A Parable of Time and Purpose

First divesting ourselves of worldly goods, as St. Francis teaches,
in order that our souls not be distracted
by gain and loss, and in order also
that our bodies be free to move
easily at the mountain passes, we had then to discuss
whither or where we might travel, with the second question being
should we have a purpose, against which
many of us argued fiercely that such purpose
corresponded to worldly goods, meaning a limitation or constriction,
whereas others said it was by this word we were consecrated
pilgrims rather than wanderers: in our minds, the word translated as
a dream, a something-sought, so that by concentrating we might see it
glimmering among the stones, and not
pass blindly by; each
further issue we debated equally fully, the arguments going back and forth,
so that we grew, some said, less flexible and more resigned,
like soldiers in a useless war. And snow fell upon us, and wind blew,
which in time abated — where the snow had been, many flowers appeared,
and where the stars had shone, the sun rose over the tree line
so that we had shadows again; many times this happened.
Also rain, also flooding sometimes, also avalanches, in which
some of us were lost, and periodically we would seem
to have achieved an agreement; our canteens
hoisted upon our shoulders, but always that moment passed, so
(after many years) we were still at that first stage, still
preparing to begin a journey, but we were changed nevertheless;
we could see this in one another; we had changed although
we never moved, and one said, ah, behold how we have aged, traveling
from day to night only, neither forward nor sideward, and this seemed
in a strange way miraculous. And those who believed we should have a purpose
believed this was the purpose, and those who felt we must remain free
in order to encounter truth, felt it had been revealed.

-- Louise Gluck

The Times published a few poems marking the end of daylight saving time. I'm glad I gave it a look. I didn't think I'd find something so poignant and pointed. As if the extra hour of sleep were not gift enough. It's the 'spring forward' drill that calls for some compensation. I only wish this could be the end of daylight saving time for good. I hate having to set aside and pick up hours as we go, for I know I am bound to misplace and lose some of them sometime.

A Parable of Time and Purpose

First divesting ourselves of worldly goods, as St. Francis teaches,
in order that our souls not be distracted
by gain and loss, and in order also
that our bodies be free to move
easily at the mountain passes, we had then to discuss
whither or where we might travel, with the second question being
should we have a purpose, against which
many of us argued fiercely that such purpose
corresponded to worldly goods, meaning a limitation or constriction,
whereas others said it was by this word we were consecrated
pilgrims rather than wanderers: in our minds, the word translated as
a dream, a something-sought, so that by concentrating we might see it
glimmering among the stones, and not
pass blindly by; each
further issue we debated equally fully, the arguments going back and forth,
so that we grew, some said, less flexible and more resigned,
like soldiers in a useless war. And snow fell upon us, and wind blew,
which in time abated — where the snow had been, many flowers appeared,
and where the stars had shone, the sun rose over the tree line
so that we had shadows again; many times this happened.
Also rain, also flooding sometimes, also avalanches, in which
some of us were lost, and periodically we would seem
to have achieved an agreement; our canteens
hoisted upon our shoulders, but always that moment passed, so
(after many years) we were still at that first stage, still
preparing to begin a journey, but we were changed nevertheless;
we could see this in one another; we had changed although
we never moved, and one said, ah, behold how we have aged, traveling
from day to night only, neither forward nor sideward, and this seemed
in a strange way miraculous. And those who believed we should have a purpose
believed this was the purpose, and those who felt we must remain free
in order to encounter truth, felt it had been revealed.

-- Louise Gluck

The Times published a few poems marking the end of daylight saving time. I'm glad I gave it a look. I didn't think I'd find something so poignant and pointed. As if the extra hour of sleep were not gift enough. It's the 'spring forward' drill that calls for some compensation. I only wish this could be the end of daylight saving time for good. I hate having to set aside and pick up hours as we go, for I know I am bound to misplace and lose some of them sometime.

Tonya Harding and Sarah Palin

"When Palin talks, my whole being wails, like Nancy Kerrigan after Tonya Harding's ex-husband knee-capped her: 'Why? Why? Why?'"

-- Nancy Franklin for New Yorker

The reference to the old Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding story won me. A long time since that has come up. One of those pop cultural sensations that buzzes around the media and in our conversations for a season and is gone. But I now see how they can be like old family photos, calling up days gone by, worthy of a little nostalgia.

I still remember Tonya coming out to skate for the medal, and actually getting a special break to try again when her lace or skate was apparently defective, still only to lose, of course, for there is at least some poetic justice in the world. And you know I rented the Tonya Harding sex tape that her ex-husband sold from their wedding night.

Yes, I enjoy remembering that whole episode from our national consciousness. If it wasn’t pre-Internet, you know we would have been blogging big about it, as well as downloading or streaming that sex video. The days of our lives. *sigh*

And I see how one can readily associate Tonya Harding and Sarah Palin together. It’s a fitting match. Though, Sarah promises to be a real national, perhaps global, catastrophe if the Republicans cannot pull it together enough to weed her our out of the competition for their party’s nomination for president. Judging by the way things look today, and how they are likely to look after two more years of partisan gridlock, anyone who wins the Republican nomination will likely be our nation’s president, and Sarah can make George W. Bush look like one of our greatest statesmen ever, a veritable Pericles or Lincoln or Churchill. It won’t just be something to titter about over coffee. I actually wonder if it could mean the end of Western civilization as we know it, though I know that sounds like crazy hyperbole. One has to be mindful that the West is kind of cracking up already.

Tonya Harding and Sarah Palin

"When Palin talks, my whole being wails, like Nancy Kerrigan after Tonya Harding's ex-husband knee-capped her: 'Why? Why? Why?'"

-- Nancy Franklin for New Yorker

The reference to the old Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding story won me. A long time since that has come up. One of those pop cultural sensations that buzzes around the media and in our conversations for a season and is gone. But I now see how they can be like old family photos, calling up days gone by, worthy of a little nostalgia.

I still remember Tonya coming out to skate for the medal, and actually getting a special break to try again when her lace or skate was apparently defective, still only to lose, of course, for there is at least some poetic justice in the world. And you know I rented the Tonya Harding sex tape that her ex-husband sold from their wedding night.

Yes, I enjoy remembering that whole episode from our national consciousness. If it wasn’t pre-Internet, you know we would have been blogging big about it, as well as downloading or streaming that sex video. The days of our lives. *sigh*

And I see how one can readily associate Tonya Harding and Sarah Palin together. It’s a fitting match. Though, Sarah promises to be a real national, perhaps global, catastrophe if the Republicans cannot pull it together enough to weed her our out of the competition for their party’s nomination for president. Judging by the way things look today, and how they are likely to look after two more years of partisan gridlock, anyone who wins the Republican nomination will likely be our nation’s president, and Sarah can make George W. Bush look like one of our greatest statesmen ever, a veritable Pericles or Lincoln or Churchill. It won’t just be something to titter about over coffee. I actually wonder if it could mean the end of Western civilization as we know it, though I know that sounds like crazy hyperbole. One has to be mindful that the West is kind of cracking up already.