#70 -- Ritual

Today Dad forwarded a string of emails between him + his brothers about hymns they recal from back in the day. I chimed in with:

"I'm convinced that ritual contributes to saving us from ourselves in darkness. When we don't know what to do or our world seems to be spinning out of control, ritual can shore us up until we get our feet under us again. My school experience in Jamaica and New York included hymns and pledges recited as daily ritual. I can almost recite the entire Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag... from THIRTY YEARS ago."

God encourages us to honor and remember His blessings in our lives through Festivals and other ritual activities. In my old age I've decided to clasp ritual to my bossom by putting a few daily and weekly routines in place... starting tomorrow. Ideally, I'll be able to maintain this new pattern well into my twilight years. I want to kickstart a lifestyle change... not a new year's resolution that will erode and vanish within a few week. I know it's all up to me but I think it begins with a realistic mindset about why + how I add routine to my LIFE... not just my days. Obviously I don't want to become Pharasaical about it but hopefully commitment will last based on reasonable targets that I'll feel the benefits of easily. I sure hope I'm not kidding myself about all this. I'm gonna give it a try anyway. Stay tuned.

Friday Night Lights... north of the 49th !!

What a magical night! Friday Night Lights for real !! So here's the background on it. St. Francis HS is THE Calgary high school football dynasty. Notre Dame HS is a new school... built in St. Francis's neighborhood. All the kids who now attend Notre Dame, would have gone to St. Francis. Last year Notre Dames' football team goes UNDEFEATED to win Div 2 City Champs. This year ND moves up into Div 1 to take on St. Francis. And so the era of Calgary's biggest rivalry begins !

Notre Dame led the game (2-0) for much of the game. A blocking penalty took away a ND td in the 2nd quarter. St. Francis scores a td in the 3rd quarter and led 7-2. I left my spot on the far side of the field when the clock said 1m20sec left in the game thinking the game was pretty much over, wanting to beat the rush of spectators exiting the park.

When I reach the far side I hear the ND kids EXPLODE with sound. I rush back to sidelines to find myself standing beside "Baz", the ND Athletic Director (Celeste Bazinet). ND recovered a fumble with 40 seconds left in the game and marched down the field to score a td with 3 second left on the clock... to WIN, 9-7. WHAT A GAME !! Baz + I are freakin' out the whole time... high fives every 2 seconds... with a whoop! "N what?! N D!" ND kids are laughing at the two of us celebrating with sheer joy! I wasn't shooting any more photos because my hands couldn't endure -5C weather for TWO HOURS with NO MITTS. But I think Baz got some good photos of the triumphant moments. oy vay!

DEFINITELY a game worth catching pneumonia over. I think I picked the perfect high school to develop a relationship with. Hallelujah ! Thank you JESUS! amen + goodnight. I'm going to bed. It's 4am and the photos are finally uploaded to the website. peace out!