Cooley's Reel and Epiphanies at the Fryer

I'm still enjoying my tinwhistle and fiddle lessons, though I'm not getting to practice as often as I'd like. I'm working on a tinwhistle song called "Cooley's Reel", which is really a little difficult for a beginner. That's what attracted me to it! I'm also working on easier songs, but I love the challenge of trying something that I know I won't be able to do well for a long time. I've listened to a plethora of YouTube videos of this song being played on the tinwhistle, piano, fiddle and accordian, and many versions of each and still I couldn't hum it back to you and be sure I was remembering it correctly. That's part of the challenge. We all need something to strive for, don't we? Here's a video of Michael Eskin playing a fast version of the song and then a slower version. I play it at about 1/10th of this speed, but I'll get it someday.



Have you ever had a revelation of something at an odd moment and under strange circumstances? I was standing in front of the deep fat fryer at work the other day (I work at a deli)and suddenly began praying for various people and it was really an epiphane for me to realize that my mundane little job doesn't have to be so mundane. Any moment of any day can be a time for intercession and for doing something for the Kingdom of God. I was also thinking about the people around me and how, though they may seem ordinary, they all have extraordinary gifts and talents that others aren't even aware of. They may go home and paint beautiful pictures, or write songs or do some other thing you would never imagine a person in a grocery store uniform doing. Wow. We really need to look beyond the obvious. (Preaching to myself here.) I hope the rest of you had this revelation a long time ago. I'm just kinda slow! =0) (See my "Weight of Glory" blog entry for more on this topic.)