Veggies, Handicap Parking & Lost Cords

Hey, has anyone seen my rechargeable battery cords and/or the second recharging unit? We've scoured the house and can't find them. It's like they disappeared like the lost socks! I wonder if the kittens aren't to blame? I hate not being able to find missing items, especially items that are large and cannot be easily lost. I checked the Olympus website to see how much the power cord costs to replace: $18.95 before tax and shipping. There is good reason to find at least one of the cords!

OK, I went to the surgeon's today and he kindly did the paperwork for me to get a temporary handicapped parking placard. It's good until the end of November. This means Pooky can park me in those coveted spots at Wal-Mart, the grocery store, and other shopping spots. Pooky wanted to push for a wheelchair prescription, but I said the $15 for the rental isn't too bad, and it's just for the one day. I can always use the scooters at Wal-Mart if needed.

My dad stopped by around noon with some veggies from his garden. Fresh corn, more red potatoes, onions, and 18 brown eggs. He said the potatoes will have to get us through until mid-October when his yellow Fins and other white potatoes come into season. We've got 8 ears of corn to nibble through, and a ton of onions. Time to make a soup or something!

I promised to post about the two movies.

When I first saw The Green Mile I loved it because of the "supernatural" aspects of it, but over time the movie has come to mean something more to me. It serves to reenforce my believe in The Divine. Yes, the movie portays one of God's innocents being executed for a crime he didn't commit, and I don't want to get into a debate about is capital punishment ethical and part of a civil society. I personally support execution if the crime committed is severe, but realize that innocent people are mistakenly put to death because our justice system is flawed. I am uncertain because karmically speaking, maybe it is someone's karmic balance to be put to death for a crime not committed, but I also feel that spiritually there is a strong case against killing someone even if guilty, because as Gandhi put it: an eye for an eye only makes the world blind.

Anyhow, in the movie there is some karmic retribution given to the bad characters (Percy and the man who did murder the two girls) and the main character played by Tom Hanks is punished for putting to death one of God's miracles, so the story does touch upon a type of spirituality that jives with my own belief system. I think such people as John Coffey (just like the drink but spelt different) do exist, and sadly our society does wind up killing them for one reason or another. From a Gnostic view, this movie speaks to me in ways I can't quite explain.

I have loved C.S. Lewis since childhood and the 1979 cartoon adaption of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was shown on TV. I had to know what Turkish delight was, and was sadly disappointed by it being a bland jelly-like candy. I was imagining it to be this heavenly choclatey substance with caramel, and some kind of magical, secret ingredient that would make it sublime.

There is so much about Shadowlands that speaks to me—it's hard to know where to begin. When I learned that C.S. was an atheist who became a respected Christian, his life story piqued by curiosity because I have travelled something of a similar life path in that for twenty-something years I was an agnostic/atheist struggling to find "proof" of The Divine, and finally one day it all fell into place for me. I just knew that God existed.

But what touches me in this movie is a line from Joy Gresham's character, that we can't have the joy without the pain. And even C.S. himself has a line or two that speaks to pain being our greatest teacher in life. I appreciate how he says we are God's children, but that God wants us to grow up. I think that is why many people of a fervent religious nature "screw up" the teachings of their faith—is that they aren't attempting to grow up, they are stuck in childhood wanting God to step in like a parent and save the day. Remember how growing up was so painful and hard? And some of us are still trying? I think spirituality is the same, no matter how you depict God, be S/he blue with many arms, wearing a robe and sporting a beard, or a beautiful woman with flowing long hair.

Today I really stubbed my little toe on a chair in the bathroom. Normally I don't cry with such injuries, but with this one, I buckled over. Later I checked the toe and it's swollen and bruised. I'm amazed that I haven't ripped off both little toes during the course of my life. I've been so abusive to both.

Must go now. That new TV show on FOX, "Bones" is about to start, and I'm going to record it for Pooky to see later. I hope that some of the shows this season that look promising do turn out to be worth watching.