Saturday, January 26, 2013

Rapture? Raptors! Playoffs, Secondhand.

RantWoman is deeply amused. Recently, defined as a couple Sundays ago, there was a Game, a Playoff Game featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. The Game occurred in Seattle, within busborne spitting distance of RantWoman--if RantWoman were not otherwise engaged. RantWoman is nearly ALWAYS otherwise engaged when it comes to Football. RantWoman does not even care if it's a playoff game


The Game began at 10:00 am on a Sunday morning. Those who regularly consume religion in the form of religious services realize that this timing poses a peculiar dilemma: Raptors or Rapture? Except in RantWoman's world, that week it was Raptors or Business Meeting. Attendance at Business Meeting was down a little. Apparently the Raptors were a big draw.

RantWoman is a nerd. RantWoman did not even interact with the Raptors until Monday morning and then secondhand with a thoroughly amusing live sportscaster. The outcome of the game probably chattered past RantWoman on the radio but it did not register with RantWoman, until.... until the next day aboard a bus. One of RantWoman's fellow travellers was just FULL of news, overflowing with distress to boot. It seems that until late in the last quarter, it looked as if it was going to be a Seattle rout and then suddenly the Falcons roared back.

Here another passenger spoke up. He said he missed the game. He was in church. The bus driver seemed to know the passengers and she joined the recap. The fan who had been in church spoke of all the people in church watching the game on their electronic devices. RantWoman, gadfly at large about matters of worship and ministry gasped. Talk about "lead me not into temptation." Glory be to God: thank heaven RantWoman does not own a Smartphone.

RantWoman ALSO celebrates a peculiar economy in her accidental consumption of sports history: RantWoman appreciated the boiled down 5-minute highly digested secondhand version of the game aboard the bus far more than she probably would have cared if offered the opportunity to watch the whole game. Hallelujah! Amen!
Sorry Seahawks. Try again next year.

1 comment:

  1. Have you seen the commentary at http://www.quakerquaker.org/forum/topics/cell-phones-in-meeting?xg_source=activity ? We're commenting on the practice of consulting a print bible or a smart phone in unprogrammed Quaker worship. It may be that we're feeling our way toward an informal description of the etiquette or discipline for use of hand-held electronics in worship.

    Not sure why I care or contribute to that. I don't even own a dumb phone and even after years of trying I still have no discipline.

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