Tuesday, January 10, 2023
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Politics at the capitol
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God.
Margaret, Jasper and I spent the morning at the Texas Capitol Building, a few miles south of our apartment in Austin. It looms low on the new Austin skyline, once the tallest building in the sky, now not. It’s made of limestone, not plate glass, and it is topped by a statue called the “Goddess of Liberty,“ not an antenna. The goddess makes the Texas capitol a few inches taller than the US Capitol building. So there!
Terri, who works for the online newspaper Texas Tribune, took a few minutes and helped us find our way. The scary-looking state troopers with their guns guided us through the metal detectors and were patient with me, even when I had to empty my pockets twice. We took the elevators along with a few other folks, but the west side elevators didn’t work. So we walked across the hall and pushed 4. We thought we’d start at the top.
One of our elevator companions agreed with us. Start at the top. Margaret asked how longed she had worked at the capitol. “This is my first day,” she smiled. “I’m an intern.” I hope she enjoys Texas politics as much as she thinks she will. Senators and representatives meet for six months every other year to hammer on their disagreements and gerrymanders. They start today.
Jasper had his own iPhone to take pictures. He hasn’t learned how to aim it yet, so the pictures aren’t what he hopes for, but he looks and feels pretty cool pointing it at the world as he sees it. On the top floor he squeezed his arms between the baby pillars and pointed it down to the rotunda. Once we made it to the rotunda on floor #1, he laid down in the middle of the Texas star and pointed it back up at the top. An Austin American-Statesman photographer took some photos of him and talked to us afterward, got his name and all. Maybe he’ll become famous. Jasper is a pretty cute guy.
Later he took some photos of a Mexican-American meeting of hobnobs on the capitol steps. They welcomed a few new members of the 2023 Texas Legislature. I took some pictures too, and appreciated what the folks were saying, all hopeful and ready to fight for their people back home. Jasper crawled up on one of the cannons aiming away from the capitol, ready to protect.
Several statues of soldiers stood around the grounds. Mostly generals and such, not so many do-gooders. Carrying their guns and all. The state policeman at the entrance asked me if I was carrying a gun. I guess you can do that in this capitol building. In fact if you have an LTC (license to carry), you bypass security and get quick entry. What?
No gun for me. Just an iPhone camera. Jasper didn’t have a gun either. Just an iPhone camera for him too. We both did a lot of shooting.
We had to get home for naps and lunch with George. And for Miles’ chess club. But we’ll go back for the second half of the capitol soon – the underground portions with gardens and patios, the Visitors’ Center, the legislative galleries. We want to have lunch at the Capitol Grill. And walk around the grounds before it gets hot again in April or May, to see all those famous generals.
Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying “I will proclaim your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.
(Hebrews 2, Psalm 8, 1 Thessalonians 2, Mark 1)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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