Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

Unicorn would be an interesting toothpaste flavor

In my church job as Confirmation teacher, mission trip leader, Bible Study head honcho, etc. I have become the ice breaker question queen. The trick is to ask something difficult or impossible to answer with a simple “yes” or “no.” My success in this area comes rather late in my life, long after my five kids grew and flew. 

Back in the day, I’d foolishly ask close-ended questions like: “Good day at school?” (answer: “Yes.”) “Anything exciting happen at lunch?” (“Nope.)” and “Is it true there was a fire in the cafeteria today and everyone was evacuated?” (“Yes.”) 

Now I know better, and would pose my query this way: “If, in theory, you had to be evacuated from the cafeteria today due to a fire, what food item on your tray would you take along with you and why?” I might not learn anything substantive about the incident, but at least I’d find out whether the nacho platter or the big chocolate chip cookie would make the cut.

In that inquisitive spirit, I sorted through a pack of ice breaker questions I purchased at a youth ministry conference. I have used all of these with success, but I realized today that I’ve never answered them myself! So, in the interest of fair play, here we go!

Q: Would you rather own a zoo or a sports team?

A: What’s the difference?

Q: Would you rather have feet as hands, or hands as feet?

A: Depends on whether I had a mani, or a pedi, recently.

Q: If you were awake at a slumber party and everyone else was asleep, what would you do?

A: Lie there terrified that the Slumber Party Serial Killer was sharpening his knife.

Q: What’s something you’d want to save up for?

A: A house at the beach. Or dental insurance. Yeah, I guess the dental.

Q: What’s the worst super power you can think of?

A: Super Smelling. I actually have that one, at least when it comes to poopy diapers and spoiled food. Steve always says, “I don’t smell anything! It’s fine!” so he’s off the hook, but I have to change that messy diaper and pitch that stinky meat.

Q: Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck?

A: I refuse to buy into Disneymania, so I won’t answer that one.

Q: What’s the chore you actually like to do?

A: Reminding everyone else to empty the dishwasher. 

Q: Would you rather master Kung Fu or Fung Shui?

A: I often rearrange the toys on the floor by kicking them. I think that covers both.

Q: What word or phrase do you think you say the most?

A: I’m blanking out. That’s the phrase I say, I mean.

Q: If money and time were no object, what would you be doing right now?

A: I’d still be writing this post, but sitting on my yacht in the Caribbean.

If you wondered how to write 500 words on a silly topic, I hope this answered your question.

The author of this goofiness

The Overview Effect

 “When astronauts see the Earth from space, they often experience a sense of awe and clarity known as the Overview Effect. This feeling can trigger a sense of cosmic interconnectedness, unity, and responsibility.” –"Overview Effect” (Wikipedia)

Baby Peter--worth saving the world for

I’m a sucker for outer space. Give me a video of Hubble telescope images of distant galaxies, preferably with a haunting soundtrack, and I am in Heaven (sorta). From watching Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, to seeing Christa McAuliffe and her crew smilingly enter their doomed spaceship, I’ve been aware of the thrill, and the dangers, of these expeditions. I like to think I’d have the courage to be an astronaut, but my track record in that area is pretty dismal (I’m afraid to look out the airplane window, even when it’s still on the tarmac.) But in my dreams, I soar. 

Last week, actor William Shatner was among a small group who left the Earth’s atmosphere aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. This voyage, and others like it, have been called frivolities only billionaires can enjoy, and I see that point for sure. But watching Shatner, who for years played Captain Kirk on Star Trek, try to describe his experience, only to break down several times in tears, helped me see the value in sending earthlings into space. Shatner, who at age 90 is the oldest person to achieve this goal, marveled at the “blue blanket” of sky being torn away in an instant, as he  journeyed into the endless blackness beyond. “Is this what death is like?” he wondered (and surely at his age he has thought much about that subject). He kept referring to our planet as so small and bright and fragile, a mere pinpoint in the vast universe. His outlook on life, I am quite sure, will never be the same.

Can I, can we, achieve the Overview Effect without space travel? And, more importantly, can we afford NOT to?

Poets and composers and artists have access to these moments of “awe and clarity,” but then so do scientists. So do mystics. Anyone who is truly aware, can get some sense of the incredible Goldilocks planet we are perched upon (not too hot, not too cold, just right to support life). Anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, or a serious illness themselves, taps into the knowledge that we are here for just a brief and indeterminate amount of time, and that we are lucky beyond imagining to exist at all. 

It is my prayer that we get really, really serious about saving our home, the Earth (and by that I mean tackling climate change as well as ending the many other atrocities we commit against our fellow humans.) while we still can. We don’t need to be on a spaceship a mile up, to look around us, and to be awed and grateful for where we are and what we have. 

So thanks for sharing your deep emotions, Captain Kirk. They touched my heart. 

The Vulcan hand gesture created by Leonard Nimoy (“live long and prosper”) was inspired by his Jewish heritage, and resembles the letter shin, which begins “Shaddai” (God)  and “Shalom” as well.  

Peace on Earth, my friends. 

"Sing Gently" Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

History Lessons

Not a NYT Bestseller, but an interesting read!

“In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”–Orson Welles

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks the world is in super-duper shape right now. Now, what you, and they, believe is messed up may be entirely different things, but there’s nearly universal agreement that times are tough. How tough? Are we approaching the times my Grandma Berrigan lived through? Those included the 1918 pandemic, WW1, (brief pause here as the country enjoyed a few years of merriment and wild overspending), The Great Depression, WW2, etc. etc. Compared to that, our current bouquet of crises doesn’t seem quite so odious. And, as the esteemed Mr. Welles observed, we might definitely be more creative in the crucible of strife than during periods of calm. 

Studying history does that, gives you perspective. 

Tidying my church office the other day, I came across a little book written in 2003, on the occasion of Christ’s Lutheran’s 100^th anniversary. Pretty snooze-worthy stuff, right? Au contraire! I found myself reading from cover-to-cover. The writer, Sally Klos, did not shy away from telling it like it was, including a miserable stretch in the 1980s with two feuding pastors and a very divided church. I knew the next chapter, with my dear friend Mike Carlson beginning his 21 years as pastor, was a happy one, but it wasn’t till I delved into the backstory that I really understood the degree of relief and healing Mike’s tenure brought to the congregation. 

My current jobs (church worker and writer) have offered numerous opportunities for learning. Some of that learning has reinforced and deepened things I already knew. But my favorite lessons have blown my mind open to unimagined new information. And some of that mind-blowing info has caused me to let go of long-held attitudes and beliefs.

As we learn more, our thinking evolves. For example, back in 1992, Steve and I wrote a light-hearted children’s play called The Columbus Day Sail (get it?) for the 500^th anniversary of the “discovery” of America. Our Christopher Columbus was a comically clueless bumbler, who befriended the “Indians” (heck, he even gave them a dandy new name! Based on a mistake he made!) This week we marked what in many places is being re-named Indigenous Peoples Day, as we belatedly acknowledge who was here first, and the horrific way they were treated by many, including old Chris. No plans (ever) to resurrect that particular show. 

To quote Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” We know better when we understand more, and that takes some work (intellectual and emotional). So here’s what I’m learning in this year 2021:

There is great cruelty and evil in this world, and there always has been. Our current climate is just magnifying it.

There is also great, great love and goodness. 

We have the power to improve our situation, but only if we look, honestly, at what came before us. We can, and must, know better now. 

And then, let’s do better. 

Uh....no.

Q&A

Elise meets Elise--the deck where it happened!

The following interview with Elise Seyfried took place in suburban Philadelphia. As Elise sat on her luxurious back deck, dressed in her signature “shabby chic” style, a cup of lukewarm coffee beside her, she shared some intriguing tidbits about her recent activities, as well as a sneak peak at upcoming events. There were no reporters available for this gig, so the resourceful Ms. Seyfried decided to conduct the interview herself.

Q: Before we begin, may I ask how you maintain the radiant glow that is surely the envy of the neighborhood? 

A: I perspire a lot. Climbing stairs with laundry baskets, chasing grandchildren at their bedtime, baking complicated cakes in an un-air-conditioned kitchen. Or I’m sweating various writing and church deadlines. But I like the way you call it a “glow.”

Q: Ah. OK. So what have you been up to?

A: I just told you. Laundry. Cooking. Grandchild wrangling…

Q: I mean what of any interest to your FANS have you been up to?

A: Well, I just made my standup comedy debut at a fundraiser. It went pretty well I think. People even laughed. Though my family did laugh loudest. Let me tell you, I glowed that night!

Q: Any news about that big project you directed? 

A: The church Christmas pageant? We’re doing it again this year. New baby Jesus and everything.

Q: Fascinating. And when will that be out?

A: Christmas.

Q: Bold timing.

A: I thought so, yes.

Q: A little birdie told us retirement is in your future! Do you have any big travel plans?

A: Well, my husband and I are hoping to take the trip to Europe that was scheduled for April, 2020, then rescheduled for September 2020, then rescheduled for June 2022, but we might have to push it back again.

Q: Well, good luck with that!

A: I’ll keep everyone posted. If we go in 2023, the pandemic will hopefully be over, but then there might be another pandemic, so in that case we’d…

Q: Moving right along! This is the part of boring interviews where I pull out random questions, in hopes of sparking something vaguely interesting. You love to cook, right? What’s your favorite herb?

A: Alpert. 

Q: Last book you read?

A: I’m enjoying our neighborhood book club selection for this month. It’s great so far. I forget the title, but it’s under 400 pages, so that’s the important thing. 

Q: Music you’d take to a desert island?

A: Probably “SOS” by Abba.

Q: If you had a motto, what would it be?

A: Don’t sweat the small stuff. I mean, glow.

Q: Look at the time! I’m afraid we need to wrap this up, Elise. A pleasure as always!

A: What did you say your name was?

Q: What a sense of humor!

A: I try.

And with that snappy exchange, our interview with the delightful Elise Seyfried came to an end. This is Elise Seyfried, reminding you to pre-order Elise’s upcoming memoir, Talking to Myself.

East Oreland power couple Elise and Steve Seyfried