We went to Sunday school this morning, at which I led a lesson on the 128th Psalm, for which I found a really interesting set of ideas by a fellow named Abraham Kook which helped give what looked like a simple glass tube open up into a charming kaleidoscope. My preparation also reminded me of Wesley's "trilateral rule": earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.
The church service featured the requisite Palm Sunday waving of palm fronds, although congregants seemed provided with their fronds, where as my wife and I lacked even a palmetto leaf. The associate pastor sang the doxology a capella in a solo sonorous baritone that would be welcome to hear more often, while the entire congregation sang those wonderful sadness-tinged hymns like "Were you there?".
We went to Dickey's BBQ for lunch where we each dined on turkey sandwiches. My wife began to paint
a planter on our patio, while I drove on to Weight Watchers. I attended with some concern, as my memory freshly bore the "too many little wonton noodles at the New Jersey Chinese restaurant" trauma, the "consuming a full half-chicken in the neighborhood grill in Whippany whippeting",and
the "Plano middle-eastern extravangza in the rain" Friday night. In fact, though, I was up but
half a pound. I have for months been some three to ten pounds from my goal (I am currently at eight pounds away), but I was grateful that my plateau did not turn into a valley.
This evening, my wife had a work conference call, so I drove to Sister Grove Park. Sister Grove is about 40 minutes from my house, a remote county park with hiking trails, scraggle woods and open fields near Lake Lavon. Lake Lavon is only six feet below its normal level now. I found myself delighted to see fishermen fishing on the rocks below the highway bridge, where just a year ago I was filming the dry lakebed which extended for miles. I saw one man with a stringer of catfish, and I felt that things are returning to normalcy.
Sister Grove had some marshy/muddy reminders of the rainfall, but I found lots of places to walk in the open fields, and I saw many flowers.
The best of the Spring bloom has not yet begun, and already this Spring is turning out to be wonderfully pretty.
On the drive home, on a whim, I turned onto a country highway toward the town of New Hope, because we can all use new hope where we can find it. I continued on past New Hope (population 523) and through Altoga. I then turned down an obscure farm road to the west, passing a field filled with longhorn cattle. I headed south again when I got to Melissa, and enjoyed seeing the hills and small farms along the way.
Tonight I download google earth!