A Pot of Stew!

1. Our new church is getting another Vicar because it is not growing and cannot pay the bills. Drama. Contemplative spirituality is not a good seller, apparently. Well, at least we had the sweet experience of a church without entertainment. Just a quiet celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday, and a wonderful, humbly delivered sermon. No consumer Christianity, just two or more gathered in His name. We'll try to stay with the church, though skeptical of what is to come.

2. The Democratic Party will now implode. Two strong candidates may be one too many. The strident bickering to come will make a bad showing in comparison to a single staid voice from the opposition. Dare I hope that the cunning crone will sharpen the skills of that bright young wolf, helping him bring forth an actual plan, and that in the process they will not discredit one another to the detriment of their party? We will all be very tired of it before the process is done, but this process is the brilliance of our political system.

3. Disgusting and infuriating encounters with our medical care system trying to schedule a follow-up CAT scan re possible abdominal surgery is demoralizing me.

4. A great spurt of clay work in the midst of all this. I love those moments when my hands and the clay are the single thing in the universe. The sun that warms is reviving me, and I have had a vigorous week of work in the studio. I am leaning over a robust and heady pot of stew. Formidable and tough to chew, but satisfying on the whole. I might have something to say to Roshi after all.