Probably A Boy

In my October 17 post, I mentioned how the population of the United States had reached the 300 million mark. When I spoke with my father this week, he asked if I had figured out who that 300 millionth person was. He was joking, of course, since the 300 million figure itself is based on averages rather than actual numbers. As you recall from my post, Carl Haub, a senior demographer at the Population Reference Bureau, suggests that the 300 millionth person was most likely a non-Hispanic, European-American (i.e., "white") child. My father suggested that the child was probably a boy, since the number of boys born in the US is slightly larger than the number of girls. But again, this is all based on averages. Nevertheless, that gives you at least an idea of who that 300 millionth American might be.

My Apologies to Monk

My brother pointed out that I made a mistake in my October 10, 2006 blog entry. I accidentally misspelled Monk's first name as "Theolonious" instead of the correct spelling "Thelonious". I guess that comes from the fact since I am in the "business" of theology, it's my natural inclination to use the prefix "theo..." But never fear, I have gone back to my Oct. 10 entry and corrected the mistake. So, I apologize Monk. May you continue bopping away in Heaven's Jazz Band.

300 Million and Counting!

One of the big news stories today is that at approximately 7:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the population of the United States reached the 300 million mark. 300 million people--can you believe it? Of course, this is an estimate. It wouldn't be possible for someone to go around and count everyone at one moment and come up with a total of 300 million. But based on the average frequency of births, deaths, arrivals of newcomers to the US, departures of people leaving the US, etc., the Census bureau has determined that the US population is now 300 million and growing. It's been 39 years since the last major milestone in the US population. It was back in 1967 (a very good year) that the US population reached the 200 million mark. So in 39 years the number of people living in the US has grown by 50%. That's an average growth of 1.28% per year!

Now you may be curious--who was that person who put us at the 300 millionth mark this morning. According to Carl Haub, a senior demographer at the Population Reference Bureau, it was most like a baby born to a European-American (non-Hispanic) mother. But that's just a good guess. Only God knows the real answer. What's more important is that we see this population milestone as more than just a statistic. In fact, this is a call to action. As the population increases, we need to ensure that everyone has access to education, healthcare, gainful employment, adequate housing, and the other necessities of life. We need to make sure that everyone is treated fairly, justly, and humanely. As parts of the US become more and more crowded, we need to explore how we can continue to sustain life in this country, not to mention the world, without depleting all of our natural resources. And for us people of Faith, we need to continue spreading God's love to everyone we meet. The fields are ripe for harvest. Let's go to it!

Happy Birthday Monk!

Today, October 10, is the birthday of Thelonious Sphere Monk, who lived from 1917-1982. Monk was one of the pioneers of Be-Bop Jazz in the late 1940's along with Charley Parker ("Bird") and Dizzy Gillespie ("Diz"). Monk's approach to Be-Bop was a bit different than that of Bird and Diz, however. The styles of Bird and Diz are characterized mainly by harmonic exploration. Monk tended to focus instead on melody. Melodic-based improvisation (rather than harmonic-based) is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Monk's style. Another distinguishing characteristic of Monk is that he stayed with the Be-Bop style throughout his career, even after it became passe. Jazz musicians like Miles Davis and John Coltrane got their start in Be-Bop, but then moved on to other styles. Monk, however, stuck with Be-Bop. This won him the praise of some, and the criticism of others. In my humble opinion, I like the sound of the "mature" Monk, best represented by the series of recordings he did for Columbia Records in the 1960's.

Love him or hate him, Monk had a big impact on jazz in the last half of the 20th Century. His tunes 'Round Midnight and Straight, No Chaser have been recorded by countless artists, and are now considered classics in the jazz repertoire. Monk also has the distinction of being one of only four jazz musicians to ever grace the cover of Time Magazine.

Here's an interesting story jazz fans will appreciate. In the mid 1950's, John Coltrane ("Trane") was fired from Miles Davis' group for using heroin. Trane then joined up with Monk for a while. Trane's time with Monk allowed Trane to get his act together and set his priorities straight. After his stint with Monk, Trane rejoined Davis but only for a brief period of time. Trane soon went on to have a very successful solo career which included the 1964 album A Love Supreme, considered by many to be one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. Who knows what would have happened to Trane if Monk hadn't taken him in when Davis fired him.

So please join me in celebrating Monk's Birthday!

Our Nephew!

Here is a picture of our yet unnamed nephew! Rebecca's sister Jennifer and husband Tim Cordia are expecting a baby boy. The baby is due sometime in early February 2007. This sonogram was taken about 2-3 weeks ago, so the baby is now further along. Even so, we thought we'd show the world this precious new addition to the Dunger/Cordia/Peak families. You can now start calling us Uncle Clayton and Aunt Rebecca! :-)

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is so important. It is not so much about asking God for things, as it is getting ourselves aligned with God. To paraphrase a line from the movie Shadowlands, a biopic about the author and English professor C.S. Lewis: "Prayer doesn't change God. It changes us." It is especially powerful to know when others are praying for us. Rebecca took the above picture a couple of days ago at our house. This Praying Mantis stayed outside our kitchen window for several hours. I guess the Mantis knew we needed prayer that day. It's great to know that even insects can show us the power of prayer!