It's Not a Behavior Problem

From LiveScience last month, a powerful and important article about addiction.

ASAM: Addiction Now Defined as Brain Disorder, Not Behavior Issue
Decades of research convinced American Society of Addiction Medicine to change definition

Addiction is a chronic brain disorder and not simply a behavior problem involving alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex, experts contend in a new definition of addiction, one that is not solely related to problematic substance abuse.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) just released this new definition of addiction after a four-year process involving more than 80 experts.

"At its core, addiction isn't just a social problem or a moral problem or a criminal problem. It's a brain problem whose behaviors manifest in all these other areas," said Dr. Michael Miller, past president of ASAM who oversaw the development of the new definition. "Many behaviors driven by addiction are real problems and sometimes criminal acts. But the disease is about brains, not drugs. It's about underlying neurology, not outward actions."

The new definition also describes addiction as a primary disease, meaning that it's not the result of other causes, such as emotional or psychiatric problems. And like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, addiction is recognized as a chronic disease; so it must be treated, managed and monitored over a person's lifetime, the researchers say.

Two decades of advancements in neuroscience convinced ASAM officials that addiction should be redefined by what's going on in the brain. For instance, research has shown that addiction affects the brain's reward circuitry, such that memories of previous experiences with food, sex, alcohol and other drugs trigger cravings and more addictive behaviors. Brain circuitry that governs impulse control and judgment is also altered in the brains of addicts, resulting in the nonsensical pursuit of "rewards," such as alcohol and other drugs.

A long-standing debate has roiled over whether addicts have a choice over their behaviors, said Dr. Raju Hajela, former president of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine and chair of the ASAM committee on addiction's new definition.

"The disease creates distortions in thinking, feelings and perceptions, which drive people to behave in ways that are not understandable to others around them," Hajela said in a statement. "Simply put, addiction is not a choice. Addictive behaviors are a manifestation of the disease, not a cause."

Even so, Hajela pointed out, choice does play a role in getting help.

"Because there is no pill which alone can cure addiction, choosing recovery over unhealthy behaviors is necessary," Hajela said.

This "choosing recovery" is akin to people with heart disease who may not choose the underlying genetic causes of their heart problems but do need to choose to eat healthier or begin exercising, in addition to medical or surgical interventions, the researchers said.

"So, we have to stop moralizing, blaming, controlling or smirking at the person with the disease of addiction, and start creating opportunities for individuals and families to get help and providing assistance in choosing proper treatment," Miller said. [Emphasis mine.]
--LiveScience

This is important! The research being done on the issue of addiction will, over the next 15 years, change much of what we have accepted as truth. I hope- and expect- that in the next 15 years those who still believe that addiction is a choice, or a failing, will be standing with those who believe the earth is flat. Anyone who has ever been afflicted by addiction in its various substances or has been in family or friendship with one who has, will be grateful for the change.

The fear of the stigma has kept many from seeking help (hence the "Anonymous" in AA is not to be a secret but to be protective of individuals!) As a result many die from the affects. This statement from ASAM and the work being done will save lives.

Sharing the Good News

Nothing intense or stupendous to most, but I had my 6-weeks post surgery check-up today. All is well!!

So, I feel a bike ride coming on tomorrow or Saturday. I promised to take it easy and not do something stupid (like more than an easy ride to get things back moving.)


I can also get back to my workout regimen at the healthy living center- elliptical, stationary bike and even strength work! After all, I still have another 10 pounds to lose.

What has also been good news is that after surgery I lost another 6 pounds and have now held that steady for 4 1/2 weeks! A nice kick-restart and I should be down where I would like to be!

Great news!

So The Regular Season Ends

And the Twins get to recuperate and rebuild.

No, it was not a good season. All that talent and so few wins. The best worst team in baseball. No, not the worst. The Houston Astros get that distinction this year. But the Twins aren't much above their low-water line.

More about the season in a later post, though. In honor of the past day yesterday, I am posting some pics from a week ago today at my last game of the season.

A cool, cloudy day at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners.

Cuddyer hits a single.

Many of the regulars were out- as they have been too much of the season. But going to a ball game is still going to a ball game. It's nice when they're winning, but there was no way I was going to skip the game. Being at the park, enjoying the day, even in the early-Autumn chill, was worth it.

All the regular things still go on, of course. The between innings with ads and the Kiss Cam and all the fans watching for themselves and friends on the HUGE screen (which is bigger than my apartment, by the way.)

And we can't forget the 7th Inning Stretch as we sing along with the local singer and TC Bear.

This year the Twins lost one of their greats- their first Great Hall of Famer after moving here from Washington 50 years ago. Harmon Killebrew died of cancer earlier in the season. After singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game at every home game, they did a remembrance of him. And of course there is his statue out on the plaza in a typical Killer pose.

One of the popular stars (along with Michael Cuddyer, above) is Joe Nathan. He got the chance to come in for the top of the 9th. It is fun to watch him in his business-like way of delivering the goods.

And it turns out that he was the winning pitcher as one Rene Tosoni got a walk-off double with two outs in the bottom of the 9th scoring Trevor Plouffe all the way from first. Since it is still a game of big boys playing a boys game, Tosoni got mobbed at 2nd!

Plouffe rounding third heading home as the winning run.

Tosoni Mobbed by teammates

That broke an 11 game losing streak! (And set my record of games at 6 wins and 3 losses for the year. NOTE TO TWINS: I am available to attend more games next year as a good-luck charm. I'm not too proud to beg.)




With the game over the stands empty out and the season gets one day closer to over. Only a few games left as I ended my season last week. Over the last week they lost more and won a couple. It was touch and go- would they lose 100 games?

NO. As the ended the season yesterday with a walk-off win against the Royals. 63 wins to 99 losses. Yes, a difficult and frustrating season.

Who will be back? Who will be elsewhere? Those questions take the back burner for now as we prepare for baseball- but not in Minnesota.

But, in baseball, as autumn takes over and the top teams get ready to move on to post-season play, there is hope in the stadium. Gate 34, numbered for the immortal Kirby Puckett, reminds us that there will be a next year, and who knows, there was this team that went from (almost) worst (1986) to first (1987).

It can happen.

Three Memoirs in Search of Father

I have just finished another memoir, Larry Woiwode's, A Step from Death (2009) This follows on the heels of two others: Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir. . . of Sorts (2011) by Ian Morgan Cron and Thoughts Without Cigarettes (2011) by Oscar Hijuelos. Two of these are not just memoirs, they are literary gems.

Woiwode and Hijuelos are top-shelf writers. You can tell from the opening paragraphs that we're not about to get another story of childhood angst or the inner wanderings of an interesting person. We will, because of the strength of language and emotion these writers have, find an opening into lives that are transformed and transforming.

Hijuelos brings us along on his Cuban-American journey in the Latino life of the 50s and 60s. He helps us see the story behind his prize-winning stories as the first true Latino-American literary star. He drags us into the uncertainties of a young man finding his way. His words wrap us in the smokey living rooms in Harlem and the man who was his father.

Woiwode is a slower pace. His is a Midwesterner's tempo. His is the story of a life on the land, seemingly always a step away from death but just as truly still, a step into life and grace. He, too, wraps nus in amazing language of fields and blizzards and fathers. His father and his children's father. Woiwode, like Hijuelos, takes us inside the writer's craft and bares the methods they each use in bringing their lives into reality. The truth of fiction becomes clear in these non-fiction stories.

Just as amazing is Cron's memoir. This is a "religious-"based memoir, though I hate to put it in a way that may keep readers away from it. His is a spiritual journey of faith- Cron is an ordained Episcopal priest. We walk a road of being called, even when that calling is unknown or at least unclear. We are wrapped in language that opens us to God while in the haze of the Northeastern childhood and adulthood wrapped in alcohol and drugs. Cron, too, discovers more about "fathers" and in so doing comes to know himself.

Hijuelos and Woiwode are authors of great literary stature and their memoirs exude the confidence of the writer who know his language and story. The wrestling is on each page for us to be wrapped into and enraptured by. Cron is taking us through a different door, through the Sacristy into a Sanctuary.

All three have deep spritual roots, expressed in much different language. All three struggle with some of the same ghosts of addiction and abandonment, death and creativity. All three masterfully pull us into our own memories of both our childhoods and maturity. They challenge us to discover the not-so-secret commonalities of our lives in the depths of their own unique experiences. After all it is in sharing such stories that we find our own callings.

Originally published at Blogcritics.

Great Picture- That Says It All

An aurora from the space station

Photo Blog

A 50-Year Memory: A Record Tied

September 26- Roger Maris hit his 60th home run in a 3-2 win for the Yankees over the Orioles, tying the record set by Babe Ruth in 1927 for most homers in a season.

A 30-Year Memory- A Long-Awaited Accomplishment

September 25- Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tis the First Full Day of Autumn

Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night.
-- Hal Borland



Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
-- Albert Camus

Oh Those First Bites

There are apples we can get all year round. No, not the dull and tasteless Macintosh or Red Delicious [sic]. Nor am I referring to the tasty and always dependable Fuji, Gala, or Braeburn. These are far more ubiquitous and fortunately for apple lovers available from far and wide almost all year. (Don't think about the fuel costs, eating locally, etc. at this point. This is a love story!)

But then there are the still seasonal apples, the ones we have to wait many months to taste until they ripen in their regular time. There are two for me that send me into a buying frenzy when they appear in the local grocery store. They are (sort of) local apples. They have both been developed by the University of Minnesota. They are the fruit of Eden, the taste of a virtual paradise. They give Fall a reason for its very existence.

And they have just become available in the last 10 days.


First is Honeycrisp released in 1991.
Wikipedia

I fell in love with this wonderful apple. That first bite of a fresh, in season fruit is indescribable. It is the Minnesota State Apple!







The other is only 2 years old- the incredible SweeTango.
Wikipedia

When this amazing apple was released to the market two years ago we got all the hype of a new product around here. I bought one - and they are not small apples - and the first rush of taste was almost like a taste-bud revelation. As people commented, the name comes from the dance the taste does on your tongue along with the mix of sweet and tangy! (It is a breed developed from the Honeycrisp.)

I am glad these are not available all year round. These are special apples. They deserve this special autumnal place. I savor them more and keep my apple palette alive the rest of the year with the other tasty cultivars. I suppose as time moves on we will have more availability from overseas or long-term stored fruit. But that first fresh taste is unbeatable. One can almost taste why the Christians of the Middle Ages, so aware of lust and sin, said the Tree in Eden was an apple.

A 50-Year Memory: A New Normal Begins

September 22- The ICC ruled that, effective November 1, all interstate buses in the United States were required to display signs that provided "Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin, by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission." In the same order, the ICC prohibited interstate buses from using "any terminal facilities which are so operated, arranged, or maintained as to involve any separation of any portion thereof, or in the use thereof on the basis of race, color, creed, or national origin." The order was a victory for the Freedom Riders, who suspended further plans to challenge racial segregation on buses and bus terminals.

Slow News

What is the world coming to? I have spent considerable time today (at least 10-15 minutes) searching the weird and odd news sites for, well, weird and odd news.

Nothing struck me.

• Renting the narrowest house in New York City seems like a nothing story, even if it measures only 9 1/2 feet wide and rents for $14,000/month.

• In West Virginia police arrest a woman who stole a hearse- that had a body still in it. Happens all the time in movies, doesn't it?

• A dog in Wisconsin was trapped in a sink hole for six days. Human interest, but not odd.

• A man pulls a shotgun and threatens Taco Bell employees in Missouri. They forgot to give him his hot sauce.

• And in Nebraska they arrested a guy who walked into a police station thinking it was a casino. Yes. he was drunk.

So, since I found nothing else, today was the birthday of composer Gustav Holst who was born in 1874. And since Jupiter is one of the evening "stars" why not put them both together.

Makes Sense- Until You Drink

Got this in an addiction-based newsletter last week:

Alcohol Dulls Brain 'Alarm' That Monitors Mistakes, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Sep. 2, 2011) - Most people have witnessed otherwise intelligent people doing embarrassing or stupid things when they are intoxicated, but what specifically happens in the brain to cause such drunken actions? A new study testing alcohol's effects on brain activity finds that alcohol dulls the brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self control.

"When people make mistakes, activity in a part of the brain responsible for monitoring behavior increases, essentially sending an alarm signal to other parts of the brain indicating that something went wrong," said Bruce Bartholow, associate professor of psychology in the University of Missouri College of Arts and Science. "Our study isn't the first to show that alcohol reduces this alarm signal, but contrary to previous studies, our study shows that alcohol doesn't reduce your awareness of mistakes -- it reduces how much you care about making those mistakes." [Emphasis added]

See the full article at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110901135030.htm

Amazing research is going on in lots of places about addiction, alcohol, substance use and abuse. Alcohol is often seen as a "social lubricant" but perhaps the real story is that it reduces how much we care about making the mistakes we would be otherwise embarrassed by. It is also the way that alcohol - or perhaps more to the point the "ism" of the disease of alcoholism and addiction- increases in control.

We truly believe that we are going to have "just one." This time will be different. But for some people for whom alcohol turns off the mistake-caring switch, that first drink is all it takes. The active alcoholic (or one who is developing alcohol abuse disorder) will take the first drink and then not care what's going to happen next. They just take the next- and then the next- and then.....

There is no doubt that as we continue to do research we will discover that the "ism" is real. It is as physical a disease as any other we know of.

Riverwalking 3

The River itself has no beginning or end.

In its beginning, it is not yet the River; in its end, it is no longer the River.

What we call the headwaters is only a selection from among the innumerable sources which flow together to compose it.

At what point in its course does the Mississippi become what the Mississippi means?
--T. S. Eliot

Along the Mississippi again, this time at Red Wing, MN, on a beauty of a summer day in 2010.

It isn't always necessary to look out at the river. Take a look up and over and you will very seldom be disappointed.

Not far from the riverfront by the old train depot.

Well, I guess there are also times to look away from the river and look down.

Along a river like the Mississippi there needs to be the places to keep the boats.

This was actually at the mid-point of a bike ride along the Cannon River Trail. 

The old faithful Trek 7000 has to get into a picture.

A 10-Year Memory: A Difficult Time Continued

September 18 – The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer. 22 in total are exposed; 5 of them die.

A 50-Year Memory: A Death in the Jungle

September 18 – UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in an air crash en route to Katanga, Congo.

A remarkable and deeply spiritual man who was the second Secretary-General of the UN. He had a deep sense of the mystery of life and the mystical openings before him. Here are four of his more famous quotes:

• God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason. 
• I am the vessel. The draft is God's. And God is the thirsty one.
• The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of his being.
• I don't know Who, or what, put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone, or Something,and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.”

A 45-Year Memory: Ignoring Authorities

September 17- Jim Morrison and The Doors defy CBS censors on The Ed Sullivan Show, when Morrison sings the word "higher" from their #1 hit Light My Fire, despite having been asked not to.

Will They Obey?

This bit was reported in the Star-Tribune the other day:

Tom Brady wants spirited crowd rooting for Patriots at Sunday's home opener against Chargers
HOWARD ULMAN , Associated Press Star Tribune September 14, 2011

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tom Brady wants loud fans cheering for his team in Sunday's home opener. He even had a suggestion for their pre-game activities.

"Yeah, start drinking early," he said with a grin, drawing laughter from reporters at his locker on Wednesday. "It's a 4:15 (p.m.) game. They have a lot of time to get lubed up, come out here and cheer for the home team."

See the full article at: http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/nfl/129841173.html

Okay- now tell me again about responsible drinking?

A Picture for Today

Let's Watch It Rain

Playing for Change: Episode 52

Playing for Change continues to release great videos. The latest: Higher Ground.

“Higher Ground” is a song that speaks of the perseverance it takes to reach the higher consciousness. Let’s all keep trying together, one heart and one song at a time, until we all reach the Higher Ground.

I gather that Playing for Change Day is Sept. 17. Here's a link.

Trivia Answer

Arlo Guthrie (as Alan Moon) auditioning for Seth Green fills Green in on the first real Rap Song. (from 1994)



You're welcome!

The Weekend of Remembrance (3): Ten Years After

We have gone ten years now. We live in a post-9/11 world. So much happened. So little happened. We have become used to what is and find it hard to remember what was.

I'm not talking about air security and having to take off our shoes or package little bits of liquid in bags if we are to carry them on. It is not about the Department of Homeland Security agents I saw by the train platform at Target Field, concrete barriers at the Mall of America, or big dump trucks blocking streets at the Metrodome. Those are inconveniences that we pay for living in a world where, in reality, we are less safe than we think we are. Security changes like that, in fact, make me feel at least a little safer when I fly. I'll put up with the lines, thank you, just as I put up with intense and personal searching by El Al Airlines almost 40 years ago when we flew to Israel.

I am pleased with the respect we have learned to pay to firemen, first responders, police, public servants. September 11 taught us some amazing things about bravery as I commented yesterday. May we never forget or take for granted the potential dangers they face for us.

But several things bother me as I ponder the past decade.

• First is that there were so many opportunities lost. For those of us in the church we experienced a return to church right after 9/11. I gather, though, that all research shows that it didn't last. It was momentary and gone before the year was out. Sure, some of that was looking for comfort- and I know many found it during those days. But why didn't people stay? What didn't they find. I fear we were found wanting and they left.

When people were searching for soul answers, we didn't provide them a way to find them.

• Second, we also missed the opportunity to understand and grow in our national acceptance - and embrace of diversity. The divisions and underlying racism, distrust of those different, and a Christian triumphalism united so fully with American patriotism has done us more harm than good. As I said the other day, these are still underlying layers of the American history- our American original sin of slavery. Sadly, 9/11 brought those out. When faced with fear- fear and powerlessness- we turn to an "us" vs. "them" way of living. I am afraid we haven't seen the end of such attitudes. 9/11 didn't cause them- our reactions of fear and anger brought them to the surface. When we get that way it is difficult to be rational and learn that differences in style, religion, color do not make enemies. Extremism does that.

• And third, and most devastating to our nation as a whole is that we have now lived through a decade of war. I am not an isolationist. I understand some of the things that led us into war in Afghanistan (though not in Iraq.) But we have now become so used to war- 10 years of it next month- that it becomes normal. This IS part and parcel of our 9/11 response. And it scares me.

War does not bring peace. Nor does anger and a desire to lash out in irrational ways. War will not make us feel safer. We become immune to the horrors. We become more war-like in our attitudes.

We also can fall apart as a nation. Economically. The Soviet Union was finally undermined by a number of factors, but an unending war in Afghanistan played a big part. We have had unfunded, unending wars for a decade. $1.2 trillion has been spent - unfunded. No wonder our national debt soared in these years. We had a budget SURPLUS in 2001. It is gone.

We have lost opportunities in the men and women who have been killed as a result of the wars. They are our families and friends. We continue to lose them to depression, suicide, alcohol and drug abuse.

As I listened to classical music radio yesterday as well as some of the remembrance programs, I was transported back, of course, to the memories and fears of that day. But I also remembered the way, for that brief moment, we came together as a nation. I remembered the feeling of wanting to hang on to who we are and can be as a nation and not allow the terrorists to turn us into mirror images of their irrational hatred. You see, I believe that we are better than that. We have an underlying ethic and code of morals under-girding our history.

We have not always lived up to it- we are, after all, a nation of imperfect people.

But I still believe we can be better than we have been. I believe that we can embrace those roots of freedom and diversity that we have so imperfectly followed some days. Those roots can be our source of nourishment when the 9/11-type events strike us. And they can, if we listen, allow us to grow more fully each and every year as a source of hope.

The Weekend of Remembrance (2): 9/11

from Empire State Building, 1993

The Day and Its Days
Perhaps every generation, especially in a world that is as connected as we are, has those days.

Pearl Harbor.
The End of WW II.
JFK's assassination.

Now there was 9/11. Today it is seared in memory.

First words come flowing out:

• Uncertainty
• Fear
• Disbelief
• Searching
• Questions
• Phone Calls
• Absolute disbelief

Ground Zero, June 2006

Our daughter was in Spain. She had only been there a little less than two weeks and her Spanish wasn't good enough to get the full drift of what was happening. All she knew was it was something BIG and BAD.

She called. "What it is? What's happening?"

We didn't know, of course. All we had was the TV reports that told us little- because they knew little.

Those words were what we went through. We didn't know what to do- but we knew it was not going to be business as usual. Even in a country as physically large as ours, we figured there is more to this than New York. Then we hear of the Pentagon and a deserted field in southwestern Pennsylvania. Airplanes are grounded. The cloud of death where there used to be the towers.

Normal? We wanted normal but had no idea if- or how- it would show up. So normal became little things. For my wife it was the appearance of the mail carrier walking into the church office with the day's mail. For me it was going up the street to sign up for DSL high-speed Internet. Innocuous details. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Which is what we wanted.



Then comes the desire to do something. Calling other local pastors to decide what we as churches could do. From that moment of paralysis to a moment of some kind of possibilities, whatever they might be. We kept busy, we planned prayer services. We stared at TV. As we worked on our prayer service we tried to figure out what it meant and what we wanted to have happen.


What we wanted was unity and a sense of purpose in it all. With no planes flying and people all over the country trying to put together some ways to get home, we were all stuck- physically and metaphorically. We had to be "at home." We had to look at ourselves and figure it out.

We then learned of the everyday heroes on the flight over Pennsylvania. We discovered the amazing bravery, sense of purpose, and dedication of firefighters and police officers and workers helping others through the cloud of unknown.

Slowly things began to settle. And we saw more everyday  heroes.

The New York Yankees playing in the Bronx.
David Letterman's amazing opening monologue when returning to the air.
Jon Stewart giving us perspective.

Ground Zero, June 2006

The tensions continued as anthrax showed up and questions kept popping up. Everyone kept telling us that nothing was ever going to be the same again, but we didn't know what that would mean. Everyday life resumed, but we were no longer as naive about our security, or perhaps our invincibility. Perhaps we even began to wonder over those initial weeks if this might bring about the same kind of uncertainty and distrust in our government's ability to protect us as Watergate had done almost 30 years earlier.




But for me it still goes back to two iconic pictures.

First is the one here on the right.

No, there us nothing new to say. It still rings loud and clear.

It describes 9/11 with a sense of ongoing hope and promise.

Second is the picture of Father Mychal Judge being carried from the rubble.

There is a human face and amazing story in Fr. Mychal's life and death. An everyday hero who has come to symbolize so much of what is good about so many people.

From Wikipedia:

Upon hearing the news that the World Trade Center had been hit, Father Judge rushed to the site. He was met by the Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, who asked him to pray for the city and its victims. Judge administered the Last Rites to some lying on the streets, then entered the lobby of the World Trade Center North Tower, where an emergency command post was organized. There he continued offering aid and prayers for the rescuers, the injured and dead.

When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 am, debris went flying through the North Tower lobby, killing many inside, including Judge. At the moment he was struck in the head and killed, Judge was repeatedly praying aloud, "Jesus, please end this right now! God, please end this!", according to Judge's biographer and New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly.

Shortly after his death, a NYPD lieutenant, who had also been buried in the collapse, found Judge's body and assisted by two firemen and two civilian bystanders carried it out of the North Tower lobby to nearby St Peter's Church. This event was captured in the documentary film 9/11, shot by Jules and Gedeon Naudet. Shannon Stapleton, photographer from Reuters, photographed Judge's body being carried out of the rubble by five men. It became one of the most famous images related to 9/11. The Philadelphia Weekly reports the photograph is considered an American Pietà.

Mychal Judge was designated as "Victim 0001," recognized as the first official victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Other victims perished before him including air crew, passengers, and occupants of the towers, but Judge was the first certified fatality because his was the first body to be recovered and taken to the coroner.

Fr. Judge, a recovering alcoholic for the 23 years prior to 9/11, had a prayer. It has become, for me, one of those prayers that keeps me grounded in the right ways and right places:

Lord, take me where you want me to go;
Let me meet who you want me to meet;
Tell me what you want me to say, and
Keep me out of your way.

— Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M. Chaplain, New York Fire Department Copyright ©2001 Holy Name Province

The Weekend of Remembrance (1): The World Before

Fall, 1972, from Greenwich Village before the Towers were complete

As we begin this weekend of remembrance of September 11, 2001, I tried to think back to the world before 9/11. It is hard. It would be tempting to make it a nostalgic experience of how good things were. We could get on airplanes without taking our shoes off or we could accompany our friends or family to the gate or even meet them there when their plane arrived instead of having to wait by the baggage claims. But those are superficial. I think that under it all were some difficulties just waiting to happen.

First, I think we were quite insulated. Even the previous attempt at the World Trade Center did not shake us into an awareness of how vulnerable we could be. The information we have heard since 9/11 about lack of preparations, inability to cross-communicate between groups of responders, different government agencies not being willing to believe such things could happen, only proves our issues were alive and waiting.

Second, the undercurrents of much that we have seen happen were there in the midst of that insulated outlook. The Clinton Presidency had just ended and the extremes of opinions and even hatred of him and his administration among some was still palpable. The seeds had been sown by the deep and growing ideological divide started in Clinton's mid-term by Newt Gingrich et. al. The second undercurrent was the racism and "triumphalism" always just under the surface of American history. Even when not obvious, it is there as this burning fire of distrust, mistrust, and even hatred. It is a sinister force that only needs an incident like 9/11 to bring it to its worst.

Summer 1987, from Battery Park

But the third and most worrisome issue at the time, in my opinion, was the extreme "Cold War" mentality which had come to power under George W. Bush. Or even more to the point the "War Mentality" that was there and looking for a way to go to war. Violence was ready to erupt. Without the Soviet Union to kick around anymore, new enemies, new targets of our might needed to be found.

It was only a matter of time.

Yes, it is easy to look back and see these - or whatever particular issues your politics or world-view sees. When it is happening, it is out of sight. That is why these evens are so shocking, surprising, world-shattering. They are, in the end, not predictable. If it hadn't been 9/11, something else would have happened. When we are caught by surprise it is always a break in history, a jump in our personal, national, or even world narratives.

Inconveniences happen as a result. New patterns emerge. The old order has shifted. But the undercurrents were there. Many of them still are. Some are more obvious- out in the open. Others are waiting for the next unpredictable event.

In The Olden Day

From a 1953 slide, scanned into digital.

40 Years old. Today she would be 98.

How time flies.

She Says It So Well

Chonda Pierce is a Christian comedian who uses her comedy and personality to make a difference and pull you into a different way of thinking. (Actually, that's what any good comedy should do!)

Here are both parts of her story of "Rehab and Recovery" which are about what the church is to be, more than they are about the specifics of her depression. She is a gutsy lady and stops us in our tracks.

A 40-Year Memory: Riots Behind Walls

September 9 (– September 13) – Attica Prison riots: – A revolt breaks out at the maximum-security prison in Attica, New York. In the end, state police and the United States National Guard storm the facility; 42 are killed, 10 of them hostages.

Post # 4200

That's a lot of words since March of 2003 when this wandering blog began. I have no idea how many people really read this since things like Google Reader don't show up. I know a few of you who have sent me notes from time to time via comments. But I continue the discipline in spite of such lack of knowledge

because it's still fun.

Oh, sure. There are days when I don't feel like writing anything- but you know- there are lots of interesting things out there that I can point to. At least I keep the pressure on myself low and just keep chugging away.

So, as I pass # 4,200 with this post, it's onward.

Drop me a line sometime. Not too often, just enough to let me know you are still there.

Thanks.

Busy As A...

Had some opportunities to snap some pics of some bees busy at their late summer work. This first one was with a telephoto and a close-up lens. It doesn't get sharp, which really helped with the colors and textures, I think.

Then, the one above and the two below are of the same bee flying around gathering pollen from a bunch of the flowers. 

I just kept shooting and knew I would find some that were fun.

Back to Work

Well, after a little more than three weeks off on medical leave for a back surgery, it was back to work today. Over the last three weeks I

• Started and finished seven books
• Finished three other books that were hanging around
• Took naps almost every day
• Walked at least 15 minutes every day (usually 20-25) for most of the last 2+ weeks
• Didn't watch any movies I had planned on catching up with
• Sat on the balcony and read and took pictures of Eagles and Herons
• Have maintained my weight-loss regimen and did not gain any of the 20 pounds back
• Took it easy

The surgery itself, the second of its kind I have had in the past 2 1/2 years went very well. There was more pain than the previous with a day longer stay in the hospital and a day or so longer in using pain meds. But little if any of the previous surgeries difficulties (sleeplessness, for example, and continued pain in the lower back from the surgery) showed up.

I am grateful, as always, for the support of people around me and at work. I am grateful that people prayed for me and sent me cards. I know that a lot of things go into a successful surgery and recuperation and I have been blessed with many of those.

I have learned for myself something I "knew" but didn't really KNOW. When one is in better physical shape, recovery can be easier. I have been on a consistent daily regimen of working out for over a year and a half. I started a physical fitness and diet regime two months prior to surgery. I have no doubt about the positive impact all that had on my recovery these past three weeks.

Healing has many aspects to it. I am convinced that in each of our own lives, we have to be actively involved in our own daily recovery. That's what health and healing is all about. I am convinced that God wants us as partners in our own healing. That may be at the heart of Jesus' question to the man at the pool, "Do you want to be healed?"

While the answer may seem obvious, unless we go along with our healing and God's will, not much can come of it.

So, I am back on the healthy track. More surgery will follow, perhaps no later than this winter on some of the other back issues that are still hanging around. Until then, again, THANKS for all your thoughts and prayers.

A 25-Year Memory: Movement of History

September 7- Desmond Tutu becomes the first black Anglican Church bishop in South Africa.

A 20-Year Memory: The March of History

September 6-

• The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states.
• The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia's second-largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.

A Farewell to Summer

I posted a couple surreal pictures from Target Field a week or so ago. It has been a disappointing season in the Twin Cities. The "Twinkies" of old seem to have returned. It was a year best described by "DL"- disabled list. As of today only 2, yes, 2 Twins batters qualify for batting average with enough plate appearances. TWO- Valencia and Cuddyer.

As far as pitching, only Pavano, Duensing, and Blackburn have enough innings pitched to qualify. Starters have hardly stayed in the game long enough to be credited with the loss.

In short, it has been a disaster of a year.

Then, as September loomed, people moved. Like Delmon Young, to the Tigers and Jim Thome back to the Indians.

Young at 1st base against the Red Sox

Thome swinging away against the Red Sox.

After today's game, there are only 20 games left in a season that we all hoped would be a BIG one. But I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan and a Phillies Phan and a Brewers Fan in the past. Waiting until next year has been a constant state of mind. Hey, I was even a Packer fan in those very lean, pre-Favre/Rodgers years.

I have one more game to go to in a couple weeks. I will celebrate another summer of fun at Target Field with a friend and then put things away by the Hot Stove for the winter.

There is always next year!

So, as we head into these last weeks, I guess I will look to these teams to bring me some more enjoyment:

• Cleveland Indians- just for Jim Thome's sake. It would be nice for the guy, but I don't think it will happen.
• Milwaukee Brewers- My overall second team and #1 NL team at this point. What a great season they are having and would look even better in a World Series. (A Super Bowl and the World Series in the same year? Not a bad idea, Wisconsin.) I lean to the Brew Crew since they have never won a Series as the Brewers and were only in one in 1982. Before that- the Braves in 1957- gave Milwaukee their only World Series Championship.
• Philadelphia Phillies- Most likely to get into and win the Series.  But the Phillies would make my October look good, too.

Oh, and of course,

Go, Pack, Go.

Which is Thursday evening right after Mr. President.

Labor Day 2011

In this year that began in Wisconsin with the tearing apart of collective bargaining, Labor Day has a special meaning it hasn't had to deal with in a long time. Here's some history:

The first Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York. It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. The September date originally chosen by the CLU of New York and observed by many of the nation's trade unions for the past several years was selected rather than the more widespread International Workers' Day because Cleveland was concerned that observance of the latter would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair, which it had been observed to commemorate. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territories have made it a statutory holiday.
--Wikipedia

I find it hard to understand how unions have become demonized again. Most union workers are the heart and soul of the American workforce. But unions are in the midst of hard times. Perhaps we need to remember where this all came from and why.

Here are Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie celebrating:

What About These Don't We Understand

Yesterday's Moravian Daily Texts jumped off the page at me when I read them last evening:

Isaiah 10:1-2 New International Version (NIV)

1 Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.

Philippians 2:3-4 New International Version (NIV)

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Doesn't leave much doubt on where God might stand on some of the more controversial issues of the day or about how God's definition of "justice" might be a whole lot different than what we may say.

So Close

The trees reflected in the river -- they are unconscious
of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

End of Summertime

As we come to the last "unofficial" weekend of summer, what better way that one of the great renditions of an even greater (immortal) song. Here is Janis Joplin from a concert in Stockholm in April 1969. I saw her at Atlantic City a few months later, two weeks before Woodstock- and this song was the highlight for me. Joplin at her musical best.





As an end-of-summer two-for-one here's Charlie Parker doing his version. So many versions, so little time. (Look for Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, too. A never ending stream of wonders.) Parker brings such a depth of sensual spirit that it's impossible not to be engaged by the music.

A Family Portrait

This image of Earth (on the left) and the moon (on the right) was taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft on Aug. 26, 2011, when the spacecraft was about 6 million miles (9.66 million kilometers) away. It was taken by the spacecraft's onboard camera, JunoCam. The solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 5 to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI 

Jupiter-Bound Space Probe Captures Earth And Moon - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

It Doesn't Seem Like Much of a Choice

On the one hand: The Republican Debate
On the other hand: NFL Opening Game - The Packers

I guess the President would rather have the State of Wisconsin mad at him than the Republicans.

I wasn't going to watch any of it anyway.

Go Pack.

Not a "Small" Storm After All

Here we are on Thursday and the aftermath of Irene is still being felt. Here from News 12 New Jersey is a video from a helicopter fly-over of Paterson being devastated by the Passaic River. My wife's family used to live in that area and I know some of it a little bit. When they said it was to be an history-making storm, they weren't kidding.