Blog

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Japan

In the Spring of 2012 and 2013 Christi and I traveled to Japan.  It’s one of those places we always wanted to go to but never thought we would.  Then when we did, well, we liked it so much we had to go back.  And since I’m a firm believer that all good things come in trilogies (except arguably the Star Wars Prequels),  we hope to return again someday.

It’s a place simultaneously rooted in historical traditions and technological advancements.  Where city frenzy lives alongside countryside serenity.  The food deserves an entire website of its own,  but to summarize it in a single word:  yum.

Here’s an extremely random assortment of pics from both our trips combined:

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Navigate

I’ve heard stories of Native Hawaiians who navigated their canoes by the stars.  They found direction by studying the sun, ocean swells, and the flight patterns of seabirds.  I’m lucky if I can find the Big Dipper.  It’s incredible they learned to use elements in nature to map specific destinations.  I’ll try to remember this next time I yell at my GPS for re-calculating when I miss a turn. 

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St. Baldrick’s

 

Walking into my first St. Baldrick’s fundraising event for childhood cancer research I didn’t know what to expect.  I just knew by the end of it I’d be bald.  It’s one of those things that sounds awesome until you realize,  oh wait,  I’m actually doing this.  This is happening.  This was a great idea about a month ago when it was WAY in the future.  Now I’m about to go all Uncle Fester upstairs and there’s nothing I can do to stop this shave train.  Then I walked into the St. Baldrick’s registration room at Dave and Buster’s and everything changed.  

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Kalaupapa

When I first heard the word “Kalaupapa” I wondered why someone was telling me to call my father.  I never could have imagined the depth of history,  torment,  heroism,  and bravery this place encompasses.  Kalaupapa,  meaning “Flat Plain,”  is on the island of Moloka‘i and beginning in 1866 under King Kamehameha V,  was the site where people with leprosy were forced to relocate.  Separated from the rest of Moloka’i by magnific cliffs and once only accessible by boat,  this peninsula became home to those with what’s now called Hansen’s Disease.  They were sent away to be quarantined from the rest of society.  For over a century,  men,  women,  and children were permanently torn from their families and friends and sent to live in isolation.

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Solitude on the North Shore

I used to only associate the word solitude with monks and monasteries.  Silent retreats where you sleep in a small room with nothing more than a bible and a view of deer sipping from a babbling brook.  And that somewhat depressing painting of a white-bearded man praying over soup.  Solitude sounded more like getting punished for staying out after curfew than a spiritual practice.

I’ve come to understand solitude as simply time set aside to recharge.  An observance that promotes rest,  peace,  and renewal.  It sounds so easy,  yet I often neglect my need for it.  It doesn’t have to be quiet or involve wearing a brown hooded tunic,  as nice as it’d be not to have to choose your clothes everyday.

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Stand-Up to Cancer

 

I’ll never forget seeing a newspaper article several years ago about a group of fifth-grade boys who shaved their heads so their friend with cancer wouldn’t feel out of place.  One of their 11-year old classmates went through chemotherapy and lost all his hair so the kids rallied together to ensure no one could tell who was sick.  How cool is that.  I remember being pretty obsessed with my hair at that age,  meticulously shaping my jr. mullet with neon green Dep hair gel.  I used Aqua Net if it was windy.  #Confession is good for the soul.  This was the 80’s man,  it could of been worse,  I knew guys with perms.

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Hawaii Sketch Fest

“Hey,  I’d like to pretend to have a heart attack while a room full of friends and strangers watch for their entertainment,”  said no one ever.  Well,  that’s exactly what I did this weekend and I have to say it was quite liberating.  Most everyone’s biggest fear is dying on stage and now that I’ve gotten that out of the way I can move forward.

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Adventures of a Wedding Officiant

 

It’s an odd thing,  you know,  to have vested powers…but apparently I do.  I can’t fly.  I can’t catch bad guys with a web that shoots from my wrist.  I don’t have a cool spandex outfit complete with matching utility belt despite how badly I want one.  But I can marry people.  You don’t know how tempting it is to say the words “by the power vested in me” in a deep voice followed by a sinister laugh.  That’ll make the mother of the bride happy.

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How Improv Makes Me a Better Chaplain

 

In November of 2009, I became a full-time hospital chaplain and it’s no accident that by January 2010 I was enrolled in improv comedy classes.  I think it was about week two…or hour two…that I realized I was going to need a healthy outlet to bring life balance to the intensity of the job.  I was going to need a good dose of self-care as they encourage in the healthcare biz.  I’m not sure being on an improv team called The Homewreckers is what they had in mind.

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Comedy Week In Review

People who know me at work can’t believe I do comedy.  People who know me from comedy can’t believe I’m a chaplain.  It’s ok,  I can’t believe anyone’s a rodeo clown.

I’ll never forget seeing the flyer for a comedy class in Chicago.  It was on a grocery store bulletin board in Comic Sans font with a cartoon smily face..obviously destiny was calling.