I must go to Toad Suck...

Ah...Toad Suck Park. Never been there, but I did pass by there on the way to Little Rock, Arkansas. How can I resist being drawn to Toad Suck Park? Such appeal. Such visions of...well... I don't know. But, I must go there someday.

Toad Suck Park is located in Conway, Arkansas (about 25 miles north of Little Rock just off I-40). The story goes that the name came from a tavern that sat on the south bank of the Arkansas River in the nineteenth century. There was a ferry that operated out of the Toad Suck Saloon, giving rise to the name of Toad Suck Ferry. It is said that this place was a popular spot for the bargemen to pull over and drink rum and moonshine. They are said to have "sucked on bottles until they swelled up like toads."

Hey... I looked it up and found it here: http://users.aristotle.net/~russjohn/toadsuck.html

So don't blame me.

Anyway, in further investigation, it seems that many of the town names in Arkansas are versions of older French words. And, since the area produced sugar cane and molasses, and since the area was a sort of depot while awaiting transport, it is believed that the name is derived from "taudis sucre" which is French for "sugar shack."

(Isn't that an old song by Jimmy Glimer and the Fireballs?)

Well, whatever the case may be... I simply must get back to the sugar shack... uh, Toad Suck.

Now, you may be wondering what I was doing anywhere near a Toad Suck. Well, I attended a SWUUC (Southwest Unitarian Universalist Convention) near Little Rock, Arkansas this past weekend. It was the annual spring conference for the UU's and it was titled A NATURAL STATE OF BEING. It was hosted by the UU Church of Little Rock (wonderful people!) at the Arkansas 4H Center of Little Rock which is nestled in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains 10 miles west of Little Rock (great place!)

(C.A. Vines Arkansas 4H Center)

The whole conference was about environmental issues and how we, as the two-leggeds, can help to preserve our Mother Earth and all of her resources for future generations. My daughter and I, along with a friend from my church and her daughter, attended this green gathering. (I'm hoping to get some pics from my new friends in Arkansas. I'll post them when I do. The camera I had with me wasn't working. Brand new dud batteries. Jeez!)

It was a delightful experience, especially for my daughter. Or maybe I was more delighted that I could have my daughter be delighted.

It was a seven hour drive, but not a bad one. Once we crossed over the state line from Oklahoma the roads were good. (Sorry, Oklahoma... but, your roads suck. Not Toad Suck... just plain suck.)

We stopped at a Cracker Barrel to eat lunch on Friday and I must say, "I LOVE CRACKER BARREL!" I bought me a Gumby and a Pokey while I was there. (My daughter thinks I'm nuts.)
We arrived at the 4H Center late in the afternoon, had dinner at the center, and then went to the Opening Ceremony (which was nice. We got to sing all those UU songs that sound just like the Baptist songs only with different words).

Anyway, since I was really tired I just knew that it would be a good idea to get up the following morning at 6 AM!!!! to go on a bird watching hike. (Now, you have to understand that I was not about to miss out on walking through the Arkansas woods with a bad foot and very little sleep. Seemed like the thing to do.) So, I woke the girls and off we went.

My friend Virginia chose another path...sleep. But, that's what UU's do. We agree to walk on different paths together.

On our hike (yes... I had my binoculars) we saw:

white-eyed vireos

and, eastern phoebes

and, tons of barn swallows!

The barn swallows were all over the place. They were, like, dive bombin' ya! Very cool!!!

There were hundreds of little birdie voices in the woods. These are the ones I actually knew the names of. Not bad for a first time birder out of Hoboken, NJ., huh?

Well, Saturday was spent in one session after another. All day. We did some odd thing called the Council of All Beings, a series of re-Earthing rituals created by John Seed and Joanna Macy to help end the sense of alienation from the living Earth. Yeah, it was weird. But, then... I like that kind of stuff. You'll have to try it some time.

I was told that we could use the canoes that were available, so of course, (during a stolen break ---shh! ---) I took the girls out for a lazy paddle. The lake is not really big enough for anything else. But, we had fun. The girls learned all about who was in control. It was a hoot watching them as they tried to figure out why we were going in circles. I eventually let each of them get the back end of the boat where the power is.

Then, during another (stolen) break (shh!) I took them on another hike through the woods. (Yes, I know. But, again, it seemed like a good idea to give my bad foot a good workout. Go figure!) We came across some cages with coyotes in them. There was a sign that said Re-hab center, so I'm assuming it's some sort of reintroduction thing. It was really strange, though, to see cages in the middle of the woods.

Saturday evening all the UU's gathered for one last meal and then some entertainment. Really enjoyable. After the show, some of us got together for some last conversation and some wine. Lots of wine. Really lots of wine. Really, really lots! Surely too much.

I had a glorious time. Met some wonderful people. (Alice... you are a gem!) And had an adventure.

My daughter had a glorious time. Met some wonderful people. And had an adventure.

Life is good.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GxM6mAK60Y

Birds of a Feather (an embellished true story)

Once upon a time there was a poor little Lovebird. His name was Mickey and he was a very sad bird. You see, he was all alone. He had no one to share his joys or sorrows with. And, as days went by, all alone in his little cage, he just became sadder and sadder.

His People became very worried about poor Mickey as they watched him change from bright green and brilliant yellow to a faded memory of his former self. They decided to take Mickey to the veterinarian, hoping that something could be done to make Mickey happy again.

The vet took one look at Mickey and said, “Your Lovebird is very sick. He will have to stay in the hospital for a while. I’ll do all that I can, but it doesn’t look good.”

With heavy hearts Mickey’s People left him at the animal hospital and went home without him. Home was an empty place without Mickey’s bright colors.

At the hospital, Mickey remained in a sad state. He wouldn’t eat. He wouldn’t sing. He became weaker by the moment. Everyone at the hospital was losing hope. Even poor Mickey felt that his days were numbered.

Meanwhile, there was a Starling named Lucinda who made her home in the attic of a nearby store. She had built a nest to prepare for the day when she would have sweet baby birds. But, birds and their nests were not appreciated by the store owners and they decided to spray some smelly oil where the birds were nesting. “This will get rid of those pesky birds!” they thought.

Well, Lucinda had dreamed so long of little baby birds of her own that nothing could stand in her way. She stayed in the attic and was soon covered in the smelly oil. Now, when oil gets onto a birds’ feathers it is a really bad thing. They can’t fly and they can’t keep warm.

Lucinda knew that she had to admit defeat and leave the store attic, but now she could no longer fly and she was getting really cold. She cried, “What shall I do? I don’t want to die!” And she did something drastic…

…she made her way to a hole that led to the outside…

…held her breath…

…and jumped!

Poor Lucinda. She landed on the pavement outside of the store. She couldn’t move.

She started to shiver.

She cried.

And as she lay there, as pitiful as can be, all she could do was hope that help would come her way.

Luckily, there were some caring people passing by. They took one look at Lucinda and knew that she needed to get to a doctor soon or she would die.

Well, it just so happened that Lucinda the Starling ended up at the same hospital where Mickey the Lovebird was being looked after. Mickey gazed at Lucinda for many days and felt compassion for her. He worked hard to cheer Lucinda as the doctors tried to remove the oil from her feathers. He spoke softly to her every day and would slip next to her to try to warm her.

The doctors were amazed at the friendship that was growing between Mickey and Lucinda.

“Imagine that!” they thought, “a Lovebird and a Starling becoming friends!”

As they watched the friendship turn to love they noticed an amazing thing! Both Mickey and Lucinda seemed to be healing. The two sick birds comforted each other and blossomed once again. Mickey’s feathers regained their color and Lucinda dreamed again of baby birds.

When Mickey’s People came to get their now healthy bird, they saw how happy he was with Lucinda and decided that nothing in the world could break the bond between Mickey and Lucinda.

Mickey and Lucinda are now together and they have built a nest.

I don’t know what you call the children of a Lovebird and a Starling…but, I do know that they are loved.

Perhaps we can call them LoveStars.

So, you see, it’s not always birds of a feather who flock together. Sometimes different feathers are what we need. Especially if those feathers give us love.

A story for the hard of head and heart...

Once upon a time there was a church. It was no ordinary church. It was a very special church. You see, this church was a Unitarian Universalist church. What made this church special was that it was different than all of the “other” churches in the kingdom of Edmonia. Actually, that’s not all that made this church special but, we’ll get to that later.

Now, this church was called Channing. And it was known far and wide as the church of the “Open Mind and Open Heart,” which was a way different way of defining yourself. You see, all of the “other” churches in the kingdom of Edmonia agreed with the “Open Heart” bit of Channing’s definition, but they just couldn’t quite understand the “Open Mind" thing. They wondered what that meant… “Open Mind.” Did it mean opening your head to the glorious blessings of God? Did it mean being open to accepting Jesus as your personal savior? Or did it mean (gasp!) being open and accepting of all beliefs, and semi-beliefs and, non- beliefs and, well,… ALL.

That would be absurd…unheard of… a complete transgression of what is acceptable!!! (Transgression, here, means to go off the accepted, or normal, path. It’s kind of like a sin, which means wrong.)

Well, the “other” churches of Edmonia wondered about the church of Channing. They wondered if Channing was really a church and if Channing was abiding by the rules of worship. After all, didn’t worship mean devotion to their God?

Meanwhile, the church of Channing was slowly growing. Channing church kept to their policy of “Open Heart and Open Mind.” They continued to worship in their own way. And worship, here, means to glorify, magnify, revere, and respect, (P.S. remember the respect part ‘cause it’s important).

One day, at the Council of the Oklahomancia Countytatrifica meeting, which is the big gathering of churches of the kingdom of Edmonia, old Zell Miller, who was a hypocritical, self- proclaimed, false-righteous, God-fearing, republicanithropuss, spitball, Bushy-tailed, tongue-wagging, know-it-all, head-up-his-butt, sorry sort, commanding-word dude, and an elder of the “other” churches stood up and bellowed, “What is the meaning of this Channing? Why do they continue? We are not at all in agreement with their open mindedness. We don’t know what it means!!! If we let them exist, I am sure all manner of depravity will creep upon us like a parasitic mistletoe!!!”

(Okay, let’s pause here for explanation. Depravity: not good. Parasitic mistletoe: not good, though desired for kissing at Christmas.)

One by one, the “other” churches of Edmonia stood up in defiance of Channing. And the only thing they objected to was that Channing had an open mind policy. They just couldn’t understand how you could worship with an “Open Mind.”

Things really started to heat up at the Council of the Oklahomancia Countytatrifica .

And then there was one small, lone voice…
“I believe…
that all people are important.
I believe that all people are deserving of love and fairness.
I believe that we are no different from each other and that your search for meaning is just
as important as mine.
I believe in searching with a kind heart…knowing that my search may affect others.
I believe in individual people having their own opinions and beliefs and that listenening to each other is important.
I believe in working for a world community, beyond what we can see, so that we all may share this planet without hate or fear.
I believe that we should respect all life… yours and mine…whoever you are…wherever you may live in this wonderful world. We are family.

God is too big for one box."

Everyone attending the Council of the Oklahomancia Countytatrifica fell silent. The elders of the “other” churches felt something close to shame. How could they argue with this? They didn’t understand how Channing could call what they did worship, but what this quiet voice said was very close to worship in an odd sort of way. This quiet voice coming from the Channing delegation connected the world community in love. The “other” churches felt the presence of what they knew as God. They felt the spirit move them.

And, you know, it was really a strange thing. This meeting affected everyone present. Not only did the “other” churches start to question themselves, but even old Zell Miller, the hypocritical, self- proclaimed, false-righteous, God-fearing, republicanithropuss, spitball, Bushy-tailed, tongue-wagging, know-it-all, head-up-his-butt, sorry sort, commanding-word dude was affected by this lone Channing voice.

The result of the Council of the Oklahomancia Countytatrifica?

Well, that’s easy.

In the dictionary, worship is defined as: reverent love and devotion of a god, idol, or sacred object. (The dictionary doesn’t define a specific god, idol, or sacred object.)

The church of Channing, with one lone voice, had shown that there could be no greater worship than love of each other in all of our glorious diversity.

We, together, are sacred.

May we all, one day, truly love and respect each other with divine devotion.


~ Amen…Shalom…Namaste…and, Blessed Be ~