Monthly Archives: May 2011

May 22, 2011 · 10:12 am

Where Did the Time Go?

I’ve been thinking about Time lately.

We have so many ways to talk about Time: “no time like the present,” “don’t waste time,” “time is of the essence,” “time is precious.”  You get the idea.

But what in the world is Time?  

For centuries, philosophers and scientists have asked that question. They still don’t agree on an answer.

Sir Isaac Newton considered Time to be part of the universe’s structure, kind of  like the film strip to an endless movie.  (He wouldn’t have thought of  “movie,” of course, but I find that a helpful way to understand his notion.)  Others say Time isn’t a thing, and it isn’t an event in and of  itself.

I like Newton’s idea, which allows for time travel (and I’m all for that). But I also like his idea because I have a hard time believing that events simply evaporate. I better like the idea that once a moment is over, that moment goes into  God’s Time Storage Unit.

And if we find that celestial storage unit, we can check out a moment and relive it. At the very least, we could look at it again.

Wait, look at a moment again? Maybe that makes our memories the Time Storage units that God has given to each of us.

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May 15, 2011 · 1:23 pm

The Duke, et al

John WayneOn the drive home from church today, my 11-year began singing the theme of a classic western. In a low rumble, from the backseat, she sang, “Chisum! Chisum!”

I continue to introduce my 11-year-old to classic TV and movies.  Our latest series has been Mission Impossible (a la Martin Landau, Peter Graves). The latest classic film star introduction was, at last, John Wayne. I show her these classics because, I say, they are so much in our lexicon. That week on NPR, a news reporter referred to Mission Impossible. At church this morning, the pastor mentioned John Wayne in a story. (He also mentioned Barney Fife, so I have to add The Andy Griffith Show to our list.) That is my excuse for indulging in old shows, or so I say. But I think there is more to it than that.

I am no longer anyone’s demographic. Not for music; not for film. But I never actually was in a demographic, when it comes down to it.  I find myself having a newfound relationship with the writer of Ecclesiastes. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun,” he says in Ecc. 1:9.  Regardless of the hype, press, and glossy movie stars, I am mostly bored by films in the last 10 years (especially). It’s all been done — and usually better.

Sure, the occasional good movie or good TV show grace our eyeballs, but mostly “Meaningless, all is meaningless.” At least  decades ago, they had fun while doing it. Next up, Elvis Presley.

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