From Rachmaninoff to Sheet Ghosts

Sunday, April 9, 2006

[6:56pm] Collette did not like the idea of a “Gospel of Judas.” She did not like it at all – the heresies. She was however, surprised to find the following quotes in The New York Times:

“An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of what is known as the Gospel of Judas, has surfaced after 1,700 years… The discovery in the desert of Egypt of the leather-bound papyrus manuscript, and now its translation, was announced by the National Geographic Society at a news conference in Washington. The 26-page Judas text is said to be a copy in Coptic, made around A. D. 300, of the original Gospel of Judas, written in Greek the century before… The Gospel of Judas is only one of many texts discovered in the last 65 years, including the gospels of Thomas, Mary Magdalene and Philip, believed to be written by Gnostics… Scholars say that they have long been on the lookout for the Gospel of Judas because of a reference to what was probably an early version of it in a text called Against Heresies, written by Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons, about the year 180… Irenaeus was a hunter of heretics, and no friend of the Gnostics. He wrote, ‘They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.’”

It was a satisfying read, and from the newspaper of all places.

Saturday – Saturday afternoon Collette spent several hours at Washington University with Grandma, Aunt Petunia, and Mom listening to several virtuoso students perform. The donations raised would supply orphans in Ethiopia with music, (instruments), and the concert was hosted by Children’s Hope International, the adoption agency for which Aunt Petunia worked. Cory Baron, the weatherman from KMOV, was there to narrate, who used to attend Kirk of the Hills and had adopted two Chinese girls, sisters.

As they waited for the concert to begin, Grandma handed out sweets and the ladies discussed things. Grandma told them of the Scottish festival, the throwing of the “telephone poles” (as Mom called it), the haggis and Scottish eggs.

“Do you know what a Scottish egg is?” Grandma asked them.

“Is it plaid?” Mom joked.

In actuality it was a hard-boiled egg spread with butter or thin cheese, rolled in finely ground pork sausage and then fried. And Grandma had seen the lambs “marching in the parade” also.

The students did perform well, some from Russia, some from Ukraine, others just born in America, and two Chinese sisters.

After a thundering Rachmaninoff performance by an eleven year-old girl born in Odessa, there was an intermission. Cory Baron approached the small podium to the left and reminded everyone about the chocolate fountain reception following.

“So when you see that chocolate fountain out there,” he said, “Don’t think, ‘Aw, I’m not a part of it…’ Because you are!”

During the intermission, Cory came over to talk briefly with them. He told Aunt Petunia that he and his wife and the girls had attended the Easter egg hunt that morning, and about how he used to play the piano and of his first recital.

“I got up there and just did awful,” he said. “I played Moonshine, well Moonwreck.” He chuckled. “I think she must have been touched by God,” he said, in reference to the Ukrainian pianist. “’This is what you’re gonna do,’” he said, as if God has spoken it to her.

And meanwhile, Carrie had nothing too interesting to say about the Lemp Mansion.

“It was boring, so we walked around and Elizabeth put a sheet on over her head and walked around. You could see her flip-flops sticking out underneath.”

She shared pictures and talked about how they had set little bushes outside peoples doors, and watched around the corner to see them scream when they opened the doors.

And that evening, OLeif, Collette, Joe, Magnus, Wallace, Curly, Rose, and Bob B. went from the wallyball court lounge to Borders and to Best Buy with nothing particular to do.

Sunday after the kids had waved their palm branches in church, there was discussion at youth while Ben-Hur played with a wind-up Brahms Lullaby toy, Joe and Rose twiddled with a sea star and a sand dollar, Wallace with a fuzzy Larry Boy, and Augustus balanced a pillow on the top of his head.