Eloise needs to report to you on the first of several summer concerts I have on my plate this summer. Two cute chicks and I made a two hour excursion east to Darien Lake, NY to see headliner Tim McGraw with The Band Perry and Luke Bryan. All three acts were superb and I highly recommend the show if the big tour buses roll by your area.
I love music and will go to just about any concert; rock, pop, country, even the philharmonic orchestra. From experience though, I have decided that the country concerts are by far my favorite. I like the music no doubt, but it is the crowd that I enjoy the most. They are a beer drinking, sing along type. You don't have to worry if you will have some jerk in front of you who wants to stand and watch the show blocking your view. Everyone stands up. Everyone dances. Everyone sings. You can almost pick out the designated driver in every set of people because I think they are the ones that laugh the most.
My computer is still giving me fits and my computer guys Jerry and John have abandoned me. It is time to call in the big guns to fix my posting problem--teenagers. One of my students should be able to hook me up in no time. Until then, you will have to continue to click on the above youtube link to find the musical slide show set to the tune of McGraw's "Last Dollar" better known by its subtitle, "Fly Away." Don't miss this one. There are some surprises.
The movie opens with some pictures of 44 year old Tim McGraw. If you are not up on American Country Music in Slovenia, he is a star. Check out the snapshot of Tim's tattoo---an ichthys, more commonly known as "the Jesus fish." The actual word ichthus is Greek for fish. Christians back in first century Rome were not too popular, therefore they had to meet in secret. This symbol marked their meeting places like the catacombs beneath the city. I was sure my facts were correct on the ichthys as I have been fascinated by the bravery and creativity of the early Christians. I've known this piece of history for many years. I had to look up "ichthys" again just to check the spelling. I'm not that great of a speller. It was when I consulted the wikipedia article that I found this new piece of information. Not only this the word Greek, but it also is an acrostic.
If you are a teacher reading this blog, you know what I am talking about. They are those dumb poems that we have to teach the kids about after the PSSA tests are over and there is nothing else good to do until the end of the year, so we always stick in the "poetry unit." Those words usually send shock waves of despair around many a classroom. Too bad I don't teach in a Christian school, or else I'd use this as the unit kick off. Each of the letters in the world "ichthys" represent another Greek word symbolic of our savior. Check this out (from Wikipedia):
- Iota (i) is the first letter of Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), Greek for "Jesus".
- Chi (ch) is the first letter of Christos (Χριστός), Greek for "anointed".
- Theta (th) is the first letter of Theou (Θεοῦ), Greek for "God's", the genitive case of Θεóς, Theos, Greek for "God".
- Upsilon (u) is the first letter of huios (Υἱός), Greek for "Son".
- Sigma (s) is the first letter of sōtēr (Σωτήρ), Greek for "Savior".
The photo show I created is really just a few snapshots of Tim and Faith, as well as a few of me and my concert going pals--my sister and a friend. You can even see a shot of my daughter Natalie, playing with the iPod. She's been alternating between her folder of Tim McGraw #1's and Christmas music. I know she's doing it just to annoy me, but autistic or not, she is 13 after all and that from what I understand, is pretty normal. The larger part of the photo display is dedicated to my two new friends, Beautiful and Handsome.
Beautiful and Handsome are two baby birds that made their residence in a nest, set in a wreath I made and hung on my front porch. I discovered the eggs just before Memorial Day and took a picture of them every day throughout their development. Nature is a beautiful thing.
The entire process, from egg to chick was less than three weeks. I was in awe of how fast those birds grew. You will see that there were three eggs in the nest at the beginning of the process. The birds hatched within 24 hours of one another. Two were completely out of the shell, and I have shots of the third bird's beak cracking out. I could actually see it opening and closing and heard the weak peep. This shot appears about the minute and thirty second mark of the movie. I was dismayed the next morning when I discovered the egg had disappeared, gone without a trace. It is still a mystery if the baby was too weak and never made it out of the shell or if Mama had to take care of it herself, knowing intuitively that there was not room in the nest for a third baby bird. Again, nature is a beautiful thing.
Because I am a nature girl, I know that nature takes care of itself. I know this on a personal level because I was pregnant six times in my life and was able to carry half that many babies to term. Although I was sad with my miscarriages, I know that some things in life are hard to explain. I am not sure why I wasn't able to carry those other babies, but I have what Tim has emblazoned across his right shoulder, faith, but mine is in my heart. I do believe that all things work together for the greater good and that it is not up to us to know and understand it all. If you doubt this, just go to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, in book 29 verse 11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Eloise is reminding you today to have faith in that.
You will be amused to see a photo of my notorious on Sam, peeking into the birds nest. Notice I have him donned in a "peace" t-shirt, hoping that maybe some of that message will soak into him through osmosis. Also look for a couple of pictures of Beautiful and Handsome as they became annoyed with me. Handsome appears to have become bothered by my lens in his face all of the time. That's fine, Handsome; I'll step away and give you your space.
The birds little bodies became big fluffy bodies and like the song says, they grew "beautiful wings." I knew the time was drawing near for me to say goodbye to my friends and it pained me. We were scheduled for a camping trip around that time, and I sensed that they would take their first flight while we were away. Sure enough, upon our return four days later, Beautiful and Handsome were gone. They left me with an empty nest on my porch, but a heart full of the time I spent with them. Their early life was such a beautiful process that I had to share it with all of you. I was just waiting to find the perfect song. It came to me the night of the concert as Tim McGraw entered the outdoor amphitheater singing this song. On a summer night, in an outdoor venue with grain silos standing as the backdrop, this was quite a moment and I knew it was the perfect song choice for my bird story.
Beautiful and Handsome flew away. They left me, but I always knew they would. I was just glad I didn't have to say goodbye, because I hate goodbyes. There is always the possibility that it won't mean "until next time", that it will mean "goodbye forever." The latter is something more than I could handle. So I will hold on to the hope that Beautiful will return to the nest again one day, at a different stage of her life, perhaps to lay her own eggs. I can't wait for that. I'll always keep an eye out for her and will wait forever if I have to.
Enjoy the song and the movie.
Until next time,
Eloise
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