Grace works, and, apparently, arrives in mysterious ways. This evening email arrived with an attached .mp3. It was from Kate Wallace, a very talented singer we’d known as a fellow congregant at All Saints Church in Pasadena.
One of the most memorable moments in my church life was a service at All Saints during which Kate sang Paul Simon’s American Tune on a hot summer Sunday: it was achingly beautiful.
Mutual friend Mary Bartlett had relayed my admiration and Kate, after first offering to drive up and play for us in person, made a recording in her living room and emailed it to us.
As Kate’s beautiful voice sang the lyric
And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
a small dam somewhere inside broke and I began to cry. The good kind of crying…Thank you, Kate…
I have long loved that song. Paul Simon was a prominent feature of my growing up. American Tune is one of the few of his songs that I have actually committed to memory. Here’s to profound music, singers who bring it beautifully to life, and the grace that bursts small dams…..
Dear Chris,
I have never met you, but I discovered Gulker.com 3-4 years ago while searching for ideas on going paperless; I’ve been hooked ever since. Your musings and observations overlap with my interests in Apple products, home gardens, the French countryside, debates of the spiritual and even some journalism dating to law school. I also admit I tried to locate Dr. Saxtrum when my fiancee and I visited New Orleans this past April. When I discovered your blog, I was a distracted grad student from So Cal. Now I am just starting a career and a family, but I take immense pleasure from your writings on life, career and even everyday encounters in Menlo Park. Someday a house in Orange County will have a running paperless office and some form of a “dot.com” garden at least in partial emulation of ideas found on your blog. God bless you and your wife, family and friends. Cheers to plenty of the “good stuff” in the months to come.
Sincerely,
Jared Ackley
Jared-
Very kind words… thank you. I am grateful to have lived to see the rise of a global network, and to discover that there are complete strangers all over the planet who are capable of such kindness.
– Chris