Monday, April 19, 2010

Lost Satellite Reception



My least favorite writing prompt or question is What is your most embarrassing moment? I mean, really. How the hell am I supposed to narrow it down? Oh, put more simply, do I talk about what is really embarrassing -- sins of pride, arrogance, acts of intentional cruelty, petty jealousy, poor boundaries, a default position of aggrieved disappointment when things don't work? Or do I settle for the time when my GPS went off during mass because of a dying battery and kept saying Lost Satellite Reception every few minutes while I desperately tried to alternately turn it off and when that didn't work, bury it in my purse while pretending that I didn't know what was happening?

I like the symbolism of the last moment and had to laugh when I was safely back in my car, cursing the GPS and sad that I had missed large parts of the homily about the fig tree and how it was given a second chance even though it bore no fruit. I think about that little tree a lot, you know, about how it didn't do anything. I sympathize with the dude in the Bible who buried his talent because he was afraid. Fear of damn near everything ruled my life for a long time. When I stepped out of that cycle, I realized that the wreckage was everywhere. I had lost my way in a proverbial dark woods. So you unbury the talent. And you wait until reception returns and the direction is clear.

Michelle's Spell of the Day
"Think. The big fucking picture." Tony Soprano

Cocktail Hour
Hung being filmed in the Diego Rivera room at the DIA today -- too cool for words! Can't wait until the show returns.

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Monday! Marci continues to make progress -- thanks for all the good thoughts.

6 comments:

jodi said...

Michella a Belle- Good Grief if I had to remember and chronicle the most embarrasing thing! Can't wait for 'Hung'! Thomas Janes sooooo rocks! xo

Whitenoise said...

I like the GPS story, although I'm trying to picture the surrounding faces if it had said "Turn left now." or "If possible, make a u-turn."

the walking man said...

Embarrassing moments, advanced technology, church and fear...you have managed, in a couple of simple paragraphs, to name just about every single thing I don't have any part or portion of.

Charles Gramlich said...

I've always thought the guy who buried his moneny rather than risk it got a bad rap. I kind of identify with him myself.

Lana Gramlich said...

I have far too many "most embarrassing moments" to pick just ONE, certainly, although maybe "humiliating" is a better word there...
I realized some years ago that I'd frozen myself into virtual do-nothingness because of fears. It was a good thing to learn. Still fight with it at times, but that's life.

Anonymous said...

Funny, but did you know some people are much more afraid of you and what you're capable of than you are of them?