I have lived in the suburbs of three large cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, and now Denver. All three cities are large metropolises that cover huge amounts of land. Where we live outside of Denver is distinct from the others in that we find ourselves separated from the city; the countryside forms a barrier. We certainly do not live in a rural area, but there is a sort of rurality to our location. There are three ways for me to get from where I live to the city of Denver; two of those are two-lane highways. Two-lane highways are simply two lanes headed in opposite directions separated by a double yellow line. They are much different than the multi-lane Interstates with eight or ten lanes on each side separated by large concrete barriers. When one is used to multiple lanes and a solid barrier between oncoming traffic, the concept of driving on a two-lane road is daunting. Yet it may serve as a great analogy.

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While some may see summertime as a time for relaxation, I seem to have quite a list of activities to accomplish over the next couple of months. There are tasks around the house, books to be read, trips to plan and take, and of course many other things that will pop up. I have, for example, a fence that needs to be treated. It should have been done last summer, but alas it never got done. I remembered this as I was walking through the garage and noticed the brushes and the big bucket of sealant that we purchased last summer. The tools are there — but the job did not get done. Were the brushes animate they may have expressed their desire to be used instead of sitting in a plastic bag for nine months.
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I recently wrote a paper on deification in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The paper required much primary-source research; I read many words of ancient authors. One quote, in particular, has remained constant in my mind. It is attributed to one Gregroy of Nazianzus, also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregoy Nazianzen. To understand his words, we must know about how cheese is made.

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There appears to be a behavior among humans wherein we appreciate or maybe insist on being able to touch that which is ours. This is perhaps an animalistic behavior; think of a squirrel hoarding its acorns. We, as humans, exemplify this behavior in varying degrees. I, for example, am fairly obstinate about holding real paper-and-glue books in my hands as opposed to having a CD of ebooks. There is a very short list of things in the world that are better than turning a page with one’s fingertips. But technology is moving us away tactile tangibility. (Read on …)

A confluence of thoughts interests me on this first day of May. Although the temperatures were in the 80s yesterday, a considerable amount of snow is falling on my house at the moment. Summer is quickly approaching and lots of warm-weather plans are being made. Yet suddenly — we have snow. This, what most locals hope is the last snow for many months, brings a bizarre beauty to the landscape.

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