a paragraph from emily, why hyde park seems like a good place to live, etc.

from an emily jones email:
"I will never forget my early experiences in this village. A man had died of AIDS, but no one wanted to touch his body, not even his relatives. I went to his house and helped to carry the body...My own parents used to ask me: why are you doing all this? But now they understand. I lifted his body to show that we need to believe in humanity." (Mahipathi Ballal, social worker) (VAMP, 51).

Also: I was walking to seminary one morning, and I passed two boys, who were maybe eleven years old. They were arguing about something. Now, when I was 11, I mostly argued about whether Captain America could beat Batman in a fight. (He could, provided Batman didn't have time to plan. If Batman had time to plan, he could beat anybody.) However, as I approached these kids, it became obvious that they were arguing about what counted as Germanic. ("No, dude, Norse is Swedish!" "Swedish counts as Germanic!") I think I'm going to like living in Hyde Park.

I got to go see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind last night. Anyone who comes to visit me in Chicago on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, gets a free trip to this show with me. It's thirty plays in sixty minutes, and one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Being able to see it more often was a big part of why I chose Chicago.

Also: My fall courses are going to be: "People of Faith and Israel I" (aka Old Testament), "History of Christian Thought I", "Introduction to Pastoral Care", and "Preaching and Teaching with the Parables." I'm excited. Classes start in about a week.

love,
David