My Wandering Mind

Wandering mind.

Those of you that personnally know me, are aware that my mind can link a number of topics in almost rapid sucession.

Sometimes useful, sometimes not.

Today, being Friday and in Khartoum, it is not a work day, according to Sharia Law.

Time must be spent in prayer and I believe, with family.

Are you old enough to remember the "Blue Laws" in Pennsylvania?

Blue laws" were state laws which prohibited non-essential or certain forms of commerce on Sundays, in order to create an uniform day of rest for the community. They had their origins in the colonial period, and were named for the color of the paper on which they were originally printed.

In 1959, Pennsylvania passed just such a blue law, requiring shops and other businesses to remain closed on Sundays.

Since I do remember living in Pennsylvania when blue laws were in effect, a little history about the case is relevant, as I do not work today, Friday, due to residing in a predomanently Muslim city.

The Case

The appellant, Abraham Braunfeld, owned and operated a clothing and home furnishing store in Philadelphia.

He was also an Orthodox Jew; his religion required him to observe the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, by engaging in no work and closing his shop. Because of the revenue lost on Friday evening and all day Saturday, Braunfeld relied on being open on Sundays.

Braunfeld asserted that if he was required to also close his shop on Sundays, in accordance with the Pennsylvania blue law, he would necessarily suffer economic hardship, and would not be able to continue in his business.

The appellant asserted that this interfered with his First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.

The case was dismissed at the state level and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The appellant in this case, as well as the appellants in Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc., v. McGinley argued that the Pennsylvania statute was an attempt to establish a religion, since the blue laws emerged from the Christian practice of refraining from work on Sunday

In 1961, the Supreme Court upheld that "Blue Laws", which force the closing of stores on Sundays, did not interfere with the free exercise of religion.

The Chief Lawyer for the Appellee, Philadelphia Police Department, was David Berger. The Justices for the Court were Hugo Lafayette Black, Tom C. Clark, Felix Frankfurter, John Marshall Harlan II, Charles Evans Whittaker, Earl Warren (writing for the Court). The Justices Dissenting were William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Potter Stewart Place Washington, D.C. The decision upheld Pennsylvania's blue laws, deciding that they did not violate individual freedom of religion.

The significance was that The Court had to consider whether a law which establishes a valid secular goal, but which results in indirect burdens for people of a particular religion, violates First Amendment rights to the freedom of religion.

The Court decided that laws which do not prohibit the practice of a religion, even if they present related difficulties, cannot be considered unconstitutional.

So here I sit, in the outer courtyard watching everyone make their way to the mosque, with or without a prayer mat.

And lots of others sit too. It is not likely to be repealed, as the Blue Laws were.

Enough history.

Relevance

Then I thought, if this is meant as time for God and family, is it not possible to show devotion without the law?

Growing up in NY state, we did not have blue laws. I remember Sunday as the day we went to church, sang in the choir, hung out at church, stopped at the bakery for crumb buns, went home, played, completed homework, etc. No laws.

I had lots of Jewish friends who went to synague on Saturdays.

But, to tell you the truth, I cannot remember if any store was open, other than the corner grocery store, the delicatessan or the bakery.

I do remember not shopping. I never gave much thought to commerce.

So, since it was Friday and I had time on my hands, I thought that I would do something very "pious".

Peity

Webster's defines piety as Having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity.

Since I could not venture into a mosque, I would show my reverence for God by sitting in the sun for about and hour and a half, the time it takes to walk to and from the mosque and to pray.

While sitting, I would pray and meditate.

What I realized, after about twenty minutes, was that I could not imagine walking around in this heat completely covered.

Who was I to complain, when these women were walking about, suffering heat stroke, as homage to God?

I was in the shade with a cold water bottle by my side.

But then, a disruption.

Blessed are the poor

A woman had come up behind me, outside the fench, askng for food. I have seen this woman alot.

So I am ashamed to say, that at first I ignored her.

She did not budge.

I gave her my water bottle. I am so wonderful.

Then, she threw the top on the ground, and I actually thought:

You just littered.

As she walked away and finished drinking, she threw the bottle to the ground.

What was she thinking?

What was she thinkg, what was I thinking?

I was using my recyling brain in a society where recyling is not an issue. Starvation is.

Sami, next door, laughs about my food and cooking restrictions.

No salt, no sugar, no meat, no poulty, no frying, no soda.

He said, people in Sudan eat what is available.

I am such a foreigner.

I have the luxury of deciding what I eat, what I drink, even here.

My brain is not wandering right now.

It is stuck on the fact that I have so much to learn and so much to be thankful for.

God is and has been very good to me.

Peace, Shalom, Salome

The Waiting Game

I must be channeling Forest Whitacker. I thought that he had starred in the movie, The Waiting Game.

So, I Googled him on Wikipedia and voila.

He starred in The Crying Game and directed Waiting to Exhale.

Doesn't matter.

Yesterday and today, I am starring in The Waiting Game.

I am the star, the producer but, not the director.

There are lots of directors, and I am kept waiting to say my lines.

Yesterday, I relearned the lesson of Sudan.

If you have an appointment for 10 AM, it really means 1 PM.

The water pump on/off switch was not working properly. So a phone call to landlord.

Landlord as Director #1.

The landlord is a policeman, whose wife owns the property, but here you never speak to the wife for business.

He had made an appointment with an electrician to meet him at 10 AM. The landlord arrived, speaking only Arabic and conversed with Sami.

No electrician. New appointment 1 PM. I asked to make sure that did not mean 3 PM.

I had to stay and monitor putting Rascal in the house, since she is very "nervous" acting and keeps running at people barking and snarling.

So no work. Just waiting.

Finally, the electrician arrives.

Director #2, He has me running to turn faucets on and off once he gets the pump running., After about an hour, the problem is fixed.

Two hours later, the pump dies.

Luckily, I now have extra water stored so that I can run the AC. Who cares about cooking.

Today, I wait for Sami to wake up. I need to get his electrician friend to look at the pump.

Director #3.

He hates the dog, so Rascal has eaten more cookies thrown into the house as bait, than he would normally get in a week.

Pump needs to be replaced. No problem, right.

Today is Friday.

All businesses must be closed by 12:30 PM or they face a fine if they are open during mid-day prayers.

Director #4.

Tito's grandmother died on Tuesday. He wants me to come to the prayer service being held at 3PM. But, I have no idea how to get there.

So, I am waiting for Rahela to call to see if she is going. That way we could meet up and travel together.

Another wait.

I feel like a teenager without a license to drive. I now remember what it was like having to wait on someone else for a ride or directions etc.

Yuck.

Waiting I can handle. Being a teenager?

Comcast in Sudan

Good Morning Everyone

I am unable to access email through my comcast.net website. It says that it is under construction.

Judi

Dateline Khartoum - May 28, 2008

I just had to check my mobile phone to know what the date is.

It is a very wierd feeling to be working and in a pattern of life, but to be unaware of the date.

A couple of new experiences since Monday.

I traveled to North Khartoum, which is really quite lovely and older, with Villas as homes and wide streets with trees. So different from the section of town that I live in. I had dinner with the Watson's who were gracious to invite me.

They are in the process of clearing out the freezer. Liz and the boys are leaving for a two month holiday in Kenya. Rob will follow in a month. He first travels to Darfur and then to Juba.

Beautiful home with gardens and grass and a tree house. We ate dinner on the veranda shaded by the trees.

Heading to their home, I saw the White Nile for the first time, as well as the agriculture fields along the banks that will be flooded in a little while.

On the way home, I crossed over the Blue Nile and saw a brief glimpse of the convergance of the two. Really beautfiul.

Of course, what trip home would not be complete without a flat tire on one of the bridges. So, as Rob changed the tire, I directed traffic 20 feet back.

Holding up a white bag, I was asking drivers to alternate merging into one lane. These crazy people actually paid attention to me.

Me, a White American Woman in PANTS, with no head covering telling them what to do. They kept yelling, Good Evening, Good Job, Hello, Salom, etc.

Needless to say, I had a better time than Rob.

On Friday, Tito plans to take me site seeing. I will see the Mahdji's Tomb, Gordon's Palace and anything else I want.

At four, I am to join Rob for a party on an island in the Nile. Each Friday, which is a non-working day in Khartoum, people congregate on this island to picnic, etc. Then they swim in the Nile.

No big deal, right ?

Well, they swim in their clothes. No bathing suits allowed in northern Sudan.

I have found the beach I want to go to. Clothes not bathing suits.

So, I will wade in, then dry off (probably in 30 seconds) and then wade in again.

I will be taking lots of pictures and posting them soon.

And I have learned a new phrase, which I use everyday.

Mahay Ish Wah Mahay Moyya. Spelling ,of course, is phonetic.

One Bread and One Water.

The bread is for the do and the water for me.

I have been saying, when going to work in the rickshaw, Mahey wah lizzeeze.

Loosely translated it means One and Delicious, the famous restaurant here in this part of town.

It also means that you can go to the supermarket of your choice and order a bag of bread and a bottle of water in Arabic.

Mange, Mange.

Ozone

I have actually sat in the Ozone, without leaving the planet.

These pictures are from a very popular restaurant, within a traffic circle, which makes it either easier to get a lift or to be nearly run over.

I have had both experiences.

The traffic circle was formerly known as the Coca-Cola circle, due in large, very large, part to the very large Coca-Cola can.

I learned yesterday, from tne South African Manager, Matthew, that the corporation which has the Coca-Cola franchise for Sudan, owns/rents the circle that now houses the restaurant.

Yesterday, I began my morning there with a banana waffle and coffee.

I ended my day there, after church, with a cold drink.

Met lots of people there that are long-time friends of the Watsons. All of them are in the teaching/evangelising of Jesus profession.

Yikes.

Ozone is a heavenly place that provides a person with the coolest outside establishment in Khartoum. Lots of spraying mist that cools the body down.

Last night, I learned that certain parts of Khartoum did experience heavy downpours of rain the prior evening and even loss of electricity in Khartoum North. (Speaking of loss of electricity, mine just went out at 8:15 AM.)

There are hundreds of ex-pats that come to eat, chat, read, write, etc. Though, I have never seen a laptop.

And the languages are from all over the globe.

Enjoy.

Memorial Day in Khartoum

I have never been outside of the United States for a Memorial Day Weekend.

Truth be told, I had to ask my daughter if this was Memorial Day Weekend.

There are, of course, no reminders about this important weekend in America.

I have successfully adapted to Khartoum time.

Or, unsuccessfully.

The BBC covered the story using the background of the white crosses at Arlington National Cemetery.

Comcast News showed a picture of an honor guard firing their salute, commenting about how busy these national cemeteries are at this time of the Iraq war.

There are no plans for a Memorial Day Parade by ex-pats here in Khartoum.

There will be no prayer services at any cemetery for those killed in harms way.

Instead, I worked Saturday and will work on Monday.

Today, Sunday, I will attend church at 6 PM.

Thankfully, there are no malls and no Memorial Day Weekend Sales. Events that have removed from American's conciousness the reason for the day off.

The reason for the remembering becomes much clearer if you are removed from America's distractions.

So, I ask a favor of you that are at home.

Take a few minutes today and tomorrow. Watch a prayer service in person or on TV.

Be silent for a few minutes and thank those that have given their lives and ask God to bless their families and friends.

Danny Schweers Faithful Friend

I have added a link to Danny's website.

Danny is a gifted writer, photographer, web-designer, volunteer, husband, and friend to many.

Please visit his site prepared to be positively affected and challenged.