A freaky scene at my mechanic's shop

Yesterday, Julie and I headed over to our personal mechanic's shop in a boring business district of Sacramento. He was fixing our new civic's automatic window cuz it had jammed and while I was admiring how fast and skilled his (pardon the racial terminology) little Asian fingers worked- an SUV carrying a furiously enraged black woman barreled into the parking lot and screeched to a halt. The aforementioned woman bursted from the vehicle, storming her way into the shop where she proceeded to shout umentionable (yet creative) words and phrases directed towards her overweight husband, a mechanic employed at the shop.

Okay, she was SCREAMING. I think we could have heard her from Folsom. We were all doing our best to pretend like we weren't listening, but soon the action escalated and exploded from inside the shop out into the parking lot (where my mechanic was operating). The woman (scorned) ran around her SUV, banging her fists into various locations of the vehicle, cursing quite proficiently, and then jumped inside the driver's side, attempting to leave her dumbfounded husband in the dust. He, however, opened the door and got halfway in as she floored it. Another round of cursing, and then she grabbed him by the collar of his mechanic's garb, and wouldn't let go. She was strangling him. It was a stalemate for about 5 minutes, and then she floored it and they disappeared into heavy traffic. This was all happening about ten feet from us.

Julie and I found it a little difficult to process this whole thing. Sure, we've seen people fight, and TV sitcoms are pretty good at creating dramatic situations to laugh at, but this was so degrading-- so emasculating-- so violent-- we saw the world in a little darker shade that day, I think. What would possess this woman into thinking that it would be okay to burst into her husband's workplace and make a total ass out of him in front of his peers? What could have happened that would be so worth putting their lives and the lives of anyone else they drive near in jeopardy? Is this commonplace among couples? Did they see their own parents do this? Do they know their parents? Am I just completely out of touch with real life?

Tonight Julie and I sat out on our patio with Ellie, enjoyed the cool night air, sipped strong libations, puffed on a fabulous cigar and cloves, and pondered life and our place in it. It was a time when we remembered why we love each other and how blessed we are.

Cheers.

Potato Pancakes and a Sprite

As I try to finish the last of this burnt-to-a-crisp, poor attempt at a potato pancake that I made, I wonder about life.

What does it mean to be a disciple? Does it mean that one is expected to create services that require very much effort in an effort to seem effortless? Does it mean that one is expected to "volunteer" his or her time and talents in ways in which he or she is not talented nor interested in? Does it mean that one is expected to meet once a week to talk and catch up with "brothers" and "sisters" who are otherwise not involved in his life? Does it mean that his non-Christian coworkers at a part-time job seem closer to him and more loving than his church?

Don't read what I'm not saying. I'm not trying to accuse anyone of anything. In fact, I think the reason I see certain issues in which the church is failing is that I have contributed very strongly to that fact.

I just don't like it. Yeah. Strong stance, I know.

I wish I could understand it better. I wish I was more radical- so that when I had a thought I would always "put my money where my mouth is" and live it out. I wish I was more conservative- so that when people get all high on their soapboxes and preach at me I could smile and continue to love them fully and in Truth. I wish I worked with the community more.

I once made up this story about how I cared for the world but nobody else did and how I thought it was going to just disintegrate but it didn't because--who knew?-- people DO care.

And then I thought some more and realized that even if people didn't care like I originally thought, it would still take a lot of work to really destroy the world. God seems to have been the only one to put a significant threat on the World's life. And then again, all the fish and seaweed and squid and octopi did just fine during the flood. Hm.

It doesn't scare me to think about the world ending anymore. Instead, I get scared about the world just spinning, spinning, spinning into boring apathy.

I haven't hugged a stranger in a long time.

Uhhh... God.