I feel called to ministry, particularly ministering with survivors of trauma. As part of my discernment and "research" (if you will), I've been watching a number of documentaries on different topics. Right now I'm watching "Surviving R. Kelly" - the miniseries on the R&B artist and the ongoing, decades-long accusations of his sexual misconduct and abuse of minors. Predatory behavior is disturbing whenever and wherever it occurs, certainly. But I'm deeply bothered by (1) the silence of men in R. Kelly's circles, over a period of many years of very obvious abuse, and (2) the popular "inspirational" image of R. Kelly in songs like "I Believe I Can Fly" and how people denied that a man who could make such a "good" song could be guilty of such despicable crimes like child pornography. Scary too that so many of his victims were/are in Chicago. Too close to home.
I look back and am conflicted over my 6th grade choir's choice, in 2002, to sing R. Kelly's hit "The World's Greatest" for our spring concert. The day camp I worked at (and assisted with leadership of music and dance for) frequently used this song for our all-camp assemblies... in 2006! I hadn't been following the news and allegations surrounding him at that time. But knowing what I know now, we should have picked another song. His behavior was and is shocking and disgusting. I'm proud of the #metoo movement and how successful the campaign has been to #muteRKelly over the last year or two. We need to create a culture where crimes against women are truly unacceptable and justice is served.
One of the symptoms of POTS is dry eyes. Whenever I notice that I need my eyedrops, I dramatically sing "Look, my eyes are dryyyyyy...." from A Chorus Line's "What I Did For Love." Josh Groban videos are pretty schmaltzy, but he has a nice voice. It's as if we aaaaalwaaays kneeeeeew!
Well, time to hit the hay.
Kiss today goodbye!
et
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