RANDOM BRAIN.

Current Listen - Skeleton Bones by John Mark McMillan.

Current Read - The Tale of Desperaux by Kate Dicamillo.

I traveled to Zanzibar last week. In this new place I saw many bikes begging to be ridden, many doors longing to be walked through. I had visions of riding one of the bikes through one of the doors… and ending up in another world or outer space or something cool like that. Then I thought of the scene from The Wizard of Oz when the crazy neighbor lady is riding her bike with the basket on the back and laughing creepishly, threatening to take Toto. She’ll never get her hands on Toto, Aunty Em wouldn’t let it happen.

The geckos that chill out on the walls are pretty cute. Today I saw maybe the smallest one in existence; I think he must have been just born. His eyes were humongous and he ran away before I could catch him. I think it would be sort of fun to have a tail and be able to blend into the color of the thing I was sitting on right then, but I wonder if geckos feel sad that they get overlooked as something else. I’m sure they’re grateful for their gift, though. Or maybe they have to learn to be grateful, just like us. It’s possible that most are quite happy but there’s a special one who really wishes he could be seen or heard. He’s probably got great ideas and adventurous tendencies and is a disgrace to the gecko community. That’s usually how the story goes… I have no doubts that he will find his way in this wide world.

I’ve had a few revelations in the past couple of weeks. One of them is about the capacity of the mind; maybe cause I’m reading The Lord of the Rings and once every few chapters I stop and remember that Middle Earth doesn’t exist. J.R.R. Tolkien brought life to an entire world, whole people groups and languages, full history of their existence and lineage. There are actual history books written about middle earth, maps and movies, all about a place that physically does not exist. In these moments I give huge props to God for doing it for real, creating stuff from nothing. It’s one of my favorite things about this God, this lover. The creativity behind it all… gives me the urge to create.

Today I caught a baby girl and named her Juniper. Cord around the neck once, slipped that sucker over the shoulders as the body came out. Jun gave a nice big cry at about 2 minutes. Asante Mungu na karibu kidogo wakike! Thank you God and welcome little girl!

Last few days in Tanzania, Africa. Doing the usual ya know? Saying goodbye, preparing for the next thing, packing. Searching for a way to correctly remember the experiences I’ve had, soaking in the lasts of everything. My eyes have shed many tears for this place and the people in it over the past six months; tears of anger, love, injustice, honor. I feel them coming now… the investment, the exposure, allowing myself to be changed by it all, wanting so badly to understand. And then understanding, slowly so slowly understanding. Just beginning to. Feeling a little bit right in a place so completely different than I have ever known. We had a rough start, Africa, but could you believe me when I say I’ve fallen in love with you?