Everybody

Today's walk was calm and quiet.  The neighborhood where we walked was full of large old Victorian-era homes and neat, small brick and stone homes.  At one corner, we saw three or four homes that  had been t.p.'d.  We walked past Holy Family Catholic Church and Adas Israel Jewish Synagogue.  We stopped and prayed here for an end to violence and hostility, especially among the warring children of Abraham.  In this peaceful place where such diverse religious traditions can quietly go about being neighbors, I simply cannot comprehend why there has to be such fear and division over labels like Christian, Muslim, Jew, Pagan, Buddhist, and Mormon. 

We talked and reflected on our walks.  What has been happening for us as we have prayed these streets?  We wish people in general could be kinder, gentler and less angry all the time.  We talked about how published and spoken words in Mason City often carry tones of anger and blame.  We prayed to become kinder, gentler and more merciful persons ourselves. 

TP and geraniums

Visitors in the night

Pretty shingle work and "gingerbread house" details

As I have walked over this past year, I have felt one thing universally: love.  I love the streets of this town.  I want love for the people behind the doors and houses.  I feel a nagging pull of tragedy behind every story of violence or mischief that is reported in the news or via the grapevine.  Mason City is the kind of place where a man with dementia can walk lost downtown and the bank employees, shop owners, and passersby know his name and can help him find his way to the church or home.  That is the story I pray we start to tell ourselves, a story of simplicity, kindness and neighborly care.  That is the truth I have seen in walking River City.

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