All it took was one Jurassic Park movie to make me realize that no dinosaurs should ever be brought back. Not even the “cute” ones because that is a slippery slope that we should never slide down. They are best studied from the safety of paleontology and science books. Dinosaurs should remain extinct. We do however have birds that are a descendant of the raptor.
To quote Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) from the first Jurassic Park movie, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
I am a churchgoer. I have been a Baptist, Methodist and now Episcopalian. Church has been an important part of my life. So that makes me a parishioner. That word to me is about community, responsibility, and discipleship. This word I think is about inclusion, or it should be. Parishioners are about worship to a higher power or God if you will. They are also about service to one another. Being a parishioner is also a calling. It is about abiding in God’s love and the call to the people who gather in divine presence.
As a person in his 50s, I am certainly middle-aged. My sense of humor gravitates to that of a fifteen-year-old boy, it’s still hard to believe I am middle-aged. My body does tell me a different story there. Stuff hurts, and I need my bifocals to read almost everything.
I still listen to the music of my youth (the 70s and 80s). I try to keep up with what is going on these days to stay somewhat relevant. Being conversant with multiple generations is a good thing.
Being middle-aged, especially as a member of Generation X can be fun at times. Our history has let us see a lot of innovation and changes in the world. Like any era in history, you have got to roll with the punches and be flexible. Getting older is not for the feint of heart, though.
Whether it be illness or grief or whatever has impacted you greatly it takes time to recover. It’s not easy and oftentimes times you never fully recover who you were but you become something different or new. People find themselves wondering what’s next and will they be whole again. To recover means to get something back too and sometimes a loss is just that a loss and there must be a new way forward.
My dad passed away on August 24th. He’s no longer with us on Earth. I know he is with the Saints and Angels of heaven but that doesn’t change the fact I hate he is not here. Death is something I hate with everything I have. Sure it’s a cure but its also a price you pay for living or so it seems. My goodness so many good people go into eternity but it still sucks. Losing people is awful. I do wish people didn’t have to go but you know they have to because bodies wear out and all that jazz. Death sucks, it just does. Screw death.
I still think of my father as a daddy. Yeah I am almost 50 but I still see my father through the eyes and heart of a kid. I don’t call him daddy but I prefer the word dad but you get where I am coming from. My daddy is slowing down and his health isn’t so good these days. Really, its hard for me to see the reality of seeing this man I have known all my life not be able to do the things he has always done. It’s all about aging at this point. Daddy you are still number one.
The Tony Burgess Blog 