Change Is Good ... And Sometimes Painful

Things have changed at my house. A month or so ago my daughter got married and I guess she felt that the had to move in with her husband. That means she took her daughter, Claire, off with her. Thankfully they live in the same town as we do and we get to see them often. But when you remove an eight year old from the house, the noise level goes down quite a bit. And my son is about to turn 17. He has a job and is quite independent. Independent. I don't like that word. He is often occupied away from home these days with friends and work and school. That leaves me and Maggy in a house that's pretty quiet. I understand that this is the way of life and that nothing unusual has happened. In fact, Maggy and I spend more time together now than we used to. Change is good, and sometimes painful. Today Maggy and I drove over to Mobile and had a late breakfast with Chris and Susan Lockhart, and Hayden (who is quite an entertainer!). As it usually goes when Chris and I are together, the talk is non-stop. The waitress thought we were brothers. Well...we are! It was a great breakfast made even better when Chris picked up the bill! Thanks, Chris! I hope they had a safe journey back to Atlanta and will have a great Sunday at their church. After breakfast we went over to Old Time Pottery. I had never been there...wow... tons of items for home decor. Maggy picked out some items to place in our home. It's so big I think we spent about 2 hours there! Then we stopped by the Book Rack (used books) and looked around for a few minutes. We decided then to go see a movie.

Jude Law and Kate Winslett from All The King's Men

This afternoon we watched ALL THE KING'S MEN. ATKM stars Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslett, Anthony Hopkins, among others. Kathy Baker (Picket Fences - one of my favorite TV series) also has a role. This is a fictionalized account of a Louisiana politician (Penn) rising from small town roots to become the Governor of the state. He begins as an idealist promising to defeat the back-room deals of the rich elected officials that only work to appease the affluent. Penn does an oustanding job of delivering rousing political speeches and also of portraying the slow but deliberate slide into the very kind of politics he once despised. The story is told from the point of view of a reporter, played by Jude Law. Law is excellent in this dramatic film and helps string together a tale involving generations of corrupt politicians that culminates in a predictable but just ending. I enjoyed the movie very much, in spite of the fact that it is a tad too long, running a full 2 hours (plus 20 minutes of previews today!).

After the movie we had supper together and then came home. It was a good day spent together.

A Reminder: Monday we will begin John's Book Club! (original name, huh!) We plan to read and offer some thoughts on one chapter a day (probably five a week). The first book I want to read in this way is Kingdom Come: Embracing the Spiritual Legacy of David Lipscomb and James Harding by Bobby Valentine and John Mark Hicks. If you can join with me, let's read it together! If you are from Central, let me know and I'll get a copy for you - but you have to read it!

Thanks for reading today. Just a few links ...

Robbie Woods' New Blog.

Jeff Campbell receives the support he needed!

American Churches Exporting Conflicts? God forgive us.

Storms in Mid-West Leave At Least Ten Dead.

Final Boat Now Removed From Trees at Bayou La Batre.

Texans Still Cleaning Up From Hurricane Rita.