Monday Morning This and That

And a good Monday morning to all. What a wonderful weekend it was. The weather was picture perfect, and I just had to get out of the house for awhile. So on Saturday I decided to go shopping for a  little something new to wear for fall. I had thought that my days of buying clothes were over, but even in retirement, it is nice to have a little something new. To my disappointment, the store was closed for the Jewish holiday.  Oh well,  there will be other times.  It took me two buses to get there, and I decided that rather than hop right back on the bus, I would walk it.  So, I walked from 47th Street to 60th Street to pick up the bus to bring me home. Quite an accomplishment for someone with an arthritic back.  Yet, despite the pain, I felt so invigorated.  As you can see from the sky in the picture below it was a beautiful day.

This is a picture I snapped of my building as I was waiting for the bus to go shopping.  We live in the back of the building, and my apartment looks out on a small courtyard.  Although the view from my window is not fabulous to look at, I will say it is quite a relief to not sleep in a room with a window that looks out onto the street.  Our bedroom was in the front in our last apartment, and for fifteen years we had cars passing by all night long.  You do get used to these things, however, so on our first few night's of quietude in our new place, it was hard to get used to the silence.

Sunday's church service was very moving.  With still another war looming, and all the violence we hear about every day, the service was all about peace.  The priest began the service talking about how violence begets violence. He went on to tell a story about two fourth grade boys who got into a tussle in the lunch room. It seems that one boy stumbled and bumped into the other who hadn't seen the boy trip and thought he had been pushed.  Both boys were sent to the principal's office and suspended for three days.  Then, their fathers were called in to see how they could help their sons resolve their difficulties so this didn't happen again.  Instead, it went thus....

Father one:  'My boy doesn't start fights, but, I did tell him that if anyone starts one with him, he should kick his butt.'

Father two (indignantly):  'So, you are saying that my boy started this?  My boy doesn't start fights either.  Your boy had to do something to instigate this.'

And on and on the two fathers bickered  until the exasperated principal had enough and sent them on their way.  The moral of the story?  "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."  And all could have been avoided if the one boy had said a simple "I am sorry" and the other accepted his apology.

He then went on to discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close we came to nuclear war during that time.  He said that even though he was just a little boy in the early 60's, he remembers clearly how dire the situation was.  The world was on the brink.   He remembers how he and his friends used to go to the church to pray after school and how filled the pews were with others who also were praying for peace.  In the end, the leaders involved were able to come to an agreement that averted the annihilation of millions of people.  He wondered, did prayer have anything to do with it?"

And now we are on the verge of waging  war with Syria, and thousands of people are dying every day just because they hold different beliefs.  And  with Egypt also still in turmoil is there any hope.  He spoke of the Coptic Christians in Egypt and how, in recent times, they have become the object of persecution. But then, in the midst of all the pain and turmoil, there is a glimmer, yes, a small glimmer of hope. There was a picture in the news of a group of Christian protesters standing together to protect their Muslim brothers as they prayed, and a news article about Muslim men holding hands and encircling the church to protect their Christian neighbors as they prayed.  "Yes", the priest said, "there is hope for peace in the world and let it begin with us." Let us pray.

The service ended with the following processional hymn, and to be honest, the entire service had been so powerful that by now I had tears in my eyes.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth,  the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now,
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow,
To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me!