[Magdalen] News, & Temperate clime.

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

It's terrible, I know, but when I read of that horrible earthquake, my
first thought was for my physical therapist, an absolutely delightful young
lady, who has just gotten married, and is now in Italy for a family
marriage. I was not at first aware of the number of dead and injured, but
typical human that I am, my first thought was, will this ruin Sarah and
Adam's plans.

I think this has some implications for the way some folks respond when a
person they do not know gets killed. I need to start seeing that everyone
is my neighbor, not just people I know and admire.  I know this, and have
known it well for decades.  So why is it that when the blank hits the fan,
I'm thinking, not of the dead, the injured, or those trapped waiting in
terror hoping they will be found before they expire -- no, I'm thinking,
golly, will this interfere with my friends' wedding plans?  I guess that's
why we keep going to church and keep hearing the same sermons over and over
-- in hopes that one day before I die, maybe I'll get it.

We were asked for a generous offering for the victims of epic flooding in
the US at church last Sunday, and we're giving something.



James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Thu, Aug 25, 2016 at 6:37 AM, M J _Mike_ Logsdon <mjl at ix.netcom.com>
wrote:

> Gawd, what a day yesterday was.  Italy's 250+ deaths and growing
> earthquake, Kabul's American University attack leaving many dead, Burma had
> an earthquake too but apparently not nearly as newsworthy as Italy's, and
> poor Indiana's tornado.  We on the Left Coast could still, of course, drop
> off into the ocean any day now, but it really seems like we're safe for
> now.  Every time Everett walks through the living room I point to the TV
> and remind him about what it means to live in a ticky-tacky apartment in a
> world that at worst deals with heavy wind on occasion -- and of course all
> our fires, though not around here.  Even I've never lived in harm's way,
> but I think he gets it, regardless.
>
> Prayers for the world, including all the other crap not highlighted in
> yesterday's news.  Or today's.
>
> And of course the election.  I almost wish I could slip into a coma until
> mid-Nov.
>