Blasphemous Typos, Sage Von Steuben Wisdom, and '91 World Series Dreams

As we are planning the Easter Vigil at Resurrection Covenant (join us Saturday, April 23rd, at 7:30 p.m.), I was reminded of an important lesson in proofreading from last year's bulletin. Some typos are unsightly, others are blasphemous:

"Now sanctify this water, we pray, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that we may continue forever in the risen lie of Christ."

Yikes! Not quite the message you want to be sending on an Easter service at a church that would like to remain in the confines of orthodox Christianity. We had to go through all of the bulletins with a fine-tip pen and add a distinct "f" in between the "i" and "e." We're trying to avoid similar blasphemous mistakes this year by proofreading a little more closely. It's amusing that the typo would of course be in the one place where it could induce heresy.

So, are we going to have a government shutdown? It seems crazy is the new sane in D.C. politics. Does this mean my sister won't have to go into work? Jess?

Today as I was walking on campus, I heard one Von Steuben student give this pearl of wisdom to another: "Don't limit yourself to girls you can get with." When I first heard, "Don't limit yourself...", I thought I was going to hear some good, solid advice: "Don't limit yourself by only applying to one college;" "Don't limit yourself to what other think you should do;" even "Don't limit yourself to one slice of pizza in the cafeteria." While it is probably still good advice, it definitely went a direction I wasn't expecting.

Also, proving that the 1991 Twins vs. Braves World Series is buried deep in the subconscious of my mind, a few nights ago I had a dream I was watching the highlight film of the World Series with then Atlanta Braves third baseman Terry Pendleton and discussing the ups-and-downs that was the series (five games decided by one run, four games decided by the last at-bat, three games going into extra innings, the home team winning every game, the series going seven games).

My parents can attest to the fact that I have seen that World Series highlight video more than any other video in my life, hands down. I can still quote at length many parts of the film, including when Drew Coble, the first base umpire in game 2, explained why he called Ron Gant out when to everyone watching it was pretty clear that Hrbek pulled him off first base: "Everyone looks at his lower body in the replay, but if you look at his upper body, his momentum was carrying him off the base." And who can forget the game 6 heroics of Kirby with an amazing catch and a walk-off homer? As Jack Buck exclaimed, "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" Click here to watch the glory of it.

I just finished Ken Follett's World without End, and I don't know if it is because I was listening to it, but I felt very emotionally invested with the characters. I was definitely sad when it ended, feeling the loss of fictional friends who will speak no new words to me. I mean, I'm not going to lose sleep over it or anything, but there's a certain sadness in finishing books, especially longer books that span lifetimes or generations of families (Harry Potter fans should keenly understand this feeling).

Now, I'm going to try to rustle up some dinner and hopefully watch the Twins/Yankees game if it stops raining in New York. Later.