Lindsay graduates from UDub Tacoma

There is something about graduations that is so very special. They are a rite of passage a symbol of great accomplishment. Last Friday, June 11 our daughter graduated from the University of Washinton Tacoma with her BASW in Social Work.  It really is a great accomplishment and we are so proud of her. It took us almost 2 hours to the Tacoma Dome -- a drive that would normally take about 20 minutes. While we were not able to see her process, we did hear most of the speeches and saw her get her diploma. It really was awesome. We now have a Coug and and Dawg in our family so we are quite the PC Washington family. Go Lindsay! We love you.

Mariners? My oh My

I love the Mariners. I go so far to call them my Mariners. I've been a baseball fan since the early 1960's and an M's fan since moving to the PNW in August 1997. It seems like for the past 9 years or so, the talk in this town is the same. This is a rebuilding year. And each year, toward the middle to the end of the season, we continue to be disappointed with the result.

After losing the last three of four games to Texas by a combined score of 33-10, while my head tells me we are still rebuilding, my gut tells says, "Oh no. Here we go again." I'm going to say it. The 2010 season is over -- as far as competing in any kind of serious way.  We can't hit -- for average or power -- and we can't pitch -- glaring weakness in starting pitching, the bull pen relievers and even our closer is questionable. At the 1/3 point in the 2010 campaign, I don't think it's going to change.

Until we add some guys who can hit and hit with some serious power, we'll never be serious contenders. I've heard all the arguments. "Safeco isn't a park for hitting home runs." Or, "Seattle is a pitchers park." Whatever. I'm sick of it. First of all, it seems to me, other teams when they visit don't seem to have all that much trouble driving the ball yard. And second, we play half of our games in someone else's park. So, why not plan on going long there???!!!??? Even if the ball doesn't travel as far in SoDo, a long fly-ball out might still advance a runner -- even score someone from third base. Or, maybe, just maybe that hard hit liner will hit the gap and go to the wall, pushing guys around the bases. So, I don't want to hear it anymore. Get some sticks!!!!!

Many times over the past couple of seasons -- especially last year and this one, sometimes our guys have been in the game until the later innings, but we haven't been able to score runs to hold the lead. If the hitting would improve, we might start scoring more than 1 to 3 runs a game and, we might discover our pitchers improve too. And not necessarily because they do anything differently. It's got to be disheartening for the guys who toe the rubber to go 7 or 8 innings only to lose by a run or two BECAUSE WE CAN'T HIT AND WE DON'T SCORE RUNS!!!!!!!

There I said it. And having said it, I'd like to think it's out of my system. And it is....at least for now. I still love my Mariners very much. I still wish them the best. I'll be a Mariners fan until the day I die. Truth be told, in baseball, I really am the ultimate optimist. If this season goes as I am concerned it will. Well, we've been there before, and, as they say, "There is always next year!" Go M's!

Farewell Junior

Wow! I just learned Junior has retired after 22 glorious seasons. He has done so much for the Mariners -- what am I saying -- for baseball. My son Geoff and I saw Junior last season during the Yankee's visit to Seattle in September. We saw him hit his 627th home run and drive in 4 runs that day. It was awesome to see him and know that without him, Seattle probably wouldn't have a major league baseball team. I wish he would have stayed around a few days, even if just for his fellow Mariners. He means so much to the clubhouse. He will be missed.

Online Sermon

This sermon in based on I Peter 2 and is called The Living Stone and A Chosen People. To listen to the sermon, click on the words "Online Sermon" above.

Online Sermon

This sermon is based on the text found in Psalm 51 and is called Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.To listen to the sermon, click on the words "Online Sermon" above.

Welcome to Mark's Musings

For a long time now, I have wanted to have a blog. In recent years, I’ve read some very creative ones, written by friends who have an obvious talent for putting their thoughts into words. As a pastor, I’d like to think this may be one of my gifts in the sermons that I preach and classes that I teach. But, writing a blog, without any particular focus, that’s a whole new mountain to climb. It’s kind of like the Jerry Seinfeld show. When asked, “What is it about?” the answer was, “Nothing.” Seinfeld was about nothing and yet, we all loved it.

Actually, for a short time a few years ago, I had a blog. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I had the good fortune to spend almost 5-months serving with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For a time, I blogged my experiences in the days following that horrific event. But, unlike Seinfeld, that was about nothing, that blog was about something. It was about the terrible destruction of land and property, about dashed hopes and shattered dreams. But it was also about the unquenchable spirit of the people who, having lost everything, never gave up. It was about the graciousness and hospitality of the people who called Mississippi home. It was about volunteers coming from around the country to try and make a difference in the broken landscape, awash in the Mississippi mud along the Gulf Coast of, appropriately, “the hospitality state.” To be honest, it was pretty easy to blog about that event. I just took pictures, listened to the stories of the brave survivors and wrote it down.

I hope these musings may be of interest to some, even though for the most part, they may be about very little. This may just be an exercise whereby I develop new writing skills and put into words some life experiences, combined with thoughts on events, books, music, recipes, restaurants and hotels ideas that can be shared with others. For the most part, the backdrop will the life in the Pacific Northwest; a place I love and a place we call home. We’ll see. As always, your thoughts and comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Grace and peace.

Seattle Get-Away Weekend

Charlotte and I took off on Saturday morning, May 22, for an overnighter to Seattle. Sometimes you just “gotta’ get outta’ Dodge.” We headed for our favorite hotel in Seattle for a little R&R and to celebrate by birthday (it’s not until the 29th, but why not go the week before?). We enjoyed walking down Pine Street to the Pike Place Public Market, checked out the fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables and watched the fish mongers do their thing. On our way to dinner we made a stop at the Pike Pub and Brewery for a pint and more relaxed conversation. Charlotte tried their Scottish Ale called, Kilt Lifter. It was excellent. I had the Pike Tandem, a Belgian Ale, dark chocolate in color. It too was quite good. I think we both liked the the Kilt Lifter the best. Then it was off to the Crab Pot on the Alaskan Highway for a unique dining experience. While they have many things on their menu, their specialty is what they call “Sea Fest” (pictured above). While noshing on sourdough bread and butter, they cover your table with butcher paper and bring a bib, a small plank of wood, and a mallet for each person. There are four (4) different “Sea Fests” offered on the menu and depending on which one you order, they boil clams, mussels, oysters, crab and shrimp (yes, with their heads and legs), potatoes and corn on the cob, in special sea-food spices, then literally dump it all on your table. We had the “Clambake” and it included skewered salmon and halibut. The food was AWESOME, a veritable feast, great fun and a time well spent with my Beloved. 

After a wonderful afternoon in Seattle and a great dinner, it was back to the hotel for champagne, chocolate, a Mariners game on TV, a good book and relaxing time away from everything. Little escapes, like this, really are good for the soul.

Grace and peace