Possession #142 - Spoon

OK...maybe a spoon is stretching things a bit. But this isn't just any ol' spoon. It was hand made by Frank Wright, a spoon craftsman. His shop is located in one of my favorite spots in the world - Lanesboro, Minnesota. His shop has none of the trappings of commercial success. It's cluttery and brimming with sawdust. All he does is make the most gorgeous spoons you've ever seen. Each one even has a name - something that the shape evokes in the eyes of the maker. This one doesn't toss my salads. It sits on a shelf in my office among other treasures. If a person can devote their life to making beautiful spoons, then maybe I can do something worthwhile and even...at times...of beauty.

Possession #141 - Panasonic Ball Radio

Having just come back from a High School reunion in which I wondered who all the old people were, I thought it appropriate to post a picture of one of the relics I still have from those days. This is my "oh so cool" Panasonic Ball Radio on which I listened to my ventures into the world of adult music. It's on this radio that I found KAAY Little Rock which broadcast "Beaker Street" late at night and which I listened to as if it were some strange exotic animal. Music was for me at times a little window into a wider world which I only saw glimpses of and which seemed both dangerous and exciting. Now, in an age of omnipresent music from multiple sources, my little ball radio is a little anchor to another exotic world of the past.

Possession #140 - Workmate 200

You gotta love the name - The Workmate 200. Even the name bristles with manly overtones. It wouldn't do to call it something like "collapsable table" or "adjustable thingamajiggy" (that's what I usually say). And it's not just the Workmate...it's the Workmate 200, clearly letting it be known that it's bigger and better than the Workmate 100, or heaven help us, the mere Workmate 2 1/2. It's clear that when using this thing you're doing something useful and important. And it wouldn't do to have a Workmate 200 in your garage if it looked like it just came out of the box. It has to look like it's been run over by a road grater and dropped from a fork lift. As it happens, my Workmate 200 is just about as handy and useful as the name implies. It's about 20 years old and so has a proper patina on it, although I wouldn't want to reveal all it's many uses over the years. They might take back the name.

Possession #139 - Desk

I'm not quite sure what to call this possession. It's the only thing I ever purchased at an auction. A nearby benedictine monastery was closing one of its buildings which they used to run as a school and I purchased one of the old desks. I got it because I spent a year in the building while participating in a program on spiritual direction. The monastery was home to a nursing facility for retired nuns and so we would worship every morning with about 50 nuns between the age of 100 - 150. It was a wonderful experience and when I had a chance to have a piece of furniture to remind me of it, I took it. Now the desk is the place where I keep a number of things which might be called "sacred" objects: A singing bowl that Jean bought for me at an international store. A fish tile that I bought at a super cool pottery store. Some prayer beads. A couple rocks from a stream at a retreat place I went to. A picture of a sculpture I like. I suppose the desk now serves as a little oasis in my office. A little reminder of things that are important to me. Others might call it a shrine or a cluttery mess. I like it.

Possession #138 - Master's Diploma

There's something a bit disturbing about being declared a "master" of anything and especially "divinity." I'm not quite sure which course it was that rendered me worthy of this educational title. Was it the course on preaching or pastoral care? Sometimes I think the seminary potluck suppers were the things that best prepared me for parish pastoring. There are plenty of studies that reveal how pastors often lag far behind their own parishioners in prayer and other spiritual disciplines. The Spiritual depth needed to lead a worshiping community is something that is simply far too complex to teach in the way that one can teach Biblical exegesis or theological argument. And yet these other things are not inconsequential to spiritual matters. Preparing a person to make the leap from knowledge to practice is the nut that schools have long wished to crack. And maybe the nuts aren't that bad anyway.

The book of Proverbs says that "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." I don't quite understand that...and maybe that's the point. Wisdom is something that you never quite grasp. It's always just beyond your outstretched arms.

Possession #137 - Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural

Abraham Lincoln delivered his 2nd inaugural address on March 4, 1865. He had to negotiate a difficult rhetorical path between many different quarreling groups within our country and even within his own political party. I keep a copy of this address on the wall of my office to inspire me to keep the peace when I'm tempted to gloat at my victories or growl in my defeats. Pictured here is the most memorable line, "...With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right..." Lincoln shows compassion and humility but is unafraid to call it like he sees it. I hope sometimes I get close to that.

Possession #136 - Puppet

So, I can't include the last puppet without having this one in here today. This is the heroine that goes along with yesterday's villain. Again, it's a modified rod puppet with moving head. The heads of both puppets were molded out of clay and then plastered with several layers of plain ol' paper mache using tissue paper. After allowing the whole thing to dry, I cut the head in half, scooped out the clay and paper mached the two halves back together after installing the equipment for the moving head which involved lots of wire and hot glue and the top of a plastic pop bottle.

My dad used to build model rail road layouts. My grandfather built grandfather clocks (hmmm appropriate). I find the long process of designing and creating a great way to focus the mind in almost a meditative manner. The physical challenge of such projects keeps my mind alert and able to ward off distractions...such as the plate of chocolate chip cookies that are calling me now. Gotta go.

Possession #135 - Puppet

Yes, another puppet. This one was the bad guy in one of my shows. He's a special rod style puppet that I designed myself. With my thumb I can manipulate his head side to side and make it nod up and down. He's an evil wizard who controls the television airwaves and so he rides around on a magic stick....isn't storytelling fun!?

You might like watching this little documentary about Indonesian rod puppets. They are used in that country to tell traditional folk stories. What story do you want to tell?

Possession #134 - Kitchen Radio

Doesn't everyone have a radio or television in the kitchen. It's rare for me to do much of anything in the kitchen without playing something in the background. In fact, right now as I post this at the kitchen table, JT is offering smooth background tunes ("you've got a friend").

It makes me think how few times I do something in silence. When some other noise doesn't invade my space, I usually create my own, be it via CD, Radio, Ipad, etc... Yet, silence is the thing that's most likely to get the brain juices going. Noise, deadens the synapses. Distraction is the enemy of peace. Silence is the friend of contemplation. Nuff said.

Possession #133 - Mr. Methuselah

Mr. Methuselah is a puppet designed for ventriloquism, but I've used it as a regular puppet. For the last couple of years he helped to host 600 Presbyterians at Synod School by being surly and an all round curmudgeonly old guy...a lot like the guy attached to the puppet. Originally I introduced him as the 6000 year old man which made him just a bit older than the 2000 year old man played classically by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner...an album which I used to have memorized! We're all getting older...so we can't help but relate! Here's to history!

Possession #132 - Another Bike

OK...so let me explain...yes, my third bike. Of course, the first one is over 25 years old. This one, about 15. I purchased it because...well, I got chicken. I hadn't ridden my road bike in awhile and so one day I got it out and went to a road on the outskirts of town and got on to get going. But I was suddenly terrified of all the traffic zipping by me without a shoulder to ride on. I packed up and headed back home. I found out that there were these things called "bike trails" that don't have car traffic. But many of them are crushed rock and best ridden on a slightly different bike than a road bike. So I got one. And it has done wonderful things for me.

Biking, like walking, and other repetitive physical activities can be deeply restorative and meditative. Anything to get the body moving and to get out of your head is wonderful. And so...before I think about this too much...I'm gonna go.

Possession #131 - Really Old Bike

This is my oldest bike which you can tell by the sticker on it that's on it from a city I haven't lived in for ... ummm...over 30 years. In college I got a 10-speed (do they even make bikes with that few of speeds anymore) which was my primary transportation. I loved tooling around the countryside on that one. Then when I left college and moved to the city, it was stolen...which necessitated this bike which has 12-speeds. Again, it saw a lot of usage and help me see a lot of countryside. I can't help but agree with this TED Talk guy who asserts that the world would be a better place if more people biked more. I'm trying to do my bit.

Possession #130 - Office books

OK...time for some more books. This time, books at my office. Taking a rough guess of all the books on the shelf, under the shelves and lying around, there are about....a gazillion books. Novels are great on my ipad or kindle, but these books I can't quite handle without having actual paper pages. These books are full of underlinings, marginalia, book marks and dog ears. At times, some of these books feel like friends. I like having them around me. Their words inspire, guide and remind me of what it is that I'm all about. Again, like so many other possessions, some of these books remind me of people, places, relationships and events. Read on!