Special By Any Other Name

I was so moved today by this Kathryn Jean Lopez article on Down Syndrome, I wrote her an e-mail. Then I thought I should share a portion of it with you:

I have served as a volunteer with Best Buddies and Special Olympics, as well as several more organizations that serve a variety of other "special needs" people, and I cannot overemphasize the impact this has had on my character and outlook on life.

Never have I been more quickly and powerfully moved to tears of joy than on the day I watched a wheelchair bound, multiply disabled young man perform a brief rhythmic gymnastics routine that consisted of about fifteen seconds of barely perceptible arm movement. It was obviously an arduous task, and it was painful to observe. The moment the music stopped, signifying the end of his routine, a tiny teammate -- a little girl with Down Syndrome who was probably no more than six or seven years old -- leapt up from her seat and ran full speed across the gymnasium floor to fling herself upon him and shower him with hugs and kisses. The cheers were muted only by spectators' vain attempts at stifling their own sniffles and sobs. The memory of the pure, simple beauty of this moment still makes me cry, years later.

Down Syndrome kids are the living embodiment of unbridled honesty. If they're happy, you will know. If they're hurting, you will know. If they love you -- and I have met very few who don't pour out their enthusiastic love and affection on everyone without condition or expectation -- you will know.

Special needs people serve a very important purpose in this world, whether or not they are considered to be so-called "productive members" of society. As a Christian, I say they are created in the image of God and therefore inherently valuable, but even those who do not share my worldview should be able to recognize the value they bring to our lives. I am humbled and brought into the correct perspective when interacting with a guileless Down Syndrome child (or adult) who has no hidden agenda, no selfish motive or manipulative angle in conversation. I am reminded of the importance of joy. I am motivated to seek clarity, to reprioritize, to love everyone in equal measure.

I pity the "normal people" who have never experienced this conviction of the conscience, and I mourn the loss of the many thousands of sweet souls who will never have the opportunity to bless and correct and encourage us in this way.

If you got all the way to the end of this post without reading the Lopez article, here's another chance.

Lattes of Love

During the holiday season, everyone seems to make demands of our time and money. There are gifts to buy, cookies to bake, homes to decorate and parties to attend. Since Christmastime is also thought of as a season for giving, many charitable organizations pass the hat as well. (My favorite solicit-by-mail tactic is what Amy and I refer to as the "guilt labels" -- "Please accept these pre-printed address labels with your name and an adorable graphic, as a FREE gift from us...but it would be really nice of you to use one on the included donation envelope!")

I'm the first to admit that sometimes it's all too much. I love Christmas, but I'm exhausted already, and it's not even December.

But as it turns out, even I have a pitch to make (this is what happens when you work at a nonprofit). Are you grateful that you've been blessed with good health this year? Do you like kids? Do the baristas at your local Starbucks actually start making your regular custom beverage the minute they see your car pull up in front of the store? Then consider the Starbucks Joy Drive.

It doesn't take much money or effort to drop a little toy in the donation bin while you're waiting in line for that gingerbread latte, but it will bring a huge smile to the face of a seriously ill child who will be spending Christmas in a hospital bed.

Thank Whom?

In between the Macy's parade and the football game, the drumstick and the nap, the pumpkin pie and the late-night turkey sandwich, think about this:

The essence of sin is misguided gratitude, not ingratitude. As dependent creatures we all, by nature, thank somebody or something (usually ourselves!) for what we experience and achieve. And the ultimate object of our gratitude becomes the object of our worship. In turn, the object of our gratitude becomes the object of our service, since we inevitably serve whatever or whomever we think will meet our needs (see Matthew 6:24). (...)

Idolatry, whether ancient or modern, is thus the futile attempt to look for our lives to anyone or anything other than the one true Creator and Provider. Whom do I thank when things go well? To whom do I look when things go badly? What is my source of security? Where do I gain my sense of worth in the world? What am I striving to achieve in life, and why? The answers to questions like these will help determine whether we are honouring God as God or whether we are idolaters. (...)

Citation: Scott J. Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith (Crossway, 2001)

When you are thankful today, extend the thought far enough to ask exactly to whom you are giving thanks, and whom (or what) you are worshiping and serving.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Pause this day and thank Him for your very life; marvel that the Creator and Sustainer of all things would reach out in love to His fallen creatures, would allow you to draw the breath you did just now.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. And please say a prayer for my friend Benjamin and all our other military men and women who are far from home this holiday season.

Songs from the Soundtrack of My Life

When I was growing up in Fresno, one of the signature sounds of summer was the neighborhood ice cream truck. I could hear it coming around the corner to the tune of "Little Brown Jug," the lyrics of which I've never really thought about until just now:

My wife and I lived all alone,
In a little log hut we called our own;
She loved gin and I loved rum,
I tell you what, we’d lots of fun.

Chorus:
Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little Brown Jug don’t I love thee;
Ha, ha, ha, you and me,
Little Brown Jug don’t I love thee.

If all the folks in Adam’s race,
Were gathered together in one place;
Then I’d prepare to shed a tear,
Before I’d part from you, my dear.

(Chorus)

’Tis you who makes my friends my foes,
’Tis you who makes me wear old clothes;
Here you are, so near my nose,
So tip her up, and down she goes.

(Chorus)

If I’d a cow that gave such milk,
I’d clothe her in the finest silk;
I’d feed her on the choicest hay,
And milk her forty times a day.

(Chorus)

When I go toiling to my farm,
I take little Brown Jug under my arm;
I place it under a shady tree,
Little Brown Jug, ’tis you and me.

(Chorus)

The rose is red, my nose is, too,
The violet’s blue, and so are you;
And yet I guess before I stop
We’d better take another drop.

(Chorus)

"Hey, kids! You're too young to get liquored up like the guy in the song, but it's never too early to start on obesity! Come on out & getcha some ice cream!"

Then I moved to Los Angeles. Ice cream trucks I encounter here always seem to play "Brahms Lullaby." Now, L.A. can be a dangerous city; maybe the ice cream man feels the need to gently sedate the gun-totin' tykes, to lull them into a zombie-like stupor just before providing them with sugar and speeding away.

Now I'm working in West L.A., and almost every day I hear an approaching taco truck, headed to nearby construction sites for the benefit of hungry, hard working men with hammers, who are probably building overpriced condos. I'm always tempted to eat at a taco truck because everything smells good and I love Mexican food. But the horn on this one plays "La Cucaracha," which is either irony or truth in advertising, and that's a dangerous game indeed.

Animated

THIS is the coolest Web toy ever! Go now! Go! GO!!!

Don't Drink and Dork

(AKA "Overheard at a Bar Near the San Diego Convention Center")

* Didn't I see you on the cover of Anime Babe Monthly?
* You're hotter than a Tatooine summer.
* I have kung fu grip, baby.
* So, I have an extra ticket to the Comic Con....
* I just want a woman who understands me. I mean that -- do you know binary?
* Do you play Halo, or just wear one?
* Let's go back to my ship.
* Wanna see my favorite action figure?
* Do you have a little Hobbit in you? Would you like to?
* That's a pretty name...may I "google" you?
* Want to help me with my social skills?
* Stick with me, baby, and I'll take you places no woman has ever been. Like my apartment.
* Ouch! You're +12 versus my heart protector shield.

More Good Neighbors in the Cyberhood

Have you guys met my friend (and occasional commenter on this blog) James? He's a rocket engineer, a dad, and a beagle owner, which means he enjoys a challenge. I like and respect him despite his having gone to USC, and I think you'll enjoy his new blog.

Save the Date...?

Sorry about this next line. You'll understand why as soon as you click.

Calling all "train buffs!"

Double Take

So I'm entering data onto this spreadsheet at work, and I glance at the "contact information" field to see this:

Jesus, Facilities Mgmt.

Then after a quick chuckle, I think to myself, "No, really. He kinda is."

Quote of the Day

From my phone conversation with a smarmy representative from the two-bit management company that has taken over our apartment building, on why we should give them a copy of our apartment key:

"It's not like we'll be using it willy-nilly...just in case of an emergency. You know, like if there's water running down the walls or something."

Which, by the way, it does EVERY TIME IT RAINS. Ready for the kicker? Here it is:

"We'd hate to have to break down the door and then charge you for it."