H and G

Hi and Good-bye. (Remember that scene from Sleepless in Seattle? Pretty cute. Gotta love Tom Hanks with early 90s hair.)

Anyway, thought I’d stop by and say hi before the official launching of Epic Road Trip, Summer 2007 Edition. Yep, it’s time once again for that tiring, temper-testing tradition known as “vacation.” Which means we’re taking out a second mortgage to gas up our ’96 Econoline van, and heading to the hills. The big, rocky ones.

But first we’ll take a detour south to Lufkin for Jordan Yerkes’ wedding tomorrow! (Yay! I love him, and his little fiancee is precious.) Then it’s off to Colorado for ten days of frolicsome fun with my extended family. After that we make our way northeast to Ohio for a Damoff Family Reunion. Macedonians everywhere. Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and you’ve got a good mental image. Jolly times.

When the circle dances have all been danced and the baklava all eaten, we’ll swing through Lexington for a quick-but-no-doubt-delightful visit with the Samson family, and then it’s home again, home again, jiggidy jig. Assuming our van holds up. (Please pray!)

Since I probably won’t be posting while we’re gone (not that I’ve been posting all that much while we’re here, but oh well), I thought I’d give you two Views From Here for the price of one. You didn’t know this was your lucky day, did you?

View Number One. Our newspaper runs a column I read every day called Speak Out! People can call in and say anything about anything, and much of the time it’s quite entertaining. Parents complaining about the bad calls at a youth-league baseball game or someone congratulating a child for passing the TAKS test. The city needs to do something about potholes or illegal dumping or the dogs running loose in certain parts of town. Occasionally people call in jokes or prayer requests. It’s quite the interesting peek into small town psychology and social politics.

But today I read something that made me mad. I really don’t like it when someone judges someone else’s motives. It’s one thing to point out what people do and quite another to assign motives for doing it. It’s the difference between saying, “You’re singing loud,” and saying, “You always have to be the center of attention.” One is obvious. The other assumes too much.

So, in today’s paper someone had called in and complained about a group of churches that are helping immigrants. The caller insisted that they aren’t doing it because they care about people, but only to beef up their bank accounts. Of course, this is only one person’s opinion, but it bugs me because I hear this kind of cynicism everywhere. Why are we so quick to expect the worst of everyone? I know I do this, too. And half the time I don’t know enough about the person I’m judging to claim any understanding for why they behave the way they do.

Anyway, lately when I hear someone say something that assumes a motive in someone else, I point it out. And I try to catch myself when I do it and make a deliberate choice to give the person I’m criticizing the benefit of the doubt. It’s not easy. I wish I had a nicer heart.

View Number Two. Now that I’ve maxed out your whine-o-meters, I’ll leave you with something lovely. It’s my gift to you for your enjoyment while I’m gone. Ready? Click here.

See you when I see you!