The Peaceable Kingdom

Years later, Alyssa encounters the Wolf Trap Wolf

As Alyssa tells it, When I was little, my mom wanted to take us to a music festival at Wolf Trap. Being terrified of wolves, I was not interested. She even called Wolf Trap so they could tell me there were no wolves there. One of the first acts was "Peter and the Wolf," complete with man in wolf costume. My dad said I climbed up him and screamed for a long time. I did not go back to Wolf Trap for 25 years. Good parenting, mom and dad. 

There's a little more to this story.  We could not figure out why Alyssa was so terrified (before the appearance of the person in the wolf costume prancing down the aisle) the whole time we were there.  Much, much later we found out that her sister was whispering to her in the back seat on the way over that we were lying about the wolves, that they were lurking in the woods at Wolf Trap, and they had a special taste for little girls her age.  Sisterly affection is a wonderful thing.

Eventually, of course, Alyssa overcame her fear of wolves, and this story is now part of family lore.  When she sent the picture of her and the wolf, she also wrote when I asked her what she was there for,  I was there to conquer my childhood fears. AND I DID. I think she was only being half jocular. Facing and overcoming childhood fears occupies us all and takes so much courage (I am still afraid of snakes). 

I was also thinking of this experience in conjunction with the passage from Isaiah 11 sometimes called "The Peaceable Kingdom":  

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 

This passage was the basis for American artist Edward Hicks' painting depicting the events described there.  Hicks actually painted hundreds of versions during his lifetime.

It is also the basis for a beautiful anthem with words by the late J. Paul Williams and music by Anna Laura Page.  Becky directed it during our choir tour in Germany and France. I found it particularly poignant to sing it while looking out over the grave markers at the American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

In the holy mountain of the Lord
all war and strife will cease.
In the holy mountain of the Lord
creation will be at peace.

The leopard and goat will graze,

The lion will feed on straw,

They will war no more,

A child shall lead them all.

 

(A video of the European Tour Choir singing “Creation Will Be at Peace” at Heidelberg Cathedral may be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manassas-Chorale/116265852717.)

And one final picture.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but in this life, fears are overcome, there is forgiveness and there is peace. A child, even an adult child, shall lead them indeed.

More Top Ten Places to Visit

The top ten list of places to visit has become more like the top thirty places to visit in the D.C. area, but the suggestions from faithful blog readers are too good to pass up. Here they are:

From Nick Pegram, who knows all about Richmond:

Since you will be spending the night at the Jefferson, you might want to visit the Edgar Allen Poe museum, St. John's Church, St. Paul's Church (across from the state capitol), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Dooley Mansion (a Victorian at Maymont Park), the Valentine Museum, and the White House of the Confederacy. Before leaving take a ride down Monument Avenue that includes statues of famous war heroes, Arthur Ashe, and other people of note. Now that I look back at the list you might want to book two nights at the Jefferson. 

I thought of a few more:

For Mary McElveen, who is from Baltimore, the Inner Harbor, the Baltimore Aquarium, and Camden Yards baseball stadium. Closer to home, I'll add Nationals Park and Washington Cathedral.

Miracle on Sudley Road

I know most of us think of miracles as involving angels and rescues, close escapes from danger, or the curing of hopeless diseases.  I think miracles like these still occur, but there's one miracle that takes place involving group of children and adults who come together mornings during a week in late July or early August.  What they do and what they accomplish is truly miraculous.

I'm talking about Summer Music Camp at Manassas Baptist Church, now in its twenty-fourth year, directed by my wife, Becky Verner.  This year there are about ninety campers and forty-two faculty members. During the week the children learn a musical which they will perform memorized, complete with choreography and drama.  There is Musikgarten for ages four through kindergarten involving 30 children.  Students in grades one through six also experience crafts, puppets, choreography, hand chimes, drama, and instrument demonstrations from a variety of musicians. This year the instruments included oboe, clarinet, a flute, trombone, trumpet, saxophone and bassoon.

The people who work in this camp, year after year and decade after decade, are a joy to watch.  Becky has led state-level children's choirs and teaches in the Baptist state music camp. She works magic with groups of children. Bruce Snyder, a retired Prince William G/T teacher, shares his directing and drama insights with a group of students. Kathi Crowder works out engaging and memorable choreography with the children. Sue Ellen Kinser leads the Musikgarten class. These are only four of dozens of adults who share their gifts of working with children and teaching them not only about music but also about cooperation and hard work. Their love for their charges is manifestly evident.

The faculty this year included Cheryl Bolt, Connor Bolt, Jeremy Bolt, Trey Boltz, Susan Briscoe, Taylor Briscoe, Jen Crowder, Kathi Crowder, Amandia Daigneault, Marie Egeland, Katina Gerstein, Joanne Gonzalez, Callie Hazlett, Kimberley Hill, Michael Hill, Sue Ellen Kinser, Onie Libeau, Jean Carol Nelson, Glenna Ohlms, Caden Palmer, Joy Peters, Aaron Pritchard, Pat Quinones, Amani Redic, Bridget Rose, Kristen Rose, Pam Rose, Sarah Scott, Bruce Snyder, Michelle Taylor, Norma Thompson, Amy Verner, Becky Verner, Mettie Wallace.

Other people involved with the camp were some Week of Hope participants, Curtis Bueno, John Button, Joshua Pankey, Mike Varnadore, Meryl Franck, Lois Thorpe, Michelle Taylor, Marge Danner, Kimberley Hill, Mary Staggs, Michelle Taylor, Judy Miller, Joy Morgan, camper parents, grandparents, friends and relatives, the MBC Ministry Team, support staff, and custodial staff.  It takes a village to work a miracle. 

The final program in which the campers show what they've learned is tonight at 7:30 PM in the sanctuary of Manassas Baptist Church, 8800 Sudley Road, Manassas VA.  They will perform the musical Heroes of the Faith. If you have the opportunity, come witness a miracle taking place.

Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off—or Not

If you want to have some fun today, sing the Gershwin song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” without pronouncing the key words differently.  The song is supposed to be sung,

You like potayto and I like potahto
You like tomayto and I like tomahto
Potayto, potahto,
Tomayto, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off!

Imagine the hilarity if you sang,

You like potayto and I like potayto
You like tomayto and I like tomayto
Potayto, potayto,
Tomayto, tomayto.
Let's call the whole thing off!

People will be ROTFL!

I was thinking about the Gershwins the other day and their enormous contribution to American music.  George died at a young age, but together with his lyricist brother Ira they produced some of the finest music anywhere.  In my humble un-music schooled opinion.

I got to know more about the music of the Gershwins from a Michael Feinstein CD entitled Pure Gershwin. We first had the collection as an LP about the time Alyssa was eight. We listened to it so much she was probably the only child her age who could sing from memory “Embraceable You” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.”  I would have to say that “Our Love Is Here to Say” on that album is my favorite song ever.  What an amazing and beautiful melody and lyrics!

It's very clear
Our love is here to stay
Not for a year, but ever and a day

The radio
And the telephone
And the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go

But oh my dear
Our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long long way

In time the Rockies may crumble
Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay…

We acquired a CD of the Feinstein collection at some point but it has disappeared.  I went to buy another one and found that they are selling new on Amazon for between  $150 and $272! A musical rarity.

We heard Michael Feinstein at Wolf Trap a few years ago and were pleased and amazed that his voice, serviceable at best on the album, had improved wonderfully.  He might have taken voice lessons (Judy Collins did, after she was successfully established as a singer).

In any case, I am thankful today for the gift of so many wonderful songs from two talented brothers. Give them a listen. I think you’ll be pleased.

Houses Built on Sand and Silver Linings

If you've been following these posts the past few days, you know that Monday night I discovered that the condensate from the HVAC drain had seeped under a partition and soaked an area rug in a storage area. I used the wet-dry vac on the carpet and then cut it into pieces to take it out since the sodden carpet was too heavy to lift in one piece. There was about a foot wide piece I left since it ran under a couple of seven-foot tall bookcases loaded with books and a couple of four-drawer files cabinets loaded with files.

I went downstairs Tuesday evening to move the bookcases and file cabinets and take the last of the carpet out. I thought about unloading the bookcases before I moved them.  I decided I could move them without unloading them.

At this point I am reminded of the parable of the wise and foolish builders from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 7:24-27:  (ASV) Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.

Put me down for a foolish man in trying to move a fully loaded bookcase. I moved one off the carpet with success and started on the other one.  The interior shelves were held by those  thin metal clips, one of which broke under the stress of being shifted.  The shelf (and books) fell onto the shelf and books below it and the next and the next.  There was a cascade of books pouring out of the bookcase.  I had two thoughts: It's raining books and "great was the fall thereof." Even though I don't move as quickly as I used to, I leaped out of the way of the torrent of hard- and paperbacks with considerable alacrity.

I think I said that the silver lining in taking up the carpet was finding a dulcimer neck to a kit I had lost track of.  In this case, the silver lining was going through all the fallen books, some of which I had forgotten I owned.  I listened over the radio to the Nats pound the Braves and stacked books for an hour.

In spite of the fall, it was enjoyable.  Sometimes even a foolish man lucks out.

Fire and Flood

If you've been following these entries, you might remember that I wrote about the condensate drain on our air conditioner backing up a bit and my adventures with the wet-dry vacuum.  Well, not so fast, there, Sparky.  On the other side of a partition is a storage space where I have a lot of books and where we, well, store things.  I went into the room last night about 8 PM to look for a book and noticed the area rug was decidedly squishy.  I didn't have a bit of water, I had a lot of water.  Fortunately the carpet absorbed a lot of it and kept it from spreading. Unfortunately there was a lot of stuff sitting on the carpet which I had to move.  Then I cut the carpet up since it was too heavy to carry out and stuffed it in plastic bags.  I used our friend the wet-dry vac to take up most of the water and set a fan on it overnight.  This morning the area is completely dry.

Obviously I wasn't too happy about the situation, having to labor late into the evening. I found that condensate drains have a tendency to clog and the cure is either to snake them out or vacuum them out before they clog completely.  Mea culpa for not doing so.

Earlier that afternoon, Alyssa sent me an email about an unfortunate family in her neighborhood:

There was apparently a huge house fire in Stone Ridge last night.  All of the people and animals got out okay, but the kids are 9 and 11, and the dad passed away unexpectedly last year.  Poor children.  The HOA is already organizing a walk to benefit the family, and they are staying with relatives locally.  So sad.  In the meantime, they have asked for gift cards, so I think I'll pick one up on my way home and drop it off at the HOA office.  The nice thing is that Stone Ridge is a good community, so I think they'll get lots of assistance.

And later,

One of the neighbors was collecting donations tonight after the HOA office was closed, so I took a card and a check over.  I didn't realize I'd walk by the actual house--it was awful.  You could smell the burnt smell from streets away.  The neighbor said that the outpouring of support has been incredible--they have raised several thousand dollars in cash and several thousand in gift cards, plus a huge room full of new clothes, so that's good.  It's nice to think that if this happened to me or to any of the neighbors, the community would be supportive. If only Anne Bradstreet had something to say about this...*


And finally,

I did get the ages of the kids wrong--they are 12 and 17.  They both play sports, so people have also asked about donating sports equipment, as well as video games for the little boy. :)  People have also written cards, and the kids have drawn pictures.  Very cool.

This family's situation put my little problem with water into perspective.  It also affirmed that our daughters are compassionate, insightful, thoughtful young women (Amy recently offered to help in a situation I can't write about because of privacy concerns). They've evidenced these qualities time and times again.  Their attitudes and actions would make any parent proud.  And we are. 

* Alyssa is referring to a poem by the seventeenth-century American poet Anne Bradstreet, "Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House,July 10, 1666." You may read the poem at  http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/some_verses_upon_the_burning.html

The Perverse Nature of Inanimate Objects

Did you ever feel that your appliances were conspiring against you?  No, I'm not being more paranoid than usual--it's just something I've noticed.  The refrigerator develops a buzzing noise, then the washer won't drain, and next the microwave goes up in flames, all within a couple of days. Something is afoot and it ain't your shoes (sorry).

Here's a secret: household appliances communicate with each other.  The HVAC sends a message to the oven: "It's going to be over 100 tomorrow.  I'm goin' over the wall!"  The other appliances whisper "Good luck, man," and they get the idea.  The oven door drops off.  A day later the dishwasher springs a leak all over the kitchen floor. The vacuum shoots out clouds of dust from its exhaust.

You know what I'm talking about.

I had such a day Saturday.  Four different inanimate objects busted loose.  Fortunately I was able to fix them.

The condensate line of our air conditioner runs into a drain in the floor of the basement and usually backs up a little during the summer if we've had a series of hot days.  I suppose I should have the drain enlarged, but it runs through the basement slab floor and that would be a mess. I just vacuum it up each day for about a week.  Well, it backed up and I got the wet vac out, forgetting that the last thing I used it on was a drywall sanding job.  Since the filter was full of dust, the water couldn't get through to the tank and the vac spewed water out the back, all over the furnace and me.  Fortunately, I figured out that the filter needed cleaning so I did that and I was good to go, if soaking wet.

Then I was going to the grocery store and some citizen didn't see me and pulled out in front of me from a side street.  I crammed on the brakes and tried to blow the horn and nothing happened.  When I got back from buying bananas I tried to find the location of the horn relay but it wasn't listed in the owner's manual. I looked online for an hour before I found someone who said the location diagram it was printed on the inside of the engine fuse box cover.  And it was.  There was also a page online on how to test for a bad relay so I took my twelve-volt tester out and found that, yep, it was a bad relay.  I ordered one online since no one at Advance Auto seemed to know what I was talking about. The part was $15 and shipping was $12.  Still cheaper than a mechanic (sorry, Logan).

We use some portable fans on the upper floor since the air conditioning doesn't reach as well there.  I had not used an old floor fan yet this year but I was cleaning up my study and needed a fan in there.  When I started it up it sounded geriatric, which it is.  I took it apart, cleaned it and sprayed everything with WD-40.  It wheezed and groaned when it started up but the lubricant worked its way in and it took off.

Later on, my special three-headed flashlight started acting possessed.  It came on by itself and went off by itself. That's inconvenient when you're trying to see if the condensate drain is clogged up.  I figured the flashlight had a short somewhere so I took it apart and found some of the battery contacts were corroded. I can't remember the last time I've seen corrosion on a dry cell device.  I poured some vinegar on the offending contacts (didn't have any Coke) and the flashlight returned to normal.

I hope you don't have a spate of appliance problems as I did, but if you do, I also hope they're as easily fixed as mine were!