Thoughts on the Road

Unique is the loneliness of an international airport terminal. Travelers from the furthest reaches of the airline industry, waiting together in a perpetual state of transition. No one is home, but either coming or going. There is no prevailing culture, language, or flag. Some travel in groups, some as couples, but most are alone. For the lone traveler, how can one’s thoughts not slip out of this waiting area, wander out the nearest terminal exit into the night, cross some vast body of water or landmass in an instant, and swiftly descend upon what that traveler deems as home.

What is a home? Home can mean many things, but I suspect that for most, home is a person or a particular group of people– a community. Could that be why so many of my fellow travelers look to their cell phones for relief from such homelessness?

September 16th, 2007 reflections from Newark Airport

Confessions of a Facebook Sellout

This week has been met with utter shock and a barrage of fully justifiable criticism when, seemingly out of no where, I joined Facebook.

However, before I begin my appeal, I have a confession to make: I lost my social networking virginity in the Spring of 2006, when, for a few brief weeks of mind-numbing boredom while working for the US House of Representatives, I was seduced into creating a Facebook profile (of which I promptly deleted).

Thereafter, my gateway drug into social networking was LinkedIn, of which I became an ardent advocate of. It is here that professionals can connect without the scandalous advertisements and perverts that have become the bain to social networking giant, MySpace. The power and utility of any social network is measured by its 1) Quantity of membership, 2) Quality of membership, and 3) Quality of the network’s platform. The higher a network scores in these categories, the greater it’s usefulness in connecting people, ideas, and events. Thus, despite LinkedIn’s distinctive professional emphasis and robust membership, Facebook has become the team to beat in both quantity and quality of a network. And so I came to a watershed moment in my forays into the interweb. After months of research, deliberation, and then indecisive vacillation, I realized it would only be a matter of time before I would give FaceBook another try. This is, of course, like deciding to give crack another try.

Then in a moment of weakness one Tuesday night midway through my Gmail Chat fast, two friends (John “I have 1131 friends on FaceBook” Jung and Jeremy “The Stumbling Block” Vallerand), utilizing torturous peer pressure, compelled me to undermine my stubborn resistance to pop cultural trends and sell out to The Man by joining the FaceBook Team.

Little did I know, my leadership in opposing trendy cultural fixtures was an inspiration to many. And thus, my recent betrayal has led to the downfall of several more revolutionaries this week alone, my naive brother-in-law being the latest victim.

Rest assured, however, the Campaign Against Generic, Over-Priced, Suburban Coffee Houses and The Proclamation for the Promotion of the Education of the American People In Cellular Technological Etiquette are still in full effect.

Here’s to owning Facebook, and not letting Facebook own you-

Read More Fiction (RMF)

In an effort to broaden my literary horizons beyond the usual non-fiction I read, I’m asking for your personal recommendations for good fiction. Post a comment or send me an email with your suggestions, a top 10 list, or whatever, to get me beyond the usual history, theology, or current affairs I read.

Interestingly enough, women are statistically more likely to read– and read more fiction– than men. For an enlightening article on the gender gap in reading, click here.

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October is No Gmail Chat Month for me. Yes, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a slight addiction to email and other forms of electronic communication. And so in an effort to loosen these shackles of bondage, I have decided that I will not sign on to Gmail Chat for the entire month of October.

Therefore, if you see my little green or red (with a little white line through it) status light on Gmail Chat before November 1st, feel free to unleash a hearty rebuke!

Geneva Debriefing

They say, “It’s not about where you go, but rather who you are with that matters.” However, when both are favorable, therein lies the potential for wild and exotic stories to tell the grandkids someday.

For the occasion of Andrew and Esther’s wedding in Geneva, I would encourage you to reference their beautifully designed website that chronicles their love story. It is a remarkable tale that spans the globe and is a true testament to the sovereignty of God in all things, including the perplexing world of guy-girl relationships.

I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on the morning of Monday, September 17th, after an incredible transatlantic flight on Qatar Airways. This recent five-star upstart is surely subsidized by ample Qatarian oil revenues, but with service like I got, I don’t care where the money comes from or what religion it unabashedly promotes.

After a few hours wondering the charming streets of Geneva, I rendezvoused with Jonathan “Beastman” Bakewicz (see his wedding photos here), a longtime college friend, who was also among the Brumme groomsmen. That night, we skipped across the Franco-Swiss border to Lyon, France without even flashing our distinctly navy blue US passports to the officials. Now, Beastman and I have logged a lot of miles and kilometers together, a journey that originates during our time studying in Florence together in 2001-2002:

Beastman epitomizes the spiritual gifting of eat, drink, and be merry, and so naturally, our travels together (which include a Sahara Desert expedition in the Spring of 2002) are marked with much merriment and the spreading of good cheer to all. After shacking up in a single-room hotel in Lyon, Beastman and I ate and drank our way through the refreshingly clean and tourist-free city before returning to Geneva by nightfall to connect with the rest of the distinguished groomsmen.

Contrary to most bachelor parties in the US which last a few fleeting (and humiliating) hours, Andrew’s bachelor festivities spanned the few days leading up to the actual wedding. From sailing (read: drifting) in Lake Geneva, to a delectable feast of lamb prepared by the G-men, the joy of simply being together has the effect of inciting childish laughter and immature jokes. Yet, one of the hallmarks of great friendship is the versatility of conversation, in any given moment, which can vary as greatly as our mountainous surroundings: from irreverent sarcasm to paradigm-shifting exchanges.

As the wedding day approached, the ongoing party moved to YWAM Chatel, where the broader wedding party gathered in an idyllic lodge perched high above Lake Geneva. We were treated to near-perfect weather, casting Chatel in comfortable sunshine with a near crystal clear view of Mont Blanc, Europe’s tallest peak, to the east.

After a succession of summer camp-like meals together and one French civil marriage ceremony in St. Julien, France that legally verified the Brumme marriage, the wedding day soon arrived. The lodge was abuzz with activity and preparation, reminding me of that chaotic opening scene in Home Alone when pizza is served in the McCallister home. Perhaps the highlight of every wedding I’ve ever participated in, is that moment when we groomsmen pray for the groom. This wedding was no different, and for me, words are insufficient to describe the significance of those moments– when a man’s closest friends in the world, ask God to bless him as he embarks on the adventure of marriage. I would fly to the furthest reaches of the globe to pray for a brother getting married.

Andrew and Esther were married on Saturday afternoon. The ceremony was followed by a multicultural reception, complete with a program of creative presentations celebrating Andrew and Esther as well as some exquisite French cuisine. In true European fashion, the celebration went late into the evening, concluding with Andrew and Esther being whisked off to their new life together.

This past summer, I have been blessed to be a part of the most significant weddings of my life. Yet the Brumme Wedding was particularly unique and inspiring for me. Unique, in that this celebration was an unparalleled synthesis of culture, creativity, and worship. Nothing was generic about this event, and Andrew and Esther’s personalities distinctively graced every aspect of the week’s festivities. Inspiring, in that the beauty of the divine economy of giving and receiving shone brightly. Calling together their closest family and friends from the furthest corners of the world, Andrew and Esther, were tirelessly giving of themselves to bless their friends at their wedding. And true to Andrew and Esther’s story of God’s faithfulness in their lives, so too did they receive of His goodness at their wedding. His goodness, uniquely enshrined amidst an audience of delighted celebrants, and the grandeur of the Alps rising to Heaven in the distance.

 

** I quickly lost motivation to take pictures during this trip when I realized that my amateurish efforts were silly in light of the paragon of photography that is, Greg Allen. All of Greg’s photos from the Brumme Wedding Week can be accessed here (Click on Andrew and Esther) after signing up for those annoying photo sharing sites…

 

Geneva and Lyon 2007