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Tomorrow morning I will give a meditation at one of our local seniors complexes.  I’ve know a number of the residents for these past four years, worked with some of them on inviting the developer to come to town.

Now, I’ll spend time talking to them, not of dreams of a home here, but of a home to come.  And in light of that home, the ability to die a good death. 

Someone has said that pondering death is one of the best things we can do.  I’m becoming more convinced of this.  Death reminds us we have eternity to follow, if we follow Jesus.  Our aches and pains remind us that we want that eternity.  In the midst of all this, the certainty and imminence of death reminds us that we are accountable for what we do now.

I’ll use my father’s recent death to illustrate this – I’m bringing his 1937 Bible, a recent book he was reading and a scripture memory system he used.  In the end his end was just a beginning.  A good death for a life of eternity!!

Thirty years ago the Sony company created the Walkman.  My parents bought various configurations of this portable tape player.  Doing dishes, walking, on the plane . . . you could listen to the music you wanted and tune in to the speakers you were craving to hear.

Now, thirty years later the MP3 player and the Ipod have taken over the function of the Walkman.  Some children have never experience the Walkman.

So, when the BBC asked a 13 year old to swap his MP3 player for a Walkman, you have to know cultures and antiquities will collide.  The outcome?  Supposedly it took the kid 3 days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.

And if you are asking, "what is tape?", let me ask another question — have you ever heard of vinyl?  And not that stuff on your mom’s kitchen floor!!

You may notice by the word “cult” in culture that something distinctive makes a society what it is.  Not that it’s bad, or even jarringly different.  But there is something that an onlooker can detect.

Yesterday I headed to a “glow bowling” night with our youth.  Now, I’m naive enough to think that this is about bowling.  WRONG!

As I walked in the dress code was apparent.  And I had missed it!!  White T shirts that glow with ultraviolet light.  And yellow highlighters that, when written on skin, stand out in that same ultraviolet light.  Interestingly, when the regular lights are turned on you don’t notice the mustache that has been placed on an upper lip, or the words written on bare arms.

Of course, you will also often be subjected to “funky” bowling.  Lying on your belly, or left-handed, or through the legs of your team.  That game was less than stellar!

In the end, the yelling was inspiring, the bowling less so, and the fun great!  And next time?  I’ll wear a white T shirt!! 

I’m having great fun learning about legal documents. 

In the 90’s I served as a public notary in Saskatchewan.  The task was not onerous, nor was the influx of people wanting documents verified.  My expired stamp/seal sits in my closet.

With my father’s death there has been more than one occasion where a copy of a document has been needed.  And not just a photocopy, fax of email attachment.  The document must be notarized.  There must be an actual piece of paper with a statement that this is a facsimile of the original – verified by an honest person authorized to do so.

Two of us are doing the paperwork.  We live four hours apart.  Only one of us will have the original documents.  Every time verification is needed, we have to ship “real” paper back and forth.  That takes time – and money, as compared to an email or fax.

Is there a way to make that verification quicker and easier?  As a registrar years ago, that debate was just getting into full swing.  Now, 15-20 years later the “real” paper is still the preferred thing.  And may be into the future.  As one of my library science colleagues said, “paper will never be replaced”.  Maybe they are right.  Or we could revert back to rock and chisel.  Might take a little longer to transport, but it would be rather difficult to alter!!