Interesting couple of weeks for fans of non-mainstream sports (me). Wimbledon is in the first of its two weeks and the Tour de France started its three-weeks stretch of races Sunday. Because both those events are in Europe the live TV coverage comes on when I'm up by myself. The NFL is the only of the big three I can bear to watch anymore, and I rarely watch an entire game. So it's evidence of something - I'm not sure what - that I can easily watch 80+ cyclists ride 120 miles through the French countryside.
I've written here about Marta, our friend and goat mentor. There's no way we could have entered this dimension of life on Baker Rd. without her. She sold us our first two kids (at a ridiculously low price) and has guided us through some pretty daunting problems early on. David, her husband, is one of those guys who can make and do almost anything. He cuts down trees and then mills his own lumber to build whatever is needed on their big farm. He fabricates anything and buys heavy equipment at bargain prices because it doesn't work and then figures out how to fix it. Besides all that, he's a super nice guy. Speaks when spoken to - quiet and completely unassuming.
And he does this.
I wrote the above before b'fast this morning (i.e. pretty early). Since then I watched the end of Stage 4 of the Tour de France. Yards from the finish line, when about 8 riders are pushing as hard as they can and going about 40 mph, last year's winner and one of this year's favorites, Peter Sagan, threw an elbow that knocked Mark Cavendish off his bike causing a rider behind him to go right over his head.
The officials looked at the tape and decided the elbow was so egregious that they kicked Sagan out of the rest of the Tour. Cavendish has a broken shoulder and will not be able to continue. Brutal.
I have my follow-up appointment with the podiatrist tomorrow morning. Curious to hear his assessment. What I can tell you is dropping a 20 lb digging bar on it isn't a good thing.
After reflecting on it all day I've decided that on this July 4th I feel less patriotic than at any time in my life. I'm embarrassed by a President who is certainly not mature and, I fear, may have some deep seated emotional development issues. I'm fed up with the extreme partisanship in D.C. that seems to put party above country on every issue that comes along. And I live in Oregon.
This is a beautiful state and we've found the people especially friendly. That's most noticeable when we've dealt with state and county employees who seem genuinely interested in helping. I think that approach is illegal in AZ. Case in point: a visit to the DMV in the two states is like night and day. But...
The governor is bisexual, with a husband and a lesbian partner, something that doesn't seem to strike anyone in the media or state government the least bit odd.
As of four days ago Oregon is the first state where a resident can choose to identify as "X" on their driver's license instead of male or female. That's seen as a source of pride, an indication of enlightenment.
There's a bill moving through the state legislature that would require the state to fund abortions for anyone who wants one but can't afford it.
We have the most liberal marijuana laws in the nation.
In Oregon the seven deadly sins include putting a bridge across a stream any bigger than what comes out of your bathroom faucet, and doing or saying anything that could in any way be taken as a criticism of someone's sexual orientation or behavior. Eat a pan of pot laced cookies and get in your car, no problem, but keep your mouth shut about any form of sexual "orientation" or behavior.
There's a guy who is frequently at the Starbucks we go to on our way to church who wears a skirt and blouse, has cotton candy pink hair, a full beard, and typically spends his time putting on his makeup as he sits at the bar with his latte.
Nobody else seems to think it's the least bit odd. Or maybe, like us, they're too afraid of being seen as judgmental even by giving the guy a second look. That would be unforgivable.
My citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and I increasingly feel like a stranger in this land. My identification with the priorities, values, and ethics of this country are at an all time low, and as a result my sense of patriotism is almost gone. And I don't see either one getting any better in my lifetime. That makes me sad. I want to love my country. Not above others, not in a nationalistic way, but I want to be proud of who we are, what we stand for, how we behave.
I can't anymore. And that does make me sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment