god mend thine every flaw.....

ok, so.....despite carryover exhaustion from a 12+ hour drive from the middle of kansas and a full day's work......i dragged myself out the door to attend the summer singers concert.....mostly because our friend sarah was singing, but also because i love the sound of a large well-directed choir.....the selections were part of a tribute to america.....given the size of the ensemble i'd have preferred the chorale portion of beethoven's 9th......a lusty interpretation of germanic joy could would have erased many of my frustrations....but instead we were treated to spirituals, folk songs, stephen foster selections, a medley of fiddler on the roof tunes, and patriotic standby's......i was struck by the lyrics to america the beautiful....having just passed by amber waves of grain on my way home.....and witnessed first-hand the many flaws that need healing.....lonely conservative men who dine in plains state kfc's who see things so very differently from me......the conversation comes back to be every couple of hours....i suppose because i dwell on things i should have said that were wittier/bolder/wiser than my actual retorts....i am hopeful that should america (the beautiful) even be under real threat we could put aside our differences long enough to steady ourselves on what we share.....it may take me awhile to recall just what those things are.......i will get back to you....