7 Quick Takes: shoe shopping meltdowns! disappointing Wendell Berry! our breakdancing priest and more!

--- 1 ---

I've been listening shamelessly to this album on repeat all week. Jesus said to be like a little child, right?

--- 2 ---

I thought after our one year anniversary in Austin, I was all done breaking into sobs at the steering wheel -- lost and nearly killing myself in traffic. I was wrong. Who'd have guessed that the one of the worst sob and cuss-inducing experiences since moving here would be trying to find my way to Payless Shoes?

I'm pretty sure someone called the cops on me after I cut across two lanes of traffic to make a (wrong) right turn. A few minutes later, I noticed not one but TWO cops in the lane behind me and next to me. I think what happened was -- before they pulled me over -- they saw me bawling at the wheel and felt sorry for me. For a few minutes there it felt like I had my own police escorts.

I did make it to the shoe store eventually. Now if I could apply that same determination to fighting world hunger or some other life-and-death cause. How sad if my obituary read "She was a woman who knew how to fight all manner of opposition to gain a new pair of shoes."

Still, somehow, I'm pretty sure Jesus was glad about the shoes, too.

--- 3 ---

Ironically, after confessing to all you the lengths I'll go for cheap footwear, I'd planned on mentioning Small Business Saturday in this week's Quick Takes.

You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Small Business Saturday falls smack dab between them, bringing -- in my opinion -- a little bit of dignity to our wacked-out consumer culture in a weekend otherwise designated for feasting on gratitude and contentment.

I admit certain amounts of cynical suspicion that the shop local movement is sponsored by American Express. If it were up to me the name of the day would be The Saturday You Make Wendell Berry Proud and Only Buy Stuff From People You Know On A First-Name Basis.

Not quite as catchy I guess.

--- 4 ---

You may have noticed -- just to the right of my idealistic jabber about shopping local -- a flashing advertisement for chocolate cereal flakes or mind-numbing social media games. This paradox is sponsored by the Murphy family's passion for paying our bills on time. After six and a half years -- and only God knows how many hours -- I caved to the allure of gaining financial benefit for doing what I love.

I doubt Wendell Berry's reading this blog anyway.

Also, according to Google's ability to know stuff, my ad demographic the 18-24 age group. I'm going to take that as an affirmation on my youthful vitality and go friend them on facebook.

--- 5 ---

This weekend marks the Murphy family's second annual Parish Retreat with Christ Church. You might remember me mentioning it here last year because it was a big weekend for us. That same weekend our NY house sold, our son Alex was baptized and we discovered our priest's epic breakdancing skills.

We also learned October is hot in Texas. Not just warm, but surface of the sun sort of hot. Imagine then the buzz among our congregation at this weekend's weather forecast.