Bette Midler. The Divine Miss M. Loud, irreverent, sometimes bawdy, but always an original.

One day I confessed to my wife I had never seen Bette Midler in concert, despite loving her performances in "The Rose," "Beaches," and of course her take no prisoners persona in "The First Wives Club." Beth was aghast. She insisted we see Bette immediately but only if we could do it in Las Vegas. Nothing less would do. Ms. Midler was an original after all. It was Caesar's Palace or bust.

Bette Midler acts as a reminder of the importance of celebrating originality, even when it means being out of step with the conventions of the day. Viva la differénce.

"I didn't belong as a kid, and that always bothered me. If only I'd known that one day my differentness would be an asset, my early life would have been much easier." - Bette Midler

These days I spend a lot of time waiting.

I'm waiting for the world to feel safe again. I'm waiting to travel, to plan dinner parties, and to go museums. I'm waiting to hop on a subway car, go to a baseball game, and meander through the stacks of my local library.

I am a patient person by nature. But the past nine months have stretched my patience to the limit.

Simone Weil reminds me of the benefit of thinking differently about waiting. Perhaps waiting is not punishment but preparation.

"Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life." - Simone Weil

Every day I feel like I'm running a sprint. Full steam ahead. No looking back. Pedal to the metal.

Which works if you are busy checking tasks off a list. But if you're trying to untangle or change more complicated inbred behaviors, sprints don't cut it. Sometimes you need to grind out a marathon before reaching the finish line.

If your marathon feels more like a zigzag, take heart. We'll all get there eventually.

"History and movements do not move in straight lines. They swing, they go forward and backward and in zigzags." - Helen Zia

A few days ago, one of my favorite country music artists died of complications of early onset dementia. Hal Ketchum was just 67 years old.

I was a late comer to the country music scene, being fully immersed in the world of twang only after I moved to Montana. One day, after loving him from afar, I got the opportunity to meet Hal. We were both waiting for a flight at DFW airport. He was sitting across from me, sporting these scuffed up boots and faded jeans. But the hair. Oh that hair. It could make any girl swoon.

As a longtime fan, today's quote comes from his song, "Stay Forever." I only wish he could have......

"If you could see inside, this aching heart of mine. Maybe you would stay forever." - Hal Ketchum

Every December 1st, my mother would dutifully dig around in the drawers of our dining room hutch and pulled out her silver-plated candy dishes. Then she filled all of them with sticky colorful ribbon candy. It was her way to mark the calendar's final month, one sweet morsel at a time.

I grew to love this brittle bended treat, although I don't remember being allowed to eat much of it. The ribbon candy was clearly for decoration. If my sweet tooth was aching, my mother gave me a candy cane. But the almighty ribbon candy was eye candy, dressed to the nines, as it were, in its fancy silver-plated bowls.

I miss my Mom. On Mondays and every other day.

“Candy is natures way of making up for Mondays." - Anonymous 

In the age-old Batman v. Superman debate, it was the Caped Crusader for me. Hands down.

I was utterly taken with the debonair Bruce Wayne and his secret alter-ego back in the mid-1960's. I loved the campy, gadget-filled, "good guy always wins" format of the original t.v. show. So much so that I have never felt compelled to partake of any other iteration. No Batman comic books or Batman movies for me. I am an Adam West devotee through and through.

Clark Kent, you never had a chance.

"In the late '60s, there were the the three B's: The Beatles, Batman, and Bond." - Adam West

On the cusp of beginning our Thanksgiving holiday, it only seemed right to post a closing byte about gratitude.

Given the circumstances of our current COVID-19 existence, it can be hard to maintain an attitude of thankfulness these days. But then again, how can I not be grateful with all of you in my life?

"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough." - Meister Eckhart

When I was in high school, I remained skeptical that geometry, calculus, algebra, and the like would play a significant role in my life. "WHY do I need to know this stuff?" I bleated.

I was wrong of course. But I didn't know it back then. I didn't know that stretching your mind and problem solving and trying to understand the magic underneath the heartbeat of how the world worked was important.

Recently, while walking in my old neighborhood, I saw a plaque attached to a rock. I can NEVER walk by a plaque without reading it so I crossed over a small patch of grass to see what all the fuss was about. It was an explanation of how the trees planted next to the road were spaced in such away as to demonstrate the Pythagorean theorem.

Touché, I thought. My math teacher was right again......

"Numbers rule the universe." - Pythagoras

When I was a kid my mother used to watch this fitness guru named Jack LaLanne. His was the first televised exercise program of its kind. I remember he wore this funny jumpsuit while doing jumping jacks and sit ups, coaxing all of us to do the same.

He quickly became a household name and started doing stunts to show off his strength and endurance. At 42 years old he did over 1,000 push ups in 23 minutes. Then, at age 45, he did 1,000 jumping jacks and 1,000 chin ups in 1 hour 22 minutes. He even swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf while handcuffed. 

His popularity eventually landed him a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. During the ceremony he did push ups over his star. He was then 88 years old.

I'm no Jack LaLanne. But I do appreciate his enormous disciple and dedication. That said, my Irish upbringing bent a bit more toward camaraderie and the virtues of a good nap.....

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish proverb

If you missed Cinema Sunday yesterday, you missed a real treat. Angela Bassett spoke of her role in Black Panther in both sweeping cultural tones and with an eye toward the details of her craft. It was fascinating.

But the thing I enjoyed most were her insights into the emotional core of her work. She has tilled the earth of her life and seems to appreciate the longer lens she now enjoys as a woman of a certain age. Waiting to exhale no longer.

Middle age can offer a number of unexpected surprises. Like Ms. Bassett, I didn't meet my spouse during my salad days. But I'm with you Angela. Sometimes waiting is your best move......

"Maybe if you're younger you have more energy - but that's a maybe. Because at this stage of life, I have more patience, understanding, wisdom, resources - and a husband. I didn't get him until I was 39. But I got a good one." - Angela Bassett

I downloaded this new app for my phone called SkyView Lite. As you tilt the phone upward, it labels all the stars and planets in view, as well as the constellations of which they are a part.

It works even during the day AND, if you point the phone at the floor, it will show you the stars on the other side of the globe. Just the other day I discovered the International Space Station orbiting beneath my dining room table.

Stars. Magical dazzling pieces of light. Bringing a little bit of heaven to earth.

“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” 

― Carl Sagan, Cosmos

I'm sure you've seen it by now. The photo mashup gone viral of Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris and a then 5-year old Ruby Bridges walking into her New Orleans' elementary school. 

It's hard to imagine the burden of integration was shouldered by such a young girl. But it wasn't until yesterday that I gave any thought to the other woman in Ruby's shadow .... her mother.

On November 10, 2020 Lucille Bridges, mother of four, died at the age of 86. 

Nearly 60 years ago to the day (November 14, 1960) she took Ruby's hand, and flanked by four federal agents, made her exit out of William Frantz Elementary School at day's end. A day like no other.

Living now, during a time when the term "helicopter parenting" is common parlance, Lucille's choice to place her child at such risk may seem unimaginable. But sometimes the unimaginable is the only way forward.

"I think I speak for all mothers who want the best for their children when I hope for the same moral courage, bravery and love as that of Lucille Bridges. May she rest in God's perfect peace." - LaToya Cantrell (Mayor of New Orleans)

I have one of my father's uniforms framed in a shadow box, along with the flag that was presented to me by the military guard who officiated at his burial service at Arlington National Cemetery. It acts as a reminder of his service, his sacrifice, and his steadfast devotion to our democracy.

To all the women and men who have served in the armed forces, I offer you my gratitude and admiration.

"I do not care whether you're a Democrat or you're a Republican or an independent. We must pull for the people who are wearing the uniform of the armed forces" - Tommy Lasorda

The Great Wall of China was originally designed for the purposes that most border walls are; protection from invasion, immigration/emigration control, and taxation of goods.

As a kid, I never thought much about the Great Wall. But when Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit the PRC in 1972, my curiosity was piqued. "Someday," I thought. "Someday."

It would take 47 years before I would follow President Nixon's lead and travel to China. In these uncertain times, nurture all of your "someday" dreams. Time disappears faster than anything else.

"There are seven days in a week and someday isn't one of them."

During Friday's professional development day I attended the mindfulness training; a combination of reflection, meditation exercises, and a reimagining of daily practices.

At the end, the facilitator read aloud the poem "She Let Go" by Safire Rose. Something about it struck me so forcefully I have included it below, in its entirety.

I guess sometimes the daily "byte" is less like a snack and more like a Thanksgiving meal......

She let go.

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear.

She let go of the judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.

She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons.

Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

She didn’t read a book on how to let go.

She didn’t search the scriptures.

She just let go.

She let go of all of the memories that held her back.

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it.

She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.

She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn’t call the prayer line.

She didn’t utter one word.

She just let go.

No one was around when it happened.

There was no applause or congratulations.

No one thanked her or praised her.

No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort.

There was no struggle.

It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.

It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face.

A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore…

Election night has come and gone and still we don't have an answer.

Most of the pundits expected as much. And yet I assumed when the sun rose this morning the path forward would be clearer.

That's the thing about life. The sun rises. The sun sets. But uncertainty still lingers.

And so this morning I turn to former Texan congresswoman Barbara Jordan for some wisdom. No matter what the outcome, the sun will rise and the sun will set. Our only choice is what we do in between.

"For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future." - Barbara Jordan

Today, in the Christian calendar, is All Souls Day.

Not to be confused with yesterday's observance of All Saints Day, a time to celebrate those who have lived such exemplary lives as to warrant beatification, All Souls Day is a collective moment of grief and remembrance for those who are no longer.

One of the things I've noticed since becoming a minister is how very uncomfortable most of us are with death. So much so that after someone dies we often stop talking about them, for fear this reminder will pull at the tentative bandage that covers the wound. Out of a misdirected sense of kindness, we hold our tongues. And in doing so, leave the bereft to suffer alone.

The memories of those who have died are given life by us. So speak the names of those you have lost. Celebrate their lives. Appreciate how you have been changed by them.

And as we move forward, vow to live your life in such a way that those who will remember you will do so with both admiration and fondness.

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” - Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

In honor of the last day of the first quarter, today's byte will celebrate ..... the quarter!

After the founding of the U.S. Mint in 1792, the first quarter was struck in 1796. The coin we are all familiar with, the "Washington Quarter," came into existence in 1932. It features a left-facing bust of President George Washington on the front and and an eagle with wings spread on the back.

From 1999-2008, the 50-state series of quarters was released, issuing coins in the order in which they ratified the Constitution or were admitted into the Union. In 2010 the "America the Beautiful" series begun, featuring our national parks and historic places.

The latest iteration began in 2019, the first to be struck at the West Point Mint. They feature a "W" mintage mark and are only available in circulation. Check your pockets!

"Take a coin from your purse and invest it in your mind. It will come pouring out of your mind and overflow your purse." - Benjamin Franklin

From the beaches of South Boston, I can look across the harbor and see the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. I have made the pilgrimage to ten of the fourteen. Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, and Obama's libraries remain on my bucket list.

These collections tell the story of great and flawed men, molded by the times in which they served. Each remind me of my obligation to do the same.

"My country owes me no debt. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope."

- Herbert Hoover