Dark Mornings

There is officially no sun when I go out in the morning. So here is a list of my favourite Beatles songs:

Got to Get You Into My Life

I Feel Fine

In My Life

Across the Universe

Something

Strawberry Fields Forever

Day Tripper

All You Need is Love

I've Just Seen a Face

Norwegian Wood

Helter Skelter

Don't Let Me Down

Moses Parts the Red Sea

Are you familiar with the story of Moses leading the Chosen People out of slavery in Egypt. Maybe you heard it in Sunday school are saw the classic movie "The Ten Commandments." There's a classic moment when the Israelites are being pursued by Pharaoh's army and come up against the Red Sea. At G-d's command, Moses raises his staff and parts the waters, allowing the Israelites to cross safely on dry land. Of course when the Egyptian army ruthlessly follows, the walls of water release and all are killed. Victory!
What I learned today was this: the Egyptian army had decided to leave the Israelites be. G-d had been muddling with them, knocking wheels off their chariots and such, and they decided,"Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."and retreated. That's right. The Israelites were safe. The army was retreating. And God shot them in the back. I don't know what I find more disturbing, this neglected facet of the story, or that no one else listening to the story seemed disturbed by it.

Ghost

Today, Facebook had a strange suggestion for me; the suggestion that I say hello to an old friend, a friend who has now passed on. It was eerie. For the longest time, there was a lingering lack of finality as the friend request I sent just before he died was never answered. That moment, the uncanny moment when I thought perhaps we had all been mistaken, that somehow that faint hope that settles around the edges of rationality when someone just disappears...
He didn't just swim back from the ocean, of course. Of course. Someone was just updating his Facebook page, of course. But to see the life there, the writing on his wall, as people continue to remember, and post messages to and about him, sharing pictures and stories.
I watched a video of him and felt sad.