My brush with death

Last night was most certainly the closest I've ever come to dying.  As I was walking under a covered walkway at the airport, a runaway shuttle accelerated and took out one of the poles about 10 feet behind me.  The pole flew into a man and he went still to the ground with his blood soaking the pavement.   The whole experience was so surreal like something that could only happen in a movie. 

I remember hearing a story about the Value Jet flight that went down in '96.  A man was running after the plane and just missed it; hours later he was left to ponder his new lease on life.  Now my experience wasn't quite so cut and dry, but I can now empathize a little bit more with what he must have been going through.  It is events like this that make you contemplate your position in life.  Some will say that God was watching after me.  Now, that very well could be the case, but it seems a bit hollow when another man may have lost his life.

I turned on the news last night in hopes of hearing something of the outcome.  I scoured online news sources in search of some account of the incident, but nary a word.  I did however stumble come across a few other equally as tragic events and was left with a reality where things like this are almost blasѐ.  Nevertheless, I will be left with two images from the night: one of the man lying on the ground and the other of the driver frantically pacing.

I don't know what this means for me -- probably not a whole lot for the immediate future.  It is a reminder of the frailty of life and how quickly it can be taken from us.  I have been embarrassed by some of my emotions and pensive about others.  I am going to refrain from making any pronouncements about God's role in this.  I do however want to use this as a marker in my life that will keep me grounded and pointed in the right direction -- now if i could only figure out which way that was...

Can Obama unite us?

I think just about everyone must have an opinion on this recent election.  Many are jubilantly celebrating and still others think this country just took a turn for the worst.  I received a somewhat troubling call today; this individual told me they were sick about what had just happened. I tried to surmise as to why and heard much about his voting record and stances on abortion which are perfectly legitimate ideological reasons not to vote for someone.  The troubling thing was not the person's vote but that they had given up on him before he had even started -- that they had already determined what his legacy would be.

We are a nation divided.  In a election widely hailed as a landslide victory, 46% still voted in the minority.  I have known many individuals, Christians no less, who are both to the far right and to the far left.   I have lived in the Bible Belt, the heart of perhaps the most liberal city of America, and even the UK.  I have heard disturbing comments from all sides -- how can a real Christian possibly believe that?!  It is a sort of tribalism -- not all that different from the regional conflicts that permeate the World.

And then there comes the election of the first black President elect.  The sad thing is that many people voted against him because of his skin color and still many others voted for him precisely because of his skin color.  Nevertheless, it is truly a remarkable achievement of one man who has cvercome tremdous odds.  It is a reminder for those of us cynics that we should dream the impossible dreams and that the the improbable can truly become a reality.  

There are many people in this World who present one public facade only to turn into something else behind closed doors.  The challenge of an election is to try and ascertain the true character of a politician beneath the continuous rhetoric.  One of the measures of character is how a person acts when they are in power.  I think of the story of King David and how he listened to the prophet Nathan when he could have easily had him killed.  And that is the thing that struck me about Barack Obama last night.  He had just achieved an overwhelming victory and had every right to relish in the moment with his supporters.  However, he made a point to reach out to those who didn't vote for him and say "I will be your president too" -- that to me was a sign of character.

With that speech, I got excited about an Obama Presidency.  Now here's the thing...I tend to be on the Conservative side of things and I do have my concerns about some of his polices as well as the worries of an unchecked Democratic Congress.  But I look at him and I see a man who is committed to his family and who has a genuine desire to help this country.  He has earned the respect afforded to the highest office in this land and an opportunity to change all the rules.  Only time will tell if he can retain that respect and truly be a President for all the people. 

Paul Newman

I was struck by the recent passing of Paul Newman.  Now I've never given much thought to him beyond the occasional bottle of salad dressing, but as deaths often do, you begin to learn a lot about a person.  

It is rare when an individual transcends life -- where they are universally acclaimed and seen as being genuine.  In an age of spin and posturing, seldom do you find a private life that matches the public image.

I think I would have liked Paul Newman.  And I know everyone likes Paul Newman, but I think I would have enjoyed grabbing a beer with him, shooting the breeze, and soaking up the moment.  The guy was the essence of cool -- somebody who just had it without even trying.  He raced cars into his 80s, was a notorious practical joke, and made the type of movies that guys enjoy seeing.

But that's the thing about Paul Newman, he could have stopped there and the eulogies would have still come pouring in.  But he didn't...he dared to care about something beyond himself.  He was faithful in marriage, took an interest in important issues, and started this little hole in the wall organization. 

There are many people, both past and present, both famous and unknown, that I strive to learn from and I believe that he falls into this category.  As far as I know, Paul Newman held no religous convictions and that is one place that I draw a distinction between him and me.  But one thing I do know, it is refreshing to hear of an individual who used their prestigue to make a difference.  Oh, and Butch Cassidy was a pretty good flick too :)