so it begins (part 1)

i would say to close your eyes for this, but it would defeat the purpose then of reading, but open your minds eye, and let yourself be caught up in the wonder of it all.

~you are walking down the street, glancing at many of the stands set up along the markets. you are amazed at many of the newest items the vendors are trying to sell. but of course you'd expect that. you're in a major city of the roman empire, and their culture has been bringing major advances to this previously slower lifestyle.

you wanted to walk through and soak up some of the local life during the major festival of passover, but felt strangely out of place. it seemed to be a family thing and well, you have no family here. it turned into a rather boring evening and sleep was the only thing that brought joy at the time. but walking this morning has brought no more entertainment. the streets are oddly empty and the vendors seem annoyed and anxious at the same time.

a large pendant help up by a ringed gold necklace catches your eye and picking it up you feel the smoothness of it in your hand. the color is amazing and your mind wanders to thoughts of it as a gift for your mother. "how much?" you ask the vendor who wasn't paying attention and jumps at your question. "huh? oh, that? more than you can probably afford." it was then that you realize that you are standing at a booth of extremely expensive jewelry. most of the items here likely cost more than you made in a year, and somethings more than in a lifetime.

uncomfortably you ask where everyone is, that you would have expected to see more people around. "somebody was arrested late last night and he's standing trial now. just listen for the loud roar of people and you'll find it. i am not sure what the big fuss is about, really bad for business." he obviously didn't want to talk anymore so you begin to wander off, listening for some people. "maybe this won't be as boring as i thought," you think to yourself as you turn down another street.

a few blocks later you hear the roar of a crowd, but can't make out what they are shouting. turning another corner you see it all. an absolutely massive crowd of people as big as a field, fists in the air, chanting "crucify! crucify! CRUCIFY!" you look to the balcony and see a prestigious looking man washing his hands in a bowl and another man looking so dejected standing next to him being lead away.

the crowd began to move in unison, pushing a shoving to get somewhere, but the seemed to be going the same way. "where's everyone going?" you ask. "the praetorium," someone said. "the what?" you reply? "the place where they punish criminals," another man said. you follow the crowd for a few moments then freeze as it all clears in you mind. people behind you start pushing harder and you begin walking again, but you realize there will be blood, pain, and torture where they are going. but caught up in the crowd and in curiosity you move with the flow, wondering what this is all about, and why it has to be this way.

"Send"

it's funny how one little action, moment, idea can have such an affect. actually it's not often funny, sometimes serious, and even more often, sad.

where i work i can see it all the time. the students make choices and they have to deal with the consequences. now understand not all consequences are bad. for example, you choose to stop at a red light. the consequences are you don't get a ticket from the policeman who is in the crossing lane, or get hit by the truck coming from the left, or hit the little old lady with the fluffy poodle named fifi. these are good. the students i work with have made some poor decisions that have brought consequences of intense therapy. in a way they are lucky. how many people out there need this kind of intervention and don't get it? or what about all the "normal" people out there who just make a "few" mistakes then have to deal with the consequences?

i guess this came up tonight starting at work. being a friday night the students get to watch a movie for fun. we were watching "the breakfast club." now i know it's an old movie and one that many people might scoff at (yes i just used the word "scoff"). but each of the kids in the movie made a poor choice and ended up in detention. you'll just have to go see the movie to see how it turned out. but it really hit home when i got back and opened my computer. one of the news headlines was about an 18 year old girl who made a mistake. she sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend with her phone, an action that of late has been termed "sexting."

now to some this may seem like not that big of a deal, but it gets worse. when they broke up, the photo got out . . . to the whole school. people were calling her many bad things. she went on the news as a sillouete and with a voice cover to explain the dangers of something that in the heat of the moment can seem so fun. she was getting harrassed at school and it began to eat at her. two months after the news interview, her mother walked into her room to find that her daughter hung herself. all for pushing "send."

i cannot begin to type all the thoughts in my mind because they are endless. full of sadness and pain. i . . . i just don't know.

here's the link to the news report for any and all who wish to see it. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29546030/?GT1=43001