4th of July - America the Beautiful!

10:55P

My Fourth of July started Friday July 2 when Pastor Rich texted me, excerpted: ".....is there any chance you would want to help me cook in the church kitchen tomorrow at 9 AM....making lasagna and wonderful vegetarian chili. I'm shopping for the food yet this afternoon so I'll be all ready at nine o'clock. I'd do it later but A's [6 yr-old grandson] basketball game is 11 AM..."

I texted back: "Why not! Ur favorite response, aka 'What's not to want to?' I'll see u 9:00A. Any utensils I should bring from home let me know, so as to keep my efficiency and talents, whoops...! 'freedoms!' at top speed and quality... Smile..."

Fast forward to Saturday morning July 3 from my journal:
08:50A-09:00A I drive to church, just pulling to the curb to park as Pastor Rich arrives behind me. He drives down the driveway to the kitchen door.
09:00A-11:00A I am the only one helping today, just veggie lasagna and veggie chili to do, but huge amounts for maybe 30 people or more. Pastor Rich has all the ingredients there organized in grocery bags on a stainless steel table and the frig. I open cans of spaghetti sauce, tomatoes and olives amongst canned carrots, mushrooms, and beans for the chili. I rinse and slice fresh yellow squash, zucchini, green peppers and tomatoes, dice onions and red bell pepper, separate broccoli flowerets. I saute veggies, do various procedures as Pastor Rich tells me what, when and how to do things. I'm pretty good, trying to do things his way today.
He seems tired, says he did wind sprints last night exercising, overdid, doesn't feel great. Besides, I know he has had a very stressful week. He asks once how he looks. I say, "Pale." He sits down a few times as he works.
We sample the chili. He points me to a bowl within view of his chair that looks like a highly polished bowl for a medium sized dog, on which I comment. No, he says, it's part of a nesting set (which wasn't in sight) (for dogs from chihuahuas to Great Danes, I guess....smile...). A spoon needing to be washed is my utensil, so I wash it, wash the dust out of the dog bowl and serve myself some chili. Pastor Rich has already sampled it earlier with another spoon, and had dropped a bean on his shirt in the process which he had pointed out as he looked down on it then. Now he decides he needs a proper serving and then he might feel better. He looks around from his chair, no bowls, nothing to eat from, (phantom dogs are all using the rest of the phantom bowls from the missing nested set), so he chooses a small non-stick sauce pan with lots of injuries that he can reach without getting up.
He says to me, "I hate to ask you to do this, but would you mind rinsing this out and getting me a little chili?" I say sure, no problem, after I ask, dissing the pan, "You're going to eat out of that? You might as well eat out of a can," I add, gesturing to all the empties from the beans, tomatoes, olives, carrots, et al. No, just my little joke. He is not amused. "Is this enough?" I ask as I dish up a medium ladle full. No, add one more.
Nothing elegant about the presentation, but the chili is delicious, just hits the spot. It perks him right up. He's outta there in five minutes at 11:00A to go to A's game as planned. Perfect timing.
11:00A-11:45A I stay on and clean up the kitchen some, bag the trash in the now-empty grocery bags, wash up all the bowls, utensils, etc including the nesting dog bowl and small well-used sauce pan. I dry some, let some drip dry. Pastor Rich will be coming back after A's game to put the cooling chili in the frig, etc, whatever.

Fast forward to Sunday, July 4 at 11:00A church service:
The entire service is dedicated to July 4 today, the music, the sermon. Today we celebrate not just our day of independence but our day of freedom. Our nation is an example to every other nation, every race, every religion, for opportunity, peace, wealth, for everyone, for freedom to make our own decisions, because our forefathers decided it was possible, and didn't quit. And so we must reject God being in charge of death, because He is in charge of Life! WE must decide that it is possible, and not quit, but commit.
Today's special music after the praise songs is from the handbell ringers who play "America the Beautiful" which I asked my friend S.R. to video on my iPhone because I am one of the bell ringers, the concentrating tall one in white in the middle. Since this is S.R.'s first commission on the iPhone with its fixed distance, no zooming, no close-ups or far-aways, it starts out a bit uninteresting involving his thumb or finger obscuring the action occasionally as he moves around but hopefully you will get caught up in our production led by Mrs. Pastor Rich. I believe this video will show up at the bottom of this interminable blog!

Fast forward to Sunday, July 4 The Baptist Church Picnic from 01:30P to whenever
We are at Mar Vista Park, Pastor Rich, pale no more today, in charge of his 31st July 4 picnic at the Park. We are all eating the lasagna and chili, mac 'n cheese, BBQ'd hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and veggie dogs ("What's in them?" I ask. Nobody knows, it's Mystery BBQ, but, I am assured, not meat. I pass...), baked beans, foil-wrapped corn-on-the-cob, salad, chips and salsa, red-white-and-blue cake, brownies, Marie Callender's peach pie and strawberry pie, Ralph's chocolate cake, dipped strawberries, what all else.
We are fellowshipping, which means talking while we're eating with our friends and their guests, a melting pot of accents and religions, as we move from the shade of the trees to the sunny lawn when the winds cool us down quickly as they jostle some clouds arriving overhead. Many hardy souls play games including the egg toss, volleyball and baseball, some play with the babies attending, some play with the two dogs enjoying themselves, some sit and talk, we all snack, a wonderful afternoon! Thank You, Lord! A truly Bonus Day!