Day 5

It’s relatively hard, for most people, to be at a Christian Homeschooling conference in middle America without thinking about Jesus. It’s hard, mainly, because pretty much everybody there is either talking about Him, reading about Him, living about Him, wearing t-shirts about Him, or selling about Him. In many ways, He’s kind of hard to ignore. After all, He founded, or at least made possible, a religion.

On the other hand, most people find it relatively easy to be at a Christian Homeschooling conference in middle America without thinking about Malcolm McLaren. After all, he’s kind of easy to ignore. He founded, or at least made possible, punk rock.

Which is, when you think about it, slightly odd. Jesus died more than 2,000 years ago. Malcolm McLaren died only yesterday. I can’t remember when I first heard about Jesus’ death. But I know for certain when I heard about Malcolm McLaren’s death: it was this morning at about 9.27 a.m. as we were driving from Cincinnati/Kentucky airport hotel to the Convention Center to exhibit at our 2nd day at the MidWest Christian Homeschooling Conference. It was like (depending on your age/outlook/groovethang) the death of JFK/Marilyn Monroe/Elvis/John Lennon/Michael Jackson.

Either way, they both shook things up.

Despite that, I suspect (but cannot prove), that most of the 8,000+ attendees and several hundred exhibitors had never even heard of Malcolm McLaren. I also suspect that, even if they had, when it comes to a mental coin-flip between Jesus and Malcolm McLaren, most of them would have erred on the side of the former over the latter. I also, also suspect (but cannot prove) that I may have been alone in that place on vacillating in thought between the two.

I suspect that, in life, they wouldn’t have liked each other. I hope that (but cannot prove), in death, they’re finding common ground. It’s hard to know for sure.

What is, however, easy to know for sure is that I didn’t get Eucharist today. We couldn’t both be off the booth, so we had to split our resources. I stayed at the Convention Centre. My wife went to the cathedral for midday Eucharist.

Does that, like my vacillating thoughts today, count as half?