Rain

Rain
I opened my eyes And looked up at the rain, And it dripped in my head And flowed into my brain, And all that I hear as I lie in my bed Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head. I step very softly, I walk very slow, I can't do a handstand-- I might overflow, So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said-- I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head. Shel Silverstein

My Christmas Wish

Dear Lord,
I would love to live on my very own island that includes a castle, bookshops, outdoor markets and my own footie stadium. Plus houses for my close friends and family. Is that too much to ask?
Love,
Me

PS- this is mostly because I love castles, bookshops, outdoor markets and football and I can't stand most people. That is all.

The PUMA Hardchorus

OK.... this is frickin' incredible.

First of all I love Savage Garden. I truly, madly, deeply do.

Some highlights:

:12- harmonies

:20- the fist pump

:33- eyes closed in the front (homeboy is INTO this!)

:44- confused old man in cap

:56- man in the centre (is he humming or just standing there? you decide)

1:14- random woman not sure of what's going on

1:20- step forward (whoa there boys)

1:28- Mr. No Teeth

1:30- stop yelling!

1:40- way to hold that note lads!

1:46- heart = soccer

Jax wedding

Wedding number three of the year checked off the list! It was a beautiful three days in Jacksonville and I had a total blast! The flight out was a bit stressful- we had a slight delay at our arrival gate in SLC and I would nervous that I wouldn't make it to the Atlanta connection in time. Luckily the gate was super close so I could grab CPK and make it onto the next flight. Then in Atlanta, the flight into Jax was delayed by about an hour. The area I was in reminded me of Ellis Island. Ugh. And then, the worst part was that I was sitting next to a man who had his head in a vomit bag the entire flight. Therefore I spent the flight standing up by the lavatories since I didn't want to be around that at all. I felt bad but I did not want to get thrown up on. I didn't land until midnight and with getting my suitcase, Amy and I didn't get back to the house until nearly 1 and weren't in bed until 2 or so. It was really late and we had to be up early the next morning to take the dresses into be steamed and then meet up with Lisa. Lisa and I got to chat while we got our nails done and then it was off for some Chick fil-A for lunch (yum!) and then off to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Best part of the rehearsal was the crazy to the minute schedule from the military Devon and then the chatting we had at our table at the rehearsal dinner. The location of the dinner was this beautiful little French restaurant and the decor inside was definitely French. Even if the place hadn't been called the Brasserie, just seeing the interior would have made the influence clear. The food was comme-ci, comm-ca; the salad was bitter, they gave us sherbet in between our courses and the steak wasn't really cooked. Amy's was nearly raw so she brought it home and we ate it with mac 'n cheese at 10:00 at night. Andrea asked kind of cheekily what was for dessert and turns out there wasn't any. Oh, and our waiter looked like Mil Ventimiglia. I kept wanting to call him Jess.

Again, it was a kind of late night since we were up late eating dinner and chatting so the next morning, Amy and I headed out to our hair appointment and made a stop at Starry-bux for some much needed caffeine. The hair appointment was luxurious- I love getting pampered and my stylist was so sweet- we had a good chat while she did my hair. I love that she was able to keep my bangs out of my face and the hair spray certainly held up through the entire night and the dancing. We headed over to the church for our makeup and relaxing time before the ceremony. Jack Johnson was playing in the background, we were being pampered again by the makeup artists, we had some snacks and lunch and chatted with each other.

Then it was into the dresses and time for pictures- there were what felt like millions of pictures taken and it was fun to feel like a celebrity for the day. We all looked great in our dresses and Mindy looked absolutely gorgeous in her beautiful beaded dress. Before we knew it, it was time for the ceremony. I loved that they used their friends and family to read verses about marriage and life together and Mindy and Devon looked incredible together!

Then it was more pictures inside the church and then outside the reception location which was this beautiful yacht and country club a few minutes away from the church. The wedding party hung out outside while waiting to be introduced and then it was time for introductions by the DJ, first dances and finally dinner! By this point we were starving, having only some chocolate to snack on between lunch at noon and dinner. The food was delicious and I got to chat with AMy, Brian and Andrea as we sat up at the head table. There was mingling, exploring, eating and drinking, toasts and then finally the dancing, myfavorite part. When I get married, I want an endless dance party- you heard it here first!




DJ Jacob did a great job with the music- we tried to get as many people up on the floor as possible and I had a blast dancing with the cousins on either side. There was a garter toss and the bouquet toss and I caught the bouquet! Prince Charming, I'm ready and waiting! More dancing and insanity ensued and then it was time to send them off with sparklers and a decorated car. Overall, an incredible wedding and I'm so pleased that I was able to be there for Mindy and Devon!

Since every wedding needs an after party, we headed to a bar called Harmonious Monks which is known for its band made up of the waiters and bartenders. THey all sing cover songs of famous artists and everyone sings along, dances on tables and chairs and has a blast. They sang everything from "Proud Mary" to "Minnie the Moocher" to "I Will Survive" and I was proud to say that I knew every song. And got to dance up on the tables/booth we were sitting in. Loved this place- Orange County and Boise need their own!Amy and I ended up chatting that night until nearly 3 am so we all slept in a great deal Sunday morning. After a southern breakfast of eggs, sausage and biscuits, we headed out to San Marco which is a cute little area near the river and downtown Jacksonville with great little shops and theaters and coffee houses. We went into a great chocolate store and shared chocolate covered oreos and then went to a bookstore where I got two (two!) Madeleine L'Engle Christmas books. I love Madeleine and I miss her quite a bit. I got three of her books a few weeks ago when I was at a used bookstore in Nampa. She can do no wrong in my eyes. I wish she hadn't passed away. We chatted a bit in Starrybux because it was so cold (what's up with that, Florida?) and then off to the airport.

Now I'm writing to you from the plane while watching the craziest Iron Chef America Ever. The Chairman was doing flips in a Santa Costume, Paula Deane and Cat Cora against Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine, Katie Lee Joel, Tina Fey and Ted as judges, Lorilynne in an elf costume and lots of kitchen shenanigans. Nothing better. I'm almost home- I can't wait to see all of you Irvine folk over the next few weeks!

End of the Semester

Well, the first semester of my college teaching career is behind me. I survive! Well, I hope I survived- I didn't post my grades yet because I'm waiting for as many of my evaluations to come in. But once that's done, I've completed my first semester. It feels really good. I feel like I've learned a lot. I know what kind of things I want to continue for next semester but also things that I want to adjust. I want to change the schedule a little bit and get Dora, from the Centre for Experiential Learning into my classroom earlier so we can encourage them to start even as freshmen to look for internships, jobs, etc. I know what I need to do a better job with (Library Lessons, keeping up with the ASC requirements, etc.). I had the students reflect on the class and they for the most part seemed to like it. I actually got a really interesting reflection from one of my students and I kept it so I could write it here but of course, it's in Caldwell. I'll post it when I get back in January. Their finals were about the six strategies that they will use in their future education/career and they were really great to read. So many of them started with "I thought this class was going to be useless" and ended with "but wow, was I wrong and this class totally helped me out.... etc...." so that feels really good. I also had a student who totally blew the class off at the beginning of the semester, realized that she really needed the help the class was providing and worked so hard to turn herself around, especially since she wasn't going that well in any of her other classes. She ended up with a solid C in the class which was so cool- I was really proud of her.

Calculating the grades was a pain in the butt but I got them done. I did them all before the finals and posted their numeric total on post-its (see picture below) so all I had to do once I finished grading the massive pile of papers (also see below) of finals. Then all I had to do was input the last grade and do the final calculations. I had to proctor a final for Dori so I had three hours of uninterrupted grading which let me finish on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I wish I had known that several months before because I totally could have flown out on Wednesday and made it to Mindy' PJ party on Thursday but such is life and I had a nice relaxing night in Boise with Bailie and Brooke before taking off for Florida.

This post is brought you....

from over 10,000 feet above the earth. Thank you free plane Wifi.

A Little Rant

Today should be a good day. I should be happy that I'm done with grading my finals and all I have to do is post grades. I should be happy that all my Christmas presents are paid and purchases. I should be happy that I'm getting a free lunch and it's discount day at the bookstore. I should be happy that I'm going to a wedding tomorrow. But people bug me sometimes and I need a mini rant.

Rant #1- I went to open a bank account yesterday for residency and I didn't have a proof of residency (like a bill or something- mainly because I don't get mail at my place unless it's from friends or something. So I said I'd come back the next day. I told her I couldn't come that day since I'm proctoring an exam. So I get a message this morning "reminding me" to come and turn my stuff in. I know! I'm not going to wait at the bank before it opens to show you my stuff. I have things to do! So hold your horses. If you don't hear from me by like 4:00, then call. But at 9:30! Come on now. I'm not an idiot.

Rant #2- Why is establishing residency in a state so ridiculous! The point person at BSU is pretty unhelpful and isn't detailed in his answers and I've been going back and forth with him for like a month now. So annoying. Why do they need so many thing! I have an Idaho license, which they don't give you without proof of residency, so why can't that be OK? I have a voter registration, which they also don't give you without an Idaho license. I have a bank account (or maybe not seeing as I'm a moron and might not bring by my stuff). And what the heck is an abandonment of domicile? Can my parents sign something that says I've "abandoned" my room at their house? It's ridiculous and driving me crazy. Because I don't want to get an Idaho license plate. They already took my license, I want to at least keep my plate.

Arghhhh. OK, rant over. Now onto happy thoughts. It's gonna be a good rest of the day. The end.

A few stories

Life's been crazy these past few days so here are some stories for you cool cats to enjoy.



My kids have been doing presentations these last few days. One girl was suuuuuuper nervous. She was supposed to present on Thursday but had to leave the room suddenly so we postponed to Tuesday. I got her presentation evaluation sheet back and in answer to the question that asked if there was any other information I should know about the project, she wrote "I'm sorry for vomiting and leaving class." Poor thing.





Any of you remember that part in the Dawn Treader movie/book where they sail into a super thick fog and they start to picture all of their nightmares and then one of the seven missing lords appears? Well, that has been my driving experience the last few nights. On Sunday, coming home from "Stark Aid" (a concert we put on at church to raise money for Kyli at her YWAM school in Texas), there was like a foot of visibility. Same thing coming home last night from Holiday Baking at David's house in Boise, hardly any visibility. It is absolutely terrifying. You really have no idea what is out there in front of you and that's just so scary.

I'm going to Sundance Film Festival! I just got my tickets yesterday0 two showings and a VIP reception and of course all the people watching. I got the tickets through an alumni event and if Yosh got his butt in gear, we'll drive down together for the two days. There are pretty cheap hotels , including one right next door to where the showings are and if not, I can always stay with Thad and Megan. I've never been to Sundance before and I'm really excited!

Tonight's the Nutcracker and I'm debating whether or not to go. I love the Nutcracker but I've been out every night this week since Friday night (and I can't even remember half of the things I've been doing out late....oy...) and am kind of looking forward to a night at home, eating mac 'n cheese or grilled cheese and tomato soup and just relaxing. I've been watching a lot of Alfred Hitchcock lately- last night I watched "Lifeboat" which was excellent, and "The 39 Steps a few weeks before. I've got "The Birds", "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "Rear Window" at home right now that I'm eagerly anticipating. His stuff is great. I do love the Nutcracker but 'd rather watch my video's of Balanchine's Nutcracker and the other version that has Maurice Sendak designed sets and costumes. I watched them one so often when I was little and could frequently be found prancing around the house in a bride's skirt, undershirt, hair in a bun and
a necklace on my head, pretending I was Clara. I also grew up watching the Balanchine Nutracker on stage with grandma in New York City and loved the book "A Very Young Dancer" which I now own, having found it online several years ago. As much as I love the Nutcracker, I think my warm bed and an early night of scary/thrilling movies wins out.

A Standard Convo Between Me and the Sister

me: i had the most whackadoodle dream last night and you were in it

Roni: pray tell

me: we were somewhere, on this trip or something and we stopped in the evening outside this restaurant or party or something like that

all of a sudden, this olden guy grabs a pool cue and without cause or warning, starts beating me with it

it's very bizarre

i eventually grab the pool cue and don't hit him back but just kind of brandish it and aim at him

but i don't ever really hit him, it's more like you do with a dog or something to keep it away when it's trying to attack you

well eventually the police come and handcuff him but also handcuff the two of us for some reason

Roni: and what was i doing this whole time? just watching this happen?
me: i'm not sure, i was too concerned with the man beating me with the pool cue

me: they're going to deal with the situation but while waiting, instead of putting us in the police car, we get put into our own car

like they gently help us in cuz we're in handcuffs and close the door and just leave us, with our keys and everything

so you say, well, they never wrote down our plate numbers, we have our licenses, we can find a way to get the cuffs off, let's just go

so we drive off and nobody notices and we manage to get the cuffs off and we agree to hide them in a drawer at an unsuspecting friends house so that nobody discovers them and then leave

and we never get caught

the end

Roni: huh

sounds very sam and dean of us

except you probably would have whacked the guy with the pool cue

me: true

i didn't want to get in trouble so i figured that just brandishing it would have helped

and yeah, i never thought that it was sam and dean-esque

funny, cuz i watched no spn last night

no, that's a lie, i watched like ten minus of the end of the heaven ep

but then i watched the maltese falcon right before i went to bed

oh humphrey bogart....
Roni: legendary

I've never met a bagel I didn't like....

....until today. This bagel right here was nasty. I think the cream cheese had a lot to do with us. But ugh. Nasty.
And I am wearing my new down vest in this picture. It rocks. Because it's snowing right now.

Some movie reviews

I LOVE my Netflix subscription. It's totally worth it. I've been able to watch some great (and not so great movies). Here are my recent reviews.

Watership Down- I absolutely love this book. So, so, so much. I read it a very long time ago and have reread it may times since. I love Fiver and Hazel and Bigwig and Pipkin and Hyzenthaly and all the rest. And apparently, there is a movie. I discovered it because of my John Hurt kick (more on that later). I don't remember when the movie was made but the animation was incredible. The movie follows the story of several rabbits, led by Hazel and his brother Fiver (who is a "seer") who leave their warren to find a new home. There are a lot of obstacles and of course, some die along the way but the end up victorious and are able to create a new warren at Watership Down. Again, as I said, the animation was amazing, especially at the end when Bigwig fights General Woundwort. And even though it's a story about bunny rabbits, it can be quite dark. I love that Richard Adams created a whole world for these rabbits, with their own myths and religion and stories to tell.

Highly recommended.

Iris- Pretty much just wanted to watch this movie because of the Oxford scenes (hello St. Giles, hello Magdelene Bridge, hello Bodley and Rad Cam, hello lovely Oxford!) but I ended up being blown away by both Judy Dench (oh Dame, you are marvelous) and Jim Broadbent. Kate Winslet played a young Iris Murdoch and honestly, she didn't do much for me, despite being Oscar nominated, I believe. But Dame Judy had to play a women slowly hit by Alzheimer's. She was amazing at portraying the slow loss of memory and Jim Broadbent played her husband, trying to continue to support her even when she becomes like a child who cannot remember anything. He was spot on with the old British man with high pants, a beer belly, a cute hat and vest in most of the scenes. I thought I was on a John Hurt kick but I think I may be on a Jim Broadbent kick. He made me want to cry with his patience and likewise frustration at the situation that he had to experience with his wife who was slowly becoming someone else as she forgot. On the plus side, the movie co-starred Penelope Wilton, aka. Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North.

Also highly recommended but also very sad.

The Elephant Man- I expected by be horrified by the makeup job on John Hurt but I was mostly horrified at the treatment of the Elephant Man. You can do your own research on the true man but let's just say top of my list this summer is the London hospital to see the remains of the Elephant Man. John Hurt stars as a man who was horribly disfigured, so much so now that he cannot lie back flat or he would asphyxiate himself. He is horribly treated at several different freakshows, both in England and the continent and his saving grace was Dr. Anthony Hopkins and these other circus freaks in Europe who released him from a cage and sent him back to England. I was bawling when the Elephant Man was attacked at the train station and shouted "I am not an Elephant Man. I am a human being!" There was one scene that was honest-to-goodness emotional and bordering on physical rape of the Elephant Man. It was absolutely wretched. Especially because the Elephant Man was such a sweet man who loved his mother, musical theatre and building models of cathedrals.

Highly recommended if you can handle it- it is very emotionally draining to watch.

The Damned United- well, I'm in the middle of this write now as I write but man, does Michael Sheen/Brian Clough have a sexy accent and man, does he have balls! And the guy who plays Wormtail in Harry Potter is in it! And, oh my gosh, Jim Broadbent! You're in this too! That's it, this movie rocks no matte what happens in the next hour and ten minutes! I'll update you on this one later but honestly, let's just say it's going to be good because the cast is excellent, everyone loves a good footie movie and no one cares that much about Leeds now anyway.

And I just realized that all the movies I've been watching lately have been pretty depressing.

I guess I need a bit more humour in my life. Well, that's what I watch Glee and Modern Family for. Leave the comedy to my TV shows and the depression for my movies.

Proust Questionnaire

Since July 1993, the back page of Vanity Fair has been devoted to the Proust Questionnaire, in which a noteworthy person answers a series of personal questions. The questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust (1871–1922), the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. I found this on a blog that I was reading earlier today and thought I'd play along.

So, here is my true nature.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being in the company of those I love and those who love me and being able to share experiences with them witout judgement and with lots of laughter. It wouldn't hurt if in that world of happiness, Liverpool was at the top of the table :)

2. What is your greatest fear?
Failure and not living up to my or others expectations

3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Snap judgements I make of others in my head while in the outside being nice to them. It screams hypocrisy.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Self-deprecation that is unjustified. Stop complaining about your A- when the rest of us are happy with C+.

5. Which living person do you most admire?
My mom, especially with all that she's put up with me throughout the years.

6. What is your greatest extravagance?
Oh man, probably books. I'm a pretty thrifty person. And honestly, I love to buy things for others so maybe that's it- things for other people.

7. What is your current state of mind?
A combination of content, worry, uncertainty, excitement of upcoming events.

8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
temperance

9. On what occasion do you lie?
When it makes someone feel better or it won't hurt their feelings.

10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I'd like to lose weight.

11. Which living person do you most despise?
I would never "out" the person that I despise the most that I know. But person I despise the most that I don't know, Cristiano Ronaldo, obviously. Didier Drogba is a close second.

12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
sense of humor and sarcasm to match mine

13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
a listening ear and words of wisdom

14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Are you kidding me?" "Let's be real." "Oh for pete's sake!"

15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
my family, my friends, and of course, Michael Owen :) In fantasy though, of course.

16. When and where were you happiest?
when I was living in Oxford and traveling throughout England for cheap

17. Which talent would you most like to have?
I'd like to be able to apparate and disapparate so I could travel the world and not pay for hotels, flights, transportation, etc.

18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
that I would be in better shape

19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
graduating in three years and finding jobs despite obstacles (and thus rolling with the punches)

20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
hopefully a rockstar :) for real

21. Where would you most like to live?
Engerland. Anywhere in Engerland.

22. What is your most treasured possession?
my Michael Owen autograph and my photographs

23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
being alone and away from your support

24. What is your favorite occupation?
teaching is the only one I have ever known

25. What is your most marked characteristic?
being able to stay in touch with people over very long periods of time

26. What do you most value in your friends?
loyalty

27. Who are your favorite writers?
Harper Lee, S.E. Hinton, Madeleine L'Engle, Laurie R. King, Bill Bryson, Jasper Fforde

28. Who is your hero of fiction?
Mary Russell, Thursday Next and Ponyboy

29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
oh geez, um, you think this would be easy- I love Eleanor of Aquitaine and her crazy family, but I'm not sure who I would identify the most with

30. Who are your heroes in real life?
My mom, my best friends and Laurie King

31. What are your favorite names?
Sam, Emma, Hailey, Sivan, Riley, Spencer

32. What is it that you most dislike?
pushy people

33. What is your greatest regret?
not always being honest with myself and letting my anxiety blind me.

34. How would you like to die?
surrounded by friends and family after a long, happy life

35. What is your motto?
You'll Never Walk Alone- in all sense of the meaning.

Out to Pasture

Saturday night I braved the snow and ice (so dramatic but it really was snowy!) to celebrate Jon's last day of being 25. Because he's sooooo old and is going to be put out to pasture soon, we had to celebrate accordingly and where else would we go? The HaPenny, of course. I got there early and drew up his lovely poster (which got more elaborate as the night went on), a bunch of people came by to celebrate Yosh's birthday, he got to write his name up on the wall, eat and cut cake, we all had a few drinks (well, I didn't I was driving back to Caldwell that night) and generally have a good old time. Happy birthday, old man!

the magnificent poster which got more elaborate as the night went on...
me and Tammi!
Yosh getting to sign the wall- it really did remind me of Dublin and all the grafitti
the whole grup
A Man and a Manhattan
Michael being selfish
Happy birthday Yosh!
Tammi, Ashley and me- all three of us have been to Israel. Not at the same time though.
I was looking at the other camera. My bad.
M2
me and the birthday man at our place

A Cool Thanksgiving Experience

On Thanksgiving Eve, I had a really cool experience of being part of the Twenty-Eighth ANnual Tahnksgiving Ecumenical and Interfaith Service. A few weeks before, Tom, the conductor from the Meridiian Symphony, announced that if anyone want to sing, they could join. I had no idea what was involved but I emailed him and ended up as part of the choir. I drove in on some pretty icy roads into Boise on Wednesday night, tea and cough drops in hand as I was still getting over a cold and coughing a lot, and picked up my music.

I had never been in St. John's Cathedral before and it was beautiful to behold. It reminded me of a less ornate and a newer version of St. Paul's in London. I didn't feel right taking overt pictures so all of these were either from my phone or covertly shot from the pew where I was sitting.
We had a short rehearsal to go over the music and then we got started. The point of this Thanksgiving service was to bring together all of the religions and denominations of the Treasure Valley and spend an evening together remind each other that even though we may believe in different ideas, we all share the idea of community and thanksgiving. The service started out with the familiar sound of a shofar being blown in his usual rhythm and then a processional of all the ministers and religious representatives while the choir sang Oh God Beyond All Praising.



Two minsters from the Catholic and Episcopal churches gave the welcome and prayer, the Mayor gave a Thanksgiving Proclamation (rather him than the governor) and then we sang "All Creatures of our God and King". We sang with the amazingly beautiful pipe organ and a brass section and when we came in, it reminded me of an old Disney movie where there were songs sung by choirs. It was just a glorious amount of sound and I wish I had recorded it so you could all hear what I was hearing.

The first reading was from a leader of the Islamic Community of Idaho and he read in Arabic and English from the Koran, all verses about gathering of the harvest and being grateful to God. We then listened to a group from Burundi, Africa, sing and worship the way that they do when they say mass in Burundi. I loved the different sounds and rhythms that they beat out and then we sang a piece called Come All You People that we sang in both English and another Burundi/African dialect. "Uyai mose, tinamate Mwari, Uyai mose Zvino- Come all you people, come and praise your maker, come let us worship the Lord."



The second reading was from an LDS leader about the importance of faith and prayer and then we sang "Deep River". I had sung that in college and because they needed three soprano soloists, I volunteer. Also because I didn't want to learn the other part. Next was the leader of the Buddhist Community who called us to meditation by reminded us to stop and listen and to be still. She struck a prayer bell that vibrated for a long time in between her words and it echoed widely throughout the quiet cathedral.
The speaker of the night was Rabbi Dan Fink from Ahavath Beth Israel, the synagogue in Boise. Now, I may be biased, but his talk was absolutely incredible. I will try and recap it as best as I can because it's really worthy of repeat. He started out by talking about what country is the less happiest. Turns out, according to a book whose name I can't remember, that country is Moldova. The fabric of that nation was destroyed through years of harsh rule and now the reaction of all the people there is distrust and despair- it's not my problem, they say to all the social ills of the country. Now compare this to the country of Liberia where, five years ago, it would have made Moldova look like the Bahamas. There was a strict dictatorship and its citizens didn't back down- a heroic band of women changed the course of the country's history. A group of women decided to "pray the devil back to hell", there was a mass action to peace that began with Christian women but later spread to Muslim women who joined hands across religious boundaries and began working towards peace and democracy.

Rabbi Fink explained that it is our reaction and response that determines our fate. We can choose to be like the Liberians or the Moldovans. The courage that we have to make that decision comes from the heart (they have the same root- couer), just like we have faith that come from the heart. When we help others, we make our community stronger. Rabbi Hillel states this quite well when he says "If I am only for myself, then who am I?" Fear sends us down the wrong path, fear keeps us from equality, it puts us at war with each other because of fear and insecurity.
This is where Rabbi Fink got a little controversial. He proclaimed that it is fear that keeps us at war with other nations, not just ourselves. It is fear that vilifies President Obama for wanting us to all have health care. It is fear that keeps our gay neighbors from serving in the military proudly or from getting married. So say things like that in the heart of conservative Boise certainly took some courage, so Rabbi Fink was definitely practicing what he was preaching. But he had a good point. We have become so pessimistic that we start to only look at helping ourselves. Golda Meir said that pessimism is a luxury a Jew cannot afford and it is now the same with Americans. We cannot afford to be pessimistic. Our optimism returns us to the path of courage. Our optimism turns us away from our problems and helps us focus on the problems of our neighbors. Out of many, we become one, as our nation's motto, e pluribum unum, says. We multiply our blessings when we share. We become stronger when we share- we become their keepers and they become ours. Rabbi Fink finished with a quote from Desmond Tutu: goodness is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, light is stronger than darkness, life is stronger than death."
The service ended with an offering where we sang "Come Ye Thankful People Come" and the blessing of the food and monetary gifts to be donated to the Idaho Food Bank done by a woman from Illowan's Children. We sang the Doxology, were lead in a prayer of Thanksgiving and concluded with a Song of Thanksgiving and closing prayer. A member of the synagogue blew the shofar one last time and the ministers and religious representatives marched the recessional while we sang the ever patriotic "America!"

It was certainly a new opportunity to sing and be a part of this and I am incredibly thankful that I did. In a world where people focus so much on the differences between people, it was nice to come together with many religions and denominations and realize that we really aren't so different- that even though we believe in different Gods and different doctrines and different codes of living, we all can find something to be thankful for.