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There is lots to update you all about on my cancer journey, but on Sunday, February 5, my father died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 69. I have just returned from 10 days in the States to be with my family. I wanted to share with others who could not attend the words I offered at his memorial service. His life had a big impact on many people, and it was standing room only in the church.
Especially if you didn't know my Dad at all, you might begin by reading his obituary here. Prior to this homily, three others spoke (his high school friend, a member of the men's Bible Study he led for many years, and my sister). I also read written letters from my husband (reflection-by-j)and son (reflection-by-b).
What follows is my attempt to lift up my Dad's life to God, to share what he meant to me, to capture what he meant to others, and to represent his voice and what he would have said of himself. It was an honor and a privilege to share that day, and to share with you.
Love you, Dad. Always.
Let me begin by saying, on behalf of my mother and sister and Dane's sister Bonnie, thank you to all of you for being here today. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from our extended family, this church, the wider church, and his circle of friends, colleagues and clients. Thanks be to God for you.
We knew my dad was beloved, and that he made a difference in his church and community, but we are only now discovering the depth and breadth of the impact his life had on so many people.
This is my chance to share the impact he had on me. When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be just like my dad. All the things you've heard in the words shared by others are true for me too–he influenced me with his generosity, kindness, faithfulness, cleverness, humor, integrity and pursuit of justice. But more than anything, what made me want to grow up and be just like my dad was his library of stories. I shared my husband Josh's reflection on them as parables–for me, as a child, they were adventures. As I grew up, I wanted a collection of adventures and stories to rival his. Sorry, Mom, but I think this is probably why I live all the way in London. Blame Dad and his stories. If I'm honest, the desire to collect good stories has probably influenced more major and minor decisions in my life than anything else. I owe all of that to my Dad.
Dad knew that life is not only lived in the moment, it is re-lived in the stories you tell about it. My dad's inspiration–all those crazy stories–taught me that life is not the sum of what you do (your career, your accomplishments, your alliances) or even what is done to you (the heartbreaks, the illnesses, the defeats). Your life is the story you tell about it.
That's why this task today humbles me so, as it falls to me to tell the story of his life when he can no longer do so himself. All week long, I wrestled. There are countless stories to be told, but what's the bigger story of Kenneth Dane Mills? What is the story of his life he would have me tell?
I first turned to fictional characters for inspiration. My father was Atticus Finch, the man of honor and integrity because he did what was right even when it was not popular. My father was Andy Griffith, the one you called in an emergency, trusting him to handle problems with grace, integrity and good humor. Even more, my father was George Bailey of It's a Wonderful Life. He was the richest man in town–not because of money or status, but because of this–you all, who show up and tell us Dane made a difference in your life and you would do anything for my mom or any of us.
Those capture parts of his life, but none capture his true story. It took awhile, but finally this preacher realized the real story of Dane's life is the same one she preaches week in, week out, the one from my day job. The story Dane would tell about his own life is that he was a sinner saved by grace, redeemed by Christ to live in love.
I'm so glad his high school friend Kevin spoke first, because if you only knew my dad as the upstanding citizen he became, you might not believe me–but now you know it's true. I believe he saw his life as the story of a sinner saved by grace to live in love.
Let's go back to the beginning. The firstborn son of Ken and Ruth Mills, born in Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts, brought home to an apartment so small his mother washed both dishes and diapers in the bathtub. At two weeks old, he and his mother boarded an airplane to San Francisco, to meet his father when his ship, the U.S.S. Dane, returned from a six-month cruise. His parents loved him and doted on him from that point on. Childhood on navy bases around the world was played out in cowboys and indians, Davy Crockett's coonskin cap and baseball games–along with plenty of time annoying his two younger sisters, Carol and Bonnie.
Dane wasn't a bad kid, but that clever jokester we all know–while a direct inheritance from both his mother and his father–also made him a bit of a troublemaker. When he was in his early teens, they lived in Charleston, South Carolina, and Dad's stories from those years are ominous–a boy on the wrong path with the wrong friends, sneaking out, smoking cigarettes, causing trouble. He often speculated he'd have ended up in jail if they hadn't left Charleston for Virginia Beach. In his story, he was a sinner, saved from himself by the grace of God.
Somehow, the school and environment here channeled his energy in a better direction, and he transformed into a young man with both ambition and ability. He discovered he was a leader–Boys State, Leadership, SCA, Key Club and all the rest at the brand-new Cox High School. Don't be misled, here–he wasn't a model student (as Kevin said), and his continued harassment of his sisters earned him the nickname Daney Wayne the Window Pane. He did get a bit more generous–he allowed Bonnie to drive his car, but only after she had ironed all of his t-shirts. His t-shirts! Still, his future was bright–he was headed to the University of Virginia, eventually becoming the first in his family to graduate college.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves too much–because one of the biggest moments of God's grace and gift in his life happened in those Cox High School years. He met my mother. The young Pat Halstead was then as she is now, sitting there in her red jacket. (My dad loved it when she wore red.) Beautiful, gracious, faithful and good. She was a cheerleader, and he played football, and their first real date was the prom. They loved each other from the time they were 16 years old, and stayed together while he was at Virginia and she was at Longwood, then when he graduated and joined the Navy, they got married on a the only weekend he could get leave–December 21, 1969. They honeymooned in Atlantic City, but found everything so closed up for the holiday they decided to just drive home for Christmas dinner. They listened to Christmas music the whole long drive, and neither one of them ever wanted to listen to it again. Their song was "My Girl" by the Temptations, and it summed up his feelings for her: he had sunshine on a cloudy day, all the riches one man can claim–because she loved him. They loved each other, and it was obvious to us growing up and anyone who knew them. But my dad believed his whole life he never deserved her, that the fact she loved him at all was gift of God, a grace unearned, a sinner's life redeemed.
I think of the next chapter of the story as the time Dane tried to build a life worthy of the grace he had received. He was ambitious in all the right ways–to be a good husband and father, to build a thriving law practice, to do good in church and community.
I, AKA Hot Shot, came along just as he was starting out in law school, and he often took care of me while my mom was teaching. Lauren, AKA Be-Bop, followed a few years later, about the time they bought the house on Virginius Drive. He worked at parenting like he worked at the law–thinking about how to cultivate the relationship he wanted with us and how to instill in us the skills, habits and values we needed. From the time we were two or three years old, he took us out on Daddy-Daughter dates, when we put on a frilly dress (which I never enjoyed) and went out to a nice restaurant for lunch, complete with Shirley Temples. We didn't take many big vacations, but he somehow made our annual trips to Charlottesville to see my grandparents feel like a long, long, long journey, as he sought out every possible side road we could take to get there. Lauren called these his pig paths–but boy, the things we saw, the stories we collected on those crazy road trips! Dad made sure we knew how to change a tire and balance a checkbook–even though he was never very good at either of those things himself. He and my mom together kept us strictly in line, but they did it with love. Neither my sister nor I ever doubted, not for one moment that we were loved. His favorite scripture from Romans 8 proclaims that nothing could separate us from the love of God. Dad made it clear that nothing we did or could ever do would separate us from his love either. The story, his big story, is about grace–he knew he was a sinner and he knew we would be too, but he also knew that God's love was bigger than all of that. He wanted to love like that too.
My Dad was always driven by the desire to be a good man, to be worthy of love and respect. He was good at it, too–good at being good, if you will. I often suspected he was way too kind to be any good as a lawyer. I got some perspective on that from some of you who were his clients, who told me that he treated you as his own–and he was going to stand up for what was right for you, unrelenting. It was his love and kindness that made him a good lawyer.
There are so many stories to share about the good he did for others–there is much more to say about the people he helped through his practice, his community organizations, this church and the wider church, and just in his personal kindness to strangers. From Galatians, we read about the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. My dad knew the Spirit and its grace, and he let that Spirit bear fruit in him. I know you all are here because you saw that fruit, and he touched your life and your faith with his grace.
And now I hear his voice in my head saying, "Did you just call me a fruit?"
Most of us who knew him saw a righteous man–but he saw where he fell short. He saw a sinner redeemed, a man doing his best to give back to God and to others because so much had been given to him. That's why grace was so important to him.
One of the places Dane discovered that experience of grace was at his Emmaus Walk, and in the Emmaus community, which filled him with joy. He also found it here at Thalia United Methodist Church. You all put up with him and his corny jokes for more than 40 years. There outta be some kind of church merit badge for that. The Christian Home class, the Methodist Men, the bridge group, the early morning Bible study–you all loved him in good seasons and hard ones, and he would want me to tell you that he was so grateful.
If he were here, he'd tell you, all of you, from every facet of his life, how blessed he was to walk in this world beside you. How honored he was by the people who trusted him with their most intimate needs as an attorney. How humbled he was by the leadership roles entrusted to him. How flattered he was that the youth of the church would let him hang out with them as a chaperone. How amazed he was that their parents would let them. How lucky he was to get to be the one sleeping on the floor with the homeless. How much you showed him grace, and how grateful he was for the way you were loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful and gentle toward him.
Starting with the death of his sister Carol in 1999, life had been hard. He lost both of his dear parents in short order. The practice of law shifted beneath him, taking with it the business and style he had crafted for himself. His grief over all of this was profound. There was still joy to be had–he had three grandchildren whom he adored. They made him so happy and proud. They remember all the trips they took to Plaza Bakery to get doughboys–and the way they would fight over his chair in the living room. He loved spending time with you. Besides that joy, Virginia basketball was good again, and he lived long enough to see his beloved Boston Red Sox break the curse and win the World Series in 2004–then again in 2007 and again in 2013.
Even so, in recent years, he began to fade away somehow. I missed him already, before he was gone. When you asked him how he was doing, he would say, "Old." It was a joke, but it wasn't funny. Perhaps it was one of his story parables–telling us something about how he felt that we couldn't grasp. Only weeks ago, he was finally diagnosed with a slowly progressing vascular disease that mimicked both Alzheimers and Parkinson's Disease. That was a bleak outlook for the next 5-10 years, but no one anticipated his sudden death.
Still, life isn't just what you do or what is done to you. Life is the story you tell about it.
Dane's story was that he was redeemed by grace, blessed to live in love. Dane's story is the Gospel story–where a life changed by grace, claimed by the Holy Spirit, bears fruit of love in the world. And this story has an ending like no other–because it ends with God's grace swallowing us whole, forever, in the life everlasting, the grace eternal, the promise of resurrection. That's the end of Dad's story, and the end of all our stories when they are lived in Christ.
Way back in high school, ever wanting to be clever, ever ambitious to write his own story, my dad picked up a phrase that he always used to say goodbye. He wrote in every high school yearbook he signed. He used it as the saluation in countless letters he wrote. And he whispered it in my ear many times when we hugged goodbye.
Vaya con Dios, he said. Go, with God.
So it is today we lay claim to the end of his story–and we pronounce with faith and hope and even dare to claim joy: Vaya con Dios. A sinner redeemed, a life of grace, lived in love. There is no better story. Thanks be to God for the life of my father, K. Dane Mills. Go with God, Dad. Vaya con Dios.
Facing Forward
Posted January 10, 2017on:
When I wrote my first blog post about being diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time my family was moving to London so that I could serve as the Senior Minister of the American International Church, I quoted a phrase learned from my mentor, the late Rev. Carl Schultz: Faith Faces Forward. That has been my mantra along this whole journey so far. It's been a relentless season, with each day packed with new things to learn and do about cancer, ministry and life in the London.
In all the facing forward (and the weakness/fatigue of chemo), my writing has been neglected. I'm feeling its absence as a pile of unresolved emotions and untold stories, all of which need expression. As important as it is to face forward in faith and hope, I need some time to look backward, too. So much has happened in my outward life, my inward life has not yet had a chance to catch up. My body has changed during chemo, and it is about to change even more dramatically with surgery in two days. My ministry has changed, as I learn what kind of preacher, pastor and leader this new congregation requires. My home has changed, as that slow shift has taken place after the move to settle in to our new dwellings. My identity has changed, as I understand what it is to be an immigrant and an American in London. My home country has changed, as the election and its aftermath seem to have already brought about dramatic and harsh changes in the country we left behind.
I've been facing forward into all those many changes, like standing in the surf reacting to wave after wave–sometimes jumping, sometimes diving, sometimes crashing, always having just a moment to come up for air before another wave hits. We've made it through major church events and seasons, six rounds of chemo and many more tests and doctors visits and a hospital stay, transitioning my son into his new school, unpacking all but a few remaining boxes, and more. Every day I get up, look at what waves this day or week holds, and just keep going. Forward, forward, forward.
I need some time and space to look backward. Those emotions and stories wait for me, and my healing will not be complete until they are felt and told. In recent weeks, I've been feeling very down, and I know it is because the feelings and stories are building up without release. I told myself that I needed to make writing a priority, for my own mental health, but the waves kept coming. My family deserved my attention at the holidays, and I wanted us to celebrate well after such a hard year. My hands still get achy and stiff from the treatment, making typing or writing difficult and painful sometimes. Sunday's always coming, pushing this work out of my mind to focus on the scripture and sermon for the week. Forward, forward, forward.
In two days, I'm having surgery. This will be a proper cancer surgery to remove the remaining tumor and hopefully get clear margins showing no more cancer cells in the area. Recent tests show that there is still no evidence it has moved to the lymph nodes, which is good news. Because of my size, it will be combined with a breast reduction surgery on that side. (A second surgery will follow this summer on the other side, to make me symmetrical again.) Again, the feelings are big–relief and accomplishment at reaching this important milestone and getting the tumor out at last, along with fear and sadness and confusion at realizing my body will be forever changed, even mutilated by this cancer journey. Y'all remember how much I had to write to talk about losing my hair? That was a temporary change. This is a permanent one. But I don't have time or energy to write that post or work through all those feelings right now. Forward, forward, forward.
I've been planning for months for the recovery, making sure I've got church and life covered during the healing time, anticipating two weeks completely off before returning to any responsibilities. Last week, the nurse informed me that is likely not nearly enough time, so I've been scrambling to get extra coverage, cancel commitments I made thinking I'd be ready, and feeling anxious about just how difficult the physical healing will be. Forward, forward, forward.
If I'm honest, though, it's not the physical pain ahead that gives me the most anxiety right now. It's that big pile of feelings and stories awaiting. When I stop moving forward, forward, forward and just rest, rest, rest after surgery, I fear they will overwhelm me. In optimistic moments, I can imagine having time, energy and focus to write about it all, one story at a time, processing the emotions and beginning to heal. In pessimistic ones, I imagine lying in bed, too physically weak to write or talk or even reach out to friends, but with waves of feelings so big I might just drown. I've been in that lonely place a few times already during chemo (those moments are among the stories and feelings that need to be told), but the need to go forward, forward, forward always pulled me out. What happens when I stop moving?
Psalm 139 comes to my aid. The whole thing speaks to my heart, but especially this section:
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
There is much in me that seeks to flee, from God and from those who love me, and just let the waves crash over. Sometimes I wish for the darkness to cover me, or at least to take to my bed and let the covers plunge me into darkness for days on end. But there is no escape from God, no escape from love. The love is there with us, whether we want it or not.
I know that because of you all, dear friends and readers and church folks old and new. I've tried running away, but it doesn't work. Over the last two months, I have tried several times to disappear from social media, to check out and slip into silence, to isolate myself from everyone. Living in a whole other country, it's my only connection to most of you, so I was hoping to just escape unnoticed and be forgotten. But you didn't let me. You keep sending me messages, comments, e-mails, even cards and packages. You reached out when I went silent too long. You told me you were praying. You remembered important events in my life and treatment. Even if I ignored you, or just didn't have the energy and stamina to reply, you stuck around. You wouldn't let me go.
You, my beloveds, are more relentless than the waves trying to knock me down. And God, I trust, is more relentless still.
This is me not running away from the big pile of stories and feelings. This is me looking backward just enough to name the truth of how overwhelming those stories and feelings are, in hopes that will help me keep going forward until I can return to give them the attention they need and deserve. This is me trying not to reach for the darkness to cover me, but reach for the light of love. This is me saying thank you to all of you, because you are the ones pulling me forward, forward, forward by your love, encouragement and prayers, which won't let go even when I try to fight them off. This is me giving thanks to God, because whether I ascend to heaven or make my bed in hell, She is still there, with me.
This is me feeling much better for having shared this one tiny part of the stories and feelings.
Bring on the next wave. I'll jump, dive, crash and come up for air one more time, trusting in love to keep me afloat. Surgery in 48 hours.
Halfway? Part One
Posted November 28, 2016on:
This post is a look backward, as I am today set to receive my final chemo infusion. However, it's been on my heart for the last six weeks, and I can't talk about where I am now without talking about where I've been. I'm trying to catch up–not just for you, dear friends and family and readers, but for me. This has been a hard season, and writing helps me process all that I have been thinking and feeling. Sharing with you all makes me feel strong in claiming my story. Beware going in, this post is less chipper than my previous ones. This is a space to tell the truth of the good times and the hard ones. Keep reading, though, as I hope to write two more posts in short order that catch up to today.
I thought reaching the halfway point in my chemotherapy would feel better than this. I expected to feel like I hit a milestone. Since I weathered the first half fairly well and with good cheer, I expected to find myself encouraged that, like meeting the winter solstice, I could begin moving toward the light instead of the darkness.
Instead, reaching the halfway point of chemo in good cheer freed my mind and heart to ask the hard questions about all the treatment and uncertainty yet to come. The sense of accomplishment gave me room to deal with some of the spiritual, mental and emotional issues that I have not had time or energy to approach since my diagnosis. The blur of moving to London, first surgery, new job and chemo in the last three months made it so all I could do was keep going and push through. That was a gift, much like the numbness and denial of early grief. When that numbness subsides and the feelings break through, the pain floods in heavy and deep. Healing requires diving into the deep waters and learning to swim, surf, float through it. Halfway through chemo the dam of numbness gave way, and the flood took over with a host of questions and feelings.
The fear about side effects returned, as the second half of treatment contained a different set of drugs than the first. I entered the clinic as anxious about the fourth treatment as I was about the first one. (Those fears proved not unfounded, but that's a story for the next post.) Unlike previous cycles, when I enjoyed the "feel-good" days leading up to treatment, I found myself filling with dread and fear about the new and unpredictable set of pains and side effects, likely harder than the first three rounds.
A new set of questions haunted me. Is the chemo working? What happens if it doesn't? There's no way to know until they go in for surgery and get a new pathology report. What will surgery be like? What kind of surgery will I need? When will it happen? How rough will the recovery be? Then comes radiation. How long will that last? I'm already so fatigued, and that is supposed to be as tiring (or more) than chemo, because it's every day. How much work time will I miss? How will I keep up? Again, when will I know if this is working? (Just to be clear, the doctors have given me no cause to down the effectiveness of treatment, and I am holding on to that truth and trust–but it is natural to await proof that my cancer is responding as expected to the treatments.)
On top of all that, I am just getting tired of it. Halfway meant I had lost nine weeks already, and had another whole nine weeks to go. As a child, that was the length of an entire grading period in school. Half a school year in total, which always felt like an eternity. And that's just chemo. Halfway through chemo isn't halfway at all, with two surgeries and radiation ahead. Instead of feeling like I was headed into the light, it felt like a carnival ride that was lasting way too long.
If you know me at all in real life, you know that descriptions like "high-energy, hard-working, creative, cheerful, always upbeat" fit my usual self. Not my usual self during chemo. I wrote in my last post, many weeks ago, about my small world being enough. It stopped being satisfying about the time the halfway treatment arrived. I am tired of sleeping 12 hours a day, when I'm used to sleeping six or eight, and still being tired in the short hours I'm awake. I'm tired of "chemo brain" that makes it hard to concentrate, difficult to write (especially sermons), nearly impossible to read a book or some days even follow a television show. I'm tired of not going anywhere, except when work or family obligations demand it–and then planning days of rest on either side to make sure I can have the energy to go and the time to recover.
So halfway through chemo, instead of feeling like a triumph, felt like a realization that there is a long way there is yet to go. Chemo is cumulative, so each round leaves me weaker and more fatigued. The halfway point brought that truth home, as I am not bouncing back like I did in the earlier rounds.
Halfway marked the first time sadness and self-pity set in. Suddenly, instead of laying in bed longing to be well and get out, I found myself on good days still longing to crawl back in bed, away from the world and away from people and away from cancer. I felt grumpy, cranky and mopey. I barely shed any tears over cancer from the diagnosis through the beginning of chemo. At halfway, I began crying in the shower every morning. After eating good and healthy foods, and having little appetite for the first three rounds, the new drug has made me ravenous, and I've turned to my oldest emotional crutch: way too much junk food. I don't feel guilty over it, but it's a sign to me that I need to pay attention to my feelings.
Halfway was now six weeks ago, and today I go for my last infusion. I wish I could write that I was better now, that the cloud had lifted and my cheer restored. That wouldn't be true, though. I still feel heavy these days, not just in fatigue of the body, but of the mind and spirit as well. The news isn't chipper, but it is still good: I've been here before. I've known seasons of grief and hardship, and I know they don't last forever. I have learned what I need to heal–space, time, a warm bed, comfy clothes, a good sappy movie, a deep escape into a good novel, conversation with friends, conversation with God, space to journal, time to weep and let all the feelings surface, time to remember who I am, time to take stock of what has changed, what is lost, what is gained. And, yes, probably all of these moments involve junk food, too.
Chemo is relentless, which means much of that deeper healing work will have to wait. In the meantime, trust that I do not despair. I persevere–surviving more than thriving, but that is all I need to do right now.
Plenty of good moments remain, which give me hope that more will follow. When things get low, I list them to myself. I love my work, and my new church has offered some beautiful, wonderful, glorious days in this time–the gift of many newcomers ready to engage, a Thanksgiving luncheon, the chance to help lead the Thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral, deeper relationships with people in the congregation, and a fun day decorating for Christmas, with our children delighted to take the lead. My husband and son are wonderful, and they know how to take care of me–which is not easy for someone who doesn't like to need care from anybody. My extended family, my parents and I have grown closer and more intimate through this process. A core group of friends receives all my complaints, need for prayer, TMI medical details, related inappropriate humor and curse words. They respond with instant encouragement, laughter and grace, as the situation demands. A wider group of friends send gifts and cards, weekly messages of encouragement, scripture and humor, and reminders of their prayers. My current church lets me work, and they also let me not work, as the day demands. They too offer prayers, soup, patience, flexibility and understanding. My former congregation has sent gifts, prayers and love in the kindest, most meaningful ways. All of you who read and respond here and on Facebook offer me much encouragement as well. I need people to listen–and by reading this, you do.
This week marked the beginning of Advent in the church. Yesterday, we lit the first candle of the Advent wreath, the candle for hope. This has always been a powerful moment for me, especially this year. Against the darkness and all alone, this first candle shines in the darkness, a tiny, fragile flicker of light. That's where I am right now. Not shiny and bright, not basking in sunshine or under the bright stage lights, but holding on to hope, fragile and flickering against the darkness.
More to come soon, I hope, about the pathway between halfway and today's last treatment. Thank you for listening, for praying, for supporting me along this journey.
Meditation on Remembrance Day
Posted November 13, 2016on:
rsSeveral folks have asked me to share my meditation from today's service, which featured a performance of John Rutter's Requiem in honor of Remembrance Day. So, here you go.
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
The Requiem invites us into the depths—to enter the depths of our soul and cry out to God in music and prayer. We echo the Psalmist: "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord."
Some of us show up to worship today feeling like we've been sent into the depths.
Others may feel like the week has finally lifted us out of the depths.
And I don't just mean the U.S. election which has dominated so much news and many of our thoughts this week.
The tragic train crash in Croydon that took seven lives. The anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Paris. A bomb blast in Pakistan that killed dozens. The difficult peace accord between Colombia and FARC. Rising unrest in the Philippines. The ongoing battles and civilian casualties in Mosul and Aleppo.
And there were millions of personal depths as well—a bad diagnosis, a job loss, a family fallout, the death of a loved one, and so much more.
Living and loving in this world means coming to know the depths from time to time.
That's why this Psalm is one of the most familiar and often-read, because it speaks to that human experience of the depths.
So what does it say?
First, the Psalmist points us to hope in God.
Like the Requiem, the Psalm tells the gospel story of darkness turning to light.
We are invited to wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning—through the night, trusting that the sun will rise again.
Second, the Psalmist confronts us with the truth—that sometimes our grief is caused by our own actions, our own sins. "If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?" Many of the depths we find ourselves in have human causes, and require human repentance to find solution and resolution.
Third, the Psalmist speaks of redemption—which is the place where God's hope and our sinfulness intersect. Yes, human wrongdoing has caused and causes much suffering—but that does not stop God's work of hope. "In you there is forgiveness," the Psalmist sings, "so that we can, with reverence, serve you." Our hope is not in our ability to get it right, but in God's ability to forgive us and use us even when we get it wrong.
That's why this Psalm about the depths speaks to the depths—because it offers no shallow, unrepentant comfort—but truth about the depth of our sin AND the truth about the depth of God's forgiveness. Therein we find hope.
Remembrance Day is the embodiment of this Psalm and its meaning.
The great casualties and costs of war remind us of the damage we humans can do to one another, to life. They confront us with the catastrophic cost of human sin in suffering.
Yet, at the very same time, we remember the courage and sacrifice of those who served with bravery and honor, those who gave up their very lives for others—the work of hope and love.
Both of my grandfathers were veterans of the Second World War, and both went on to long careers in the military, one in the army and the other in the navy. When I grew old enough to become curious, I went to them to ask about their experiences in the war. They both refused to offer up the stories I sought. Instead, they gave a short, abrupt answer that was basically the same, delivered with an unwavering stare into my eyes. "War is terrible. I served because I hope and pray that you—and all my children and grandchildren—never have to."
My friends, that is the message of the Psalm, the message of the Requiem, the message of Remembrance Day. From the depths, we know how quickly and easily we humans can slip into cruelty and callousness toward one another, which, before we know it, becomes violence and war. Yet we also know that God's redemption is ever working hope in our midst.
To honor those who have sacrificed their lives in service is to work for a world in which our children and grandchildren never have to know the horrors of war. That begins here and now, as we commit ourselves to overcoming our prejudices, working toward justice, listening with compassion to those who disagree with us, standing against all who would foster hatred or violence, and intentionally seeking God's grace and forgiveness for ourselves and for one another, knowing that we are likely to fail again and again. The depths will find us again, but so will hope and redemption.
In Remembrance, may we go out from this place with reverence, to serve God.
In Remembrance, may we honor the dead by working toward peace and justice for the living.
In Remembrance, may we put our hope in the Lord, for with God is unfailing love. Amen.
My Small World
Posted October 3, 2016on:
In my pastoral journey with people, I have often reflected that our world starts small and ends small. For the first days and weeks after our birth, our whole world is in someone's arms, only as large as our tiny reach. As we grow, our world gets bigger–beyond our parents' arms, beyond our home, beyond our town, out to everything we can explore in the wide world. Our horizons widen and we live a bigger, more expansive life. Then, as age and sometimes disability set in, our world begins to shrink again. I watch elders cease their world travels, then their driving about town, then going out at all, and sometimes even spending their last weeks and months confined to one room. In this human life, our world starts small, and it often ends small as well.
I've been thinking a lot about this observation as the chemotherapy cycle has shrunk my world. Just when we have moved to this amazing international city, ready to explore and broaden our world, my orbit has been reduced to its smallest ever.
For the last four weeks, my world has not been more than home, church and hospital, with few necessary (and energy-draining) exceptions. Anything else is beyond my capacity. I should have had a good week between cycles to get out and about, but I caught a nasty virus-turned-infection that knocked me down hard. It's been two weeks and another treatment since that set in, and I'm still not recovered. (Yes, the doctors are on it.)
Chemo tired is a different kind of tired than I've ever experienced. The best comparison is to the first time you get out of bed after having the flu. You don't have the flu misery anymore, the fever is gone, and you feel so much better you head for the shower. Only you realize halfway through the shower that it was a lot to take on, and you feel like you might pass out before you get the shampoo rinsed out. You might hold on to get the soap out, but then you fall into bed for a long nap to recover. That's what chemo fatigue feels like to me. I get winded and light-headed, and absolutely must sit or risk falling over. I'm just weak, and I spend a lot of time lying down. We joke and refer to these as my "sad and pathetic days."
Though I'm a little bit fatigued like that all the time, most days I am able to get up, shower and dress, rest, and then catch a bus that is close to my house and lands me close to church and hospital. (The Tube is too many steps.) I can go into my office and work for a few hours, then have the energy to walk down the street (not too far) for lunch. In the afternoon I can sit at church or hospital for a few more hours and have the energy to ride the bus home. When I get home, I usually need to lay down and rest for an hour or two. Then I get up and enjoy supper with my family, and go to sleep for the night the same time as B, around 8:30. If I am having a good energy day, I might try to wash a few dishes (I can't make it through a whole meal's worth), or clean up a bit to help J, or just lie on the couch to watch a TV show. In the last two weeks, I've had enough concentration to read again. Once or twice, we have made it out to eat, somewhere close. On Saturday, I was determined to make it to the library to return overdue books. It was a short, flat walk to the bus, just a few stops, then back again. The journey was too much. I got to the library and had to sit in a chair for 30 minutes, drifting off to sleep before I had energy to walk back out to catch the bus home. Today, I had arranged to take the day off so that we could have a family outing in London. J and B had to go without me. I slept until noon, took a shower and dressed, but then I needed to go back to bed. I am using my saved energy to write this instead, while they have an adventure.
My world is very small and simple. We smile as we call it "sad and pathetic." But here's the thing: it is enough.
I can hardly believe it, but it's true. My small, simple world is all I need to be happy right now. I don't have energy for extras, but I am able to do what I am meant to do–to be minister and mother, and even sometimes companion to my spouse. I am not doing my ministry work with the level of energy and flair that I would normally show, but I am capable of planning and leading Sunday services, tending to weekday business, learning about my new congregation, helping address some administrative issues and more. I am doing enough to make a contribution, and feel as though I am serving God and church right now. That is satisfying.
The same is true for parenting. I can't take B to the park or the museum, but I have all the time he needs to tell me about his day. I can listen and ask questions and be present in ways that I probably would have been too busy to attend to at normal speed. Every day, we spend time together, even if it's just with me sad and pathetic on the couch while he plays Minecraft. It feels like enough.
I don't make a very equal partner to J right now. We have always tried to share the household responsibilities, but he's doing everything for awhile. While he had planned on being a stay-at-home dad for our first year in London, neither of us planned on cancer. He is understanding and patient with me. I often need to be patient with him, because I want things done my way even when I can't get up and do them–which is my problem, not his. I don't have much time to stay up late for conversation, but I still feel like we are close. We are two independent spirits, even after 20 years together, but we are leaning into one another deeply right now. It is enough.
My world is so very small, but satisfying. We can laugh about being sad and pathetic because I am neither–not sad or pathetic at all. (Ok, maybe a little pathetic when I fall asleep all the time.)
From the outside, during all those years of pastoral ministry, I imagined that a huge grief descending as one's world got smaller and smaller. There are definitely days now when I am disappointed I can't do things, like see London or just finish unpacking from the move. I get frustrated by my inability to accomplish something as simple as changing the sheets or going out to a cafe to write my sermon. Even so, I am not feeling grief over my small world right now. I'm feeling a great deal of gratitude. Chemo may be slowing me down, but it has not robbed me of what I love and who I am. I am still able to serve as pastor, parent and partner, and those things bring me enormous joy and satisfaction. Yesterday, in spite of feeling poorly, I was able to prepare a special World Communion Service, leaning heavily on lay leaders to carry the Sunday morning leadership. It was wonderful! Then, we came home and watched B's favorite team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, play here in London. I may have spent the afternoon lying on the couch, but I could cheer and enjoy the time with family. It was more than enough to make a good day, a good life.
My small world is full and rich, and I am grateful.
Wig Day
Posted September 5, 2016on:
Some have worried that my silence here and on social media is a sign I'm not feeling well. Quite the opposite! For the last 8 days, I've felt great. I'm not 100%, but a good 95% every day. All of that energy has been poured into work and home, rather than blogging. It's been a very busy start to the fall, as we've had back-to-school events, major church events (requiring some big prep), and an attempt to unpack as many more boxes as possible before I get knocked down again today, when I go for my second treatment. There are several posts waiting to be written, but after my last post about hair, I figured I should follow up with the rest of the story.
A few days after my first treatment, I went over to the MacMillan Cancer Centre to meet with N, who is their wig expert. Everyone raved about her skills, and they were right. The NHS subsidizes one synthetic wig for every cancer patient with hair loss, which keeps the costs manageable. (One of the posts waiting to be written is about how great the NHS has been so far.)
The process of choosing a wig involves looking through a catalogue of beautifully made-up models wearing perfectly styled wigs, and choosing three you think might look decent on your not-so-beautifully-made-up head. Then, when they come, you try them on and choose which one to keep. N led me through the process. As I knew going in, there is no wig to match my hair. There were some curly wigs, but let's just say they were not my style (see below for some hilarity on this point). I tried to go for something in a similar color, and with some volume, because I couldn't imagine having straight, flat hair.
They arrived a week later, and I took my husband and son with me to help me choose. My husband J has a great eye for these things, and I knew my son B would tell me by the look on his face if it was all wrong. Pictures and descriptions follow, but note that I still had all my hair when we were trying these on, so they sat a little bit high and funny on my head at the time. We had to use our imaginations, and you will too.
We tried on the three that I ordered, and only one was even passable. However, N jumped right in with more suggestions. It turns out she had a closet full of wigs others had ordered and not used, so I could choose from those as well. She lived up to her reputation as an expert–she pulled out a several that were much better than the ones I ordered from the catalogue, including the one I finally chose. In the end, I probably tried on at least a dozen wigs. However, we only bothered to photograph the finalists–plus one bonus just because it made me laugh.
This first one is the passable one of the three I ordered from the catalogue. It looked just like my hair when I was a little girl, up until around age 10 or 11, before the curls arrived in full force when I was 12 or 13. I had a bob cut with bangs, and my mother rolled the ends under on Sunday mornings and picture days. When I looked in the mirror, I still felt like myself, though a bit reincarnated from an earlier version. I also thought I looked like Velma from Scooby Doo, who I always liked anyway. It could have worked.
The second one I really wanted to love. My paternal aunt Carol Ann had long red hair. Hers was thick and wavy, and a differently styled cut, but it was always a signature beauty. In addition to being my favorite aunt, she also had breast cancer, and it took her life 17 years ago. I know that the medicine I receive today may have been able to save her life, and her spirit feels very close to me in this journey. I wanted to wear this wig as a tribute. It was a look that made me feel the most pretty, unique and striking. However, it also was a wig that would draw attention to my hair, and I wasn't sure I wanted that. The cut wasn't quite the image I'm trying to portray. It was odd (and a bit annoying) to have all that straight hair running down my shoulders.
I couldn't quite figure out what didn't sit right about it, because it did look good on me and I felt quite beautiful in it. J named it: it's a very Southern look. I recognized it as soon as he said it. Now, I'm from Virginia, and I can rock the Southern belle charm when I want. But I don't want to do it all of the time, and this look makes me feel like I should. It felt fun, but like playing dress up. It just didn't capture the persona I inhabit every day at the office or in the pulpit. It's also a more casual look, and I wanted something more professional. However, if I end up wearing wigs regularly, I'd go get this one for those days when I felt up to the fierceness of my Southern roots and the spirit of my Aunt Carol Ann.
Where we ended up was with one of N's suggestions. Something totally different from my normal look, but conveying a sense of being put-together, ready to focus, professional and neat. And blonde! I was blonde like my son when I was younger, so it works well with my coloring. J saw it immediately as the best choice, but it took me a bit longer to warm up to it. He recognized that it fit my face and my style, and communicated the person I am and want to be in the world. (I told you he was good at this stuff.) B nodded along with some measure of relief on his face, like I looked "normal" in this one. That's exactly what I was going for.
Ta-da! Remember I had a full head of curls tucked underneath, so it sits a bit high on my forehead, but I like it. J was right–it's just right to look good without drawing attention. It's easy, professional and ready-to-go. I mainly want a wig so that my lack of hair is not a distraction from my life. This one fits the bill perfectly. I'm pleased.
Ready for some fun, though?
N had a wig in her closet that is an exact match for my hair. It's my natural color, and it imitates my natural curl perfectly. However, it's about the worst haircut I could imagine. It's just… not me. Not who I want to be. If I was trying to be a successful country music star in the 1980s, this would have been perfect. Maybe if I worked at Dollywood now. One time, days before my college graduation, I went for a haircut and ended up with something similar. I cried and cried and went back and made them cut it all short to fix it as well as possible. Every single haircut since then, I have given very, very specific instructions to make sure it doesn't happen again.
This time, I laughed and laughed, took pictures to share, and then happily removed it from my head.
Behold: the curly mullet.
Thus continues the cancer-fighting strategy of finding laughter when you can, because there's plenty of suffering to go around. We all got a good laugh out of this one, and I hope you do too. This is TOTALLY like my natural hair, doing exactly what it would do if I ever cut it in that fashion. But no. Just no. Not ever.
Unless Dolly Parton herself comes calling for a backup singer. I'd do it for you, Dolly.
Any day now, I'm going to lose my hair. It's holding on for now, but the day I find the first clump in my hand, I'll shear the rest of it.
Some people will think it's silly and frivolous to get worked up about hair, but I have strong feelings about my hair. Strong feelings of love. I love my hair.
Like most women, I have a very long list of things I don't like about my body, and a very short list of things I do. My hair. That's my list of things I like. If you pressed me, I'd probably add my eyes and my legs. Those are pretty decent. Sure, most other things are tolerable. I have a healthy self-image, so I can't think of anything I hate about my body. It's just my body. But my hair? That brings me great joy, and I say without hesitation that I just love it.
I hit the lottery when it came to hair. It is thick and healthy and chock full of natural curl. It didn't even get noticeably gray until I hit 40. (Yes, I do color it now—and it has been a lot of fun to experiment with some fun shades.) Curls are fun! You never know what shape they will take. They are sometimes thick and framing, sometimes wild and frizzy, sometimes sticking out at odd angles. I love waking up each day, or looking in the mirror after they dry (naturally, no blow-drying!) and seeing what shape they have taken that day. It's a small pleasure I enjoy every day.
My hair takes little time or effort to style. On days I don't wash it, it takes about 30 seconds. When I wash it, less than 5 minutes. Brush, shake, scrunch, apply gel, scrunch some more. The end. One rule of my hair: NEVER brush it when dry. So I only even brush a couple times a week, wet from the washing.
This means I get no credit for my hair. I don't do anything to make it look the way it does. It is a gift, not something for which I can claim any credit. I think of it like a gift from God. Or, more accurately, when I need to be reminded about gifts from God, and how we are to stop and appreciate all the beauty God gives us, and how we do not earn the things we have in this life, I think about my hair. Seriously. You can have your flowers and birds and mountains. I get the gift of my hair.
I am going to miss seeing my hair in the mirror every day. I'm going to miss the wild little things it does, and the feel of it blowing around in the wind. I'm going to miss that one curl that gets in my line of vision, reminding me of the cuteness above. I'm going to miss running my fingers through it in the shower, and twirling it when I am tired, and lifting it up off my neck when I am hot. I'm going to miss pushing it behind me on the pillow so the curls don't get squished, and deciding every third morning if I can go another day without washing it.
These things matter to me. They are an important part of my day, and they bring me a great deal of joy. I am working through some real grief at the loss of my hair. I'm not sensitive about being bald, I'm just sad to lose this thing I love about myself.
I am also realizing that some comments—while intended to be helpful and supportive—don't help. So, friends and family, I'm telling you in advance what to say and what not to say. (And, to be clear, this is MY list, not a list for every woman losing her hair to cancer. YMMV.)
- Don't tell me it will grow back.
First, because I know that. Every person who's ever owned hair knows that it will grow back. I've endured bad haircuts and too-short haircuts and lived to tell about it, just like you.
Second, because it might not grow back—or at least not the way it was. Chemo changes your body in many ways, and the hair that grows back is often not the same as the hair you lost. In many cases, straight hair returns curly. My curly locks may get curlier. Or they may come back with no curl at all. I have to be prepared for this thing I love about myself to disappear. That doesn't mean I don't love myself anymore, because my self-esteem is not just about my hair. But it means that, whether the loss is temporary or forever, I am grieving it.
- Don't tell me it's only hair.
I know it's only hair. I know it's not who I am. I will happily lose my hair to keep my life, but it is still a loss and a grief. Dismissing it as "only hair" closes down the space for me to share what I am feeling.
Hair is just one of the losses induced by cancer, and one of the ones that is the easiest to talk about in a public way. I won't talk about the other losses that are closer to the heart, like the loss of time, the important events in my son's life I'll likely miss, the opportunities for ministry I will not have energy to follow-up on, the books I miss reading because I can't concentrate, the vacation I'd been waiting for but never got to enjoy. There are countless griefs you cannot see. This is the one you can, and one that seems alright to share and grieve more publicly. Please don't dismiss it or close down the space for my sadness. I know it's only hair, but I love my hair. A lot. So I get to be sad about losing it.
- Don't tell me that I might keep it, if only…
I believe you when you say your friend ate only kale, did sixteen hours of yoga a day, stood on their head for an hour every night and therefore held onto their hair, so I could too. I'm still not going to do that. They offered me the use of a cold cap, which helps some people hold on to their hair. It was painful and uncomfortable, and I decided within minutes I didn't need the added discomfort during treatment. It's just not worth it. Every single doctor and nurse has told me it's almost certain to go, and I'm not inclined to fight it. As much as I love my hair, I'm not willing do whatever it takes to keep it. I'll let it go, and deal with whatever follows.
- Don't tell me I'll still be beautiful to you.
This one is hard to explain, and may be hard for you to hear and understand. It also may not be true for others, but it is for me.
First, there's this: For me, losing my hair isn't about feeling ugly or having you think I'm ugly. In fact, I didn't even consider that some people would see me as ugly until people suddenly started reassuring me that THEY would still think I am beautiful. If anyone thinks that a cancer patient is ugly, they are just a jerk. If you are my friend, you don't need to reassure me you aren't a jerk. I know it already.
More deeply, though, is this: I don't much care whether you think I'm beautiful. I don't look the way I do to please you or anyone else. There is far too much emphasis in this world on women's appearance. Ask any professional woman you know—clergy, lawyer, doctor, business executive, professor—and they'll regale you with stories of inappropriate comments about their hair, clothes and make-up. And then they'll regale you with stories of comments considered totally appropriate, but that still irritate because they provide further evidence that people (men and women) still judge women's worth based on how they look. General opinions about our looks are usually a way of sidelining our ideas, or reminding us that being pleasing to look at is more important than our contributions, or simply re-establishing our place as objects rather than agents. When you tell me you still think I'm beautiful, it makes me wonder why my beauty (or lack thereof) matters to you, unless you are my spouse.
I'm not saying that I don't care about my appearance. I care a lot about looking professional and put together, out of respect for the office I hold and the church and the God I serve. I can do that just fine when I'm bald. I can wear a wig when I don't want to look like I have cancer, or a neatly-tied scarf to bring some fun color to the day. I even took a special class last week to learn some make-up skills, so that I can still look professional when my skin is wan and my eyes have dark circles. I care about my appearance enough so that it is not a distraction or an impediment to the work I am trying to do. That has nothing to do with whether or not you think I'm beautiful , so I don't care to know.
So what instead? What do I want to hear from you right now? Here's a list of ideas.
- Help me think about how much fun I could have with wigs. Be fun! Laugh about trying something completely different. A couple of women after church yesterday were giving me great encouragement about my new wig, followed by a Facebook post of a fashion icon with the same look. Perfect. Wonderful. Appreciated in every way. (Note: This is safer territory for women than men. Tread carefully if you are a guy.)
- Smile and say, "bald is beautiful." (This one is a perfect go-to for guys already sporting the look.)
- Say, "you're looking good, how are you feeling?" "Looking good" is not about beauty, it is about health and vitality. Asking the follow-up question indicates that you realize the outside may not match the inside, and gives me space to share.
- Send me fun scarves to try out, or suggest how to coordinate them liturgically.
- Acknowledge that my grief is real and that this whole cancer business just plain sucks.
- Tell me you can't wait to see what I do with my new hair, whenever it arrives.
- Hold my hand and cry with me.
- Make jokes about teaching me how to use a curling iron and blow drier if needed. (I honestly don't know how. I quit before I was 15.)
- Watch how I talk about my hair, my cancer and anything else, and match my mood and expressions. If I'm making jokes, you can too. If I'm serious, go there.
In the time since I first learned I would undergo chemo and lose my hair, I have been spending extra time enjoying it. I have taken extra selfies on good hair days (see all the pics in this post!), indulged in the expensive Pantene shampoo and conditioner instead of the store brand I usually use, spent extra time looking in the mirror, and generally trying to appreciate my hair for the gift that it is, before it goes away. Sometimes the best gifts from God do not last, and this might be one of them.


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MissJee Model
DavidGraham PhotographyPhotographer Male Gateshead, England, United Kingdom
My Website: Website: David GrahamMy MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/davidgrahamward
Mayhem # 2774509
About MeI have been doing photography and videography for a good few years now. On the film making/ videography front I have worked with people along the lines of ex X-Factor winner Joe Mcelderry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv_G5onbEwo) and cage fighter Alex Enlund. I produced and directed a music video which stared Zara Watson, http://purpleport.com/portfolio/zara/ (and myself as the guy dropped out last minute), on the photography front I have worked with a number of local models but mainly on basic portfolio style shoots. I am aiming to change this, and am looking to emulate my success of the videography world, and finance world, where I was a renowned investment blogger, and create some amazing photography.
My main interest at current is entering photography competitions, so for now I will be mainly offering work on a TFP/trade basis, with the aim being to create more photographic art. I am happy to do shoots with both new models looking to get experience and gain some images for their portfolio, and experienced models looking for some portfolio shots. For the shoots I offer, I will have one or two specific shots in mind, after that, I am willing to tailor shoots for a models portfolio.
If you have an idea and are interested in shooting it, message me, because at current my main interest, as said, is creating photographic art. So the more I do, and the more ideas the better.
I can provide a link to another photography website with more of my work (mostly in the natural world): http://www.viewbug.com/member/davidgraham. Also, this is my old website, where you can find more on me, including how I look: http://davidgward.wix.com/home#!about/c240r
Have you worked with DavidGraham Photography? Add Credits for DavidGraham Photography! >>
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Hot 'n' Spicy Omelet RecipeRead Reviews Be the first to add a review
Red pepper flakes add plenty of fiery zip to this omelet from Dixie Terry of Goreville, Illinois. "It's a favorite at our house - for breakfast, brunch or supper - with sausage or bacon, home fries and hot biscuits," she shares.
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 8 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter and oil over medium-high heat. Whisk the eggs, water, garlic, salt and pepper. Add egg mixture to skillet (mixture should set immediately at edges).
- As eggs set, push cooked edges toward the center, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are set; fold in half. Invert omelet onto a plate to serve. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Yield: 4 servings.
Originally published as Hot 'n' Spicy Omelet in Quick Cooking December 2000, p36
Sparkling Wine
Enjoy this recipe with a sparkling wine.
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Friday, September 28, 2001
Steamboat Springs Receptionist Valerie Honeycutt wasn't quite sure what to think on Friday morning when a teen-ager and police officer wheeled five water coolers filled with coins through the front doors of Community First National Bank.
It wasn't your usual spare change, Honeycutt said.
Steamboat Springs High School senior Glen Hammond and resource officer Jason Patrick hauled almost $1,900 in change to the back of the bank to be sorted and counted before the money could be given to the American Red Cross' disaster relief fund.
"It was such a neat thing to see this cart being wheeled in that was so heavy that two people needed to push it," Honeycutt said. "It shows how much these kids care, that they realize they are part of the community and part of the United States and can help."
Students at the high school competed in "Coin Wars" as part of this week's homecoming festivities.
Collecting coins during homecoming week was originally just an idea to raise money for any worthy cause, Patrick said. After the events of Sept. 11, the students thought it was only appropriate to donate the money toward efforts that helped the people in New York City, he added.
Signs began circulating last Friday to inform students about the chance to show their school spirit by tossing their pennies, nickels and dimes into one of four water coolers, each indicating a particular class of students.
The students far exceeded expectations, with the senior class needing an additional water cooler to hold all their coins, Patrick said.
"We would have been happy to get about $1,000," he said. "This kids gave above and beyond what they had to."
Hammond said he was surprised with how seriously students took the fundraiser, which began on Monday morning and lasted until Friday morning.
"It turned into a big competition," Hammond said.
Points earned from the coin fundraiser help determine which class earns the spirit stick this year, he said.
All classes combined raised $1,889.25, with freshmen contributing $257.40, sophomores giving $414.82, juniors donating $335.34, and seniors winning the competition with $578.69.
Only pennies, nickels and dimes were counted toward a class' total amount, so students couldn't thwart their younger or older classmates' efforts to raise the most money by tossing quarters or dollar bills into their containers, Hammond said.
Even teachers got in on the competition by placing money in a particular class' container, he added.
Any piece of currency worth 25 cents or more counted against a class' total amount, he said.
The $97 in quarters and 47 dollar bills that found their way to the juniors' water cooler cost them $144, and that amount was then subtracted from a week's collection of $335.34
Community First National Bank wrote a check out to Steamboat Springs High School, and the school will then donate that money to the American Red Cross.
Rhonda George, a vice president at the bank, said she was impressed with the willingness of some of Steamboat Springs' youngest residents to get involved in the relief effort.
"We've seen such a big show of support from students in this community," George said. "This is such a great deal of support from kids who might have had to give up some of their money to help."
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4 star classic boutique hotel
Durley House Hotel
115 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9PJ, Knightsbridge, SW1X 9PJShow on map
Durley House Hotel is a very luxurious establishment, with a unique concept; an 'all suite' hotel, offering only one, high class of accommodation, to engender an air of exclusivity in this classically stylish... Read More »
Serviced Apartment
Chelsea Cloisters Apartments
Sloane Avenue, London, Chelsea, SW3 3DWShow on map
South Kensington and Chelsea are perhaps London's most exclusive districts, where properties change hands for millions of pounds and celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Madonna and Hugh Grant own properties.... Read More »
4 star contemporary hotel
Myhotel Chelsea
35 Ixworth Place, London, Chelsea, SW3 3QXShow on map
A trendy, modern hotel, the Myhotel Chelsea offers deluxe accommodations and is situated on Ixworth Place in South Kensington, just a few minutes away from the King's Road. Myhotel Chelsea was traditionally a... Read More »
4 star classic hotel
Astors Hotel
110-112 Ebury Street, Belgravia, SW1W 9QDShow on map
Astors Hotel is situated near to the exclusive Sloane Square area of London, on Ebury Street, a quiet tree filled street in the heart of Belgravia. Housed in an elegant Edwardian building, typical of the area,... Read More »
4 star modern hotel
Park Avenue Belgravia
106-108 Ebury Street, Belgravia, SW1 W9QDShow on map
"Stay in a reasonably priced hotel in a fashionable part of London" Whether are visiting London for business or leisure, a stay at the Park Avenue Belgravia will help you make the most of your time in the... Read More »
3 star classic hotel
Windermere Hotel
142 - 144 Warwick Way, Victoria, SW1V 4JEShow on map
The Windermere Hotel, London is located in the historic location of Victoria in Westminster Borough, right in the heart of the capital of the United Kingdom. The Windermere Hotel is close to many well visited... Read More »
Search for cheap hotels near Chelsea Flower Show
Every year, since May 1913, thousands of amateur and professional gardeners descend on the Royal Hospital Chelsea for the annual five day Chelsea Flower Show. Organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, this event is attended by people from all over the world and hotels in the area are usually fully booked. From trendy sculptures to traditional roses, this show has it all. The center of Chelsea Flower Show show is the Great Pavilion where competitors vie for top honours. The Show Gardens host many designs from the worlds top gardeners all with different themes to fuel your thoughts. There are also many sellers of gardening accessories both traditional and innovative. All tickets for this event have to be pre purchased. The nearest underground station is at Sloane Square station (District and Circle lines) and is a 10-minute walk from the show. For the duration of the show, there is special bus service running from Victoria Station.
Hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society since 1862, this flower, plant and garden show was originally named the Royal Horticultural Society's Spring Show, held in neighbouring district Kensington. It then moved to the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital in 1913, renamed the Chelsea Flower Show and it has been held here ever since. Approximately 157,000 people visit the show every year - however the first two days are solely for members of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Around 600 international and national exhibitors from countries such as France, Italy, Australia, Jamaica and India, display their work every year at the show with garden designers using the five days to showcase their skills and creativity - and only the best of the best are chosen to exhibit their spectacular designs. From rural courtyard gardens to specifically designed city gardens, the creativity and expertise on show at this world famous event is the finest in the world, providing inspiration for home owners and horticulturalists alike.
The Great Pavilion is the centre stage and it is truly amazing. Over 100 leading nurseries and floral exhibitors present their work in this giant space of colour, for which they have prepared for months in advance. The latest gardening equipment, accessories and products will be available to purchase, there will be flower arranging demonstrations in the Floristry Marquee and the Lifelong Learning displays provide a wealth of information for those wanting to learn more about the science of horticulture.
As always, travelling on public transport is strongly advised. Sloane Square tube station (District and Circle lines) is only a 10 minute walk to the showground and there are numerous bus routes servicing the area. There will also be a special bus service running every day between Victoria Station (mainline trains) and the showground from 7am to 8pm (6pm Saturday). If you are travelling by car, there is limited and expensive parking available in Battersea Park which is approximately 25 minutes walking distance away.
Other places of interest to visit in the area include Kings Road with all its fabulous shops, cafes, bars and restaurants and South Kensington's 'museum-land' is only a 15 minute walk away (or one stop after Sloane Square on the tube) and here you can explore the V & A Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.


text:
deroad has released PSChannel v1.10.
- Fixed tons of bugs
- Removed the "install theme feature" since no one makes themes for my homebrew
- Info section moved to main menu and can be seen by pressing SQUARE
- Added Lang support (EN,PT,SP,IT,FR,DE,RU,NL)
- Added game update support with autodetection of games (NO homebrew support!! NO search mode, NO support for backups folders!!)
- Changed some icons (new apps and game update)
- Added support to https (thanks to PolarSSL)
- To be clear, PSChannel will look only in the NP (not SP-INT or QA) environment. in the next update i will try to add SP-INT env for dex console (SP-INT gives me "404 + not allowed").
PSChannel has nothing to do with SONY or any trademarks owned by sony.
PSChannel will only search updates for NP******* BL******* BC******* XC******* UL******* MR******* APPID with the USER AGENT "Mozilla/5.0 (PLAYSTATION 3; 2.00)"
How to change language:
To change language just go to the main menu, press square, then triangle till you find your language. This is the order of the langsEN,PT,SP,IT,FR,DE,RU,NL
Bug reports here: https://github.com/wargio/PSChannel/issues
Want to add a language? send me (deroad) a private message on one of the followings forums Brewology/PS3HAX/PSX-Scene.
I want to thanks for:
Wargio/deroad will NEVER request donation for this Homebrew.
please remember that deroad (aka Wargio) created this and not other people.
Source Brewology
Download it from the Brewology Store.


text:
Budget B & B Aelbrechtskade 1 pers
Size9 m²
Floor No.5(with elevator)
- Kitchen
- Washer/dryer
- Smoking allowed
- Disabled access
- Breakfast
- Elevator in building
- Lockable room
Accommodation summary
|Aelbrechtskade, 3022HP Rotterdam, Netherlands
|Property type
|Private room
|Property ID
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
From the living room and the master bedroom is access to the balcony. You can enjoy the beautiful view over the Mathenesserbridge, Delfhavense Schie and Aelbrechtskade or take a sunbath or make a barbeque.
On the other side of the complex, the East side, is a public garden, all well-known shops, public transport, many restaurants and exotic shops.
within 2 km you will find the Blijdorp Zoo, the Euromast along the river Maas, Coolsingel, Central Station and many museums.
single bedroom 30 euro * master bedroom 65 euro *
when booking 1 night 10 euro surcharge*
Weekend offer: single bedroom 75 euro and master bedroom 160
Midweek offer: 100/200
Free use of Wifi, bike, kitchen and barbecue.
extended free breakfast and take away lunch
excursions/tours on request.
House rulesno animals allowed
|Weekly rate for 1 guest
|200 €
|Price for > 1 guests
|21 € per guest/night extra
|Maximum nights
|1 month
|Check-in after
|Check-in before
|Check-out before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
A lovely place and a even more lovely person that lives there!
The atmosphere is familiar and the apartment is neat and cozy, busses and trains can easily be reached and there´s just everything you need right around the corner - starting from a bakery to a grocery store over a nice restaurant (you have to try roti!!) !! all in all it was a first class stay on low budget!
highly recommended!!!!
A very friendly and hospitable landlord, and it was fun to chat with him, let alone the crazy ride with him on the bike to the central station. Everything was well organised and I even enjoyed a nice breakfast with the other guests who were staying in the other big room.
If you're travelling on your own, this is the best deal. With free wifi, a good location, endless access to junk food, and even the chance for jogging along the canal.
This is the 2nd time i went to Maarten's flat, a nice flat and Maarten is always helpful.. When i'll go back to Rotterdam, i 'll contact him again for sure..
Thank you for your hospitality Maarten. The room was cozy and the bed was comfortable. I will definitely keep you in mind the next time I am in Rotterdam.
Very nice bed and breakfast, clean, great rooms, kitchen, shower and other amenities are good for each other. Martin has traveled and beautiful verhaleen tells about his travels to Australia and New Zealand. Good host and I'll definitely be back! Greeting Jeroen from Leeuwarden.
Heel leuk bed & breakfast, schoon, prima kamers, keuken, douche en andere voorzieningen zijn goed voor elkaar. Maarten heeft gereisd en vertelt mooie verhaleen over zijn reizen naar australie en Nieuw Zeeland. Goede gastheer en ik kom zeker terug! Groet Jeroen uit Leeuwarden.
I enjoyed my stay at Maarten's B&B and highly recommend it. The place is tidy and clean. Maarten himself and is very helpful and friendly. I would definitly revisit.
House fully equipped and less than 10 minutes from the city center by tram. Highly Recommended
Casa totalmente equipada y a menos de 10 minutos del centro de la ciudad por tranvía. Muy recomendable
A nice flat in a quiet area of Rotterdam.. It has all the necessary to stay there some days.. And Marteen is friendly and helpful..
Schönes Zimmer und Unterkunft. Man hat sich wohl gefühlt und ich kann es nur weiter empfehlen.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


text:
A study published by UNCTAD last year revealed huge discrepancies in trade accounting in South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire...
8 Mar 2017
Insurance companies need to shift their investment strategies...
4 Mar 2016
MTN Cote d'Ivoire has announced partial payment of the country's new telecommunications operators unified license cost to the Government of Cote d'Ivoire...
28 Dec 2015
Africa's changing demographic over the next three-and-a-half decades could transform the continent into the next China, but only if its youthful population is educated and entrepreneurial.
Jana Marais 19 Aug 2014
Sun International says it will sell a portion of its interests in its African assets to a foreign subsidiary of Thailand-listed Minor International Public Co (Mint) for R664m.
19 Aug 2014
South Africa and Africa in general benefitted immensely from the recent US-Africa Leaders' Summit held in Washington last week, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said on his return.
13 Aug 2014
The slow pace with which renewable energy projects have been rolled out across Africa may prove to be an advantage in a few years.
Charlotte Mathews 21 Jul 2014
Small- and medium-sized engineering companies must create niche markets for themselves to supply Transnet with parts for the locomotives that the freight logistics company envisages building within the next two to three decades.
Amanda Visser 9 Jun 2014
Sanlam says it has R3bn in discretionary capital that is earmarked for growth opportunities mainly in Africa and South-East Asia.
Phakamisa Ndzamela 6 Jun 2014
Supply chain management specialist Santova' could look to push into busy African markets in the financial year ahead.
Marc Hasenfuss 5 Jun 2014
If there is one industry where everything is in flux and companies have to re-jig their shapes and formats all the time, it is SA's packaging manufacturers. Apart from constantly changing industry conditions, not least from encroaching rivals, each firm has specific obstacles to get over.
Mark Allix 2 Jun 2014
Nampak's interim results for the six months to March saw the rest of Africa markets markedly contributing as the group as it grew overall trading income by 10%.
Mark Allix 28 May 2014
Tiger Brands reported "satisfactory" results for its six months to March' with headline earnings per share from continuing operations up 7% to R8.56.
Nick Hedley 22 May 2014
Famous Brands, which owns Steers' Wimpy and Debonairs, plans to open 243 new restaurants in the coming year after reporting record turnover and profit for the year. It is also planning to enter Angola and Ghana.
Zeenat Moorad 20 May 2014
Grand Parade, the company responsible for bringing Burger King to SA' said it bought a further 32.9% stake in Mac Brothers for R42,79 million' to achieve cost efficiencies and gain greater access to the African markets.
20 May 2014
JSE investors will gain access to the dollar-based returns generated by shopping centres, offices, warehouses and hotels in countries such as Morocco, Mozambique, Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria when Sandile Nomvete's Delta Property Fund brings the first outright African real estate offering to the market next month.
Joan Muller 20 May 2014
South Africa's largest short-term insurer' Santam' said last week it was looking to unwind its Europe-focused international division.
Phakamisa Ndzamela 23 Apr 2014
SABMiller's (SAB) fourth-quarter revenue growth fell short of analysts' expectations' sending the global brewing company's share price down by 2.21% on the JSE on Tuesday (15 April).
Nick Hedley 17 Apr 2014
As Ford's only manufacturing operation in the Middle East and Africa' Ford Southern Africa is in pole position to benefit from the group's decision to intensify marketing and production in sub-Saharan Africa' says Stephen Odell' president of Ford's European' Middle East and African operations.
David Furlonger 11 Apr 2014
In a move that could turn the brain drain into a brain gain, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants' (Saica) Thuthuka development model is set to be exported to other African countries and developing nations, after receiving the backing of the over-arching global accounting body and the World Bank.
Evan Pickworth 2 Apr 2014


text:
24" W Counterop Heavy Duty Electric Griddle - 208V or 240V
GMCW | Model: EL1824
5% Off Sitewide This Memorial Day Weekend!
Coupon Code: MEMORIAL17
Item discontinued!
Out Of Stock
Recommended Substitute
GMCW EL1824 Specifications
Please note: this item has a standard lead time of up to 3 weeks. Contact us directly for more information on availability. Please note image above is for reference only.
This item weighs 150 lbs. but we have added 40 lbs. to the weight for packing and shipping.
Manufacturer Information
Power Information
208/240 volts
150 lbs.
24.25 in.
22.5 in.
17.5 in.
Shipping Information
Your order will be shipped from
Customer Pick Up
(Not Available for pickup)
Included Options
This item is available in multiple configurations. Get the most from your investment by taking the time to select the right configuration for your needs.
People Who Viewed This Also Viewed


text:
According to reports, eBay is urging shareholders to reject a slate of board members nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn and instead support nominees picked by the company.
Reuters has reported that eBay is asking shareholders to re-elect existing directors CEO John Donahoe, company co-founder and managing director Fred Anderson, Intuit co-founder Scott Cook and former Agilent Technologies CEO Edward Barnholt.
Icahn has publicly accused the eBay board of having conflicts of interest and also wants eBay to spin off its PayPal division into a separate company. He has nominated two of his current employees to serve on the board of directors of eBay.


text:
Tom Groseclose explains:
Hat tip: Seraphic Secret
Conservatives deal with facts and reach conclusions; liberals have conclusions and sell them as facts.
Tom Groseclose explains:
Hat tip: Seraphic Secret
With a few stellar exceptions, the best way to tell a story is in chronological order. This is because, in the real world, cause and effect matter. I suspect that the AP knows this is true, which is why they had their latest report from the Middle East start with the effect (Israeli airstrikes) and the loop back, very reluctantly, to the cause (Hamas terror attacks on civilian centers):
Israel pounded Gaza for the second day in a row Saturday, trading airstrikes and rocket fire with Palestinian militants and killing 15 of them as the deadliest Gaza violence in over a year showed no signs of abating.
Despite Egyptian efforts to mediate a cease-fire, Palestinians fired more than 100 rockets, some striking major cities in southern Israel and seriously wounding an Israeli civilian. The military responded with more than a dozen airstrikes and the targeted killings of Palestinian militants from various Gaza organizations.
Israel's lauded Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted more than 25 projectiles. Still, residents were told to stay close to home and the cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon called off school for Sunday.
Tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and Palestinians have been routine since the 2009 war, but a flare-up of this intensity is rare. The Arab League called the Israeli attacks a "massacre." The United Nations and the State Department condemned the violence and called on both sides to exercise restraint.
Relativism and dishonesty are normative in the media.
Zombie has another superb photo essay, this one about the OWS protest of Shimon Peres' San Francisco visit. If you haven't already checked it out, please do. My favorite part is the bit with the San Francisco motorcycle cop. You go, guy!
Please remember when you read Zombie that Zombie is the new media. Part of dis-empowering the anti-American, socialist, antisemitic, anti-Leftist old media is to support the new media. By the way, it's no coincidence that in describing our shiny, rich, famous old media, we use precisely the same adjectives that we use to describe the violent, aggressive OWSers on the street. Different appearance and tactics, but same ideology and goals.


text:
Home › Forums › Campfire › Editor's Roundtable › Hyperlite Mountain Gear Porter / Expedition Pack Review
Jan 10, 2012 at 5:57 pm #1283968
Addie BedfordBPL Member
@addiebedfordLocale: Montana
Companion forum thread to:Jan 11, 2012 at 5:30 am #1823091
Ken T.BPL Member
"Ultralight backpackers have developed an unquenchable fetish for packs that are measured in ounces, seemingly with no regard at all to what the pack has offered with respect to durability, comfort, or aesthetic design."
Blanket statements are never good. I will be waiting to see how well this pack does. As I am in the market for a larger pack.Jan 11, 2012 at 7:10 am #1823121
Ryan JordanAdmin
@ryanLocale: Rocky Mountains
Good catch, Ken :)Jan 11, 2012 at 8:42 am #1823158
David ChenaultSpectator
@davecLocale: The West Slope
Those packs look good. If ya'll could post up the dimensions (depth, width, height) I'd appreciate it. Those give me a better sense of size than cubic inches.Jan 11, 2012 at 8:44 am #1823160
David UreMember
I am loving my Porter!Jan 11, 2012 at 9:02 am #1823164
Gabe GrayumMember
@sauron93Locale: Pacific NW
Under 'Specifications'
BPL Calculated Volume: TBD
Under 'Similar Packs'
BPL Measured Volume: 3400 cu in (55 L)
Has the volume been measured or not? This is one of the things I've been wondering about regarding these packs.Jan 11, 2012 at 9:12 am #1823165
Height: ~39 inches (bottom of lumbar/belt to bottom of velcro)
Circumference: ~33 inches
Width: ~10.75 inches (across back panel)
Depth: ~5.75 inches (across a side at top compression strap)
FWIW, the pack is tapered (wider at top).Jan 11, 2012 at 9:18 am #1823167
Richard ScruggsBPL Member
@jrscruggsLocale: Oregon
Gabe, re your question: "Has the volume been measured or not?"
From the article, below the table containing the data categories you cite:
"During this review period, we'll be publishing data that justifies the performance of this pack, and filling in the table above."Jan 11, 2012 at 9:19 am #1823168
Roleigh MartinBPL Member
@marti124Locale: Moderator-JohnMuirTrail Yahoo Group
I emailed Hyperlite about their Expedition pack and was very much dismayed it does not come, nor can it be ordered, to include load lifters. I dislike having any weight of the pack on my shoulders and depend on load lifters to keep the weight off my shoulders. I want the weight carried by the frame attached to the belt plus a small amount by the Chest Sternum (about 2-3 percent of the weight).Jan 11, 2012 at 9:24 am #1823170
David ChenaultSpectator
@davecLocale: The West Slope
Thanks Chris. I'm assuming those are the Porter dimensions. Quite narrow at less than 6 inches deep. Presumably that Expedition is fatter in this respect.
Can I have too many packs. No, I cannot.Jan 11, 2012 at 9:34 am #1823178
David UreMember
Hi Roleigh – a quick call to Mike @HMG might help.
Regarding the load lifters – the should harness attaches at the top of the stays so one would simply order the pack with slightly longer stays that sit slightly above the shoulder crest. This is the same way that one would order a Mchale using the simple (not the P&G) harness.Jan 11, 2012 at 9:48 am #1823191
Dave – yeah, that's for my Porter. I'd have to measure again, but I'm pretty sure it gets larger as you travel up the extension collar. Of course it's hard to measure a width/depth there since it has no structure. They are definitely built in a more narrow but tall profile though.
IMO – load lifters would be useless with this design, because as David Ure mentioned the straps attach to the top of the pack and the stays extend to that point. Load lifters would require a taller back panel so that the shoulder straps attach a few inches below the top of the pack. Then the load lifters could extend to the top of the pack with the stays. As-is, I've had no problems with transferring weight fully to the hip belt. With that said, I haven't carried as much weight in mine as Ryan has.Jan 11, 2012 at 9:57 am #1823197
Hamish McHamishBPL Member
@el_canyonLocale: USA
The tone of the preface sure sounds snarky. The passive-aggressive slant detracts from the article's objectivity.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:02 am #1823201
Is the volume spec overstated?
5.75 x 10.75 x 39 = 2410 cubic inches to the very top of the rolltop closure, and of course the height of the pack once closed would be significantly less than 39 inches. Realizing of course that when loaded it won't be a perfect square dimension etc but I don't see how the pack can hold 3400 cubic inches per the manufacturer's spec.
I'm wondering if Chris's pack varies significantly from production packs? I thought Chris and Ryan had prototype packs.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:08 am #1823210
Daniel, I have a production model and that's not really how you calculate pack volume from dimensions. That would assume the pack is a perfect rectangle, which it's not. Even the method below is rough since these packs taper.
My 39 inch measurement would allow the pack to be closed, but not rolled down.
Anyway, the circumference of my pack is 33 inches. Using that in combination with the 39 inch height….
The cross-sectional area for a circumference of 33 inches is 87 inches. When you multiply that by the height you get a volume of 3393 cubic inches. That's pretty close IMO, but is definitely a rough way to do it.
Dan McHale's site gives a good breakdown on estimating this way.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:17 am #1823217
I agree with James. The preface seemed a little weird. Folk only carry UL packs to score points?
I carry mine for comfort.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:22 am #1823218
I'm pretty sure it says "some". :-)
This could prove to be interesting though, seeing how people interpret the language differently.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:26 am #1823221
Thanks for the clarification re volume.
By the way, did not see it in the article (or missed it), but I asked HMG about accessories (hipbelt pockets/side pockets/front pocket etc) and they indicate they will be making them early in 2012 for attachment to the pack (for those who don't want to make their own).Jan 11, 2012 at 10:30 am #1823225
Thanks for adding that Daniel. I thought I had put it in there, but apparently I missed it. I've gotten the same information from Mike @ HMG about accessories, although I didn't get a timeline.
I'm interested to see what they come out with myself. The attachment method for my MYOG hip pockets required modifying the belt, but they're very stable and HUGE. An Oly XZ-1 fits with plenty of room left for snacks and some other small items.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:31 am #1823226
Sure seems like a strange preface for an UL Backpcking site.
"Some ultralight backpackers have developed an unquenchable fetish for packs that are measured in ounces, seemingly with no regard at all to what the pack has offered with respect to durability, comfort, or aesthetic design.
Small manufacturers continue to feed this small market. The market for such packs may exist for several reasons. Perhaps some customers are overly simplistic about their gear requirements, and they only desire to meet some arbitrary weight specification. Perhaps some customers lack sufficient education and experience about lightweight backpacking and assume that lighter is always better. Others might be living out their narcissistic tendencies (c'mon, you know we all have them) on the internet by drawing attention to our gear lists and the latest and greatest gear that they own and you don't. Maybe some hikers just don't carry that much weight – ever – and thus never have an opportunity to tax their backpack. Regardless, a market for "SUL" gear remains, however small or large it is."
It actually comes across as quite insulting to members on here who use UL packs.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:31 am #1823227
Tad EnglundBPL Member
@bestbuilderLocale: Pacific Northwest
I would be interested to know how you guys think the pack fabric would hold up to repeated in and out of bush planes (not much different then granite or "poke-y brush") and sand.
Also, how might it withstand deep wading (bottom of pack floating on water) or deep river crossings, and heavy constant rain.
I might have to wait for the Rolling Review, but any input now would be appreciated.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:38 am #1823231
It actually comes across as quite insulting to members on here who use UL packs.
I'm curious what makes a pack "UL" for you? When I first started looking in to Lightweight and then Ultralight, it (more or less) required a pack being 2 pounds or less. That would make the Porter a UL pack. Note that my personal pack is a bit heavier than what David Ure got (I suspect due to my prototype stays).Jan 11, 2012 at 10:42 am #1823234
This is what they told me:
"We do have plans to release an accessory line for the Porter and Expedition packs. I am shooting to have have these available towards the end of February or the first of March. The accessory line will include a removable stuff it pocket, removable hip belt pockets and a removable side pocket."Jan 11, 2012 at 10:45 am #1823236
It doesn't matter what i call UL, Chris. I didn't write the article.Jan 11, 2012 at 10:52 am #1823243
Tad EnglundBPL Member
@bestbuilderLocale: Pacific Northwest
You took the bait, so lighten up. The into to the article was obviously trying to hook your interest into reading further… and you did. Goal accomplished.
In your opinion, maybe it wasn't the way you would have written it. Ryan, was had some issues/opinions with the durability and quality of UL packs lately. Right or wrong, its his opinion.
I'm more interested in the specifics of the packs and the review than the tone of the intro.
Then again, that is just my opinion.
Boy there are a lot of opinion's (actual word) in my post. Maybe I ought to lighten up?
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