Had a job I liked.
"Each person their book, each book
Its person" was good.
Changes certainly arrive
Clouding my spring with shadows.
I number my days.
The March lamb watches
As I wander the lakeshore.
She doesn't know my grief.
I warned of haiku.
The warm sun heats poetry
In the changes' midst.
Seeking open jobs.
God gives growth outside of my
Comfortable past.
Rippling waves roll in
And draw my mind to vision.
Pachomius calls.
Old dreams return in
The vacuum of my purpose.
Is this an exit?
Don't say I didn't give warning. Weather forecasts I saw during the week called for rain, clouds, and chilly temps. yesterday. I ran into Trinity in the morning to use the computers and get some job search books, planning to go home and clean my desk in the afternoon. Instead I ended up at Independence Grove in Libertyville walking around the lake meditating on scripture, my new life situation, and composing haiku.
One of my goals for the first two weeks after my black Friday was to spend time examining myself and listening to God for direction. I didn't want to leap at library jobs without some sense of confirmation that that's where I should be. My first haiku draws on Indian library theorist S.R. Ranganathan's 2nd and 3rd law of library science. The first is, "Books are for use." The second is, "Every reader his (or her) book" The third, "Every book its reader." I am personally committed to the idea that reading, and by extension any encounter with media, is [potentially] transformative. There are people walking about whose lives could be changed by an encounter with the right book. One of the joys of working in a library was knowing that I was contributing to that process. I was recommending resources for the library to purchase and trying to make those resources discoverable in our catalog in such a way that once found the reader could be linked to other resources that were related in some way. Not always on, say, a Tuesday afternoon, but whenever I stepped back out of the workflow and thought about what I was attempting to do, I took great satisfaction in being part of that process. Even moreso when I was a direct part of helping someone find what they were looking for, or what they could have been looking for had they known it existed. To zoom out yet another level, the thing that we encounter in the books, the music, the movies that changes and the encounters we seek through those means are tastes of the true encounter with God and at Trinity I was a part of facilitating that encounter as well. I want to continue to be part of those encounters, even if it means taking time away from the library work to get a library degree or if it means moving from the secondary to the primary encounters.
Another thing that struck me on my walk was the return of an old dream. For a long time I've wanted to thought about forming a semi-monastic community that would host a retreat for pastors and lay people. I sat on the shore of the lake and watch the wind blow in little waves and thought how I'd love to have a big house or a couple of houses on a lake shore where people could come for rest and prayer when they were weary. In some of the fuller pictures in my mind there would be a community like a Bruderhof that lived and worshipped there with whom the visitors could join in worship and for meals or not, as they preferred. Maybe we would live together but work in a nearby town or towns. It's never been a developed vision in my mind but it came in strong on Saturday afternoon. I'd like the community to be self-sustaining so that it wouldn't have to raise support or charge fees from visitors, though it would accept voluntary donations if people felt so led. Obviously such a place would have a nice library.
Just some of my thoughts from Saturday. The main thing I know about my situation is that there are opportunities here now, or on their way, that I would never have seen if I was still cloistered beneath Aragorn and the Argonath cataloging DVDs.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Update with Patrick's Breastplate
Quick update: I'm doing pretty good with the whole job thing. There are a few reasons that I think it was a good thing for me and I hope that it will be a good thing for Trinity in the future. I'll blog more about some of that later this week probably. Also, by way of fair warning, there may be haiku. My feelings are a mix of sad and excited, but mostly I'm just myself. I've got other stuff to think about.
You may have noticed that it is St. Paddy's day. The following is the hymn attributed to St. Patrick and known as the "Lorica" or "Breastplate of St. Patrick" in Joseph Sanderson's translation. Let's worship forever the God of Patrick's worship.
I bind myself to-day
To a strong power, an invocation of the Trinity.
I believe in a Threeness, with confession of a Oneness,
in the Creator of Judgment.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of the birth of Christ, with his baptism,
To the power of the crucifixion, with his burial,
To the power of his resurrection, with his ascension,
To the power of his coming to the judgment of doom.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of the ranks of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of the archangels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preachings of apostles,
In the faiths of confessors,
In the purity of holy virgins,
In the acts of righteous men.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of Heaven,
The light of sun,
The brightness of moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depths of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rocks.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The word of god to speak for me,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to lie before me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The host of God to defend me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the temptations of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against every man who meditates injury to me,
Whether far nor near,
Alone and in a multitude.
I summon to-day around me all these powers
Against every hostile merciless power directed against
my body and my soul;
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heretics,
Against the deceit of idolatry,
Against the spells of women and smiths and Druids,
Against all knowledge which hath defiled man's body and soul.
Christ protect me to-day
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wound,
That I may receive a multitude of rewards.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height.
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me,
Christ in the eye of every man that sees me,
Christ in the ear of every man that hears me.
I bind myself to-day
To a strong power, an invocation of the Trinity.
I believe in a Threeness, with confession of a Oneness,
in the Creator of Judgment.
Salvation is the Lord's,
Salvation is the Lord's.
Salvation is Christ's.
Let thy salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
You may have noticed that it is St. Paddy's day. The following is the hymn attributed to St. Patrick and known as the "Lorica" or "Breastplate of St. Patrick" in Joseph Sanderson's translation. Let's worship forever the God of Patrick's worship.
I bind myself to-day
To a strong power, an invocation of the Trinity.
I believe in a Threeness, with confession of a Oneness,
in the Creator of Judgment.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of the birth of Christ, with his baptism,
To the power of the crucifixion, with his burial,
To the power of his resurrection, with his ascension,
To the power of his coming to the judgment of doom.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of the ranks of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of the archangels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preachings of apostles,
In the faiths of confessors,
In the purity of holy virgins,
In the acts of righteous men.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of Heaven,
The light of sun,
The brightness of moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depths of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rocks.
I bind myself to-day
To the power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The word of god to speak for me,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to lie before me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The host of God to defend me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the temptations of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against every man who meditates injury to me,
Whether far nor near,
Alone and in a multitude.
I summon to-day around me all these powers
Against every hostile merciless power directed against
my body and my soul;
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heretics,
Against the deceit of idolatry,
Against the spells of women and smiths and Druids,
Against all knowledge which hath defiled man's body and soul.
Christ protect me to-day
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wound,
That I may receive a multitude of rewards.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height.
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me,
Christ in the eye of every man that sees me,
Christ in the ear of every man that hears me.
I bind myself to-day
To a strong power, an invocation of the Trinity.
I believe in a Threeness, with confession of a Oneness,
in the Creator of Judgment.
Salvation is the Lord's,
Salvation is the Lord's.
Salvation is Christ's.
Let thy salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Winter
The Crossing, a Christian Celtic/Folk music group took Robert Burns' dirge poem "Winter" and gave it a chorus and a melody that I love. Here are the words with the chorus:
The wintry wind extends his blast,
And hail and rain dost blow;
Or, the stormy north sends driving forth
the blinding sleet and snow:
While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,
And roars from bank to brae;
And bird and beast in covert rest,
And pass the heartless day.
"The sweeping blast, the sky o'ercast,"
The joyless winter-day
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May:
The tempest's howl, it soothes my soul
My griefs it seems to join;
The leafless trees my fancy please,
Their fate resembles mine!
Through the night, through the night
Through the night and all
Tho' all my strength be sorely spent
And stars do die and fall
To thee my King I gladly cling
When black winds howl and blow
When all is done and battle won
Let Christ receive my soul
Thou power supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfill
Here, firm, I rest, they must be best,
Because they are thy will!
Then all I want, (Oh! do thou grant
This one request of mine!)
Since to enjoy thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.
Through the night, through the night
Through the night and all
Tho' all my strength be sorely spent
And stars do die and fall
To thee my King I gladly cling
When black winds howl and blow
When all is done and battle won
Let Christ receive my soul
I remember singing that at the top of my voice while peddling my bike up the hill to the Welch's outside Northfield the night I saw Braveheart. I love the imagery and the determination. As it happens, I do also like winter. I brought that cd in to the office today. Mostly I was bringing in a bunch of Irish-ish stuff to listen to going into St. Paddy's day. Trinity laid me off today. I'm really glad I brought the Crossing in with me so I can listen to "Winter".
The wintry wind extends his blast,
And hail and rain dost blow;
Or, the stormy north sends driving forth
the blinding sleet and snow:
While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,
And roars from bank to brae;
And bird and beast in covert rest,
And pass the heartless day.
"The sweeping blast, the sky o'ercast,"
The joyless winter-day
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May:
The tempest's howl, it soothes my soul
My griefs it seems to join;
The leafless trees my fancy please,
Their fate resembles mine!
Through the night, through the night
Through the night and all
Tho' all my strength be sorely spent
And stars do die and fall
To thee my King I gladly cling
When black winds howl and blow
When all is done and battle won
Let Christ receive my soul
Thou power supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfill
Here, firm, I rest, they must be best,
Because they are thy will!
Then all I want, (Oh! do thou grant
This one request of mine!)
Since to enjoy thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.
Through the night, through the night
Through the night and all
Tho' all my strength be sorely spent
And stars do die and fall
To thee my King I gladly cling
When black winds howl and blow
When all is done and battle won
Let Christ receive my soul
I remember singing that at the top of my voice while peddling my bike up the hill to the Welch's outside Northfield the night I saw Braveheart. I love the imagery and the determination. As it happens, I do also like winter. I brought that cd in to the office today. Mostly I was bringing in a bunch of Irish-ish stuff to listen to going into St. Paddy's day. Trinity laid me off today. I'm really glad I brought the Crossing in with me so I can listen to "Winter".
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Quote about Spiritual Disciplines
"Fastings, vigils, meditations on the Scriptures, self-denial, and the abnegation of all possessions are not perfection in themselves, but aids to perfection. The end of the science of holiness does not lie in these practices, but by means of them we arrive at the end. He will practice these exercises to no purpose who is contented with these as if they were the highest good. A man must not fix his heart simply on these, but must extend his efforts towards the attainment of his end. It is for the sake of the end that these things should be cultivated. It is a vain thing for a man to possess the implements of an art and to be ignorant of its purpose, for in it is all that is of any value." Abba Moses
Or to put it in other, more authoritative words, "I have desired mercy rather than sacrifice." Prayer and scripture and all other disciplines and religious actions are worthwhile only insomuch as they lead on to love for our neighbors and, above all, love for God.
Or to put it in other, more authoritative words, "I have desired mercy rather than sacrifice." Prayer and scripture and all other disciplines and religious actions are worthwhile only insomuch as they lead on to love for our neighbors and, above all, love for God.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Silly quote
I have a recurring nightmare/dream in which an alarm clock is going off and I can't make it stop. Yesterday morning I said to someone else in the dream who was going to turn off the alarm, "It's no use. I've had this nightmare before. There's no way to stop it." When I was describing the situation to Steve and some friends last night I added this, "In the dream I was fully convinced that I was awake. Never mind the 500 lb. wrestler sitting on the floor playing with blocks."
Dreams are weird.
In other related news, I've decided to give up my snooze alarm for Lent.
Dreams are weird.
In other related news, I've decided to give up my snooze alarm for Lent.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wrestling with God
So, Lydia's probably right. I oughtn't to put in all that stuff about wrestling and not mention somewhere the Bible's big wrestling match.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Jabbok Ford Conference Center for our main event. In this corner, in a return appearance from Padan Aram, weighing in at not-too-many pounds, The Beersheba Heel Grasper, master of the Bethel Stone Sleeper, Jaaaaaaacob ben IIIIIsaac. His Opponent, from parts unknown, A Man, maybe an angel, perhaps The Lord God Almighty, The God of Abraham and Fear of Isaac!"
So most of us know the story from Genesis 32. Jacob is returning from exile with Laban and gets word that Esau is coming to meet him on the way. Jacob sends out a bunch of gifts of livestock to delay his brother, sends his family across the Jabbok River, and waits. In the night he encounters "a man" and wrestles with him all night. When the morning comes and the man sees that Jacob will not let him go, he puts Jacob's hip out of joint. The man asks Jacob to let him go and Jacob refuses unless the man blesses him. The man renames Jacob, Israel, saying, "You have striven with God and men and you have prevailed." Jacob again asks the man's name, but the other responds, "Why is it that you ask my name?". Then he blesses Israel and departs. Jacob renames the place, Peniel ("Face of God), saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." Then he goes on and meets Esau and things turn out generally well.
Over the years I've mostly heard and read this passage as an encouragement to persevere in prayer. Jacob hangs on until God blesses him. Likewise we should press into God for blessing. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force." There's something to that, especially in light of Jesus' teaching about persistance in prayer in Luke 11 and 18. However, my OT Survey professor, Dr. Beitzel, suggested something different. What if this story was not an encouragement but a warning? Jacob struggles with God all night and is crippled by it, but he will not let go. Jacob is stubborn. One of the most frequent accusations against Israel by the prophets is that they are a stiff-necked people. They will not bend to God's will. Perhaps the name Israel is as much a curse and a prophecy as it is an honor and a blessing. If we lived by faith and trust in a wise and good God, when would it be good not to submit? Too often I wrestle with God not to gain blessing from Him but to prevent Him from taking away my sin. I try to become Israel when I could be Judah ("Praise" and the line that survived) or, better still, Yeshua (The Lord Saves, Jesus), the image He's trying to make me into. Some of us are wrestling, struggling, fighting to hold onto God's promises and blessing. I suspect most of us are wrestling and fighting to hold onto this world; this world that He would replace with blessing and eternity. It's time for most of us to stop wrestling with God, fall on our face, and worship Him.
"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." Psalm 2:11-12 (ESV)
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Jabbok Ford Conference Center for our main event. In this corner, in a return appearance from Padan Aram, weighing in at not-too-many pounds, The Beersheba Heel Grasper, master of the Bethel Stone Sleeper, Jaaaaaaacob ben IIIIIsaac. His Opponent, from parts unknown, A Man, maybe an angel, perhaps The Lord God Almighty, The God of Abraham and Fear of Isaac!"
So most of us know the story from Genesis 32. Jacob is returning from exile with Laban and gets word that Esau is coming to meet him on the way. Jacob sends out a bunch of gifts of livestock to delay his brother, sends his family across the Jabbok River, and waits. In the night he encounters "a man" and wrestles with him all night. When the morning comes and the man sees that Jacob will not let him go, he puts Jacob's hip out of joint. The man asks Jacob to let him go and Jacob refuses unless the man blesses him. The man renames Jacob, Israel, saying, "You have striven with God and men and you have prevailed." Jacob again asks the man's name, but the other responds, "Why is it that you ask my name?". Then he blesses Israel and departs. Jacob renames the place, Peniel ("Face of God), saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." Then he goes on and meets Esau and things turn out generally well.
Over the years I've mostly heard and read this passage as an encouragement to persevere in prayer. Jacob hangs on until God blesses him. Likewise we should press into God for blessing. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force." There's something to that, especially in light of Jesus' teaching about persistance in prayer in Luke 11 and 18. However, my OT Survey professor, Dr. Beitzel, suggested something different. What if this story was not an encouragement but a warning? Jacob struggles with God all night and is crippled by it, but he will not let go. Jacob is stubborn. One of the most frequent accusations against Israel by the prophets is that they are a stiff-necked people. They will not bend to God's will. Perhaps the name Israel is as much a curse and a prophecy as it is an honor and a blessing. If we lived by faith and trust in a wise and good God, when would it be good not to submit? Too often I wrestle with God not to gain blessing from Him but to prevent Him from taking away my sin. I try to become Israel when I could be Judah ("Praise" and the line that survived) or, better still, Yeshua (The Lord Saves, Jesus), the image He's trying to make me into. Some of us are wrestling, struggling, fighting to hold onto God's promises and blessing. I suspect most of us are wrestling and fighting to hold onto this world; this world that He would replace with blessing and eternity. It's time for most of us to stop wrestling with God, fall on our face, and worship Him.
"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." Psalm 2:11-12 (ESV)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wrestling Memories
So following on my previous post, I thought I'd list some of the moments that have stood out over the years as I've watched wrestling. I don't really expect this post to mean anything to anyone else and it's probably the last wrestling related post.
1. Watching Hulk Hogan "hulk up" as a kid. I managed to never make the connection that at the point where the opponent's offense stopped having any effect on the Hulkster was when he was turning into "the hulk." I watched that show and knew about not making David Banner angry but I never registered that aspect of Hogan's name or character.
2. Watching Hulk Hogan crotch Terry Funk on the top rope on a Saturday Night's Main Event title match. Happens all the time, but it was the first time I'd seen it and my 13 year old self was impressed with the cleverness of that move.
3. Watching Andre the Giant turn bad and start choking Hulk Hogan. Even when all the faces came down to rescue Hulk and Hacksaw Jim Duggan broke a 2X4 over Andre's shoulders he still didn't release Hogan until he was satisfied. Given that Andre was the penultimate good guy at that point it was really shocking.
16 year hiatus
4. I started watching WWE one Monday night in June of 2003 when I paused on it while channel surfing. I might have been hooked by the Divas' battle royal championship match which was won by newcomer Gail Kim. I was also impressed by athleticism in the InterContinental title match between Booker T and Christian.
5. Wondering why it hurt Rob Van Dam more if he hit the mat on a missed frog splash than if he landed on a body. Seems like the move would hurt just as much, just in different ways.
6. The Dudley Boys vs. La Resistance.
7. Seeing Rosie, the 400 lb. Super Hero In Training, pull off a 360 splash from the second rope on Sunday Night Heat.
8. Watching Batista bat Maven out of the air when the latter was attempting a drop kick off the top rope on another episode.
9. Chris Benoit showing up for the Raw Wrestlemania Title match contract signing between Shawn Michaels and Triple H and exploiting his Royal Rumble title clause to insinuate himself in their match.
10. Watching Kane basically do a push up to power out of Benoit's crippler crossface to extend a match. Until that point the crossface had seemed invincible and did after that as well. That really made Kane look strong.
11. Hearing Jericho call Triple H, "Trips" for the first time on the Highlight Reel with Eugene.
12. Watching Shelton Benjamin leap three quarters of the way across the ring right into Shawn Michaels' "sweet chin music" superkick.
13. Watching Goldberg pull off a jackhammer slam on 400 lb. Mark Henry.
14. The first time I saw Gail Kim win a match with a submission hold. More than anything else that sold the idea that some of the divas could really wrestle.
15. Evolution's turn on Randy Orton. During the celebration of Orton's title win over Chris Benoit, Orton was sitting on Batista's shoulders in triumph with confetti falling and everyone happy. Suddenly Triple H.'s thumbs up became a thumbs down, Batista slammed Orton to the mat and the beatdown was on.
16. 5'4", 175 lb. "heavyweight champion" Rey Mysterio had 6' something, 400 lb. Mark Henry, "The World's Strongest Man," pinned. In the most logical move of Mysterio's title reign, Henry basically did a sit up holding Mysterio against his chest, stood up, and slammed the champion. Rey went on to win the match anyway, but I loved that move.
17. The build to Batista v. Triple H for the championship at Wrestlemania in 2005. I also loved the movie parody commercials for Wrestlemania that year.
18. Any time Stone Cold Steve Austin would drop co-Raw GM Eric Bischoff with a stunner.
19. The Undertaker's entrance, anytime.
20. JBL on commentary.
21. Hearing about Chris Benoit's death. Benoit was my favorite WWE wrestler. He was portrayed as the ultimate professional, a master technical wrestler. He wasn't flashy but he worked hard and he always gave good matches, even on the rare occasions when they tried to portray him as a heel. It was obvious he was on steroids but he was so much fun to watch. Then in one weekend he killed his wife and his son and committed suicide. It was a shocking, tragic, evil moment.
There. That's probably it for wrestling posts.
1. Watching Hulk Hogan "hulk up" as a kid. I managed to never make the connection that at the point where the opponent's offense stopped having any effect on the Hulkster was when he was turning into "the hulk." I watched that show and knew about not making David Banner angry but I never registered that aspect of Hogan's name or character.
2. Watching Hulk Hogan crotch Terry Funk on the top rope on a Saturday Night's Main Event title match. Happens all the time, but it was the first time I'd seen it and my 13 year old self was impressed with the cleverness of that move.
3. Watching Andre the Giant turn bad and start choking Hulk Hogan. Even when all the faces came down to rescue Hulk and Hacksaw Jim Duggan broke a 2X4 over Andre's shoulders he still didn't release Hogan until he was satisfied. Given that Andre was the penultimate good guy at that point it was really shocking.
16 year hiatus
4. I started watching WWE one Monday night in June of 2003 when I paused on it while channel surfing. I might have been hooked by the Divas' battle royal championship match which was won by newcomer Gail Kim. I was also impressed by athleticism in the InterContinental title match between Booker T and Christian.
5. Wondering why it hurt Rob Van Dam more if he hit the mat on a missed frog splash than if he landed on a body. Seems like the move would hurt just as much, just in different ways.
6. The Dudley Boys vs. La Resistance.
7. Seeing Rosie, the 400 lb. Super Hero In Training, pull off a 360 splash from the second rope on Sunday Night Heat.
8. Watching Batista bat Maven out of the air when the latter was attempting a drop kick off the top rope on another episode.
9. Chris Benoit showing up for the Raw Wrestlemania Title match contract signing between Shawn Michaels and Triple H and exploiting his Royal Rumble title clause to insinuate himself in their match.
10. Watching Kane basically do a push up to power out of Benoit's crippler crossface to extend a match. Until that point the crossface had seemed invincible and did after that as well. That really made Kane look strong.
11. Hearing Jericho call Triple H, "Trips" for the first time on the Highlight Reel with Eugene.
12. Watching Shelton Benjamin leap three quarters of the way across the ring right into Shawn Michaels' "sweet chin music" superkick.
13. Watching Goldberg pull off a jackhammer slam on 400 lb. Mark Henry.
14. The first time I saw Gail Kim win a match with a submission hold. More than anything else that sold the idea that some of the divas could really wrestle.
15. Evolution's turn on Randy Orton. During the celebration of Orton's title win over Chris Benoit, Orton was sitting on Batista's shoulders in triumph with confetti falling and everyone happy. Suddenly Triple H.'s thumbs up became a thumbs down, Batista slammed Orton to the mat and the beatdown was on.
16. 5'4", 175 lb. "heavyweight champion" Rey Mysterio had 6' something, 400 lb. Mark Henry, "The World's Strongest Man," pinned. In the most logical move of Mysterio's title reign, Henry basically did a sit up holding Mysterio against his chest, stood up, and slammed the champion. Rey went on to win the match anyway, but I loved that move.
17. The build to Batista v. Triple H for the championship at Wrestlemania in 2005. I also loved the movie parody commercials for Wrestlemania that year.
18. Any time Stone Cold Steve Austin would drop co-Raw GM Eric Bischoff with a stunner.
19. The Undertaker's entrance, anytime.
20. JBL on commentary.
21. Hearing about Chris Benoit's death. Benoit was my favorite WWE wrestler. He was portrayed as the ultimate professional, a master technical wrestler. He wasn't flashy but he worked hard and he always gave good matches, even on the rare occasions when they tried to portray him as a heel. It was obvious he was on steroids but he was so much fun to watch. Then in one weekend he killed his wife and his son and committed suicide. It was a shocking, tragic, evil moment.
There. That's probably it for wrestling posts.
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