The Truth Shall Set You Free

You know those stylized signs that hint at a function? A crooked arrow suggests a turn, or an illuminated stick figure let's you know it's okay to cross the street. Those signs suggest a reality. The sign at left, advertizing restrooms in Central Michigan dig a little deeper. By the time you get there, the truth is evident.

Putting on his Big Boy Pants.

Remember the Big Boy? Frisch's or Shoney's Big Boy was big when I was little. Shoney's diners are still very much in evidence, but I hadn't seen the Big Boy in years... until I visited Michigan recently. My not-so-little boy, Tyler is doing exactly what I did back in the day: messin' with the Big Boy. Ah, youth. Another benefit of youth is being able to eat a really big hamburger.

Shoot, with lots of bacon, two fried eggs, and chili, I'm not sure this burger isn't actually bigger than the one the Big Boy's brandishing!

Where's Waldo.

The fine folks from the Area Health Education Centers were not the only folks to invade San Antonio: the Texas State Coaches Association was also very much in evidence. It was not particularly difficult to tell the coaches apart from the AHECers. AHEC folks are typically a gentle people, with understated clothing, practical eyeglasses, and generally bareheaded. The coaches? Well, the following picture has two AHEC conventioneers (I'll give you a hint: Lady Di is one of them), and two coaches. Ready? Begin!

Look closely, now. No, the guy in the chair is unaffiliated. Here, I'll pare it down a bit...

Okay, look to the left. See the guy with the ponytail, seated with his laptop? No, he's not a coach. That'd be the two beefy guys to the right.

More coaches outside of the Italian Restaurant. Hooters was obviously full.

Remember the... what was that place again?

Lady Di was to speak at the National Area Health Education Centers convention in San Antonio, Texas last week. I mooched a cheap companion ticket and chilled out while she worked. Did I say "chilled"? That is perhaps inappropros: it was way hot in San Antonio. A dry heat? Maybe. Just felt more like an oven than a sauna to me. Anyway, we braved the hundred degree heat to pay our respects to the Alamo.

God Blessed Texas.

Lady Di and I just got back from the Lone Star State. Pretty cool. My mix c.d. for the trip (to the airport) included Texas musicians Bob Wills, Little Texas, Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Fastball, Possum Kingdom, Lyle Lovett, Buddy Holly, Butthole Surfers, Janis Joplin, and Vanilla Ice (yeah, he's all about Miami, but he started in Dallas), and one Louisiana gal, Lucinda Williams (hey, I like her). More, later.

Food Fight.

Dan Cathy, grand poobah of Chick-fil-A, has opined that marriage is a union of a man and a woman. If the leader of a chicken empire says it, I guess it must be so. Of course, he's not the only food vendor with opinions on matters of national import: Pizza man Herman Cain had plenty of opinions. If it turns out he's right, maybe we should seek the advice of other food vendors in other things: Want to know what to do about nuclear weapons advances in Iran? Consult with, oh, I don't know, Famous Amos? For the record: I like Chick-fil-A's chicken, and I like Chick-fil-A. Do I like their theology? Not so much. I'm no scientist, but my anecdotal observation leads me to believe that homosexuality is not a choice. Is it a sin? Guess that depends on how you read Chapter 15 in Matthew's Gospel, and how much of the list of "unclean" activities Jesus declared no longer verboten. I'm inclined to believe that homosexuality is not a sin. Although Jesus does mention "sexual immorality" in Matthew, he spent a lot more time putting down the establishment's abuse of traditionally disenfranchised folks than he did peeking under people's sheets. I'm inclined to agree with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Wills
that Jesus would've sided with the outcasts instead of the establishment on that one. I gotta say I'm relieved that I don't have millions of people relying on my interpretation of Gospel, as the leaders of the Episcopal Church and as the Catholic Church, and all the Protestant churches do.

I may not totally agree with the Cathys' politics, but I don't doubt their sincerity. I worked for Chick-fil-A back in the day, both back home in Tampa (thanks to my old Chick-fil-A supervisor, Dan P.,  for the picture at left, circa 1978), and also for the mothership in Hapeville, Georgia. They always treated their employees well, including me, and my experience in the Summer of 1979 (including a "witnessing" story that I might or might not blog one day) is what led me to seek another Christian employer in 1980 (see Alpine Camp for Boys, two posts ago). Dan Cathy is saying the same things he and his family have always said. They're not hypocrites. In fact, his father, Truett, took about thirty of us who were working for the "Blitz team" to his church, bought minibikes for us to ride on his ranch outside of Atlanta, and paid us to go to a Christian seminar, not to help sales, but because he cared about our souls. 


So, will I eat at Chick-fil-A? Of course I will; they make great chicken sandwiches... but I didn't go Wednesday.

Virginia's Finest.

Okay, where were we? Ah, yes, leaving West Virginia... (I know. I know. We came back from Michigan a couple of weeks ago, and I mixed in a story from my youth; still, I've got this completion thing).  We exited a tunnel from the relatively steep mountains of West Virginia into the relatively rolling mountains of Virginia. Both are pretty, but you can feel the difference. Virginia just seems more orderly. Some pretty good musicians from The Old Dominion, but for me it begins and ends with the providentially named Dave Matthews Band (Dave Matthews was named after me. What's that you say? Dave Matthews' parents had no reason to borrow my moniker? True enough. The fact remains that, since he was born seven years after I was born, he was named after I was). Though Mr. Matthews was born in South Africa, his famous band was formed in Charlottesville, VA. You've already heard some of the music from North and South Carolina, so I think that'll do for this roadtrip. Next week, I'll share my trip to the Lone Star State.