The 9th day of Christmas: you gotta walk with the sinners if you wanna dance with the saints

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Martin drops by to see what logistical issues we have to deal with today and how they are going to get done. As we are talking, two women come in looking for comidas, alimentos...Martin looks at me, I say,Aqui, no hay...se necesitan ir dos bloques al oeste a la igleisa de St. Paul y St. Andrew, me entienden? They nod yes and are on their way.

A woman comes in wanting to plan a memorial service for a relative..husband? brother? father? For Friday night. With Stephen and Jay gone, who’s going to handle this?

Then Kara flies  in, as if blown by the wind. She’s back to her usual overly dramatic but basically OK self. She has found a volume by CS Lewis. Mere Christianity. She’s interested in the book, even if he had a thing for Alice. I pause for a moment. Oh, no, you're thinking about Lewis Caroll. Altogether different guy. And I tell her all about the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the lion Aslan. (He is fierce, but he is good...) She likes that.

And then for good measure, I throw in

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

and she laughs, claps her hands  and joins with me....

And I say, I am the walrus....and she laughs again...

Before she goes off to play the piano, she says, Ahhh, pastor, you gotta walk with the sinners if you want to dance with the saints...and gives me a big wink.  Sitting at the piano, I notice, hair down today. 

I’m on my way to visit Jim W. He’s more or less shut in these days. When I get there, he too, is reading CS Lewis, in this case, the Joyful Christian. OK, what is it with CS Lewis today?

Back at  the church, Martin  again. Trying to get together plans for Teddy’s memorial service. RL comes in while we’re talking.

Steps in to say, by the way, we made up, in a way....there’s more, but it I’ll let it go at that....

Later on, I go up. Check in on RL. Has he seen the trailer yet? Answer, yes. I play for him Mary Gauthier’s I Drink...a song my brother gave to me in North Carolina at his daughter’s wedding...  RL plays one to match it about a room with a mirror with an old newspaper on it. And then, his song New Old Friend that he played that Saturday at Harvey’s and dedicated to Teddy. A journey through Time Passes Slowly (http://www.myspace.com/rlhaneymusic/music/songs/time-passes-slowly-11138092) He finishes with his Stay Awhile and we both joke about Amanda’s ukelele backed cover)  And he shares his plan to meet her cover tag challenge. (Not a word...)

I feel the need to be moving on. But I can’t help but stop in my office and pull out the guitar. I’m playing when he looks in, Inspired you eh?

Well, yeah. He looks like he’s expecting me to play. When I don’t he says, when I get the open  mikes going, you're going to play. 

I look him back, I will. Just tryin' to get it together...

Which is what I said to you, just before I started playing for you...

And I just smile.

And he smiles and heads out the door. I put the guitar away and head home.

You gotta walk with the sinners if you want to dance with the saints....