Web Theologian

The first and great commandment is: Don’t let them scare you. -Elmer Davis

To this day my favorite Pixar movie is Monsters Inc., in addition to the jazz and over all aesthetic in my opinion it has the greatest message of any movie I’ve watched. You have an entire culture based on fear in Monstropolis, their life is literally powered by screams. The door ways they pass through to another dimension/world are used only for exploiting those on the opposite side for the monsters personal survival. There are forces like this at work in our world.

Through a series of accidental events the world is flipped upside down. Instead of the culture being based of fear, it is transformed into a culture of joy. The city literally becomes powered by the laugher of children. To me this is one of the most incredible pictures I can personally imagine. And when I think hard enough I remember those moments when one of my daughters made the joke that no family member could refrain from losing their cool and belly laughing, and that is truly the fuel that powers my life.

Wed. March 9, 2015 A gas explosion flattened buildings on Greenwood Avenue North between North 84th and North 85th streets; Wednesday; March 9; 2016. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

Early yesterday morning a gas leak caused an explosion in the neighborhood of Greenwood, only 2.5 miles from my house. At 1AM two building were destroyed and remarkably no one was killed. The injured were nine firefighters that were working desperately to make sure others were safe, their training was the given reason that these nine only had minor injuries. I bring this event up because I have a child that is working through fear in a way my other two never did. She has been impacted beyond normal by fire drills during her first year at school, and she exhibits anxiety more then our others.

Just last week after two weeks of practice she counted in Japanese during her karate class. This was a huge accomplishment and she was very proud. She over came the fear, and we celebrated afterward going across the street to Neptune Coffee for a brownie. Neptune Coffee was at the center of this explosion. The dojo is across the street on the picture above on the corner that is cut off. The small business owners and community will need support as this is the second major tragedy in the last ten years, there was an active arson burning building blocks away. I am grateful for the work of Emerald City Karate and Sensei Tobey (I know he will be a leader during this time), also our dear friends (and there are too many to name) that we love at Tap Root Theater. If you are not sure how you can help, just watch the video of Sensi Tobey counting and teaching how to hold a fist and perhaps in some way that will be enough or inspire you to more: