Beltane

Before I go to bed, I wanted to wish everyone a happy Beltane. The Earth softens under the caress of the sun and all the world is new. We emerge from the darkness of a long, difficult winter; our eyes drink in rolling green hills budding branches and tender shoots. We breathe deeply the fresh fragrance of radiant blossoms, as long as our supply of Zyrtec holds up.

My family came over tonight and we watched The Last Temptation of Christ, a novel way to celebrate a major pagan Sabbat, but appropriate in a way since we found merriment in Martin Scorsese's curious casting decisions, and the rhythmic drumming in the score by Peter Gabriel. This is a movie that has always moved me, in the past moreso for the controversy it provoked, or for the memorable visual imagery. But watching it for the first time in more than a decade, I found it to be much more evocative from a spiritual point of view, for the obvious reason that I'm a much more spiritual person than I used to be.

On a personal note, May 1st also marks the third anniversary of arriving in New Jersey from Houston in 2006 - obviously a major milestone in my life. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, and sometimes it seems like ages ago, driving in, meeting my family in the parking lot of the Residence Inn that I stayed at for a month. So much has changed.

Anyway, better get to bed so I can get up early for Free Comic Book Day tomorrow - it's always the first Saturday in May. If you are near a comic book store tomorrow, drop in and collect your free comics!