Salvation in cowboy hats and baseball caps.

The nudge came unexpectedly at 6 a.m. I had told her, “If I'm snoring, just nudge me.” Funny how different it feels from the other side. It isn't just a tap. For one sleepy second it feels like an invitation to be somewhere else.

Un-fixable stuff. :–/

Sleep was deep and satisfying after a looong and rigorous weekend.

Dreams

I was mid-dream about—i was trying to get something from someone... we were outside and...ah! I was with a small religious group. They were some kind of Catholic faith and we had to get an answer from an old priest. There were 4 of them: a senior male, and 3 younger women. I forget why we needed to talk to the old priest... I had a question possibly? or maybe I was preaching and they wanted me to talk to the guy responsible for their relationship with God? I've lost it. But they took me to this big old church. We went to the box office to get in and saw poster of the old priest. The teller gave the man directing us a memorial program, the priest had died. We didn't know what to do. The man could no longer address my needs. So, the group gave me a tour of their church. Lots of long low, yellow hallways filled with odd alcoves with fountains. There was a very very odd alien-looking thing: a fuzzy tree-stump that i was supposed to know what it was but didn't so I just pretended. Then there was the 'muppet' hallway. Each side lined with living bronze sculptures of the muppets and muppet-like creatures. I had to go behind the wall and work them like a puppet so they could talk to me. It made sense i the dream, but i was both the puppeteer and the talent speaking to the muppet. The guide and the women didn't like this. It was sacrilegious somehow and so I stopped. On the tour, i started preaching to them, telling them about this and that from the Bible. They were curious as to why a layman would know anything about the Bible. As I began to explain, I got the nudge.

When you know, you know.

Waking, I brushed and flossed and stepped outside to enjoy the predawn sounds and sights. Sitting on the porch, I spent the time in prayer and realizing that yesterday's musing about the wildlife making the most of the preheated day was right. Even the mosquitoes made their presence known. What is it that makes me so irresistible to those little monsters?

I especially hate when they bite me on the palm of my hand. That one feels personal. What did I ever do to you, mosquito? Besides happily murder untold numbers of your ancestors. And you too, given the chance.

At least the pain and itch will pass soon enough. Mosquito bites fade. Some nudges don't.

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

7:11 – I am sore this morning from yesterday's softball picnic. It was 100º at 5pm, but we still managed to convince about 40 ppl to come out to the park. I took my gas grill and cooked hot dogs, hamburgers and corn for a hot, hungry group.

I tried boiling the corn, but for some reason, my grill could not heat the giant pot of water. Internet says: I should have brought a lid.

But I got the 30 hot dogs and burgers grilled and served along with grilled corn, 6 caramelized onions and some very choice garlic. Mmmmmmmm.

Per usual, we had enough food for twice as many people, and everyone ate to satisfaction.

When we first arrived, several people got bit by wasps. They had decided to start building a nest under the corner of a table. Hard to fault the parks dept for not catching it, it seemed brand new. I decided to add a can of wasp spray to the next summer event. An enterprising fellow named Allen took some paper towels and a match and managed to dispatch the angry creatures in short order. Not short enough to save three people from a half dozen stings.

I was burned and exhausted when post meal, everyone was lazing about. Since I was ostensibly the host, I grabbed a ball and glove and invited another friend to go play catch. That was all it took. 10m later we had two teams: The cowboy hats and the ball caps, named for the headwear of the two captains.

I am not and never was a jock, a sports enthusiast, the fastest, most dexterous or strongest... not for lack of physical ability, I just never had any interest in sports during those years most people develop those skills. I was and am far more interested in the arts and intellectual concepts.

I say this to explain my choice of team. I was often among the first chosen because of my size and there was a lot of expectation. Meanwhile, the less-obvious were ignored and passed over until the very end. I always despised this. I mean I GOT/GET it: team choices have to be made so you can win the game. So you look for the most athletic, the youngest, the most skilled.

UNLESS you're a 50+ year old closet intellectual who has a low opinion of choosing just to win and not so that everyone feels good, included and having a good time.

So the choices went: Ball Caps looked like an all-star team: former league players, younger athletes, competitive personalities. Cowboy Hats looked like the island of misfit toys.

Surprise players were the 66 yo who clearly used to LOVE this sport and the 13 yo introvert who wanted to pitch. Bravo for braving that spotlight, Juan! And shockingly, the 25 yo personal trainer had never played the sport! And our 29yo girl played with more heart than nearly anyone else on the team.

So, teams were a bit imbalanced physically. The Ball Caps were all home run hitters, or at least good line drivers, and we were the bad news bears, the benchwarmers.

WHich was FINE. We had SO MUCH FUN! And I learned that I am way way past my prime. It's easy to forget when you spend 8-10 hours a day behind a keyboard. My 30-40m daily routine helps, but there's no way I'm running back and forth, hitting and pitching and still be able to walk the next day.

in fact, by the night's end, I KNEW i'd be giving up ambulation the next day! It's not all that bad. Def a little sore, but nothing crippling.

Fun comes at a cost, and this was a bill I am HAPPY to pay.

Saving our Family

We did notice something about the pattern of who attended. My wife and I have been discussing for some time that our congregation seems to have lost it's spirit of camaraderie and friendship. Like the spark or the spirit is gone. Honestly, for a while, I thought it was me. It's part of why I went to Europe for 4 months late last and early this year: give them a chance to recover from whatever pall I was bringing on our group.

But, surprise, when I came back, it was worse than ever!

:–/

So, I still don't know what he problem is. Lack of love in the leadership is my best guess right now. I'm on hiatus from a leadership role and things are not improving. BUT, of the 40 that showed... they are largely those eager for close friendship and enthusiastic for the bond that comes from worshiping together. And that number is well less than half of those with whom we worship.

So, to summarize, I suspect it is a general frustration and lack of willingness to socialize, to be close to one another and be that brother that Proverbs 17:17 describes as 'born for times of distress'.

I keep telling everyone, 'We're friendLY, but we're not FRIENDS!' There IS a difference.

IDK what to do except love the people and try to lead by attitude. I cannot and will not change the minds and practices of those who have been here much longer and who will be here long after I am gone. And I don't think that's my job. My job, as I define it: to be as good a friend as I can afford, to give more than I take and do as little as harm as I can along the way.

To those that I have harmed: i'm sorry. That was never my intent.

At least the picnic was a roaring success.

NEXT

One of my decisions is that as a group of the like-minded: we're going to start having AT LEAST quarterly meetups to socialize and recreate together. Every six weeks will be better.

August: Batting cages, expensive, but indoors September: Puppet show planning and plotting party October: Backyard Movie night! My house or at the park. November: Fall Baseball! December: Game night! January: PUPPET SHOW

Okay, SURELY if I can pull of SIX social events in the next six months, we'll be stronger and happier as a family of friends.

All of this is to say, I'm glad I got up early this morning. That i am feeling especially content today, a feeling that's been absent from my life for some time. I absolutely felt a moment last night of deep satisfaction. And I could tell on the faces of those who were there that they felt it too.

THIS is the chase.

| | | |

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Game roster for posterity:

Team Ball Cap: RV – Captain – 56 former amateur softball team player AS – 44 – HVAC technician and VERY good ball player MA – 56 – Small stature, but great hustle and ferociously competitive CB – 25 – personal trainer, VERY athletic, hungry for competition DB – 30 – very athletic, s-ball isn't his sport, but he LOVEs a game of any kind JP – 27 – LOVES sports, chews up whatever game he is give the chance

Team Cowboy Hat: WLFW: Captain – 54 smeller of flowers, drawer of women and would rather be reading a book AA – 66 – slow, old, but LOVES sball and great as first base SP – 27 – young and energetic, she was having a BALL ZR – 26 – Z isn't an athletic guy at all, strong, smart but prefers video games AP – 50 – former fire fighter and 70% disabled, drives for a living and is shows JA – 13 – introvert 100%, so when he asked to pitch, I was delighted, great way to cme out of. your shell, J!

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Details on the six month plan.

One of my decisions is that as a group of the like-minded: we're going to start having AT LEAST quarterly meetups to socialize and recreate together. Every six weeks will be better.

Mid-August is brutal here in Dust Merdian, so my next pitch is going to be to invite 30 or 40 people to go out to the local softball complex, an indoor 11k square foot facility with more than a dozen batting cages. OUCH! $50 an hour is kind of steep, but maybe we can swing it. ;–)

September will be a puppet-show preplanning event. I'm hosting a puppet show in January, and September will be a meal and a pitch to get people to sign on to write a script, make puppets, rehears and be ready to give a 4-6 minute puppet show to a warm and well-fed audience. My hope is that we can get 6-8 teams and put on an hour-long puppet show in January.

October: Backyard Movie night! Cooler weather means we can enjoy the out of doors again.

November: Fall Baseball! Finally!! We can be outside and not break a sweat.

December: Game night! We'll rent a small facility and set up 8 game stations. Each station will get an assignee to bring the game, decorate their table and provide light refreshments. The idea will be to make your table more enticing than the next. Neanderthaler Poetry Telestrations Videogame station Card game Scrabble Lego free-build Jenga Ticket to ride Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Dominoes

We'll need awards for this one: 🏆 Best Decorated Table 😂 Most Fun Game 🍪 Best Snacks 🎭 Best Host ⭐ People's Choice 👑 Overall Champion

Clearly, I am smitten with the game night party!

January: PUPPET SHOW – Rent a swanky facility. There's a REALLY nice place in town that has a modest ballroom with a stage.