OK, maybe this is all blogworthy, and maybe it's not -- but both my brothers Kurt and Erik and my sister-in-law Lynne have been here visiting me this past weekend, helping me unpack some things at my new garden apartment that until now have been at my other apartment on Carleton. And in the meantime, they've been ferrying me around to some of my favorite haunts from the old neighborhood. Tonight was the climax -- Monday Night Stump Trivia at Binga's Wingas, where I still haven't lost my touch. In fact, with the support of my siblings we shattered my old record with a contest-winning 124 points, blowing away our closest competition ("My Couch Pulls Out But I Don't") by 21. Our prize: five free tickets to see the Sea Dogs play next month -- which of course is the one thing we all really wanted to do together as a family while everyone was HERE, only to discover that the Pups themselves were scheduled to be on the road this entire time.
In any event, I know it's goofy, but I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to go out on a Monday night with my family and win this silly little trivia game. Can't tell you how good it felt to see my friends sitting at the bar in their usual spots, and to be greeted by the wait-staff, and simply to enjoy being in the company of a lot of other people who are all having a similarly good time. And I can see why people sometimes compare their favorite hangouts to "going to church," because a lot of those same elements are present, right down to the little rituals around where one sits and how often one goes and what one does when one gets there. It truly does "bind us again" to simple touchstones of community which extend beyond ourselves alone. Of course, there are differences too -- big differences. But that doesn't mean there isn't room in our lives for both.
Lot's of other things to blog about too, but I'm tired and think I probably ought to go to bed. That is, if the "thrill of victory" doesn't keep me up with excitement all night long! I'm very proud of "Team Isle." Our opposition didn't stand a chance. And just think: from their perspective, if we hadn't just randomly wandered into Binga's tonight, they might have been the ones staying up late dreaming of Minor League baseball....
About Me
- The Eclectic Cleric
- Portland, Maine, United States
- Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, sailing summers in the San Juan Islands and warding off the gloominess of the incessant winter rains by reading voraciously and drinking more than my fair share of Seattle's Best espresso. Five (count 'em) college degrees, making me an honest-to-God Crimson Dawg Duck Beaver Viking. Have served Unitarian Universalist congregations in both Midland Texas and on Nantucket Island (which made the 2004 election VERY interesting), as well as numerous other smaller UU fellowships along the I-5 corridor in Washington and Oregon. More recently, I relocated from the affluent faux rural suburbs of "the Neighborhood of Boston" (just beyond the Old North Bridge and through the woods, about five miles from the site of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond), to the bustling shores of Casco Bay at the southern edge of "Down East." But my ministry at the First Parish in Portland ME was cut short by a diagnosis of Lung Cancer in February, 2008. I currently live outside of Sacramento CA, retired with a permanent and total medical disability, as I battle with my disease and continue to ponder what God has in store for me next.
5 comments:
I like it. And I suspect a bar is the one place people aren't likely to sidle up and say, "YOU're a reverend..." and launch into a long dilemma of interest only to themselves.
Of course, my bar-going is so scant that I have to assume rather than research this one.
Hey Tim, I suppose you were also telling the "reverend in a bar" jokes to every one too.
Chrissey and I will be in Portland August 2 - 16, with the girls and would love to bring you to Higgins Beach, and Bonobo's, and well, anywhere you want!
OK. Let's see how good you are in the geography category. What's the largest city in Africa? I once won Trivial Pursuit with this question. One of the women we were playing with accused me of going through all the answers before the game started. Yes, she was a sore loser, and yes, I never played with her again.
Lisa
I have no idea what the largest city in Africa is, but I suspect my brother Erik does. My guesses would be places like Lagos or Nairobi, or perhaps Cairo. In terms of the game though, between us we would have come up with our best answer, but probably assigned it a relatively low point value based on what we anticipated in the other categories.
The answer is Cairo. Most people don't get it because they forget Egypt is in Africa. Hope you had a good day. I am painting my mother's den.
Lisa
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