made a good Chinese son-in-law

(point by point "rebuttal" to TizzyAlexander - [her post] )

1) He was rich

2) He is awe inspiring-ly good looking

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death....

3) He wasn't a doctor/lawyer/engineer

 

4) He didn't spend time with family

5) He hung out with the right company

6) He did things that restored people's "face"

7) He fulfilled the law

8) He went beyond the rules

 

9) He respected his parents(mother), obeyed her and took care of her.

10) He got married, and provided for his children...

 ⁹Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."

 ¹⁰At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

Revelation 19:7-10

⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Revelation 21:7

From a friend's blog - Regarding Emotional Manipulation
Healthcare Reform - Notes about Obama's Speech, from the Economist

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When you think about being good, the first thing that might come to mind is being nice.  What's wrong with being nice, after all?  Smile, be gentle and so forth...  I mean, isn't being nice a good place to start being good?

Growing up in a church, in an environment where a premium is placed on being quiet, courteous, genteel and well behaved, it's easy for a young male to get the message that being nice and well behaved is equivalent of being a "good boy."  Asian culture (read Chinese, for the purposes of this article), with its premiums on respect and being polite and deferential, acts synergistically to reinforce this tendency.  This tendency can make great "followers,"
in the sense that they don't make waves, but it makes for poor men.

I've heard more than a few Christian gals complain something akin to the following, "Well, he's nice but, he doesn't really have an edge."  Or perhaps, "He's really sweet but, he's missing something."  Meanwhile, the young man is wondering why his faultless manners and instant deference on any matter of opinion might be construed as anything other than ideal.

First of all, "good boy" is somewhat of a misnomer.  Good from whose perspective?  From a parent or teacher, it tends to reflect, "well behaved" -- as in, "you're not making my life more difficult" -- and, "you're pleasing me".  This behaviour, from a biblical perspective, isn't necessarily good -- thought it might be.  They're certainly not mutually exclusive.  They are, however, distinct.

Nice is being pleasant, making the other parties feel better or have life easier at each juncture.  It's about making individual choices to make another person happy, which is intrinsically more ephemeral  (please see: Happiness) than goodness.

¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. ¹⁵So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!"

And the LORD sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons cut him down with the sword.

"Good", from a biblical perspective, is being aligned with God.  It means operating without sin, and honouring/serving God.  That, therefore, might include whipping money changers, rebuking teachers and pharisees, annihilating whole civilizations, just as well as more traditional forms of "goodness" like feeding the poor, showing compassion to the oppressed and dispossessed and the like.  Being "Good", from this perspective means that your actions are part of a larger fabric of meaning and purpose, as opposed to discrete actions that all bear the shiny seal of "niceness".  Being completely "Good", from this perspective, is also impossible while on earth, for we still struggle with sin.  Nevertheless, for the purpose of this article/entry, being "Good" as a human will be defined as trying to be like God in his goodness/holiness.

 ¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  ¹⁹"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.
 

Between the two, being "Nice" is easier.  No one yells at you for being "Nice" -- although "too nice" might be aggravating.  "Nice" allows you a very simple decision tree:  "In this situation, what should I do to ingratiate myself most with the people around me?"  Good is a much more difficult decision tree: "What does God want me to do here?  How can I work for the long term interests of the people around me...?  How do I honour God in that decision/action?  How do I do this in the gentlest/ most tactful way here?  Am I being hypocritical?"

"Nice" has no edges -- that is, if you've managed to focus on being "nice" all the way.  You don't have your own agenda -- you have no larger purposes or ambitions if you're being absolutely nice.  There's no narrative for another person to take part in, no majestic sweep of vision.  "Nice" is content being an observer in the drama called life. 

Being "Good" means there's something that you need to do, and there will probably be sacrifices necessary -- and anyone taking part in your narrative will likely need to suffer with you.  "Good" has edges, and it cuts the person trying to be good, and it probably cuts the people around them too.  If society's normal course is disintegration and entropy, then it should follow that progress is hard, requires effort, swims upstream, and will offend.  Jesus did all of the above, was definitely at times "not nice" and absolutely Good."

Aiming for nice is aiming too low; it's low hanging fruit, and at first an attractive verisimilitude of good.  But the ethos of "Nice" is at best a simulacrum, and at worst a destructive distraction.  Making life count will bruise egos and make waves -- guaranteed "not-nice" behaviour.  But that's a worthy trade right?

Good guys can be nice, but a good guy cannot always be nice.
A guy who's always nice, is yet missing some of the big picture.

Great set up for the last of the trio, right? 
Next up:  Maturity.

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 ¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  ¹⁹"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.
 

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Back from the past - Time Warp
I was having a conversation the other day, and the word celibate was used.  Though I didn't bring it up in the conversation, I'll re-post this post as a point of clarification.  Celibate does not equal chaste. 

Re-reading this post was fascinating, by the way...

As of today, I've been working at this center for 365 days.  Wow, has it really been a year?  It seems like only yesterday that I was graduating from fellowship.  Yet here I am, working my first real job for one year.  In some ways, I wish I'd accomplished more; yet to be fair, things are rather busy here.

Going forward, with regards to my job,  I'd like to-
1) Write more research.
2) Decide about eMBA programs.
3) Continue to improve as a clinician and physician.

Life is short.  Make every day count.

Amen.

---

Next up:
Maturity (as promised)
Why Nice isn't always Good.

Activision-Blizzard - From the Economist August 2009

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Beauty and Success: To those that have, shall be given - From the Economist 12/2007 regarding beauty, intelligence and success.

Of Music, Murder, and Shopping: From the Economist 12/2008. (Is a sense of justice desirable?)
Shopping - From the Economist.
Murder - From the Economist.
Why Music? - From the Economist 12/2008.  On the attractiveness of musicality.

美麗是什麽東西？爲什麽全世界都那麽看重這個理想？我這次會討論這個話題。。。可是我無法能用國語寫這楊的文章。最好用英文吧。。。

Beauty is a strange ideal.  Men and women seek after beauty, sometimes viciously, to obtain or attain it.  The amount of money spent to acquire beautiful things is simply unbelievable.  People will barely pay pittances for necessities, but occasionally pay many many multiples to get a bauble.  Unbelievable.  To discuss the sociological and anthropological role of fashion, with regards to social status and the affectations of desirability is far beyond my ability to do.  Papers have been written on such subjects -- and many tomes to boot.  Beauty clearly is a multibillion dollar industry.  What on earth can I think to contribute to this discussion?

Taking a step back, one of the conceptual conflicts for me is what beauty communicates. 

Shortly after birth, we see that babies prefer symmetry -- beautiful people attract even a baby's attention for longer... it doesn't require puberty for young humans to notice eye-catching faces. 

"Beauty is fleeting and charm is deceptive, but a woman who loves the Lord is to be praised," we read in Proverbs.

I've thought a long time on specifically what is and is not said in this verse.  As a kid, I think I had a stated aversion to beauty, believing that, because it is fleeting, it should be devalued in my "internal valuation algorithm."  As an ephemeral characteristic, why should I place such a high premium upon it?  It was, however, my father's observation, that despite my attempts to stem the pernicious affects of beauty upon my choices, that I did value beauty, no matter my efforts to the contrary.

Biologists and cognitive scientists have suggested that beauty indicates health, inherently desirable genes.  Youthful access to good nutrition and growth conditions also tends to correlate with beauty -- all of which are desirable.  It would make sense for males and females to desire to possess beauty, if the above is true.

Cosmetics and plastic surgery are a very interesting conundrum then.  Is it not like false advertising to have corrective surgeries and the like?  Is it contrary to the point of beauty use manufactured processes to enhance one's comeliness -- to go under the knife to wax in pulchritude?

While I'm not a great fan of either philosophy, upon reflection, cosmetics and plastics suggests something else other than the genes for physical health... they communicate other desirable traits.

1) intelligence.  Good application of cosmetics suggests that either they are good with taste (can perceive and put things together in a way that are pleasing to the eye), which probably correlates with a type of intelligence/cognitive ability.  Or else access to the services of someone with such skills.  So, it either communicates intelligence/artistic aptitude or it communicates wealth/influence.

2)  Plastics.  Probably shows access to wealth/influence... And plays to the more carnal instincts of men/women... that visceral sense of attractiveness.

3) Fashion/clothing is similar, in my mind, how cosmetics communicates desirability.

As an alternative reference, the attractiveness of musical aptitude has been well described and observed over the millennia.  It is thought by some groups that musical aptitiude (Why Music?) serves as a marker of desirablity.  Some of course, take issue with such observations... (Editorial responses).

So where does this leave me?

Beauty is fleeting, but cannot be discounted.  Charm is deceptive, but also communicates intelligence and well... charisma/grace in a "worldly" sense. In the end, though, when one considers how to esteem another, still the best is a person who loves the Lord -- From a Judeo-Christian perspective that's a clear statement -- if one is not of that persuasion, then perhaps let's put it this way -- one who is fair, just, loves doing good and having great integrity. 

Character>Charm/Beauty.

The problem, of course, is that most of us desire all of the above, whether we are male or female. 

My tongue in cheek formulation:

Finding a gal who is beautiful is easy.  Finding a gal who is smart is easy.  Finding a gal with a good character is easy.  Getting two out of three is harder, but not impossible.  Getting all three is rather rough.

Thoughts?

As a side note: I recognize the potential cognitive dissonance that referencing both Darwinian logic and Scripture can produce... 

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From a couple private messages as responses:

I think the attraction to plastics is just that human evolution has not caught up with the introduction of plastics; however, if you've ever talked to a guy regarding their experience with fake breasts I think you'd agree with me that generally the substitute doesn't quite reach. 

A very good point.  Nevertheless, the widespread adoption of plastics, even in the face of death, suggests that those that go under the knife justify it.  Using a kind of "utility" theory, I think that it indicates that this plastic benefits outweigh the costs to many users and those that "appreciate" its impact.  I would stand by my sense that it at leasst indicates some advantages -- plastic beauty, however, is much less attractive than "natural beauty"  I think few would ever disagree.

An example from nature I find quite interesting.  A cultured pearl is valuable, but pales in comparison to an equivalently fetching pearl of natural origin.  I've personally puzzled about this quirk of valuation, but the idea of rarity is a very compelling thing.

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I'd like to add another wrinkle to the discussion as to - what is beauty (primarily referring to the physical)? Is it something intrinsic, i.e. if you are beautiful, you just are, regardless of other's perception? That doesn't seem quite right, does it, as beauty - "in the eye of the beholder" - is defined in a sense as other people's perception of you.  But if you took someone undeniably gorgeous - Angelina Jolie? and put her somewhere where the people were not exposed to her type of beauty - say village in SE Asia or Africa - would they find her beautiful? Unlikely.  Can you deny her as beautiful? hm. Do you know if the babies experiment they did was pan-racial lines? Of course symmetry is biologically ingrained, but - it seems like there is so much more to calling someone beautiful.

I originally started this post with that quote, but decided to walk away from that idea, because it brings, into the discussion, the subjective component of beauty.  While this phonomenon is absolutely present, I think that, while many may disagree as to whether Angelina Jolie is the pinnacle of female beauty, objectively, I think that, bringing her into any culture, and rob that group of its groupings/cultural pressures, there will be no shortage of males/females that will stare.

I've read a number of articles looking at objective markers of "pleasure", using pupillary dilatation, length of time where subjects will gaze upon a subject to be indicators of attractiveness.  This is probably a better indicator than whether someone thinks another are attractive.  I'm personally more given to taking a long time to consider whether I think someone is attractive.  Sometimes, it takes a couple weeks for me to decide... but... if I ponder it, if it even occurs to me to think about it, it generally means that I do find that picture/person arresting in a positive way.  I guess what it means is, I don't know why I find them attractive, or perhaps I don't know what paradigm to place their beauty in... but that on some subconcious level I know they are appealing.  Then, over the week or so, I figure out/get comfortable with the idea that they are attractive.

Can your beauty be validated through other people, and how is it defined? Can one be beautiful simply because of the group one associates with (i.e. all asian females being beautiful to white men).

Well, I think there are overlays - I think there are objective beauties -- they've found that if you mathematically average facial features to a normative face, including skin tones etc, you end up with these kindov polynesian looking people that pretty much everyone finds attractive.  Of course issues with weight and muscularity vary with society, but I suspect these can be somewhat explained by current socioeconomic associations...

Wealth/leisure in the middle ages meant you could stay indoors and be pale/fair. The default was hard labor and caloric restricted, semimalnourishment and time in the sunlight.  So, a paunch with sleek flesh might be attractive because it indicates power.  In the west today, the precise converse is true... on average, time in the sun is a priviledge now, and cheap calories abound -- desk work is the norm, so a tendency towards portliness is more common. 

I personally have way of getting my head around finding anything other than athletic frames attractive... but hey... that might be my cultural bias.

In short, I think there's a hardwired component to beauty, as well as culturally/contextual tastes that are more aculturated.

These two are interesting:
http://deecee.xanga.com/709141371/marriage-woes/
http://deecee.xanga.com/709380145/marriage-woes-part-2/

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野菜や姪がりっぱだな！

I'm a bloody carnivore. 

I love meat, rare, grilled, charred, preserved, salted, raw, barbecued, gamy, shabu shabu, tenderized, curried and charbroiled.

That's why coming to Yasaiya-mei is such an interesting experience.  With the freshest produce available to Japan shipped from farm to restaurant every morning, these vegetables are absolutely something else.

My first experience here included vegetables raw on a bed of ice served in an anchovy butter sauce, which was extraordinary.

On the other hand, my stomach had no idea how to deal with the volume of raw vegetables I was eating.  Having been reared on free-for-all meat based protein, the lack of starch and abundance of fibre was rather queer.

Yet, with a little work, I found myself quite taken with the food.  Topping the meal off with a vegetable shabu shabu in a beef brisket broth helped my stomach feel a little less concerned.

That said, the freshness of the vegetables and the immaculate textures make for a very rewarding experience... even for a irascible carnivore such as myself.

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Trust/Fragile

Trust is a strange thing - a bit like ether, really.  Difficult to define, difficult to grasp, and at times, a victim of conflicting definitions.

Sometimes, we immediately trust another person, feeling somehow at home, and somehow safe.  Sometimes, we feel some suspicion against another, with nothing more than a visceral sense of unease.  Sometimes we're proven right in our trust, and others dreadfully wrong.

Forcing ourselves to trust someone we do not trust may be counterproductive in the extreme.  Sometimes, forcing ourselves to build that trust may in fact harm us.  And over time, with experience and shared activities and events, we may find our trust in another growing stronger and firmer and deeper.

Yet, trust is amazingly fragile.  Years of accumulated trust can be dashed considerably by a single betrayal, if large enough.  In a very real sense, the deepest sense of betrayal can only be engendered by one deeply trusted.

Once trust is eroded, re-building it is fraught with difficulty, because new trust engendering actions and experienced are necessarily viewed from the lens of the betrayal.  "Are your new actions even trustworthy, now that I know that you can betray me?"

Fragile are the strands of belief that we call trust.  Trust, therefore, as tenuous at it may at times seem, is a very precious thing to be treasured.  The one who trusts you may forge through all sorts of tribulation, doubt and sorrow to preserve that sense of closeness and belief that they have in/with you.  Abusing it... is rather unwholesome.

Treasure the trust that you have. 

Treasure that which has been entrusted to you.

Roomate Wanted

Geographically mobile, professional, God fearing SAM in a 1000 sq ft. condomium ISO roommate with which to share meals, thoughts, and living space.  Should be willing to share ideas, learning and music.  Love of travel is a must, as well as willingness to change venues as life requires.  Only one bed available; to be shared.

May have to put up with sin, selfishness and stubborness, but can expect to receive affection, support and encouragement.  Should prepare to be seranaded with song and regaled with poetry as well as showered with little gifts.

Only a permanent position is available.  Serious, Godly, female applicants only.  Casually interested readers need not apply.  

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Roommate Wanted

Geographically mobile, professional, God-fearing SAM lives in 1600 sq ft. posh condominium ISO roommate with which to share meals, dreams, languages, thoughts, living space, quiet moments and raucous laughter.  Should be passionate about learning, music and culture, willing to delve deeply and range broadly on all manner of topics.

Should be cheerful and joyful in the Lord, not because life is easy, but because God is good.  Love of travel is a must, as well as a willingness to change venues as the Lord requires.  One bed available, to be shared exuberantly.  Expect occassional nocturnal activities marked with passion, tenderness, intensity and a bit of necessary roughness.

Will have to put up with sin, selfishness and stuborness, but will receive affection, support, encouragement, and tireless lovemaking.  May also have to put up with extemporaneous song and poetry, dramatic gestures, and turbid emotionality.  Should also expect to receive unexpected flowers and small gifts.

Death-to-us-part covenant only.  Serious, Godly, musical, polyglot, females only.  Casually interested readers need not apply.

It's been a while, but I'm going to wax a little more philosophical for a bit.

"The Problem with Credit" will probably remain unwritten.

But:

Trust
Beauty
Maturity

Will probably be the next three entries.

A bientot,

Polymath

(I lost 5 pages of text, because explorer didn't like an add-on.    This is a re-write.)

re·buke  (r-byk)
tr.v. re·buked, re·buk·ing, re·bukes
1. To criticize or reprove sharply; reprimand. See Synonyms at admonish.
2. To check or repress.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/rebuke

( yakach )

“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23

Nobody enjoys being criticized. Having someone directly tell you that you were wrong can be ennervating.  Being told so by a person in authority can be disconcerting, disheartening, and even depressing.  Having one's peers admonish you can also be humbling or even humiliating.

It's often tempting, when faced with such rebuke/reproof to flee to the confidence of those that support you.  They may help defray the sting with justifications, rationalizations and some such.  They may even choose to engage in character assasination to invalidate the accuracy of the criticism.  Criticism is uncomfortable... and most avoid it wherever possible.

However, these approaches miss the mark of biblical truth.

Ecclesiastes 7:5 says, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

“Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.”   Proverbs 9:8

“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.” Proverbs 1:22

“He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.”   Proverbs 15:32

“Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.”  Proverbs 17:10

“Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.  Proverbs 19:25

What's interesting to note is that the majority of the verses above (except for the one from Ecclesiastes) do not regard the wisdom of the one giving rebuke.  It centers on the reaction of the listener, and whether they are wise.  Rebuke a wise person, and they react in a very distinct way.

They learn.  And this is irrespective of the wisdom of the rebuker... and perhaps even the attitude, which we'll get to later.

3 Categories of rebuke:

1) Correct observation and interpretation:  This is pure gold.  The rebuker has already distilled the observations to interpretation for you, and it's completely on the mark.  All you have to do is listen painfully and digest.  At this point, it might behoove one to change and grow, as difficult as it may be.  Here is where the Christian can invoke the Holy Spirit and try to move on with one's life in a more positive way.

2) Correct observation and incorrect intepretation:  This is harder, because they may not really understand the situation or the rebukee.  However, as tempting as it may be to flee the ramifications, they brought the issue up because somewhere along the line, it affected someone or something malignantly.  Here, the listener ought to see what the root cause of their observations are and try to do their best to navigate a better course through life.  It may be tempting to simply say live and let live, but:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. - Romans 12:18 NAS

The bible makes clear that we are in some fashion, beholden to the views of others...  Moreover:

And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.  - 1 Timothy 3:7

Paul's exhortation to Timothy regarding the selection of elders (επισκοπασ/πρεσβυτεροι) needs to take in to consideration outsiders.  So, as tempting as it might be to disregard the views of "outsiders" they still need to be considered carefully.

3) Incorrect observation and errant interpretation:  These are the hardest to take, because they seem baseless.  Yet, the former two concepts still apply.  They still feel this way for some reason.  What can you learn from their complaint?  Is it truly baseless?  Is it perhaps a reflection of something/ some habit that has caused harm?

Taken in toto, the listener to a rebuke, should they desire to be wise, try to learn from all criticism regardless of the wisdom of its source.  They've taken the time to take you aside -- listen, try to understand... and if you want to be a Proverbs approved wise person, you'll ultimately be grateful.

Definitely, don't be like the ones in Amos 5:10

“They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.” 

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From the other side, let's look at the one giving rebuke and what attitudes they might have:

First of all, from a biblical perspective, the purpose of rebuke is to bring life... bring correct living, and steer away from sin.

This could be an even more massive topic, so I'm keeping this short:

3 Categories of Rebuking Attitudes:

1) Daft: The rebuke is a method of inflicting emotional duress/humiliation.  Malicious.

2) Self-Righteous: They are less interested in the listener's well being, but rather on being correct themselves.

3) Biblical/Christlike:  In it for the listener's long-term good. 

Looking at the speaker's attitudes/motivations can be helpful... but it's really not your responsibility.  This discussion is really for looking at one's own motivation when one is led to rebuke.

“Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him."  Luke 17:3

Take care that you're seeking to speak the truth in love, mindful that the objective is that you are growing together in the body of Christ.

¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 

Ephesians 4:15-16.

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Whatever side of a rebuke you're on, be humble...  Don't waste a good crisis -- and definitely don't waste a rebuke.  There's something to be learned, even if the experience is unpleasant, the motives wrong, or the information off. 

Be wise. 

Listen and understand with humility.
Admonish with humility.

 

There are so many things on my plate at the moment, I cannot devote a tremendous amount of time to blogging -- I still want to write a post about "the Problem with Credit"... but that too must wait.  Instead, though, I want to share a little about children.

There was a JHU trained pediatrician that once shared an anecdote about his granddaughter, who asked him, "Where were you when I was born?"  To which he answered, "I was in Baltimore, working.  I'm sorry that I couldn't come to see you as soon as you were born."

She then asked, "Grandpa, where was I when you were born?"

He said to us, "You learn so much from children."

Walking about Tokyo, I was struck by how few children I saw.  So very few.  Indeed, through a single week, I didn't see a single child.  It was only on the weekend I saw a couple, and they were so dreadfully cute.  I love the way Japanese children speak; their inflections fill the bi tonal language's open vowels with a wonderful mixture of innocence and fascination.  Watching them play with their parents also filled me with a sense of shared joy.

The rest of the weekend saw me grinning like a village fool at every passing child and toddler. 

It really struck me how precious children are to a society -- intellectually, I've always known this.  No new children, and societies are gone in about 50-70 years.  They are vulnerable and parasitic at birth, with so little sense, and so little strength, yet they are the only future a people have.  They are hope, in a sense.

It was the first time such a visceral desire for children ever hit me.

Nesting instinct?

Oh dear...

Who would have thought that it would take July 4th weekend to make me start to really love Cleveland.  Perhaps it was the company, or the marvelous weather -- or maybe the amazing permanent collection at the Art Museum.  Maybe it was brilliant wine at Lola's, with an amazingly smooth finish or a walk around the reflecting pool in front of the Museum.  Maybe it was an amazing time at the Botanical Garden.

Maybe it was the collection; A number of Picassos, Rodin, Monets, Manets, Mondrians, Gauguins...

Or perhaps the fun splash of samplings at the Flying Fig -- Or perhaps a meandering walk through Ohio City.  Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed the clear blue skies and beautifully cool weather.  Firewarks were, of course gratis.

For whatever reason, I've found a whole host of little hideouts to spend afternoons and weekends.

Absolutely fabulous.

I knew this place had a love for art, but my appreciation of that appreciation has appreciated markedly...