S - Shavuot

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Shavuot is coming! For those unfamiliar with the term, Shavuot is more commonly known as Pentecost. It is a celebration that takes place 50 days after First Fruits. What's First Fruits? That's the first day after the first Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. In this case, First Fruits is this Sunday. We then count 7 weeks plus one day, or 50 days, until Shavuot, as described in Leviticus 23. Our congregation typically spends the day at the lake with an outdoor service. Those of us who can, camp for the weekend. It's a lot of fun and we really enjoy it. Shavuot tends to get overshadowed by Pesach (Passover) in the Spring and Sukkot (Tabernacles) in the Fall. I don't understand why it's not given more significance. Traditionally, it is believed to be the day that the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai. It is also the day that the Ruach Ha'Kodesh (Holy Spirit) was poured out on the 120 men in the upper room in Jerusalem. You would think those events would merit a little celebration. We're doing our part at our congregation. We try to make sure it doesn't pass by without notice. We'll begin our 50 day count on Sunday to make sure everyone involved remembers.

S - Star... Something... Maybe?

Welcome to day nineteen of the A to Z Challenge. If you're here for the first time or if you've forgotten already, this year's theme is movies! I am posting a quote, a character or two, and a brief synopsis of a movie for each letter. You then get to guess the movie in the comments. Answers will be revealed in the following day's post.

Answer to R: Rush Hour

It's letter S today. Narrowing this one down could have been very difficult. There are so many great movies that start with S with so many great characters. Captain Mal and the rest of the crew on Serenity. Captain Kirk, Spock, etc. on Star Trek. Luke, Han, Leia, and on and on in Star Wars. Sky Captain, The Shadow, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel Jackson in Stargate, Sherlock Holmes. The list just keeps going. But, I didn't choose any of those for today. In case you haven't noticed, I like to slip in a lesser-known movie now and again. So here we go.

Quote
"Twice I've held your life in my hands, and twice I have given it back to you; the next time, your life is mine." - Hub McCann

Character

Jasmine - There are actually two Jasmines in this movie. One is a little past her prime and not quite as impressive as she could have been. The other is the definition of "one true love." Both play very important parts in this movie.

Synopsis

14-year-old Walter Caldwell gets sent to spend the summer with his eccentric, wealthy uncles. It's a toss-up who will get run off first. As the summer progresses, Walter learns more about his uncles, never quite sure if their stories are true. And what about that money?

Despite the complete lack of special effects, not being science fiction, and almost no explosions, this is one of my all-time favorites. I never get tired of watching it.

S - Set Fire to the Dogg

It's time for S and we're still plugging along, coming up with music I love, hate, and love to hate (or hate to love). Today we've got a wide range of styles to showcase. As you've seen if you've been following my entries for the Challenge, I have an eclectic taste in music. Therefore, I couldn't come up with just one for love today. So we've got old school and new school.

Love (Old School)
Stryper - The original Christian metal band. I know, there were others before them, but none that grabbed mainstream attention and Christian fans to the level that Stryper did. They were the first Christian artist to have the most requested song on MTV twice in a row. More importantly, they were the first concert I went to in high school. I got to see them on the To Hell With the Devil tour from the third row. I've been to other concerts since, but none as good as Stryper. That's why they deserve this spot.

Love (New School)
Skillet - One of the few hard rock Christian bands left that can pull it off. Like yesterday's band, Red, Skillet is able to rock hard with their own sound that is unmistakable. Like Stryper, they have achieved mainstream success as well. They can overpower you with songs like Monster, then turn around and give you a much gentler, but still intense sound.

Hate
Snoop Dogg - Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Snoop Lion, Snoop Three-toed Sloth, or whatever his name is this week is not my cup of tea, or coffee, or hot chocolate, or whatever drink is this week's preferred flavor. Maybe he'd be better if he was clean and sober once in a while, but that doesn't seem to be a priority for Snoop Menagerie. I've read before that he is a musical genius. If so, I'll stay ignorant.

Hate to Love
Set Fire to the Rain (Adele) - I absolutely love this song. I like several Adele songs as a matter of fact. Unfortunately, whoever decides these things has said that liking Adele is not manly. Therefore, I have to give up man points once again. That's OK, though. It's worth the cost of a few man points to listen to Adele. In fact, she's earned a permanent spot on my writing playlist.

What do you think? Old school hair metal or new school hard rock? Or maybe a British pop/r&b powerhouse. Or are you one of those who actually understand the appeal of Snoop Veterinarian?

S - Sharrie

Sharrie is my wife, my best friend, my partner, and - if I believed in them - my soul mate. But I don't believe in them, so she's not. She is, however, the best thing that has ever happened to me. We met in high school when she was dating my best friend. He made the mistake of introducing us. That worked out much better for me than it did for him. I knew from the start we'd be together forever.

I had prayed that I would meet the girl I was supposed to marry before I graduated high school. I already knew I wanted to marry young. I don't know why, but it was just something that felt right. I met Sharrie less than a month later. And I can tell you, there was one thing that got my attention before anything else. It drew my eye and kept me distracted the whole evening. What was it? That would be her best friend, Amy. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, cute. More importantly, not dating my best friend. I was smitten. I thought. It didn't occur to me until a few days later that I had spent the entire evening talking to the cute little blonde's friend. I had also spent the next few days thinking about her. How did that happen?

Two and a half years later, we were married. It was another year before anyone would believe that she wasn't pregnant when we got married. No one could understand why we would get married that young. Most people didn't believe we'd make it more than a few years. The joke's on them. August will be 22 years. And you know something? I still can't stop thinking about her. I have no idea what ever happened to the little blonde girl.