4 posts tagged “christian”
Whatever you have previously heard about jet lag, forget it!
It's a formidable challenge to overcome.
Me? I'm not quite there.
Yesterday I slept until ten-thirty.
Today, like right now, it's five AM and I'm wide awake.
Anyway, we spent most of day three touring Tarragona, a city located 100 km South of Barcelona.
The city has been known as Imperial Tarraco since the Roman domination. There are some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the Iberian Peninsula.
To the left Cheri and I are standing on top of a two-thousand year-old Roman aqueduct which spans a valley about a mile from the city gates. It is 700 feet in length, and the arches, of which there are two tiers, are 96 feet high. We walked all the way across and back, which, I've gotta' tell you, was a real challenge for me as I am terrified of heights! As in at one point I really had to fight the urge to drop to my knees and crawl.
After seeing some of the major antiquities, such as the amphitheater, the original site of the Roman Circ, or circus where they hosted chariot races, we had lunch and later coffee on La Rambla.
Tomorrow, Saturday, we are moving into our "permanant" quarters--an apartment in a small resort town called Sitges (pronounced "seat-jis").
If it is anything like it has been described, it is quite close to the beach and within walking distance from anywhere you'd want to go, even the train. Of course, as Stephen Wright said so appropriately, "Anything is within walking distance...if you've got the time."
RG...out!
We spent most of the day in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to figure out the train system here in Barcelona.
Part of the problem is that the train will take you into Barcelona but will not take you around Barcelona.
To do that one has to take the Metro.
Go figure.
We commented (something that is becoming a near impossibility here on "vox") several times to each other today that in looks, feel and population base, there is little difference between Barcelona and any major city in America.
There is an ancient soul here.
A soul scarred by wars, occupations, struggles for dominance, a process cyclical in nature that has lasted for a couple of thousand years.
In the faces one sees on the streets, on the Metro, the train...in the restaurants, there seems to be little joy and a particular heaviness born out of some deep, unsearchable sorrow.
I'm going to attempt to find the source--not that I am aspiring to effect even a slight change, but it's something I feel I need to know.
We have one more night here in Tarragona and then it's on to Sitges on Saturday morning.
Tomorrow (Friday) we are going to spend the day exploring the ruins left behind by the Romans from the days when Tarragona was the seat of power in the Roman world.
There are many to see including a mostly intact amphitheater and aquaduct system.
Oh, and we'll most likely lunch on the beach.
Niiiice!
RG...out!
I have a question and pose it herewith in hopes that one more sage than I can lend their wisdom to solve an aggravating issue.
So, there you are in the toilete of an airport--specifics don't matter, just go with it.
You are experiencing a pressing need to, well, sit rather than stand.
Being the hygenically integral man that I am, I reach for the diaphonously thin seat cover and place it just so in order to protect my nether regions from coming into contact with any offending porceleine.
I turn in preparation to sit when, "Whooosssshhhh." The toilete flushes my protective cover down the old crapper.
I can tell already that I may be forced into, at the very least, a minced oath or two.
Nevertheless, I press on and reapply the previously described cover.
"Whooossshhhh."
It sucks another one down before I can sit.
But I'm on to it now, and I finally manage to do my, ahem, business and go on my way.
So, back to the question...
Can somebody PLEASE tell me why it is that when you don't use a sanitary cover you can sit down, get up, sit down, get up, etc. all day and the doggone thing won't give you the satisfaction of letting you watch it flush.
I'm serious about this!
Anyway, we're here in Tarragona, the ancient Tarraco which was a major seaport during the Roman occupation of Spain.
As I write I'm sitting on a balcony overlooking a pine forest and the ocean, about three miles distant.
It is uncommonly beautiful.
We're both quite tired, so I'll end for now.
RG...out!
I heard an amazing concept this weekend at South Hills Church in Henderson, NV where my wife and I have been attending since leaving my former employ.
The story came vis-a-vis Erwin McManus through Bret Johnson, South Hill's wacky pastor.
It seemed that Erwin's son had just come home from camp where someone had talked a lot about demons and the devil.
The net result was that the child was terrified and said as much to his father at bedtime.
He said, "Daddy, can you pray that I'll be safe while I sleep?"
The father, wishing to do the appropriate, was just about to pray one of those good Christian warm blanket safety prayers...you know, "wrap me up in a big, warm blanket of God's love and protection and let me feel cuddled and safe."
At the last moment, though, he said instead, "Son, I'm not going to pray that you'll be safe. But I am going to pray that you'll be dangerous! So dangerous that demons everywhere will be too scared of you to even think about messing with you."
With eyes as big as saucers, the son looked up and said somewhat hesitantly, "Okay...but can you pray that I'll be really, really dangerous?"
What an amazing concept!
Being so dangerous that hell trembles at the very thought of messing with you.
Dangerously safe.
I like it!
RG...out!
