30 for 30: Part II

If you missed part I you can click here to find out what's going on

3)This summer has helped me realize the importance of the weather. As a child, I never gave much thought to the weather, as it usually came in four varieties: hot and wet, hot and humid, cold and wet, or cold and humid. Mom made sure that I was dressed appropriately for whatever situation arose and my only concern was whether or not the weather would prevent me from going outside to play or not. As a teenager, my interest in the weather increased ever-so-slightly. By this time I (mostly) dressed myself, but was in the fog of adolescence that prevented me from caring about staying warm or dry. No, my interest in the weather was a consistent prayer for rain. Exceptionally bad weather would mean that football practice might be cancelled or moved indoors. A rain-out at work would mean a day off. For those of you familiar with the weather pattern of south Mobile County, I'd find myself sitting in math class during Spring training while we experienced a miniature reenactment of the Deluge outside. Hoping beyond hope that practice would be called off or moved, I would watch in despair as the rain stopped just in time for the start of practice. Not only were we able to practice, but we had the added benefit of doing it in sauna-like conditions. At one point during my junior year, I found myself thinking that if I could just land in the right spot I might be able to take a quick swig from the mud puddle and stave off Death for a few more minutes.

At 30, which I am, as of today, I pay a lot more attention to the weather. I'm not exactly sure why, though. I don't farm or have a garden. The extent of our greenery are the two ferns on our front porch. Regardless, I found myself paying attention throughout our most recent round of drought, counting the days and praying for rain. Maybe this was empathy for those most affected, or perhaps I noticed that all of the grass was dying. Regardless, this would not have bothered me 10 years ago. I'm also interested in the tides. I don't fish all that often, but when I do, I try to take a look at the tide tables and I'll happily report on the phase of the moon and discuss the rising and the falling of the tide. I'm not all that sure what it really means or what in the world it has to do with fishing, but I feel much more knowledgeable when I do. My attempts to discuss things that I have no comprehension of will probably merit another point in this series.

Regardless, I wonder why the beginnings of middle-age have brought on a weather fascination? Will I soon find myself watching the Weather Channel? My wife used to do this. Is that as weird as I think it is? To this point, I've only found it acceptable to watch the Weather Channel during Jim Cantore's hurricane coverage. (Life rule #1 if Jim Cantore is reporting from anywhere near you, seek shelter immediately) It's not a real hurricane party if Jim's not on the tube. Is it possible that my priorities are shifting towards weather-related items? Maybe I'm more observant than I used to be. Friends and readers, will this get worse with age?

4) Item #4 is somewhat related to item #3: The rains will return again. We've been through a little drought here, south of Highway 90. For any of my readers who are not from this area, Highway 90 is the dividing line for Bayou La Batrians. If you live north of 90, you're a Yankee. We've had the driest summer that I can ever remember, marked by lots of hot dry air, all through May, June, and the first half of July. After many weeks of waiting, worrying, and praying, an amazing thing happened: it rained. And it rained, and it rained, and it rained. I'm sure that we've not caught up on our rain yet, but the last two weeks have certainly helped. Things seemed to last forever when I was a child: waiting for Christmas or the end of school, getting my driver's license or leaving for vacation would just never come. Unpleasant situations, poisonous relationships, and broken hearts felt like they would never mend. I just knew that whenever that endpoint would come, then everything would be OK. I've discovered an important truth: It all comes around eventually and the new day will carry it's own troubles. I'm thankful for people who are walking the road ahead of me, because I'm blessed by their wisdom. As often as I told my Dad "I can't wait for..." he would always tell me, "Son, don't wish your life away". He was right.

The rains will come again. Vacation time will be here before you know it. You'll be married soon, then your kids will be grown, and you'll be retired. Don't wish it away. I hope that I've got plenty of years left to enjoy and use this life to the best of my ability, but time will march steadily towards its conclusion whether I'm ready for it or not. My hope for the next 30 years is that I'll spend less time waiting for the rain to come and more of it making the best of the days of drought. God, grant me the grace to trust your mercy to make the days of waiting days of joy.

30 for 30: Part I

In which my readership indulges my ramblings about whatever happens to pop into my head at the moment...

1) Birthdays are funny things. I'm not sure why we place so much emphasis on the passage from one year of life to the next or the significance of the move from one decade to the next. I was born on July 30th, 1981 at Mobile Infirmary, the first child of Claude and Kay Landry. I was named after both of my grandfathers. The choices were Joseph Clinton or Dillard Claude. I'll let you figure out which one they chose. None of us gets to choose our birthday, but if I had been born a day later, I could have shared my special day with Harry Potter (7/30/80). Instead, I'll have to share my birthday with Arnold Schwarzenegger (7/30/47), Sid Krofft (he of HR Puffnstuff fame 7/30/29), and Lisa Kudrow (7/30/63). On a personal note, I share a birthday with my favorite TV chef, Alton Brown of Good Eats fame (7/30/62). The only famous person born on 7/30/81 was US Women's soccer star Hope Solo. Clearly, as a July 30th baby, I'm in good company.

2) Apparently, no great portents heralded my entrance into the world. According to Wikipedia, exactly nothing worth mentioning happened on July 30th, 1981. After a little bit of research, I found that BB King was the special guest on Johnny Carson. Much of the world was tuning in to watch the video of Charles and Diana's little wedding in the UK from the day before, the search had just begun for 6-year old Adam Walsh after his kidnapping and subsequent murder from a Sears store in Hollywood, FL, and Dawda Jawara was deposed as president of the Gambia. Apparently, my arrival made some difference in the world, as Major League Baseball ended its strike the next day and within 36 hours a few thousand cable subscribers in northern New Jersey were able to watch an MTV that featured actual music videos.



Exit thought: Based on the video evidence, the 80's were strange but wonderful times.

A Preacher Looks at 30

"The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits." - Hervey Allen

It's the big week here on N. Wintzell. Saturday will see my 20's come to a close and I will step into the beginnings of middle age. I don't expect much to change between Friday night and Saturday morning. Many of you who have known me feel like I've been 30 since I was 5. The occasion of my 30th birthday has given me reason to pause for introspection and over the next few weeks, I hope to share some of those insights with you. They'll probably be narcissistic, absurd, self-indulgent, or cliched. But then again, it's MY BIRTHDAY!

So, be on the lookout in the days ahead for my own 30 Thoughts for 30 Years.

One Year Ago...

OK, so it's taken awhile to write this one. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago I started my current journey down N. Wintzell, and I must say that the ride has been a blast. Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to serve a great church, come back to a hometown that I love, and get closer to a family that I've missed over the past few years. We've welcomed a new addition to our family and we've seen our church family grow as well. I don't know what the next year holds for any of us, but I just don't know how it could be any better than this year has been.

One of the highlights of the journey has been writing this blog. I've never really considered myself a writer but I've enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts, memories, and experiences with all of you. Hopefully, life will slow down in the days ahead and I'll be able to give the blog a bit more attention. Writing has been good for me and I want to do it more often. Thank you for indulging me and thank you for the many words of encouragement that I've received as I continue to write. If the measure of a man's life is the quality of his friends, than I believe that the last year has proven just how blessed I am. I'm surrounded by some of the best folks a person could ask to associate himself with and I don't take that lightly. I've been taking a look down N. Wintzell and I believe that the view is mighty fine!