Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)

There's not a lot I can add about this film that hasn't been commented on already. This first Chronicles of Narnia installment is a wonderful film with touching Christian symbolism and an effective, magical journey about tempation, forgiveness and the fight between good and evil.

The story revolves around four children from 1940's London who, due to Nazi bombing runs, are forced to take residence in an aloof Professor's castle estate to escape the daily bombardment at home. The castle is, at first, unwelcoming and hollow. Yet, during a game of hide and seek, one of the children stumbles across a wardrobe. As she squeezes her way toward the back of the wardrobe she suddenly finds herself in a snow covered forest. From this moment on the four children's lives will never be the same.

They say that a 80% of a successful film comes from casting and the cast of Chronicles is wonderful, especially Georgie Henley as the youngest sibling, Lucy Pevensie. The Christian symbolism is quite obvious, with Aslan, the Lion leader, sacrificing himself for the sins of others, only to be resurrected, overcoming death and leading the battle against evil.

The film is fun and scary and magical and exhilerating and touching... and much more. For children and adults, it's a must see.

Good Friday

From the Catholic News Agency... a little reminder:

On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the Passion, and in receiving the pre-consecrated Host, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.

The Church - stripped of its ornaments, the altar bare, and with the door of the empty tabernacle standing open - is as if in mourning. In the fourth century the Apostolic Constitutions described this day as a 'day of mourning, not a day of festive joy,' and this day was called the 'Pasch (passage) of the Crucifixion.'

The liturgical observance of this day of Christ's suffering, crucifixion and death evidently has been in existence from the earliest days of the Church. No Mass is celebrated on this day, but the service of Good Friday is called the Mass of the Presanctified because Communion (in the species of bread) which had already been consecrated on Holy Thursday is given to the people .

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 2, The Fourth Wheel

The members of the University of Florida theater department often found themselves socializing in a local dive of a bar called the WinnJammer. It was small and smoky, but they allowed all of the actors to put their headshots on the wall. It was interesting to see actors from years past on the wall, seemingly participating in our conversations in the two large booths that were almost continually inhabited by theater department faculty and students.

Pete at the WinnJammer

It was at this bar that I realized the importance of networking in show business. It was my first lesson in the understanding that who you know will get you in the door and talent will allow you to stay there. When I wasn't getting cast in plays, I decided to up my social quotient and became a frequent off-hours resident at the WinnJammer. I was broke, so I could only afford a Pepsi because of the free refills.

And I'll never forget Diane, one of the cooks at the bar. She was a sweet black woman with a gold front tooth who's maternal instincts were honored upon me, because, knowing my financial status, she would frequently sneak out some chicken fingers for me to eat. Without her generosity I truly do not believe I would have had enough nutrition to make it through my last year in college. She was a doll and I will never forget her.

After I became known at the bar and comfortable with fellow students and staff, I used my humor to ingratiate myself to them and they became more comfortable with me. I found my interactions with my teachers more fruitful in class as a result as their criticism and education of my acting talents were more valid and applicable to me... they knew me as a person and knew when I was relying on "me" instead of acting as someone else.

Doc Shelton and I had a love/hate relationship, in the best sense of the word. Shelton pushed me harder than any other teacher I've ever known. His criticism was brutal and honest and accurate and that hurt more than I would have liked... but he challenged me to be better than I could imagine within myself. I don't know how talented I ever got as an actor... how can one effectively measure oneself in that way, but I know that whatever level of talent I had achieved, it would have been substantially less if it had not been for him.

During one of these nights at the WinnJammer, I was sitting across from two of my friends, David and Sunday. They had been dating for a while and I really enjoyed their company. Dave had a wonderful wit and was always found with the front-half of his shirt untucked. Sunday was what I call early Madonna, minus the voice. And I'm speaking of Madonna the singer, not the Mother of Jesus.

Sunday in a print ad
in a local paper

Sunday had a smoldering femme fatal sexuality about her and wore an intricate mess of clothes, yet the look somehow worked with her. I remember asking her "don't you want to look nice?" She replied "I think I do look nice." I realized at that moment that no one dresses up thinking they look bad and that my tastes are just that, mine.

So, that night at the bar the weight of the impending end to the school year was upon us. We mulled our options and Dave asked what I was planning on doing over the Summer. "Well, I'm helping out with the Summer Stock program first and then I'm taking a road trip to California, check out the U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. film departments," I replied.

Dave and Pete at Graduation

Dave had no interest in going, but Sunday was envious. I half-heartedly replied to her "you want to go?" knowing that the answer would certainly be no... after all, their relationship was relatively new and what boyfriend would be okay with sending his sexually comfortable girlfriend on a road trip with another guy where they would spend almost three weeks together, some of which would require being in close quarters such as sleeping in a tent camping?

Surely the answer had to be no.

Yet, to my surprise, Sunday replied "Sure!" And to my greater surprise Dave didn't object. With a slip of the tongue I suddenly found my fourth wheel for the trip. I really should have objected in some way, but, at the time, I was a slave to my fear of confrontation, so I just said "Okay."

Against all logic, the foursome was set.

I really should have objected in some way.

********

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 2, Audio

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, The Seed Planted
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, Audio

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, The Seed Planted

College has numerous rites of passage between childhood and adulthood. Taking "the road trip" is one of those time honored traditions.

As I neared the end of my senior year of college at the University of Florida in 1988, graduating with a degree in Fine Arts, I dreamed of a long term career in Hollywood. One of my teachers, Doc Shelton, mentioned that a school alum was a producer in California and would probably be open to meeting with me. I said, "Why would he do that?" Shelton mentioned "If I called you and asked you to meet with someone, would you?" I said "of course." "So would he," Shelton replied.

And that was how it started. The seed was planted. I could visit someone working in the biz and check out the world renown film schools. I needed to get to California, somehow, someway.

My options were pretty limited. I was essentially broke, didn't have a working car and did I mention I also had no money? After much thought and deliberation, there was only one viable option. I called my best friend, Tim, and had a very quick conversation that went something like this... "Tim, you want to take a road trip to California?" He replied "Sure."

And that was it. The trip was on.

Pete & Tim- 1986

The trip benefited both Tim and me. It gave Tim a chance to visit his brother, Paul and his wife Anne, both of whom lived in Los Angeles and worked for the mouse and it gave me a chance to try to get my foot into show business.

I also felt a certain kinship to my older brothers, Stephen and John. When they were about my age our family moved from Massachusetts to Florida. Instead of traveling with us, John and Steve decided to ride bikes from the North to the South. I'll let them share their own journey, but the stories I listened to in my youth about their trip seemed so funny and adventurous and unique and I had hoped my trip to California would offer similar memorable moments.

Tim was engaged to Beth, so she would join us on the road trip and he suggested I invite someone so I wouldn't feel like a third wheel. I had met Beth a couple of times and she seemed nice enough, so adding her to the journey didn't seem much of a worry. And I wasn't overly concerned about being a third wheel, but I did mull over my options, just in case.

But who would I ask?

********

For my father, who's eyesight has been hindered due to Parkinsons Disease, I have made an audio file for him to listen to the story. So, if you want to hear the story, either click on the LINK and listen from your browser or Right Click the LINK and save to your computer for listening whenever you'd like.

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1 Audio

Home Opener

Monday evening my son, Gabe, along with my best friend Tim and his brother Kevin, attended the home opener of the Devil Rays against division rivals Baltimore Orioles. Under new ownership and management the franchise is revitalized and we're gladly basking in the honeymoon phase. The talent is still lacking, but the commitment from ownership, for the first time in team history, is solid.

A simple idea of how things are different under this new ownership can be found in the bathrooms. The previous ownership would go out of their way, it seemed, to be anti-customer friendly. The stadium was always dirty and by the end of the games, the bathrooms were awful. Today, there was a janitor continually cleaning the bathrooms throughout the game and, as you left, would go out of his way to say "Have a great time at the game today!" A janitor pushing customer service. Boy, things are different in DRay land.

The new owners also offer free parking, discounted concession stand prices, the repainted the entire stadium, gave away goodies as you entered the stadium, greeted fans, etc. They did everything they could to show that things were different now. And the fact that it was only the fourth sellout in team history supports that assertion. The fans were ready to have some fun.

The team is full of exciting, young players. We have no allusions of competing with the big market teams every year... MLB still hasn't fixed disparate revenue streams for the teams in the league... but the DRay fans think that we have enough talent that a magical run could happen at some time.

We got to the field early. I had owed my son a hot fudge Sunday for hitting a home run Saturday, so we got that first. We then watched the DRays batting practice, during which, Mark Hendrickson, one of the Rays starting pitchers, threw Gabe a MLB ball. As the crowd started to fill out I was most impressed by how many 20-somethings there were in attendance. That is the fan base the new ownership needs to attract and they were there in force.

During the game time caught a spongy ball and a DRay t-shirt thrown into the stands and gave them to Gabe. During the game a dad in front of us bought one too many Carvel Dippin' Dot ice creams and gave the extra one to Gabe. And, though the DRays ended up losing, Gabe was able to watch Toby Hall hit a two run homer. Hall has a special place in Gabe's heart because at the end of last season, we celebrated Gabe's birthday at the field and, due to a variety of circumstances, Gabe got to stand next to Hall on the field during the national anthem.

Overall the evening was a lot of fun. The crowd was excited. My son had a great time and I got to spend a fun night with my best friend of 25 years. It's the simple things that offer the greatest rewards. Sure, it would have been great if the Rays would have won, but the evening was memorable for so many other reasons.

Flightplan (2005)

There is a saying that all of the original stories have been told and that every story we hear now is merely a retelling of one of those original gems.

That is certainly true in Hollywood.

Take Flightplan, starring Jodi Foster. Flightplan is a direct, updated copy of the Hitchcock classic The Lady Vanishes. In Flightplan, Foster plays the distressed airplan designer, Kyle, who wakes up on a long overseas flight to find that her child is missing. In The Lady Vanishes, made in 1938, Margaret Lockwood wakes up on a train to find her recent acquaintence, Miss Froy, suddenly missing.

Both women go through the riggers of trying to convince the other passengers that someone is missing in a place where no one can hide (plane/train). In both cases they are convinced there never was the missing person and in both cases the women, unable to believe the missing person was imaginery, enlists the help of a male to assist them. In both films, a window seat plays a pivotal point in the storyline and in both films the potential plots teeter on the brink of complete unbelievability.

In The Lady Vanishes, Hitchcock's style hides the potential plot missteps. In Flightplan, the pure energy of Foster's performance along with Sean Bean's compassionate portrayal as the pilot and Peter Sarsgaard as Air Marshal Carson keep us distracted from the pitfalls of the flimsy storyline.

In the end, both films are enjoyable and both films are worth watching. If you have enough time in your day, do what my daughter and I did and watch them back to back. Then you'll really see that what was once original, is original no more.

Parental Gloating

It's a parent's duty to gloat. Ask any of them. In that spirit, give me a few moments...

Gabe's had a tough little league season so far. The team of eight and nine year olds had opened with a win, but have lost every game since... some were one-run games, others were not so close. Gabe is one of the better players on a below average team and he's been very frustrated. His competitive nature gets the best of him and losing multiple games is hard on him.

Saturday, he had a very good game and helped the team win their second game. He pitched a shutout inning, stole home and hit a home run.

I decided to bring my video camera to this game and put together a small little highlight reel to brighten his spirits.


Sure, this entire entry is a parent being overly proud of his child, but if I don't do it, who will? :)

You'll need a free Quicktime Player (located here) to view it. Most computers have it, but if you don't, you can download it here.

Here's the highlights:

The clip shows Gabe pitching and making a diving play

Striking out a player

Making another diving play to end the inning.

He then hits his homerun and
beats the throw to the plate.

Click on the link below and view it for yourself. Click here to watch it in your browser. Or you can Right Click on the Link and Save As to save it on your computer: - http://www.localtalentfilms.com/ltp/GabeHighlights040806-6.mov

If you save it onto your computer and the picture is too small on Quicktime, click on Movies, then click on Double Size.

Enjoy. We did.

Corpse Bride (2005)

What happens if you accidentally marry a woman who was killed just before she was to be married? You end up in the wacky and unique world of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Bride is another stop animation work from Burton, with his trademark style and dark humor, the story follows the misadventures of Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp as he struggles between his empathy and affection for the corpse bride, acted by Helena Bonham Carter, and his true love, Victoria Everglot, who's voice is provided by Emily Watson.

Amidst a cinematic world of computer animated films such as Shrek 1 and 2 and other computer animated characters in King Kong and Jurrasic Park, it's refreshing to see the art form brought by stop animation has not lost it's magic. Despite this, the overall effect of the film is hit and miss. As a love story or as a film with musical numbers, neither the love story or songs are truly memorable. And the surprise twist of the film in the second act was none too subtle either.

If you are a true Burton fan, you will love the dark imagery, the off-kilter humor and occasionally gross moments. If not, I'd suggest watching some of Burton's more touching fare, such as Big Fish or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where his unique take on the world is at its cinematic peak.

Waterborne (2005)

Waterborne, written and directed by Ben Rekhi, is an interesting and disturbing film about the impact to society if our water supply is contaminated. The story unfolds in Los Angeles and the societal impact of such an event is told through three intertwining stories that elaborate on the potential effect such a issue would have on people during a panic situation.

One of the stories involves two twenty-something friends, Zach, played by Christopher Masterson and Bodi, portrayed by Jake Muxworthy, who struggle to get out of Los Angeles. Masterson, best known for his work on Malcolm in the Middle, is excellent as the ever-forgiving friend to Muxworthy, who continues to put them in precarious situations.

Another storyline follows the relationship between Vikram, excellently played by Ajay Naidu, who's a man of Middle Eastern descent who's fallen in love with an American blonde, played by Mageina Tovah. Their relationship is a great example of the subtlety of bigotry as Vikram must deal daily with looking similar to those responsible for 9/11, while his girlfriend must deal with the bigotry from Vikram's own family as she tries to establish a relationship with them. Vikram, who runs a convenience store with his mother, performed by Shabana Azmi, deals with the rising tensions and price gouging as the water supply grows in demand.

The final story involves Ritter and his wife and child. Ritter, who is played by veteran actor Jon Gries, best known for his work as the Uncle in Napolean Dynamite, is wonderful as the worried father pulled into his National Guard duty while his wife, played by Lindsay Price, and daughter struggle with the shortage of water and deterioration of social laws. Ritter is forced to face having to keep fellow American's from potentially contaminated water supplies by any means necessary, up to and including killing them, if necessary.

All of these stories are interesting and well honed, culminating in Vikram's convenience store as the wear and tear of days of no water have taken their toll on everyone involved.

Waterborne is disturbing not only in it's presentation, but in the questions it asks. What would happen if water was suddenly the hottest commodity? How would society react? Would you be prepared? Could your family survive? Could you protect your water and your loved ones from those who would take it by force? It makes you want to buy a little extra bottled water and canned goods every time you go grocery shopping... just in case.

Waterborne is so effective because it does not relay a heavy hand in its storytelling. And kudos for presenting all sides to the terrorist threats without being politically charged on either side. The film presents interesting and unique characters in a way that effectively propels you through their journey... a journey that is exceedingly real in today's international climate. Unless things changed dramatically, the reality is that, this will probably happen in some way in our lifetime…either this or something equally as devastating.

Lastly, the film was made for under $200,000 and shot with digital video equipment. It just goes to show you what can happen when you have talented people involved in any project. The lighting and color is exceptional and the acting is spot on. It gives an indy filmmaker such as myself, hope.

After watching Waterborne, you will not take that next drink of water, or shower, or dip into the pool for granted.

New Orleans

My sister Mary, and her husband, Steve, are in New Orleans with a group of volunteers helping to evaluate homes to see if they are salvagable. If they are, the houses are gutted from roof to floor and rebuilt from the inside out.

According to Steve's daily letters, the stench is still strong and the destruction still massive. It will take years to overcome the damage. Below are some pics from their trip so far.

Mary preparing for the day's work.

Examining a severly damaged house.

Damage is still extensive in the area.

Some of the houses cannot be saved.

Steve in front of one of the
30 or so houses they inspected.

In spite of all, love of God and
country are still strong in New Orleans.

Mary and Steve have always been selfless when it comes to helping others, from taking in foster children, to helping out at their church, to Boy Scouts to volunteering all across the nation... they are very special people.

Three Simple Questions

You know, with the DaVinci Code movie, there is going to be a lot of discussion on Jesus as man instead of Jesus as Christ. This, of course, is heresy and often based on half-facts and unique interpretations of events in order to fit the end goal.

By the way, Dan Brown, author of the DaVinci Code, is being sued for plagiarism by another author of a book called The Jesus Papers, which states Jesus survived the crucifixion and moved to France with Mary Magdalene and his daughter. I will say this about that... if Jesus' offspring are seeded throughout France, then why does everyone hate the French?

All joking aside, just like when the Dead Sea scrolls came out in the 1950s and other Jesus isn't Christ books were written in the 1970s, there will be a lot of discussion and ignorant credence given to alternative theories as to the divinity of Christ.

When discussing these alternative theories on Christ, they often omit some crucial, basic questions in their discussion.

1) What makes the Apostles so unique in following a "dead" leader?

There were many people claiming to be the Messiah around the time of Christ. There were prophets with followers throughout the region (i.e., John the Baptist). There have been a lot of people since who have claimed to be either a Son of God or Jesus Christ himself (Charles Manson, David Koresh). Yet, when those people have lost their power (Manson) or have died (Koresh), what happens to their followers? They disappear. The followers lose their way. If Koresh was really Jesus, why aren't there Koresh Churches sprouting up all over the country? Why aren't their churches of any of the hundreds of other false Messiahs located throughout the world?

The fact that the Koresh Center for How To Be Jesus Studies doesn't exist, or any of the other false Messiah religions, means that the Apostles were truly unique and completely brilliant men. After all, they are the ONLY people in the history of the world to put into place a world religion based on complete fabrications about the divinity of a mere man.

So, the question needs to be asked and answered as to what makes these 12 Apostles so different from every other follower of every other person claiming to be the Messiah in the history of man?

2) What did the Apostles have to gain by making Jesus a Christ, if he was truly just a prophet?

Humans are not that complex. We are usually driven to acquire either love, power or wealth.

In Rome, there were two accepted religions, the Roman pagan religion and the Jewish religion. That was it. The only reason the Romans put up with the Judaism is because it had been around so long. Any religion different, new and not sanctioned was considered a superstition and people were killed for following it (see Nero's persecution of the Christians).

So, under that landscape, why would 12 men, mostly uneducated, hatch a plan that would falsify the divinity of their dead leader, which thereby mandates creating a new religion, the outcome of which means ostracizing them from their current religion and making them an enemy of the state due to creating an illegal superstition?

Is this where the acquistion of love, power or wealth occurs? I think not.

It's important to remember that the Roman Catholic Church was not an institution then. It was nothing. It didn't have wealth and power and influence. It had 12 men with their families cowering in a room, hiding from sight, for fear of their lives. Besides which, there have been studies by mathematicians and statisticians that have done backward calculations on the growth of Christianity and have determined that St. Paul, for example, had followers of maybe 50 people in each city. His letters to the Corinthians was not to a large following, but a couple of families and followers.

Not in the Apostles' lifetimes, or their immediate followers' lifetimes, or their immediate followers' lifetimes would Christianity be accepted. Not until Constantine converted was Christianity an accepted faith.

So, what did the Apostles, fishermen and tax collectors and faithful Jews, have to gain from lying about Jesus?

3) Why are only the portions of the Gospel that could lead one to interpret that Christ was not divine considered valid and all of the portions that clearly state his divinity ignored and/or dismissed?

Finally, perhaps the biggest hypocrisy in most of the writings of authors undermining the divinity of Jesus is that they will often quote selected passages of the Gospels in order to prove their point.

That's like quoting selected lines from the Constitution of the United States to prove the founding fathers intended the country to be a dictatorship!

If you validate any portion of the Gospels, you validate all of the Gospels. Otherwise the argument that one line from Matthew or John is valid, but another is not, becomes ludicrous in its blatant hypocrisy.

I only hope such interviewers of those who claim Jesus was dead or married or a father or not dead, but not risen or whatever they state... I just hope the interviewers ask these three simple, yet important questions.

Because, right now, no one else seems to be.

A Mid, Mid-Life Crisis Observation

My brother Charles and I had an interesting conversation yesterday. Most people start their career lives with the goal of doing something they love. Eventually, most end up doing what they have to do, with the intent of doing what they love to do... eventually. After a certain time, when more people rely on your paycheck (wife, kids, mortgage companies, etc.), the risk of doing something different in your career is far greater and your options become much more limited.

So, to a certain extent, Charles and I are limited to doing something we don't love, spending over 1/3 of our time doing it, and now hope that we get enough hours with the family and when the job is no longer there, that we've saved enough for our retirement to be okay.

On the other side of the coin, we also know that our primary responsibility is to our family, so we don't begrudge that. And we also know that our jobs are gifts from God and we should honor that gift by doing it to the best of our ability, no matter how much passion we inherently have for it. But, on a personal, daily level, it is an odd conundrum.

In the end, it may just be life for everyone and we should just suck it up. But, Charles and I have reached that point in our life where we've slowly stopped looking for what we want to achieve and have turned our daily focus to what we have to achieve.

Gators Are National Champions

My best friend Tim, my son Gabe and I enjoyed watching the Florida Gators win their first NCAA Basketball National Championship over the historic UCLA Bruins, 73-57. I remember going to Gator games in the late 80's when they were just starting to take basketball seriously.

During the game, Tim and I made comedic references to pop culture from years passed. At one point, after a very dated comment, I said "We sound old." His response was "We're just like the Holy Family Folk Group... 20 years later and we haven't gotten any better."

Growing up going to Holy Family church, listening to the "unique" sound of their folk group in the 80's, and having heard them recently, he is exactly correct. You would have figured that after 20 years of rehearsals they would have sounded better. But, like Tim's and my humor, it's the same ol' thing over and over again.

In any event, the basketball game was exciting and fun to watch. Good to see the BBall Gators get their due.

Healing Mass

Friday evening Dea, Gabe and I (DC was at a sleep over) went to a wonderful healing mass and it was a magical experience. The church was packed and the priest, a Father Richard McLean from Ave Maria College in Naples, held the Mass. There were so many people there all with their own varying levels of illness. I felt so undeserving of healing, when I looked at the obvious struggles of the fellow church-goers around me. I was overwhelmed with a sense of humility and gratitude for my family and my faith.

As I prayed during Mass I remembered reading about how some people were healed by asking for the intercession of our late Pope, John Paul II. He had Parkinson's disease and had already reportedly healed others. So, I asked JP2 to intercede on behalf of my father, suffering from Parkinson's, my father-in-law, suffering from diabetes, for my brother, suffering from Crohns, and for myself, also suffering from Crohns. I also prayed for my wife and my friend, Kyme.

After Mass concluded they brought out the Eucharist for Adoration and Father McLean walked it slowly around each section of the church, making the sign of the cross and blessing us all. After the Adoration, each row went up to the front of the church and Father would bless us with oil. Some people were slain in the Spirit, which means they would fall back (caught by volunteers and laid gently on the floor). My son was caught off guard by this sight. He had never seen people "faint" like that in church before. The last time I had seen it in person was when I was just a few years older than my son.

In the 1970's my parents got involved in the charismatic renewal, where people were slain in the Spirit, would fall to the ground or be given the gift of Tongues. It is a shocking sight to see first hand, but memorable. In a funny side story, when I relayed the events of the healing Mass to my mom over the phone and we spoke about those charismatic renewal days... she said she was always reluctant to be slain in the Spirit because she was afraid her false teeth would fall out! I could only imagine God in Heaven saying "Her free will is afraid of what???? I can't give her the gift of the Spirit because she's afraid of her teeth? Are you kidding me????"

As Dea, Gabe and I walked up to the front of the church, Gabe's eyes were fixed on the people laying peacefully on the floor. "Dad, people fainted, Dad!" Gabe said with caution as we neared our place in line. I comforted him as we finally reached the front.

Behind us people were ready to catch us if we fell. Father McLean hugged Gabe and made him feel comfortable, asking him a lot of questions about himself. Then, he approached me. I stood quietly, emotions welling inside me of the fear and pain and emotional distress of carrying this disease... those feelings you push to the back in order to get through the day had suddenly rushed to the forefront. I kept my eyes closed and my head bowed in reverance. Father McLean put his hand under my chin and pulled my head up, directing me to look him in the eyes. His eyes were so full of sincere compassion and love, it was as if you were looking into the eyes of Jesus himself. As he blessed me and placed the oils on my forehead, the emotional dam inside of me finally broke free. I didn't fall back or faint, but I was truly moved and immediatly comforted by one of the many volunteers.

He next moved to Dea and blessed her as well. Her body jolted and tears flowed from her face. She hugged Father tightly and we then made our way back to our pew. We prayed together quietly and humbly, unworthy of any grace of mercy bestowed upon us that day. We are so imperfect, so... human in our frailties. Any gift from a present God was something He could only give to us, not something we had ever earned.

As we left the church, Dea talked about her experience. She told me that, as she approached the front of the church she was certain she wan't going to faint. "I kept saying to myself 'I'm not going to fall down, I'm not going to faint, I'm not... but when he put the oil on my forehead it wasn't as if I was pushed backwards, but as if something was pulled out of me with such a force that I couldn't help but move. And when he hugged me, it was as if I was hugging Jesus himself... the love was so strong.'"

It was a wonderful experience. As I said before, so many others in that room are more worthy of healing than Dea or I. But, the gift of healing is not something we control, only something we can ask for.

Personally, I have complete faith in the Lord's ability to heal me. Afterall, he's God. I asked Him to heal me, but above all else I asked Him that His will be done. Perhaps I'm not supposed to be healed. Or perhaps I am. I don't really know and I don't have any control over it. I just humbly prayed and asked for His decision above all else. He knows, in the grand scheme of my life, if healing me will lead me down a path He wants me to take or not. So, if it happens, it happens and I won't be surprised. If it doesn't happen, it won't and I won't be surprised. I am content with whatever decision He has made for me and my family that day.

So, am I healed? Well, I won't really know for a few months, as it will take that time for my latest infusion of Remicade to wear off. Healing or no, I have a new found peace in my life, in my heart. And that, in and of itself, is a small gift, a small miracle. Would I love to never worry about Crohn's for the rest of my life?

Absolutely.

Will I ever have to worry about Crohns again?

I'll let you know when I know.

Hosting NET Kids

This weeekend we were asked by our church, and we agreed, to host two girls who are part of a Catholic group called NET. They are between 18 - 30 and dedicated their lives for a year to go around the country and offer seminars and retreats for Middle School and High School kids. They never know where they are going to stay... like the founding Apostles of our Church, they rely on the generosity of fellow Christians to house them.

They were in town for our Confirmation class and did a wonderful job. We met Maria and Jo (short for JoAnn) after LifeTeen Mass last night and took them out to dinner. We had a great time talking to them, about their journies and about their faith. They are both wonderful kids. They will stay tonight, then hold another retreat day, then stay over again Monday night, then head off to Fort Worth, Texas.

DC and Gabe gave up their rooms and stayed on the floor in our room. We all struggled getting a good night's sleep, but it's a small sacrifice to help support two wonderful kids living their faith.

Gators Heading To The Finals

My best friend Tim and I watched the Florida Gators defeat the media-darling George Mason Patriots to continue on to the Finals of the NCAA Tournament. It was a great game to watch and Tim, along with his family, watched it with excitement with us on the big screen.

Now he'll be back Monday night for the final against UCLA. We can't wait.

Leno Humor

Some funny jokes from Jay Leno:

- According to the latest statistics there are now eleven million illegal immigrants in the United States. Here's the part that surprised me, over half of them are on the Yankee pitching staff.

- President Bush is down in Mexico right now. I just don't think President Bush "gets it". He stepped off Air Force One, he looked around and said, "Wow, you've got a big problem with Mexican immigrants down here too!"

- In France, rioters looted stores. Actually to be politically correct you cannot call them looters anymore. You know have to call them undocumented shoppers.

- Yesterday disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff sentenced to nearing six years in prison. See that shows you the unpredictable life of a Washington lobbyist. One day you are getting a million bucks from the tobacco lobby and the next day you are being traded for a couple of cigarettes.

- Some sad news, after a three year run, hooters airlines has announced it is calling it quits and closing it's doors. Today President Clinton said, "This means the terrorist have won."

Beaten To The Punch

For years I've been saying that the greatest void in entertainment is quality youth Christian entertainment. I was hoping to start Sonlight TV to fill that void, but it appears that I've been beaten to the punch.

There is new channel called JCTV which is geared toward the youthful Christian market. Good for them. I hope they kick spiritual butt, because our youth need it. You can read more at their website located HERE.

Moral Crossroads

Tom DeLay spoke at a conference of Christian pastors called Vision America who's mission, according to the Houston Chronicle, is to "mobilize 'patriot pastors' of all denominations to promote Christian involvement in government."

DeLay, the one-time majority house leader and a speaker at the conference, said, "we have been chosen to live as Christians at a time when our culture is being poisoned. ... God made us specifically for it. ... Jesus Christ himself made us just so that we could live in this nation at this time."

Interesting words. Encouraging. If Christians are offended by the changes occurring in our society, they can chose to feel victimized or empowered to do something about it. DeLay is encouraging all Christians to believe that part of their purpose may be to fight this moral fight.

Never quite thought of it that way. Granted, I sure do a lot of complaining about things on this blog, but the idea of being here "at this time" to deal with these moral challenges... well, it puts a little more meat behind the feeling that we should stand up for what we believe in.

I remember my Dad and I having a discussion about morals and government when I was a teenager. He said something to the effect that this country is going to reflect someone's moral beliefs. If you care enough, you should make sure it reflects your's.

So, like in the 60's, our country is facing a moral crossroads and we're, collectively, going to have to decide which path we're going to take and live with the consequences of that choice for generations to come.

Snub Scrubs

I have one standard rule for which their is no deviating... if a show promotes abortion, I will never watch it again. This has happened before on shows that I've enjoyed and it happened again last night.

The odd and very funny sitcom Scrubs had a show about an announcement of a pregnancy. In their usual irreverant and humorous way, they used a play on words to abort the annoucement of the baby. At the end of the mayhem, the main character J.D. standing next to a priest. J.D. says "sorry about the abortion comment." The priest responds "that's okay, I'm actually pro-choice."

My wife let out a frustrated scream. And that will be the last time we watch Scrubs. Too bad, I love the show. But, the producers couldn't help but throw another undermining jab at the Catholic Church and its stance on abortion.

Some people may find my reaction to "just a joke" excessive, but for those of us that are pro-life, chopping up your baby in the womb and throwing it in the garbage is no less offensive than chopping up a one-year old baby and throwing it in the garbage. Its a subject not to be taken lightly.

So, another one bites the dust. Pretty soon there won't be any shows I'll be able to watch on TV... and maybe that's not a bad thing.