More Sunniness

I should have included Van Gogh’s “Church at Auvers” on Friday. Please forgive me for neglecting it.

…Mount Caradhras rises over the Dimrill Dale in Anduin (Middle Earth). Mount Cahas rises over Franklin County in Virginia.

We cannot be certain of Caradhras’ elevation. Cahas is 3,000 feet above sea level.

When I was a wee seminarian, I visited some classmates out in the windswept wilds of the country. They looked forward to circuit-riding careers. I thought to myself then, “Someday, if it please God, I will be the only priest in some county somewhere.”

As Providence would have it, I will be the only priest in two counties: The magnificent piedmont estates of the Old Dominion named for Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry, respectively. US 220 links us with the rest of the world.

Joe Gibbs in Martinsville, Va., last October

David the Shepherd Warrior Died in His Bed

 

After King David slew Goliath (1 Samuel 17), he did not get killed in his next battle (1 Samuel 18:14).

 

Can any of us football fans ever forget the thrill of February 3, 2008?  Goliath fell, hit by a rock from a little sling.

 

We Redskins fans should not, therefore, expect two miracles in a row in New York Giants’ games.  Let us resolve to be happy if the season opener Thursday evening is a solid effort.

 

Dan Snyder beat Senator McCain to the punch by eight months:  The Redskins owner made a bold move that looks toward a beautiful long-term future before the Republican nominee ever thought of any governor of Alaska.  Our beloved owner deserves credit for this, loathe as anyone is to give him credit for anything.

 

Let us hope that Coach Zorn fulfills the promise.  Even though I have no idea what I am talking about (like many football fans), allow me to opine on the art of coaching:  In the end, being a successful coach is a matter of bigness and nobility of character.  Everybody has the “science” of football; spiritual leadership is what makes the difference.  (Talented players, of course, do not hurt–but there are plenty of talented Redskins.)  If Jim Zorn is half as big a man as Joe Gibbs is, if he can be half the spiritual leader Joe Gibbs was, then the future is very bright.  If not…well, it is not a pretty scenario.

      

If you are reading, coach, here is some advice from someone who certainly has no right to offer any.  Meditate on this moment from last season:  The Patriots had just shellacked the Redskins.  It was an embarrassment of historic proportions.  As everyone left the field, reporters hounded the head coach for a comment:  “Who’s to blame?”  At one of the lowest moments of his life, at a moment when most men would grasp at every straw in the cup to find someone or something else to complain about, Joe Gibbs calmly said, “There is plenty of blame to go around, but it begins with me.”