The Unclad Soul

I Took My Daughter to the End of the World I took my daughter to the end of the world And showed her the carnage and death We walked through the ruins of Syria and Iraq And we saw things no humans should see There were children in blood and mothers in tears And fathers alone in the streets Bombs were falling not far away While the rubble and chaos   were   near There were screams of pain There were screams of fear And my daughter said, Daddy, Why is this happening here? And back in the States where the power resides People don’t think of the end of the world We’re taking vacations on beautiful beaches And buying new cars and sleeping in peace Our homes are intact and there’s plenty of food There are concerts to attend and ballgames to watch Our politicians grow old in their greed and indifference While the Church sings its empty hallelujahs The people with influence who could make something happen Do nothin...

I was sitting outside at a Taco spot downtown in the Farmer’s Market area having lunch. I could see the Dallas skyline just a few blocks from me in the background and I thought of the chaos in our city last week in the aftermath of the killing of five police officers by a deranged gunman at the end of a Black Lives Matter protest walk. He was not a part of that peaceful demonstration. But on this day the sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. All seemed quiet and normal. People were coming and going in the usual routines of the day. A small Farmer’s Market bus pulled into the parking lot and picked up a couple of riders. As it drove away I saw a slogan on the back of it that said something about the Market’s fine produce and foods and then, in big letters, there was this: “Cultivating Life.” That’s a lovely brand for a produce market and restaurant area. It would also be a terrific theme for all of Dallas or any great city. The work of a large urban metropolis should be ...

“Let’s state it clearly: One great idea of the biblical revelation is that God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concrete incarnations of life, and not through purity codes and moral achievement contests, which are seldom achieved anyway.”   ―   Richard Rohr, Priest/Mystic/Author

I stumbled last night onto “Billy Connolly's Route 66” on PBS.  Connolly is a British actor and comedian.  The show is centered on him riding a three wheel motorcycle across the country.  He starts in Chicago and follows the famous Route 66 all the way to Santa Monica, California. There are four episodes in the series.  They were filmed in 2011 and originally shown on British television.  I have only seen the first one.   But it has me hooked. Connolly is an aging but vibrant man.  He has long white flowing hair and matching mustache and goatee and dresses like someone out of the 1970’s.  He looks part Hippie and part motorcycle gang from an assisted living center. I wasn’t much interested at first but the strength and sheer joy of Connolly’s personality kept me engaged.  He’s a bit of a rebel with an absolutely infectious laugh.  He’s old school and loves the historic architecture of the cities and towns he visits...