Adventure 945: Shades of Lake Woebegone/58

Garrison Keillor used to open his weekly broadcast with the line, "Well, it's been a quiet week in Lake Woebegone..." I wish it were so. Our week has been filled with a host of conflicting emotions-not all bad; not all good, but definitely a batch of feelings capable of moving the spirit. First, since we are involved in feeding the homeless here in Tucson, many of whom are immigrants, we attended a meeting informing us of how to meet the forces of immigration, ICE agents, and vigilantes. The meeting centered on knowing our rights: the rights of immigrants, the rights of those who provide aid, and the rights of law enforcement. The bottom line is "You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can be held against you." The emotionally wrenching part of that training is the idea that one of the main tactics used by law enforcement besides intimidation and threats is the hope that those questioned will offer information that will be harmful to their own cause. Agents can cajole, harass, lie, and mislead all in the name of legality. Vigilantes, those righteously indignant so called patriots are another story. A group came into the work center at church, which is considered a public space under the law. They took photos and interviewed one of the supervisors. They then proceeded to overdub her comments with words she did not say, and posted the video on X. This deceit is not only hurtful, but it's unfathomable. On the other side of the emotional scale, we enjoyed a nice birthday dinner with my cousin, Joan, who turned a robust 73. It marked the power of family joy. In yet another emotional arena, we attended the funeral of Robert Johnson, long time church custodian who died recently after a battle with cancer. We had come to know Robert through our work at Cross Street. The testimonial period of his service lasted forty-five minutes and would have gone longer had not pastor Allison cut it short. Everyone said much the same thing. Robert was an inspiration, a leader of men, a man of pride, integrity, and humility. On our way home we passed a group of protesters outside one of the gem show venues. One sign read, "No human is illegal." All of this sits in the belly of the current hostile takeover of our government. There are many egregious actions flowing  from the firehose of executive actions, none more so than Elon Musk's DOGE. Fighting a sense of powerlessness, I pray that our Democratic leaders will do more than draft another strongly worded letter. In the midst of all of this, I have faith that God will balance these man made actions and continue to provide a life that is good, especially today.

Cousin, Joan, looking good. "There art thou happy, Romeo."

Let's get this party started.

Tai Chi training continues. Here Sifu is demonstrating a bouncing action with Nate.

Here, Paul is bouncing Sifu. Notice that a Sifu's heels have come off the ground. Though a still shot, his next movement is to be thrust backward and upward into the mat.