2025-01-28T14:25:39+00:00

Star Wars Or Bust

January 28, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

Amazon has this tv series called Icons Unearthed, where they dig under the surface of some very well loved bastions of pop culture, like The Lord Of The Rings and Batman. I think it’s awesome, because I am a guy that can’t ever get enough of the how’s of creation. (The only thing that I am more fascinated by are the why’s.) The Icon I’m currently watching is Star Wars.

I’m not sure there’s anything from my childhood that has been more influential on me than this saga that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The characters and their stories captured my imagination in ways other characters had, I am a target market, but to a new, surprising depth and intensity. If you’ve ever been impacted by my life, on any level, you have George Lucas, at least partially, to thank and/or blame.

George Lucas was the science fiction film visionary who conceived the skeleton of the story, a savvy businessman who still rakes in mountains of cash from contracts signed decades ago, for projects and merchandise based on his skeleton. Star Wars also sort of ruined his life. Maybe that’s a reach, a conclusion I arrived at without ever actually hearing from him. He may have always been an introverted curmudgeon who liked processes more than people, Star Wars or not, but it certainly ruined his marriage.

His life led me to think of the warning of Jesus about gaining the whole world but losing your soul. I’m not sure they are connected, and if they are, I think I might have more wrestling to do with the Bible on this.

Have you ever had an idea, or a metaphorical “fire” in your heart? You can act on that, lean into it, or you can not. You can try to shove it way down deep and try to pretend to have never heard the call at all. If you’ve done that, you already know it never stays down and pretending is impossible forever. The spark just gnaws and gnaws at your mind, like rats in the attic.

I remember saying to the Angel, “maybe this thing we’re starting (which happened to be a church), maybe it won’t work, but if we don’t try, I’ll never sleep again.” Maybe that was true.

But what if it costs everything? What if it would have cost me The Angel and my sons – how would I have slept then? But could I have actually given all of me, the best parts of me, to my wife if I suppressed that impulse? Could I have become who I am created to be without taking the shot? And how many people, like me, have have their lives changed by Luke Skywalker and his dad? How much beauty has had it’s genesis in Lucas’s films? What is the “whole world” gained, and what is the “soul” lost?

I know the verses are talking about faith, and the context is about choosing selfishness over God, but in this case (in most cases), it’s not so clear. “What can anyone give in exchange for your soul?” But maybe the “soul” is the art, in this case. Maybe Star Wars is the mission, the blessing to be given through this person, and to ignore it is to “forfeit” his soul, and the “whole world” is his relationship with his wife and family. Maybe they are the sacrifice of faith, in his life.

What if the Angel had said no, said I needed to keep the comfortable, secure job I hated? She might have been married to a shell of a man for the rest of her life. In a vacuum, I think George Lucas would have been happier with her, rather than with his wealth. She was, by all accounts, an absolutely lovely woman. But life isn’t a vacuum. So, with Star Wars inside of him, would he have ever been content?

Maybe he wrote it, gained all the money (among many other things), and blew up his marriage (among many other things), only because he had to prove his worth to his own father, or only because he wanted a few more dollars. That’s an easy application of the words of Jesus. But how many choices in your life have ever been 100-0? Not many. And for us, we’ll never know what actually went into his decision. We can believe it was for unimaginable wealth, but maybe it was faith, an offering of selfless service. When maybe all he really wanted was his wife. Then what?

On screen, Star Wars is a story of good persevering, the triumph of light, hope and love for each other. It’s a hugely successful franchise that may never die. And maybe off screen, it’s an epic tragedy. Our lives are complicated. We’ll never know the why of George Lucas, it’s just vital we know our own.

Complicated

January 7, 2025/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

The site prompt is, ‘What could you do differently?” And I LOVE that question. It’s not what I’m going to write about today, but I imagine I will soon. Today, instead, it’ll be about 2 complicated documentaries that I recently watched.

A British Horror Story is the account of Jimmy Saville, a British celebrity for 40+ years. I don’t remember ever hearing his name, though I think that’s impossible. As you know, I am somewhat of a pop culture aficionado. Maybe I did, but not remembering someone as odd looking as Seville is equally impossible. That someone this unappealing was a star in a visual medium is quite unusual. Anyway, appearances aside, he was as odd and unappealing in his life, as well.

A woman who knew him guessed that she had never seen someone do as much good as he did. He had given years and years, with much fundraising and publicity, for English hospitals, detention spaces, and mental health centers. Of course, he also sexually abused the patients in those facilities, more than 400 formal counts. There’s that.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace is far more difficult to explain. Natalia is a little person who is either 22 or 35 years old. Either she is a psychopath who tried to murder her adoptive parents without any cause whatsoever, or the victim of horrific physical violence. No one is particularly likable in this series, and it’s totally probably that no one is telling the truth. I haven’t finished all of it. Maybe there is a resolution in the end, but so far, the Angel and I change our opinion on who the real villain is each episode. Is there a villain? Are they all villains? Are they all victims, too?

Now that I’m on this, a really good friend saw the Dylan biopic (featuring the alleged, noted STD super-spreader and terrific actor Timothy Chalamet) and has been obsessed with listening to old records, while trying to reconcile the fact that Dylan was, perhaps, not the nicest person.

I went to see Morrissey in November, and walked around the hotel, wanting him to sign my t-shirt. But only sign my shirt. I don’t want to have a conversation with him, or sit down to dinner together. He and his music absolutely changed my life, but personally, he is widely known as holding many of the characteristics that I actively avoid in others.

This is why I wrote ‘complicated’ documentaries, earlier. People are rarely just one thing. The woman in the Saville doc was right, he did an amazing amount of good, for many people. And he was a complete monster. He, likely, did those good things for one reason: to gain access. All of this is true. In the Natalia Grace series, are they all victims, or are they all villains? Yes. Chalamet is an STD farm (allegedly) and a brilliant artist. Dylan was a genius and a jerk. Morrissey is both the guy you want to listen to on your headphones, and the one you don’t want to talk to in person.

I used to have a need to know which one. Things and people needed to be black or white. Heroes or heels. Good guys or bad guys. Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants.

One of my first idols was, baseball pitcher, Roger Clemens. His stats are nearly unparalleled, and he’s not in the Hall of Fame because he cheated, using truckloads of steroids, and is still lying about it. Now what? Is he the best, or the worst?

The truth is that the answer is neither. We’re all very complex, beautiful and flawed. We’re all capable of great evil and the most selfless love and kindness you’ve ever seen. The inmates in the scariest prisons are someone’s mommy or daddy, another’s son or daughter. I didn’t understood the phrase, “there but for the grace of God go I,” when I was younger. I sure do now.

This is why I watch these documentaries, to hold contradictions and complications, to care well for the flesh and blood people in my own life. To make me a soft place to land.

Pains of Nostalgia

December 31, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

The site prompt is, “What makes you feel nostalgic?” And, on New Year’s Eve, that feels appropriate. Or at least connected. The truth is, I feel nostalgic quite a bit. Nostalgia is defined as “a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition also.” It’s a “feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness.” I don’t think it’s an entirely positive emotion. Nostalgia can be another way we are absent from the present, and there are too many of those.

I get nostalgic for the ‘90’s, even though, if I’m honest, that decade didn’t love me nearly as much as I loved it. I was lost and confused in my personal life, rudderless in my career path, generally hopeless and drifting in a sea that obviously didn’t care if I would swim or drown. Everything felt totally meaningless and random, there wasn’t anything that connected me to the world around me.

But I sure LOVED the music. I still do. I remember hearing the Counting Crows first album, August & Everythng After, for the first time. I cried when I heard “Round Here,” and I still do. I have no idea if any album will mean that much to me ever again. Maybe that’s a good thing, but it makes me sentimentally yearn for that irrecoverable condition. It makes me slightly sad.

I used to buy cds, go home and lay in my bed and read the liner notes/lyrics as I listened through a few times. I knew Sting and Bono’s real name and all of the members of the Goo Goo Dolls. I knew all of the track 9’s. Now, I barely know track 1, or what the album is titled.

That’s good, because I have the Angel and 2 sons, youth sports, and I absolutely know my purpose. I belong, am loved, and am deeply tied to this wonderfully beautiful creation. But all change, all growth, comes with loss. I am listening to a great song that I really like and would have to look to see the song title or artist’s name. (Incidentally, it’s “Bound To You,” by Jocelyn Alice, and I first heard it on an episode of Catfish. I have no idea what Ms. Alice looks like or if she has any other songs I’d like.) I miss knowing those things. I miss the simplicity of college and irresponsibility. I am still quite simple, but I am not at all irresponsible. I wouldn’t change a thing, not one.

This year will be rich and thick with wonder and meaning. I know this, because all days and moments are charged with wonder and meaning. That doesn’t mean they’re good, or feel particularly pleasant, but that sort of knowledge comes with age and attention. Blessing is for those who are aware & awake to see it and be grateful, so I am overwhelmingly blessed.

Anyway, back to the prompt. This is actually a question I have thought about, and the thing that makes me feel nostalgic, far more than anything else, is “Fade Into You,” by Mazzy Star. I have no idea why. I mean, it’s great, but it was never my favorite song. It’s not tied to treasured memories. It’s just awesome and it makes me feel awesome. And slightly sad.

Beautiful Things

December 18, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

I am hesitant to write yet another post about high school/youth sports, and I am especially hesitant to comment on the officiating in these contests. (I have written them, but have not posted them. I usually like to be a positive voice in a sea of increasing vitriol.) However. There will be a point that is much bigger than one game or season, right in the middle of a loooong silly rambling treatise.

I had a very elementary, yet personally profound, realization. You see, the officiating at these contests is generally, with few exceptions, abysmal. It’s simple incompetence. I don’t think these people are bad people (I mean, there are psychos walking around, so there are probably some in every field…and sometimes, they are quite rude and condescending), it just appears that they are overwhelmed by the speed and physicality of the game. But big deal, right? It’s high school sports. It’s just a game. So what if some middle-aged, overweight guys in stripes can’t manage to control the kids?

And that’s true, to a certain extent. But last night, as it was happening, I was wondering why we all (and myself in particular) get so invested in fairly trivial things, and why this inadequacy is so maddening. Of course, none of this is an excuse. Parents are much of what broke youth sports, and there is no space where a human being should be screamed at or publicly belittled, especially not in a high school gymnasium. These are human beings with families and maybe find themselves here, over their skis, ostensibly because they see a need and want to see the games played. I wrote last year about why it is that I get so excited (or what I like to call passionate;) and why it’s such a bad look for a man, regardless of that reason. This is not that post. This is a post with some observations, and the last one will be the “personally profound realization.”

*We like the illusion of fairness. We want to pretend that the ground is level and everyone gets an equal opportunity. We believe in justice and that we all get what we deserve. This is, obviously, not true anywhere. The best songs are almost never the most popular. Sometimes the most horrific things happen to the best people. Innocent people sit in prison while the guilty walk free. But we want it to be true in sports. And we’d really like it to be true for our children. It’s not, and evidence of that can be wildly frustrating.

*The most common excuse given for the state of officiating in all amateur sports is that “it’s hard to find” willing participants. I hear and can understand that argument (after all, parents are not the easiest to handle), while dismissing it as hollow. It is a paid position. This isn’t volunteerism. (But even then, if you help at the hospital information desk and consistently send people to wrong buildings and floors, maybe a change is in order.) But paid positions require a certain base level of competence…

…and to offer such a flippant excuse, is, essentially, an assent that youth sports, and by extension, the athletes, really aren’t that important to us. Maybe this is actually reasonable, but considering that sports are religion in America, it’s a mixed message. We either care or we don’t.

Now, the much bigger societal issue is what we’ll call the “It Is What It Is” mentality. It’s the language of despair, and an convenient escape hatch for the risk and responsibility of growth or change. We excuse any and all behavior, filing it under the category of “this is just who I am,” forgetting (or ignoring) that we don’t have to stay that way. Marriages, jobs, faith, habits, generational curses, whatever. Is our destiny really to just get by on the same path, walking the same steps we always have, accepting everything because “it is what it is,” while throwing our hands up in the air? And the arrogance of this stagnant position does nothing but assure more stagnation. Sports officiating might be the least important of all of the symptoms of this disease, but it is a symptom, nonetheless.

There are 40 year old boys I know that have no expectations whatsoever placed upon them. Oh well, shrug, he’s just that way. This lack of hope is depressing, and the next time it is helpful will be the first. Maybe if we stop accepting the lowest possible outcome, we’ll begin to get something different.

The truth is, whether I should or not, I care a lot. About the kids – I don’t want anyone getting injured simply because an official is under qualified and overwhelmed. I want them to enjoy sports and all of the great effects of participation, at all age and skill levels. That is my main interest, honestly. It’s not just the right thing to say between games on a blog so I don’t sound like a raving lunatic with poor priorities. Having said that, my profound epiphany is:

*I love beautiful things. 3 weeks ago, I attended a Morrissey concert. What if the sound engineer was ill-equipped? What if he didn’t know how to operate the board, and was a little tone deaf? The guitars might be too loud, the bass overdone, and the vocal mix out of balance. We may not be able to hear Morrissey, instead getting too much of the keyboard or rhythm guitar. Let’s say Brene Brown was giving a talk on relationships, and the microphone kept cutting out or the lights were flashing because the ones who should check batteries forgot. Would that be an obstacle to her brilliant talent? Would we accept it as “just how it is?” It’s hard to get sound guys, why bother to train them or hold them responsible for sub-par performance?

Basketball is an absolutely lovely sport, full of creativity and athleticism, as well as sharply choreographed cooperative movements. It can be an awesome display of the dance between giftedness and hard work. When a game is poorly controlled, this dance becomes a scrum. The inherent beauty of meaningful brushstrokes becomes a chaotic mess, noisy and disconcerting.

I’m not sorry for loving beautiful things. I’m not sorry for my passion for art (including sport). I’m not sorry for wanting all interested kids to be able to play, if they want to, without extra risk of violent injury. I’m not sorry that I value excellence, in any and all fields. And I’m nowhere close to sorry that I wholeheartedly reject the desperate “Is What It Is” nonsense.

What I might be sorry for is that “middle-aged, overweight” comment earlier.

Am I Woke?

December 9, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

The Star Wars films ranked: 1. Episode 8, The Last Jedi. 2. Episode 7, The Force Awakens. 3. Rogue One. 4. Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back. 5 (tie). Episode 4, A New Hope. Episode 6, Return of the Jedi. Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. Episode 9, Rise of Skywalker. 9. Solo. 10. Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. 1,000 (to just list it as last underestimates just how bad the actual movie is. The story is fine, it’s ok in theory, but in reality, it’s just an epic load of garbage.) Episode 2, Attack of the Clones.

It’s possible to disagree, I suppose, with all but the first and last, and that’s up to you. But last weekend, as I was watching Force Awakens for the 20th or 30th time, I now know why that last trilogy is the best. It’s obvious, and probably nothing new to you. You’ve surely known this for years. It’s Daisy Ridley, and her character, Rey.

What’s odd is that, when I told my family in this personal eureka moment, they called me “woke.” Am I woke? What’s woke? I mean, I think I know what “woke” is, I’ve heard it in all sorts of contexts. But here, stating a clear fact, what could it possibly mean to be woke? My son said it both ironically and derisively, so I think he meant it AS ironic derision, like he was poking fun at the common online trolling of this perspective.

But what does that mean? Am I a part of the “woke mob?” What does it mean to be “woke?” Is loving Rey more than Luke Skywalker the first sign? The only sign? You know, now that I think of it, I even liked The Acolyte series…a lot! I thought The Marvels was flawed, but fun. Same with Agatha All Along and Echo. Is thinking that a female can be the protagonist in a story that’s not about motherhood or romance “woke?” I hated Episode 2, but in my defense, I thought Natalie Portman (a usually terrific actor) was horrible in it. Now that I think of it, is it particularly woke to call her an actor instead of actress???

I didn’t mind that the love story in Frozen wasn’t romantic, was between sisters, and the males were ancillary characters. I didn’t even care too much that the women saved the day, and the guys.

I didn’t think it was pandering to an agenda when Agatha kissed Rio, in Agatha All Along. I simply thought more women kiss other women nowadays, and art (especially popular art) reflects the culture. I also thought NWA used explicit lyrics because people they knew in the lives they led used explicit lyrics, not because they had a far-reaching villainous plot to turn us all into gangstas.

Rey is funny, real, scared & surprised at her power and very, very strong. Oh boy. I think its possible that I might be woke. Think? I didn’t even mention her looks. SMH. And, and, and, I thought Rose was awesome. “I saved you, dummy.” So good. They were right, I am totally “woke.”

So, what does that mean? What do me and my mob have to do? I don’t really want to boycott anything (except episode 2) or remake old Disney movies with flipped gender roles. I don’t even know how to create memes. I just want to watch great films with well-written characters I care about. And I want to see everything Daisy Ridley is in. If that’s the hidden agenda of my mob, I guess I’m in.

Under The Covers

December 3, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

I’m listening to “Good Luck, Babe!” two times in a row, once by Postmodern Jukebox and the other by Chappell Roan. Later, I’ll listen to “Too Sweet” two times, the original by Hozier and the cover version by the Macarons Project. Earlier, Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” by Susanna Hoffs, and The National’s version of “Never Tear Us Apart.” There is a playlist on my music app called Prime Covers. (I use the word “prime” in each of my playlists, thinking it’s equal parts clever and commentary on the ubiquitous nature of the Amazon brand. It’s probably neither, it’s probably just dumb. Same goes for the title of this blog, which could be clever but is probably just dumb.)

I love cover songs, have always loved cover songs.

I do not, however, like too faithful note-for-note replays. Why? I didn’t like Van Sant’s Psycho shot-for-shot remake, either. The current exception is “Right Down The Line” – original by Gerry Rafferty, cover by Local Natives. Maybe that’s because the song/lyrics remind me so much of the Angel (“It was you, woman, right down the line.”) I could hear either one and be very happy. But usually, I can’t enjoy it because I’m waiting for something new and interesting that never comes.

I want completely different imaginings of these songs. My example of a perfect cover would be Danzig covering Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield.” Danzig is not Pat Benatar, but “Love Is A Battlefield” sounds like a sentiment he could get behind. Everything would be perfect. Postmodern Jukebox’s “Good Luck, Babe!” sounds like an early ‘60’s b-side, and is better in every way than Chappell Roan’s. “Too Sweet” is different enough, but Hozier’s version is the alpha. This is usually the case, original’s are mostly indispensable, with the cover being a quirky distraction.

I suppose “All Along The Watchtower” is the best example of the new absolutely replacing the old. After Jimi Hendrix played his, no one would ever purposefully listen to Bob Dylan’s again. This is a very very rare phenomena.

One Sunday morning, in our church service, I played “Be My Baby,” by the Ronettes and then again by Bayside. Nobody actually thinks the Bayside version is better, but there are people who would, at certain times and places, rather hear a catchy pop punk tune than a classic piece of Heaven, with a transcendent Ronnie Spector performance (is there another kind???).

The point was, we have a Gospel that is the most amazing, awesome Truth, and there’s a Great Commission that asks us to take this Gospel everywhere. Not everyone likes Chappell Roan, or Danzig, or Bob Dylan, but these songs need to be heard, the audience needs to grow for beautiful things. And not everyone likes my face or voice or shoes, but everyone desperately needs this Gospel of grace, peace, and love. Maybe they need your version, instead.

Pop Songs

November 25, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

There is a song called “Cinderella Snapped,” by someone named Jax. I don’t know much about Jax, because we live in a mostly post-artist world. We choose songs instead of albums and are loyal to no one. Maybe Jax will have another good song (and, in fact, she does, called “Victoria’s Secret.” Maybe there’s more, but nobody really cares. If she does, the algorithm on my Amazon music app will make sure I hear it. My favorite song on Nevermind is “Drain You,” but album tracks are a relic of ancient times, so we’d never hear it today), but that’s besides the point. This one is perfect. It’s about Disney princesses opening their eyes and moving on from the common narrative. (I’m not sure, maybe I’m “woke.” I’ll think about it later.)

The 2nd verse is one of the most perfect examples of what popular music can be, what a beautifully transcendent medium it is. “When the smoke cleared, every girl in the whole land. Woke the f- up and started making demands. Rapunzel shaved their head, so there was nothin’ to climb on. Jasmine made out with Mulan. Sleeping Beauty sued the dude who kissed her while she was asleep. And Ariel was confident without any feet. Tiana went and got a Biomedical Degree. And Beauty realized that she was the Beast.” So good.

Jax is a former contestant on American Idol. Does this say something good or bad? Who knows? There was a time I would have said it’s the worst thing, but now? Whatever.

There’s another song called “Beautiful Things,” by Benson Boone. “Crazy In Love,” by Beyoncé, “Never Tear Us Apart,” by INXS, “Rebel Yell,” by Billy Idol are perfect radio songs. “Beautiful Things” is also perfect. I might say “Too Sweet,” by Hozier is, too, but maybe not. Probably. Anyway. I’m not perfect, by any measure, but I think if I were a pop song, this is the one I’d be.

It’s sweet and romantic, he’s found a girl his parents love, and when she comes and spends the night, he thinks he might have it all. He thanks God every day for the girl He sent his way. Swoon. Me too. I’ve been married to the Angel for almost 25 years and I told her again last night that I can’t believe I’m the only one that gets to kiss her like this. I am truly grateful and thank God every day for the woman He sent my way.

There are some questionable ideas: Does God “take away” blessings? Do I really need her? But this is a pop song, after all, and it’s pretty fun for there to be anything interesting to discuss in a 3 minute song about love. I do hope I don’t lose her, though, need or not.

But then the song builds quickly and gets loose. He wails to “please stay,” and asks that God would not “take these beautiful things that he’s got.” (Does “got” imply ownership? I bet Jax would have thoughts.) The verses appeal to everyone with ears and a heart, but the chorus is risky, with sharp edges. (Just an fyi, the Angel hates this hook. She’s wrong.) I am leaving behind my overwhelming need for people pleasing, and instead embracing my sharp edges in the service of authenticity in my own divine creation.

Then it slows and finishes. The only negative to this gem is the same as “Never Tear Us Apart” – it’s too short. It’s in and out, changes you, nothing is ever the same again, and you are left wishing you had more time with it. I would like it if you said any of those things about me.

The truth is, these 2 songs are exactly what they are, without apology. They’re exactly what they’ve been created to be. And maybe that’s the coolest thing about them. “Cinderella Snapped” doesn’t want to be Bob Dylan or Taylor Swift, it isn’t afraid to be as deep as the sea while sounding like the sky. “Beautiful Things” knows it’s the Beast and is willing to scream out loud about it. Maybe we can see ourselves in them, and maybe I see the me that I’m finally stepping into. We’re not “Beautiful Things” or anything else. I’m just me, you’re just you, and that is enough. In fact, it’s much, much more than enough.

Morrissey in Atlantic City, 2024

November 21, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/1 Comment

Last week, I saw Morrissey in Atlantic City. (If you don’t know who Morrissey is, I’m sorry… you should find out immediately.) He’s been my very favorite since I was 13ish, and he’s still my favorite artist by miles and miles. My favorite song is “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” and number 2 is “Half A Person.” When I make lists of My Top 10 (or 100 or 500) songs or albums, I don’t include him, because he’s all of the top spots and the list begins for others much later.

The question is if we are one sort of person and find the artists that mean the most or if they find us and we become those people? And like so many things, the answer is yes. We are predisposed to Smiths (the band Morrissey fronted) songs. We are emotional, sensitive, weird, and they massage those already screaming places and make them grow. Where we were a little outside of the norm, we became complete misfits and put that on like comfy sweaters. We are the kind of people looking for artists to “save our lives” and so we find them, then we become the people who were “saved” by an artist. It’s an odd circle, but it’s not very complicated. It’s nature AND nurture. I was born and was raised into a Morrissey person.

So, when he plays roughly 3 hours from my house, teenage me would have walked. Now me checks the calendar for days off and the kids schedule and bank account to see about a fancy hotel. When they line up, I am very, very excited to go.

There are few casual Morrissey fans. He is either your favorite, or you don’t really care for him at all (like my brother, who HATES him). Everyone there wore t-shirts and knew every word to 40 year old album tracks. He played new songs, not on a released album, and we even knew those lyrics. How? Because we’re Morrissey people. How would we not know “I Am Veronica?”

The setlist was not the one I would’ve compiled. If you listed the 20 biggest hits for your favorite band, this setlist would have included only 2 or 3. He omitted many of the songs that soundtracked our lives, seemingly choosing by random. Which is really cool, in most cases. In others, it’s still really cool.

It didn’t change my life. I spent the night in the hotel with the Angel, and the 2 of us had dinner with my sister and brother-in-law. My sister and I then went to the show together. Those last 2 sentences were more important to me than any of the songs or even (gasp!) Morrissey himself. I’m not who I used to be.

In the song “Ouija Board,” there are 2 lines that perfectly touched every last bit of me. “..and I still do feel so horribly lonely,” and “I just can’t find my place in the world.” Even the famous lyric from “How Soon Is Now?” – “ I am human and I need to be loved.”

I’m not very lonely too much at all, anymore. I think I finally have found my place in the world, as well as the story of my life. And the 2nd half of the “I am human and I need to be loved…just like everybody else does,” is now what I can focus on, which has changed my life in such beautifully meaningful ways.

There was a sharpie in my pocket for him to sign my t-shirt, just in case we ran into each other. We didn’t, but if we had, I would’ve thanked him, told him how grateful I am to have found him. That’s true. I am a Morrissey person, only now that is only a fairly small part of me…But that fairly small part still listens to Bona Drag on repeat and carries a sharpie and makes me hoarse singing along to pop songs in a concert hall in Atlantic City.

A Few Observations On The Election

November 8, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/Leave a comment

Maybe you missed it, but there was an election to decide the President of the United States this week. I am no different from most of the rest of us, we are all overflowing with emotions & observations that will take days, months, years to unpack and reconcile.

I don’t like to speak publicly about who and/or what, specifically, I politically support. Far more important to me is offering everyone a seat at every table, where we are comfortable and safe to explore and discover our own place in our journey. It’s never helpful to try to control others conclusions or beat them into changing their minds – not helpful to relationships and always unsuccessful.

What has hurt us, as a nation (of course) and as human beings, is the belief that we are not just one group, but we are 2, an us/them dichotomy, adversaries where I am right and you are wrong. I am interested in bridging imaginary gaps and reminding us all that we are all moms & dads, brothers & sisters, just people all in the same strange boat, inviting us all to the table. And big beautiful tables like that aren’t ever built by hanging signs on the front door that some aren’t welcome. We listen and try to understand, and when we don’t, we love anyway.

I do have some observations, (hopefully) without endorsement or judgment of you and your conclusions.

Let’s say Pepsi and Coke are the only available soft drinks. And let’s also say we don’t like them. They’re not great, but we figure that one is marginally better than the other. Now, let’s say a new company comes along to disrupt the status quo. We complain about the 2 soda empires, but we continue to only buy Coke or Pepsi. Do you think anything would ever change? Do you think Coke will sink any time, energy, or money into putting out a better product? Do you think Pepsi will ever decide to transform the dual monopoly, if it means cutting their own profits and market share? Of course, neither of them would jeopardize their own power and wealth. Our participation in this 2 cola race (voting with our wallets to ignore any other drinks) is validation of an only 2 cola race. In this case, we deserve Pepsi & Coke.

I do wish we deserved/demanded a wide array of choices in our soft drinks.

I am a religious person – but maybe not the kind of religious that you might have in your head. What I actually mean is that I love and follow Jesus, and I love you, too. So, a really big problem is when we replace God with a person or party, and when we replace the enemy with a person or party. (After writing and deleting what I’ve written several times,) That’s all I’ll say about that.

What I know, after this and every election, is that we are still an us, there are no monsters here, and as long as division reigns supreme, we will drift farther and farther apart. We will dig our feet into our respective Coke or Pepsi camps, and hurl violent insults (and more) from our right-ness into their wrong-ness, killing our opponents, before we ever wake up to the truth that in killing them, we have been killing ourselves all along.

Episode 8

November 4, 2024/The Bridge Faith Community/1 Comment

The site asks me what my life will be like in 3 years? Well, I imagine we’ll be slaves to our machine overlords. Or maybe it’ll look exactly the same, because we’re already slaves to the machines? Or maybe I’ll still be loving you, trying to change the whole world one at a time?

Anyway, a few days ago I watched episode 8 of the Star Wars saga, called The Last Jedi. Many of those who hold Star Wars like a religion rather than a rad film series hated this installment. Probably because our hero was a woman (!!!), the bad guy was derisively called “emo” (as if that was somehow a negative?), there was an awesome character named Rose that received death threats because she had the nerve to be in a movie, but the most egregious sin was that Luke Skywalker was jaded and sour. We like what we like, and don’t always (i.e. never) embrace change.

Rey, Ren, and Rose are perfect, and I thought it was pretty reasonable that Luke might be sort of broken after what he saw and endured, his spirit buckling under his guilt and shame. I spent years depressed and isolated for far less than plunging the universe into bondage under a new empire.

(I’m about to talk about how great this film is, and I’m going to need you to forget, as I will, that scene of Leia floating through space. Deal? Deal.)

Beginning with the moment where Rey shows up in Snoke’s throne room, the next hour+ is my absolute favorite. There’s nothing else in all of the movies I’ve seen that can touch it. Not Captain America getting Thor’s hammer in Endgame. Not the reveal in Fight Club. Not Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men or The Shining or Five Easy Pieces. Not the heart-crushing Aimee Mann song at the end of Magnolia. Or the super-strange frog rain in Magnolia. Not Helm’s Deep or the battle for New York. Not “In Your Eyes” on John Cusack’s boom box or every word of the script of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Not the conversation between The Bride and Bill or “Say what again!!”from Pulp Fiction. Maybe the reveal in Fight Club… no, not the reveal in Fight Club.

Ren & Rey killing Snoke and fighting the royal guard, Laura Dern turning the cruiser around and hyperspacing into the imperial fleet, the mono-skis on the salt planet, and LUKE SKYWALKER showing up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s THE BEST!!!

The weirdos who say the movie was terrible could not possibly be more wrong. In fact, I wonder if it’s all some sort of organized troll, like a work in big time wrestling, where everybody knows the truth. Like if you know somebody who says “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the Beatles are overrated. They can barely say it with a straight face. Maybe this is the same. It has to be, right?

But the Star Wars studio heads didn’t think so. They listened to this nonsense and retconned (a new term that I can’t say I totally like) the story, rolling it back to somehow cobble together episode 9. Sigh. So I’ll keep watching episode 8 over and over, at least until those same studio heads destroy the print, and pretend it was never made. But we’ll remember, won’t we?

Love With A Capital L

A journey towards living an inspired life of love in the modern world

Tag: culture