By Joe McKenzie
Hip-Hop: We have strong country music radio stations in Central Kansas, but not much else. At a stop light, I’ll roll down a window to eves-drop on music blasting out of neighbor cars. I heard a hip-hop sound that I don’t go out of my way to listen to in any other way. It’s popular. It only lasts the few minutes at a stop light and it’s a change of pace. Heard music coming from an old Lincoln at 9th & Crawford. They had generously rolled down all the windows and cranked the volume to share their sounds. I’m sure the Lincoln had power windows, but I think we still use the term roll. When the light turned green, they went east and I turned north.
Bananas: Cottonwood students don’t necessarily need an added incentive (they generally love their school) to storm the school on Wednesday, August 13th. But, what if there was a banana waiting for them at breakfast on the first day? This is just part of the menu for the back-to-school eating meeting. For lunch USD#305 is offering a Crispito. Oh sure, there will be math, reading and recess, but the popular Crispito, plus fresh strawberries at lunch should inspire many kiddos to go home and answer the question of how was school today: it was okay. But, that smile will say Crispito!
Echoes: There was an intense burst of rain on the roof of a church recently and the drops echoed in the sanctuary. The echoes were softer. The rain made me listen closer. This was before the pastor’s message on healing. I listened closely to that too. Was the echoing rain a simple and natural example of grace? Would I have missed it if I had been caught outside in the rain? If I stepped in a puddle? Probably. And, it was surely not a coincidence that the Worship Team chose Amazing Grace as one of the hymns. Can you hear that hymn echoing even now?
Summer Scene: Observed one adult pulling one red wagon, and seven children walking slowly west on E. Walnut Street on a quiet summer morning before the heat dome arrived. The talk was all about dinosaurs. Seems like such an idyllic summer scene. Will the children remember? Will they think it was a boring day or nice to be walking through their safe hometown with friends in the summer? Time will tell, just as it did with the stegosaurus, who didn’t have a wagon, but probably did hang out with a herd of family and friends for the summer.
Stain: I should have been cleaning my windshields while my tank filled with gas at Casey’s. But, good squeegees are hard to come by and bad squeegees - eh. So, I looked down and noticed a map of the United States. Yes, it was the right dignified shape and had a clear Florida and Texas, as well as a jagged west coast. It was behind my vehicle so I wasn’t gong to run over it. But, as my tank filled, our exhaust fluid country began to fade in the summer heat. The east coast was drying up first. This temporary version of the U.S. wasn’t a semi permanent oil stain. There wasn’t anything I could do as I watched it fade. Our country was changing right at my feet. Then, I heard the satisfying click of a full tank and was out of there before the image completely disappeared.
