Nothing Quite Like the Smell of Tar...

Today, the workers are putting down the new surface on the church parking lot, as you can see in these several photos.

Here in Central Florida, it is a gorgeous day. One that would normally casue us to want to stop and breathe in the spring air. Nope. Not today! Not with the noxious fumes of tar or whatever the black, smelly substance is that goes down as the new layer on the parking lot.

Pardon me, but does anyone have an aroma therapy candle I can light?

Once again, we who are holding down the fort at the church office while the teachers, families and administrators of our nursery school are off enjoying Spring Break, are sure as sure can be that the staff of the Christian Child Center must be exceeding glad that they are not there to smell what's in the air!

Asphalt, also known as bitumen, is the sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits; it is a substance classed as a pitch. Until the 20th century, the term "asphaltum" was also used. I could make a terrible pun about that but see what restraint I am using...

Did you know that the primary use of asphalt is not as an air freshener, but rather in road construction? Yes indeed! It is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt and for sealing flat roofs.

It is a little known fact that the use of asphalt or bitumen for waterproofing and as an adhesive dates at least to the third millennium B.C. In fact, what we are doing today in the parking lot is quite Biblical and harkens all the way back to Genesis 6:13-15, where God said to Noah:

“I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high."

If the flood waters didn't finish off the others, the smell of the pitch probably did! I wonder how long Noah let the pitch dry before he took the animals and his family on board the Ark? I hope he waited long enough for the odor to dissipate. Then again, there were all those animals on board. Double hoo-wee!

All things considered, what's a little asphalt, among friends?

In keeping with the fact that we are resurfacing a Presbyterian parking lot, I suppose that we should offer a shout-out to two Scots Presbyterians who made our modern asphalt surfaces what they are, Thomas Telford and John Loudon McAdam, the second of whom, of course, has lent his name to the other word we often use for a "blacktop" road: Macadam. (What, you thought I was going to say "Loudon"?)

The first macadam road built in the United States was constructed between Hagerstown and Boonsboro, Maryland and was named Boonsboro Turnpike Road. The Boonsboro Turnpike began in 1822 and established a link between Boonsboro, Funkstown and Hagerstown. It is now US Alternate Route 40. This road was built using McAdam's road techniques, except that the finished road was compacted with a cast-iron roller instead of relying on road traffic for compaction. If you look at it on a map you will see that it is nearly a straight line. Click here for the MAP.

The second American road built using McAdam principles was a portion of the Cumberland Road (or National Road). The macadam section was 73 miles long and required five years of work. It was the first improved road in the U.S.A. to be funded by the Federal Government, authorized on March 29, 1806, by President Thomas Jefferson. Today much of the road is US 40 or Alternate US 40, and it would make a very pleasant motoring experience for those who enjoy a good drive, that is, unless they are putting down a new macadam surface!

Key Dates of Interest in United States Road Building:
1625 - Earliest Known Paved American Road - Colonial city street - Pemaquid, Maine
1795 - First Engineered American Road - Philadelphia to Lancaster toll turnpike
1823 - First Macadam Road Constructed in America - State of Maryland
1877 - First Asphalt Paving in N. America - Pennsylvania Avenue - Washington, DC
1893 - First Rural Brick Road - The Wooster Pike, Cleveland to Wooster, Ohio
1906 - First Bituminous Macadam Road Constructed - Rhode Island
2012 - (March) Resurfacing of Wekiva Presbyterian Church lot - Longwood, Florida

Jesus calls each of us in the secret recesses of the heart and mind,

to make certain sacrifices which always involve a risk,

even though the risk may differ from person to person.

Jesus speaks to the crowd, but Jesus' call comes to individuals,

and through their personal obedience, Jesus acts.

Jesus does not promise them success,

or even final victory in this life.

Jesus does promise the Holy Spirit's presence,

and everlasting meaning throughout this life.

The Master's call to follow is a call to adventurous living.

The adventure to which Jesus commits them begins here and now

and leads to God's kingdom.

Jesus does not promise to protect them from trials,

from material cares, from sickness, from physical or moral suffering.

Jesus does promise to be with them in all these trials,

to help carry these cares, to honor their trust in Him,

to provide a spiritual wholeness and peace in the midst of suffering,

and to sustain them even as they remain faithful.

P.A.R.T.S. of Prayer

PARTS of Prayer:

P - Praise
A - Ask
R - Repent
T - Thank
S - Share

I like this reminder that prayer goes best when it has all its PARTS!

Colossians 3:15 – Let Christ’s peace control you, today and every day. This is a Wekivaword.

We Are Fond of Downton Abbey...

At our house, we have been watching Downton Abbey.

Have you? You should.

It is a wonderful series, with just about the highest production values of any costume drama we can think of. The series, which has been offered on Masterpiece Classic, has been a transatlantic hit. In the USA, two seasons have aired. In Britain, they are just now filming Season Three, which will air in the UK in the fall, and in the USA next January.

What a long time to wait.

The series follows the lives of the aristocrats and the people in service at Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country seat of the Earl of Grantham. It began in Season One with a disaster--the sinking of the Titanic. And continued in Season Two through The Great War. If you visit the right page on the PBS website, you can read much more. I will simply say that it is a great way to have a glimpse at a bygone era, with quality acting, cinematography, sets (many of the scenes are filmed at Highclere Castle, the breathtaking home of the Earls of Carnavaron (think the finder of King Tut's tomb). St. Mary's Church in Bampton is said to be the location used for the Season Three nuptuals of Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley. Don't ask me how I know this; it is hush-hush. But if you are a sharp-eyed fan, you will recognize the interior of the church from the "let's pray about it" moment between Anna and Mr. Bates.

This is an excellent program, created by Julian Fellowes.

At Downton Abbey, the costumes are true stand outs. I have come across blogs devoted to just the hats.

It is a high quality show with more integrity than most of what you can find on television. The wit and honesty conveyed by the characters often display the very best of human behavior, but then too, there are the villains and thickening plots.

I am told that on Feb. 19, 5.4 million viewers watched the season finale, capturing a 3.5 national Nielsen rating and making it the highest-rated PBS show since the premiere of Ken Burns’ National Parks in September 2009, according to PBS.

Is it any wonder? So many of the moments are memorable. The ensemble cast is first rate; with Maggie Smith being the odds on viewers' favorite. As the Dowager Countess, her one liners are marvelous. The location of the home of the Dowager Countess, by the way, is actually Byfleet Manor.

As for music, well! Back in August long before I had seen it on this series, I had already posted about one song that was played, when Lady Mary and Matthew had their famous dance: "Look for the Silver Lining" from the flop show, "Zip Goes a Million" sung by Marion Harris (which is the record Matthew plays in the scene). The other fabulous musical moment is made by "If You Were the Only Girl in the World"...

(Sigh...)

We wish that the good folks at BBC and PBS would decide, however, to air Season Three concurrently in the UK and USA in September.

Next January is a long time away.

Parking Lot Update...

Above is a view of where I am parked today, from the spot where I usually park. Below is a view of the same, but from the office door. And yes, it is very quiet in the lot today... The word I have is that they will resurface the lot tomorrow. Today, we just have a nice, quiet, peaceful parking lot. No one driving the wrong way in the lot. Ahhhh! A very rare thing indeed.

You would almost think the photos are of the parking lot "after" rather than "before" the repaving and re-striping, since it looks so very nice. Doesn't it? But you can just chalk that up to our wonderful youth and their leaders who re-striped it by hand, among many other projects around the church facilities, during their recent Spring Workday.

It is a pretty parking lot, isn't it?

As church grounds go, we have some of the nicest trees and plantings anywhere. There are usually interesting forms of wildlife in and among the trees as well. You may take that comment as you wish. But I mean such things as red-shouldered hawks, jays and finches.

One evening after Pastors Bible Study we had a black bear greeting us, over by the dumpster. In Central Florida the wildlife is truly wild.

Jeremiah 29:1 1 – Trust and entrust your future to God, this day. This is a Wekivaword.