On the Road Nov 21 2014 Leaving the windy cold in Vermont where the pewter skies were trying to snow, I board the plane and sleep most the way. I seem to tire more easily now in my old age. I awake to landing in Tampa FL. The air is warm and balmy though locals tell me its a bit too cool. Too cool, I think, was my outhouse this morning at 8 AM when it was below freezing. The meeting house in St Pete is a rambling series of rooms not far from the bay amidst some old trees including Palms. The meeting room is beautiful and large but still with a personal feel, a welcome that a not too big a space brings, especially as people settle into worship. Ive come to speak about American torture this night and the Quaker Initiative to End Torture. One person says I am much too optimistic considering the circumstances. This makes me laugh. Do we have enough democracy left in the US for mere people to change the policy and practice of torture? Thats a great question and to my mind weve a spiritual obligation to go and find out. If we have enough democracy to end torture, then we must do so. And if we dont have enough democracy to end torture, then we should know about that as soon as possible. Many lives around the world depend on answering this. Ive not been to this meeting house before, but of course there are familiar faces. Have we met somewhere along the way? Some, yes. But its also true that after a few decades as a traveling Friend, lots and lots of people begin to look familiar. This has the sneaky dynamic of being proof that we are all part of one another. And do I remember the names and faces of these good Friends Ive met before? Certainly not. Mostly I smile and await some distance info to make the trek from some hidden corner of my wee brain to the front near the eyeballs so I can recall, ah yes, we had drinks after that memorial and you told me the real story behind her actions in that jail. A Friend came to visit recently and was discussing his work history in Africa. As I was listening I was also thinking about the wonderful things Friends do for jobs and for their lives in the Light. I know people who sorted the living from the dead in German concentration camps. I know someone who destroyed a missile head and poured his own blood over it. I know someone how taught school in the American concentration camps for the Japanese. And what I love best about this is that its thought to be normal and expected among Friends. That good works and spiritual adventures are common. And maybe there is only one coming of age story some regular person has to tell about a time, a spiritual adventure when there was hard work and fear and wonder and awe and life-changing outcomes and this is the education of a Friend that informs us for the rest of our lives about Quakers and good works and a way to consider the world. Apart from that I have once again been given hospitality in a beautiful and grand house. It is comfortable and roomy and full of art and taste and beauty. This is a grand respite from home where a new sink and washer and dryer sit awaiting hookups and the stove is gone revealing a very stained concrete floor and our most used appliance for cooking recently is a toaster. Ive been given beautiful rooms to rest in all along my work life on the road. Some homes are filled with welcome. Some with lovely views out large windows. Some combine both these and there is a small voice in the back of my brain whispering - I dont care what they say, Im not leaving!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 03:18:18 +0000