A grand sigh

I could use some 70 degree weather and a tall mojito. That's the ticket. A hike in the desert, camping with friends, a good conversation around the campfire and maybe some folk music from Central America played on a Bolivian "backpackers guitar".... Doesn't that sound nice? I want some hilarious stories and some stories of injustice that motivate us to "Be the change that you want to see in the world" (Gandhi). What's with me wanting a perma-vacation? The news is depressing, the job market is depressing, and despite the fact I am listening to that song that goes, "Give me the beat boys and free my soul, wanna get lost in your rock n' roll and drift away..." I'm just not feeling it tonight.

Over the weekend I was in Louisville, Kentucky where I spent four days with folks who just returned to the U.S. after service all over the world (teachers in China, Japan, Guatemala, and Sudan; physicians in Pakistan; ministers in Ghana and Ethiopia; development workers in El Salvador and Nicaragua; etc...). Lots of inspiring and heartbreaking stories and it was good to be able to share some of my time in Zambia with this eager bunch of adventurers. I took long walks in a lovely park near the campus where we were meeting and enjoyed the squirrels and birds and turtles-- a really restful time until the tornado sirens began (I have an irrational fear of tornados) and got lost in the woods. Aaaah, the comedy of life.

I am shaking my head because my blog postings feel so "blah" lately. Thanks for reading though! Perhaps more beautiful images will capture my attention in a creative way sometime soon and I will be able to share something provocative and newsworthy!