heavy things i could not see

may has been quite the month. here are a few things i did:

i went camping here. it was wonderful - perfect weather & i slept all night long thanks to earplugs & drugs.

i went to the re-dedication of the atlanta temple

i spent a weekend in alabama picking up trash after the tornados

Boy & i went to our cousin's wedding in north carolina

and this weekend, i am moving!

the most patriotic post i'll ever write

i feel such ambivalence as i watch the national reaction and counter reaction to the news about Osama bin Laden's death. i am glad a man that represented such evil is not in my world anymore. but then i read quotes like this one by Martin Luther King, Jr:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

does rejoicing in the death of an enemy automatically equal hate? perhaps. can we be happy someone who attacked our nation and irreversibly changed our lives does not have that power anymore without feeling hatred toward him? i don't know. i certainly don't want to chant "USA! USA!" or wrap a flag around my shoulders, but i will not pretend i want him in my world. while i do not personally celebrate his death and wish he had been captured alive (for a myriad of reasons), i view his death as good news for me & my country.

i feel no hatred for bin Laden. i kinda pity him. at what point has one lost so much of his humanity that thousands celebrate his death?

Arab Americans celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden's death (NYTimes)

i marked the news of his death last night the way i marked the September 11th attacks (and the way i remembered that day when i watched United 93*) - by crying on my couch. other took to the streets in what seemed like a post-game celebration. appropriate or not, i can understand their feelings. the events on September 11th were devastating for all Americans, but the physically harmed cities bore a special burden the rest of us cannot claim to understand. when spontaneous celebrations break out in DC & NYC, the two cities bin Laden's minions undeniably hurt the most, i am hesitant to vilify these communities for a moment of open catharsis.

the worst part of September 11th is the uncertainty that has followed. the last decade has been filled with violence, death, and tragedy. and while those things are far from gone, bin Laden's death is a monumental symbolic victory for our side. it says to all those people who have lived in fear that while evil may strike and innocents may die, those that attack us will answer for their crimes and, ultimately, we will win. and if that is what people were celebrating last night, i am with them (in spirit at least).

*anyone who can watch "United 93" without becoming an emotional wreck is dead inside

Epic Love Story

my beloved grandmother passed away one year ago this week. anyone who has had more than 3 conversations with me knows my love for my maternal grandparents borders on obsession. accordingly, i did not handle her death very well (i was kinda a wreck for about 2 months). as the year anniversary has approached, i have found myself working her into random conversations. also, i may or may not have forced RationalThought to look at pictures of her house for 20 minutes last week. but this post is less about her & more about some awesome people i met through her.

for me spring break equals florida. almost every year of my childhood we traveled to Mt.Dora and stayed in the little pink cottage for a week. we usually spent one day at Disney World, one day at the hot springs, and the rest of the days playing in the next door neighbors pool. these neighbors, the Huebners, were almost as much a part of my florida world as my grandparents were. one day my grandmother told me about how they met:

during world war II Teresea was a young nurse living in what was then Czechoslovakia. after the nazi army invaded, she began working at a military hospital. while there she met Martin, an injured German solider, and they fell deeply in love. when Martin finished his convalescence he was sent back to the front, but before leaving he gave Teresea his sister's address in Berlin and asked her to try to find him after the war. (at this point, the war was ending and he knew a former German solider would not be welcome back in Czechoslovakia). when the war ended, Teresea set off to find Martin. the railways and roads had been bombed so she decided to walk. along her way she met some American GIs who let her spend the night in one of their tents and gave her food (after that night she decided she loved Americans and America). after several weeks of walking through war-torn lands, she arrived in Berlin only to discover she had lost the piece of paper with Martin's sister's address on it. not knowing anyone in Berlin, she spent the next 2 days wandering around the city asking everyone she saw if they knew Clara Huebner. eventually, she found someone who knew her and he took Teresea to Clara's house where she was reunited with Martin. they married in Berlin and eventually immigrated to the States.

i just love how ridiculously dramatic their story is. if i ever write a screenplay it will be based on Teresea and Martin (and Joe Wright will direct it). can you imagine the scene when she finally sees Martin again in Berlin? cue the crane shot and sweeping music... now.

love & beauty

the temple in Atlanta has been closed for the past 2 years for remodeling, but it is done and we are in the middle of the open house before it's rededication. friday was my stake's day to work at the open house. i helped on the afternoon/evening shift. mostly i just stood on the sidewalk and gave people directions. honestly, i kinda felt like a temple square missionary just saying hello to people as they walked by. it made me glad i was not a temple square missionary.

i did get to sneak onto a tour group and i found myself looking forward to the temple being open again. since it has been closed i have only really been to the temple once. for me, going to the temple does not count if i go with other people - i find it distracting to know anyone else there. and with the closest temple 2.5 hours away, going alone was not very realistic. my last year in college i went to the temple every other tuesday afternoon, always by myself. when i think back on how emotionally taxing that year was, i am so grateful i had the luxury of a temple being 5 minutes from my house. even though i get bored and tend to nap during the beginning, there is something about being there that helps me feel calmer. it is unexplainable, but it is there. and i am glad it can be in my life again.

in case you were wondering...

the fat one still likes to eat, as does the not-so-fat one

but, they are not very fat anymore... sad

The Book of Mormon (Broadway style)

so you've probably heard that the creators of South Park made a Broadway musical called The Book of Mormon. i first heard about it about a year ago because i read the NYTimes so obsessively that sometimes i make it to the theater section. i was a little apprehensive at first having watched many South Park episodes in my sinful, pre-mission days, but the more i have heard about it the more i want to see it. i have no doubt it will be vulgar and crass, but from everything i've seen that makes up the majority of the offensiveness. i have talked to a few people at church who were quite offended on principle without knowing much about it. if you feel similarly, i have some suggestions:

- first, watch this interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. i found it quite encouraging.

- second, read my friend's blog about the non-Mormon v. Mormon dynamic. he an excellent writer and has a lot of intelligent observations.

- last, every time stuff like this comes around in the news, i find myself wondering why anyone is paying attention to the Mormon church in the first place. i think it is a good sign of growth. and, i'll take this type of attention over people storming the LA temple any day.

a sampling of words found in my phone's user dictionary

ahhhh

bastard

Bieber

crap

douche

downers

effe

F-ing

freakin

freebasing

WTF

hell

HIV

Loratab

pimp

STIs

trannie

Unabomber

vegan

Xanax

Hipster