July Benediction

Live, Laugh, Lake Superior

I have been traveling quite a bit these last few weeks and have many things to list that have given me delight. However, I will limit this list to three things.

The Great Lakes

In the month of July, I have spent time around four of the five Great Lakes and I really loved the chance to explore the culture that surrounds them. From shipwreck stories, tales of exile, and a vocabulary full of words I have never heard of, I found the Great Lakes region of North America to be exquisitely beautiful and possibly even underrated. Thanks to everyone who came out to my shows in Michigan!

Poetry & Pipes

I enjoyed my couple of days with renowned poet and fellow star gazer, j j b r i n s k i last week. Anna and I have fallen deeply in love with JJ’s work and his typewriter art. JJ has taken up the mantle of pipe-smoking recently so we shared a couple of wonderful evenings lighting our pipes and contributing to the wildfire smoke that blew in from the northwest. I am huge admirer of JJ and he graciously ministered to me during these evenings. I have since dubbed him Lake Superior’s John the Baptist.

7 a.m. Movies

My buddy Johan asked if I would go see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey with him the day after I got home from my day ten days of travel. The catch was that he was going at 7am. For some odd reason, I said that I would be there. I won’t say much about the film in case you have not seen it, but I will say this: seeing this movie in theaters felt like witnessing a historical event much like I imagine people felt when they saw Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind or Star Wars in the theaters for the first time. These films are meant to be enjoyed with other people. So, I urge you to go see it even if the only available showing is at 7 in the morning and you have just driven fifteen hours and your buddy accidentally buys a seat meant for a wheelchair and ends up sitting on the floor for the first half hour of the movie.