Sunday Sojourn

I am back in Scottsdale after a hectic weekend of over 800 miles of driving and then some….  Tomorrow awaits—the Arizona Conference Minster’s Meeting at the conference office is slated to begin in the morning and last for a couple of days.  I will be sharing what I consider a watershed presentation for Adventist Education in the Arizona Conference.  The pastors gathered in session are pivotal in moving in the direction I believe we need to travel in order to shift out of survival mode.  I will report more on that tomorrow.  Suffice it to say that a failure to secure the pastors’ corporate commitment will certainly create a major detour in the strategic plan that is developing.  More to follow.

I traveled back today from Riverside, California—the midway point of my sojourn to the California Central Valley, with my mother in the mid-morning.  I was determined to return to Scottsdale at a decent hour in order to get some homework done before calling it a day.  The plan was to leave no later than 9:00 a.m.  This was not to be.  The reasons best be left alone.

One begun, the trip was uneventful for the most part.  I did surprise my mother by picking up a hitchhiker at the Chiriaco Summt exit after I had fueled the Prius sufficiently to get me to cheaper gasoline in Arizona.  The words, “Are you crazy” did not get out of her mouth fast enough to prevent my stopping the car and inviting Jerry (his name) to get in the back. 

Jerry, a gentleman who appeared to be in his mid-60’s, traveled with us until I dropped him off at the Vicksburg exit Valero Gas Station where he had told me earlier in the trip he was headed to do some laundry.  He did not stay awake very long but I was able to engage him in some conversation.  He is a native of New Hampshire and presently living in Santa Barbara while he tries to get back on his feet.  He seemed jovial enough in spite of his present state.  He smiled often through a full set of upper teeth lazily falling between the book-end set on the bottom.  He spoke of his desire to return to college and someday teach at a college someplace.  I commended him for having aspirations for the future.  He had never been married and had no children or living relatives—a fact I found very sad when I thought of my family.  He said his last living relative had recently passed away.  Soon after that Jerry closed his eyes and fell asleep until we stopped for more fuel on Exit 5 in Arizona.

I am learning that I am not much of a conversationalist unless I feel it is necessary to speak and even then it does not come easily.  I can travel for miles in silence without noticing.  Penny certainly notices when she travels with me—and she does not like it.  My mother finds a way to break the silence.  I guess I like the silence—it makes me wonder why I had grown so accustomed to noise. 

I might have even made a good monk in another time and place.  For now, however, I am expected to present my strategic plan for education tomorrow.  I better get back to work.