-^-for posterity-^-

i'd like to thank all of the people who came to salford mennonite church last sunday night to hear my talk about vietnam.  we had quite a turnout and some interesting discussion. 

i was nervous at first.  how does one go about summing up two years of experiences in 45 minutes of talking, but ended up having a wonderful time talking.  i seem to understand so much more about my experience after i'm forced to digest it verbally.

yesterday i went up to new york city with my best friend.  we boarded the train and, after an hour and a half, found outselves in the middle of manhattan. 

we walked down the streets for hours experiencing sensory overload.  we walked and said little.  we watched people of all shapes, sizes and nationalities go about their business at varied paces.  it was quite an experience.

we sat in central park for a couple of hours just laying on the grass and watching the blue sky.  the buildings framed the park and the trees framed the field we were in.  people sat all about, a dutch couple to our right, a french couple behind us and two new york city men talking about graduate school next to an orange bike.  we sat in the shade made when the beams of light from the sun a few hundred thousand miles away collided with the broad leaves of a tall oak tree.  the shadow was serrated. 

after a day of walking and watching, it was time to head home.  we boarded the train once again and proceeded through the void that is northern new jersey only to arrive somewhere in the middle of the lima bean shaped state to fall asleep in beds that were soft and supple.