A long day

Looking back over the day I am struck by how long it feels in some respects. Nothing notable particularly. Just one thing after another. And, truth be known, I didn't actually finish anything that I can remember here at bedtime. The Ridge Runner is only begun, I still have a stack of envelopes which need notes written to put in them, I owe telephone calls to a host of people.

Fortunately for me today included at trip to Greenwood for a lunchtime meeting. And, this evening an hour with a lovely couple preparing to be married. Both times I arrived early (no real surprise there ...), and having a book with me in the car, I indulged in several quiet minutes, transported into another's thought patterns, choice of words, hopes and dreams.

The book? A Wing and A Prayer: A Message of Faith and Hope, by Katharine Jefferts Schori. I bought it because I thought I should. She's the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, elected just a year ago. I'm reading it because I've discovered it to be a compelling and trustworthy introduction, I think, to this woman -- who she is, how she carries and interprets the faith. Essay by essay, which I assume began as homilies and sermons during her episcopate in Nevada, I like her turn of phrase, her humor, her frankness.

For all that I didn't accomplish today, perhaps I did make some progress after all, making a refreshing discovery, moving beyond who and where I was when this 18th day of July began at 6:00 this morning. Now, for the duration of the book, I'm just going to have to arrive early everywhere I go.