vacation and time column

Lately I take vacation time somewhere warm in January or February. First, it is a pleasure to escape the cold for a bit. Vacations give me the sense of freedom from a rut. The sheer diversion can be a powerful restorative. At the same time, vacation time gives perspective on changes within and without.

This year it was a cruise from New Orleans. I had never visited there and had always wanted to. I did the usual beignets at Café du Monde and tried some gumbo, but the gumbo in Stagger Inn Again in Edwardsville is better. Bourbon Street was in fine ribald form. Its aftereffects are obvious, as large numbers of homeless sleep on porches and panhandling seems to be a desperate sign on most streets in the French Quarter. For me the city Park was a wonder in size and beauty, including its outdoor sculpture garden and fine art museum.

We then travelled to Mayan Country of Mexico, Belize, and Roatan, Honduras. I have travelled very little outside our country, so stark contrasts emerged, along with the familiar guilt of a traveler. Spectacular beaches collide with the specter of poverty, rural or urban. I saw the terrible effect of British colonialism in Belize, where only recently have Mennonite farmers brought sustainable food to the country. A lush country had previously imported much of its food. Travelling in a deep-hulled boat, we were able to see the rich abundant life on the coral reef.

Every since I was little, I had wanted to see Mayan temples. I received a better sense of where religion often shares a symbol and where different traditions depart. It is easy to forget that the Old Testament is rooted in more primitive culture as well as technology. I was intrigued that the ceiba tree, a tree of life, is the base of the ordering of gods in their system. It has a sense of being a figure of the heavenly realm and the underworld as well. They had a solar calendar, but a single year existed within a long series of cycles that pulse in thousands of years.

While we were gone, the president gave his final state of the union message. We have moved a long way from the impending economic disaster when he was inaugurated. The business model approach to government is poisoning the water supply of Flint Michigan to third world levels. Just as Americans belittle the residents of poor countries, it seems that the officials of Michigan belittled the residents who were coping with dangerously polluted water. The flood waters receded in our area- but help continues to be needed for rebuilding in badly affected areas. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance team was one of many assessing needs and providing advice and services. We had a number of St Louis Cardinal fans on board, and all seemed resigned to the Rams leaving the city.

While we were in Belize, an American tourist was murdered. Back here in Alton an 11 year old was shot down. The day I returned we had a Martin Luther King Day rally. The sound of old civil rights anthems, prayers for peace and some chants echoed in the church. I heard precious little about violence. 50 years after the great civil rights revolution in law, we continue to see our fellow citizens locked in poverty, seemingly trapped in a system and a culture that provides nothing but obstacles toward advancement.

It is good to return home. That may be why it always seems to get back home than it does to reach a destination. Augustine long ago told us that our hearts are restless until they find rest and security in the true home of the soul, God. From God, no vacation is needed.