A fascinating person

I went out onto the "streets" with my friend Ryan the other night. Ryan works for a community outreach organization in the area and visiting homeless people is part of his regular routine. We took a stack of lunches and went to a few of Ryan's regular stops. We ran into a number of people, most of whom Ryan knows through prior visits. I met a man named Gregory, who in many ways contradicts the stereotypical profile of a "homeless" person. Gregory shared with me that he has chosen to be homeless because he doesn't want the responsibility of owning or renting a home. He picks up cans and works odd-jobs when he needs money. He maintains a storage locker full of books and movies, but lives in a sleeping bag under a freeway overpass. We talked philosophy, religion, and social issues as rats roamed freely around his sleeping area. In his book "Under the Overpass", Mike Yankoski talks about how some homeless people resist integration into "society" because it represents a loss of freedom. After talking to Gregory, I was left to ponder my level of "freedom" and I was reminded how easily it is for us as people to become prisoners to our "stuff" (houses, cars, jobs, etc).

15 seconds of fame...

Where were you at 5:30 this morning? I was at a house in Lakewood getting Emma on TV. (That's her in the lower right with her signature pink glove) The local ABC affiliate is profiling various towns around L.A. this summer as a way to spice up the weather report. The tall gray-haired fella sort of on the middle-left behind the girls is the wacky weather guy. Emma's softball team, a few football players from Lakewood High, a few local residents, a rock band, a jeep with a machine gun mounted on the back, and a dancing cow were all part of the festivities. Laura stayed home and taped Emma's moments of fame. Sorry the picture is a little grainy, I just had my camera phone with me.

Representing

Much to Meg's delight, she received a new hat and backpack for her birthday. Both the backpack and hat are, of course, Mariner's gear. She went to bed wearing the hat.

It's the Pink Glove

Emma has been playing softball, trying out a variety of positions including outfield, second base, and of course, catcher. Eventually the equipment will probably fit.

Meg is 2!

Captions aren't really needed. The pictures speak for themselves.

Dave says that no one reads text on blogs...

My friend Dave suggested to me that most people don't read textual posting's on picture-based blogs. He may be right, but I'll keep posting anyway. Here is a quote from Edwin Raphael McManus in his book, "Seizing Your Divine Moment".

We have put so much emphasis on avoiding evil that we have become virtually blind to the endless opportunity for doing good.

That's us church! Let's get out and get our hands dirty!

All that we can't leave behind...

We finally bid the 1990 Honda Accord ado by taking advantage of the State of California retirement program for "gross poluters" (such a harsh designation). Being the good eBay'er that I am, I took the opportunity to strip everything that I could from the car before sending it to the junkyard. Yes, I will mail this spare tire to you if you care to bid.