Eh, if other people are going to try to bring Xanga back - well then I am too!!

Hidey Ho Xanga Rangers!

Let's start off with the desert. I am always surprised at how hot it gets in the summer. I know, I shouldn't be because it IS the desert and all, but every summer it just seems to be hotter and hotter. Today, once again, it will be well over 100 degrees and it will not cool off for the rest of the summer. Everyone always says it - but it's dryyyy heat. I don't care; anything over 100 degrees is too hot for me. It isn't too bad if you are just stepping outside for a couple of minutes, but it is like an oven every day in my car, and if you have to walk anywhere, including the mailbox, well God help us all. Luckily I have my nice, cozy house with air conditioning and I don't really have to worry all that much about the 100+ weather outside.

Summer vacation is here - staying up until all hours of the night, sleeping in late. Except when people call you - this morning, I had four phone calls before 9 AM. I was up and about after that. I am taking some summer classes, but they are all online so I don't really have to leave my house, which is nice.

Leave on Thursday for Colorado. My sister is getting married. I am really excited, but I do know that my family needs to relax. They get really uptight in situations like these, primarily because they really do want to see it all turn out for the best, but they just need to chill. The most important thing is that my sister is going to be married by the end of it all, and that is a fact to be celebrated. My sister knows it - she is keeping it in the forefront of her mind. But the rest of my family has the strange need to look at all of the small details and not worry about the bigger picture. Oh well, I love them anyway.

Hope the world is treating you like it should.

Peace.

It is with heavy heart that I write today about the death of my friend, Binil Samuel. Binil was killed this morning at 1:00 AM driving through the northwestern part of Chicago. The car he was riding in was turning left, when a tow truck ran a red light and hit them. Binil was killed instantly, and the other two people in the car were rushed to area hospitals. The man driving the tow truck surveyed the scene, and then fled, abandoning the truck in Park Ridge. The police are still looking for this man.

I am at a loss for words. At a loss for emotion. I am just completely at a loss. I am not really sure how to process this event, what to think about the death of such a young man, or the travesty of someone committing vehicular manslaughter and not checking to see what happened. Binil graduated from DePaul in June of this past year, and had just accepted a lucrative position with a business in Chicago that would have had him on the fast track to being a very successful businessman. And in one fatal moment, it is over. His promise. His young life. Ended with the violation of a red light.

What was the man's hurry? Why did he have to run that particular light? I think back to the many times that I have rushed through a yellow light, or maybe even a red light, just to make up a couple of minutes. Rushing to dinner. Rushing to school. Just rushing to get home. Was it worth it then? Was it worth it to this man, to make his way, wherever he was going, just a little bit faster?

Binil was the cream of the crop. I don't know if I have ever met a wittier, more intelligent, sharper witted young man. He always had something to say, and he stood strong by his convictions and his opinions. He would challenge his friends to think outside of the box, and to make sure that they had analyzed their decisions from a variety of points-of-view before settling on a singular decision. He made people laugh, and he loved more than almost anyone I have ever met. He cared deeply, and could be relied upon to do just about anything you needed him to do. He had a promising future ahead of him, and I know that he would have made the world a much better place to live in.

It was his faith in God that I respected most about him, and I know that in Binil's short 22 years on this earth, he made the Earth much better to those of us who had the opportunity to interact with him. He trusted that God had plans for him, and that He would never let Binil run astray. He knew that God's hand had been over his entire life, and that God's hand would be over the lives of those around him. He know that God had us destined to a better life then the one we are living, and he looked forward to the day that God would call him home. Binil loved with God's heart, and he trusted God's word. And now, I know that God has called him to stand by His side.

Binil will be dearly missed, and always remembered for the things that he did for those of us left behind. And Binil's legacy is one that we should all remember. Slow down. Take your time. Never sacrifice safety for convenience, or leisure. Watch out for those around you. Love people you don't know. Love people you do know. Take the time to stop and let the people in your lives know how much you care about them. Do something nice for those around you.

Because the truth is, my friends, we really don't know. We don't know when the day that will be our last will be upon us. We don't know when God will decided to call us home to be with him. We don't know what God has in mind. We just don't know. So live each day like it is going to be your last. Because we don't know.

Thank you for being a part of my life Binil Samuel. It was my honor to know you. It was my honor to serve for a short period of time with you. It was my honor to love you as a brother.

Goodbye my friend.

Hidey Ho Xanga Rangers!

I watched "Hairspray" again last week (third time, thank you very much) and I had some thoughts that came up about the state of the world. First of all, I highly recommend that everyone go and see this film! You can't help but tap your feet, start to sing along with the music, and leave with one of the biggest smiles on your face that you might have ever had in your entire life. It is just straight up fun from start to finish.

The thing that really struck me during this last viewing of the film is, why does it take so long for people to realize that they need to stand up for things that should be changed, and why do more people not do the "right" thing? There is a point in the film where the African American characters decide to protest the television station that does not allow them to dance with the Caucasian kids, and Tracy Turnblad (the main character) asks her boyfriend if he will go with her. He says that he does not want to risk his career and she says "But it's the right thing to do."

And there you have it. So simple.

When it comes to equality and fairness within humanity, I believe that most issues have a very simple answer. Will it propel people forward or will it hold them back? Is it giving others an equal footing, or pulling the rug out from under their feet? If some action that you can do improves the lot of others, then it is the right thing to do. And it should be done. So why do we fight doing the right thing so often? Why are there not more people fighting for the rights of single mothers, more people fighting for equality in education, more people working to eradicate poverty? Why are there not more people doing the right thing? Why is it so hard for us to take a step out of our comfort zone and do what we know needs to be done?