I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive

I watched Doubt last night which I liked, particularly the scenes where Philip Seymour Hoffman is delivering a homily about doubt or intolerance or the wind that we can't see that propels us to different places. Set on the cusp of Vatican Two, the movie is in part about the sadness of life, the deals we make with the devil, how change is always with us, both a blessing and a curse. I often feel this way when I write -- it's a difficult business in that you set your course and work with very little idea of where you're going.

I used to compete in Bible Bowls, a Jeopardy like contest where you answer questions about, well, the Bible. I still remember much from those days and now that it's in fashion to tattoo words on yourself, I could do it if only I could choose one I liked that didn't sound so bleak. Of course, those are the ones that stay with me, warnings and cries for help. Even so, it's comforting in a strange way -- we are bonded by our pain and suffering as much as anything else. I saw a woman the other day whose hair had fallen out and looked painfully thin, the look of cancer. She wore a t-shirt that said, I Did Something Spectacular Today! It made me smile to see her in that t-shirt, that bit of hope despite everything for all the world to see should they care to look.

Michelle's Spell of the Day
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cocktail Hour
Drinking journalism suggestion: Columbine Dave Cullen

Benedictions and Maledictions
Happy Thursday!