Fog and Clear

Attention this morning is on the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon yesterday.  We live in dangerous times, and whether it's something as huge as the Boston Marathon, going to a movie, going to school, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time - terrible things can happen.  My heart goes out to all who were injured and their families.

It's easy to wonder how people can intentionally do these kinds of things to kill and injure innocent victims.  But it's also reassuring to see how quickly strangers sprang into motion to help one another.  They mayor of Boston said, "Moments like these, terrible as they are, don't show our weakness.  They show our strength".  Amen.

This kind of thing puts other "stuff" in perspective.  Some of the things that have happened this weekend, not to me but in the lives of a number of dear friends, are reminders about the ebb and flow of life tides.  I'm in the middle of my own little ebb/flow thing but it's nothing in comparison to the challenges friends are dealing with.  The good news is that none of the news is life threatening and the pain/difficulty will pass but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with in the moment.

On to other topics....

They just had an article on the news about falling gas prices.  Apparently, SC has the lowest prices nationally.  Most of the gas stations around here are selling unleaded for $3.30-$3.40 a gallon, but I filled up at Costco earlier today for $3.11.  With a big gas tank like mine, it makes a big difference.

I was driving across the bridge into Mt. Pleasant this morning and I noticed something that seemed symbolic to me.  I see symbolism all over the place so it's not surprising that this was one of those things.  It's just that I'm sharing this one...

There's a big bridge that spans the Ashley River connecting downtown Charleston to Mt. P.  At the bottom of the bridge this morning, things were completely fogged in.  You can usually see the bridge and all the "stuff" on the other side, but when there's fog you can't see 20 feet ahead of you.  One thing you could see, though, was the bright sphere of the sun burning through it all.

The bridge itself is a high arc.  Within 30 seconds, I was above the fog.  It's like flying through a rainy day, and getting above the clouds.  I took these two pictures - literally - less than a minute apart.

Anyway, it was kind of symbolic of life for me.  In the day-to-day goings on it's sometimes hard to see the bigger picture.  But, in reality, if you wait a little while things do become clear.  

I realize that probably sounds like a lot of psycho-babble, but given some of the uncertainty in my own life at the moment it's a lot like this...foggy at the bottom, but a clear view of the bigger picture nearby.  It just takes a bit of patience (and faith) to wait for it.  I think a similar perspective would be helpful right now for a number of my dear friends...

They announced that Steely Dan is coming to Charleston in September.  I've been a Dan Fan since I was a teenager and would LOVE to see them.  But tickets start at $100 and go up from there - frankly, I don't know that I'd pay to see $100+ for any concert at the moment.  I've got other more expensive things going on so I'm going to need to be satisfied with my Dan records for the moment.  Given a choice of getting my hair done or a concert ticket - I'm choosing getting my hair done.  That's a place I won't scrimp....

I got back from my 2,000 mile road trip without significant issues.  But the very next day I went to start up the car and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.  I brought it in and it had an exhaust issue that was thankfully covered by the warranty.  Anyway - I'm at nearly 50,000 miles for the year, and counting.