Winter's Start

Winter arrived this week in the Twin Cities. On Monday, on his "Updraft Blog," Paul Huttner called it "Instant Winter." And that it was. We didn't get much snow but we did have ice all over the roads. Such a change from last week. I'm so glad that Toni suggested that we do the last of the outdoor "fall" chores on Saturday. We put up the Christmas lights and got the lawn furniture covered before the ice and snow came. Toni is a great one for making sure some of those practical things get done. So good.

Driving was a challenge. It was better by Thursday, but Tuesday and Wednesday, were especially slow. A car slid into my bus on westbound 7th Street in downtown Minneapolis, just as I was waiting for the light to change to cross Hennepin Avenue. Just a dent in the side of the bus -- no one hurt -- but the driver left the scene before we could exchange information. Whether Metro Transit will pursue her is something I don't know, but I'm sure it was at least partly caught on the bus's audio-video recorders.

There were no other events of note in my work life -- except that I, and the rest of the drivers, pulled into the garage significantly late Monday through Thursday. The ice on the side streets stayed pretty much until Thursday. Then it got better, but not before the driver's Union and Metro Transit made an agreement to allow us part-timers to stay on the job beyond our contracted 30 hour per week maximum. That temporary agreement wasn't happily received by many drivers, but I was fine with it--for this one time.* I'll get paid a little more for this past week's work. I don't mind that a bit.

Did I mention on this blog that I've started learning Somali? Emphasis on the word "started." I've attended 3 class sessions at Language Central and studied a little on the side. At church, two weeks ago, I had a chance to share a bit about how I came to do that. If you're curious I could upload a little recording of what I said. Let me know.

I also continue to study politics and history. It's been troubling to me that some Christians seem to be so enthusiastic about President Trump and his "America First" and "Make America Great Again" plan. I hope I can find time to share more about that later, but part of the reason I'm learning Somali is because I believe God calls us to welcome strangers, not exclude them.

I'm going to stop here. God bless you all.

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* A new contract proposed last month by Metro Transit would have taken away the 30 hour maximum limit for part time drivers. That would have been a giveback, since it's the 30 hour maximum protects full time jobs. That's one reason the contract was rejected. Such changes need to be negotiated, not just declared unilaterally by management.

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