Write to think, think to write

I know I still have things to say.

More important, I have things to think and I must say or write before I know I think them.

I only know this because I wrote that in my journal the other day!

Last Weekday in My Sabbatical

I've had the blessing of being able to not work for three months during our move from San Francisco to Philadelphia so Robin could be executive secretary at Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Section of the Americas.

That changes on Monday, 9/26/11, as I start a new job in Center City doing fund development for the Community Design Collaborative, a community design center that provides pro bono predevelopment design services to nonprofit organizations, offers unique volunteer opportunities for design professionals, and raises awareness about the importance of design in community revitalization.

I am still hoping to post about the cross-country drive I took with our boys this summer. Meanwhile, I have been baking quite a bit, as well as making family dinners. Here is what I did today to mark the end of my free time.

Step 1 doesn't look too great on first glance:

But then, oh then, order appears from chaos:

Cookies in the oven, gonna watch 'em rise! Cookies in the oven, gonna watch 'em rise!

They turned out to be quite tasty, though quite soft. My suspicion is that the oven runs a little cooler than indicated. Robin thinks the extremely high humidity today is responsible.

In any event, I am truly blessed to have had this summer off from paid work. Thank you, God, from whom all blessings flow. Of course, I still had plenty of work to do, it just wasn't paid for with cash. And I certainly had the opportunity to touch "that which is eternal" at times in the process.

Qwitters or Qweeters?

I've been using Twitter for work for some time now (@hlc_sanmateo). However, I have not used it personally, and so I haven't followed many Quakers who Tweet.

(That phrase just begs the question: Are Quakers on Twitter "Qwitters" or "Qweeters"?

(Or just your "Qweeps"?)

Until now.

Sparked by the imminent arrival of Quaker Heritage Day with Wess Daniels (@cwdaniels) this Saturday, 2/12, I decided to start a personal Twitter account and follow other Quakers. I'm @chrismsf, naturally.

My first tweet was actually a retweet of Wess's suggestion to use the hashtag #QHD2011 to follow Quaker Heritage Day on Twitter.

Back in the old days, in 2007, I organized the QuakerQuaker Blog Carnival (remember blog carnivals? does anyone still have them any more?).

Now, given today's social media environment, I'm thinking we need a Qwestival -- a Twestival for Quakers, naturally. If you're not that ambitious, you could just have a QweetUp -- a Quaker meetup.

Until then, you can find Qwitters or Qweeters through the QuakerQuaker list at @quakerquaker/quakers.

Phone call with an 11 year old

(This is a more or less verbatim transcript of a phone call I had about eight months ago. H. was then 11 years old.)

*ring*

H: What happened?

C: You need to say hello first.

H: Oh. Hello. This is H.

C: Hi H., it's Daddy. I just need you to ask Mommy about whether or not I need to put a cover on the apple crisp in the oven.

H: Ok, I'll ask her. Bye.

C: No! Don't hang up! I need you to tell me her answer.

H: Oh, ok. [asks Robin about the cover]

H: No, you don't.

C: Ok, thanks.

H: Bye!

C: Bye.

A New Sonic Universe is Expanding in Front of Our Ears - Byrne-Eno

A new sonic universe is expanding in front of our ears: new music by David Byrne and Brian Eno. I happened to tune into KFOG-FM's "New Music Thursday," which I almost never listen to, and quickly realized this monumental event was unfolding in real time.

The song "Strange Overtones" is available as an advance download from the website for the album, "Everything That Happens Happens Today": www.everythingthathappens.com

"This groove is out of fashion.
"These beats are 20 years old."

Just for fun I thought I'd provide the URL for the download so you don't have to sign up for the email newsletter like I did:
click click.

The Fall are, er, Quaker?

"Just about my favourite rock band on earth are the Fall. Or The Mighty Fall, as they're known to me." -- John Peel, late DJ on BBC Radio

Mine, too. For example, I have a Fall quote in my blog's sidebar from Iceland, off 1982's Hex Enduction Hour (scroll down or search for "Iceland; the individual blog entries don't seem to have separate URLs).

My one little claim to fame is that I am still on the credits for The Fall Lyrics Parade; scroll down to the bottom for Version 1, 1994.

And it turns out The Fall are, er, Quaker?

(click for larger picture on unofficial Fall website)

Answer: Not! I'm sure Mark E. Smith has acerbic things to say about Friends, as he does about so many things.

The quote on the sign is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, who was quoting a proverb.

The Big Stick: America's "Sorry"?

"The Big Stick" is a song by d. boon of the Minutemen -- the faboo, lefty 1980s punkish band from San Pedro, California, not the goons on the border.

Replace Managua with Baghdad and it's today's news. There is "time to heal the scars we've caused." Look at Australia with "National Sorry Day" and lately even Canada. C'mon, USA, what are we waiting for?

THE BIG STICK (2:27)
(boon)

Now over there in Managua Square
With American made bombs falling everywhere
They kill women and children and animals too
These bombs are made by people like me and you
And we're told that we hold a big stick over them
But I know from what I've read that peace is in our hands

Now over there in Guatemala my friend
We're making mistakes there once again
Uncle Sam supports a fascist regime
That doesn't represent the people over there
We learn and believe there is justice for us all
And we lie to ourselves with a big stick up our a--

Now if we stand and yell it out
That war isn't what we're all about
Then someone will come and bring us back
To get the peace train back on its tracks

This is what I'm singing about
The race war that America supports
Indians will never die
They'll do just fine if we let them try
Though we hold, we're never told that peace is in our hands
If we stop there is time to heal the scars we've caused
To heal the scars we've caused...

From http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=11439

I guess there's also REM's "I'm Sorry," but much as I love it, it's too individualized and privatized. And Nigeria has Femi Kuti's Sorry Sorry ready and waiting whenever it's needed...

Introverted Bookworm Quaker

So this is what's in my pile right now, in physical order from the top down:

• Erasing Racism by Molefi Kete Asanta, 2003


• The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra, 2008


• Ringo Saves the Day: A True Story: Pets to the Rescue by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Ellen Beier


• Apocalypse of the Word: The Life and Message of George Fox by Douglas Gwyn, 1986


• Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith by Diana Butler Bass, 2006


• The Rich Heritage of Quakerism by Walter R. Williams, 1962 (edited reprint 1987, Barclay Press)


• The Seed Cracked Open: Growing Beyond Racism by Vanessa Julye, 2006


• Oxford Study Bible by Oxford University Press, Inc.


• Resistance and Obedience to God: Memoirs of David Ferris, 1707-1779, edited by Martha Paxson Grundy, 2001


• The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan


• Practicing Peace: a devotional walk through the Quaker tradition by Catherine Whitmire


• A Living Faith: An Historical Study of Quaker Beliefs by Wilmer Cooper

Whew! I see that I need to simply re-shelve several of these. I've read them. I thought I might blog about them, but this will probably have to do.

Meanwhile, I'm in the middle of reading what seems like an embarrassingly large number of these.

And the list is incomplete, because Robin M. has my copy of Clarence Jordan's The Sermon on the Mount.

123 Book Meme applied to Douglas Gwyn

Robin M. tagged me with the "page 123" meme. A long time ago in Internet time: over 10 days ago! Yikes. The rules of the meme:

1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
2. Find page 123
3. Find the first 5 sentences
4. Post the next 3 sentences
5. Tag 5 people

I'm breaking rule 1, because the computer lives on Robin's desk. The topmost book on my bedside table lately is Douglas Gwyn's Apocalypse of the Word (Richmond, Ind.: Friends United Press, 1986). So here it is:

Here Fox's incarnational emphasis comes through with full force:

...for feeling God's word in the heart to obey it, you come to know that which the prophets and apostles witnessed, the word of life which became flesh [John 1:4], which is Christ in us....

This incarnation receives its highest realization, as we have previously noted, in the Church: [the] word became flesh, and dwelt among us; so he (christ) is the head of the Church...."

I'm honored to be tagged with my first meme, but, like Paul L., I can't keep track of which Quaker bloggers did or didn't do this meme already, so "tag yourself," as Paul said. (Just loved his Canon Office All-in One Pixma MP830 User's Guide, though!)

Here's another quote I liked from the Gwyn book (page 142):

Two closely related ways that the community of faith as a whole answers the light in men and women are the love and unity of Friends with one another. Fox in his own life had a profound sense of God's love, so much so that he speaks of being 'ravished' by the love of God. And his life in this relationship bespeaks a dynamic in which his love for God is not one of pious gratitude, as Calvin describes the Christian life, but of passionate desire. In the community that his message gathered, this love spreads in all directions, as the Friends of Christ (John 15:14) are bonded in love, joined in the one seed.

This love and unity are a powerful witness to the world, one which convinced many who saw Quakers together. It is not a coalition of shared self-interests, but a self-giving faithfulness in which the seed in one person nourishes the seed in the other.

Is that the sound of Way opening...

...or are You just happy to see me?

God, I'm absolutely beholden and grateful to You. Thank you so much for all Your help. I don't know what we would have done if there had been a lot of snow. The very cold weather in Rochester -- 8 degrees at night with lots of wind is surely cold -- was a good reminder that You have "given orders to the morning, [and] shown the dawn its place " (Job 38:12). Still, I'm grateful that the little flurries here and there never amounted to much. It made it possible for me to get there in one day.

You gave my mom enough strength to get discharged from the hospital on Friday. And to feel a little better every day, so she and my sister could leave on Monday and make it up there by Tuesday!

And You arranged for one of the three moving companies we called to call us back -- on a Saturday -- for a Monday morning job! They were really helpful. And kind. Please be good to them, okay?

And You provided me with four hours to relax and sit calmly in the JFK airport on Monday. It was a fine opportunity to finish Brian McLaren's Everything Must Change -- fabulous book, I'd love to tell You about it some time! -- and Douglas Gwyn's Apocalypse of the Word. It was also a fine opportunity to see some of Your humanity parade by -- the other passengers, the flight crews, the ground crews, the wheelchair attendants. And a few cute little pets in carriers. And of all the charming but tired children, none of them were mine -- thank You, and thanks to Robin M. for enabling that to happen.

You also sent Your friend Marcus to help me at the jetBlue ticket counter. He spent nearly 45 minutes helping me! He made sure that my seat on the later flight was still there even as the chances of going standby on the earlier flight were evaporating. (As You'll recall, the wet weather You sent to SFO yesterday was a real reminder to everyone just Who is in charge, and it's not always the FAA!) Marcus even went down to the baggage area to make sure my suitcase had been checked through all the way from ROC to SFO. I was so grateful I asked to fill out a comment card; he suggested I call the airline's main number. Well, they didn't know what to do! They put me on hold for a while, then took my comment. I guess they're a lot more used to people calling to complain. (Thank You for giving me the idea to express my gratitude to other people and not just to You!)

Finally, I really appreciated Your sense of humor and fabulous timing as I got onto I-195 in New Jersey at the start of driving the rental truck to Rochester. I had been thinking before the trip that I would like to listen to some bluegrass gospel on the way there. The truck even had a CD player, but I didn't have any of my CD's! And it's not what my mother listens to.

Well, You just had to show You care! I found some bluegrass on WBJB, Lincroft, a station I'd never even heard of before, even though I grew up as a rabid radio listener in NJ, and a DJ myself for a few years. There it was, Bluegrass Jam! And then the DJ played a set of bluegrass gospel, for the elderly and shut-in on Sunday, who couldn't get out to church. Well, it was for the rental truck drivers who couldn't take time out for meetin' for worship, too! Thank you, WBJB, and thank YOU. The journey wouldn't be the same without You.

My Own Private New Jerseyana

I'm traveling tomorrow to New Jersey, so I will have to miss the first session of Our Relationship with God. I'm helping my eldest sister move my mother closer to where my sister lives. I wonder how often I'll get back to New Jersey after this. I used to love it so much, and I haven't lived there in 18 years, almost exactly.

One of my claims to NJ fame is that I went to elementary school with the daughter of Peter O. Wacker, the most famous geographer of New Jersey in the world. In fact, they lived on our street, even!

My parents sold the house I grew up in and moved to a smaller place not long after we moved West. My father passed away almost two years ago. So now my mom is moving away from the state altogether.

In December I learned that a childhood friend from NJ had passed away, earlier in 2007. It was in some ways unsurprising, and yet devastating. I've been in touch with his brother, who lives not so very far away, and we hope to get together one of these days. Oh, there's so much I want to write about this, and my friend, and yet I think it should wait, maybe until I see his bro.

Tonight on the way home from work, I was listening to Iris Dement's version of this one, on her 2004 record "Lifeline," and it was hard not to tear up. (Fortunately, I was at a stoplight.) It was a comfort in this time of changes and transitions.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Words: Eli­sha A. Hoff­man; Music: An­tho­ny J. Sho­wal­ter

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Celebration, and a head nod to Martin

Today I bumped over the 10,000-visits level for my blog. It's a little behind Robin and Peggy and Wess (who have all posted about reaching milestones on their own blogs), but I'm happy with it.

Thanks for the linky-love, Martin Kelley! Not just for the posting to QuakerQuaker today, but also for including my photo on the new QQ layout.

Proud to be a humble Quaker with the "right" books on the shelf... Is there a smiley face or emoticon for "Ugh!"? :)

Books on a Quaker's Shelf

So I'm not the only one taking photos of Quaker books! (See my previous post, "Dilettante.")

Jez S. did it, too: Click here to see his copy of Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice.


Inspired by Jez, last night I took some more photos: Here's the set on Flickr.

This time with no allegory, just trying to capture different views, literally. (I almost typed "liberally" by accident.)

Psychosis TV

When I was in New Jersey, I spent much of the day with my mother at the facility where she was staying, then went to her house for the evening. When I got to the house, I was usually pretty beat. Next I would call my siblings, wife, and the occasional aunt or cousin to update them on the situation. After that, I was pretty energized again.

So I turned on the TV. I have been TV-free in my home since leaving my senior year in college (1987-88), except for one year of living in a group house with the Fourth World Movement.

On my Facebook page, I claim my favorite TV program is a book: Four Reasons for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander.

You see, I am a TV addict. When given the opportunity, I sit there mindlessly changing channels, hoping for something better to come on. So, I avoid the problem by not having one of the devices at home. Admittedly, our computer will play DVDs, and so we rent one or borrow one from the library a few times a year. But that's it, except for when we visit either grandma's house.

So, while in NJ, I stayed up too late every night watching TV. I also watched TV with my mom in her room, because it gave her something to focus on outside of her own illness and pain. So I got to see a LOT of TV. Waaay more than I've seen in a long time, even when visiting various relatives.

Sure, there were several good shows. I got to see the Daily Show and the Colbert Report for the first time. (Seriously!) A review of Carol Burnett's career. The Wizard of Oz. And I saw a new episode of South Park, a show I've seen just a couple of times before. It was really rather funny, about the kids nearly achieving "Guitar Hero" video game stardom ("Real guitars are for OLD people!" -- Cartman).

What really struck me from watching all the other shows that I will not admit to watching is how utterly psychotic so many of the people in them are. Psychosis TV as opposed to Psychic TV (semi-legendary music/video outfit).

Here's part of the definition of "psychotic" from wikipedia:

Psychosis is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". ... People experiencing a psychotic episode ... may exhibit personality changes and disorganized thinking. This is often accompanied by lack of insight into the unusual or bizarre nature of their behaviour, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out the activities of daily living.

Yes, that sums up my recent experience of TV. Incidentally, if it wasn't for numerous people in my meeting as well as a few kind bloggers praying for me, I probably wouldn't have lasted the week. I know I wasn't doing much praying. I felt pretty distant spiritually... except for doing my filial duty... and one daily practice of walking that I hope to write about.

Harmony

On my trip back to NJ, I also bought The Last Week by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, which I loved; and Home to Harmony, the first Harmony novel by Quaker pastor Philip Gulley. I also loved that, in a different way.

Here is my favorite line from Home to Harmony:

The front page [of the newsletter from "Quaker headquarters"] was the superintendent's letter. He believes in the power of words, that we are one newsletter article away from vitality.

Or maybe we are just one good blog post away! :)

Found it: How the Quakers Invented America

Found it. How the Quakers Invented America. By religion columnist David Yount.

I wanted it last night for my "introduction to Quakerism" talk at the Friends School. It didn't happen. Buying the book, that is; the talk happened, and it was fine.

On a whim I stopped at the Borders at the mall on the way home. Nothin'. Their only store in the region that had a copy was in Union Square, in downtown S.F. Well, I don't usually go downtown any more, so I didn't have the staffer place a hold on that copy.

However, I just happened to have a meeting near there this morning. So in I went, and there it was. Bingo! Cover blurb by author and blogger Brent Bill!

(Yes, I know I should support www.quakerbooks.org and my now-only-semi-local-since-we-moved bookstore. I've created handy-dandy links to the Quaker Books page so you can order it there yourself.)

In addition to his column for Scripps Howard, Yount has written several other books. He also wrote an article for Quaker Life in March 2002 called "Why Did Quakers Stop Quaking?"

While I'd like to tell you more about the book, I'd have to actually read it first. So stay tuned... Gotta go!

- - - - -
PS Did you know Gen. Smedley Butler, author of War is a Racket, was raised a Quaker? One of his nicknames was "the Fighting Quaker" -- ugh. On a second whim for the evening, I looked him up on Wikipedia, and there it was. Apparently President Herbert Hoover and he didn't get along. Was it partly because of the Quaker connection?

PPS Peggy Senger Parsons, when are you going to publish a book of your columns? Hmmm? Hmmm?

Hardly Strictly Mekons

So there I was… bringing two young boys through the hazy, smoky air of a crowd in Golden Gate Park when I spotted Robin M. and Friends halfway across the crowd. Yet I couldn’t see where to cross from the walkway into the people and begin the odyssey of stepping gingerly between toes and hands, on blankets, and around lawn chairs, to get to our own family’s blanket at the during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.

Then, bless her heart, Robin popped up at our sides. She’s a foot shorter than I am, and wasn’t carrying an adult backpack, a child’s backpack, and a cooler, and so she was able to navigate the crowd better. Plus she was coming from the inside out, which is just easier.

Anyway, she said I was free to go see the Mekons, bless her heart yet again. So I went.

If you don’t know about them, the Mekons started in the “do-it-yourself” phase of punk rock, immediately post-Sex Pistols, in Leeds, England. They’ve continued playing in various forms off and on since, with a hard-edged honky-tonk rock and roll style being the best way I can describe them. Hank Williams meets the (early) Clash. But better songwriters than the Clash.

Anyway, I arrived and they were singing a song about Quakers and Ranters and Muggletonians!! How appropriate is that?!?

Turns out it was "Thee olde trip to Jerusalem," which I'd never heard before:

"With the Ranters and the Quakers and the Fabians
"William Blake, William Morris, Tony Benn
"The Levellers and the Diggers and the Muggletonians"

They were all sitting down, which led to some geriatrics jokes. The drummer was simply thumping a case. Tom Greenhalgh was playing an electric bazouki (unless it was an oud, but I don't think so) -- at one point with a slide! Not every band plays slide electric bazouki, now, do they??

Another song was about going for rambles in the hills of the U.K. The song had something to do with the end of the world, rhyming “ramble” with “scramble” of fighter jets in a final cataclysm of warfare. This was also appropriate, because the Blue Angels were also in San Francisco this week and flew over the festival periodically, completely drowning out the musicians. Jon Langford, guitarist and front man, shook his fist at the sky as he sang the lines. He also pranced and danced back and forth like Mick Jagger, did a bit of Slavic folk dancing, then did a turn as an Irish dancer in whatever that popular show was from a few years ago.

(On Saturday, during the Flatlanders’ set – also really good – when the planes flew over, there were many shaken fists and a fair number of one-fingered salutes from the crowd. Only in San Francisco! Today they flew over during Doc Watson’s set, and people cheered a lot more. They seemed happy about it. Oh, well.)

They also dug back over 15 years to “Death of American Astronauts,” a newer one called “Hole in the Ground” (I think), and “Perfect Mirror” from their newest album, The Natural.

My favorite, though, was “Oblivion,” sung by Sally Timms, from their 1986 album, The Edge of the World. Wow!

The chorus always speaks deeply to me:

“You’ve always known and always remember
“Then you forget you’ve always known”

Isn’t this a bit like the journey through life with God? When I remember to check back in with the Source, the Way, the Truth, I realize I’ve always known we could be that connected. And then I forget I’ve always known. And so it goes. The cycle of remembering and forgetting. May I remember more than I forget.

Parents' Creative Response to Conflict

You’ve probably heard about Children’s Creative Response to Conflict.

Well, don’t forget, we parents need the same. Let me tell you about such a parental response one recent morning.

A certain Nine Year Old expressed in playing a game called Dog Dice. These days, it is rare for him to express interest in doing something besides reading. So this was notable!

A certain Five Year Old had other ideas, however. “I want to play something with my whole body. Something like playing wolves, or gorillas.” Now, playing wolves and playing gorillas are longstanding Saturday morning traditions in this family. So, this was tough to ignore.

Nine Year Old was clear, though: He wanted to play Dog Dice. Five Year Old was about to get into a snit, if not throw a full-blown tantrum quite yet.

“I have an idea,” Forty-Two Year Old said. “Let’s play ‘Gorillas Playing Dog Dice’!” He beat his chest for emphasis.

Nine Year Old burst out laughing. He beat his chest. He said, “Oo, oo!”

Seeing which way the wind was blowing, Five Year Old curled up in Forty Two Year Old’s lap, and cooed like a baby gorilla. “I’m a baby gowilla!” he said in a babyish voice.

The game of Dog Dice commenced, with occasional bouts of chest-thumping and hooting. From time to time, the silverback suggested the blackback find some wild celery, and fed some to the baby.

In the end, Forty-Two Year Old actually won the game. More important, he won some peace and accord in his family. Now, how blessed is that?

Must be doin' something right

Yesterday morning (Saturday) Five Year Old and I were playing, as is our custom.

He was racing his motorcycle back and forth, and I was holding a Fisher Price tow truck that he told me was the motorcycle driver's friend. The tow truck driver figurine offered his help frequently to the motorcycle rider, but the rider could pretty much fix everything himself. So, my main role was to be present, and to follow direction. Fair enough, I can do that.

At some later point, the tow truck driver became the motorcycle rider's adopted son. (Go, Five Year Old!)

Even later, as I fought off severe drowsiness -- yes, I confess, on a Saturday morning, another hour or two in bed seems more appealing than WATCHING A MOTORCYCLE GO BACK AND FORTH! A LOT! -- Five Year Old decided to have a meeting of the crew.

I thought he meant pit crew, but as it turned out, he meant ALL the motorcycle riders who had been in the races, not just the one we could see.

So, we pulled together a group of three or four construction workers, who stood in admirably as the other racers. Then Five Year Old said, "My motorcycle rider is the CLERK."

[Cue sappy music; father beams proudly at his son.]

Hurray for things!

Hurray for intervisitation among Friends: A big shoutout to The New Young Elder, who stayed at our house on her way to see old friends and get to a summer gig. It was great to see how both Nine Year Old and Five Year Old responded to her, how eager they were to tell her about things that were important to them at that moment. She was blown away by how talkative Five Year Old was, because in the large gatherings where she usually sees him, he often clams up and sticks pretty close to Daddy or Mommy.

It was so nice to feel a part of the fabric of the Quaker community, sharing news from across the country, having a sense of this young woman who grew up immersed among Friends coming into her own as a leader. And ready to bring my sons along with her.

Hurray for libraries: Got a bunch of CDs at the local branch (*try the new "street view" in Google Maps and you'll see it there). Been listening over and over to Moby's Hotel. I missed it when it came out. The John Prine CD in the player right now just got stuck -- ah, the peril of libraries!

Just read from the library:
   » Gary Wills, What Jesus Meant
   » Walter Mosley, Life Out of Context
   » I am also listening to the book-on-cd of Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity by Elaine Pagels and Karen King. Interesting so far after two chapters.

Hooray for the Internet: Just printed from the Pendle Hill website, and which I hope to read this weekend: Obstacles to Mystical Experience, by Scott Crom (Pendle Hill Pamphlet #132, 1963). I started it at our meeting's retreat late last month and didn't get very far.

Oh, and I thought these were interesting pieces from Common Dreams:
» America the progressive
» Bush pushes Iraq oil law for US companies

Hurrah Hurrah Hooray!
Well, gotta go! See you on Firstday at QuakerMart: The Unprogrammed MegaMeeting.