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Day’s Verse:

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, teh one will lift up his companion. …Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.

Eccl. 4:9 – 12

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Three topics today. First, last night really: a total lunar eclipse occurred, interestingly just about the same time as the Red Sox performed their riot-inspiring eclipse of the Yankees’ long-held position. Can you tell if this picture was taken at the end or at the beginning of the eclipse?

Second, in beginning work for my writing class this term I read about 80 pages of a book titled Just Girls, which examines the hierarchy of junior high girls through their literary habits. My heart wrenched as I read the section on the yearbook and its importance; although junior high has faded into my past, I still remember the emptiness of receiving my yearbook and failing to find a single picture of myself, barring the one with my name underneath. Indeed, reading the section on what the author calls “queens,” I distinctly remembered the feelings of loneliness and outcastness I experienced in junior high. And while the author discusses the importance of note-passing and such “zines” as Teen and Sassy, could not stop thinking about my junior high experiences: feeling more at home with kind adult teachers; wearing misfit clothes, baseball caps, and too-long hair; running to and from classes; conscienciously doing all my homework; wanting so badly to know my friends liked me. Funny how my situation has changed little, but my perception and self-assurance has grown so I can wear the jeans and T-shirt, ugly jacket, use the fountain pen and carry the camera without (too much) feeling completely outcast.

Finally, an event occurred today that bolstered my faith in the human race as a whole. I received an unexpected, enormous, heavy package from Land’s End courtesy of Mom. It weighed about 30 lbs and, I surmised, contained another set of dishes. I also picked up another package and, since I had come from class, I had two notebooks and two jackets (both superfluous in today’s warmer weather) to juggle around the huge box. Let me emphasize: the box essentially filled up my arms so I could just wrap the tips of my fingers around the edges. And I cannot carry a 30 lb box with my arms bent at 90 degrees supporting the bottom (sorry). With frequent stops to give my painful fingers a rest, I made it halfway across the parking lot, and maybe 1/3 of the way to the apartment, when a student appeared from between two cars. “Do you need some help?” he asked me, and since I obviously did need help, I replied, “Would you mind? I appreciate this so much.” With many profuse thanks on my part, the guy carried that box all the rest of the way to the apartment, and as he put it down by our front door and I thanked him once more, simply said “I like helping people.” Now that – that is what a Christian should be. I don’t know if he was or not, but the kindness and helpfulness not only made my day but reaffirmed my hope that there are still a few good people out there.

– KF –