As you know this is the year 2023. My father and I were each born on the 23rd day of our birth month. I decided that this year on the blog each month on the 23rdI would feature someone famous or otherwise who was born that day. I am writing this on February 23rd and postdating it on January 23rd as I clean forgot about doing this for January.
Mariska Hargitay was born on January 23rd, 1964. I was born on September 23rd, 1964. She and I have the 23rd and 1964 in common. She is now 59 and I have 8 months (or so) to have that in common with her as well.
This is the go-to pose of her SVU character
Hargitay's mother was actress Jayne Mansfield who died when Hargitay was 3 years old. Hargitay is best known for her role as Olivia Benson on the Law & Order spinoff series, Law & Order SVU.
On January 23rd, 1964 the # 1 single in the United Kingdom was Glad All Over by The Dave Clark 5.
Amy gave me some White Sox Ticket vouchers as a Christmas gift and while I am excited for the future of the White Sox, I still love the past of the White Sox. Here are some videos featuring HOF pitcher Jim Kaat, The former White SOx hurler. The first is his induction speech at the Hall if Fame last summer.
The second is an interview he did on the MLB network after the passing of Dick Allen.
I was very glad to see Kaat finally make it to Cooperstown. It's too bad Allen did not make it in his lifetime, I hope that He will make it soon.
Love,
Crazy Uncle Dave
On the Poetry Friday that took place on June 30th, 2022. I shared the inaugural Poetry of Music post and stated I wanted to share songs that were more like poems set to music about once a month or so. 6 months later, here I am sharing the next installment. I landed a lot closer to the or so part of my prognostication than the once a month part.
Today's song comes from the late Mark Heard, producer, singer, songwriter, and poet all wrapped into one. Mark Heard died in the Summer of 1992 a few weeks after having a heart attack while performing at the Cornerstone Music Festival in Bushnell, Illinois.
My last post contained a bit of a lament on some of the present difficulties associated with my life at this time. The Pain That Plagues Creation is a haunting reminder that while life is fraught with difficulty it also equally fraught with hope..
The Pain That Plagues Creation
By Mark Heard
As this planet falls around the sun
Trapping us in the orbit
Creation groans in unison
Like a race of frightened orphans
The darkness of this raging storm
Is covering up our portals
But a yearning for the light is born
In the heart of every mortal
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
Heaven knows our lonely ways
Heaven knows our sorrows
Heaven knows the things that we don't know
And the joy of eternal tomorrows
But through this glass we dimly see
This world as it was made
And the good we know must surely flow
From the heart of a kind creator
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
So hold on in this restless age
And do not fear your shadow
Your alternating tears and praise
Are prayers that surely will matter
And day to day we ache
With the pain that plagues creation
Night to night we lie awake
And await its restoration
The Pain that Plagues Creation appears on the Mark Heard album, Eye of the Storm. You can find the lyrics by clicking here.
Thanks for Catherine Flynn for hosting this weeks Poetry Friday at Reading To The Core.
Thanks also to my wife Amy for listening to me read the lyrics to her even though we had already said good night.
I am trying to get into the New Year blogging. So I have decided to participate in Spiritual Journey Thursdays. It's a first Thursday blog hop that is being hosted this month by Margaret at Reflections on the Teche. Margaret is part of the Poetry Friday community. Her theme this month is One Little Word.
Given the theme I immediately went into full Martin Luther mode and started belting out the third verse of A Mighty Fortress is Our God. For future reference 10:45 on a weeknight is not the best time for belting out reformation hymns. At least that's what my wife tells me. Click here to have it belted out for you by the good folks at Hymnary.
1 A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.
2 Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same; and he must win the battle.
3 And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.
4 That Word above all earthly powers no thanks to them abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever!
Psalter Hymnal, (Gray), 1987
There is an excellent article from Desiringgod.org entitled 'What "One Little Word" will fell Satan?' In it, the author speculates what Luther may have meant by what word is being referred to at the end of verse 3. He states that Luther wrote that the word he meant was "liar." Or at least the German word for liar.
I can tell you that this makes perfect sense to me.
Many times in the course of my life I have told myself and believed lies. The past few months have been a particularly difficult season in what has been a very difficult series of years for me and my family.
These past months as I alluded to in my Last Poetry Friday submission have been some of my most challenging in my work life. They have also been extremely taxing in almost every aspect of my life.
In September my family left a church we had been at for 10 years that never really felt like our home. We have spent the fall and early winter looking for a new church which has brought both comforts and challenges to us.
In September on my wife's birthday, I went to visit my Dad in the hospital and was told that day that his leg needed to be amputated. His foot was amputated on that very day. On my birthday a few weeks later my Mom and I had a phone appointment with a neuropsychologist who diagnosed her of having some type of dementia, perhaps Alzheimer's. We cancelled birthdays for a while after that.
Somewhere in that time a part of me snapped. I didn't notice it at first, but my wife did. I still did all the things you do to get from one day to the other. I'd been in full on crisis mode before but this was different. I tell you that even right now I can hardly function at work or anywhere.
But I think I am beginning to figure it out. I've been believing lies. I've been believing that I am powerless in the train wreck season I've been going through and in reality I've tied myself to the track with those lies. I have two daughters who both have mental health issues. My wife and I continually tell them to stop believing lies and tell themselves the truth, As Tom Hanks's character Jimmy Dugan (sp?) said in A League of Their Own. "That's good advice!
John 8:31 through 8:36 says (in the NIV),
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who
had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of
Mine; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They
answered Him, “We are Abraham’s
descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘
You will become free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35“The slave does not remain in the
house forever; . the son does remain forever. 36“So if the Son makes you free,
you will be free indeed.
The truth is that God has been with me every step of this journey. Today I
received what I perceived to be a body blow but when I told that perception to my
wife, she told me the truth and I decided to believe that truth, then act upon that truth,
and pray that truth. This evening what can usually be a very stress filled event was
pleasant. When I got home instead of being in a zombie like stupor I was ready
for the next thing.
I know I'm still many miles away from a new normal but I'm closer than I even
imagined I could be on New Years Eve.
In the last 3 days of 2022 3 cultural icons, game changers in their respected fields of sports, newscasting, and theology had their lives come to an earthly end. To put it simply there was really no one like either Pele, Barbara Walters or Pope Benedict XVI. Each of their lives were characterized by a passion for their calling that transitioned into being a revered elder statesperson as their journeys continued.
Pele 1940 - 2022
Barbara Walters 1929 -2022
Pope Benedict XVI
While people were shuffling off this mortal coil left and right at years end, I was spending some time preparing for the new year. Putting things away in proper places, working on the design and content of my blog, I even spent some time putting together books I'd like to read this year. One such book was a small 60 page pamphlet called Heaven by Randy Alcorn. I collected the booklet somewhere in my travels, it is a book of answers to questions about Heaven. The questions and answers were culled from a bigger book by Alcorn, also called Heaven.
I'm not really trying to tie in the recent deaths of international icons with a book I'm preparing to read. When my Grandfather died in late 1997 I had just proposed to Amy. At the wake, I felt like discussing my engagement would be taking away from the celebration of my Grandpa's life. I remember my Dad encouraging me to talk about it. He said that people needed to be reminded that life goes on even in the midst of death. In the same way, I think making plans for the future and reading up on my future home are good ways for life to go on.
I hope all of you are enjoying a woinderful beginning to your new year.
