Continental's Response

In defense of Continental, they responded today to my aforementioned e-mail. They were following protocol, are forwarding it to senior management, and have upgraded me to "Dr." :) .

"Dear Rev. Matson:

Thank you for contacting Continental Airlines."

"We appreciate your email, Dr. Matson, and hope you will include Continental Airlines in your future travel plans."

Hair Today.....

"Excuse me", he said, as he slid by me to get to the baggage claim. By all means.

Later that day, a milder version.

Immanuel - God With Us

Poop!

Hmmm?? They say you learn something new every day.....

Down with the Guvment and Can'tinental Airlines!

An expiration date does not an expiration date make.

I usually resist jumping on the bandwagon to rage against the machine but have to take my turn tonight. They tag teamed us and sent Antony packing. He was going to go witness the nuptials of his friend Brian in Honduras but they got all funny on us and rained on his parade. I was this close to having a John Q. moment there in terminal 6 of LAX airport.

Word to the wise - It seems that even if you have a passport that expires in June 2009 it doesn't mean you can just hop on a plane up until that point and travel with it. Some countries, or maybe it's Uncle Sam, have requirements like your expiration date cannot be more than six months out from your arrival date in another country. After you've reached the 15th of a month it's like that month doesn't figure into the equation - round down. Despite the guvments website statement that you can find there today, the info that Can'tinental abides by says 6 months. They won't bend. Supposedly they could be fined and/or the traveler could be stranded at any other point along the trip. They asked us to show them this info (below) which we couldn't 'cause we got it when we phoned a friend. They brought us into the inner sanctum and showed us their statement from immigration but wouldn't look this one up:

• "ENTRY/EXIT REQUIREMENTS: A U.S. passport valid for at least three months from the date of entry is required to enter Honduras." [Confirmed current with U.S. Dept. of State by phone on 12/17/08 1-877-487-2778]

Let's hope Billary cleans this up when she comes into power.

Additionally, their recommendation is to camp out in L.A., go to the American Embassy and ask for a rush job on a new passport that costs an arm & a leg. Then, they want to send you off two days later if the rush job thingy works for an additional $400. Where's the love?? The buyer was given no caveat emptor - a term I learned when I had to bring the weight of the BBB and the CA State Attorney General's Dept. of Consumer Affairs to bear on Ticketmaster when they reneged on an agreement.

Our night in a nutshell.


Continental Airlines could not be reached Wednesday for comment.... well I got cut off after waiting in line on hold for 5 minutes. We'll see if they answer their e-mail.

Merry Christmas!!

Having grown up in Wisconsin I was used to having a white Christmas more often than not. It's still hard for me to get in the mood with the absence of snow in So. Cal. There are the universal elements leading up to the 25th - carols, food, trees, lights, traffic jams - but it still seems like something's missing. I remember my first December here. The season seemed so contrived to me. The snow and the cold does add something to it all. I kind of miss all it has to offer. I remember:

Sledding, innertubing, skiing, skating, getting in trouble for errant snowballs, trudging through it to deliver newspapers before anyone was awake to shovel the sidewalks, shoveling, blowing it with a snowblower & trying to prevent your eyelashes from freezing together, losing control of your car, the car getting stuck in the snow, doing doughnuts in the mall parking lot, giving your enemies a facewash, making snow people, snowmobiles, & the Klondike Derby with the Boy Scouts.

I hope to get a dose of snow in Colorado when I go home.

Merry Christmas!!

Ellis Island

Part of my evening was spent picking up more items for our annual hygiene kit project. I visited friend and former neighbor, Sebastão at the 99¢ store he staffs. Later, I parked near two drugstores to do some comparison shopping and stopped in between at *bucks for a pit stop. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, Ellis sitting at a table alone. Life's been hard for Ellis and he recently lost a family member. We shared coffee and a Cranberry Bliss Bar. He preached to me - the Cotton Patch Version. I was happy to listen and get lost in his world for a moment forgetting about mine.

Ellis is a good egg. He rarely stays for the entire church service. You'll find him arriving late, crisscrossing the sanctuary obliviously right in front of the main speaker as he finds a seat. He is a survivor and is always restless. Philippians 4:11-12 is not a picture of Ellis. He has a hard time making his ends meet. That, and the love of Christ he finds at the church, keeps him coming back for more. He plays some kind of game hustling cell phones and pagers. He goes through them like dirty diapers. Though he tried to explain more of that to me tonight, I still don't get it. It keeps him busy and out of real trouble. It just makes it hard to get ahold of him as his phone number(s) change about once a week. That's our Ellis!

Random Thought of the Day: IMHO, the bassline in "It's My Life" (Talk Talk or No Doubt) is one of the best around.

In the Street Smarts Dept. - I was approached again tonight in a parking lot. My tendency in these cases is not to engage a stranger in conversation at night when alone. Call me new-fashioned. I get it often late at night near the church or in a parking lot when shopping. If someone does this and begins their petition or even before they begin it I'll utter a preemptive "Don't approach me!" If that's not enough, they won't be satisfied and I feel like it, when they say "why?" I'll just say something like, "It's too late at night." Yeah, I know "what would Jesus do?" I'm still asking myself that but also I am still here to tell you about it. All this keeps them guessing as to what surprise I might have for them if they do approach me. I guess I may be cold in this regard but for all I know they may be out to do me harm or in the case of a female approaching me, far-fetched as it may be, it could be an undercover police officer out for a night of entrapment.

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

A local CBS news crew is here using the Church's food distribution as a backdrop for the national network CBS Evening News. May air tonight. Shout out to Katie Couric!

Lucky

There you have it. The fortune cookie gods know something I don't and I have until 11:59 PST to figure out what it is.

"They Call Me Mellow Yellow"

O.K., this one's a little graphic but it's where I live. Sorry.

I just had someone come up the steps of the church toward my office. There's the tell-tale sounds. You hear them come up to the stoop, expect a knock, or a ring of the doorbell (before it was stolen) but nothing. It can only mean a few things. They've dragged their kill over here from the taco shop across the street and are feasting on it, they are thinking they're going to bed down in front of the door (i.e. - from a facility coordinator's position - fire escape) for the night or they are thinking what better place could there be to commit an act of public urination.

Then there's the other tell-tale sound I need not describe to you. I threw open the door and there SHE was stooped on my stoop, a young "lady".

stoop ² (stp)

n. Chiefly Northeastern U.S.

A small porch, platform, or staircase leading to the entrance of a house or building.

---

stoop ¹ (stp)

v. stooped, stoop·ing, stoops

v.intr.

1. To bend forward and down from the waist or the middle of the back: had to stoop in order to fit into the cave.

4.

a. To lower or debase oneself.

v.tr.

1. To bend (the head or body) forward and down.

2. To debase; humble.

n.

1. The act of stooping.

3. An act of self-abasement or condescension.

She's not the first and unfortunately won't be the last. We've had our share and more. There was the "Urinator". His work was found most mornings in a stairwell or in the alley. Becker and I stayed up all night to catch him red-handed because he would deny having done it every time.

We're a popular spot for those going through the drive thru across the street to come and find relief. Behind the dumpsters is another popular spot. I get really upset when they do it during business hours and our restrooms are open at the time.

The excuse is usually the same - "I'm really sorry, I couldn't find anywhere else to go." Usually I lay into them, coming on strong in the beginning and then lighten up. I did that with one guy. I ranted, he apologized, I started to make a friendly gesture and offered my hand to shake hands but then pulled back remembering what he had just done. This time tonight I was speechless. Instead of biting her head off, I bit my tongue. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

F/A-18 Down!

FYI-Well I just got a text from BFF, Steve, in Indiana - "How close was the plane wreck to you?" Fortunately, not too close - 10 miles. I'm not an ambulance chaser but had to be in the area so we checked it out. We took an alternate route, I-15, to the Feeding America/Food Bank and then took the 805 back to see if we could see anything - you can barely make out the rising smoke. It had subsided quite a bit at that point. The exit to that neighborhood from the freeway is shut down and rightly so. They don't need people like us over there right now.

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

Today we remember those who were injured or lost their lives during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

U.S.
2,345 military and 57 civilians killed, 1,247 military and 35 civilians wounded.

Japan
55 airmen, 9 submariners killed and 1 captured.

My brother, Lyndon, and I were able to visit the memorial on our trip to Hawaii, courtesy of 24 Hour Fitness.

Entertaining Angels

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 NIV

Hats off to Angel! Though he completed his community service with us long ago, he continues to come by and help out often. Many people tell me after they do their duty they'll return and volunteer. The truth is, it seldom happens. Without much fanfare at all, Angel returns time after time and always with a smile to serve the Lord and his community. Thanks!

SERENITY NOW!!!

Now I lay me down to sleep….

Well today (Wednesday) was a day off. I won’t go so far as to say a good day off, but a day off. Parts of it were good. I estimate it was split up the middle; 50% work, 50% off. In that time off, I found some time to read and to commune with the Creator and the created. The all-encompassing aspect of the work, though, crept in via the mobile phone. It was turned off for a time. I know, "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." “We have been trying to get you to do that.” “Why did you even bring it along?” I heard you today. Thank you.

Lately, the job is driving me to drink and because on principle, I don’t do that, (occupational hazard and all) I’ll find another outlet for my angst. I don’t drink, but I know those days when I would, if I did. Today will find me at some point at the driving range, shooting range, Sarah’s Smash Shack, or all of the above. Please flatter me and tell me you have days like that too. I have an old cell phone that might be martyred in the process. Why not bid good riddance to some golf clubs as I wrap them around a tree? Please don’t try and stop me. In the end, I will be a better person/parson for it.

Have a good day,

My thoughts and prayers are with a family member who’s in surgery today…..

Can You Hear Me Now Mr. Edison

I think Google is onto something here:

You have to check this out! I'm looking for the best type of internet service. You've got Cable, DSL, & BPL. Google has a new type that they are BETA testing - TiSP. If anyone has experience with this please let me know. Personally, I think it's ground-breaking and will revolutionize the way we communicate. Seeing this I can't help but think we've come a long ways since the tin can telephone.