Lectionary Ruminations for Sunday, February 27, 2011, the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Posted each Thursday, Lectionary Ruminations focuses on the Scripture Readings, taken from the New Revised Standard Version, for the following Sunday per the Revised Common Lectionary. Comments and questions are intended to encourage reflection for readers preparing to teach, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged. All lectionary links are to the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible via the PC(USA) Devotions and Readings website, but if you prefer another translation, feel free to use that instead. (Other references are linked to the NRSV via the oremus Bible Browser.) Lectionary Ruminations is also cross posted on my personal blog,

Isaiah 49:8-16a
v. 8 “Thus says the Lord” certainly leaves no doubt about whom Isaiah claims is speaking here. What is the “time of favor” and “day of salvation” being referred to? What does it mean that God has “kept” us and “given” us as a covenant to the people?

v. 9 What prisoners are being referred to? Are “the prisoners” the same as “those who are in darkness”? How can bare heights be anyone’s or anything’s pasture if it is bare?

v. 10 Is this a reference to only physical hunger and thirst? Who is the one having pity? How can springs of water serve as a guide?

v. 11 This is not mountain top removal mining being referred to here. Might this same thought be expressed by a phrase such as “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” (See Isaiah 40:3-4)

v. 12 Why might the north and south be mentioned, but not the poetic parallel east and west? Is there anything special about the land of Syene?

v. 13 How do the heavens sing and how does the earth exult? How do mountains sing? Why would the heavens and mountains sing and the earth exult because the LORD has (note the tense) comforted the LORD’s people and will have (note the tense) compassion on the Lord’sSuffering ones?

v. 14 Have you ever felt like Zion?

v. 15This is one of my favorite passages in Isaiah, alluded to by A Brief Statement of Faith line 49. What does it mean that God cannot forget us?

v. 16 So God has my name tattooed in the palms of God’s holy hands? How special!

Psalm 131
I think this might be the shortest psalm in the Psalter!

v. 1 The first two lines sound to me like a lament, but the third and fourth lines sounds more like confessions of a follow of Scottish Common Sense Philosophy.

v.2 In light of Isaiah 49:15, I cannot but help envision myself as a nursing child at the breast of a maternal God.

v. 3 What does it mean to “hope in the Lord”? (See Psalm 130:7)

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
v. 1 Who is the “us”? What does it mean to be “stewards of God’s mysteries”? What are “God’s mysteries”?

v. 2 What does it mean to “be found trustworthy?”

v. 3 Who is judging and who is being judged and for what?

v. 4 In other words, we have all committed sins we are not even aware of committing?

v. 5 So if we expect the Lord to be our judge, we should refrain from judging one another until Jesus returns and then truly allow him to be our judge? For PC(USA) Presbyterians, what does this say about the Rules of Discipline in the Book of Order?

Matthew 6:24-34
v. 24 What does this verse tell us about any Pastor trying to serve yoked churches? Oh, this is not about churches but God and wealth. Most of the wee-kirks I have served have not had much wealth, nevertheless, I think it is just as easy to worship the wealth they do not have as much as the wealth they might have.

v. 25 According to the rules of logic and rhetoric, how does “Therefore” follow from the verse preceding it? Who is speaking here? I am sorry Jesus, but in this post recessionary period of high unemployment, it is very difficult not to worry just a little. Yes, life is more than and clothing, but according to Maslow, until theses basic needs are met, it is difficult to focus on needs further up the hierarchy.

v.26 Yes, I think that to God I am more valuable than a bird, but as a teenager I also read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Quoting from THE SPARROW “Not a sparrow falls to the ground without your heavenly father’s knowledge; but the sparrow still falls.” (See Luke 10:29-30)

v. 27 Most Medical Doctors and Psychologists would probably argue that we actually subtract hours from our life by excessive worrying.

v. 28 But I and the people I am responsible for are not lilies.

v. 29 True, lilies in the field appear more glorious than Solomon or any fashion model, but Solomon could afford a great wardrobe and fashion models can afford Botox, cosmetic surgery, personal trainers, and to afford a wardrobe most of us could never hope to afford.

v. 30 I am glad St. Patrick’s Day is not too far away, because it sounds like I am going to be wearing green.

v. 33 If I strive first for the kingdom of God, can I still strive second for these other things?

v.34 Perhaps the Lord’s Prayer “give us this day our daily bread” and the story about daily manna can be instructive here. Frankly, today’s troubles are more than enough for today. I would like to put off some of them until tomorrow so that I do not have to worry about them until tomorrow.

ADDENDUM
I have specifically invited the congregation I serve at North Church Queens to read these ruminations before worship, as they may form the bulk of my Sermon, entitled “Lectionary Ruminations”. I will copy these ruminations and distribute them to worshipers before worship.

A Snowy Presidents Day

Presdients Day morning snow
in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC

A few days after most of the “Day after Christmas Storm” and snow falls following had melted, thanks to a recent high in Central Park of 67, New Yorkers awoke to yet another snow this Presidents Day morning. As I walked Myrrhlyn around the block around 7:30 am, there were sidewalks that were hardly any snow had accumulated and sidewalks where an inch or more had already piled up and made walking treacherous. Up to two inches, or more, had already accumulated on tops of cars and anything else elevated above the warm ground, like the tables and plastic chairs in our back yard.

Here is the NY1 Weather Update posted on twitter about 6:00 AM this morning, just an hour and half before our morning walk.

“Snow ends around noon time. 2 to 4" expected. High: 38. Tonight:Snow showers/22.Tue: Windy/Partly cloudy.31. Wed: Dry/40”

While NY1 predicted 2-4 inches, other forecasters have predicted 3-5 inches, with perhaps more accumulations to the north and west of the City. Eventually, the snow, which is still falling at 8:30 am, is to change over to a wintery mix by later this afternoon.

Could Punutawney Phil have been wrong? Maybe Spring was just not as near as we expected, and hoped.

Prayer for Scientists and People of Faith on the occasion of Evolution Weekend

This is Evolution Weekend. I searched the internet, hoping I would find a suitable prayer for scientists and people of faith to use in Worship on Sunday, but did not find anything I found acceptable. Here is what I ended up writing, borrowing a key phrase from The Clergy Letter Project Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science.

God of mystery,
you have given us hearts to be warmed by your Spirit
and minds to be enlightened by your knowledge.
May all people of faith come to believe
that the timeless truths of the Bible
and the discoveries of modern science
may comfortably coexist.
And may scientists of all scientific disciplines,
learn that not all people of faith are luddites, creationists, or believe in a flat earth,
but warmly embrace foundational scientific truths
as complimentary of, rather than obstacles to, their faith.
Amen.

A Momentous Day I was Proud to be a New York Presbyterian

It is not every day that Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  Ministers and Elders get to vote of amending our church’s confessional documents. In fact, the opportunity has presented itself only three times in the past twenty-eight years. In 1991 we added A Brief Statement of Faith—Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to our Book of Confessions.  In 1999 we amended the language of the Nicene Creed to reflect a growing ecumenical consensus concerning its liturgical use.

Ministers and Elders of the PC(USA) are now considering whether or not to amend the Book of Confessions by adding the Confession of Belhar.  To do so would require that two thirds of the presbyteries concur with the amendment. So far, the voting is close, hovering around that two-thirds mark.

The Confession of Belhar was born in 1982 in the midst of apartheid. The confession, named after a suburb of Cape Town, was not so much the Dutch Reformed Mission Church’s response to apartheid but to the heretical theology that buttressed it.

The confessional bravery and theological astuteness of those who drafted and adopted the Belhar Confession, and the confession itself, have both challenged and encouraged Christians around the world. If the PC(USA) adopts this confession, it would be the first, and the only one out of eleven other confessional statements in the Book of Confessions, from the Southern Hemisphere.

I think the PC(USA) should adopt it. With our nation’s history of slavery and Jim Crow, and the Presbyterian history of splitting along Union and Confederate lines at the time of the Civil War, the Confession of Belhar forces us to confront our past. With our nation’s current debate around issues of race, including issues of immigration, and the appearance that Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America, the Confession of Belhar ca help us examine present practices and behavior.

New York City Presbytery, of which I am a Minister member, considered and voted on adding the Confession of Belhar to the Book of Confessions at its most recent meeting, held January 25, 2011. I experienced a heightened sense of the historic importance of what we were doing as we debated the issue. The hairs on the back of my neck were about to rise as the momentous nature of the vote sunk into my consciousness.

The vote was not at all close. The “yeas” were 96. The “nays” were 0, zip, nada. The Presbytery of New York City had voted unanimously to concur with adding the Confession of Belhar to the Book of Confessions! The sanctuary where we were meeting erupted with applause as the result of the vote was announced.

I am not always proud of what we New York City Presbyterians do and do not do in our presbytery meetings, but on this occasion, I was most proud of my colleagues in Ministry. I hope that by the time all the presbyteries vote, I will be as proud to be a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as I was proud to be a member of New York City Presbytery on January 25, 2011.

Going Coastal New York City

Coverof the Second Edition

For me, one of the highlights of the 2011 New York Boat Show was meeting Barbara La Rocco, president and founder of Going Coastal, Inc. and author of Going Coastal New York City, the definitive Urban Waterfront Guide for the Big Apple.

When my wife and I moved to new York City three and a half years ago, one of the first local guide books my wife purchased was the first edition of Going Coastal New York City. The only problem with the guide was that, at the time, we did not know enough about our local ecological and political geography to take full advantage of it. We were still learning our way around our immediate neighborhood and how to negotiate the subway system. We had yet to broaden our excursions or explore the larger area, including the coast.

Three and a half years later, including kayaking and sailing on the Hudson and Jamaica Bay as well as kayaking on the East River, we have started to learn our way around the Big Apple. We know, however, that there is a lot more to learn about and explore. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that we had a copy of the First Edition of Going Coastal New York City in our library because it would have been a good resource to help us expand our exploration and learning.

I forget what drew my interest to the Going Coastal booth at the 2011 New York Show, but something about the booth compelled me to take a closer look and strike up a conversation with the person in the booth. That person was Barbara La Rocco. As we talked, I learned that we know many of the same people, especially those associated with the Sebago Canoe Club, of which my wife and I are members. Barbara and I talked about kayaking, sailing, and pump out stations. I also asked her that if I bought a copy of the Second Edition of her book (not realizing that we already had a copy of the First Edition) if she would sign it. She said yes. I did and she did.



Barbara and me
at the 2011 New York Boat Show

I started browsing through this little 281-page guide while riding the subway on the way home and was impressed by its content. I learned that the “Paerdegat” in Paerdegat Basin, where my wife and I usually launch our kayaks, means “horse gate” in Dutch. We have been paddling in Paerdegat Basin for nearly three years and never knew the etymology of the name. Now we know. Thanks, Barb.

Now that I better know my way around New York City, including many of its waterways and coastal areas, I think Going Coastal New York City will be a more valuable guide, telling me things I did not know about places I have already been and directing me to new places to explore and enjoy.

After having purchased the Second Edition, and having discovered the First Edition in our library and comparing the two editions, I think the Second Edition is a vast improvement. The First Edition was printed in only black and white. The second edition is printed in black, blue and white, blue being used primarily to designate water areas on the numerous maps. As a result of the introduction of blue ink and a different font, I find Second Edition more eye appealing and inviting.

The Second Edition of Going Coastal New York City is an invaluable resource for any New Yorker, new or longtime resident, wanting to learn more about the sixth borough, the water around New York. I highly recommend it. With six years between editions, the Second Edition contains enough updated material to justify its purchase even if you already own the First Edition.

New York City Ice Storm

Ice Covered Tree in Ridgewood
Tuesday night

"Notification issued 2/2/11 at 4:20 AM. The National Weather Service has issued an Ice Storm Warning for New York City until 9:00 AM this morning. Freezing rain mixed with sleet will continue through mid-morning bringing a total of 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of ice accumulations. Exercise extreme caution when traveling."

I did not need this Notify NYC email this morning to tell me that it was nasty out there. Last night, while walking the dog, we were both slip sliding along as we made our way around the block. At least once, I had a firm footing but Myrrhlyn, did not, and looked like Astro on his treadmill, moving his legs but not going anywhere as his paws slid across the ice. Another time Myrrhlyn had the secure footing (or pawing) while I was on an icy patch. He simply pulled me along as I slid across the ice.

Ice covered branch in Ridgewood
Wednesday morning

The trees along our walk last night, encrusted with a film of ice and silhouetted by streetlights behind them, took on an eerie translucent glow, reminding me of the “Crystalline Entity” from a Star Trek Next Generation episode.

This morning the ice was a little thicker, but also more brittle and granular. Sometimes I broke through it to the sidewalk below. The mounds of snow, left over from three previous storms, were a different story. Myrrhlyn loves to climb on these snow mounds. Whereas his paws used to break through, the mounds sometimes engulfing him to near chest level, this morning he was able to walk on top of them, the thin layer or ice and crust supporting his sixty pounds.

I have experienced far worse ice storms while I was living in the Appalachian Mountains, but we usually received one or two a year and were used to coping with them. This is my third winter in New York City but my first Big Apple Ice Storm. New Yorkers seem to be coping well, as we do with most things.  On the other hand, on this Gound Hog's day, I am ready for Spring.

About the February 2011 Header Photo

I am suffering from Alpine Withdraw, not having been to the mountains, let alone a summit, for far too long. That means my catalog of digital summit photos has all but been exhausted. Therefore, this month’s header photo features a fake summit but a summit never the less.

Soon after moving into our present home, I purchased and bolted to the wall above the door in my office/study a Metolius Training Board. Let me explain Training Boards for my non-climbing readers.

Training Boards are a passive exercises/training device climbers use to build arm, hand, wrist and finger strength. Constructed out of rosin that simulates the feel of rock, Training Boards are an excellent way to get and stay pumped at home with only ten minutes of exercise a day. A training Board is the next best thing to a simulated rock wall.

Since I did not want to be staring at a blank wall while I hung and pulled on my training board, I mounted a poster size image of a mountain in an alpine setting on the wall behind the Training Board. Although they do not appear in this cropped photo, draped across the top of the poster is a short strip of Tibetan Prayer Flags.
The Metolius Training Board above my door is my summit away from the summit, a reminder of past adventures and a call to future ones.

Another New York City Snow

Snow covered street in the Queens
neighborhood of Ridgewood

A week ago, the weather prognosticators were predicting what could be a major winter storm for the Northeast, but they were not predicting any snowfall totals. A few days ago, the forecasters started talking about 3-6 inches. A little later, the predicted snowfall increased to 4-8 inches, then 8-10 inches, and finally up to a foot.

It was supposed to start snowing in New York City yesterday around 10:00 AM. By 9:45 AM there was already an inch on the ground. The predicted change from snow to rain never occurred. There was a little sleet, and very wet, heavy snow, but no rain. By late evening, there was already several inches of snow on the ground with more and heavier snow expected overnight. It was snowing so heavily in the late evening that by the time I finished clearing the small sidewalk in front of our house, another half an inch had already accumulated on what I had already cleared.

As I walked our dog last evening, the wet, wind driven snow stung my face at times. There were places were the sidewalk was almost bare and other places where the snow had drifted to over a foot deep or more. Snow and ice was clinging to the windows and screens of the house, having been blown there by the wind.

When I woke up this morning, it had finally stopped snowing and blowing. Nineteen inches of new snow reportedly fell in Central Park. The MTA curtailed bus service. The City closed the schools. Parking Meter and Alternate Side Parking were both suspended. When I walked our dog this morning, I walked him three quarters of the way around the block by walking down the middle of the streets, as no traffic was moving on the side streets that had yet been plowed.

New Yorkers are now digging out, piling snow even higher on the snow mounds left over from the storm the day after Christmas. The sun has come out this afternoon and the temperature is now above freezing, melting the thin layers of ice, snow and slush left behind by plows and shovels. Parking, however, is still a bit of a problem. Some cars have been plowed in and their owners are just now starting to dig them out.

Later in the morning, I measured the snow depth on our back porch at 14 inches. Some of that was old snow left over from the day after Christmas storm, however. With the new snow being so wet and heavy, it probably compacted as it fell and had already settled some by the time I measured it.

The 2011 New York Boat Show

View of the 2011 New York Boat Show
from the aft deck of a Meridian 341 Sedan

Last Saturday, my wife and I visited the 2011 New York Boat Show. It was our first Boat show and the first time we have been to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

As boat shows go, the 2011 NY show must have been a power boater’s dream. Since we are not power boaters, however, it was, for us, a nice way to spend a cold afternoon indoors.

For the past ten years, we have been kayakers. Six months ago, we also became sailors, learning how to sail on a J-24. We have since been perfecting our skills on a 1983 C&C 24. Thus, we did not go to the show as neophytes, nor intending to buy a boat. While there were enough kayaks and small sailboats at the show to keep us interested, there were more than enough boat related and water sport related vendors to justify the $12 admission price.

One of the highlights of the show for me was the opportunity to reconnect and say hello to U.S.C.G. Licensed Master Captain Kevin Ivany. Captain Ivany was my instructor for the New York Safe Boating Course I took last August. He was at the show to help staff the Safe Boating America booth.

A second highlight was meeting Barbara La Rocco, author of Going Coastal New York City: Urban Waterfront Guide. I’ll say more about Barbara and her book in a later post.

A third highlight was visiting the Mount Gay Rum booth, where we were able to sample three different rum drinks. Even though I was nursing a sore throat and head cold and my wife was nursing a sinus infection, we both left the Mount Gay Rum booth feeling a bit better after the tasting. Each of us also received a tube of SPF 15 Mountain Gay Rum lip balm. Unfortunately, the lip balm is not rum flavored.

By far, however, the biggest highlight of the day for me was stopping by the Q104.3 table, where I registered to win a prize. Along with New York Public radio WNYC 93.9, Q104.3 is one of my favorite radio stations. Since I prefer Classic Rock to most other genres and regularly listen to Q104.3 when not listening to NPR, I did not feel at all guilty about registering. About an hour later, while I was still at the show, I received a phone call from one of the representatives at the Q104.3 table. The person called to tell me I won two lift tickets to Hunter Mountain and a $50 gas card, and to return to the table to claim my prize. When I arrived back at the table, I learned that I was the first of fifteen winners picked to have a chance at drawing an envelope from among fifteen that contained $5,000. I drew a random envelope but did not win the $5,000. I was still a winner, however, walking away with the lift tickets and the gas card.

Because I thought we could not really go to the show without boarding and touring at least one power boat, we stood in line to take a closer look at a Meridian 341 Sedan. With a LOA of 35’10”, this is the smallest yacht in the Meridian line, but it is still a yacht, selling for more than most small starter homes. Yes, I would love to be on the water in this beauty, but there is no way I could afford to fill up the 250 gallon fuel tank, let alone pay the purchase price.

Having spent about four hours at the show, we left with a bag full of small purchases as well as free decals, floating key chains, product brochures and safety information. I am already looking forward to the 2012 show.

y=mx+b

Perhaps you recognize the above slope-intercept form of a linear equation, where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept, from high school Algebra. The math I learned in high school Algebra and other high school and college math, although those courses were over thirty years ago, is quickly returning to my dura mater as I tutor high school English Language Arts, Integrated Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2/Trigonometry.

To supplement my part-time income, I started tutoring part-time a few months ago. I tutor students in their home, two to three hours per session. I am currently tutoring two students. I am tutoring a ninth grader in English Language Arts and Algebra and an eleventh grader in English Language Arts, Geometry, and Algebra 2/Trigonometry.

I find tutoring personally rewarding. I confess that I experience a bit of a rush when I witness one of my students understand, for the first time, a difficult or complex idea. I feel satisfied when I observe one of them complete a writing assignment or math problem without my assistance. I am proud when they demonstrate proficiency.

Tutoring English Language Arts has been a no brainer. My education has been very language based, including the study of Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek, reading countless pages of Church History and Theology, and writing too many papers to remember, including a Doctor of Ministry Paper. My practice of ministry has included writing weekly sermons, monthly newsletter articles, and various types of correspondence.

Tutoring math, on the other hand, has taken a bit of review. For the past twenty-five years, I have not used much math in the practice of my ministry. There is the occasional budget, or calculating how much paint or carpet is needed to refurbish a room, but little call for linear equations. I confess that I have had to engage in a bit of review to stay a step ahead of my students. As I have reviewed, however, I have been amazed how much of what I learned over thirty years ago is quickly coming back.

Ever since I took Algebra in eighth grade, I have loved and excelled in math, and in high school also loved and excelled in Chemistry and Physics. I left math and the sciences behind, however, to pursue ministry. Sometimes I regret that decision.

Ministry is almost entirely a shade of gray, so nuanced that we may do well or poorly but never completely succeed or fail. Math, on the other hand, is primarily black and white. While there may be more than one way to solve a complex problem, almost every problem has an answer, and that answer is either right or wrong.

Even though math is somewhat an exact science, there is enough mystical beauty and symmetry in it to partially feed my desire for transcendence. From the distribution of twin primes, to the irrational value of pi and phi, to the Fibonacci sequence, I see enough of the awesome complexity and order of nature displayed in math to convince me that there is a higher and deeper dimension to our world that I experience as divinity.

Before and After the 6 ½ Inches



The forecast was calling for 23 hour storm that could dump 7-14 inches of snow on New York City. Here is the statement issued by the national Weather Service.

 The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for New York City from 7:00 PM Tuesday until 6:00 PM Wednesday. The current forecast calls for 7-14 inches of snow accompanied by strong wind gusts. The heaviest snow is forecast for after midnight Tuesday night into Wednesday. With visibility expected to be less than 1/4 mile at times, caution should be exercised when traveling.

Before the 6 1/2 inches

After the 6 1/2 inches

Like clockwork, snow started falling in my neighborhood around 7:00 PM. It snowed all evening and was snowing when I turned in for the night, around 11:00 PM. When I walked the dog a little before 11:00, there were already four or five inches of powder on the ground, and it was predicted to snall all night.

When I woke up this morning, it was no longer snowing. By mid morning, the Winter Storm Warning had been lifted and a bright sun in a clear blue sky was already starting to melt the snow from where it had mostly been cleared. 8.1 inches of snowfall was recorded in Central Park. In my backyard in Ridgewood, NY, a few miles to the east, I measured 6.5 inches.

The snowfall we experienced was on the low end of the prediction because the storm moved through the area faster than expected. Now Boston and other parts of New England are getting dumped on, with Boston expecting up to 30 inches!

Between the city plows and the bright sun in the sky, the roads and sidewalks are clearing and life is getting back to normal. For a few hours, however, winter had us in its grips and New Yorkers were hunkering down. Now we are out and about.

The photos above are before and after shots of a nearby street. Some snow remaining from the storm the day after Christmas storm can be seen in the before photo to the left.

Random Epiphany Ruminations

The Feast of Epiphany, the Feast of Three Kings, by whatever name it is called, it is today, January 6, 2011. In previous years, congregations I have served have marked this feast with an evening Service of the Word, including celebration of the Eucharist, but not this year. Sadly, there seemed to be little interest in it. Attendance has never been that great, but I always enjoyed leading the service.

I have thought it would be fun for worshipers to go outside after worship and, with a powerful home telescope, to engage in some star gazing, but that has never happened.

I am generally careful to stick to name the Gospel According to Matthew gives to the visitors of the Christ Child—Magi. They were not necessarily Kings. Nor were they necessarily wise. Nor were they all men. Some of them could have been female. Nor were there necessarily three of them. There were at least two but there could have been more, as many as three, four, five, or more.

Read Matthew 2:1-12 for yourself, without reading it through the lenses of carols, cantatas, plays, stories, or other cultural glosses. Be sure to read the footnotes that explain “wise men” is, in the Greek, Magi.

I think of the Magi as Babylonian (or perhaps Zoroastrian) astrologers/astronomers, who followed a star according to their star chart inspired universal planetary horoscope . . . that is if there really were Magi visiting the manger. The account occurs only in Matthew and is not essential to the Gospel story. On the other hand, I think the Gospel story would be impoverished without it.

I think some of the best ruminations on the Magi has come from John Shelby Spong, which tells you a lot about where I am coming from.

About the January 2011 Header Photo

Happy New Year!

It is not only a new month but also a New Year and time for a new header photo.

This month’s header photo, a shore shot, features a shot taken on December 27, 2010, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean from the 25th Street Access at Virginia Beach, VA. It started snowing at Virginia Beach late Christmas evening and did not stop snowing for nearly 24 hours. The storm that clobbered the mid-Atlantic and northern-Atlantic states dumped several inches of wet snow throughout the area. Some enterprising soul took advantage of the situation and constructed a snowbeing, towering over five feet tall, on the beach.

Winterization Blues - A Sailor's Depression

Solitary sailor upon the sea, as seen through
one of the lenses of my binoculars

This is my first winter as the owner of a sailboat. Warmer than average temperatures in mid-November and a mid-November sailing outing lulled me into postponing starting to winterize my 1983 C&C 24 until early December. Even though I will be keeping the boat in the water all winter, as the previous owner had done, there was still some work required before winter’s freezing temperatures set in.

My first winterization required two half-day workdays. On the first day, I cleaned the cabin, bilge, and storage compartments. I also added antifreeze to the fresh and salt water lines, spending most of my time winterizing the head. None of these tasks, however, made the boat un-sailable. Fortunately, I completed these tasks before the first hard freeze.

On my second day, I not only added a second bow line and spring line but also fogged the outboard, removed both sails, and removed most of the running rigging, rendering the boat un-sailable without an equal amount of pre-sail work.

I have never owned a vacation home in the mountains or at the beach, or anywhere else for that matter, but now I think I can empathize with how owners of vacation homes might feel after closing up their getaway for the season. Nearing the end of my second workday, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a good friend before leaving on a long trip, and we did not know when we would see each other again. No longer would I be able to drive the 20-30 minutes to the dock, and within another 15-20 minutes have the boat rigged and out on the water. Winter had not yet set in and I was already thinking about – dreaming about – sailing next spring, perhaps as soon as April, or even March.

My winterization blues intensified yesterday when, from the sixth floor window of a beachfront timeshare at Virginia Beach, I looked out over the ocean and saw a lone sailboat out on the water. I picked up my binoculars, lying nearby, and focused on this solitary sailor on the sea. As inches of snow and ice from a recent storm were still covering the beach and boardwalk, some sailor and crew were enjoying a post storm sail on a nearly glassy sea bathed in sunshine, and I wished I were out on the water with them.

Return to Narnia: Review of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Marquis Poster

It has been over thirty years since I last read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  So when my wife and I went to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3-D yesterday, we did not remember all the details of the story and in some ways, it was like returning Narnia after a long absence. Fortunately, time in Narnia is not the same as time in our world.

The casting of the character that played Eustace, and his performance, were superb. We hated the character from the first frame in which he appeared. By the end of the film, his transformation was complete, a transformation evidenced in both his face and his demeanor.

The same actors who played the characters of Edmund and Lucy in the first two films reprised their roles. With a few more years on them, they fit perfectly into the story, which is set after the first two films.

We had seen the previous two movies on the big screed but this was the first one we saw in 3-D. While the 3-D certainly added depth, it seemed not to be exploited for shock effect. I do not remember, for instance, any swords, arrows, dragons or sea monsters flying out toward the audience, which in my opinion, was just as well. While the world of Narnia is certainly a fantasy world and a world of magic where good and evil often battle, it is not a world where 3-D would be used for any other reason than to tell a good story. I am not a big 3-D fan and I wonder what our experience would have been different if the film had not been presented in 3-D.

By the end of the film, I was saddened to leave Narnia behind and to return to the shadow lands where the work of the White Witch was still covering roads and walkways.

I heard a few weeks ago that while The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opened at number one, it was a weaker opening compared to the first two films. I hope it is grossing enough to bring at least one more film, if not all four waiting for the big screen, into production. This classic tale deserves to have all seven installments available for viewing if the remaining four are produced with the same artistry as the first three.

Review of First Aid Afloat . . . Mate

FIRST AID Afloat

When I ordered First Aid Afloat, prepublication and sight unseen, I did not realize that the publisher, Wiley Nautical, was a British Publisher. I encountered the first giveaway on page 18, when I read, “Heart disease is the main cause of death in the United Kingdom.” While British-isms abound in this 127 page paperback, the only time the British bias is a detriment is on pages 108-109, where all the directions for obtaining radio medical advice refers to the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, and the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and where all the references to the “coastguard” are to the British coastguard.

I am new to sailing, having bought my first sailboat only a few months ago. One of the first things I did after buying the 24 footer was to assemble a first aid kit.

While I might be new to sailing, I am not new to first aid or emergency medicine. In my younger years I was an American Red Cross Water Safety Instructor and held various ARC First Aid certifications as well as both ARC and American Heart Association CPR certifications. I was a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician and worked as a professional EMT for nine months. Therefore, I knew the importance of having a well-stocked first aid kit aboard my sail boat, and I know how to use everything in it.

I bought First Aid Afloat not so that I could read it and use it in an emergency, but so that I could put in my boat’s first aid kit for other people to use in case I was not on board or I was sick or injured and could not render first aid to myself. Not overly technical and written and illustrated clear enough for the layperson, First Aid Afloat could very save a life, includingmy own.

What I like most about this book is that it is small boat specific. Both a powerboat and a sailboat appear on the cover, but neither is large. The text assumes one is aboard a small yacht. This is most obvious on page 54, where the text reads, “Commercially available splints for the leg are available, but tend to be bulky, and would tie up too much space on board a small yacht to be carried as part of the emergency kit."

A couple other examples of the small boat specificity of the text are on page 106. “When moving a causality, particularly in the small confined spaces on a yacht, you must consider personal and causality safety, the condition of the causality, manpower and equipment on board, and basic principles of lifting and moving.” Also “Improvisation is useful. For example, a stretcher can be fashioned from jackets and dinghy oars. The oars can be placed through the jacket sleeves with jacket fronts closed around them to create the stretcher, but always test that it will take the casualty’s weight before using it.”

There are probably more books about emergency first aid than could fit on a small boat, including many about first aid in wilderness and backcountry settings as well as first aid manuals specifically aimed toward recreational boaters and professional mariners. I find this slim volume complete enough for the small sailboat I own, one that will probably be limited to day cruises, or no more than an overnight cruise, and probably never out of radio range or more than a few hours from shore. It might even be the only first aid manual I keep in my boats first aid kit.

The list price of First Aid Afloat, by Sandra Roberts, is $26.95, but I bought it from Amazon.Com for $17.95.

About the December 2010 Header Photo

This month's header photo is a recent one, less than a week old. I shot this looking south from Bear Hill in the Bear Hill Nature Preserve, Ulster, Co., NY, the morning of Thanksgiving.

Hiking around the southern Shawangunks has become sort of a Thanksgiving tradition the past couple of years, and this year was no exception. Since I do not get to the mountains as much as I would like, these Thanksgiving hikes have provided me with several "summit" photos that I have used for headers.

1,950 feet above sea level is barely worth claiming as a summit, even by eastern standards, but when one lives near sea level, it sometimes has to do.

Bear Hill

Signs at the Bear Hill entrance

Thanksgiving morning I enjoyed a short walk to and around the Bear Hill Nature Preserve.

After a fifteen to twenty minute walk from our friends' house in Cragsmoor, where we were staying for Thanksgiving, Justin, Myrrhlyn and I arrived at the Bear Hill Nature Preserve. As we walked into the preserve, we passed by some of Cragsmoor’s older as well as newer homes. All reminders of civilization eventually passed from view, however, as we walked further into the preserve.

A few minutes later some small outcroppings of boulders appeared through the trees to our right. Never having been to Bear Hill before, I thought that we had arrived at our destination. We had not.

The three of us, two humans and a canine, continued walking until the distant horizon came into view though a cut in the trees created by the trail. For a while, it looked like the trail might end in a sudden drop off. As we crested a small rise, I could see, though, that the trail did not end at a drop off but at a “T” intersection. Justin suggested we turn left, and we did.

The view from rocky Bear Hill

Some more hiking brought us to the real Bear Hill, an outcropping of lichen encrusted silurian conglomerate typical of the Shawangunks. Offering a spectacular 180-degree southern and western view, we explored the area, climbing over slabs and boulders, jumping across and climbing down into and back up crevices. The deepest chimney like crevice we explored was must have been a hundred feet from top to bottom. As we climbed through the rock and boulder strewn formation, sometimes passing over, under and around large and small boulders edged into the chimney, I had visions of the movie 127 hours. We climbed down and back up, however, without incident.

At an elevation of 1,950 feet, the Summit of Bear Hill is no eastern Everest. Its commanding view over the lowlands to the south and west, combined with its exposed rocky ruggedness, suggests an elevation much higher.

While the nearby Sam’s Point Nature Preserve offers many more miles of hiking trails, far more flora and fauna, and a slightly higher elevation, I think the Bear Hill preserve offers a better view and far better rocks for scrambling. I am glad that this most recent Thanksgiving we explored it rather than hiking trails I have already hiked in the Sam’s Point Preserve.

Lectionary Ruminations Coming to Summit to Shore Every Thursday

This photo will accompany every
Lectionary Ruminations post.

For the past several months, I have been contributing the "Lectionary Ruminations" post on the Presbyterian Bloggers blog. I will continue to do for the near future, but beginning this coning Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I will begin cross positing the same "Lectionary Ruminations" here at Summit to Shore.

Climbing, kayaking and sailing readers of Summit to Shore might not find these every Thursday posts of much interest. Then again, who knows? However, Presbyterian as well as religiously and spiritually minded readers might want to read the every Thursday posts for the own edification and /or to prepare for participating in or leading Sunday Worship or lectionary based Bible studies.

While I have been positng this every Thursday column at Presbyterian Bloggers for some time, Lectionary Ruminations will become the first regular and weekly post on Summit to Shore.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1




Theater Poster

 Less than three weeks after visiting Hogwarts, my wife and I were sitting in a theater watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1. This seventh installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise did not disappoint us.

I am NOT the world’s biggest Harry Potter Fan. I have not read any of the books. I have seen all the movies however, some more than once. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy occupy the top spot on my list of all time fantasy favorites, followed by C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and Frank Herbert’s Dune, all of which I have read. Even the Star War’s films and Star Trek in all its television and film permutations, excluding Enterprise, fall on my list before Harry Potter.

My wife, on the other hand, is a BIG fan. She has purchased most of the books the day they were released and finished reading them within a few days of their release. She knows the Harry Potter characters and story line much better than I do. Because she is such a Harry Potter fan, we have seen moist of the films on their day of their release.

We bought our tickets for the 7:00 PM show in advance over the internet. When we arrived at the theater, more than thirty minutes before the show, there was no line. My wife popped her credit card in the pre-sale kiosk and immediately our two tickets spit out.

By the time we rode two escalators to the third floor auditorium the doors had just opened and people were walking into the theater. We located two seats near the center front, two or three rows back. The seats were large, comfortable, and included cup holders at the end of the armrest.

After previews and commercials, the theater darkened, the sound came up, and the movie started around 7:15 PM.

During the film, the woman next to me gasped several times and almost jumped out her seat once. A man behind me audibly cursed at one of the characters and sighed a couple times when all seemed lost. The audience seemed engaged. When the credits started rolling, however, there was no applause as I have witnessed at other movies. I did not hear any audible comments, pro or con.

I enjoyed the movie and only a couple of times had to ask my wife about a character or place I was not sure about. She loved it and claimed that the film contained more of the book than the other films. Apparently, by dividing the book into two films, less of the book was cut out. The only thing she really missed was the internal monologue of the character’s thoughts provided by the book which the film does not try to recreate.

I am actually looking forward to the final installment because I am still not sure whether Severes Snape is a good guy or a bad guy.