It’s really embarrassing when you see some of the books that get published. Especially when you know they’re full of bad advice. It’s especially embarrassing when these are Christian books. Why is it that Christians always have easy answers for everything? No matter what problem you’re having you can find a book for it at your local Christian bookstore. It’s probably right next to the Left Behind Headquarters display. Jesus never gave easy answers. Sometimes we like to act like we understand Jesus’ words, but we really don’t. We can study his words all our lives and probably never grasp what he really meant. We continue to pass by the stranded motorist and look the other way. I think if people really grappled with the words of Jesus they wouldn’t be so quick to pump out books of answers. I think people would be dumbfounded and wouldn’t quite know what to do. It’d be quite a sight.
Monthly Archives: June 2000
The Least of These
It was 5:20 PM and a man stopped me on the Roberts Street bridge. I was on the brisk walk from my office to my truck, parked across the river in the $1.75 lot. His girlfriend has passed by first, leaning on the concrete rail to rest her tired body. I nodded my customary hello to her, but she wasn’t looking. I nodded to the man and he smiled, then waved to stop me. He started his speech by saying that he wasn’t homeless or anything, his girlfriend and him just needed some help. 30 cents would do. I had to cut him off to tell him I had no money, which was true. I spent the last of my money on a Father’s Day card. My wallet was empty and I was going to have to go to the bank so I could pay for parking for the rest of the week.
Traffic Time Thoughts
Traffic time thoughts are so scattered. The traffic is buzzing by, the accelerator is getting closer and closer to the floor, and you’re watching the minutes tick by on the clock. You know you have to be on the freeway by 8:17 or you’ll be late. It’s 8:19. Maybe if you walk fast you’ll make it. Maybe not.
I always feel bad when I’m driving. Especially lately because my commute takes me on the freeway and downtown St. Paul. I always feel like I’m making people angry. I’m not actually doing anything wrong, it’s just the tension level. There’s such a tension to commuting. You don’t see too many people taking a laid back commute. Sitting back, laughing, smiling. Those people are usually riding the train or the bus. Everybody’s sitting alone in their vehicle, flipping radio stations and switching lanes. It’s a pretty odd way to work things. But that’s the American way, so it has to be the right way.
Today’s traffic time thoughts were brought to you by Joe’s Transmission Service. Keep on commutin’, and keep us in business.
Slacker
Two weeks. I’ve never gone that long without pondering before. For the first few days it was a nice break, but since then I think it’s been driving me crazy. When writing is what you do, it starts to get to you when you don’t do it all the time. You can tell I haven’t been writing lately.
As a word of explanation, I had to move out of my regular college housing and into my summer housing two weeks ago. Hence I had to pack up my computer and go through the fun of moving. Then they took two weeks to get our internet connections turned on, and that’s how I became a slacker.