Got Scrabble?

Rising TIDE, an afterschool program housed at the Marguerite Keifer Educational Center in Covenant Presbyterian Church (607 E. Third Street), will host its annual Scrabble Scramble on Friday, September 17. Admission is $25 for three rounds of the game, and prizes will be awarded to the winning scores for an individual and a team. Doors open at 6 for pre-game refreshments (hot off the grill!) and viewing silent auction items.

Hippity Hoppity the Long Beach Way

Happy Easter, one and all!

This is something of a landmark date for me, because last year on Easter day was the last time I posted a blog in 2008. I’ve been a lot more productive this year, so here’s “hopping” that I can keep up the momentum and break through the barrier to complete the year.

I want to report that the 10:30 Easter service at Covenant Presbyterian Church was resplendent. After the procession of the flower cross, Dr. Robert Langworthy did a bang-up sermon—inspiring stories, heartfelt advice, and just the right amount of humor to spice things up. It was awe-inspiring to the crowd of diverse faces—young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic—reflecting the spirit so joyfully. The experience reminded me of why I love living in Long Beach.

We took 3rd Street to get to church, and in my opinion, if the Easter Parade gets reinstated next year, it should be held on 3rd Street in Alamitos Beach rather than 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. Why, you ask? Because of the Bunny! This big fella has been bearing witness to the glory and the whimsy that is Easter since I moved here in the early 80s. Not to be outdone, the hard-working firefighters at Fire Station #2 have dolled up Zeep the Sheep in bubble gum pink bunny ears. The photo I took was too out-of-focus to even attempt to doctor it up, but trust me on this, it was too too divine. Did I mention I love living in Long Beach?

Bikes A Go Go

What a weekend! It started with a spirited conversation at the Covenant Presbyterian Church book discussion group. This month we discussed Blood Brothers, Elias Chacour’s autobiographical account of growing up as a Melkite Christian in Palestine during the early years of Israel becoming a Jewish nation. The book is both a moving journey of a young boy as he develops a deep Christian faith and ultimately becomes an activist priest and a revealing look at injustices upheld by the Jewish military against Palestinian citizens and landholders. I came away with a new understanding of the complicated and longstanding disagreements that have erupted again in Israel.

After that, I headed over to Pine and Broadway, the epicenter of the first annual Long Beach Bike Festival. I had ridden my bike 5 miles and parked it for free at the BikeStation—how cool is that? Like many inaugural events, organization was a little rough around the edges. The venders were still setting up when I arrived at 12:45, and the announcers seemed a little unsure about what to say at times.

I stopped by the Bike Long Beach booth and studied the maps of the proposed bikeways on Broadway and Vista, part of the Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan which is explained in detail on its website. A representative said if the plans don’t hit any snags these bike friendly east-west corridors across the city should be operational within a year. I love the idea of cruising downtown without the constant worry that I’m going to be broadsided by a car door or mowed down by someone turning right without noticing a bike approaching.

Most people were there to see the bicycle races billed as the Bicycle Grand Prix, of which I know nothing. There were lots of guys and gals whizzing around in bright-colored spandex suits, and an interesting assortment of folks on old clunkers. The announcers pointed out that the course had been designed with lots of turns to add interest for the spectators and it was fun to watch the race fans sprinting down the Promenade to catch another glimpse of the leaders coming around the bend again and again and again. I stayed for the first race, and then decided to head down to the Long Beach Convention Center to get out of the sun.

Book Talk

Phew! I finished the book just in time for Covenant Presbyterian Church’s first book club meeting on Saturday, March 7. It’s called The Shack, a self-published book that’s sold millions via word of mouth and the internet. The plot is pretty creaky, but there are some lovely scenes of a reluctant Christian’s reconciliation with a loving and forgiving God. The promotion and marketing of the book seems just a tad manipulative, especially “The Missy Project,” where the publishers encourage readers to promote the book using the name of a fictional character who is the victim of a brutal rape and murder. The implication is that promoting the book will somehow help rape victims when in fact the only people who will benefit are the publishers.

Anyway, it’s been years since I’ve put in my two cents at a book discussion, so I’m stoked about sharing likes and dislikes.