KALEIDOSCOPE 2003 A sermon delivered by Kenneth W. Phifer 12/28/03, First UU Church Ann Arbor 2003 began with the swearing in of Michigan's first female governor, Jennifer Granholm. In the news that day were concerns about the fall-off in collections by the Salvation Army, concerns about North Korea quitting the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, concerns about huge piles of snow, concerns about health care and tax cuts and environmental rules being eased and immigration arrests and Kosovo. There was a Blackout in the Northeast, wildfires in southern California, and crippling cold and snow in New England. The shuttle Columbia was lost, the Concorde flew its last flight, and the last VW Beetle rolled off the line in Mexico. Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize, Rush Limbaugh went into treatment for addiction to painkillers, and Hillary Clinton published her memoir, LIVING HISTORY. This past year brought us the SARS epidemic, the resignation of a New York Times reporter and two editors because of plagiarism and factual errors, and Hispanics became the largest minority in the United States at 36.2 million people. Oprah Winfrey became a billionaire, HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX set new book sales records, and William Bennett—self-appointed moral guru of America—revealed he had placed $8 million in bets over the last decade. The SOBIG computer virus was stopped, e-mail service from beyond the grave is now available at MyLastEmail.com, and the Japanese gave the world wise haikus about computer errors that are a clear improvement on "Your computer has performed an illegal operation." Among them were these "Yesterday it worked. Today it is not working. Windows is like that."---"Your file was so big. It might be very useful. But now it is gone."---"Stay the patient course. Of little worth is your ire. The network is down."---"Out of memory. We wish to hold the whole sky, but we never will." Nigeria reached for the sky, sending its first satellite into space. The English and Russian space venture, Beagle II, headed for Mars, China began preparing legislation to protect private property, and Moammar Ghadafi pledged to halt programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. The Serbian prime minister was assassinated, the U.S. made its first port call to Vietnam since the war ended, and Miss Afghanistan won the "beauty for a cause" award at the Miss Earth contest. There was fighting in Kashmir, earthquakes in Algeria and Iran, heat in France, and a blackout in Italy. In Britain, tobacco ads were banned and drivers forbidden to use cell phones while driving. In Canada, it is now legal for homosexuals to marry and it is a crime to incite hatred against homosexuals. Israel built a fence, North Korea started a nuclear reactor, and the mayor of Kruibeke, Belgium created a new Department of Tenderness, saying that "instead of threatening and using violence, we should try to resolve conflicts by tricking adversity and using Tenderness as a weapon." Fiji Islanders apologized to Dennis Russell for cannibalizing one of his ancestors. Bermuda was caught using photos of Hawaii and other tropical paradises in its new ad campaign. The European Union worked on a constitution, while Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Poland, among others, voted to join the Union. Liberia was freed of its tyrant with the help of U.S. soldiers acting as peacekeepers. Zimbabwe was suspended from and then left the British Commonwealth. There were elections or changes of government in Canada, Russia, Georgia, Mauritania, Malaysia, Bolivia, Oman, Argentina, Israel, Turkey, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and … …California, where more than 300 men and women tried to enter the governors' sweepstakes and 135 actually registered as candidates, and when Gray Davis was recalled, Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governor. The former Soviet republic of Georgia offered to name a mountain after him, but he turned down the offer. Governor Rowland of Connecticut was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and is threatened with expulsion from office. Richard M. Daley won a fifth term as mayor of Chicago, the Democrats boycotted the Texas House, and Georgia dropped the rebel cross from the state flag. A bust of Dan Quayle was unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda, George Bush raised well over $100 million for his campaign next year, and a historic Medicare bill was passed in December. Al Franken got a huge boost in sales when Fox Network sued him about his book on Lies and Liars, while the Metropolitan Community Church, a predominantly gay church, received a congratulatory letter from President Bush on their 35th anniversary. The most memorable political photos of the year were the one of the president landing on the carrier to declare "Mission accomplished" and the one of him holding a turkey (not the real thing) in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. A sage remarked that you know you live in 2003 if "you accidentally enter your password on the microwave…You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three…You e-mail your co- worker who sits at the desk next to you…You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies…Your boss doesn't have the ability to do your job." Bosses Martha Stewart, Dennis Kozlowski, Mark Swartz, Richard Scrushy, Dick Grasso, among others, were fired or indicted or tried on various charges of cheating for their own personal gain. Fan branding of product names like Dunkin' Donuts was seen at the NCAA Tournament, Mikhail Gorbachev applied for a trademark for the birthmark on his head, and Adbusters began producing an "ethical sneaker" in a "clean" factory in China with a white spot in place of the corporate logo. October 24 was the first annual Take Back Your Time Day, GE and Vivendi merged for $14 billion, and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary now includes the word, "McJob," giving as its meaning "low paying and dead-end work." Unemployment hit 6% and then 7%, the Dow plunged to the 7,000 range, but closed the year above 10,000, and the Federal deficit set a new record of more than $450 billion. Toyota replaced Ford as the world's second largest automobile company, interest rates were at 45 year lows, and Alan Greenspan agreed to a fifth term as head of the Federal Reserve. We got a new, colorful $20 bill, Penthouse filed for Chapter 11 protection, and the VICE Fund— specializing in tobacco, spirits, guns, and gambling stocks—was formed because these industries appear to be "recession-proof." The EPA did a cost-benefit analysis of a clean-air proposal and determined that the value of a person under 70 is $3.7 million and the value of a person over 70 is $2.3 million. Congress passed a $350 billion tax cut while in Alabama voters turned down their tax-cutting governor's proposal to increase taxes on the rich, a plan he said was derived from the Christian scriptures. The governor of Florida dedicated the first faith-based prison, Haiti made Voodoo an official religion, Denmark ruled that worshippers of the Norse gods Thor and Odin may perform legal marriages, and a federal court ruled that Wiccans can offer the invocation at county supervisors meetings. Wheaton College gave students and faculty the right to drink and smoke off-campus, the Vatican planned to name a patron saint of the Internet, heresy charges were filed against the Methodist bishop of Chicago for saying that Jesus Christ was not the only path to salvation, and Valparaiso University apologized for participating in an interfaith service while the suspension of David Benke for such participation was lifted. A Solomon-era tablet was found in Jerusalem, a Dunkin' Donuts store in Royal Oak Township went kosher with its products, and the State of Florida declared Steven Miles' license plate that reads ATHEIST "obscene or objectionable" and cancelled it. Gene Robinson became the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop. Reflecting on the protests against this because it was an assault on Christian marriage, the Los Angeles Times mused: "The actions taken by the New Hampshire Episcopalians are an affront to Christians everywhere .I am just thankful that the church's founder, Henry VIII and his wife Catherine of Aragon, his wife Anne Boleyn, his wife Jane Seymour, his wife Anne of Cleves, his wife Katherine Howard, and his wife Catherine Parr are no longer here to suffer through this assault on 'traditional Christian marriage.'" Sinead O'Connor is giving up singing to study theology, and the Pope made his 100th foreign visit. Pat Robertson suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on the State Department, Thomas Nelson Publishers produced REVOLVE, a New Testament for teenaged girls in the format of a fashion magazine, and Borgata Hotel Casino And Spa replaced its Gideon Bibles with a library of texts from many different religions. Presbyterian Pastor Quinlan, frustrated at the cell phones and beepers that went off during services, asked before a service began if anyone heard a cell phone going off. Everybody checked and then he picked up his cell phone and had an imaginary conversation with God, ending it by "telling God" that he had some folks waiting for him and he would have to call back. No cell phones or beepers have been heard since. The Catholic Archdiocese of San Bernadino sued the Archdiocese of Boston for not warning them that a sexually predatory priest was coming to them, while the Boston Archdiocese paid 552 victims of sexual abuse $85 million. The Jesus Non-denominational Church burned Harry Potter books, non-King James Bibles, and the Book of Mormon as witchcraft items, the Saudi Arabian religious police declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality, and four women in Westport, Connecticut held a topless prayer vigil against clear-cut logging. A British firm is now marketing an inflatable, deliverable church, complete with plastic pulpit, stained glass windows, organ, pews and steeple. PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, began a billboard campaign, featuring such slogans as "What Would Jesus Eat?". "Jesus was the Prince of Peas---Follow Him-Go Vegetarian," and under a picture of a pig, "He died for your sins. Go Vegetarian." Leaders of various world religions—including the Pope and six Orthodox leaders—called for a four week Olympic Truce next July. So far, no takers. War raged in Iraq and Time magazine chose the 1.4 million men and women in the U.S. military as its Person of the Year. The Moonlight Bunnyranch, a Nevada brothel, offered free sex to the troops who fought in Iraq. Saddam was captured. So was Jessica Lynch, but she was rescued and became a poster child for the war, even though the tales of her capture and incarceration were more mythic than factual. Mimicking the Enduring Freedom Picture Cards of two years ago, the German magazine Der Spiegel created a magazine featuring Rambo Bush, Terminator Cheney, Xena Warrior Princess Rice, Batman Powell, and Conan the Barbarian Rumsfeld. The White House ordered 33 copies! The French also designed playing cards with American leaders featured, calling them the most dangerous players in the world. The Pentagon developed the Policy Analysis Market to encourage investors to bet on when and where terrorist attacks, coups d'etat and other turmoil would happen. It had a short life after it became public. Pilots were armed, Tom Ridge became head of the newly created Homeland Security Cabinet position, Jerry Rubin legally took the name "Peace Activist" as a middle name, and a memorial was dedicated at Little Bighorn to the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors who wiped out Custer and his men in 1876. Picasso's anti-war painting Guernica was covered with a blue curtain when Colin Powell came to address the Security Council, an Idaho man was arrested carrying three homemade bombs that he said he carried around in case he ran into some terrorists, and the FBI started "targeting peace groups," included in which were vegetarians, followers of Dr. King and of Gandhi, unclassified idealists, Quakers, pacifists, sweet damn fools, and Unitarians! 2003 marked 25 years of John Paul II's papacy and the anniversary of the first test-tube baby. Fifty years ago Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to scale Mount Everest. Playboy and the Paris Review and TV Guide were launched and AlfredKinsey's SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE HUMAN FEMALE was published in 1953.In that same year, Francis Crick and James Watson unraveled the double-helix structure that is the basis of life. Metzger's, Mickey Mouse, the Michigan Theater, and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra are all 75 this year. One hundred years ago the world was introduced to the first commercial film, "The Great Train Robbery", the first flight by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, N. C., the first Harley motorcycle, and the blind and deaf Helen Keller's book THE STORY OF MY LIFE. The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903, Rhodes Scholarships were established, the first World Series was played—the Boston Americans (later the Boston Red Sox) won it—and Lawrence Welk was born. In 1903,only14% of our homes had bathtubs, only 8% had a telephone, and there were only 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads. Ninety five percent of all births took place in the home, 90% of all physicians had no college education, and only 6% of all Americans had a high school diploma.The population of Las Vegas was 30.There were 230 murders in the 45 states of the United States. Times have changed! This year new rules were instituted requiring medical residents to work no more than 80 hours per week and have one day off. Information overload has brought us the New Economy Depression Syndrome, or NEDS. The fast-aging gene was found, the human genome was officially completed, and the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, died. The British warned about the use of antidepressants in children, the National Institute of Mental Health determined that longer and better health is directly related to the use of 19 pronouns (I, my, it, you, me, she, he, her, we, they, him, his, them, our, myself, their, us, and its), and researchers at Johns Hopkins found that Americans are overdosing on vitamins. A woman sued her doctor for branding her uterus with the initials of his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, before removing the organ during a hysterectomy. In Colorado, voters were presented with an anti-stress initiative, while researchers at the National Institute on Aging found that too little stress is our problem. Too little brain power was the problem for a man in Portland, Oregon who tried to pass $3 million in bogus U.S. currency that showed a photo of the Queen of England. Not much better was Michael Harris in North Carolina trying to pass a $200 bill with a photo of George W. Bush on the front and on the back a picture of the White House with two slogans: "USA deserves a tax cut" and "We like broccoli." Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the D.C. snipers, was sentenced to life in prison without parole, Christian Longo was sentenced to death for the murder of his family, Representative Bill Janklow was found guilty of manslaughter and resigned his office, while John Hinckley was given "unsupervised visits" with his parents. Elizabeth Smart was found alive, Kobe Bryant was charged with rape, abortion-doctor killer Paul Hill was executed in Florida, and pedophile priest John Geoghan was beaten and strangled to death in prison. Governor George Ryan began the year by pardoning every one on death row in Illinois and ended the year being indicted on 22 counts of corruption. Yet another man convicted of murder—Darryl Hunt—was freed after 18 years in prison when DNA tests showed he could not have been the killer. Death this year took Al Hirschfeld, Bill Mauldin, Mr.Rogers, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, and Idi Amin. We also lost Donald O'Connor, George Plimpton, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Edward Teller, Art Carney, John Ritter, Keiko the killer whale, Althea Gibson, Leni Riefenstal, and 116 year old Kamato Hongo, the world's oldest person. Also gone are Margaret Formby, who founded the Cowgirl Hall of Fame; Richard Sinnott, city censor who made famous the label "banned in Boston"; Rosa Maria Cardini, who used a salad dressing recipe of her father, Caesar, to create a multi-million dollar business, and Robert McCloskey who brought us MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS. Charles Douglass, the inventor of the laugh track, died. The Pioneer 10 spacecraft fell silent after 31 years of exploration of the far reaches of our galaxy. U.S.life expectancy rose to 77.2 years while anti- tobacco activists created a company—Licensed To Kill, Inc.—that could lower it. Their product is tobacco, and their advertising reads: "The beauty of the tobacco business is that people pay us to kill them. That's why our motto is, 'We're rich. You're dead.'" Voyager I left the galaxy, Mars was closer to earth than in 60,000 years, China launched its first space mission, and scientists in Chicago created mixed gender embryos. Another planet was discovered 5,000 light years away, researchers pinned down the time of "the cosmic jerk" as 5 billion years ago, and others determined that a meteor landed in the tropics 250 million years ago and extinguished 90% of all living species. MSU graduate student Michael Shafer discovered the world's largest-yet prime number--6,320,430 digits long. The pentaquark was discovered, DNA from 400,000 years ago was found, and footprints from the same era were also revealed. Astronomers observed the dawn of the universe 13 billion years ago, other scientists found a 400 million year old fossilized daddy-long-legs penis, and Italian researchers created the first cloned horse. The latest theory of the universe is that it is like a volleyball, a wrap-around universe. Speaking of sports, there was Annika Sorenstam in golf, LeBron James in basketball, David Beckham leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid and new seats on top of the Green Monster in Fenway Patrk. The NCAA punished Michigan for basketball violations, Olympic CEO Lloyd Ward was forced to resign, and Joe Horn was fined $30,000 by the NFL for making a cell phone call to his family in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. Landlocked Switzerland became the first European nation to win the America's Cup. In 2003, Lou Gehrig would have been 100, Larry Doby who broke the color line in the American League died ,and Barry Bonds set a record unlikely ever to be approached, much less broken, of 500 major league home runs and 500 stolen bases. In 2003 we were fascinated by See-Through Coats, Spray-On Stockings, and Dan Brown's THE DA VINCI CODE. Chandelier earrings, Ugg boots, Yo-Yo Balls, and Flash Mobs were all the rage. Scientists studying lice concluded that humans began wearing clothes only a few tens of thousands of years ago, while a travel agency in Houston chartered a flight to Cancun called Castaways in which people took off their clothes once the plane was airborn. Kirk Jones of Detroit survived a nose-dive over Niagara Falls and Charles McKinley survived mailing himself in a wooden cargo crate via UPS. A group called Smile Mania sponsored the first Great American Grump Out. The most popular baby names were Aidan and Madison. Raymond reigned while Friends departed. Angels In America was a big tv hit while Finding Nemo and The Return of The King were hit movies. Madonna and Britney smooched at the MTV Video Music Awards show, while Bill Clinton and Bob Dole did not when they appeared together ten times on 60 Minutes. The Del Rio closed, Japanese inventors introduced the Food Simulator, and LifeSavers changed its stripes. Qasim Saleem discovered why cookies crumble, researchers at the University of Glasgow determined that of chocolates only dark chocolate has health benefits, and a communist amusement park opened in Berlin this summer. A Seattle restaurant requires customers to sign a liability waiver before they can be served a huge dessert called The Bulge. Minimelons were big this year, as was the new board game called Ghettopoly. The Star Spangled Ice Cream company was formed to sell patriotic flavors, like I Hate the French Vanilla, Iraqi Road, Smaller Governmint, and Nutty Environmentalist. Other patriotic foods endorsed by Congress were Freedom Fries, Freedom Caviar, and Freedom Fortune Cookies. Pizza Schmizza in Portland, Oregon put signboards on homeless men reading, "Pizza Schmizza paid me to hold this sign instead of asking for money." At Guantanamo Bay, interrogation tactics included serving prisoners cupcakes, Twinkies, and McDonald's hamburgers to make them talk. Research continues to confirm that families who eat together often have fewer children with drinking, drug, smoking, or sexual problems. Arch-segregationist Strom Thurmond, dead this year at 100,apparently never ate with his newly revealed this year African American daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, herself 78. The High Court in Massachusetts said that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. "Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family—these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights. And central to personal freedom and security is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations." Iran is currently pursuing a lawsuit against the United States for its support of Saddam Hussein, accusing the US of delivering "deadly chemicals and dangerous viruses" to Hussein in the 1980's. Engineering professor Pinaki Mazumber filed a first time ever suit against the University of Michigan for discrimination based on caste and national origin. Kirk Kerkorian is suing Daimler-Chrysler for claiming the joining of the two companies in 1998 was a merger when in reality it was a takeover. Millions of Americans signed up for the Do Not Call Registry, Boston repealed a 328 year old law mandating the arrest of Indians in the city, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled an inmate on death row could be forced to take anti-psychotic medication, writing that "eligibility for execution is the only unwanted consequence of the medication." Judge Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, refused to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building despite repeated court orders to do so. His fellow judges removed him from office. Justice Anthony Scalia refused to allow any media to listen to his talk at a banquet at which he was awarded a free speech medal. Four Wisconsin men established a new record of 12 continuous hours of drum rolling, Tim Sykes set a new record for pushups doing 3,669 in an hour, and the tallest building in the world was completed in Taipei, Taiwan—1676 feet. Ford Motor Company produced its 100th million V-8 engine, Stephen King was awarded a medal for distinguished contribution to American literature by the National Book Awards, and Hootie Johnson kept women out of Augusta National Golf Club. Best signs of the year went to the following: "Entrance Only; Do Not Enter"; "Ronald McDonald Funeral Home"; "Next 22 Miles: Absolutely Nothing"; a sign that reads "Keep Right" while the arrow points to the left; "Slow Down Or Die." Here are some communications between pilots and mechanics that explain why air travel is after all our safest mode of getting places: Pilot—Something loose in cockpit. Mechanic—Something tightened in cockpit. Pilot—Aircraft handles funny. Mechanic—Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious. Pilot—Mouse in cockpit. Mechanic—Cat installed. The U.S. halted education exemptions that allowed students and faculty to travel to Cuba, 2,000 employees of Yale went on strike, and a pediatrician diagnosed reading HARRY POTTER books as the cause of headaches in younger children. The valedictorian of Alcee Forbes High School in New Orleans failed the mandatory exit exam five times and still has not graduated. Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned: Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. Great Truths About Life That Adults Have Learned: Wrinkles don't hurt; families are like fudge…mostly sweet with a few nuts; and middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber not the toy. Great Truths About Growing Old: Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone! The Dixie Chicks opposed the war in Iraq, Michael Jackson was charged with child molestation, the final manuscript of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony was purchased for $3.47 million. Les Miz closed, Texaco announced after this season it would no longer sponsor the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts, and the first chord of the world's longest organ piece, by John Cage, began on February 5 and will conclude in the year 2640. The Supreme Court ruled for the law school and against the college in decisions regarding affirmative action at the University of Michigan. Martha Griffiths died. The Naked Mile attracted fewer than 20 people. Rabih Haddad was deported to Lebanon. There was a strike at Borders, Ella Bully-Cummings became the police chief in Detroit, and Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson won his 500th game. Gay gun advocates started a state chapter of Pink Pistols, Governor Granholm proclaimed June as GLBT Pride Month, and banned anti-gay discrimination in state employment. The Catalogue for Philanthropy ranks Michigan 43rd in terms of generosity in the same year that California millionaire Jack Robison left his native town of Clinton, Michigan $3 million. Words that were popular this year included weapons of mass destruction, effects-based warfare, and metrosexuals. Words that were banned by Lake Superior State College included material breach, peel- and-eat shrimp, and got game. The Vatican Latin Foundation published a new Latin-Italian Dictionary that includes common terms of today like pornographic film ( pellicula cinematographica obscene), disco (orbium phonographicorum theca) , and karate ( oppugnatio inermis Iaponica). An Estonian medieval music group translated the heavy metal band Black Sabbath's lyrics into Latin and made a CD called Sabbatum. And Jennifer Tunberg and Terrence Tunberg translated THE CAT IN THE HAT, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, AND GREEN EGGS AND HAM into Latin. Above all else the theme of this year has been war and preparations for war and cleaning up after war— not just in Iraq, but in Liberia, Kashmir, Chechen, the Congo, Kosovo, and too many other places, including our own land where the president's war on terror is as active as it is in Afghanistan, in the Philippines, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and wherever there is a sense that terrorists lurk. Whatever one's views on these terrible conflicts, surely in the heart of every person is a desire not for war and violence, but a yearning for peace. The peace of which I speak is the real thing, not a peace imposed but a peace chosen by all parties, not a peace that is a mere interlude between fighting but a peace that begins in our hearts and moves outward to touch all that we do. Ellen Bass's poem, Pray For Peace, has much to say to us of how we might not just long for peace but also work for peace every day in small and large gestures. "Pray to whomever you kneel down to: Jesus nailed to his wooden or marble or plastic cross, his suffering face bent to kiss you, Buddha still under the Bo tree in scorching heat, Adonai, Allah. Raise your arms to Mary that she may lay her palm on our brows, to Shekinah, Queen of Heaven and Earth, to Inanna in her stripped descent. Hawk or Wolf, or the Great White Whale, Record Keeper of time before, time now, time ahead, pray. Bow down to terriers and shepherds and siamese cats. Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries. Pray to the bus driver who takes you to work., Pray on the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus and for everyone riding buses all over the world. If you haven't been on a bus in a long time, climb the few steps, drop some silver, and pray. Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM, for your latte and croissant, offer your plea. Make your eating and drinking a supplication. Make your slicing of carrots a holy act, each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer. Make the brushing of your hair a prayer, every strand its own voice, singing in the choir on your head. As you wash your face, the water slipping through your fingers, a prayer. Water, softest thing on earth, gentleness that wears away rock. Making love, of course, is already a prayer. Skin and open mouths worshipping that skin, the fragile case we are poured into, each caress a season of peace. If you're hungry, pray. If you're tired. Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day. Shakespeare, Sappho, Sojourner Truth. Pray to the angels and the ghost of your grandfather. When you walk to your car, to the mailbox, to the video store, let each step be a prayer that we all keep our legs, that we do not blow off anyone else's legs. Or crush their skulls. And if you are riding on a bicycle or a skateboard, in a wheelchair, each revolution of the wheels a prayer that as the earth revolves we will do less harm, less harm, less harm. And as you work, typing with a new manicure, a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail or delivering soda or drawing good blood into rubber-capped vials, writing on a blackboard with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas, pray for peace. With each breath in, take in the faith of those who have believed when belief seemed foolish, who persevered. With each breath out, cherish. Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace, feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed that spills onto the earth, another second of peace. Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine. Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk. Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child around your Visa card. Gnaw your crust of prayer, scoop your prayer water from the gutter. Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling your prayer through the streets. Pray For Peace! Copyright 2003, Kenneth W. Phifer. All rights reserved.