Baby Praze

Did you see in today's Press that a West Olive woman had the flu so bad she doesn't even remember giving birth a month ago? She's been hospitalized and breathing on a machine for five weeks, but now baby and mom are doing fine. How's that for a big Praze? (and a side-Praze, the story is well written by Sue Thoms a former Press copy editor who has come out of hiding and into the byline limelight. She is also the former books editor for The Press and the author of two children's books. Good job on the story, Sue!)

Erase the Praze and Praze again!

Did you ever think about erasers? I just read in today's Writer's Almanac that Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia patented the first pencil with an eraser in 1858. To this day, the rubber tipped pencil is mostly used in America, the Almanac says. European pencils don't come with erasers. Guess they don't make as many mistakes as us. Or they don't correct them. All this reminds me of the little 4-year-old in the pew in front of me on Sunday. He discovered a pencil stuck in that little hole in the pew back. It's intended for filling out the visitor card or offering envelopes but works just as well to decorate the margins of the bulletin and entertain a young parishoner. He saw me watching him and pointed to the eraser on the end of the pencil as if he were the first to ever find it. He showed me how it would wipe away the marks he had made and he smiled at me as innocently as a young Christ taking away the sins of the world.

Waiting for wisdom

Had a wonderful lunch with Sylvia today. A nice sunny table in Rose's lakeside addition. I just felt like spring was springing while we ate. At 92 she's fighting with her hearing aid that seems to trouble her with all the ambient noise, but she's still as alert as ever, able to discuss the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Art Prize, Gaslight Village, Afghanistan. Nothing escapes her. And after lunch, she was going to drive herself over to the MAC to exercise. Thank God for Sylvia and only pray to be half that spry at her age.

Face the future

Whoa! Did you read that doctors in Texas have performed the first full face transplant? A man who had been so badly burned that he lost his face and sight, has received a new face from a dead donor. The man is a young father, who was burned when he touched an electrical wire while painting a church, so of course this is fantastic news for him and his family -- assuming the donor face isn't too ugly! But I'm sure thriller/suspense writers everywhere are rejoicing and rushing to put a new face on their next novel! Praze medical advances! (And good writers!)

Praze the past

Just read a great email from Pandora Dubose in Washington DC who was writing to tell members of our church about what a great impact one of our members, Sally Story, had on her life when she was growing up. Sally volunteered in an after school program and taught the kids to sew and cook and took them to dances on Friday nights. And, of course, she prayed for them and taught them about Jesus. Pandora is so thankful for Sally and sharing her story brightens everyone's day. Praze Sally, Praze Pandora.

Bring on the Sun

Everything looks better on a sunny day. Like the cat who finds a sunbeam shining in a window and lays down to make himself a comfy bed, I headed out with a smile on my face today because the sun was shining. There were a few disappointments ahead -- I discovered only 4 books sold at Civic Theatre the whole time I was in Florida and at the last minute I found out Kym would not be joining me for the play tonight at Actors' Theatre -- but still I'm smiling because the sun is shining. What more could I want?

The scent of spring

It hit 63 today. The lake is melting and the geese who were ice skating a few days ago are swimming in large puddles of open water. Julie and I went walking at Meijer Gardens where only the sculpture was in bloom, standing out among the bare branches. We also visited the butterfly exhibit which is like a tropical fantasy with colorful little spirits flitting around. Then we saw the Jim Dine sculpture exhibit which is also a fanciful approach to a variety of icons such as the heart, Pinnochio and Venus DeMilo. But in everything there is the faint scent of spring coming. You can't help but smile.