When I don’t take the time to write, things just pile up in my consciousness and my brain just wanders around out there all alone. Here’s some of the places it’s been this last week:

Sadness over the flooding and destruction in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Over a decade ago, I went on my first mission trip to Villahermosa. The more modern town it is today bears little resemblance to the poverty stricken area we worked in. Those were long hot days spent toward the goal of building an additional classroom onto a rural school in an area so poor……..this was where I got to know the Mexican “trash children.” By the time we left, we’d built three extra classrooms. Villahermosa was where I learned to mix and pour concrete, nail studs and help with electrical wiring.

Following with amazement the surgical procedures on the Indian toddler born with four arms and four legs. A strikingly beautiful little girl, she continues to recover after 30 surgeons in India successfully completed a mammoth 27-hour operation to remove her parasitic twin. Reports say that initially the villagers in the area thought the child was sacred and lined up to receive a blessing from her. Imagine, as parents, needing such medical help for your child while your daily wages are only $1. The Narayana Health City hospital in Bangalore stepped up to fund the $200,000 operation. Looks like little 2-year-old Lakshmi Tatma is expected to make a full recovery. Medical science continues to astound.

Had lunch with youngest Cypress grandson at his elementary school last Monday. He’s such a blast to be with and so loving and funny – just can’t have a bad day when he’s around. I came away knowing about Vans and the PSP (play station portable) and other critical information that a cool Grammy should know about. Lord, help me keep up.

Florida granddaughter birthday’d a few days ago. She came from birth with the sweetest and gentlest personality and now, like most girls her age of 10, she is wild with the Hannah Montana craze. The photo of her in that blond wig on Halloween was priceless! I remember, years ago, when she saw me sitting in the kitchen after breakfast looking a little confounded over my new expensive digital camera. She must have been all of 5 years old at the time and she gently took it right out of my hands and began to instruct me on how to use it…..in great detail….with some serious patience. Seems my fancy new digital camera was the same one she had. Lord, please help me keep up.

Went to see Lions for Lambs the other evening. Hard to lose with Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Robert Redford, no matter the plot line. These three are just masters of their trade. Redford especially is so relaxed and comfortable in his character of academic elder statesman trying to engage an unengaged student. Cruise plays his character right on target; the dynamics between he and Streep reminded me too much of an interview I did years ago with Tom DeLay in his Washington office. Different subject but same dialogic pattern. "Lions for Lambs is worth seeing for no other reason that you’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s political theatre that shouldn’t be missed," says the Boston Globe in one of the only remotely positive reviews. We enjoyed it but then again, it was preaching to the choir.

We're off to the Renaissance festival....