It's A Bird, It's a Plane, no it's a Blimp

The Seventeenth of October was a lovely Friday. The leaves were in full color, the sun was shining and the air temperature was warm. I had spent several hours over at the church catching up on paper work. A group of men from the buildings and grounds committee were over at the church replacing broken floor tiles. One woman had decided to come with her husband had deep cleaned part of the church, cleaning the baseboards and mopping the floors.




As I was getting ready to leave I heard a quiet sound and looked up in the sky to see this blimp. I took several blimp pictures and only wish I had a more powerful telephoto lens.

Walking Stick – The Wonder of God’s Creation

It has been a mild autumn here in suburban Kansas City and it was wonderful sitting out on my front porch eating dinner tonight. It was nice to relax and get away from all the drama of the economy and election. As I was telling DH during our dinner conversation, I am finding that I am not as ‘worried’ about the economy or the election as a lot of people are. I realized that I don’t have a whole lot of control over the economy so why should I invest my energy in worrying about something I cannot control? In terms of the election, I can exercise my right as a citizen and vote and who I vote for is between me and my secret ballot. I can control my behavior and my reaction to the events of the day, but I don’t need to get caught up in other people’s drama.

So as I was reflecting with my DH about my insight into becoming less of a worry wort we were treated to a wonderful visitor to our relaxing family dinner on the porch. A walking stick.


I looked down to see what I thought was a twig and then it moved ever so slightly. The walking stick was so calming. We watched it walk across our porch and begin climbing the brick façade on porch.


What was most amazing about this walking stick, was how stress reducing it was to watch this unique creature. It isn’t every day one sees a walking stick. In fact I think this is first walking stick I have seen in my life. I enjoyed this encounter with creation and enjoying that wonder – this creature go on its merry way without any worries – was refreshing after a week of drama in the media and the marketplace. Ah the wonders of creation. Now I have a greater understanding of why God rested and enjoyed creation on the 7th day.

Speaking of Women's Health - Saying NO to more commitments

Today I spent my day off at Speaking of Women's Health. If you have never attended one of these events, do. They are a wonderful day of relaxation, pampering, and learning all rolled into one. Last year, I met a woman at my General Seating table who was a knitter and she invited me to join the knitting group that has become an important part of my Saturday routine. It is hard to believe that I have only been part of the Sip Stitch and Knit group for a year.

Well today during the morning key note speaker, my cell phone rang it was the nominating committee calling me back to see if I would serve on yet another Presbytery committee. They had called two or three weeks ago wanting me to serve. I told them I needed some time to think about it and this was the call back. I said NO. I then told them all the things I am doing for the Presbytery. I am doing a lot. A lot more than some of my other clergy colleagues. I then suggested strongly that tap into some of the other clergy who aren't serving on a committee. All active clergy in the Presbytery are required by the Book of Order to be 'active' in Presbytery. I think I'm doing the work of at least three people since I am on three committees. The big thing was that I said NO. I said NO and I don't feel guilty about it either.

What was nice is that my saying NO was reinforced in a positive way by the women in my knitting group and by our luncheon key note speaker, Allen Funts daughter, Juliet. She was so funny and had so many things to say to folks who like to be in control. It was a helpful talk for me to hear and it reinforced in a positive way my NO to more volunteer committee work.

Surreal Transportation Experience

The circumstances of my life have been a bit complex lately since DH has gone back to grad school and has an unpredictable schedule at times. We learn to adapt and roll with the punches. This is all very fun for me to watch the transformation in myself from someone who had to control every detail of every situation to someone who can roll with the punches and doesn't have to be in control. My transportation in the past few days has been that way. I didn't make any reservations for my transportation in Atlanta and discovered that MARTA works and is economical. Gosh I love public transportation and really hate the fact that we don't have that in in Kansas City.

Well here's the story.

DH drove me to the airport for my flight on Monday. The PLAN was that he would pick me up when my flight got back in on Wednesday late afternoon, but I didn't plan well. DH's schedule did not allow for me to be picked up in a timely manner. Because the airport is nearly in southern Iowa (yes, I know that is a exaggeration and I live on the other side of the metro from the airport)it takes 45 minutes to an hour to get the airport from where DH was working and we live.

So from Atlanta, I was trying to arrange transport home so I wouldn't end up sitting in the airport at KC for 3 hours. The MCI website is laid out well, EXCEPT there is no options for PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, because public transportation in Kansas City doesn't really exist.

Well I calculated what a cab would cost from the airport to my house (nearly 50 miles one way trip). A shuttle (van) wasn't much cheaper, and I emailed from Atlanta a car/limo service and they were competitive with a shared shuttle van and the cab. So I contracted with a car service for a TOWN CAR to pick me up at the airport.

I was met at the gate by a well groomed and helpful driver who handled my bags. Now remember I'm pretty much a do it yourself gal. Independent and self sufficient.

What I got when I collected my bags was the surprise of my life. A stretch limo. Now I have always fantasied about riding in a stretch limo. Riding in a stretch limo is on my list of things to do in my life. So as we walked to the waiting limo, the driver put my bags in the trunk and I must have had this weird look on my face because he said "don't ask me, they just sent me up here in this."






So for 45 minutes I got to ride in the lap of luxury in the back of this limo. I had my camera with me and took pictures. This was just too surreal. Nothing I ever expected and something that will never happen again.




Now please don't get me wrong. I loved my limo ride. I'm so glad I had my digital camera to document the moment. I know I paid dearly for this experience but I wouldn't trade this 'be nice to me' experience for anything. And I realize that I was able to have this wonderful experience because of privilege and that this option of airport transport would not be accessible to those who did not have computer access to make arrangements, a phone to make the call, or $$$ to pay.

I've been thinking a lot about how Kansas City needs good public transportation for a number of reasons and that the powers that be in this city just don't get it. I was unable to access any usable information on public transportation to and from the airport. There was information on cabs $2.50 flat rate for the first mile and then $2.00 for each additional mile. Car services and van/shuttles are competitive with taxis. Parking at the airport is $18.00 a day in the garage (many women with early and late flights like the garage for safety reasons). The least expensive surface lot is $7.50 at the airport and I don't know what the off site surface lots run, but I do know they don't have shuttle from the lot at the ungodly hour I had to arrive for my flight.

On my next trip I will think through the parking/transport better. I usually can get a ride and pick up, but in this case I couldn't. I've driven myself and parked on past flights - which is also expensive. Driving myself and parking would have cost $54.00. About $30.00 less than a taxi. All of this is sure a lot more costly than the $1.75 I paid in Atlanta to get from the airport to Columbia Seminary.

No wonder Kansas City doesn't have business clamoring to move here. It costs too much to do business in this city because there is no PUBLIC Transportation and the PUBLIC Good is not considered.

Public Art

I love public art and when I get the opportunity to enjoy public art it always brings a smile to my face. In the Atlanta Hartsfelt-Jackson International Airport there is a wonderful permanent exhibit of stone sculptures done by several artists from Zimbabwe.

I really enjoyed this exhibit when I was in Atlanta on Monday.








When I left on Wednesday, I saw this hidden public art in the baggage claim area. The ants are just so fun and of course those folks who are too busy to take time to observe the details of their surroundings would probably miss these ants.

I love decent, affordable, public transportation

I'm attending a three day continuing education event at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Decatur is a north eastern suburb of Atlanta. So I left my house at the undgodly hour of 3:45 am to drive to the St. Joseph/Kansas City international airport, which is 45 minutes from my house (at that hour...not rush hour where it might take double that amount of time) to catch my 5:40 am flight. Kansas City does not believe in public transportation. I've lived in two other cities, one larger and one smaller, and I could go from where I lived to the airport with no difficulty, but NO in Kansas Ciy you have to drive everywhere. Now I like to drive, but not everyone can afford a car. A car in many cultures is a luxury.

Well I arrived in Altanta, was treated to a wonderful public art exihibt in the airport, picked up my bag, bought a BREEZE ticket for $1.75. Yes $1.75 and that little ticket got me from the airport to the front gate of the seminary in about an hour. I had a wonderful time watching scenery and there was even a bird that few into the underground and perched on a sign in the Five Points Station stop.


Gotta love a city with decent public transportation. Can I take MARTA home with me?

A Tribute to my Mother

My mom’s been gone for nearly seven years. When she was alive we had an interesting relationship. We didn’t always get along, but toward the end of her life, we came to many understandings that allowed us to have what I consider a healthy relationship. We began to understand each other and each others quirks. September is always a sad month for me because in 2001 I spent most of the month in Minnesota. My sister and I had to deal with her hospitalization, moving her to a nursing home on 9/11 (yes THE 9/11) and her death on the 17th and Memorial Service on the 20th. Not a fun month.

When I was in High School I took a creative writing class as I thought I might want to be a writer, but was discouraged because the teacher, who shall remain un-named, didn’t like my writing style. Having muckraker or tendencies toward going after things I didn’t like, I wrote a tribute to my father that went after the tobacco and smoking that caused his cancer and ultimate death. So taking the advice of this ‘teacher’ I am writing a tribute to my mother and posting some pictures of her that show her in the best light.

My mother liked to garden. When I had outgrown my swing set, we tore it down and turned the space next to the garage into a garden plot. In the last five years of so of my mother’s life, she let the raspberry bushes take over the space and she grew the best raspberries. I looked forward to my summer treks north and the raspberries.

Mom loved her house and hated having her picture taken. So here is a picture of her on the front porch of the house where I grew up but she’s not happy because she is having her picture taken. That porch is important to me because it is where I spent my favorite time of day in the spring and the autumn. When I would come home from school, I’d go and sit on the porch and listen to music in the afternoon sun at 4:00 pm. 4:00 pm is still one of my favorite times of day. The house was important to my mother because it was a place where she felt safe and at home and could do her crafts, sew, and have friends in for coffee.


Here’s a picture of my mother as a 17 year old girl. She was beautiful – something I don’t think she ever ‘got.’ Since she had me when she was 46 (I was a late in life baby), I always remember her with a splotch of gray in the front and her dark brown/almost black hair. She was beautiful.

My mother had lots of friends. Here is a picture of her with two of her friends. Her friends and social activities kept her going. My mom was always busy doing something or going somewhere and I always remember the house being full of people who would stop by for coffee and a chat. Although she was 83 when she died, there was a huge turn-out for her funeral because she had so many friends. Being a friend is something I learned from my mom.

So today as I remember that difficult day of moving mom from the hospital to the nursing home, I also remember all that she was and all that she taught me and I celebrate her and her life.