a prophetic voice-

I laughed out loud, I cried, I was captivated every minute by a little Spanish film (English subtitles) about the relationship between a play-boy gigolo father and the daughter dumped on him by her mother after the two had a brief fling in Acapulco, Mexico. "Instructions Not Included" was a total surprise to me, and as I have checked it out on-line, it has apparently been quite a surprise at the box office, too. Great cast...lovely, tender story... and don't be misled by the poster or the trailers which seem to indicate this is JUST a comedy. Laughter abounds, yes, but the story goes far deeper than the usual yuck-fest which has seemed to dominate so much of American comedic films in recent years. It's about relationships...life changes...over- coming fears...truth...brokenness...healing- anything but the usual  cookie-cutter model of a comedy. Actually, it fits the Shakespearean model of a "comedy" far more closely than what the American

Yesterday at 4:44p.m. EDT, the fall equinox heralded the official arrival of autumn. I'm not at all sure of how this precise time was determined; I only know that here in my part of Carolina, it was a marvelous, glorious, beautiful day...Carolina-blue skies, bright sunshine, and clear, cool air. It could not have been more perfect, except... Yesterday was the funeral of a former parishioner and long-time friend of mine. Her untimely death on Wednesday came as the result of a traffic accident, caused by a man- under the influence of prescription drugs and driving without a license- running a stop sign and plowing into her minivan. Both Teresa and her little dog were killed; the man was not- and though he has been charged with three or four felonies, that is small comfort to the family and friends of this life-filled, vibrant woman. When will we ever learn, I wonder, that an automobile is a lethal weapon in the wrong hands? That drugs, including those both legal and

Today's weather here in my part of Carolina can be described in one word: GLORIOUS. Temperature presently 66 degrees, bright sunshine, Carolina-blue skies with a dusting of fluffy white, cotton-candy clouds, and a slight breeze tickling the leaves in the trees outside my window. Our first taste of autumn- and this thrive-in-cool-weather person loves it. We've had a very wet summer here, with an overabundance of gray days, something unusual for us, and I heard lots of griping from folks on those days, as they expressed the wish that the wet weather would end. And so it has, as we've moved into a dry cycle which has some of those same folks complaining about the need to water their flowers or lawns. Kind of a metaphor for life, it seems to me, this love-hate relationship with the weather- OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL. And perhaps that is part of the reason for the griping and complaining. It just happens to us- and we are left con templating what has occurr

Lost & found...the themes of this week's gospel reading...of all the scripture readings, actually. Makes me think of recent personal losses- oh, nothing intense or profound like the loss of a loved one, and yet at a deep level, intensely profound for me. Recently, I have been experiencing a problem in my right hip which has been affecting both my mobility and my sense of comfort and well-being. The result of an old injury caused by an auto accident, the problem flared this summer as I tried to keep up with mostly-younger people in a strength-and-flexibility class at a local yoga studio. By the end of five weeks (I couldn't even go to the sixth!) I was in almost-continuous pain and found myself walking...getting in and out of the car...getting up from a chair...navigating the stairs...like a decrepit old woman. ME- who had prided myself on remaining as youthful as possible- at least in terms of my physical abilities and good health. Now, I have long ackno