intersections

A year ago today...

...Griffith Park was on fire and threatening the community of Los Feliz, including our apartment. Here's the picture I took 2:42 pm that day (10 minutes from the time of this typing, so literally one year ago).

Here are my posts from last year:
LIVE...from my driveway | May 8, 2007
We Survived! | May 9, 2007
What's Left | May 10, 2007

Weekend Wrap-Up

Aaron Beaumont at the Hotel Cafe

On Friday evening a large group gathered to hear Aaron Beaumont play his unique style of "piano rock" at the Hotel Cafe with proceeds going to ADRA to buy goats, as Aaron said, from the Really Useful Gift Catalog. Aaron's a great artist. You can hear some of his music at his MySpace page. But you really need to see him in concert to appreciate the music fully.

California Poppies galore
Here's my wife amidst the poppies at the Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California.

It was just meant to be. My friend, Scott Arany, went on Sabbath. So, on Sunday morning I was thinking about what we could do with our kids. I looked at the front page of the Sunday LA Times and there were the poppies. We braved temperatures in the low 60s and winds gusting in the 30 mph range.

The 119th Rose Parade

For the second year in a row I attended the Rose Parade. Last year my wife was so sick she stayed home in bed. This year we all went. This traditional got started thanks to my friends, Lavelle Whitehouse and Renee Harms, who live just two blocks from the parade route off Colorado Blvd. So, this year we took the whole family. Click here for more photos of the parade. I'll probably add more in the upcoming days.

But my very favorite pictures from the day were the "christian" apostles of damnation that followed the last float down Colorado Blvd. You can see some the worst of so-called Christianity on display below the fold.

Happy New Year everyone!

Sizzles

Yesterday we adopted a dog from the Los Angeles Animal Shelter in Van Nuys. Elysabeth has been feverishly looking for a dog to adopt for the past 4-5 weeks. We were hoping it would be a surprise on Christmas morning. We discovered that it was harder to adopt an animal that it seems. Because we live in an apartment we knew we couldn't have a big dog and for some reason my wife doesn't want a pit bull or a rotweiller (can you believe it?), so that eliminates about 95% of the dogs that are in the 6 three shelters we visited. We looked on Craig's List...everything. Then, on Wednesday, Elysabeth went to look at this dog she saw on the Animal Shelter's website.

When she got there, the vet came out with the staff person (kinda unusual) to explain that the animal had suffered a trauma and she had to remove it's right eye. When Elysabeth told me the story the fact that this dog was "damaged good" somehow endeared her to us even more. So, we ended up adopted this one-eyed dog.

Now, I'm not a huge dog person. I grew up with cats and the two dogs I've had in my adult hears were both Cocker Spaniels. With apologies to my brother's family who just adopted a cocker spaniel (also, yesterday, oddly enough) and anyone else who owns a cocker spaniel, that particular breed will convert a non-dog person to being a dog person. I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway, border terriers are amazing. She is playful when we want to be playful and she sits on our lap when we just want to sit. It's amazing. And she is so smart! Last night was her first night in our apartment and so we weren't sure we'd get much sleep (like bringing a new baby home from the hospital). Elysabeth set a pillow on the floor next to her side of the bed. We had to tell her about a dozen times that the pillow was her sleeping spot, NOT our bed. And she finally got it and slept on that pillow the whole night!

Anyway, needless to say, the kids are thrilled. We all love our new Sizzles.

Gratitude

I am a very fortunate soul. On this Thanksgiving morning I find that gratitude comes quite easily. That fact alone is something to be grateful for. It is not always that gratitude springs up in me. I have waged a life-long battle with self-pity, so I am prone to be negative sometimes, and feel sorry for myself. But I have learned in the past few years that this self-pity arises from an anxiety that lives deep in me; that I should be somewhere I am not, doing something that I am not doing.

"My family should be to this mile-marker by now."
"My church should have become thus-and-such by now."
"I should have accomplished these goals."

More recently I find myself enjoying the journey a lot more than I have in the past. I like where I am right now. There is still a good deal of "holy discontent" that boils in my belly, but I am really happy with my life and who I spend my days with. So, on that note, a few things I am very readily grateful for today:

Zoe & Sophie, my daughters - of course I would say this, but I am so happy with their growth and they way I seem them turn toward God and goodness. I see small evidences that they sense the beauty of the world they inhabit and that makes me happy and thankful.

Elysabeth - I've learned so much from her and I cherish the way she keeps me grounded and focused. She is my solid foundation and my motivation to be a better dad and husband.

My congregation - what can I say, I serve the best church in the world (or at least the USA). They give me such freedom to express what God is doing in my life. Together we are cultivating a relational space that is increasingly life-giving to our community and the people who are becoming our friends. I serve God's kingdom with the most talented and beautiful people in the world.

Friends - I have, in the past few months, formed one or two deeper relationships that have been so important to me. These friends (I'm thinking of one in particular) give me the gift of time - taking me away from the fast-paced life I tend to live and slowing me down to a more human rhythm. What a gift!

Books - people who know me know that I live my life in books. I always have a book with me - at all times. I've been on a good run recently and read some amazing books. I'll write more on those books soon.

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The image above is called, "Gratitude," and described by artist, Dosia McKay as "an abstract bouquet of flowers, a heart overflowing with gratitude and joy."

11 years ago this morning...

...I made vows of fidelity to my wife! Here we are, 11 years later, with two beautiful girls, facing the world together. We don't own a house, the apartment we do have isn't perfectly clean, our children misbehave quite regularly, and we all make each other pretty upset at least once a week. But we're still here. Praise God!  And we're enjoying our life - we're finding that more frequently than before, we face our challenges together. I sometimes wonder how I could get through some of the "stuff" I have to deal with without Elysabeth.

The other day I was getting my hair cut (something some people say I should do more often) at a cool hair salon in my neighborhood called Rudy's. The girl cutting my hair was probably in her mid-20s. She saw my ring and asked how long I had been married. I said 10 years and she nearly dropped her scissors. The shock on her face and in her next question - "What's the secret?" - made it sound like I had just answered "50 years."

After I got over my surprise that 10 years now qualifies as a remarkable achievement, I thought about her question, "What is the secret?" It only took me a second. Commitment. It really boils down to that. There are times that things have been hard - really hard. We've both wanted to give up. But we remember that day, now 11  years ago, when we said, "for better or for worse, till death do us part!" Love is part of it, of course. Sex is important. The kids make a huge difference. The fact that we really are best friends, is vitally important. But when push comes to shove, I remember my commitment. I can't just walk away. With every ounce of my energy, I want to keep my promise, "till death do us part!"

Happy Anniversary, Elysabeth! Here's to another 11 years!

David Beckham takes the field for the Galaxy

Elysabeth and I were able to enjoy something totally unexpected last night - David Beckham's premier performance for the LA Galaxy. My cousin, Brenda, called me a few days ago and said she and her fiance, Christian, had a couple extra tickets for the game against Chelsea and did we want to go? Of course I wanted to go. What surprised me more than anything was how eager my wife was to go. During the game she called it her new favorite sport. I think we'll be attending more Galaxy games.

We got the timing of the game wrong, so we arrived at halftime, but all the fun stuff happened in the second half. Chelsea scored the one goal just a few minutes into the second half and David Beckham took the field with about 10 minutes to go.

The crowd erupted in shouts and applause every time he moved, literally. He stood up - applause! He took off his warm up jacket - applause! He jogged a little and stretched - more applause! It was the funniest thing. Most Angelenos know that Beckham re-aggrivated his hurt left ankle, so no one was sure if he would play at all. The fans were thrilled just to get a good look at his pretty face. He mostly hung around the back of the action, though he did get a few touches and one corner kick.

Christian played soccer for CalState Northridge, so he is a good soccer player and knows the game inside and out. It was amazing to watch Chelsea pick apart the Galaxy defense. They are an amazing, amazing team. Lots of Chelsea fans in the audience.

One more photo after the jump...

America Struggling at 231

I think the following statement from the Declaration of Independence is an appropriate thought for this Independence Day.

But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
  - Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

I'll be celebrating my seeing a movie with my wife while my kids spend a few hours at the beach with their grandpa and grandma. Then we'll all barbeque in honor of America's 231st birthday. The best thing we can all do as loving American's is hold our country to her highest ideals.

What are you doing for your 4th of July?

"The Spot" Opens with Great Fanfare

Today saw the fulfillment of a dream! I like days like this.

Elysabeth (my wife) has long dreamed of a) being a teacher, b) teaching art to children, c) opening an art center for children which both teaches art and features the children's work in gallery, and d) providing resources to children from the lower economic strata of our neighborhood that would usually only be available to the middle and upper class families.

The Spot does all of that. It's at least an amazing start toward these goals. Today, her summer camp opened on the Hollywood Adventist Church property with nearly 30 children enrolled. They provide a fun, safe and educational environment for kids 5-8 years old from 8 am to 6 pm. They are busy doing things like pottery, cooking, dance, and other arts and crafts, in addition to playing outside on our newly renovated play ground.

They are a staff of three (pictured here from left to right: Elysabeth; Jenny Stone, her partner; and Jackie Forge, Jenny's sister). It's so wonderful to see these kids running around, enjoying themselves, and learning new skills. It is a definite sign that summer has come.

If you live in the Hollywood area and want to join in the fun, drop Elysabeth an email at elysabethbell AT sbcglobal DOT net.

More photos after the jump...

LA River Ride photo

This is the free photo we were promised from the LA River Ride. I wrote about the River Ride here, but only had a small thumbnail photo. So, here's my Dad and me about 5-7 miles into a 70 mile ride. It was a beautiful day.