What A Way To Go

For some reason I was thinking about last meals provided to death row inmates today and wondered what were the rules for their requests. I figured if I was ever on death row I’d just request a dish with ingredients that needed to be shipped from overseas, just to buy myself more time. Not the case, apparently.

A lazy Google search led me to this article which explained that inmates can request anything but without the guarantee of receiving exactly what they ordered. They’ll typically provide whatever the kitchen of the prison can cook up.

That article led me to this list of Final Meal Requests from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It’s very interesting seeing what some of the guys ordered.

Cheeseburgers and fries were a popular choice. So were steaks and fried chicken. How about a bag of assorted Jolly Ranchers? Justice, Equality and World Peace? I’ll admit, the chocolate birthday cake with candles and (seemingly) random date written on it was a bit on the odd side. There was even a request to provide the last meal to a homeless person.

All this (kinda morbid) talk got me thinking: what would you have as a last meal if you could request absolutely anything?

I think I have to put more thought into my answer, but a great cheeseburger and fries doesn’t sound too bad. A good gyro would make my mouth water as well. A last meal would also justify having anything from ThisIsWhyYoureHuge.com

How about you? Not that you’re going anywhere. I’m just asking…

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Imogen

Amidst the busyness of everything going on around me these days I almost forgot about Imogen Heap playing in town tonight. It’s a pleasant surprise, really… mostly because I’m relieved I didn’t forget and have to go to bed realizing I missed a good show and blew $$ on a wasted ticket.

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…

It was just about a month ago that I saw him last. It was at a promotional meeting I was helping out with for area pastors for this year’s PCNAK. Sometime after the meeting Pastor saw me and warmly greeted me as he always did when we ran into each other. There was another pastor nearby him who was unfamiliar with me so Pastor V. J. Thomaskutty took several moments to unnecessarily praise me to him in effort to better introduce me. It struck me as a very kind gesture because not too many people commend me in the pastoral circles of the local Indian community (not that I look for that or even deserve it) but it also stuck out to me as being an unsurprising gesture coming from him. He was always positive and encouraging and came across as sincere whenever he was being positive and encouraging.

We didn’t cross paths frequently in recent years but I would regularly see and greet him at various citywide church events the few times they occurred annually. They were quick encounters but were always positive and encouraging and sincerely so. That friendly familiarity grew from his serving as the pastor of our church for three years a decade ago. When his term ended our weekly interactions at church drifted to the scattered run-ins we later shared, until he pursued his doctorate at Oral Roberts University the same time I was there. I got to drive him around town only once or twice when he had to come up to Tulsa but I do recall how odd and familiar it was seeing him in the hallways of the Theology floor every few months when he arrived for classes.

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Needless to say, it came as a shock last Sunday to learn that Pastor and his wife were killed in a fire in their home early that morning. The shock of the tragedy turned to disbelief and now, a week later and after memorial services and the funeral, those feelings have worn down to a numbing reality.

It’s all still a bit unreal, though. It’s heartbreaking that someone who was so good-natured and well-meaning could so quickly be gone. This is simply to remember a man and his wife who genuinely lived lives dedicated to service and dedicated to sharing the love God has for us all. Thank you, Pastor, for working tirelessly for the cause of Christ and for also taking the time to encourage and serve me and so many others like me along the way.

If you can, please take a moment to pray peace and comfort for his sons and other relatives who are experiencing a loss I can’t begin to imagine.

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Uh Oh.

Crap. My Google Reader is starting to get away from me.

I feel guilty about clicking and quickly scrolling down just to clear the number of unread entries… But I’m still gonna do it.

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