Steaming…

Almost two weeks since my last posting here. What have I been doing? Ministerial stuff mostly. An extra Sunday added to my roster, a gong-show funeral thrown in, plus dealing with the sulking of a Lodge Brother who is behaving like a ten year old. Granted, this takes little physical energy, but emotionally it’s draining and it feels like it uses up hours of time.

My “racism” column hits the newsstand next week. Perhaps I’m catastrophizing, but I expect a good deal of flack for this piece. For one thing, it calls out the Rednecks in my circle. They are not likely to be silent, although whether they will speak to me, or about me is a moot point. They won’t like it a bit that I have challenged their preferred vision of the world. They will write me off as a woolly-headed liberal, not worth their time, but they will be pissed off that I have maligned their home place. I intend to have coffee somewhere else that week. Call me a coward, but coffee time is for relaxing, reading and talking calmly with friends. It is not, in my books, for rancorous arguments about issues central to the country’s life.

Returned to the pool today at noon to see how the rehabbing of my arm is going. Swam six lengths, and found the breathing hard work. Out of shape. Disturbing to me was the fact that as I climbed out of the pool, I was dizzy enough to stagger, and felt unwell for a good half hour. Was it too much swimming? Was it the climb out of the pool? I’ll return to try again later this week, and swim a bit less. A moderate return to the 1-kilometer swim is clearly in the cards. Snorkeling is so much easier, with regular breathing going on, and no upper body exercise.

I’ve stayed up late because I am upset by a disturbing email from the bride to be in the wedding I’m conducting in Toronto in October. There has been a major misunderstanding between us. I maintain she used the wrong language in describing what she wanted of me; it is also clear that I could have/should have asked for precise clarification at the outset. I am annoyed that I have wasted time reading up on pagan rituals rather than hunting down a completely secular wedding service. Perhaps now I can sleep, having written this. G’night.