Something Later

Saturday, 5/31 - St. Louis vs Cubs
Drove to St Louis, stopped a saw giant cup. Rolled into town and went to the Soulard neighborhood for lunch (tacos) and wandered for a bit. Had coffee at Protagonist Coffee and then headed for the Arch. Parking was a pain the butt (recurring theme for the trip). We walked by the river and around the arch, eventually going down under it to buy a couple of stickers from the gift shop. Weather was overcast and light drizzle but it was supposed to clear up by game time.

Checked into the hotel (Westin); parking was a pain again. Walked over to the game. While waiting to go in the rain became a more steady drizzle and by the time we were inside it was full-on raining. We walked around, watching it rain. Got burgers and fries and sat on the ground under an overhang. It was muggy and sweaty. As game time got closer, the rain had stopped and we dried off our seats with napkins. The game ended up being closer to a Cubs home game there were so many Cubs fans there. The Cubs won and we went back to the hotel.

Sunday, 6/1 - Cincinnati vs Braves
Got up early (5:15!) so that we could be on the road in time to make it to Cincinnati for the 1:40 first pitch. Drove across the bottom of Illinois and Indiana, skirted into Kentucky past Louisville and up into Cincinnati. Hit traffic as we were coming into the city and scrambled to find parking. Made it with 30 min to spare. The weather for the day started out overcast but by the time we were there it was a bright and sunny 74 degrees. We had great seats right behind the visitor’s dugout. Acuña started the game off with a first pitch homer, but that was really the highlight of the game for the Braves. They made a last ditch effort in the top of the 9th to come back but couldn’t quite pull it together.

We only stayed in our seats for ~ 4.5 innings because we were getting baked by the sun (ended up slightly sunburned) but really enjoyed being able to wander the concourse and watch the game from most anywhere.

After the game we drove over to our rental in the OtR neighborhood, dropped off bags, parked the car and then went wandering. It was neat to finally see OtR in-person, having heard about it for 30+ years. We ate dinner at Krueger’s Tavern, sitting outside on the sidewalk Euro-cafe style. Great food and atmosphere. After that we got ice cream from Graeter’s and wandered back to the condo to crash for the night.

Monday, 6/2 - Milwaukee vs Giants
We didn’t need to get up quite so early, so took our time (relatively speaking) getting up and going. Grabbed coffee from Deeper Roots Coffee across the street from Findlay Market and were on the road 8:30ish. We’d planned to stop in the Indianapolis area for gas. Since the route through the middle of the city wasn’t any longer time-wise, decided to do a quick detour through downtown Indianapolis to see what we could see. Monument Circle looked neat so we parked the car the first place we could (stupid SalesForce tower parking) and wandered around the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument for a bit.

After hopping back in the car, we headed for Milwaukee. Quick stop in Merrillville, IN. Horrendous traffic in Chicago. Finally made it to Milwaukee about 3. Checked into the hotel and headed over to the “Third Ward” area to wander around the area around the river walk. Found the “Bronze Fonz” and got coffee from Anodyne Coffee. After some more wandering we got in the car and headed for the game.

For the only time of the trip, parking was stupid easy. Our seats for the game were amazing (second row, behind home plate) and the Brewers routed the Giants 16-2. The stadium roof was open and the game atmosphere was great. Highlights: seeing the sausage race and singing Roll Out the Barrels during the 7th inning stretch. Also, the cheese curds.

The architecture around Milwaukee was cool - lots of grand late 19th century buildings (including our hotel). Would like to go back and spend more time there.

Tuesday, 6/3 - Chicago vs A’s
Got up and going around 8 and headed over to the Fernwood area to get coffee from Anodyne (again) and get our first glimpse of Lake Michigan. Wandered along the shore for a bit and then hit the road for Chicago.

Since we had all day until the game we planned to see a few things. Got into town about 10:30, dropped the car off and took our first ride on the L to head over to the Field Museum. Wandered around, ate lunch, wandered some more and then strolled down the lake shore. Walked up Queen’s Landing, sat beside Buckingham Fountain, saw Cloud Gate (the bean), and sat beside Crown Fountain (the faces) for a bit. Walked back to the hotel, checked-in, and rested for about an hour before heading for Wrigley via the train.

Seeing a game at Wrigley was a great experience - except the wind was stupid cold. Ate Chicago dogs before first pitch (good but messy). As game time crept up it kept getting colder. I gave in and bought an overpriced sweatshirt. By the 7th inning stretch we were both shivering. So, after singing along we headed out. The train ride back into town was crazy crowded but otherwise uneventful. Good day but was happy to get to bed.

Wednesday, 6/4 - Chicago
No baseball today so we had all day to do whatever we wanted. Started out by getting coffee and croissants from Intelligentsia Coffee on Randolph. Weather was perfect and we sat outside and watched people and traffic. At 9 we headed towards the river so that we would get in line for the architecture river cruise at 9:30. The river cruise went from 10-11:30 and we had fun going up and down the Chicago River, seeing all the buildings and learning about Chicago.

After the river cruise we grabbed lunch from Giordano’s (classic deep dish pizza), took the leftovers back to the hotel and then headed for the Art Institute of Chicago - which is incredible but also overwhelming. So many great works of art. From there we took a (long) walk over to Navy Pier, where Jana got attacked by a bird. After recovering from that and seeing the Bob Newhart statue, we walked back up the river walk and then back to the hotel (after grabbing some drinks from 7-11) to eat our leftover pizza and get some much needed rest.

Thursday, 6/5 - Home
The drive home was long (9 hrs) but uneventful with stops in Champaign, IL (for gas), Mount Vernon, IL (for coffee at Panera) and Dyersburg, TN (for waffle fries from CFA).

Romans 8:25

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

John Murray:

Impatience spells dispute and dissatisfaction with God's design. Attempts to claim for the present life elements which belong to consummated perfection, whether it be in the individual sphere or in the collective, are but symptoms of that impatience which would disrupt divine order. Expectancy and hope must not cross the bounds of history; they must wat for the end, "the liberty of the glory of the children of God".

John Murray's description of eternal life:

... it is life that death cannot invade and life that cannot be forfeited ...

I'm slowly working my way through a backlog of things to read and think about.

It's nice to have this again. This time around it'll have more focus on how I actually want to use it - less about archiving, more about things to remember for later.

In a lot of ways this is me embracing this for what it should be - a classic link blog.

When Dad no longer knows the faces of his family,
Yet will you know him, O Lord.
When he can no longer remember his own name,
Yet will you remember him.

This will be his enduring hope, until at last he wakes from his long fog
into a bright morning of clarity and sees you face to face,
remembering again all that he had forgotten,
and knowing then even as he is known.

In light of this promise, give him peace even now,
secure in the knowledge that what is obscured from him is not truly lost,
only tucked away and waiting to be revealed fully in that eternal light.

O God, though all else be hid from him,
all memory, all knowledge, all understanding,
do not hide your presence.

Be to him more present, more immediate,
more abundant in grace and peace, than ever he knew.

Though he knows nothing else, still let him know you.
And if a morning dawns when he can no longer name you
or remember to call upon you, be more immediately present to him then
than his own confusion, than his own breath.
Be to him a peace and a light and an abiding sense that he is loved and held
and that all will be well.

Give grace and mercy also, O God, to those of us grieve his decline,
to those who love him, who must suffer the heartache of such slow loss.

Bless our patient sacrifice on Dad's behalf. May our hope and our humor hold
and our hearts be strengthened beyond expectation.

Thank you for the years of health and love we were given to share.
May those memories and your grace sustain us in sorrow.

Be near us now.

O Father, in his weakness, be strong.
O Jesus, in his loss, be found.
O Spirit, in his absence, be present.

O God, in his forgetfulness, remember Dad, your child.

Amen.

I intended last week to start writing down thoughts and descriptions of what’s going on right now, but kept putting it off.

It’s been right at 10 days since the first wave of realization hit (on a large scale) that this was going to be something serious. I had been following the news of the spread out of China and the reported havoc it was wreaking in Italy and Iran. Was also reading people like Rod Dreher. It sounded like things were going to get bad; but it was hard to know how quickly it was going to hit and how seriously - especially poor reliability of news coming out of some of the origin countries (China and Iran). On a certain level it felt a little surreal to even think about.

Thursday, March 12, was the evening I went to Kroger to get some milk for dinner and had to circle the parking lot twice to find a spot and then stand in line 20+ people deep to check-out. Aside from the announcements of extended school spring break there wasn’t any single event that day to trigger the surge in buying. It was more the slow, steady drip news had finally culminated into awareness that maybe something bad was happening. Since that day the drum beat of bad news has continued - new cases skyrocketing, stock market crumbling, cities on lock down, etc.

Jana went to buy groceries early on the morning of the 13th (before 7am) and still had to wait in line to check-out. The cashier told her stories of people getting into fights in line the night before. The girls had a basketball party that night; that was the last group outing any of us has been to. Saturday morning the news continued to build and all signs pointed to “social distancing” as the best thing anyone could do to help clamp down on the spread. So, we cancelled game night with the Gaffords and Jack had to miss a basketball party.

Last Sunday, the 14th, was the first week most churches cancelled services and started doing streaming-only. GCC still held service but we stayed home and “went to church” via First Presbyterian Augusta’s Evensong service.

Most of us worked from home all last week, but some continued to go to the office - either out of preference or necessity. It was spring break for us, so Jana and the kids had a relaxed week. There wouldn’t have been any outside-the-house events anyways, so aside from me being home all week it wasn’t that different from a normal week.

The news all week continued to be a steady stream of bad following bad - more tanking markets, more businesses shutting down, more people getting sick. More people who’d been dismissing the whole thing (including the President) suddenly started taking it more seriously.

GCC had a pre-recorded service yesterday. It wasn’t the same, but then again nothing is right now. We also gathered with our Sunday night crew via Zoom for a little bit. It was awkward, but encouraging nonetheless.

It’s surreal to think of the cultural and political things that were dominating the media 2-3 weeks ago. So little of that feels like it matters at all right now. Nothing right now is normal and very little is certain. Who knows - maybe spring hits and warm weather puts the kibosh on the contagiousness.

I’ve been thinking a lot on James 4:13 ...

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Also on Galatians 3:5-6 ...

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith — just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Maranatha.