Brian’s Reflection: Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Cows are my passion. What I have ever sighed for has been to retreat to
a Swiss farm, and live entirely surrounded by cows - and china.

Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing
of friendship; and pass the rosy wine.

- Charles Dickens, born on this date, 1870


Do you think it is possible to resurrect Dickens, so that he could be my mentor, my tutor?? Do the rest of you know that we have Happy Cows in California?? We have terrifically Happy Cows! They are on TV every day! Though, as the T-shirt says (and I have one), “Happy Cows, Angry homos”. Yeah, well. I am able to grasp the fact that there is a certain irony in – of all places – California not letting Gayfolk marry. My hope is that, as my Christian ministry, I can talk the CA Happy Cows into changing places with the CA Angry Homos. California will I think be a lot better state with a bunch of Happy Homos (male and female, of course, lest any should think that I am politically incorrect). I suggest that we Californians take to carrying apples or bunches of grass with us when we travel; it will help to calm down those poor Angry Cows.

For a little bit, I did live in a Swiss chalet surrounded by cows – and they were lovely. I know why Dickens had a passion for them. Mine had lovely bells, and they would wake me up in the morning as they swung their heads wrapping their tongues around luscious grass. I am told by Dennis, who was raised on a farm in Wisconsin, that cows can be nasty – but I never saw that in Switzerland. They would all turn to face me in the morning sun as I brought my coffee onto the verandah (“gallery”, we used to call it in Verdun where I was born) – those lovely soft eyes granting a kind of charming condescension to the human disturbing their morning meditation.

The World is very much a place of “sinking flame of hilarity” these days. Daily horror really. What a sad time the human community is in! I rather think it is going to last for a long time. Meanwhile, I am counting on the “wing of friendship” and the “rosy wine”. And on/in the very best “God” we can imagine. The Bible is full of contradictory pictures of “God”. But in my Christian journey I have caught a glimpse of the real God – for which I thank Jesus.

So, this somewhat Angry Homo has found a certain helpful metaphor in California’s Happy Cows. They call me to seek Peace – and Dennis and I are working at surrounding ourselves with the prerequisite china, Limoges of course, or at least the best of 19th C German.

Pass the rosy wine.

Brian+