Grace. In the Aftermath of Susie Salmon

August 24th there was a lovely full Moon in a cloudless sky, illuminating far more than the green grass that grows just beyond my windows. Day and evening had merged with the business of bringing a new addition to the gemstone and perhaps more than ever before, I was feeling rushed to align the unfolding story with the heavens above. As the clock ticked and the night progressed, the details and depth of the story were expanding in exponential proportions.

Then a thought came to me… if it was the full Moon that I was trying to connect with, I should spend a moment or two face-to-face with it. So I went outside and followed a path, stopping at a spot where the trees didn’t block my view or intercept moonbeams. The air was cool, mixed with a hint of the changing seasons, all of which served as a reminder of how far the story has traveled—it’s been a doozie of a summer

Eight days earlier I’d gotten an email from a friend in which she mentioned having watched The Lovely Bones—novel by Alice Sebold, screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. The tagline for both the book and the movie is, “The story of a life and everything that came after…” There was nothing in my friend’s correspondence—which was more about keeping children safe from sexual predators—that would have steered me towards this movie. Anyone familiar with this blog knows my interest is most often captured by stories that involve the giving of a ring, especially if its emerald or has ties to Ireland… and that I lean toward romantic comedies, passionate love stories, and the occasional adventure highlighted by code-breaking. To be honest, I can’t recall what it was that led me to drive to the local Red Box and rent The Lovely Bones. The next day I purchased my own copy of the DVD. And the day following I went looking for the novel.

The Lovely Bones is about a 14 year-old girl named Susie Salmon who is murdered and observes her family and her killer from the "in-between," a realm that's part heaven and Earth. In the movie, Susie shares a memory from her life in which she counted a boy’s eyelashes during library time while he was reading Abelard and Heloise, in her words “the most seriously tragic love story ever.” In "her heaven" the first person Susie meets is an Asian girl who has borrowed the name Holly Golightly. In a different memory, Susie’s first kiss with Ray, the one with the eyelashes, is interrupted when a teacher scolds another student for “unnecessary anatomical additions.” Ruth included the outlines of breasts in a drawing of a wooden model; the artwork got the Ellis boy overexcited and he created a stir throughout the entire school. Susie has a friend named Clarissa. (A maiden named Clarissant lived in the Wondrous Palace in The Story of the Grail and was the recipient of an emerald ring, given as a token of love at a point in the story when there are only 224 lines remaining.) Susie was given a camera for her birthday and decided she wanted to become a wildlife photographer when she grew up, but the closest she got was snapping photos of Grace Tarking who lived across the street.

I couldn't possibly walk away from these names.

If you recall from my blog, “Oracles, Omens, and the World Cup,” Alex from the movie Hitch asks “When is Grace due?” The thread meandered toward the revelation that the Lion has arrived to lay with the Lamb.

In the larger spectrum, Grace is understood to be something that is “God given.” In the New Testament the Greek word for Grace is Charis. Strong’s concordance describes it as, “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." The Greek word charis is related to two other Greek/English words: charisma, which reflects a special spiritual endowment or influence and character as in an engraving, stamp or mark indicating the genuineness of something. Grace is given by God in reference to developing characteristics in harmony with God’s character. An alternative perspective is that grace is given to enable such character changes to be realized. (Wikipedia)

The dictionary adds "Grace is 'the glory hereafter to be revealed'” (1 Peter 1:13).

By the time Tuesday, August 24th, rolled around, I had put ink on every page of the novel. I also revisited Breakfast at Tiffany’s and was beginning to feel the true weight of this story narrated by an imaginary ghost. When I stepped out beneath the cloudless sky, into the light of the full Moon with Miss Golightly on my mind, I found myself ever so softly serenading the night…

Moon River, wider than a mile…
I'm crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going I'm going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.
We're after the same rainbow's end—
waiting 'round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me.

When I came back inside and returned to the task at hand, my expectations for the night had shifted. This new addition to the gemstone moves with leaps and bounds; it was wholly unrealistic to think I could do it justice before the clock struck midnight. And the more I thought about it, this idea that the clock wasn’t the measure of time—particularly not the “time” I was working with—also conformed to a word that recently found its way into my vocabulary.

Kairos was introduced via a link in an email from another person; the writer had herself discovered the word in someone else’s writing and was inspired to research its meaning. She introduced kairos as “God’s time.” The time not measured by a clock, that God has chosen as “the right moment” or the “opportune time.”

And like Luke’s discussion of the lamp on the table and Ronald Reagan’s reference to the city on the hill, her links provided a simple explanation in one writing and referred to a second writing that went into greater detail of what kairos means depending on who’s using the word.

To ancient and modern Greeks kairos can pertain to weather or describe a period of time. Wikipedia further distinguishes this "time" as either chronos or kairos. Chronos pertains to chronological or sequential time while kairos refers to a moment of indeterminate length in which something special happens. It represents a supreme moment. Historians and psychologists describe kairos as “a paradigm shift.” It’s perceived as a time of crisis that involves both danger and opportunity. For Aristotle it was the time in which the proof would be delivered, with “the Audience” identified as those who would receive the proof. Kairos is the bridge between old and new; the chance to participate in a “New Creation.” “It’s a moment of undetermined length when God breaks into the temporal, shattering and transforming it, preparing the temporal to receive the eternal.” “It’s the time when one needs to seek out the golden thread.” In the New Testament kairos means “the appointed time in the purpose of God,” the time when God acts as referenced in Mark 1:15, “the kairos is fulfilled.”

To an archer kairos refers to an opening or opportunity and more precisely refers to the path through which the archer’s arrow must pass; the archer’s arrow must not only be fired correctly, but with enough power to penetrate.

As an aside, a term called "the archer’s paradox" takes into consideration the influence of the human touch on the string of the bow. The archer aims the arrow slightly off from the desired target and... somehow the arrow knows how to correct its way and get onto the proper path. Eleanor of Aquitaine had a passion for this sport and I suspect was particularly adept at it. Interestingly there is an arrow or "arrows flying" in nearly every scene within The Story of the Grail, as if the story were being shot like an arrow destined to travel through time. She ingeniously knew the appropriate strength of the bow and spine of the arrow needed for it to be carried through the confluence of thought that traveled up and over the ramparts of Troyes to a predetermined target.

They say when an arrow first takes to flight, it oscillates until it finds its balance … and the longer it stays in flight the less wild movement there is along the path. But, surely there must have been a power of Nature or a flock of angels to hold this story in flight for over eight hundred years.

In Greek mythology, Kairos was the god of the fleeting moment, “a favorable opportunity opposing the fate of man.” This fleeting moment was often personified and identified by a tuft of hair on the forehead combined with a bald head behind, implying one had to grasp the opportunity "by the hair" on its presentation... else the moment would be gone forever.

The Ugly Maiden who crashed the party at King Arthur’s castle in The Story of the Grail was familiar with this god of the fleeting moment; she called it Fortune:

Upon her tawny mule’s back, seated,
she said, “Oh Perceval, you’ll find
that Fortune’s head is bald behind,
although a forelock hangs before.
A curse on him who greets you or
who hopes you’re well or any better;
you’d not seized Fortune when you met her.
You went inside the dwelling place
of the Fisher King; before your face
the bleeding lance came passing by.
You found it was too hard to try
to open up your mouth and speak.
You could not ask why, from the peak
of the white lance’s point, that drop
of blood came springing from its top, and
when you saw the grail, in turn,
you did not ask or try to learn
what nobleman was being served.

Fortune, written with an uppercase “F”, is defined as “a personified force or power that favorably or unfavorably governs the events of one’s life.” When spelled with all lowercase letters, fortune pertains to a chance happening of events, success at least partially attributed to luck. It's also one’s standing in life measured by an excess in wealth or material possessions, fate or destiny, or the foretelling of one’s destiny—tarot cards—as is often attributed to gypsies.

And any gypsy that engages in fortune telling is wise to authenticate his/her words by providing a glimpse of events that have already happened before providing a list of events that belong to one’s future—a spin on “you can’t tell where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” Because if they don’t know what has already transpired, they’re only guessing at what might happen in the future.

In The Story of the Grail, Perceval’s destiny was tied to the two questions that the Ugly Maiden spoke of. And before this story ends, he must name who is served by the grail and answer why the white lance always has a drop of blood forming at its tip.

The Holy Hermit of the forest provided the only clue to fulfill half of this destiny:

You were a foolish man to fail
to learn whom they serve from the grail.
The man they serve is my own brother;
my sister, and his, was your mother;
and also the rich Fisherman
is that king’s son, son of the man
who has himself served with the grail.
Now do not let the thought prevail
that from the grail he takes food like
a salmon, lamprey, or a pike,
because from it the king obtains
one mass wafer, and it sustains
his life, borne in the grail they bring;
the grail is such a holy thing.

To truly know the king’s identity, we had to be familiar with the correspondence between Abelard and Heloise… specifically, the writings other than their love letters. Heloise was the abbess of the Paraclete and she would send questions that arose in the women's study of the Bible to Abelard. The ladies were curious about why only the beasts and the birds were described in Genesis 2:20, as being led to Adam to be named. Why not the reptiles of the land or the fish in the water? Abelard's response was that reptiles and fish are not able to raise themselves up, they are like reprobates. And for this reason, it wasn't permitted to offer fish as a sacrifice to God...certainly one would never serve fish to God.

The grail itself, made of the purest gold set with a manifold of jewels, delivers a single mass wafer. Their combined image is symbolic of a unified spirit that is free of sin. Repeating what I’ve written in prior posts, the grail is not a chalice, or a platter, or person… it represents the culmination of a journey and embodies an entire population.

In The Story of the Grail the salmon not only reveals the identity of the king who is served, it's used as a metaphor for people. Abelard’s use of fish as a metaphor for sinners wasn't an accurate depiction of the way it is in reality and we know this because in Forrest Gump “the fish are jumping.” If fish can raise themselves, surely reprobates can do the same.

Despite the fact that Abelard’s understanding on this subject was wrong, the logic behind his answer still works to reveal the true identity of the one who is served by the grail. With consideration given to all the influences that delivered the tale to the 12th century, if the audience of Troyes should not have for one moment considered salmon, lamprey, or pike as being served by the grail to the king in the small room at the Fisher King's manor house, then the king must be God.

God is served by the grail.

Using Seemingly Unrelated Sources to expand Our Understanding

Grasping hold of "salmon" guides our story in a new direction. Salmon are born in fresh water and migrate to the ocean where they become sexually mature. They return to the exact spot where they were born in order to spawn, often making amazing journeys, traveling hundreds of miles, swimming upstream against strong currents and rapids that defy the abilities of most human beings. They do this to lay the foundation of the next generation. The female uses her tail to create a low-pressure zone, lifting gravel to be swept downstream, excavating a shallow depression called a redd. The redd may contain 5,000 eggs and cover 30 square feet. The momma salmon covers the eggs by disturbing the gravel upstream and moves on to make another redd… making as many as seven redds before her egg supply is exhausted.

Salmon play important roles in mythology (Wikipedia):

• In Irish mythology, a creature called the Salmon of Wisdom plays a key role in the tale known as The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn. In this story, the Salmon grants powers of knowledge to whoever eats it. Finn Eces is a poet within the tale who has sought after the Salmon for seven years. When he finally catches the fish, he gives it to his young pupil Fionn mac Cumhaill to prepare it for eating. However, Fionn burns his thumb on the salmon’s juices, and instinctively puts his thumb in his mouth, inadvertently acquiring the Salmon’s wisdom.
• Elsewhere in Irish mythology, Finn McCool is the young man who lives with an elderly poet named Finegas. Finegas catches the Salmon of Wisdom and asks Finn to cook it while he fetches more wood for the fire. Finn burns his thumb when he moves the fish on the spit. Instinctively he puts his thumb in his mouth to quell the pain and all of the Salmon's wisdom is transferred to him. On his return, Finegas notices a change has come about Finn and asks if he ate any of the fish. When Finn explains what happened, Finegas tells him to eat the fish in full as he must be the one professed to receive the knowledge. From that time forward, whenever Finn needed to know what the future would bring or needed to consider a difficult decision, he merely had to place his thumb at his lips and the answer would come to him.
• In Welsh mythology the Salmon of Llyn Llyw is the oldest animal in Britain and the only creature who knows the location of Mabon ap Modron. After speaking to a string of other ancient animals who do not know Mabon’s whereabouts, King Arthur’s men Cai and Bedwyr are led to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw who allows them to ride on his back to the walls of the prison in Gloucester where Mabon can be found.
• In Norse mythology, after Loki tricks the blind god Höðr into killing his brother Baldr, Loki jumps into a river and transforms himself into a salmon in order to escape punishment from the other gods. When they try to trap him with a net, he leaps over it but is caught by Thor, who grabs him by the tail with his hand… and this is why the salmon’s tail is tapered.
• Salmon are central to Native American mythology on the Pacific coast.
• Celtic animal symbolism attributes mystical powers to the salmon. In the legends of Fionn, the salmon lives in a fathomless well of wisdom where it swirls up ripples of knowledge from which the righteous may drink. (From http://www.whats-your-sign.com/celtic-animal-symbols.html )

The Salmon Family
In the screen adaptation of The Lovely Bones, the young narrator tells us, “My name is Salmon. Like the fish. First name, Susie. I was murdered on December 6th, 1973.” Toward the end, Holly tells Susie that she’s free; she can progress toward heaven. But Susie stops and says “Almost. Not quite.” She has something she wants to do in "this life"—or moment in time as she calls it—before she joins the others.

In the novel, the young narrator tells us, “My name was Salmon. Like the fish. First name, Susie…” When the novel ends, her charm bracelet, minus the engraved Pennsylvania keystone that Mr. Harvey kept as a token of the crime, has been discovered in an old industrial park that was being bulldozed. Later, the man holds the bracelet in his hands for his wife to see.

The wife says, "This little girl’s all grown up by now.”

Susie, commenting from the in-between: "Almost. Not quite."

The audience is placed as close as is possible to Susie, privy to her thoughts and able to observe the utter heartbreak of a family, falling with them into a pit that feels as bottomless as the sinkhole chosen to swallow the remains of Susie’s flesh and bones. The fine line that separates heaven and Earth, aside from having flesh and bone, is one's ability to experience and control the outcome of what's happening. With this particular story, we also witness the family's heroic climb out of the pit, one by one, and see how they come together in the end.

As far as the Salmon family is concerned, Abigail Salmon—Susie’s mother—is called Ocean Eyes by her husband. Susie's little brother Buckley, who is four, sucks his thumb… like Fionn, and is wise beyond his years when it comes to understanding where it is that Susie has gone. Younger sister Lindsey races past Susie… into the ocean of sexual maturity.

Imaginary Details Traverse the Boundary into Our Reality

In truth, all of Nature has risen to the purpose of the unfolding story. In the prior blog Oracles, Omens, and the World Cup, Paul the Octopus made an appearance and accurately predicted the outcome of 8 consecutive games during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On the heels of Paul's fame an octopus named Loki appeared on the scene in Minnesota. Loki, who resides inside a tank at the Mall of America, predicted that Brett Favre would retire from a different kind of football.

Like Abelard, Loki was wrong. While two wrongs don't make a right, for our purposes two wrongs serve as authentication. What this means to our story is it confirms Paul's rightful place in history... but I'm no longer referring to the octopus.

A Preview of Coming Attractions

The movie The Lovely Bones merely skims the surface of the story told within the novel. However rather than seeing it as being “watered-down” the truth of the matter is that the movie provides instruction and guidance for the audience.

If we skim the surface of Breakfast at Tiffany’s we would discover that Paul (Varjak) has just returned from Rome. He’s a writer who's finished one book titled Nine Lives, although few people have ever read it. While visiting someone in prison, he’s given an “accounting” that documents everything and is told, “Someday Paul, take this and turn it into a book… fill in the details.” He’s working on a new project… and informs Holly there'll be no more little stuff; he’s holding all of his novel ideas for "the big one." He has a ring, originally found by Holly's first husband in a box of Cracker Jacks, engraved at Tiffany’s, and gives it to her as a token of his own love. The pair arrives at a library where they have a copy of Nine Lives retrieved by the librarian. He attempts to autograph it, much to the agitation of the librarian. Holly assures the woman, “He’s really the author." "She doesn't believe me." "Cross my heart and kiss my elbow.” (An elbow was the only portion of Susie Salmon's body that was ever recovered in the novel.) Paul and Holly Golightly both get arrested for their involvement with the person they’d visited in prison. Paul is released. When he returns for Holly to take her into seclusion, he tells her, “I have a message for you.”

In reality, Paul was specially chosen to deliver this message--but I'm no longer referring to Paul Varjak.

Another Map of Where the Story Goes from Here

The film adaptation of The Lovely Bones tells us what to expect; it fine tunes some of the details found in the novel and sheds light on avenues we can explore within what's been provided.

Tucked within each story are Divinely given statements that reveal truths and serve our best interests in how we should proceed from this point forward.

With Forrest Gump we learned how important it was to follow up on the titles of other books mentioned in the story. In The Lovely Bones, Abigail Salmon is shown reading a book by Camus… but we have to search all of his titles to determine which book it might be, and perhaps each and every one of his works bring something to the gemstone. Albert Camus was a philosopher whose literary writing generally required the reader to seek out the meaning of life.

At the top of Abigail’s pile of books next to her bed, sits Virginia Wolf’s To the Lighthouse. The description given for this work suggests it will supplement and/or complement Camus' contribution while providing its own insight into how we're to use The Lovely Bones... for philosophical introspection. Wolf's novel is similar as it presents a story with little dialogue, driven mostly by thoughts and observations. Meaning comes not only by way of words but with images; a lighthouse appears throughout The Lovely Bones as if it provides the guiding light in the midst of the storm.

“Murder changes everything.”

While browsing a bookstore at the mall with Susie, Grandma Lynn picks up a copy of The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer. The main thesis of the book is that the "traditional" suburban, consumerist, nuclear family represses women's sexually, and that this devitalizes them, rendering them eunuchs. Grandma Lynn notices Ray watching Susie from the record store, which leads to a discussion of “first kisses.” Susie later shares how she’d counted his eyelashes as he read Abelard and Heloise, however no mention is made that in reality, Abelard was in fact a eunuch. It was a condition brought on by an event that permanently destroyed both his and Heloise's ability to reach "sexual maturity," catapulting the tragic lovers into a spiral descent. But if they had lived happily-ever-after, they might not have had reason to correspond in writing... and the seed sown into The Story of the Grail would never have been provided. Susie Salmon quite likely might never have been born in Alice Sebold's imagination. And we wouldn't have this opportunity to be graced by the glory hereafter which is revealed in her narration.

It’s up to the audience to make connections between details and become familiar with the stories that exist behind each story.

Susie describes her father as a “closet scale modeler.” Likewise, the big picture of life is shrunken, like the photo she takes of herself and says "I was here for a moment." The smaller scale view allows us to "wrap our heads around it" making it easier to embrace and understand.

Ideas presented in one story are authenticated by another.

Like the real life Paul, the imaginary Jack Salmon is a messenger: “Susie, hobbies are healthy. They teach you things.” “Like if you start something, you finish it. You don’t stop until you get it right and you keep going as long as you have to. That’s the way it is. That’s what you do. It’s perfectly normal. You know, Grampy taught me to do this, and now I’m teaching you. We’re creating something here. Something special.”

Even the bad guys provide useful tips: “You’re gonna’ have to be more observant Susie.”

The terrain through The Lovely Bones is more difficult, but all the richer for its complexity.

Jack Salmon tells the police working the case, “You need to look at it from a different angle. Work backwards. Look into people’s past." "It’s been 11 months.”

In the opening pages of the novel, U.S. News and World Report is quoted as saying, "The Lovely Bones is a story you'll want to pretend was written for yourself alone."

I hope each of us can come to believe that it was written for all of humanity. But I must say it does speak to me on a very personal level. I was 14 in 1973; the same age as Susie. When I was 15, a boy named Daniel Stoner, who I had known my entire life, committed suicide. Like Ray in the movie, Dan was a senior in high school. He'd asked me if I would go on a date the day before he killed himself. I never gave him an answer. After he died, when the snow started falling in the winter I used to think that he was freezing in his grave because they’d buried him without a coat.

One emotionally spent night, Daniel Stoner visited me—in a dream that wasn’t a dream. Seeing him changed everything. It was like he opened a door to a whole new way of viewing death...that completely altered my perception of life.

Alice Sebold incorporated a "full-blown stoner" who Susie Salmon knew always left a door at the back of the school theater open for others. Which connected to another detail of my life. My mother was a drama teacher who I once described as someone who helped young people “bloom” on stage. She directed plays and musicals and I used to love to carry the box of roses she received at the end of a final performance.

I moved a distance from home when I got married and wasn't near when she was later diagnosed with cancer. While she was sick, she had my father ship me a box of flower bulbs that had arrived at their home as a gift. She inquired about them in every phone conversation that we had, wanting to know whether they had started growing. She died the day after I told her the leaves of the bulbs had finally poked through the soil

Then something happened in the time I was away for her funeral. The anemones were in full bloom when I returned home, providing a sign that didn't escape me twenty years before Susie Salmon wishes the hedge flower to bloom in the movie to provide a sign for her father.

At some point my mother had purchased an emerald ring for herself which my father gave me as a token to remember her by. I’d forgotten I had it. But I came upon it's small box during the time while I was writing about Anna and Declan, simultaneous to Declan reclaiming his mother's ring in Dublin in the movie Leap Year. And just like Cinderella's glass shoe slipped upon her foot, my mother's emerald ring was a perfect fit for my ring finger which—like Anna's—no longer had a diamond ring upon it.

The Lovely Bones joins the gemstone exactly 11 months after I introduced Winston Groom’s novel Forrest Gump as the map that identified the path the legend of the grail would follow.

With a gift comparable to a skilled gypsy who understands the art of foretelling, Alice Sebold manages to incorporate all of the strategies used by the spectral genius working behind the scenes within her novel. Even though it was originally published 8 years ago, she includes details that connect her contribution to each and every place the gemstone has journeyed... and not only touching upon works of fiction. She weaves in details connected to events that have happened and are happening at this very moment in reality, while providing a window that allows a glimpse into the future.

Just like Winston Groom's Forrest Gump, Sebold’s novel and the associated screenplay incorporate details and threads linking to a number of other works that I haven't yet named that are part of the gemstone.

The distinguishing characteristic is that Forrest Gump included details of novels that had NOT YET BEEN WRITTEN, while The Lovely Bones includes threads ONLY to stories that are, at this moment, catalogued in existing libraries of books and Hollywood movies.

The significance of weaving together works of fiction is that opinions offered as "truths" captured in non-fiction are changing all of the time. But with a work of fiction nobody can write and distribute something later, or revise and re-release the story with an altered meaning, nor claim a long lost manuscript exists that didn't get woven into the original telling.

If a work of fiction hasn't been completed at the time God chooses to provide the proof to the audience, it can't be utilized. No author can rewrite Winston Groom's Forrest Gump two hundred years from now and slip in other details that offer a different map for the audience to follow.

This time, the path is etched in stone.

The Lovely Bones Reveals Why All This is Happening
In an interview with David Mehegan of the Boston Globe, Alice Sebold described how she was working on a different book that she didn’t find compelling. “I went and read some poems and came back to the desk and wrote the first chapter in one sitting. So Susie came upon me more than me deciding, ‘I’m going to write about a teenager, she’ll be dead, and speaking from heaven.’”

In five lines of conversation contained in Chapter Four, Alice Sebold captures the intent behind the entire gemstone. Keep in mind that the inspired writings that created the Bible were authenticated by a mathematical code incorporated into the Hebrew alphabet. Once again, the spectral genius aligns himself with Mr. Harvey, employing the scene in which he disposes of Susie’s body to explain why all of this was necessary. When asked what he wants to bury in the landfill...

Mr. Harvey: “Old safe of my father’s, finally got it out here,” he said. “Been wanting to do it for years. No one remembers the combination.”

Mrs. Flanagan: Anything in it?

Mr. Harvey: Stale air.

Mrs. Flanagan: Back her up then. You need help?

Mr. Harvey: That would be lovely.

The Flanagans never connected news headlines over the course of a year to what was inside the safe that was pushed over the edge and swallowed by the earth.

Where the Gemstone's Headed, A Look Into the Future...
Chapter Eight of The Lovely Bones isn’t the end of the novel, but it does project an image of where the gemstone is heading. It’s a short chapter, even shorter than Chapter VI: "A Visit to Box Five" in the The Phantom of the Opera, which, you may recall provides the image of the crumbling big-bellied cliffs and an ocean in turmoil.

In The Lovely Bones this short chapter is given to Mr. Harvey—Susie's murderer. The first paragraph shares a glimpse into his night time dreams, including the dream he has on the night of December 6th, 1973.

The date he raped and murdered Susie Salmon he dreamed of the Church of the Transfiguration.

This chapter ends with a family dispute in a place called Truth or Consequences. Sandwiched in between is a scene resembling an event that winds through the movie The Last Song in which a father works with his son to recreate the stained glass windows for the old church in town that was destroyed by a fire. 

A Story Connected With the Heavens, the Sabian Symbols of August’s full Moon

August 24th, 2010 the Sun was positioned on Virgo 2. The Sabian Symbol, or energy influencing the day was “A Large White Cross, Dominating the Landscape, Stands Alone on the Top of a High Hill “

The full Moon was positioned on Pisces 2: "A Squirrel Hiding from Hunters"

Venus, on Libra 18: "Two Men Placed Under Arrest Give an Accounting for Their Acts Before the Tribunal of Society."

Mars on Libra 17: "A Retired Sea Captain Watches Ships Entering and Leaving the Harbor"

Saturn on Libra 4: "A Group of Young People Sit in Spiritual Communion Around a Campfire"

Pluto on Capricorn 3: "The Human Soul, In Its Eagerness for New Experiences, Seeks Embodiment"

Mercury, retrograde on Virgo 19: "A Swimming Race"

True node on Cancer 11: "A Clown is Caricaturing Well-Known Personalities"

Jupiter on Aries 2: "A Comedian Entertaining A Group of Friends"

Where Are We In This Journey? 

• Since our very big day of July 11th, news headlines introduced the first female Venetian gondolier to the world. 
• On the heels of the requiem for 109 geese in Bend, Oregon, which were to be killed in an effort to reduce goose droppings in a public park, an article appeared describing New York City’s plan to euthanize 250,000 geese in an effort to keep the airspace clear. 
• Just as anticipated, the write-up captioned “No More Crying Over Spilled Coffee: ‘Hate it when the party's spoiled by a spill. Well stop that fussing...’” had everything to do with the BP oil spill which was sealed shortly thereafter.
• Today as I write, a storm named “Danielle” is moving through the Atlantic as a Category 4 hurricane with a storm named Earl following on its heels. 
• In the U.S., half a billion eggs have been recalled after determining they posed a potential hazard to the well being of the population. 
• Epic flooding that began in a place called Swat Valley has forced millions of Pakistanis from their homes, many of whom have been described in news articles as "living and defecating on the roads." More than once in recent writings, the people of Pakistan have been called a population “marooned.” One news article hit on the idea that they have been “cowed” by the Taliban.
• On August 8th, Patricia Neal died. Ms. Neal played the role of the wealthy matron named Emily Eustace Failenson, also known as “2E" in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The article that announced her death and celebrated her accomplishments in life listed other roles and movies she was known for including The Subject Was Roses, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and her Academy Award winning performance in Hud, for which she was honored as Best Actress. Her consideration in the category of Best Actress rather than Best Supporting Actress was a last minute surprise decision as her role as the middle-aged housekeeper, Alma Brown, wasn't a leading character.

Susie Salmon dreamed of inexplicably winning an Oscar for Best Actress during her junior year in high school.

Of Patricia Neal's other movies, the first two titles sound as if they'd be obvious shoe-ins for the gemstone. I didn't originally think it was worthwhile to research Hud. But just as The Lovely Bones proved to be a significant contributor, I discovered details in Hud that caught me by surprise. The movie is about an old cattle-rancher who makes the tough choice to destroy his herd after the most recent additions were found to be infected with foot and mouth disease.

As I get ready to post this blog, the planet Mercury is sitting on Virgo 18: "Two Girls Playing with A Ouija Board." It is a rather fitting image. There is a flurry of activity with respect to details that originated in the stories that are once again appearing in news articles. Summer is officially over in the coming weeks. Saturn passes through Libra 4:39 on September 5th marking the end of its retrograde cycle, which is like a pregnancy... a detail that could be associated with the question of when Grace is due.

The next new Moon arrives on September 8th. Every new Moon is like a page turned. In her blog Lua Astrology, Leah Whitehorse describes this phase as being when the Moon faces the Sun, absorbing its Divine light, unhindered by human eyes. "The sliver of the crescent Moon when her first light appears is called ‘Diana’s Bow’. This is the moment when Diana takes up her bow and fires an arrow towards us which carries the instruction received..." Read more

This new Moon is also associated with "The Orangutan," a detail which leads us back to Forrest Gump's companion named Sue.

There remains an event that's been described in the gemstone that hasn't yet found its way into reality and The Lovely Bones provides the missing detail. About three-quarters of the way through Chapter Eleven, Susie is observing her father who is..."...slowly fitting something together. It had nothing to do with George Harvey, nothing to do with me." That night, as he had more and more often, my father stayed up by himself in his study. He could not believe the world was falling down around him--how unexpected it all was after the initial blast of my death. 'I feel like I'm standing in the wake of a volcano eruption,' he wrote in his notebook.'"

The words Susie's father writes complete the picture that began to take shape last spring in my blog The Point of No Return. The cliff that could bring about an ocean in turmoil was missing a volcano eruption.
Only the Master Storyteller—God Himself—knows whether, this time, the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands will erupt, or alternately if the Earth will swallow an entire herd... something that would "rock the world" as William Vance said in The Last Templar. Or whether, as in my blogs No Sign will be Given Except the Sign of Jonah and Oracles, Omens, and the World Cup, a warning will suffice to convince people to change their evil and corrupt ways.

In The Lovely Bones, the world changed overnight. It was that simple.

But if something were to happen, the prayer that needs to be said is the Lord's Prayer. And have faith. Because we've been told "a Father is someone you should be able to depend on".

Hallowed be His name. His kingdom come. His Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Looking into the future through the window that's been provided... when Susie Salmon arrived late to school and entered through the door to the theater, she was surprised to discover Ray calling out to her from the scaffold above. He invited her to climb up and join him. This scene in The Lovely Bones is a cross between the scene leading into the hanging of Joseph Buquet in The Phantom of the Opera and the moment when Lyla climbs up to the roof and sits with Louis in the movie August Rush where she is shortly thereafter serenaded with the opening lines of Van Morrison's song Moondance:

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of October skies...

                    [This is one song worthy of finishing]

And all the leaves on the trees are fallin'
To the sound of the breezes that blow
An' I'm trying to please to the callin'
Of your heart strings that play soft and low
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?
Well, I wanna make love to you tonight
I can't wait 'til the morning has come
And I know now the time is just right
And straight in to my arms you will run
And when you come, my heart will be waiting
To make sure that you're never alone
There and then, all my dreams will come true, dear
There and then, I will make you my own
And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside
And I know how much you want me that you can't hide
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance'
Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I'm trying to please to the calling
Of your heart strings that play soft and low
And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?
One more moon dance with you
In the moon light, on a magic night
All the moon light, on a magic night
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?

Photo by Jon Bragg via http://www.flickr.com/. Used by permission - Creative Commons License. Use does not include endorsement of this blog.

Oracles, Omens, and the World Cup

When one door closes, another door opens.

On June 26th my path crossed the Louis Vuitton Journeys campaign—the one about Legends which introduces itself as An Encounter with Greatness. It was like bumping into old friends in a distant city. Louis, who was last seen strapped to the roof of a classic red Renault traveling the back roads in Ireland, had emerged on CNN.com on reality’s side of the boundary that separates it from make-believe. By all appearances, Louis has found his niche promoting travel as a form of self-discovery... an opportunity that gives rise to both “spiritual and physical metamorphosis.”

With renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz behind the lens of the camera, the Journeys campaign has a history of its own. This year the creative minds behind it chose to align the message with a world event due to culminate on July 11th, 2010 in South Africa.

Annie’s photos are a companion to words the likes of “Three exceptional journeys,” “One incredible game,” “… the moment the world has been waiting for.”

The snapshots capture three great soccer players—modern-day legends—in an epic battle being played out on a foosball table. In the real world, Pele won his first World Cup at age 17 and is the only player in the history of the game with three World Cup medals. He was named Football’s ambassador to the world while the government of Brazil declared him an official “national treasure.” Zinedine Zidane helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and has been awarded every top honor at both national and club levels; he is a three-time FIFA World Cup Player-of-the-Year. Diego Maradona captained Argentina to a World Cup victory in 1986, a trek highlighted by five personal goals, one of which is said to have been infamously delivered by “the Hand of God.”

In an effort to engage the audience, Legends was designed with an interactive feature where questions could be asked of the greats and answers actually provided. But for all its planning and creativity, nobody at Louis Vuitton could have guessed where this journey was headed, even with picture perfect postcards from every destination that’s been visited.

On a whim, I Googled the generic phrase about “knowing where one is going” and came upon a note saying it was used by Alex in the movie Hitch. Alex (Will Smith) describes his occupation as one that “creates opportunities.” He’s a self-described late bloomer whose first round with love ended with a scene straight out of Forrest Gump. During a rainy night on a college campus he goes looking for the girl who’d captured his heart’s affection and finds her in the back seat of some other guy’s car. He never pursued another woman. Instead he became a date doctor who coaches men on the proper way to woo a woman. And he promises three dates is all anyone needs to seal the deal.

When Alex observes Sara (Eva Mendes) across a crowded room, he feels an immediate attraction. Following a quick introduction that provides only a name and who she works for, he has half a paired-set of walkie-talkies delivered to her desk so he can make contact with her. She agrees to meet him on a Sunday morning at a marina on the Hudson River.

Sara is a gossip columnist who doesn’t hesitate to break a couple apart. She freely says, “If a guy is stupid enough to cheat, the world should know he’s dumb enough to get caught.” In a surprise revelation, their date involves jet skis and a race to Ellis Island where they get a history lesson from the resident expert:

“In fact, over 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to a single man, woman, or child on the ship’s manifest to an inspector’s ledger. By 1910, 75% of the residents of New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Boston were immigrants or the children of immigrants.”

As a creature of habit, I looked up Ellis Island myself and discovered a few facts that weren’t mentioned in the movie. Ellis Island earned the moniker “Gateway to the New World.” More surprising was that the first immigrant on record, who came through the gates on January 1, 1892, was a 15-year-old girl named Anna “Annie” Moore who arrived from—of all places in the world—Cork County, Ireland.

Alex and Sara continue their tour and stop to gaze at the book of names which is on display. Alex tells her, “You can't really know where you're going until you know where you've been.” Unbeknownst to Sara, he set the stage prior to their arrival in hopes of endearing her. However he failed to take into consideration a seemingly minor detail and things didn’t play out like he’d envisioned.

Hitch was originally titled The Last First Kiss and incorporates a Kissing Post, also on Ellis Island, which explains how people from different cultures kiss after long absences.

On their second date Alex has a bad reaction after swallowing some specially prepared fish. Sara takes care of him through the night then wakes to discover he rose early and departed. As she punches the pillows on the couch in frustration, he appears in front of her with a selection of tea and coffees and explains that he merely slipped out to pick up breakfast.

Sara: Oh God. You’re a morning person aren’t you?
Alex: Well, like I tell my clients, “Begin each day as if it were on purpose.”

I have news for Sara. Just because someone gets breakfast at the break of day doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a “morning person.” We only need look at Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

By the time their third date rolls around, Alex is feeling pretty good about where their relationship is going. Sara, on the other hand, fails to ask a few key questions while doing a little investigative work and ends up destroying not only her own budding opportunity for love, but she tears apart a relationship Alex had been working on behind the scenes that had passed the three date milestone. Alex is clueless as to the source of her sudden hostility and his home cooked dinner transforms to a battle as they throw garden vegetables at one another. The scene puts a whole new spin on Declan’s comment in Leap Year, “Alex, you’re in charge. Don’t blow anything up.”

If there were a moral to this story, it would be “get your details straight or NOBODY will ever get to where they thought they were going.” But putting bits of wisdom to use isn’t always as easy as the words make it sound and sometimes takes practice.

Somewhere along the way I supplanted that old adage about following my first instinct with “fools rush in.”

Five weeks ago I thought I knew which of the “17 stories” rising above the stage I would be tackling next. I’d already made a connection to The Blind Side and knew that Sandra Bullock’s new baby’s name was Louis. At the end of the movie Leap Year, Declan leaves the kitchen to respond to a customer’s complaint and approaches a table saying, “All right, which one of you bollockses thinks my chicken’s dry?” But whatever the mechanism is that nudges my inclination to pick up and follow a particular thread... all communications petered out to near nothing.

It certainly wasn’t for lack of possibilities. After the earthquake in Haiti, I never stopped accumulating news articles that contained details which originated in the imaginary stories and were being used to describe events happening in reality. After bringing The Phantom of the Opera into the gemstone, Whitney Houston apologized for her “croaky” voice in the midst of her European tour; a thought that never occurred to Carlotta. Jesse James is the only person I’ve ever heard of that owned two mini hand-painted coffins other than Eric, the Opera Ghost. A bomb was discovered in the theater district of New York City like the barrels and barrels of gun powder Eric had stored beneath the Opera House that he planned to explode at the height of a performance of Faust. The CEO of BP took a weekend away from the unparalleled disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy the pleasures of sailing different waters on his boat named “Bob.”

As I watched Louis’ abductors in Leap Year parade Anna’s intimate undergarments in the back room of Big Tom’s bar, the first person who came to my mind was Sandra Bullock. However, despite the play on words that journalists used to suggest Ms. Bullock had been blind-sided by Jesse James’ indiscretions, the details that connect the couple’s personal life to the gemstone of stories has nothing to do with adultery. And perhaps this in itself is important to remember.

On the other hand, in the week leading up to the FIFA World Cup Championship, a different story dealing with adultery gained prominent attention. A son was seeking a reprieve for his mother. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a widow who’d confessed to adultery after being subjected to 99 lashes, had been imprisoned since 2006 and was condemned to death by stoning. She had exhausted the Iranian judicial system and was facing imminent execution. The young man was not alone in believing that an international outcry was her only chance to alter what seemed sure to happen.

The truth is that the Adultery and corresponding denials that were at the heart of my blog “No Sign Will Be Given except the Sign of Jonah,” have nothing to do with intimate relations between a man and a woman and everything to do with three exceptional journeys, One Great Game.

On July 8th, an article appeared on Today’s website titled, “A requiem for fallen — geese?” It was a real life story that included people named Foster Fell and Mary Sojourner. A memorial service for 109 geese was set to occur on Thursday evening on a bridge that spanned a river in a place called Bend, Oregon. Mary Sojourner was quoted as saying, "I understand that Park & Recreation thought there were too many geese, but I'm struck that the crimes of the geese that got them executed was basically defecating on the grass at Drake Park."

The scene is a cross between the cows that left piles of poo on the road in Leap Year and the goose in The Story of the Grail which was felled by the white falcon and left three drops of blood on the snow.

Friday, July 9th, a news article appeared announcing the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird. As a reminder, the novel was among the five books referenced in Forrest Gump which served as the legend to the map that identified the path the gemstone would follow.

While I was being entertained by this sudden surge and variety of details finding their way into reality, Lynda Hill’s newsletter on the Sabian Symbols arrived in my inbox. (I’m beginning to wonder when these will start arriving via the clutch of an owl.) Sunday, July 11th, 2010 was not only the date for the FIFA World Cup Championship and the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird, it was a day marked by a new Moon and a total Solar Eclipse that was due to begin at sunrise over Easter Island. (Read more: Lynda Hill's Newsletter)

If you’re not familiar with the Sabian Symbols, they’re considered an Oracle, a tool to interpret and give meaning to events that are happening. They’re words intuitively derived and randomly assigned to each of the 360 degrees of the Zodiac, a project conceived by astrologer Marc Edmund Jones and brought to life with the aid of a clairvoyant named Elsie Wheeler. In 1925 Marc took Elsie to Balboa Park in San Diego where she could find quiet and still be in close proximity to people in order to accomplish what needed to be done. Each Sabian Symbol can be likened to a short story that serves as a framework further shaping the energies of Sun, Moon, and the planets as they transit.

On Sunday, July 11th, the position or degree of the Sun was Cancer 20. The Sabian Symbol given to this degree is “Venetian Gondoliers in Serenade.” Because this was a day marked by a total Solar Eclipse, the Moon also passed through Cancer 20. However for a few short hours before the eclipse, the Moon was positioned in Cancer 19 whose Sabian Symbol is, “A Fragile Miss, Representative of Proud Old Blood, is Wed in a Marriage Ceremony by a Priest to an Eager Youth of the New Order.” Additionally, after completing its passage across the face of the Sun—like a slow kiss—the Moon lingered for a few more hours in Cancer 21 projecting the image of “A Prima Donna Singing.”

One doesn’t need to be an astrologer or knowledgeable in the traits that correspond to either the heavenly bodies or signs of the Zodiac to appreciate the picture that was being painted by the words. It was as if the heavens were reenacting the duet performed by the Phantom and Christine Daaé as part of the wedding ceremony of Anna and Declan.

The attendants to the ceremony were perfectly aligned. Venus on Virgo 2 contributed “A Large White Cross, Dominating the Landscape, Stands Alone on Top of a High Hill;” Neptune on Aquarius 29, “A Butterfly Emerging From a Chrysalis;” Chiron on Pisces 1, “A Crowded Public Marketplace;” Lilith on Pisces 2, “A Squirrel Hiding from Hunters;” Mars on Virgo 20 added “A Caravan of Cars Headed for Promised Lands,” while Saturn on Virgo 30 exerted energy in support of “Having An Urgent Task to Complete, A Man Doesn’t Look to Distractions.”

In hindsight, on January 12th, when the earthquake struck Haiti, Saturn was stationed retrograde on Libra 4:39, whose corresponding Sabian Symbol is "A Man Teaching the True Inner Knowledge of the New World to His Students." Saturn rules Capricorn. Its energy is slow moving and known for its longevity as well as its transformative powers. It governs our karmic responsibilities and our capacity to learn about life, in every aspect of our living. In her book, Retrograde Planets, Traversing the Inner Landscape, Erin Sullivan describes Saturn’s work like a pregnancy. It requires 9 months for it to complete its retrograde cycle.

In the movie Hitch, while Alex is in a bar playing a game of pool with his buddy whose wife is pregnant he asks, “So when is Grace due?” As a reminder, Grace is the meaning behind the name Anna. On September 5th, 2010 Saturn will return to Libra 4:39, the same place it was on January 12th and whatever was begun will have been completed. I sense an August rush of some kind in the offing.

Interestingly the "original" Polynesian name for Easter Island, Te pito o te henua, carries the meaning "The Navel of the Land." Pito means both navel and umbilical cord which was considered to be the link between the world of the living (kainga) and the spiritworld Po, lying in the depths of the ocean. (Wikipedia)

In terms of what’s been happening, Haiti is symbolic of the New World that’s being prepared. As a wise man once told me, you can’t build a home in the forest without first clearing the land. The idea is similar to “if you want to learn, you must first empty your cup.” Given the reality of the circumstances, the concept has been raised to a whole new level.

Sun rules Leo—the Lion, AND will power and ego. It’s the core of the potential and uniqueness belonging to each individual and holds reign on the main direction or course of our lives. The primary influence and Sabian Symbol for any given day corresponds to the position of the Sun.

The karmic condition of July’s new Moon is identified by the Sabian Symbol given to the day before which was Cancer 19, concerning the“Priest Performing a Marriage Ceremony.” The Quest is identified by the Sabian Symbol the day that follows, which was Cancer 21, “A Prima Donna Singing.” In the transition from Sunday to Monday—which incidentally are the “days” ruled by Sun and Moon—there was but “one voice.” Sun was both the Gondolier Serenading and the Prima Donna Singing. Redemption arrived with Venus in Virgo 3, “Two Guardian Angels Bringing Protection.”

With such potent images and Universal energies coming together, I got curious and began stepping backwards through the Sabian Symbols to see what was influencing the days leading into the weekend:

Friday, July 9th, the Sun was in Cancer 18: "A Hen is Scratching for Her Chicks."

On September 15, 2009 my blog opened with: “I think there must be a place where stories are kept, a world of their own where each is categorized by the intent with which they were initiated. Where the stories of our lives are woven together; where Sacred Stories gather the stories of their people like a mother hen gathers her chicks; and where the imaginative stories people create provide the threads that bind them all together.”

This place where stories are kept is called the Akashic Records, also known as the Book of Life or the Book of Names where every soul is registered.

Thursday, July 8th, the Sun was in Cancer 17: “The Seed Grows into Knowledge and Life."

In 1185, a minstrel performed in a crowded public market during the height of the summer Hot Fair in Troyes—a center of international trade and home to the Champagne court. The seed that became legend begins with words that convey the meaning of the “Parable of the Sower.”

He little reaps who little sows.
the man who wants good harvests strows
his seeds on such a kind of field,
God grants a hundredfold in yield;
on barren ground good seeds but lie
until they shrivel up and die.
So Chrétien sows, disseminating
this story he’s initiating,
and sows it on such fertile soil,
he can but profit by his toil.

Wednesday, July 7th, the Sun was in Cancer 16: “A Man Studying a Mandala in Front of Him, with the Help of a Very Ancient Book.”

Chrétien shall gain, since he has striven
at the command the count has given
and made endeavors manifold
to rhyme the best tale ever told
in any royal court: this tale
is called the Story of the Grail.
The count has given him the book;
now judge what Chrétien undertook.

The Seed That Became Legend

For the last 825 years, one portion of the population has been on a quest to find the Holy Grail while others have focused their attention on identifying “the book” that was put to rhyme. I don’t know if there was a book written by Abelard or Heloise that Eleanor put to rhyme, but I do believe that everything people have been searching for can be found in the gemstone’s details.

Beneath its 9,234 lines of octosyllabic rhyming couplets, The Story of the Grail is a collection of biblical stories brought to life by imaginary Arthurian knights whose words and deeds are embellished with details borrowed from reality. Woven into the conversations of the characters are paraphrases of a single line borrowed from a biblical story that’s different from the one being acted out. Furthermore, if the character who is speaking has an identity associated with the Old Testament, Chrétien de Troyes (Eleanor of Aquitaine’s pseudonym) provided him or her with words that came from the New Testament. And visa versa; a character whose biblical identity is aligned with the New Testament was given a paraphrase borrowed from an Old Testament story.

The strategy projects the image that the two portions of the Bible are being sewn together—into one big book. But the reality of the situation is that biblical stories have threads that cross-reference each other, Old to New and New to Old from start to finish, so whatever was done in the imaginative tale was an accurate depiction; there’s nothing new here.

• Gornemant of Gohort instructs Perceval with a bit of wisdom borrowed from Solomon: “The wise man’s saying’s always been that 'Too much talking is a sin.'” (Per Frappier, this is taken from Proverbs 10:19)
• When Perceval decides to leave the town of Belrepeire and search for his way back home, he tells the crowd if he finds his mother has died, he’ll have a service for her each year so God will let her soul abide "in the bosom of holy Abraham." (Hilka notes this is from Luke 16:22.)
• During the procession of the grail at the Fisher King’s manor house, Perceval remembers what Gornemant taught and fails to ask two important questions. The storyteller himself interjects: “I fear he was not very smart; I have heard warnings people give: that one can be too talkative, but also one can be too still.” (Hilka cites Ecclesiastes 3:7)
• After three days and three nights of celebration following the meeting between Perceval and Gawain, the knight Guinganbresil crashes the festivities where King Arthur is holding court and accuses Gawain of treason for unseating a king. He orders the knight to appear before the new King of Escavalon, who is far "handsomer than Absalom." The line refers to King David’s son as he’s described in 2 Samuel 14:25. (Hilka’s attribution)
• In the town of Escavalon, Gawain and the sister of the king come under siege in a tower and she’s accused of being affectionate with the foul traitor. The maiden shrieks, “He came here by no secret way; he did not fly in here today! My brother sent him as a guest…. What objection can you have, if I gave the knight companionship, joy, and delight? 'He who would hear it, let him hear it.'”

Frappier and Hilka are considered experts on Chrétien de Troyes and have published their own books sharing insights into "his" writings. It was their commentary included in footnotes that put me on the trail of the story and for that I am indebted. But for all their scholarly work, the one paraphrase which was so obvious that even I could pick it out was completely overlooked.

There are slight variations of “He who would hear it, let him hear it,” that appear multiple times in the Bible: Matthew 11:15, 13:15, and 13:43; Mark 4:9, 4:23, and 7:16; and also Luke 8:8 and 14:35. Of these 8 occurrences, I chose Mark 4:9 as being the verse Eleanor had in mind as she was writing. And for the moment, you’ll just have to trust that I know where this story is going.

Not surprisingly, there are unwritten codes that one should follow when reading The Story of the Grail. For starters, leave no stone unturned, and dig deep. Follow every detail to its source and read what you’re led to in entirety.

In practice, while following the threads provided by the paraphrases, chapter 10 of Proverbs should be read from beginning to end, Luke 16 from start to finish, and the same for Ecclesiastes 3, 2 Samuel 14, and Mark 4.

Reminiscent to the five novels named by Winston Groom in the opening chapter of Forrest Gump, Eleanor puts words in the mouths of five different characters, each connected to a different chapter that are spread throughout a “single book.” However, instead of indicating the path to follow, the short stories and parables borrowed from the Bible provide a snapshot of where the real life story has been.

The Gospel of Mark brings additional meaning. Mark 4 begins with “The Parable of the Sower,” which shaped the opening words in the Prologue. The words “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” occur two times in this chapter. Sandwiched in between is a parable called, “A Lamp on a Stand.”

The image of the lamp occurs in Proverbs 6:23, Psalm 119:105, Matthew 5:13-16, Mark 4:21-23, Luke 8:16-17 and again in Luke 11:33-36. The words that describe it change from one to the other. The lamp in Proverbs is God’s commandment that becomes the light for one’s feet to illuminate the path in Psalms. When Jesus gave his sermon on the mountain as captured in Matthew, he said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”

According to Mark, the lamp is a metaphor that should be placed somewhere to light the way for others. Then he added “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” Luke repeated Mark’s initial words and in a different chapter elaborated on them: “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is also full of darkness.”

Their words capture an evolution of thought which, in totality creates synergy; the result is not obtainable by any of them independently.

The Beginning and the End

Mark 4 is also special because the opening parable of the sower and the repeated paraphrase of "those who have ears to hear" literally ‘mark’ the beginning and the end of The Story of the Grail. The answer that brings closure to the legend can be found within the words spoken by characters in Escavalon. And whoever can hear, should listen up.

As an aside, Mark was the son of a woman named Mary, a widowed lady who lived in Jerusalem and hosted meetings in her home--we've been told--to perpetuate the teachings of Jesus. In his youth, he was directed to travel with Paul who served as his mentor. The Gospel of Mark is the only writing to proclaim that one of the signs that will appear when people truly believe, is they will take up serpents. (Mark 16:18 -King James Version)

Eleanor’s Third Nesting

In the twelfth century, people in Europe entertained the prophecies of Merlin which supposedly provided insights into the family of Henry II. One of the prophecies was, “The Eagle of the broken covenant shall rejoice in her third nesting." Some people believed that Eleanor was the Eagle, the broken covenant was the dissolution of her marriage to Louis VII, the King of France, and the third nesting was the birth of her third son, who was the first of her sons to actually assume the throne of England, though he rarely stayed long enough to keep it warm.

The prophecy is true, but from the beginning it was always given to "her." Eleanor gave her heart and soul to the King of kings during the fifteen years that her second husband, Henry II, kept her imprisoned. One might say that she was in bed with the Falcon. And she wasn't even a widow yet.

The five paraphrases in the Story of the Grail that symbolically stitch the Old and New Testaments together as well as establish placeholders for the beginning and the end of the story, serve to enlighten the audience with respect to Eleanor’s intent behind the work she put into the tale.

After reading the biblical chapters in entirety, the key is to summarize each or identify a single idea from each chapter that is unique and brings new meaning and then combine the statements in the same order as they were presented.

They come together like this: He who holds his tongue is wise. (Proverbs 10) But if the people don't listen to Moses and the Prophets, they wouldn't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. (Luke 16) Who can bring them to see what will happen after, whether a man's spirit rises upward or whether his body merely turns to dust? (Ecclesiastes 3) I created the story to change the current situation, to cause you to think differently. (2 Samuel 14) Now, whoever has ears to hear, let him hear it! (Mark 4)

A Light unto the WorldEleanor took the parable of the lamp to task. But it’s the vision of "the city upon a hill" from the Sermon on the Mount which has been an inspiration to world leaders for hundreds of years who have passed it on in a refusal to let the light fade.

Ellis Island didn’t earn the moniker “Gateway to the New World” on its own merit.

In the year 1630, a ship called the Arabella dropped anchor when it arrived at the shores of a New World. Before anyone stepped off the ship, John Winthrop gave a sermon to the future inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Whatever they created would be “a city upon a hill," watched by the world:

“The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken... we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God... We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us til we be consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going.”

On January 9, 1961, John F. Kennedy recalled the phrase and breathed new life into it during an address before the General Court of Massachusetts as he was transitioning to his new position as President of the United States.

“It was here my grandparents were born–it is here I hope my grandchildren will be born.”

President Ronald Reagan used the image of the “city on a hill” in his 1984 acceptance of the Republican Party nomination; he’d already been President for four years and was hoping to be re-elected for another four years:

“Our opponents began this campaign hoping that America has a poor memory. Well, let's take them on a little stroll down memory lane.”

Like Luke in the Bible, Reagan used the image of the city on a hill a second time in an address broadcast to the nation. As I began to read his farewell speech given on January 11th 1989, considering all that’s been happening and what I perceive as the “voice of God” that arrives through the written words of other people, my heart sunk with his opening comments:

“One of the things about the presidency is that you're always somewhat apart. You spend a lot of time going by too fast in a car someone else is driving, and seeing the people through tinted glass — the parents holding up a child, and the wave you saw too late and couldn't return. And so many times I wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect. Well, maybe I can do a little of that tonight. People ask how I feel about leaving. And the fact is, "parting is such sweet sorrow." The sweet part is California, and the ranch and freedom. The sorrow — the goodbyes, of course, and leaving this beautiful place.”

It’s not always easy to decide what the single most important statement is in a writing, particularly when there are so many good words to choose from. And as I read Ronald Reagan’s farewell speech, I looked for anything that would change my initial perception that this was “good-bye.” Perhaps it was his comment, “But life has a way of reminding you of big things through small incidents.” I have pages and pages of details from the gemstone that weave in and out of the events tied to July 11th.

Sometimes knowing ahead of time where the story is going is enough to keep a person on the right path. The good-bye and farewell don’t fit with the story that’s currently in bloom. They don’t bring anything to its synergy; they break it.

God isn't going anywhere. Quite the opposite in fact.

So I rejected the good-bye, just like Declan rejected Anna's offer to "not make plans." And instead I grabbed hold of the vision of "the city on the hill" provided in the closing paragraphs of Reagan's farewell.

“I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it and see it still.”

In the movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela calls an impromptu staff meeting on his first day as the newly elected President of South Africa:

“All I ask is that you do your work to the best of your abilities and with good heart. I promise to do the same. If we can manage that, our country will be a shining light in the world.”An Omen of Things to Come

There is a scene in the movie Hitch where Sara is in her living room watching Jerry Maguire on the television after her fight with Alex—a movie within a movie.

The scene is a classic. It's the moment Dorothy (Reneé Zellweger) tells Jerry (Tom Cruise), “Shut up! You had me at hello.” For our purposes, we need to capture this scene from its beginning. What has happened is Jerry and Dorothy rushed into marriage and just as quickly wandered apart. After struggling to get his business on track for the length of the movie, one Sunday afternoon everything falls into place like clockwork. Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the one football player who entrusted his future in Jerry's hands, is playing in an out-of-town football game. Despite a scare that lasts a few minutes, both of their dreams become a reality. While watching his star player handle the frenzy of the press, Jerry realizes the one thing missing from the moment and races to the airport then follows with a cab to Dorothy’s house. He enters the living room which is filled with women who are connected by their shared experiences of bad relationships with men. Dorothy is behind the couch, out of sight when Jerry says, “Hello. I’m looking for my wife.”

Dorothy rises slowly.

Jerry: Wait… If this is where it has to happen, then this is where it has to happen. I’m not letting you get rid of me. How about that? This used to be my specialty. I was good in a living room. And now I just….

Tonight... our little company had a very big night. A very, very big night.

But it wasn’t complete. It wasn’t nearly close to being complete.
I couldn’t share it with you.
I couldn’t hear your voice.
I couldn’t laugh about it with you.
I missed my… I missed my wife.
We live in a cynical world.
And we work in a business of tough competitors.
I love you. You... complete me. And I just—

In reality, July 11th, 2010 was a very, very, big day that spanned from Easter Island to South Africa and the heavens above... but nobody was aware of what was transpiring except God—and me.

A Mother Hen Gathering Her Chicks

In my last blog, I described how phrases that were repeated three times in The Story of the Grail formed a list of items that had to be remedied before the story would be considered finished.

The idea is similar to what Carter (Morgan Freeman) begins to prepare in the movie The Bucket List. Carter is a mechanic at the neighborhood garage. Edward is a multi-millionaire who invests in businesses—and mostly hospitals. They’re connected by terminal illnesses and six-month life expectancies. The bucket list is something they compile as a joint effort naming all the things they want to do before they die.

Their journey delivers them to winding paths that climb the Himalayas—the monarch of mountains and the measuring pole of the earth. The goal is to witness something majestic and in Carter’s mind, there is only one place on earth where that can be accomplished.

They stand in the doorway of a shelter on a smaller mountain that’s facing Mount Everest.

Carter: Would be a whole lot more majestic if we could see it.
Edward: See that old woman? Odds are we’re gonna be dead before her.
Carter: Happy thought.
Edward: Of course, she’s probably got reincarnation going for her, however that system works.
Carter: Ah, Buddhists believe you keep coming back. Moving up or down a level based on how you lived your life.
Edward: See that’s where they lose me.

Earlier in The Bucket List, before the two embarked on their travels, Edward is seen hanging his head over a toilet following a round of chemotherapy. He walks to the sink where he looks at himself in the mirror and says, “Some lucky guy out there is having a heart attack.” In reality, the actor Jack Nicholson makes a lateral move when he returns as Harry Sanborn in the movie Something’s Gotta Give. Just like Edward Cole, Harry Sanborn prefers being single, is wealthy, invests in businesses, has a male assistant that tends to all the details... and has a heart attack that creates an opportunity to change his life.

Carter, on the other hand, got the idea of making “a bucket list” during his freshmen year in college. A philosophy professor assigned each student the task of writing down all the things they hoped to achieve before they died. Carter admits he had youthful dreams: he wanted to be a millionaire and become the first black president, but he got his girl friend pregnant and his dreams came to an end. In reality, the actor Morgan Freeman returns in the role of Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa in the movie Invictus, who is famous for his ideal that a nation can be brought together when inspired by a common goal... one that’s symbolized by the Rugby World Cup Championship set to be played inside Ellis Stadium, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The movie is based on a true story that happened 15 years ago.

In The Bucket List, Edward’s assistant gives Edward and Carter news that a storm is forcing a change in plans and it won't be possible to fly close to the mountain. Not until spring. They’d thought they covered every detail but neglected to take the season into consideration.

After digesting the disappointment, Edward says, “Well, maybe your mountain’s trying to tell us something.”

Carter looks at him, “What do you mean?”
Edward, “Well, maybe we’ve been gone long enough.”
Carter: Gone long enough? Gone long enough for whom?

They continue on with their journey, arriving in Hong Kong where Carter is shown sitting at the bar of a classy hotel talking with the bartender about the mountain, Chomulungma as the Tibetans call it, “Goddess Mother of the Snows.” A woman named Angelica approaches and corrects him, “'Goddess Mother of the World,' actually in traditional Tibetan translation.”

The two exchange stories. Angelica tells Carter what it was actually like on the mountain at 26,000 feet. “The sky is more black than blue because there isn’t enough air to reflect the sunlight. But at night, you’ve never seen so many stars.” “They’re like little holes in the floor of heaven.”

Carter: Did you hear it?
Angelica: Hear what?
Carter: I read an account of a man who made it to the summit and standing there at the top of the world he experienced this profound silence. It was like all sound fell away. And that’s when he heard it. The sound of the mountain… He said it was like he heard the voice of God.

In reality, in 1953 the first climbers to reach the summit were Tenzig Norgay and Edmond Hillary. They only stayed a short while, noting that at the top of world there is only enough space to accommodate two persons, maybe three if snow is moved out of the way.

Sun, Moon, and the planets have their own unique characteristics that influence the world, while the Sabian Symbols provide shape and form to their energy. As above, so below. Human beings have unique traits and abilities that they bring to the world which are given shape and form within the framework of the Sacred Story within which their soul develops.

Like the son a few weeks ago who tried to save his widow mother from being put to death, there has been a wrong interpretation of events that initiated the Sacred Story of the Bible.The framework of the story was skewed for lack of knowing the codes underlying Hebrew words the Master Storyteller unitized. The story initiated in the Garden of Eden now has an international audience, but the decision Eve made has been grossly misunderstood. Mark understood when we believed the true message of our Sacred Story, we would take up--become interested or engaged with the concept of-- serpents.

In mystical Judaism, the Messiah is "The Holy Snake." The Hebrew word Mashiach, or Messiah, has the gematria of 358 which is equivalent to Nachash, the name of the serpent in the story in Genesis. The message the Messiah was to deliver merely repeated what the serpent Nachash had already said. We don't truly die.

But it was the serpent Nachash who contributed something new and incredibly important to our story. He provided a glimpse to the outcome and provided Eve the opportunity to choose. Nachash told Eve that God knew when she ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that she would become wise like the gods. She would have the vision of those who look upon us from the heavens above... the wisdom to know good and evil when she saw it. She then gave birth to good and evil and experienced it first hand.   

At this point, Eastern traditions encompass the paths provided to Buddhist and Hindu followers while the story of the Garden of Eden gathers all those who claim Eve's story to become wise like the gods as their ‘beginning.’

To the Master Storyteller, human beings are characters with a role to play in the Sacred Story they're born into, which provides a framework for their personal story, or soul, to evolve and develop.

The story that belongs to Buddhists is the Four Noble Truths. And anyone “developing” within its framework is guided to bring the Sacred Story into reality within their own life. They strive to escape suffering. Their vision rides a projectile from Earth to the sky above that might deliver them from the cycle of life and death and return to the One. They’ve always had their eyes on the heavens.

Eve’s desire to become wise like the gods established a perspective which was the opposite, as if looking from the heavens down towards Earth. The ‘hitch’ is the Master Storyteller didn’t think through all the details from start to finish before the story was initiated. Until we could raise our level of consciousness, we fared no better than Anna when she fell face first in a puddle of mud. God was behind us, out of sight and with a voice that could only be heard in the profound silence at the top of a mountain. In other words, we’ve been SOL for six thousand years.

Native Americans, just as all indigenous peoples on the islands and in forests, along the rivers, and in the plains, each have a Sacred Story that maintains harmony with Nature. Like the world of Pandora in AVATAR.

The combination of all the Sacred Stories maintains balance and synergy in the world. In our arrogance and ignorance we destroyed the harmony. Haiti was the first casualty of Western expansion. Not only have they waited long enough, but if we help them clear away the rubble that's been heaped upon them, perhaps they will be kind enough to teach us the ways in which we can find God everywhere we look.

In The Story of the Grail the sister of the King of Escavalon is accused of being affectionate with the traitor, reminiscent of rumors which have dogged Eve for millennia:

“Shame on you, woman, shame!” he flung.
“May God confound you; you’re disgraced
to let yourself be held, embraced,
and kissed, and cuddled, and caressed,
by him whom you should most detest!
Poor, foolish woman, good-for-naught,
you’ve done exactly as you ought …

Yet, if a woman did not sin,
you could not call her feminine.

Who hates the bad and loves the good
can’t be called ‘woman,’ for she would
be forfeiting her right to own
the name by loving good alone.
I see you’re a real woman too.

When woman can do as they please,
They go too far and do not care.”

The words that were spoken in Escavalon have no place in our Sacred Story, no matter how many times they're paraphrased and repeated.

A Very, Very, Big Day

I mentioned earlier that July 11th was a very big day. In reality, it was surrounded by significant details with ties to the gemstone and provides clues as to what we should be looking for:

July 10th - Excitement builds for 2010 FIFA World Cup Final. Headlines boast that Spain and the Netherlands are competing for the "Holy Grail." Read more

July 10th - Vegetables are losing their nutritional value... Read more

July 6th - Satellites to track space debris... Read more

July 7th - Brutal heat wave hits East Coast. Read. (Declan did say, "We're gonna heat things up.")

July 10th - Soccer fans shun hookers for art. CNN.com with Photos - See and Read

• World Cup - Cash Cow Nowhere to be Seen (Hookers complain)
• World Cup - Apartheid Museum - a look at the past
• World Cup - Art Gallery
• World Cup - Family and a Fish Dinner - togetherness, a meal on a pier
• World Cup - It's a Long Haul Trip

July 10th - Older news gets front page coverage: Mayan pools are explored. Divers burrow into the bottom of a mini-lake and recover ancient artifacts. (In The Last Templar, the display at the MET followed the Mayan show while in the novel the ancient astrolabe was recovered at the bottom of a man-made lake.)

July 10th - Haiti Hospital Woe's Show Challenge of Recovery: "It was a simple problem- with a novel solution." Read more

July 10th - Portrait of Mandela sparks debate - "Yiull Damaso has said that the picture is designed to show South Africans that although Nelson Mandela is a “great man” he is “just a man” who will eventually die." Read more

July 11th - Haiti recovery paralyzed 6 months after deadly quake. Read more.

July 11th - Keeping Haiti in sight. Read more.

July 15th - Most countries fail to pay pledges made to help Haiti. United States pledged $1.15 billion for reconstruction. Amount paid to date: $0. Read more.

July 16th - Freight Train? Thunder? Holy Cow! Earthquake hits D.C. Read more

July 15th - Iroquois lacross team denied access to first game of the sport's World Championship, a sport they shared with the world Read more

July 11th - the day is marked by a total Solar Eclipse that can best be viewed on Easter Island, which got its modern name from a Dutch explorer who arrived on its shores on Easter Sunday in 1722. He was looking for David's island. For the history of Easter Island read; for Easter Island's FIFA Match of the Century read. (As a worthy exercise, both sources are filled with details that connect Easter Island to the gemstone.)

July 11th - In Pensacola Beach, Florida, Angels cure oil blues. The Blue Angels perform in air show. Read more

July 3rd - "A Whale," the biggest oil eating ship in the world arrives in the Gulf. Read more

July 11th - MSN.com front page photo with caption: No More Crying Over Spilled Coffee: "Hate it when the party's spoiled by a spill. Well stop that fussing..." It was an article about spilled coffee, but with a little imagination, it had everything to do with the Youtube.com clip on the "BP Coffee incident." Watch

July 19th - By all appearances, the latest cap is successful but "tests on the ruptured BP well in the Gulf of Mexico will go on for another 24 hours as federal and company officials try to explain "anomalous" pressure readings and possible leaks. The readings are significantly lower than what they expected... Read more

July 7th - Some 27,000 Abandoned Wells in the Gulf... Read more

July 6th - BP the Board Game... Read more

July 11th - World Cup fervor inspires racial harmony. Will it last? Read more.

July 11th - FoxNews.com Photo Gallery See it - photo captions:

• World Cup - All the buzz
• World Cup - Setting Sun
• World cup - Blow your Horn
• World Cup - Polite Reception -"Thank you South Africa"
• World Cup - Fish Story - Paul the Octopus
• World Cup - Take the Stage
• World Cup - Helping Hand
• World Cup - Hat the Ready
• World Cup - Power Suits
• World Cup - Pretty as a Picture
• World Cup - Stage Presence
• World Cup - Lap of Honor - Nelson Mandela
• World Cup - Vocal Vixen
• World Cup - Shake It
• World Cup - Stomp It Out
• World Cup - Grand Stage
• World Cup - Dance Party
• World Cup - Winning Team

July 11th - FoxNews.com Photo Gallery - photo captions: See it

• World Cup - Group Therapy
• World Cup - Such Pageantry
• World Cup - Red Fury
• World Cup - Orange Crush
• World Cup - Pau-er Play
• World Cup - Idiot Patrol
• Word Cup - Man Down
• World Cup - Out of My Way
• World Cup - Up and Running
• World Cup - Face Time
• World Cup - Caught in the Webb
• World Cup - Marteen on the Spot
• World Cup - Air Apparent
• World Cup - Yellow Peril
• World Cup - Off Center
• World Cup - Say Ankle
• World Cup - Who's the Boss
• World Cup - Red Worthy
• World Cup - Up for Grabs
• World Cup - Slide Into It
• World Cup - Action Hero
• World Cup - Stay the Course
• World Cup - Don't Lose your Head
• World Cup - Over the Top
• World Cup - Missed Opportunity
• World Cup - Talk is Cheap
• World Cup - Not Close Enough
• World Cup - Ugh
• World Cup - Piggy Back
• World Cup - Get Over There!
• World Cup - Forget It
• World Cup - High Jump
• World Cup - Head Shot
• World Cup - Replacement
• World Cup - Seeing Red
• World Cup - Goooooooal!
• World Cup - Get in the Net
• World Cup - More than Words
• World Cup - What's Up?
• World Cup - It's Ok
• World Cup - Yeah!
• World Cup - Touching Moment
• World Cup - Smile!
• World Cup - Golden Touch
• World Cup - Make a Run
• World Cup - Hug it Out
• World Cup - Oh, pretty
• World Cup - Consolation Prize

July 11th - Game On - Fan holds Spanish flag in front of a setting Sun. The Spanish flag features a coat of arms with a crown resting on pillars of Hercules. Red banners display the motto "Plus Ultra" meaning "More Beyond," alluding to Columbus' discovery of the New World. The two columns flank a shield that displays a castle, a lion wearing a crown, red and yellow stripes, and three fleur-de-lis (the sign of the Holy Grail in The Da Vinci Code) in an oval in the center.

July 12th - Spain by the Numbers: Spain wins the Final match in extended 
time, only goal is made in the 116th minute, final score 1-0. (Don't for a moment think the score pertains solely to the Dutch opponent on the football field. In Leap Year the score was Declan 1, chicken nil). At the final whistle, the Spanish players hurried to swap their blue shirts for their more familiar RED colors in time to collect their trophy. They were the 8th nation to receive the honor in the tournament's 80 year history. Read more

July 11th - Spain Exemplifies Winning Formula: the delicate touch paid off as it overcame the brute force of Netherland's team. Read more

July 11th - Bob Sheppard, legendary Yankees announcer, nicknamed "the voice of God," whose voice spanned half a century died today with his wife Mary at his side. His voice however will live on... Read more

In the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sandra Bullock said she would never wear orange - it wasn't in her color wheel. And unfortunately for the Dutch, their uniforms are orange.

July 10th - Running of the bulls in the French Quarter of New Orleans begins with a Spanish tapas dinner... Read more

The Story of Ferdinand, which has a place in The Blind Side, was written by American author Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It's about a bull that would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights. Ferdinand sits in the middle of the bull ring failing to take heed of any of the provocations of the matador and others to fight. The book was released nine months before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Leaf said he wrote the story on a whim in an afternoon in 1935, largely to provide his friend a forum in which to showcase his talents. (Everything Leigh Anne Tuohy did per the movie The Blind Side, she did to help someone else.) The landscape in which Lawson placed the fictional Ferdinand is more or less real. Lawson faithfully reproduced the view of the city of Ronda in Andalusia for his illustration of Ferdinand being brought to Madrid on a cart: we see the Puente Nuevo—New Bridge—spanning the El Tajo canyon. The Disney movie added some rather accurate views of Ronda and the Puente Romano—Roman Bridge—and thePuente Viejo—Old Bridge—at the beginning of the story. The story was set to incidental music in "Ferdinand the Bull" by classical composer Mark Fish. It was also adapted, in 1971, as a piece for solo violin and narrator by the British composer Alan Ridout. Singer-songwriter Elliott Smith had a tattoo of Ferdinand the Bull, from the cover of Munro Leaf's book, on his right upper arm, which is visible on the cover of his record either/or. Smith's song "Flowers for Charlie" can be seen as a somewhat abstract retelling of the book from Ferdinand's perspective. The rock band Fall Out Boy named their third album From Under the Cork Tree after a phrase in the book. Richard Horvitz commented that fellow actor and friend Fred Willard performed this story as a 5th grade class play when Fred was a child. Ferdinand made an appearance in the 1997 film Strays, a Sundance favorite. Ferdinand again appeared in the 2009 movie The Blind Side, the story of Michael Oher, with a similar metaphorical message. According to one scholar, the book crosses gender lines in that it offers a character to whom both boys and girls can relate. The short film is broadcast in Sweden every year on Christmas Eve as a part of an annual Disney Christmas show. (Wikipedia)

Spain has a player on their team whose first name is Jesus (Navas).

In the movie Invictus and in the real life Rugby World Cup match 15 years ago, the force to recon with was Jonah (Lomu).

With a little imagination one can make a connection between the names Shakira (the entertainer), Sakineh (the woman sentenced to death in Iran), and Shekhinah which is "a visible manifestation of the divine presence as described in Jewish theology" or "God among the people."

July 11th - Nelson Mandela makes an appearance at the closing ceremony of the World Cup. Read more.

July 11th - Historians locate King Arthur's Round Table, capable of seating far more knights than ever thought... Read more

July 11th - Mythical unicorn found in Italy... Read more

July 13th - Paul the Octopus who was hailed an "Oracle" is retiring after correctly predicting the outcome of eight World Cup matches in a row. Paul had all the characteristics of God that are found within the gemstone: the face that Handel saw when he was composing Messiah, the hand (8 of them!) that supposedly aided Diego Maradona, and the voice from the Mountain that is heard only in profound silence. Read more.

July 21th - "Whale of a Tale!" On Sunday (the "octave" of the FIFA World Cup Final) a 40-ton whale landed on a yacht sailing near the infamous Robben Island off the coast of South Africa. A couple watched the whale flipping its tail for half an hour before it went under the water. They didn't realize they were on a collision course. The man told the woman, named Paloma, to go over to the other side. Then the whale jumped. She ducked behind the coach house; he hid behind the wheel as the whale crashed into the boat. Both watched as the mast fell. The couple were able to sail back to Table Bay Harbor and only later that night realized how lucky they were to be alive. Read more

July 22nd - Sun enters Leo, "The King of the Zodiac" Fun Facts

The movie Invictus is named after a poem of the same name. William Ernest Henley wrote the poem from a hospital bed in 1875, not long after his leg was amputated below the knee to fend off a disease that had progressed to his foot. The title Invictus is Latin for "unconquered."

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tear
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

There are two thoughts from the film that bring meaning and significance for where the story is at this moment in time. In order to build camaraderie and national support of the rugby team, Mandela requested that the Springboks schedule clinics where the rugby players could interact with youth. At their first outing to an impoverished neighborhood, François tells the boys “…the first rule of rugby is you can only pass the ball backwards or sideways."

On July 12, 2010 Fox News reported, “A Somali terrorist group tied to al Qaeda reveled in the tears and blood they spilled in Uganda as they claimed responsibility for simultaneous bombings that tore through World Cup parties, killing 74 people…” Read more.

This group of terrorists chose to connect their actions to our very, very big day. But they're clinging by a very, very, very thin thread. There is NO place in our story for people who boast that others' tears puts a smile on their face.

Per Ecclesiates, there is a time to kill. But there is also a time for peace and joy in like measure to the hostilities and pain we have all shared. As Nelson Mandela told the people of South Africa, "throw your weapons into the sea." (Metaphorically speaking! Our journey has already been given a glimpse of the miles and miles of garbage floating in both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.)

At the moment I seem to be carrying the ball, but there's nobody I can pass to sideways... and there's only God behind me. Well... "Game on."

In Invictus, on President Mandela’s first day in office, a news anchor is shown on the television broadcasting all of the problems that the country of South Africa is facing. François Pienaar (Matt Damon) is the captain of the Springboks. He’s sitting in the living room of his father’s house. The father turns the television off and says, “I never thought I’d see the day. I feel sorry for you son. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. What’s it gonna’ be like now?”

On July 16th, Jesse James was back in the news. Journalists were commenting that he had hit rock-bottom and was now embroiled in a custody case concerning his 6-year-old daughter who happens to be named Sunny. The papers report that Sunny has been “acting out.” The issue currently before the court revolves around Jesse James' desire to relocate and move Sunny to a place where she can remain close to those who have been there for her, from day one.

The first time Declan showed compassion for Anna he said, “A father is someone you should be able to rely on, you know.”

Everything that's been happening is about what's in the best interest of the children.

But if you must put yourself first, remember we are all the children of tomorrow and in this particular story, a soul only moves sideways, returning to someplace it left off, or backwards—which actually raises one's perspective.

Where are we in our journey? As Alex said, "three dates seal the deal." If there is only one idea or vision that can be used from each of the dates, this is how they come together: the sheep that were nervously running around on stage in The Phantom of the Opera following the hanging of Joseph Buquet became the ewes that were pregnant during the celebration of Lá Fhéile Bríde in Leap Year... which gave birth as the Sun rose over Easter Island on July 11th, 2010.

And the Lion has arrived to lay down with the lamb.

Jesse James, I have a message for you: "No matter what happens, no matter how far you think you've fallen, there is always a hand extended... and rest assured, God will always have your back."

Now... about those "17 stories" that rise above the stage. The rules of numerology require that 17 be reduced to a single digit, while the number 8 when looked upon from a different angle becomes the symbol for infinity. And good thing, because as you might have gathered, my list of movies that are woven together is growing exponentially.