"Napalm is Very Powerful"

OK, I admit it. I'm a softie. More often than most would suspect, something makes me teary-eyed. A story I heard Monday on NPR's All Things Considered was one of those times. It was an essay by "the girl in the photo." The photo in questions is one of the most iconic of the Vietnam war and was taken after "our" side dropped napalm on a village in an attempt to flush out the bad guys. I remember the picture well, as I was a teenager in those days (but too young to have been drafted). Regardless of your age, you've probably seen the photo at one time or another.

Here's what Kim Phuc had to say about her experience:

On June 8, 1972, I ran out from Cao Dai temple in my village, Trang Bang, South Vietnam; I saw an airplane getting lower and then four bombs falling down. I saw fire everywhere around me. Then I saw the fire over my body, especially on my left arm. My clothes had been burned off by fire.

I was 9 years old but I still remember my thoughts at that moment: ...

You can listen to the rest of her essay (about 5 minutes) or read it here, but listening's better.

Bible, Bach, and . . . Well, I Guess That's All You Need

Did you hear the story on NPR's "All Things Considered" last night? It was a feature on the annual Bach festival in Bethlehem, PA. It's worth a listen to this 8-minute piece, which you can do here, or you can access it at this link, which provides additional info and sound samples.

I got tears in my eyes toward the end of the story. But then, I'm a sensitive guy, as all my friends know. Anyone who can listen to this and think that Bach is boring, stuffy, or irrelevant is either a cretin or dead. No, I take it back. Only cretins think that - the dead know how great Bach is, because he provides the music in Heaven (with Robert Shaw as assistant conductor, but that's another story).

OK, I exaggerate (slightly). Nevertheless, I hope you'll take the time to listen to the story. Maybe it'll increase your desire to hear more Bach. Take especial note of the lady who says of Bach's music, "It's there to help us when we have times in our life when we need comfort, or when you just want to burst for joy. It's all there for me, it really is." Maybe that's idolatry, but there are worse ways to sin.