we would almost always have a big blowout (post)Christmas party in early January.* Now, I know lots of people have good parties, but ours were EPIC. In fact, one of Katie’s coworkers mentioned to another person that Katie and her worked together, and the person responded “OH, you work with Katie? Does that mean you get to go to their parties?” We threw good parties, I’m just sayin.’ But seriously, I like to think the strength of the parties and gatherings was our ability to pull together a very eclectic group of people from all across the spectrum. It was nothing WE did; it was the good company. So thank YOU.

So it was fitting that we had one more big shindig to send us off. Technically, our friend Carrie was the host though it was again held at our humble abode. And that party lasted for NINE HOURS. We appreciate everyone for coming out to wish us well, and we appreciate all the years of good food and good company. Come see us in Mwanza and we’ll make sure to do it up real good for ya.

To see the photos from the party, CLICK HERE.

*Seriously, have your Christmas party in January. The weeks leading up to the holidays are always SUPER busy, but AFTER the holidays, people tend to NOT have many plans, so you’ll get a good turnout in our experience.

Goodbye, SC! It's been real...

2011-09-18T00:35:00.001-04:00

As of 8:45am this morning, we are no longer a residents of South Carolina. We rolled out of town this morning and made a long, wet slog up to New Jersey to spend a few days with Katie’s folks before we start our Maryknoll training in NY. The morning was such a flurry of activity that we really didn’t have time to stop and give much thought to the act of leaving Columbia and specifically leaving our house. I think any emotions behind our departure are tempered by the knowledge that is STILL our house, regardless of our absence. In fact, while we have countless good memories about our house, at this point it has sort of shifted from “our cute, peaceful little home” into “the house that MUST be rented so we can pay the mortgage.” The transition from “our home” to “a bill” does knock off some of the "fuzzy memory" aspect, though there is something subconsciously calming about knowing that if everything goes to hell with our Africa plans, we have a house to come back to. We do love that place.

These last few weeks have been super busy, but we’re up in Cape May, NJ for the next few days. Hopefully, I can get some catch-up posting done soon. I’ve got party pictures, vacation pictures, and all sorts of goodbye shots with friends to get up here.

Sedona, AZ!

2011-09-06T02:01:00.002-04:00

Grand Canyon!

2011-09-06T01:52:00.006-04:00

More to come...

Saying Goodbye to USC (But Not Really)

2011-09-05T12:48:00.003-04:00

So I was standing on the USC campus a few Thursday nights ago- August 25th, to be exact, as it as the day before my last day at USC. (Well, what was technically my last day. I went back in on the 27th to sort through some final projects, and just yesterday, I was still sending work emails to people. Hey, old habits die hard.) It was about 9pm, after the first International Student Association meeting of the fall semester. The campus was quiet but there was still lots of movement. Looking at the Horseshoe, standing by the Byrnes Building, it struck me how strange it is to be leaving USC. We’ve lived in Columbia for 8.5 years, and 7.5 of those have been in some association with USC. That’s not the longest amount of time, but it’s a pretty good chuck of my life so far.

USC brought us to Columbia. Katie was looking for a place to get a Masters in Social Work (and a school that wouldn’t require the GRE!) so we ended up choosing USC's College of Social Work and coming here in 2003. After Katie graduated in 2004 with her degree, I went back to school to finish getting my Bachelors degree. Since then, I have been an undergrad student, a grad student, a full-time staff member with the office of International Student Services office (ISS), and adjunct faculty in the Social Work department teaching a class on international Social Work and social justice. Connections and friendships we’ve made through our affiliation with USC have really had a huge impact on the course of our life. Honestly, the impact has been so great, I’m not even going to try to list examples here.

I DO want to give a special shout-out to the job I just left. Back in 2007, I took a Graduate Assistantship with the office of International Programs. It was a lucky break, as the Social Work Department at USC only gives assistantships to folks paying out of state tuition, so I was happy to get this. The GA was actually the second time I would be working for a Willer: My new boss, Pat Willer, was the wife of Dave Willer, for whom I worked as an undergrad research assistant. There was a convoluted little trail of how my name reached Pat, but it did, and for that I am grateful. I worked 10 hours a week on special projects dealing with recruitment and student admissions. Eventually, my work shifted me into the International Student Services office (ISS) and I started interacting with the staff in that office more frequently. Skip ahead to 2009, and I was hired as a full-time International Student Advisor. My coworkers were great, and I had the chance to work with some inspiring and wonderful students from all over the world. The office I just left has changed A LOT since the start of the year. The picture at the top of this post was taken at the start of 2011; at the time of this writing, six of the ten people pictured have all gone on to new opportunities, but man, what a fun office to be a part of (and the International Programs and Study Abroad staff were also great colleagues). Good folks all around.

But here’s the thing: I’m not REALLY severing ties with USC. I’ve already had three professor friends talk to me about the possibility of working together in the future to develop faculty-led study abroad programs to bring students over to Tanzania. So we’re not leaving USC, we’re just entering into the next stage of our university affiliation. I am very proud of the work I have done at USC, so please excuse this brief moment of ego-stroking as I repost the notice that was sent out announcing my departure. So thanks, USC; I had a blast!

Please join International Student Services in wishing a fond farewell to one of our student advisors, Christopher Reid. Chris has served in the ISS office for the past 4 years, starting off as a Graduate Assistant then later accepting a full time position as an International Student Advisor. Over the last 4 years Chris has made numerous contributions to ISS and the University as a whole. He has been an inspiring mentor to the International Student Association and Pan-African Student Association, as well as provided constant support to the Carolina Global Community on campus. Chris has been a wonderful colleague and will truly be missed. Thanks Chris, we wish you only the best!

A New Chapter

2011-09-05T02:08:00.000-04:00

A lot has happened lately, and that’s an understatement. I have purposefully left my blog untouched since my last posts about Maryknolls and our upcoming move to Tanzania because, really, that’s what people have been asking about and it’s what people have wanted to know. Also, work was very busy these last few weeks, and I decided to wait until I was done with my current job to get this blog going again. And that brings us up to now. Currently, I’m on the road, but I’ll try to get some posts and photos up soon.

Question: How Can We Help?

2011-06-23T22:13:00.003-04:00

Answer:

As I’m sure everyone reading this knows, Katie and I have been diligently working to get over to Africa for the last decade. Our Tanzania placement with Maryknoll Lay Missioners is a dream come true and the answer to many prayers. We appreciate all the support that folks have given us over the years.

Since we’ve found out about our placement in Tanzania, we’ve been asked this question a lot: “How can we help you?” So I offer both an answer to that question as well as an appeal for support and assistance. Up until this point we really haven't had an answer to how people could help us. So much was unknown that we couldn't give any specifics. Now that we're much further into the process, we have come up with a list of three ways that you can help:

1) Monetary Donations.
Unlike many other mission-based work, our service with Maryknoll Lay Missioners does not require extensive fund-raising, nor is our acceptance contingent on raising a specified amount. MKLM has their own fund-raising staff who, with the occasional support of the Missioners, raise enough money so that the mission staff can concentrate on what they were hired to do--service to the poor and the marginalized. That being said, the organization does rely heavily on donations for its operations. We have been asked to raise $1000 prior to our departure in January 2012. If anyone would like to contribute to our goal, we would be most grateful. Donating financial support to MKLM is a very important way for people to get involved in our mission. It is a great way to support not just us but an organization that has been working for decades with some of the world's most needy people. I know the economy is rough right now and many folks are in less than ideal circumstances, but even the smallest donations add up, so please give whatever you can. No amount is too small.

If you would like to make a donation, you can send a check directly to:

Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Advancement
PO Box 307
Maryknoll, NY 10545-0307

Please put “Chris and Katie Reid” in the memo line of the check in order to ensure that we can be "credited" for bringing in the donation. We can also take cash and mail a check to them ourselves with your name on it, if you would prefer.

2) Storage Space.
Although we are selling/donating most of our possessions, there are a few things (photographs, family heirlooms, etc.) that we will put into storage while we are away. Some of these things need to be stored with care because prolonged heat/cold might hurt these items. Obviously, obtaining a climate controlled storage unit for 4 years can get a bit pricey (though we will do it if we have to), so if anyone has any storage space that they are willing/able to let us use for at least 4 years, please let us know. We'll weigh our options and then figure out the best solution from there. We don't want to have boxes spread out at two dozen homes around the country!

3) Prayer.
This is the most important need, of course. The changes that we are making in our lives (and in the lives of family, friends, colleagues, etc.) would be insurmountable if it weren't for the Grace of God and the Peace of the Holy Spirit. We ask for continued prayers for us, our families, and our friends, as well as for all Missioners around the world working toward peace and justice. We would love it if people would add our intentions to any prayer groups or Church services that you know of. And if you are not religious, then happy thoughts are equally appreciated.

For those of you who are not familiar with Maryknoll Lay Missioners, here’s bit from the MKLM website:

“… [MKLM] are a lay Catholic community called through baptism to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crossing boundaries of culture, nationality and faith to join our lives with impoverished and oppressed peoples of the earth. With them, we discern the presence of God’s Spirit in all creation and in the world’s many cultures and religions, and work toward human liberation and inter-religious dialogue in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

…We strive together for justice, peace and fullness of life, and so our ministries are offered in response to the needs of the people with whom we live and work, and with respect for the integrity of all creation.

…We challenge unjust structures and systems, seeking transformation of the very powers that create and benefit from the marginalization of communities, and we commit to becoming a dynamic anti-racist organization that reflects the ethnic and cultural richness of the US Catholic Church and the world in this millennium.”

Learn more about MKLM at their website.

Any support you can offer is greatly appreciated. We could not embark on this endeavor without the support that others give us. Thanks to everyone for being an important part of our mission- a mission that has just begun!

Official Placement: Tanzania!!

2011-06-21T22:37:00.003-04:00

I made a quick Facebook announcement about this the other day, and the word is spreading amongst friends and family, but I wanted to take a moment and give more detail for those interested.

In case there are some who do not yet know, Katie and I have been selected to be Maryknoll Lay Missioners, and we have accepted a 3.5 year placement in Tanzania. The exact location and work we will be doing is yet to be determined, but knowing the country is a big step. And it’s info we are thrilled about, as Tanzania was our top choice. Over the next few months we’ll determine what we will be doing, but it will certainly involve our social work training.

Tanzania is a peaceful country. It is in close proximity to some famously unstable places, but its almost 60 year history is one of peace and stability. But also poverty, and lots of it. It’s one of the UN’s Least Developed Countries and is considered one of the economically poorest countries in the world. If you would like to read more about the country, visit the CIA World Factbook for a basic overview.

MKLM in Tanzania is based in the Lake Victoria region in two cities: Mwanza and Musoma. If you look at the map above, you will see both cities on the map, on the southern and eastern shores of the lake. It will be in one of these two cities that we will work. I believe we’ll have our language training in Musoma, and depending on the work we do, we’ll either stay in that city or relocate to Mwanza (which is the larger of the two cities).

The realization that we’ll actually be living in Tanzania in January 2012 is a bit mind-boggling. As many who are reading this blog likely will know, we’ve long dreamed of living in Africa. We applied to several programs in 2005 with the hope of heading over for a few years starting in 2006, but these plans were derailed by my father’s cancer. We went back to the drawing board to sort out what to do next. Skip ahead several years to 2008, and we began a dialogue with folks at MKLM to lay the groundwork for possibly applying to the program. We did officially apply in fall 2010, and here we are now with a confirmed placement in Tanzania. Rest assured, the process I just described entailed considerably more effort and work than my brief write-up describes.

We’re excited about this for obvious reasons. It’s a dream come true and a prayer answered. We’re excited to be able to answer the call to really delve into some tough stuff and see what we can do to help. We’re ready to test our mettle. We’re also excited because we’ve been to Mwanza on our trip back in 2006. We spent a week in the area we’ll be living (in a small village called Nassa in between Mwanza and Musoma). We still have friends in the area and remember the beauty of both the people and the place. It’s gonna be a hard adjustment- no matter how many amenities we get, it’s gonna be a harder life there. But we’re looking forward to it, and it’s a challenge we are ready to take up.

I’ll be posting further information in the next few days.

Mwanza, TZ, June 2006

Another shot of Mwanza, TZ, June 2006

Music You Don't Understand

2011-05-24T23:23:00.002-04:00

Recently, a friend of mine caved in to social pressures and joined Facebook. (It is inevitable. Resistance is Futile. One cannot help but be assimilated into the Zuckerborg.) Excited to show my friend all the fun ways Facebook is useful in sharing interesting articles and things, I posted a video for one of my favorite songs by Amadou and Mariam on her facebook page.

Now, Amadou and Mariam are from Mali and most all of their songs are not in English. Many are in French, but many are also in languages from the Sahelian region of West Africa. After I posted the video, another friend commented and asked "How on earth can you love a song you can't understand?" She then said (tongue-in-cheek) that they could be making fun of folks from Mississippi and we wouldn't even know it.

This got me to thinking. It is true that I really have no idea what Amadou and Mariam sing about. In fact, I have no idea what all the international musicians for whom I have music are singing about (and I have a lot- I have somewhere between 60-70 non-English speaking albums). I assume they are singing about the same stuff other people sing about: love, loss, joy, sorrow, life, death, anger, peace.

This got me thinking about another topic that has passed through my mind over the years. I have A LOT of African artists in my collection, many of whom come from predominantly Muslim countries. I also really like Middle Eastern music a lot. I am QUITE certain that I have plenty of music in my collection that are praise songs. Those would be praise songs to Allah and probably Mohammed. In my Indian music collection, I'm sure I have songs that are praise songs to Hindu deities.

So here's my thought, followed by a question about which I would love to hear people's thoughts: I know people that are Christians and they ONLY really listen to Christian music (or really only read Christian books, watch Christian movies, etc). They do this for any reasons, but I assume it is mostly to express their faith in God. So here's the question: As a Christian (which I am) should I be listening to music that is celebrating a faith I do not practice? Again, I cannot understand most all of what is being said, so I don't know the content of the lyrics. So for instance, if I know an artist is Muslim, don't understand the words, but can clearly see the title of the song is something about "Allah" should I listen to it? On some level, is listening to this music indirectly participating in worship of belief I do not hold?

And back to the original thought, how can you love music that you cannot even understand? Please share.

I would love to hear people's thoughts on either of these questions. I have my own opinion but I'll hold off sharing because I would really like to get other people's thoughts on this (though you can likely glean my opinion from the fact that I own 60-70 non-English speaking albums representing many faiths).

Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The Reids Are Moving (For Certain) to Africa (Probably)

2011-05-22T18:21:00.003-04:00

This is a modified repost from a facebook note I posted before.

Big news to share: Katie and I have officially been invited to become missioners with the Maryknoll Lay Missioner program. In January 2012 we'll be heading to either Tanzania or Kenya for a 3 1/2 year service commitment! The exact type of work we'll be doing is yet to be determined, but we'll know our country of placement by June 13th. I'll be working at USC until August 26th. We'll start training with MKLM on September 25th. And we'll ship out to our new home in January 2012!

So, not surprisingly, announcing that we’re not just moving but moving to AFRICA has resulted in people having a lot of questions for us. I have prepared this list of frequently asked questions to hopefully provide people answers to most of the questions people may have.

1. Moving to Africa? Why?

I should start with a disclaimer. TECHNICALLY, we are not guaranteed a placement in Africa. Maryknoll's place people in six countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador, and Cambodia. We have requested an African placement because this has been a long-time dream of ours to live in Africa. But honestly, we would be happy with a placement in any of the countries. Each country has very cool work, so we'd be good with any of the placement. We'll know where we're going by June 13th.

So back to our plans for Africa: The original plan was to go abroad in 2006. We even applied for Peace Corps and several other programs, but my father’s cancer waylaid those plans. So we’ve been working toward this for years. As for why we’re moving to Africa, this one is a bit more difficult to answer. Katie and I have been fascinated by the continent for years and years. We even visited Tanzania and Kenya in 2006. I can speak a little Swahili, we’ve both tutored Somali Bantu refugees, and I helped found the Pan-African Student Association at USC. We just dig the place, man. We want to go have a substantial overseas experience, and the work that Maryknoll Lay Missioners (MKLM) does is awesome, so we are ecstatic to be a part of this organization and its mission of working among poor communities around the world.

2. Seriously, Bro. You’re talking about moving to Africa. Are y’all crazy?

Nope. Africa and Africans are awesome. It won't be easy, but we're up for the challenge.

3. Are you both going?

Yes. We are married and enjoy each other’s company. Therefore we have decided to move together. But seriously, this isn’t something tat one of us wants to do and the other is just going along with it; we’re both really excited about this move.

4. Why not stay here? There are plenty of problems here in the US.

True. But we want to live in Africa, so we’re moving there. Simple! Also, I’ve been teaching a class on International Social Work, and all my relevant experience is domestic work with internationals here in the States. I’ve talked the talk; now it’s time to walk the walk.

5. Will it be dangerous?

Most likely not. While I cannot tell the future, both Tanzania and Kenya are relatively peaceful (especially Tanzania). We do not foresee any issues, but it is a risk we have discussed and are willing to take.

6. What are Maryknoll Lay Missioners?

Here’s bit from the MKLM website:

“…We are a lay Catholic community called through baptism to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crossing boundaries of culture, nationality and faith to join our lives with impoverished and oppressed peoples of the earth. With them, we discern the presence of God’s Spirit in all creation and in the world’s many cultures and religions, and work toward human liberation and inter-religious dialogue in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

…We strive together for justice, peace and fullness of life, and so our ministries are offered in response to the needs of the people with whom we live and work, and with respect for the integrity of all creation.

…We challenge unjust structures and systems, seeking transformation of the very powers that create and benefit from the marginalization of communities, and we commit to becoming a dynamic anti-racist organization that reflects the ethnic and cultural richness of the US Catholic Church and the world in this millennium.”

A great organization. Pretty badass, actually. Learn more at their website: http://www.mklaymissioners.org/

7. What is the timeline for your move?

We will find out our country placement in June. Out pre-departure orientation and training takes place in Ossining, NY, and occurs mid-September through mid-December. We’ll leave early January 2012 for our placement and be abroad for 3 ½ years, with the option to stay longer if we so choose. We’ll both remain at our jobs into the summer. Not really sure at this point exactly when our last day will be. We’re working that out right now.

8. What will you be doing?

Well, we don’t actually know that yet. But we do know we’ll be using our Social Work training to work in marginalized and poverty-stricken communities most likely around either health or educational initiatives. When we arrive in our country of placement, we’ll first be put into an intensive language program to learn Swahili. While this is happening, we’ll be visiting prospective work sites to determine the best placement. It will be a “mutual discernment” to find the balance between our interests and the needs of the organization and community. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to move to the other side of the world without a clear idea of what we’ll be doing, but I have faith that the placement process will ultimately find a very good fit for our talents and interests.

9. Are you getting paid?

Yes. Not a lot, but enough to live on. We’ll also have a retirement fund and insurance.

10. What are you doing with the house? What about your stuff?

We hope to sell it. If we cannot, we will rent it. We’ll be keeping certain sentimental pieces of furniture and odds and ends, but largely we will divest ourselves of most of what we own. I think it will be difficult, then liberating.

11. What about the cats and the bees?

One beehive will be relocated to City Roots, the CSA just up the road from our house. The other will be sold. As for the cats- well, that’s the toughest part of the move, I think. I LOVE our cats. Luckily, they will both be moving into a new home with our friends Travis and Julia sometime in April.

12. What does this mean for being Foster Parents?

It means it will not happen at this point in our lives. The fostering process was actually very frustrating, but that’s an issue for another post. We knew when we applied for MKLM that we would only be fostering a little while; however, we never got a placement that worked out. The fostering approval process took much longer than anticipated, and the MKLM approval happened quicker than we thought, so the timing didn’t gel. We’re sad fostering didn’t work out, but we’re thrilled to be going overseas. We’ll have other opportunities down the road to start a family.

13. Can you come back to the US at any point in the 3 1/2 years?

Yes, we can, and we very well might. However, the costs of a trip home are quite high, so timing and cost will determine whether we can actually make a trip home.

14. Can people visit you while you’re over there?

Absolutely. It’s encouraged, actually, so folks can see for themselves the work that MKLM are doing. In fact, there are a few of you from whom I EXPECT a visit. It will be an amazing vacation- life changing!

15. Do we need to do fundraising before we go?

No; MKLM has funding available to send missioners. However, the organization can always use support, so from time to time you may be receiving information from us about ways you could help support our work. If you are able to help support us, it would be appreciated.

16. Are you giving away any of your CDs?

Ha HA. No (well, at least not MOST of them).

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T23:09:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Halloween 2009! This year has just FLOWN by!

End of Summer!

2009-10-30T23:08:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go? It seems like summer started just seconds ago!

I love my job!

2009-10-30T23:07:00.003-04:00

I am really busy. I's amazing that I even have time to post anything to this blog.

Summer Time!

2009-10-30T23:07:00.001-04:00

Wow it is hot.

San Diego was great

2009-10-30T23:06:00.001-04:00

Should also mention that my trip to hang with the Captain was a blast!

Chris Reid, MSW

2009-10-30T23:05:00.000-04:00

I graduated today! It feels so good to be free!

Happy Birthday, Ladies!

2009-10-30T23:04:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to all my April Ladies: Katie, Erica, and Mamaw.

I got a job!

2009-10-30T23:03:00.001-04:00

I'll be the new Advisor with International Student Services at USC. I start in May!

Looking for Work

2009-10-30T23:02:00.003-04:00

Now that I'm in my last semester of grad school, time to start looking for a job. This economy sucks!

Happy New Year!

2009-10-30T23:02:00.001-04:00

Can you believe it's 2009 already?

Merry Christmas!

2009-10-30T23:01:00.000-04:00

Greetings from New Jersey! May your holidays be wonderful.

Thirty-Two!

2009-10-30T23:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to ME!

One Year Already.

2009-10-30T23:00:00.002-04:00

Dad's been gone for one year. Time flies by very quickly. I miss him everyday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Turkey Day, dear readers!

A HISTORIC DAY!

2009-10-30T22:57:00.002-04:00

You heard it here first, folks! BARACK OBAMA IS OUR NEW PRESIDENT! What an amazing thing to be a part of- our first Black President. I hope his transition into the White House is easy and without much stress.

This is a Close Race

2009-10-30T22:56:00.001-04:00

I don't know who's gonna win the presidential race. It's a tight one. Can't wait for election day!

Return of the New and Improved

2009-10-29T19:39:00.001-04:00

What? WHAT is THIS? Can it BE?

Your eyes do not deceive. More to come...

A Cheap Shot at Those Who Work To Make a Difference

2008-09-06T00:42:00.002-04:00

In Sarah Palin's speech accepting the V-P nomination this week at the Republican Convention, she said the following statement:

"...Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved. I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities."

Nice.

CNN commentator Roland Martin had a nice rebuttal to that statement:

"At a time when Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure, folks are trying to get by after layoffs, people are struggling with lack of healthcare, and we're facing pressing environmental issues, it's ludicrous to slam the little man and woman who isn't asking the government for handouts, but is doing what they can to make their neighborhood and city better...

... So when Rudy Giuliani and Palin mock community organizers, they don't just toss a barb at Sen. Barack Obama, they demean Reginald and Emelda Martin [Mr. Martin's parents]. They degrade the women who fought for their rights. They disrespect the labor activists and immigrant worker activists like Cesar Chavez.They dismiss those in the civil rights movement -- folks from small town America who were sick and tired of being sick and tired. They thumb their noses at the Nelson Mandelas of the world who want a better life for their children."

Below is a link to his entire article:

Commentary: GOP Shouldn't Knock Community Organizers

TODAY, JUNE 20th, IS WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2008

2008-06-20T21:59:00.003-04:00

From the heart I hope that these — our brothers and sisters so tried by suffering — are guaranteed asylum and the recognition of their rights, and I invite those responsible for the nations to offer protection to those who are in such delicate situations of need. - Pope Benedict XVI

Everyone must face troubles and sadness in their life. But today, take a few moments to think about all the ways we are truly blessed.

Who is a refugee?

A refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country…"

Article 1, The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees -from www.unhcr.org.au

How many refugees are there today?

There are about 32.9 million people of concern to UNHCR as at January 2007. Of these 9.9 million are refugees as defined by the Refugee Convention or those given prima facie recognition as part of mass influxes.

The remaining 23 million of concern to UNHCR are made up of:

* About 12.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs) who flee from their homes for the same reasons as refugees but who remain within their own country. This figure represents only a portion of the estimated 25 million IDPs worldwide who are not specifically covered by the Refugee Convention.
* About 2.6 million returnees – 1.1 million refugees who have voluntarily returned to their countries of origin but who remain of concern to UNHCR because we monitor their reintegration and provide assistance. There are also 519,430 IDP returnees.
* About 740,000 asylum-seekers, people who are seeking to be recognized as refugees but are still in the determination process.
* About 30,500 refugees who are resettled elsewhere.
* About 3.2 million others, including stateless and others.
-from www.unhcr.org.au

Brilliance from the Onion

2008-04-06T20:19:00.002-04:00

Stop Making Movies About My Books

On the fourteenth of March, in towns nationwide,
In every cinema, multiplex, on every barnside,
Gleamed another adapting of one of my books,
CGI-ed and digitized by another sly crook.

Horton, my favorite—look how he's been treated!
Stuffed with tinsels and tassels and promptly excreted!
The puns! And the filler! The script fees you must save!
While I tumble and grum-humble around in my grave.

Did you learn all but squat from The Cat In The Hat?
Please tell me you fired the prick who made that.
I would have stopped writing, maybe sold Goodyear tires.
If I knew one dark day I'd costar with Mike Myers.

And Oh!
Oh, dear! Oh!
My poor Grinch, what they've done!
They crammed in live-action and snuffed out all the fun!

It's icky, it's tacky, it's awkward, it's wrong.
The Whos look like ferrets, it's an hour too long.
What a rotten idea to spend millions destroying
This masterful tale kids spent decades enjoying!

But still you keep making them!
Just how do you dare?
Sell my life's work off piecemeal
To every Tom, Dick, and Har'.

Why it's simply an outrage—a crime, you must judge!—
To crap on my books with this big-budget sludge.
My books are for children to learn ones and twos in,
Not commercialous slop for Jim Carrey to ruin.

Have you no respect for the gems of your youth?
To pervert them on screen from Taiwan to Duluth.
Even after you drag my last word through the dirt,
I know you, you pirates,
You'd cut out my heart for a "Thing 1" T-shirt.

For eighty-some years I held you vultures at bay,
knowing just how you'd franchise my good name some day.
Not yet cold in my grave before you starting shooting
the first of my classics you'd acquired for looting.

Mrs. Seuss, that old stoofus, began selling more rights
to Dreamworks, Universal—any hack in her sights.
First The Cat In The Hat and then this, that and Seussical
without a thought to be picky, selectish, or choosical.

So to Audrey, you whore, you sad sack of a wife:
Listen close. Pay attention, for once in your life.
You give Fox In Sox to those sharks who made Elf
And so help me, I'll rise up and kill you myself.

No Sneetches by Sony—
No One Fish: On Ice—
Burn that Hop On Pop II script not one time but twice.
Don't sex up my prose with Alyssa Milano…
And no Green Eggs And Ham with that one-note Romano!

This must stop! This must end! Don't you see what you're doing?
You're defiling the work I spent ages accruing.
And when it's dried up and you've sucked out your pay
There'll be no going back to a simpler day,

When your mom would give Horton a voice extra deep,
And turn the last page as you drifted to sleep.
Instead you'll have boxed sets, shit movies, and… well,
You'll have plenty to watch while you're burning in hell.

Mugabe Out?!!

2008-04-02T23:46:00.002-04:00

So I am shocked and thrilled to see that Mugabe may actually be ousted from power after 28 years in control. This is big, big news. However, my happiness is tempered by the fact that lots of people will likely die before this thing resolves itself. It'll be amazing if Zimbabwe doesn't collapse in the turmoil that is probably right around the corner. Sad but true. Just watch.

Still, I do hope the old bugger is gone.

Hello! I'm Here! Really!

2008-02-06T23:36:00.001-05:00

self portrait
Originally uploaded by baldman76

Oh, this blog! I love having it, yet I cannot for the life of me feel compelled to actually post on it.

Dear Readers, I have been busy. And sick. And tired. And sick and tired of being busy. But life is pretty good. So, from the last few weeks, some observations and updates, in no particular order, and certainly not all-inclusive.

1. Happy birthday to Mom (Feb 4th) and Fuzzy (Feb 3rd)!

To Mom- I know the days an be hard, but I think you are handling things with the utmost grace and strength. I love you.

To Fuzzy, I love you, too, man. Due to sickness and being out-of-town (always a fun combination), I didn’t call you. But we hope your b-day was great. And hopefully soon, you will get your present (if it hasn’t arrived already).

2. Yeah, so the whole sick thing. Katie has been really sick for a few days, an I thought I was managing to stay healthy, but alas, the Dread Mahocus has me in its grip now, as well. Missed several blocks of work-related stuff, but did manage to make it to all my classes. Hopefully we are on the mend.

3. Because of the day and because I am Catholic, I have ashes all over my head right now. Gonna try to stop cussing for Lent, but that’s gonna be pretty f%@#ing hard for me. I’ll try, though.

4. Thanks to Erica and Fuzzy for the new computer. I have over half my CD’s now loaded up on iTunes. And my lip gloss be poppin.’

5. So our dear priest at St. Tomas More, Father Tim, was transferred. And our new priest, Father Marcin Zahura, has been here since Feb. 1st. And, man, what a difference. I like him, I do. Liked him pretty quickly, actually, but he is different. He is…uhh, stricter, shall we say. Which is not necessarily a bad change. It will be interesting to see how the congregations take to him. I’ll leave it at that for now. Gonna study this new fella a while.

That’s it for this post. But I’ll post more soon. I’ll try harder, folks. I really will!

King Day at the Dome

2008-01-21T16:27:00.001-05:00

Today is MLK Day, and to commemorate the day the NAACP held the King Day at the Dome Rally. It was cold, first off, but I was happy to see a substantial turnout of young and old, black and white. We heard songs from the Claflin University Gospel Choir, speeches from both the state and national presidents of the NAACP, a lot of talk about taking down the Confederate flag, and- the biggie- the three front runners of the Democratic presidential race all spoke.

Our friend Melissa was visiting from NYC.

I tell you, I am thoroughly undecided on who to vote for at this point. I am also fairly uninformed. I've followed the race, but with everything going on lately, the race kinda hit the back burner. I have one week to make a decision. That being said, I really like all three. Obama gave the first speech. His was inspiring and the crowd was all about him.

Edwards followed, and his speech was more of a stump speech with very little fine tuning from his other campaign ralliy we attended on the January 9th. This is not necessarely a bad thing, as he has focused on domestic issues that mesh easily with MLK's legacy. Given his substantial third place standing, he was nonetheless well-received .

Clinton was last, and she was also well received (hell, it was an NAACP rally- let's be real, it was a crowd of Democrats). Clinton spoke in a fairly laid back manner that sent the aura of "Y'all know who I am, I don't need to stump. Let's talk about MLK." She had the most first-person-ish experiences involving civil rights (and MLK, whom she saw when younger), and I think the crowd recognized that fact.

I have no idea who will win between Clinton and Obama. The crowd went nuts for Obama, but there were a LOT of Clinton signs in the audience.

The best line of the day, IMHO, came from the opening prayer. The pastor stressed how divisive race relations and the neglect of the most needy in our country has led America down the wrong path. He stressed the need to unite as one people, and he made the following statement: "We may have come here [to America] on different ships, but we are all in the same boat now." It went over very well. It may not sound so great on this blog, but it's rare in my experience for a prayer to get applause.

And finally, it seems THIS guy is often spotted around political events...is a political junkie? An intrepid reporter? Or perhaps, a lunatic?!! (Perhaps all three...)

Birthday Boy

2007-12-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

I'm thirty-one today! Here's a little something I found while cleaning out a box downstairs. Published Thirty years ago (obviously).

Reflecting and Remembering

2007-12-11T23:09:00.001-05:00

It has now been nine days since my father died. It's been so busy around here lately, I just haven't found the time to sit and try to get the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions down in writing. But make no mistake- I've been mulling, pondering...

So here's a few simple thoughts: I miss my dad. I don't think his death has really sunk in yet, but I am truly starting to feel his absence. Seeing him every day- or talking to him every day- was not the norm for the last few years, so I think a little time had to go by before it really started registering that he was gone. But he is, and it's starting to hurt.

It strikes me as shocking- and amazing- that I watched someone die. Even more shocking that it was my father- but just the simple thought that I watched someone take their last breath is surreal to me. The end was a touching tribute to faith, family, and love- he was surrounded by family, my sister and I were at the bedside, touching him, and he died in my mother's arms. It was dignified- but earlier in the day I was overwhelmed with feeling insulted that death, or anything, would put my sweet father through such an ordeal. I will not forget the sound of the “death rattle.” Katie told me she now understood how someone could call death “evil.” However, the end was triumphant. My mother held Dad in her arms and he left us peacefully. It was the most Christian thing I have ever seen.

The visitation and funeral had several hundred people in attendance. The chapel held 300 people and there were still folks standing in the back. I was driving the car directly behind the hearse heading to the cemetary and could not see the end of the cars following us in my rear view mirror. The funeral itself was very joyous. There were tears of course, but a lot of laughter, some beautiful hymns, an upbeat version of “I Can See Clearly Now,” and even a show of hands for how many in the crowd had ever been to a concert with Dad (a lot). The preacher leading the service (Jim Biedenharn) was perfect and really knew what Dad wanted for his “farewell,” and when my father's body was being taken to the hearse, we gave Dad a standing ovation for a victorious life well lived. He was loved.

Dad was a great father- not perfect, but a loving, warm, earnest man who has left a wonderful example for his children to follow. It is strange to realize that the man to whom I have most looked for guidance and direction is gone.

I do think he was always a little baffled at how a conservative, Republican, Protestant father could have led by example and spawned a liberal, Catholic, vegetarian, Democratic son. But he did! He was always supportive of me, and I am who I am because of him.

A close family friend told me the other day that Dad told him how proud he was of me when I became a Catholic. I never doubted that, but to hear that means a lot.

I am sad he will never meet his grandchildren. But I'm more sad that his grandchildren will never meet him.

Dad called me “Sport” my whole life, the irony of which is not lost on me.

He was the Ground Monster, a creature that chased children but could only get them if they were standing on the ground. Cars, trees, porches, and swingsets were our saving graces.

He loved the song “Greensleeves” and whistled it really fast to be the theme song for our Reid Family Adventures, where we would all climb on a swing tied to a huge pecan tree branch and pretend it was a hot air balloon.

He created a bed-time game show called Hug My Babies, where my sister and I (and any other lucky kid who happened to be spending the night) would answer questions competing for the grand prize, a hug. The host was Justin Time, the announcer was Cliff Dweller.

We used to wrestle in the front yard. Inevitably this was devolve into him tickling me until I couldn't breathe. Not so much fun, but a fond memory.

He would bring home big pieces of cardboard for us to slide down the hill.

Many of my friends called him Papa Reid. Jeremy called him P-Daddy (short for Pretend Daddy). Chris Blue called him Diamond Dave.

He loved music and taught me all about bands and singers and who played guitar on what albums. But his tastes went far beyond classic rock. In 1998, Dad went with me and Jeremy to see the Beastie Boys in Atlanta, not because we needed a chaperone, but because Dad really liked the Beastie Boys. He was the first person I ever knew to like Alice In Chains, Portishead, and Radiohead. He really liked Faith No More. He has two Audioslave CD's. He loved Beck.

I always enjoyed talking to Dad about all of our Africa interests because he was really interested. This is not to say that the rest of my family is not interested, but their interests are generally because Katie and I were involved in it. Dad was fun to talk to because he thought the subjects themselves were interesting, and I always appreciated that.

I could go on and on about Dad, and I probably will in future blog posts. But I'll end this with the text that the editor of the Vicksburg Post, Charlie Mitchell, wrote for his weekly editorial on Monday, December 10th. Vicksburg is not a huge town- it's less than 30,000 people, I believe- but not too many people have the editor of the paper write an article in tribute to their life. I am damn proud of my father David Reid, my dad and my friend whom I loved dearly.

Remember David Reid, who never lost the melody
by Charlie Mitchell

We met in elementary school.

After those days our encounters were rare and brief. They came at predictable intervals as we aged, in grocery store aisles, at back-to-school nights for our own children, reunions.

Exchanges with David Reid always went past, "Hi, how are you? Fine and you? Fine." He always had something wry, something personal, something sincere to say.

David made an impression, a good impression. He was consistently upbeat.

It was good that the Post had David on the front page a few weeks ago, "outing" him to the world for what was probably the most outlandish deed of his life. David was one of four Hinds Community College commuters from Vicksburg who in 1973 carved, in giant letters, "Remember Duane Allman" into an earthen wall along the then-new Interstate 20 near Bovina. Prompting the news story was a performance in Vicksburg by Gregg Allman, brother of the legendary guitarist who had been killed in a 1971 motorcycle wreck.

The carved memorial lasted for years, becoming an icon to I-20 travelers. Gregg told David and his co-conspirators the family had seen photos and appreciated the gesture. That meant a lot.

Anybody who knows anything about music--and David knew a lot about music--will tell you that Duane Allman, though a rocker's rocker, always kept the melody, never lost it to the noise.

And so it was with David.

He was keenly intelligent, with an excellent memory, but he didn't care whether anyone knew it or not. Impressing others wasn't something he desired to do. David was as casual as the Hawaiian shirts and wide-brimmed hats that were his stock-in-trade.

He and his classmate, Tricia, equally smart and warm in her friendships, formed a marital partnership in which they derived pleasure from being considerate of one another. Money didn't matter. Having a posh house didn't matter. Having the newest car didn't matter. What other people thought, did, cared about or worried about didn't matter. People mattered. Relationships mattered.
Together, David and Tricia infused their ideals into their children, Erica and Christopher, talented and creative children who have become talented and creative adults. The Reids equipped their daughter and son with roots and wings the way great parents do--a grounding in values plus decency plus a yearning to explore, learn, serve.

Word that David had cancer came years ago. Tricia, an Internet blogger before that term was even invented, wrote about it the same as she had everything else. Both were realistic, prayerful, confident, scared, accepting the challenge. What choice did they have?

They won a hell of a lot of battles, but, as the cliche goes, not the war.

Just a few weeks ago, a backache sent David to the doctor. It wasn't a
pulled muscle. It was another malignancy. The verdict: David would die in a matter of weeks.

They say hospice nurses are compassionate, which would be expected. But they're also pretty seasoned. After David's nurse had her first private meeting with him, telling him how things would go, I'm told she left the
room in tears.

The end came last Sunday night just as forecast, family and friends all there. A free spirit became free.

Encounters with people like David Reid are brief and rare. When they happen, listen for the melody. They've learned to sustain it through the noise.

-- Charlie Mitchell is executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. Write to him
at Box 821668, Vicksburg, MS 39182, or e-mail post@vicksburg.com.

George David Reid

2007-12-03T01:05:00.000-05:00

March 23, 1954 - December 2, 2007

The Last Leg of a Long Journey

2007-11-17T14:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry that this is the first post I have made in months. It seems that many people who have been following the health of my father via my family’s blogs have already heard the recent news, but I want to make a formal post on my blog as well. As most all of this blog’s readers know, for the last three and a half years, my father, David Reid, has been fighting cancer. Valiantly, I might add- always optimistic, full of faith, and resilient in the face of daunting odds.

Sadly, it seems my dad- and all of us, in a way- are approaching the end of the journey. Thursday afternoon, after having an MRI done to determine the source of some back pain my father was experiencing, a three inch tumor was discovered on his backbone. After examining the results and the continuing spread of the cancer (which spread while he was already receiving the only chemotherapy that was having any real results), it was determined that there was nothing more that could medically be done.

He has been given about 6 weeks to live. He has been referred to hospice services and all further treatments will be palliative care to reduce the pain and make him as comfortable as possible. Understandably, the family is in a bit of shock. We knew he wasn’t doing well, but we were certainly not expecting this. My sister is already in Mississippi and assisting the family. I am currently still in South Carolina, as I am taking care of school business. My semester has been declared “incomplete,” and I am taking the next day or two to try and slam out a few final assignments. The more I get done on this end is that much less I must do next semester. And ensuring that arrangements are made now will make the transition back into school easier come Spring.

Katie and I will be leaving Tuesday afternoon for Mississippi. Katie will return to SC after the Thanksgiving holiday, and I will remain in MS with the family for the duration of the illness. It is going to be an emotional, messy and stressful next few months. Thoughts and prayers are still very much appreciated.

Houses, Burma, and DADA

2007-09-09T10:29:00.000-04:00

It seems that my blog has been in perpetual catch-up mode this whole year. Not only is there much to tell over the last few weeks, but I haven’t even finished posting all the pictures from my trip home to Vicksburg this summer. But here’s some of the big highlights as of late:

As most folks who read this blog are aware, Katie and I have been in the process of buying a house. Now first off, we were not looking to buy a house. We were in no way in the “market to buy.” But this one just plopped in our lap via a friend of ours (and now a co-worker of mine) who had recently bought a house on the same street. We looked, we liked, we studied, we made an offer, it was accepted- all in less than two weeks. And while I was in my first two weeks of grad school. Yikes. Poor Katie had to assume the bulk of the work on this deal, as I was just not able to make myself available to realtors and mortgage officers and the like.

So the house is nice: 940 sq. ft, screened in porch, big back yard in the Olympia neighborhood, which by all estimates is on the “up-and-up.” There are definite quirks to it (a small awkward kitchen, a claustrophobic little bathroom) and some spots that need fixing up, but over-all it’s OK…EXCEPT (and you knew there’d be one) that the roof needs to be replaced. We were told that it was 5 – 7 years old, but after two separate inspections, we’ve been told it is in bad shape and is much older than that.

So that’s where we are. Stalled while we try to hammer out a deal with the sellers to get some kind of assistance with the roof repair. I think we’re being remarkably fair, not asking for much at all. We’ll assume a large portion of the cost- we just want a little help to cover the costs. We’ll keep you posted. Here’s a link to Katie’s blog with a photo.

My internship with Lutheran Family Services is going well. Good coworkers and interesting work. Last week I had a Burmese woman throw up in the back seat of my car. (Luckily she was savvy enough to grab a plastic bag). And I taught 6 people (4 Burmese and two Vietnamese) how to ride the city buses. And I personally had never done it before so it was new to me AND none of the 6 spoke English. Nerve-wracking but fun.

My parents are alright and my Dad is doing well. My sister Erica is in an awesome new play called Soireé DADA: Blinde Essel Hopse that looks to be fabulous. It opened Friday night to a full house. That’s her third from the left.

Nose, You Remember Grindstone, Right?

2007-08-21T23:18:00.001-04:00

Midterms
Originally uploaded by Waldie's World

Well, I am so so far behind on my blog, and I know it.

And this is just a quick post tonight. This week is my first week of grad school. It's been very enjoyable thus far. I've made some friends, met some nice professors, and have gotten excited about what we will be learning.

I also lost my hat. $#@&!

This week is three days of orientations (two down, one to go), then two days of field placement. Saturday is all day meetings about two of my classes which are "Distance Education" classes even though I will be in the room with the professor; thus, everyone must come to Columbia prior to the first session. Then next week is "Block Week" which is five full days of field placement (plus my two night classes).

THEN, the next week is Labor Day and we have no classes. The funny thing about that is that Mondays are the days I have 3 of my 4 classes, so factoring in the holiday, I really won't start two of my classes until September 10th!)

I also secured a 10-hour a week Graduate Assistantship which will be in the Office of International Programs for Students and will be starting the first week of September as well.

Lots going on. It's about to get REAL real, son.

Africa Tetris!

2007-08-14T11:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, really. It's the coolest thing. And it's pretty hard.

CHECK IT OUT HERE.

I scored 11 minutes, 28 seconds on the medium setting. I am a nerd.

It is 1:30 am and I Cannot Sleep.

2007-08-14T01:18:00.000-04:00

You Are 77% Tortured Genius

You are smart. Brilliant in fact. And while it's a blessing, it's also a curse.

Your head is filled with everything - grand ideas, insufferable worries, and a good deal of angst.

Are You a Tortured Genius?

BWAH HA HA!

You Communicate Like a Woman

You empathize, talk things out, and express your emotions freely.

You're a good listener, and you're non-judgmental with your advice.

Communication is how you connect with people.

You're always up for a long talk, no matter how difficult the subject matter is.

Do You Communicate Like a Man or a Woman?

Yes, but I make love like a real man!

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.

You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.

Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.

Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

WORD.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Spatial Intelligence

You've got a good sense of space and how the world around you looks.

You can close your eyes and "see" images. You have innate artistic talent.

An eye for color and shapes, you're also a natural designer.

Since you think in pictures, visual aids and demonstartions help you learn best.

You would make a good navigator, sculptor, visual artist, inventor, architect, interior designer, or engineer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Your Daily Dose of Minutia

2007-08-13T19:28:00.000-04:00

OK, I’ve been home over a week now, so I guess I should get back to blogging. I’ll get some more posts about the rest of my Vicksburg trip up soon. But first, I’ll catch you up on what’s been happening in the last few days.

I've been really lazy. Sleeping late. Especially last week. This week I've got lots to do, but those first few days back, I tried to do as little as possible. Paula completed a Triathlon. Fuzzy ran a half-marathon.* I slept late. But I did it with style.

For those of you who do not yet know, Katie is now gainfully employed. She is the Community Education Program Coordinator for Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands. Today was her first day, and she seems to have had a good day. She was all cute and nervous when she left this morning.

I have also been on the job search- or rather, a graduate assistantship search. But a regular old part-time job would work, too. Earlier this summer there was an opportunity to get an assistantship which would have been a good one, but perhaps a little hard to work with my schedule. I was willing to give it a go, but alas, the funding fell through. I got back to Columbia and immediately started prepping the old resume. Thanks to Doyle Stevick, I have lots of leads, and I went to campus last Wednesday and wandered about turning in applications to folks in the College of Ed and the campus library (which was more fun than it sounds because I had my Somali buddy Aden with me and we stopped in to see Fabian and Dianess Maganda). I have an interview with someone this Wednesday afternoon (also thanks to Doyle), so hopefully that’ll turn into something.

I’ve also been gearing up for the new volunteer recruitment season for our refugee tutoring program. We’re looking to expand to ethnic groups other than Somalis, though they will still likely receive the bulk of the tutors we get.

Katie and I have enjoyed just hanging out after our 6 weeks apart. We hit our regular joint Pizza Man on Tuesday with our pal Mike, I hung out with Doyle and Kara Thursday night, we had Thai food Saturday, we've been back to the Somalis's apartments, and Katie and I have been watching lots of DVD’s. Nothing exciting, but really nice. So that’s what’s up. Next week kicks off the semester with orientations and internship meetings. It’ll be fun, though.

* Oh yeah, seriously- big ups to Paula and Fuzzy. Great job.

Home

2007-08-03T00:13:00.001-04:00

Joy
Originally uploaded by baldman76

Unbelievably, six weeks have come and gone and my time in Mississippi has drawn to a close. Tomorrow morning I grab my suitcase and a small black kitten, load up and make the 10 hour drive back to South Carolina.

The cliché says “Home is Where the Heart Is,” and if you split your love between two places, it means you are blessed with two homes. My home is Columbia, South Carolina, with my wife Katie, but I've also been home with my folks for the last six weeks. I am very glad that I was able to make this trip. I just wish I could do more to help.

OK, so it's on the road again. More pictures and stories when I get settled in in SC.

Peace, Shalom, Salaam.

Proof

2007-08-02T19:25:00.000-04:00

I wasn't lyin.' I used to have long hair:

Community

2007-08-01T22:05:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I went to the Vicksburg Family Development Service and led a 45 minute discussion about why you should volunteer and the importance of community service. I was asked by Dave Heard (who is a part-time employee of the coffee shop) if I wanted to talk about my Africa trip or something, and I felt that I could really speak about volunteering from strong first-hand experience. I spoke to 12 or 13 boys and there were 5 adults as well. It went pretty well.

I say this not to toot my own horn but to say that while Vicksburg may be far from perfect, there really seems to be people working to try to make it a better place. Maybe there always has been and as a teenager I never noticed, but with the downtown revitalization, the active arts community and then groups like the one I spoke with today, I am finding Vicksburg more appealing. There's problems, yes. But there are folks who try to help, and that counts for a lot.

More Visiting

2007-08-01T20:09:00.000-04:00

When I make these rare extended trips home to Mississippi, I never get the chance to see everyone I want to see. This time is no exception, but I am really happy to have seen as many folks as I have. And it's not just the folks I always make it a point to see. I have seen several folks that I have not seen in years. And I must say, I have MySpace to thank for some if it, because I have reconnected with some friends and acquaintances that I had lost touch with since my departure from MS in January of 2001.

Last Monday, after having lunch with Lindsay Cacamo, I ran into Erica (Penginger) Livingston, an old running mate with whom I spent inordinate amounts of time for many years while living in Jackson. Erica was in town from NYC because her Grandfather passed away, and though it was a terrible reason to bring her back to MS, I look for silver linings, and seeing her was great. Both of us had things to do the day we bumped into each other, but having not had a real conversation with each other in years, we settled comfortably in at Cups just like old times and visited for the next four hours. Unfortunately we didn't get the chance to meet up again before she left town, but the chance meeting on Monday was swell. Yes, swell.

Continuing with the visits, last Wednesday I was lucky enough to spend an evening with Chris and Laura Collins and their three adorable kids. I had seen Laura back around Thanksgiving but only briefly, but that was how I learned they were back up from the Coast (Katrina pushed them back northward).

I got to know Chris while working at BeBop Record Shop in Jackson back in 1998. I worked in the store warehouse for a few months and really hit it off with lots of the folks there. Laura was the bartender at Hal and Mal's and- really- everyone loves Laura. She's just cool cool cool. They moved off to the MS gulf coast sometime before I left for AmeriCorps, and though I kept up with their whereabouts, I really haven't talked to them in years. Now they're back in Jackson, they have three great kids, a great house and life seems to be treating them very well.

I will always have a bond with Chris because I saw Tom Waits in concert with him back in 1999 at the Chicago Theater in...uh, Chicago. At the time, Tom Waits had just put out his first album in years (Mule Variations), and the tour was a BIG deal. Chris's sister lived in Chicago (this was before Erica was there), so we both ended up there for the show, albeit it separate shows. There were two, one on Thursday and one on Friday. Chris went to see Waits on Thursday night, but I had scored two great but EXPENSIVE seats (Fourth row, Orchestra Pit!) for the Friday show with no one to use the second ticket. After much cajoling, Chris relented and agreed to buy the ticket and go see the show with me.

Great show. We sat on fold-out chairs in FRONT of the front row. Twenty feet from the man himself. The show was great- fabulous, really- but it was that much better because there's someone else who knows how great that show was. It's a bond that can only be understood by a true Waits fan...(By the way, the jerk has now seen Tom Waits THREE times, but I don't hold it against him. Much.)

So it was great to visit Chris and Laura, meet the kids, wrestle the kids, climb in a big pile of pillows with the kids, ride bikes with the kids, take pictures with the kids, play on the playground with the kids- These kids are really cool kids, y'all.

Visiting the Cat House

2007-07-31T18:52:00.000-04:00

If you have ever had a conversation with me about my parents, then I have certainly mentioned that they own a lot of cats. And I mean A LOT. They are what are what I like to call Crazy-Cat-People.* But maybe y'all haven't truly understood what I mean when I say they have lots of cats. So I will now present you irrefutable proof, in the form of photographic evidence:

Scruffy

Allie

Chloe

Bobbie

Buffy

Bootsie

Mama Cat

Puffy

Campbell (named after Bruce. Word.)

Blue

Callie

Bear

Punky

Stimpy and Rudy

Little Guy

Candy

Teddie

The Kittens (The one on the right is Doozer, and he's coming home with me.)

Baby

The Scutter

Tony

NOT PICTURED: Smoky and Vanna, who look just like Tony and Baby.

I am not kiddin,' folks. There's a hellava lotta cats here.

* Crazy in a good way.

Yowza...

2007-07-31T12:36:00.000-04:00

It was fantastic.

We're gonna have to talk about this book sometime, Dear Readers...

Quick Update

2007-07-31T00:21:00.000-04:00

Hello, Dear Readers. I have been the social butterfly this last week and have seen many friends* and family. I'll get some photos up soon as well as some posts that tell about the last few days. But I'm in the final week of my trip and the days are filling up, so bear with me if it takes a few more days to pick up posting again. Later!

* Last Monday was the Day for Redheads. This last week was the week for Chrises**: Chris Collins, Chris Blue, Chris Black, and Chris Zuga. There's a lot of us out there. It's a movement.

** How the heck to you pluralize Chris?

Tired and Feathered

2007-07-25T00:24:00.000-04:00

So today the cousins and I initiated the second phase of Operation Clean-Up Mamaw's House. The mission was a success, albeit a more subtle one. Though the work we did is not as obvious as it was in the first assault, we managed to get rid of two full bags of garbage and three bags of magazines, rearrange some shelves, and vacuum at least 50 parakeets' worth of feathers and bird seed. And I was covered in both. Birdy and dirty.

Today Was Evidently My Day for Redheads.

2007-07-24T01:02:00.001-04:00

Chris and Lindsey
Originally uploaded by baldman76

First I had lunch with an old pal Lindsey, then Erica (The Livingston formally known as Peninger) shows up and I spent the next several hours visiting with her at Cups. I'll post more about Erica later, because I'll likely see her more this week, so there will be more dirt to dish. I'll talk about Lindsey first.

Yesterday was the first time I had seen Lindsey in 6 years. Back in 1999-2000, I worked as the Program Coordinator for the Madison County Cultural Center (MCCC), and Lindsey was one of the “kids” that took ballet classes there. I guess she was 14 when we met, and over the two years I was there, I got to know her better. If she had some spare time, she'd come hang out in my office, and she was always good company. Smart girl. Good conversations.

In addition to her taking classes at the MCCC, we also hired her as a camp assistant at our summer arts camp, and she kinda became a co-worker of sorts for the summer. When I left the MCCC, I had JUST turned 24, and she had just turned 16. End of story. Lost contact.

Ah, but for the power of MySpace. Out of curiousity one day I was searching for folks that I had known at the Center, specifically for some of the folks that would be in their late teens / early twenties. I was curious to see what they looked like, what they were doing, etc. Had no intention of actually contacting them. But when I found Lindsey, now at the ripe old age of 22, I took a chance and sent her an email. And lo and behold, over the years she'd been keeping up with me via the MCCC's old director, Mark McCrary! She was happy to hear from me, we've been emailing over the last month or two, and since I was in MS, we met for lunch to catch up face to face.

And it was really fun. It was a rather “fractured” conversation because we kept bouncing around from topic to topic, veering into tangents in an attempt to elaborate on everything that has happened to us in the last 6 years. The years since I left Mississippi have been the most important years of my life, and Lindsey has of course, graduated high school and come into her own as an adult. So there was WAY more to discuss than we could conceivably talk about in the span of two hours. There's still a pretty good age gap between us, but the years melted away when we got to talking.

When we first saw each other, I remarked that I didn't really expect to see her again after I left MS, to which she replied that she always felt that we were destined to see each other again beyond those years at the Center. So here's to taking the time to reconnect and discover those “surprise” friendships that suddenly reappear and make life that much more enjoyable.

BEE-to-the-EYE-to-the-Double EL-WHY

2007-07-22T00:52:00.001-04:00

Billy Middleton (and Sophie)
Originally uploaded by baldman76

So in one of my previous posts on Jeremy “The Cap'n” Mucha,' I mentioned that I also met a guy named Billy on the first day of second grade who completed the Three Musketeers of my upbringing. Today is his thirtieth birthday, and he was in Vicksburg visiting his family today. So I went over to his folks' house for a bit o' visitin.'

We spent a good hour or two catching up, talking about grad school (my upcoming first year and his current experiences in the USM creative writing Masters program). I haven't seen Billy in two years (since my last month-long MS visit in '05) and it is always good to visit with him. We always get ourselves to laughing. I don't tend to hear from or see him as much as I do Jeremy, but it's always remarkably easy to settle into a conversation just like no time has passed. I guess that's what knowin' someone 23 years will do.

We were both sans wives this afternoon (which is a shame because I don't know if Katie has ever met Billy or Monica, Billy's wife), but I did meet their chihuahua Sophie (AKA Booplee (sp?)). It looks like I may see them again next weekend, so I'll hopefully have a few more pictures to post.

Happy Birthday, Billy.

Foxy

2007-07-20T21:17:00.001-04:00

Foxy Reid-Bane
Originally uploaded by baldman76

So this is a picture of Foxy, my grandmother's dog. Foxy and I have quite a bit of history together. Years ago when I was living in Jackson, I was driving home late one night when I saw this dog running- panicked- on Fortification street up and down the on-ramp onto the highway. Certain death if she kept going.

Well, I felt moved to help the animal, so long story short- I caught her. It took a while, because where she was running and HOW she was running required me to make several big loops onto the highway and back off at the next exit, turning around and driving back to the on-ramp. Finally I got her off the ramp and up into a parking lot, where she fell at my feet and rolled over on her back. Thinking to myself “This is how people get emergency room stories” I picked her up and put her in my car. No one was mauled, and she became my dog for a while.

At the time I was working increasingly long hours, so I felt that I wasn't giving her enough time. Eventually, I was hardly ever home to spend any time with her, nor was my sister. When my grandmother's dog, Sandy*, died, I offered her Foxy, and thus she became my Mamaw's dog. And now she is lazy and fat (Foxy, not Mamaw). She eats lying down. She's almost as wide as she is long. But she seems happy, and she always seems happy to see me. I don't know how dog brains work, but it seems that she certainly recognizes me when I show up. She's a big fat sweet dog.

* Sandy was part Chow / part DINGO. Scary-ass dog.

Partners-In-Crime

2007-07-19T12:11:00.001-04:00

Matthew and Scott
Originally uploaded by baldman76

As mentioned in a previous post, the stealth cleaning assault on my Mamaw's house was not a solo operation. I was accompanied by two other operatives, my cousins Matthew and Scott. After we cleaned, we hung out at the coffee shop for a bit, then wandered about in the book store next door.

As always, I enjoyed seeing them, and I'm sure I'll see them next week, because they're also itchin' to get back over and clean some more at our grandmothers.

Putting Obsessive-Compulsiveness to Work

2007-07-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

I like to clean and organize (except don't say that to my wife because she'll laugh at you for saying something so silly). But I really do. And beyond spending quality time with my parents, there were other motives behind my trip.

See, I come from a family of pack-rats, but I seem to have somehow broken free of this habit. I don't like having a lot of stuff.* Give me a one gift and I get rid of two things. And while I am quite guilty of creating little piles of papers and such around the house, I don't like clutter. I have actually put myself in a little bit of a bind because I am suddenly finding that all my clothes are wearing out and tearing up because I wear the same few outfits over and over because I have given a lot of my clothing away. It's just how I am. I keep things that are sentimental to me, but there is a rather draconian vetting process that determines what stays and what goes. My motto: "A memory should be a thought, not a thing."

So a trip to my folks' house is both a blessing and a curse. There's so much to do! But I never get it all done...Their house isn't dirty, it's just cluttered up, and Lord knows they've had plenty of more important stuff on their minds lately. So I make it a point to do what I like to do when I'm here: organize, clean, and purge!

We've all been cleaning out magazines, sweeping under furniture, rearranging rooms, all to streamline the house and make it less stressful for everyone. For example, is there REALLY a reason to have the last four years of Entertainment WEEKLY (56 x 4= 224)? The answer is NO. It's been very productive and we've made good headway on a lot of projects.

AND my Mamaw Bane allowed my cousins Matthew and Scott and myself to clean up HER house, too, so we spent 2 hours yesterday vacuuming and purging newspapers and such from her house. That was great. She's fought against anybody coming over and cleaning her house (a matter of pride, I'm sure) but we were smooth and slipped in under her radar under the guise of a "visit from the gransons." It must have worked swimmingly well, because she told Mom today she's hopes we can come back over next week to do more work. Awesome.

So that's what's been up lately. I am planning some visits in the next few weeks, but for the most part it'll still be clean clean clean over here.

* Books and CD's excluded. Katie has accused me of wanting to get rid of HER stuff while my stuff seems to magically get overlooked when it comes to simplifying. It's somewhat true...FINE. I admit it! OK!

New Harmonies

2007-07-18T01:02:00.000-04:00

While Jeremy was in town last week, we went back to see the New Harmonies Smithsonian exhibit. Here's a few more shots taken when the room was not full of people.

Someone's Got Some Serious Etch-A-Sketch Skills

2007-07-14T23:50:00.001-04:00

Amazing Etch-A-Sketch at Highway 61 Coffee Shop
Originally uploaded by baldman76

So last week, Jeremy, my Dad and I walk into the Highway 61 Coffeehouse and there on the table is this amazing Etch-a-Sketch drawing.

Now, we often find pretty good drawings when we pop in. There's some good etch-a-sketchers out there. But WOW. Jeremy and I immediately went for our cameras, and Josh (he works there) told us that they had taken a bunch of photos of it already. Now Daniel has a photo of it posted on the wall of the coffee shop. All they know is it was a guy from Houston. He drank a cup of coffee and left, spending only about 20 minutes inside. Amazing.
CLICK HERE to see Daniel's picture of the table-top "still life" which inspired the sketch. Amazing. [Note that the figure in the drawing is a small statue of Willie Dixon. And note that that small statue is painted on an old leg of a bath tub.]

A Good Report

2007-07-14T00:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we were in Jackson for my Dad's latest CT scan, the first he's had since we got the last round of bad news, and the first since the shingles outbreak. He gets his scan in the morning and the results in the afternoon for his oncologist, Dr. Graham.

And for a nice change, the results were good. Simply put, the nodes in his lungs are smaller, and there are several nodes that are dying from the inside out ( called "cavitation"). There is no change in the liver (which is a hell of a lot better than some of the recent alternatives), but the doc feels that given Dad's improvement in the last few months, there is likely some positive effect on the liver that just is not apparent in the CT scan just yet.

Bona fide good news. Praise the Lord.

Scrabble: Bring It!

2007-07-08T14:24:00.000-04:00

Overall, a good showing all around. Scores were pretty tight by the end of ll three games. Mr. Mucha' came out ahead, with two wins.

Scrabble: Game One
Thursday afternoon, 7/5/07
Highway 61 Coffeehouse
Winner: Jeremy Mucha'

Scrabble: Game Two
Friday afternoon, 7/5/07
Highway 61 Coffeehouse
Winner: David Reid

Jeremy keeps score in an Excel spreadsheet.

Scrabble: Game Three
Friday night, 7/5/07
Reid Household
Winner: Jeremy Mucha'

A Visit From the Cap'n

2007-07-07T21:02:00.001-04:00

Jeremy Mucha, AKA The Cap'n
Originally uploaded by baldman76

Early in the AM this morning, my dad and I delivered Jeremy Mucha' (AKA Cap'n Hardqore AKA Homeskillet) to the Jackson airport.

Jeremy is one of my oldest friends, and still one of my closest. There's a certain type of conversation that I seem to only have on those occasions when he's around. Good, deep conversations on weighty topics. Perhaps this is due to mutual respect or simply familiarity and comfort in each other's company; it's likely both.

I met Jeremy (along with Billy Middleton) on the first day of second grade at Culkin Elementary. The three of us were fairly inseparable all the way until high school graduation, when we each went our separate ways. But not too separate. Jeremy lived with us for two summers after high school and he was but a road trip away in Atlanta, and Billy went to Hinds with me, so we were still regularly in touch. (Billy was technically my roommate at Hinds for one semester, but he wasn't thee very much.) Even now, I keep in touch with both of them, and even though we're on opposite sides of the country, I manage to see Jeremy at least once a year these days (which is largely due to his efforts, I must admit). That means we have known each other for 23+ years. Katie has always marveled at the idea of having had a friend that long. It's one of the advantages to having been born and raised in the same small town.

So Jeremy came in from San Diego* and spent a good 3 ½ days here in V'burg, visiting the family. It was a nice visit and was great seeing him, but there were several impediments to it being a rockin' visit worthy of someone so hardqore as the Cap'n. First, there's the difficulty of entertaining someone in a house that's not your own in a town in which you no longer live. The “idea well”ran dry pretty quick. And it rained a good portion of the time he was here. Add to that the fact that Dad has had a few rough days, Mom got a terrible cold, my Mamaw Reid is ill with a mystery ailment and panic attacks, and the fact that I caught a bit of a sniffle bug myself (the "Dread Mahocus"), and it was likely a little less of a stellar visit than it could have been.

Luckily, Jeremy is a pretty laid-back dude, one that is content to just chill on the back deck., I had a lot of fun and it was great to see him. We went downtown on the Fourth of July to see a very impressive fireworks display.** Thursday afternoon, we cruised over to Jackson to return his rental car and chilled at Cups coffee shop for a while. We spent a few afternoons in Daniel's coffee shop here in town, and wandered about taking in the sights. After going back to see the New Harmonies Roots Music exhibit, we realized Jeremy had never seen O, Brother, Where Art Thou? so we rectified that situation. And we played Scrabble. Several times. Always great to see him.

* Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diego, which of course in German means “a whale's vagina.” Not really.

**It's not the first grand fireworks display here in town, but V'burg hasn't always had a soft spot for the 4th of July.

Folks I Been Seein'

2007-07-03T13:31:00.000-04:00

So my trip to Vicksburg and the surrounding area has given me the chance to see some old friends and run into some folks I haven't seen in years.

First of all, my sister Erica was here for a few days, and as always, it was great to see her.

My friend Ian (above) came over from Jackson to attend the Willie Dixon event, so he was around for a good visit. Additionally, he was sent to V'burg to work for a few days, so he ended up over here at the house a few hours Thursday and Friday night.

I've seen Nancy Mitchell and Randy Jolly, two former art teachers of mine and old friends of the family.

Of course, I've seen Daniel and Leslie.

Ran into Palmer Shiers, AKA P-Root the Mighty Ku'ato. I worked with Palmer at Be-Bop Record Shop in V'burg in '98. Good fella. And speaking of BeBop, I ran into Anne who was my old supervisor at the Be-Bop warehouse in Jackson.

Saw Seth Libby (above) at the Willie Dixon event as well. Guy's crazy. But endearingly so. Within the five minutes of seeing him, he had managed to tell a dirty joke and call my sexuality into question, twice. Good times.

Saw Denise Halbach at Keifer's in Jackson (more of a thing for Erica to have seen her since Erica had her as a teacher and I did not, but I had JUST asked about her and she walked through the door). And our waiter was Les Harvey, who I knew from Hinds.

I also saw Eric Neal at the Bass Pro Shop in Pearl. Hadn't seen him in years but it was good to see him. I guess we met in 7th grade, and I hung out with him a LOT in highschool, especially 9th grade. And I saw Brian Wells at the outlet mall here in V'burg.

And there's plenty more to see. I know that most everyone that reads this doesn't know these people, but I gotta give a few shout-outs. That's how I roll.

Easing Into Vicksburg

2007-07-03T13:22:00.000-04:00

I was born and raised in Vicksburg, and when I moved away, I just went 50 miles east to the Jackson metro area. So the first 24 years of my life were in Mississippi. And growing up in Vicksburg, I couldn't wait to move away. I had a lot of fun times there, running around in the woods and in neighborhoods with my friends, namely Jeremy and Billy, but ultimately, when we hit our teenage years, there was nothing to do but get in trouble, which none of us did, so there was REALLY nothing to do. (Consequently we all made really good grades because we filled our time with schoolwork instead of drinking and impregnating people- it has served us well over the years). When people asked me what there was to do in Vicksburg, I would reply “Drive to Jackson.”

Now, as an adult, I appreciate Vicksburg more since I now view it through a different lens. I still don't think the city is the “right fit” for who I am, but as I have gotten older and my desires and needs have changed, Vicksburg has more to offer than I once thought.* Far from perfect, but there is a charm to the place.

And there are some cool things happening lately. Daniel has opened the Highway 61 Coffeehouse. The downtown area is showing some real signs of revitalization. And then, On June 28th, just days after I arrive, Vicksburg hosts a really cool event. The Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation hosted a tribute to Willie Dixon, a blues legend and Vicksburg native.

Additionally, the Cultural Center downtown was the first stop in the first stop of the Smithsonian's traveling exhibit New Harmonies, which focuses on American “roots music.”

The event was well attended, with an estimated 700+ people showing up to enjoy the festivities. It was a good cross section, too: young and old, black and white, rich and not-so-rich. There were muliple bands performing on the main stage, all covering the songs of Willie Dixon. Lots of folks I know played: Daniel Boone, Kenny Boone, L.H. Abraham, Seth Libby (who gave me a shout-out from onstage), etc. There was also a bluegrass band in the courtyard, and gospel singing in the chapel (the Center is in an old Catholic School / convent).

It was a great way to ease back into V'burg livin' for the month.

*Unless you are a teenager, and there REALLY IS NOTHING TO DO. No movie theater. No bowling alley. The mall is terrible. Nothing. So expect the regular bumper crop o' babies and vandalism to be coming along soon.

My Daddy-O, 7/1/07

2007-07-02T00:39:00.000-04:00

First things first, let's talk about my dad. He is doing much much better than he was when I saw him last. He's up and about. His shingles are much better. Although there is still a lot of pain, the rash is pretty much gone except for a few spots here and there. His skin color looks good. His eyesight is improving and he can read a bit again. Overall, he's like a completely different person than he was just two months ago.

It was such a relief to see him doing so well. In fact, my folks were waiting for me on the deck when I arrived Monday evening, and I was talking to him for several minutes just like evrything was normal before I remembered what he looked like before and realized how good he looks now. I just walked over to him and kissed his forehead where the rash used to be. So now, though he is still far from tip-top shape, it looks like it will be a visit with more quality time than I thought would be the case, and that's a good thing.

And the coolest thing is, he's sporting the hippest of hair-dos now. “Like son, like father” in this case!

Greetings From MS

2007-07-02T00:10:00.000-04:00

I would imagine that most everyone who reads this blog is somewhat aware of the events of my life as of late, but for those who don't, here is the summary:

1.Quit my job.
2.Visited Sunny I-20 for a day
3.Am currently in and will be in Mississippi until very early August.

That's right, I've officially flown the Carolina coop, so to speak. Prior to grad school this fall, I thought I'd spend some time with my folks, visiting and helping around the house with chores and such. Positive side: kinda having a vacation (albeit one with work). On the down side, I am sans wife, and that's not so much fun, especially since she is currently unemployed* and looking for work (“Sorry about the job, honey. See ya in a month!”). But we'll live.

I've already been here about a week, and for the next month my posts will be dispatches from my hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi. It's been fun so far, and I've already seen several folks I know. I'll elaborate more in later posts.

*Actually, she is currently in Arizona with her family, and she'll be hiking the Grand Canyon tomorrow, so don't feel TOO sorry for her. However, if it will inspire you to hire her for $35 K+ a year, then by all means, please feel sorry for her.

Last Week of Work

2007-06-22T21:02:00.000-04:00

I have been super busy this last week creating a Powerpoint presentation about the history of graphic novels for work, so I have hardly had a chance to post anything, but it’s been an interesting week. Yesterday, Thursday June 21st, was my last day of work at the Cooper Branch of the RCPL.

My coworkers were so tremendously generous, with cards, gifts, fruit baskets (for real) and plenty of hugs and well wishes. I jokingly said that if this is what I got after just one year, I should’ve stayed for two and they’d likely give me a car. They’re a good group of folks to work with and my decision to leave had nothing to do with the job itself. I will really miss working there, not only my coworkers, but also (most of) the patrons, especially the little ones in storytime.

The staff also gave me a book of photos to remember my year here, and the last page was a poem written by Judy Eaddy. It was as follows:

Ode to Chris*

When computers break down, stop and stall
Who ya gonna call?
The man who’s bald
Chris Reid

When a big ol’ delivery stops us all
Who ya gonna call?
The man who’s tall
Chris Reid

When one of our patrons starts to fall
Who ya gonna call?
The man who has it all
Chris Reid

When somebody poops all over the library hall**
Who ya gonna call?
The man who cleans it all
Chris Reid

Now when he’s gone and off our list
Who we gonna miss?
Our dear friend Chris
Chris Reid!

* I believe this poem is loosely is based on the Ghostbusters tune

** Yes, this happened yet again, the first time being when a kid crapped all over the floor in the children’s section and then proceeded to stand in it and track it around the area. Well, THIS Tuesday afternoon, at 5:26pm (4 minutes until I was off), I discovered a lot of foul smelling crap smeared into the carpet. In the ADULT section. And I won’t elaborate on my theories, but I am pretty sure it actually came from an adult. With Irene’s help, I scrubbed it up. I must say, it made leaving my job a LITTLE bit easier to handle.

New and Exciting Things

2007-06-17T22:14:00.000-04:00

Three things I did Saturday that I had never done before:

1) Ate honey straight off the comb, right out of a hive, while the bees were still on it.

2) Held a snake egg. (at least we think it was a snake egg; if not, it was certainly a reptile egg).

3) Saw Lyle Lovett in concert at the Township Auditorium.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nationof Kazakhstan (2006)

2007-06-13T23:08:00.001-04:00

BORAT
Originally uploaded by baldman76

I was really looking forward to seeing this in the theater when I first saw the previews, as Katie and I were already familiar with the character from Da Ali G Show, which we found hilarious. Alas, we never got around to seeing it. But in the meantime, we heard all sorts of things about the film, most critical raves about how this movie was brilliant, but more than a few that were criticizing the manner in which this comedy was created (ie, false pretense).

Well, having now seen it, I see both sides. I do wonder what events transpired to lead up to the scenes shown in the film. But did I laugh? Oh yes, at times until tears were running from my eyes. But after all was said and done, I wasn’t as impressed with it as I thought I would be. I give Sacha Baron Cohen credit for having the guts to do some of the things he did. Katie wondered aloud how he managed to not get arrested for some of the things he did (the nude wrestling scene, perhaps?). But I found the character funnier on the show in longer scenes in which the humor really built upon the awkwardness of the situation. The movie was certainly awkward, but it was generally shorter clips strung together and I felt the real strength of the Borat facade was tamped down a bit.

And as for making fun of the USA, yeah, he certainly found some real assholes, like the guy that told him (for his own good) to shave his moustache so he didn’t look so much like a Muslim, and of course, the South Carolina guys, who might’ve been drunk but were still acting like total jackasses. But overall, I think I feel the film is a testament to how much crap Americans will put up with and still be polite. Sure, there’s a lot far from perfect in some of what he finds, but there’s a lot of general friendliness there, too. The folks at the Adolf Rose antique store in my own hometown of Vicksburg, MS, were understandably annoyed but nice enough. The driving instructor was always nice no matter what was thrown at him. And the dinner guests in Alabama was nice and patient enough until the situation went far beyond what any reasonable person should be expected to tolerate in their own home.

I had read other critic’s commentary stating this basic idea (that folks were generally pretty dang tolerant) before I watched the movie. And this guy does a good job of expounding on the premise that the America shown in Borat comes out pretty good in the long run. (But for this reviewer’s opinion of the feminists, they might have been rude, but in their defense he was particularly “aggressive” towards them. Telling them a woman’s brain is smaller than a squirrel’s? C’mon- it’s understandable. I did read somewhere that one of those ladies thought it was really funny when she was let in on the ruse.)

So if you’re in the mood to cringe in disbelief, go ahead and see this film. For all of its faults, it is worth a view.

...Worth A Thousand Words

2007-06-12T22:56:00.001-04:00

David
Originally uploaded by Fuzzy Gerdes

Fuzzy took this photo when he and Erica were in MS a few weeks ago. Not trying to be morose or anything, but there it is. That's pretty much Dad's reality these days.

Pleased To Meet You. I am Chris.

2007-06-11T23:27:00.001-04:00

Introductions
Originally uploaded by baldman76

Sgt. Gillis, Marine

2007-06-09T23:21:00.000-04:00

Joey Gillis, my cousin, circa '95 or '96. Photo taken in Mississippi.

Sgt. Joseph T. Gillis, Marine, 2007. Photo taken and sent via email from Iraq.

Between Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe Joey is on his 4th deployment overseas. Needless to say, I am proud him. I want to also publically thank him for his generosity towards my family. Joey has been through some real ups-and-downs in his life, but I can assure you he has grown into a damn fine young man.

Joey is not the only relative I have serving in the military, but he is certainly the closest. And I realize I often "forget" what he's really doing for his country. Sure I read the news and know what's going on, but I personally find it easy to get so wrapped up in my own daily life that weeks can pass without me giving it much thought. I've sent letters, but not as many as I could have, and I've not sent enough emails, and I haven't ever gotten around to sending him a care package. I don't even know if I've ever mentioned him on this blog before, and I feel ashamed of that. So in honor of his serving our country, I will keep a picture of him on the sidebar of my blog to serve as a reminder of his continuing sacrifice for all of us.

Holy Mary, Pray for Us Spinners...

2007-06-03T21:27:00.000-04:00

HITCHED!

2007-06-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Sean and Cheryl Barnette!

Good Luck, Weezie!

2007-06-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

Ann is moving to do a residency in Lexington at the University of Kentucky. (She's a Doctor of Pharmacy now. Fancy!) She'll be missed!

All Sorts of Official

2007-05-30T00:05:00.000-04:00

Well, in my last few posts, I alluded to the fact that there were lots of changes happening in the Reid household these days, and I have finally gotten to the point where I feel comfortable to share them all:

First off, for those that do not know, I was accepted into the full-time graduate program at USC's School of Social Work, and this August I will begin pursuing my Master's Degree in Social Work. This is the result of a lot of work in the last few months, but I have not mentioned it to many folks because there were certain things I wanted to do before I officially announced it...

...Such as properly informing my currect employer of my intention to quit. Which I did this afternoon. I have officially resigned from my position at the library, effective June 21st. I will miss that job a lot, as I really enjoyed working there.

So what will I do between June 21 and August 20th? For the most part, I will be in Mississippi at my parents' house, helping my mom with chores and visiting with my dad. My wonderfully support wife will remain here in Columbia, running her summer Boys and Girls' Club program.

So there is a lot going on these days. I'll keep you posted as these things develop.