To Cape Town and back again

Nothing like taxes will sober you right up. I worked all afternoon on my tax return, so to avoid some serious depression I went to the movies as a reward after slugging through the dirty details. I went to see the movie Avatar in an IMAX theater -- really spectacular. As I stood considering ticket prices I struck up a conversation with a man who turned out to be a curator at the museum. He kindly opened his wallet and put four free passes into my hand. "Welcome to Philadelphia," he said. Welcome, indeed.

Just two weeks ago I was on the beautiful beaches of Southern Africa. After the wedding I went to Cape Town for a few days, which is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It is a complicated place. Breathtaking landscapes and seascapes and mountains are home to universities and vacation homes as well as townships and beggars and serious violence. When you stand nearly any where in the city your eyes are drawn upward and outward. The towering mountains have given witness to all kinds of beauty and all kinds of ugliness in their long history. I, of course, spent my time doing touristy things. I drove around the Cape of Good Hope, swam, hiked, and had lots of good conversation with my friend Kevin (a friend from seminary) who was a lovely host and companion.

Time rightly ushers us forward, but on occasion, it is good to go back. It was good to return to Cape Town and stand on a beach with a Malawian named Robert and admire the Twelve Apostles. It was good to dig my toes into the warm sand at Camp's Bay and laugh at the darling penguins at Boulder's beach. It was good to ponder the complexities of life post-apartheid with new friends and reflect on love and justice and all the possibilities life holds. Not bad for 2.5 days.