A Dark And Quiet Room

In this post, I mentioned an arrest. So, here’s some more info from the Peoria Journal-Star:

Floyd C. Tribbett, 39, 539 S. Schweer Court in Bellevue was arrested about 5:50 p.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of North Orange Street and booked on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana.

So there you are.

HT: James

I owe a more extensive report, but I’ll say that this went really well. In this thread, there’s a link to pictures, too!

Today, I’m announcing the opening of the Go Play Peoria site.

The goal of this site is to be a gaming portal for Peoria and the surrounding area. Ideally, we’d like this site to be a place where you can locate other gamers, have intelligent game discussion with folks in the area, and (perish the thought!) maybe make some new friends!

We have our forum up and running, and we’re starting to plan for the February 2008 Go Play Peoria minicon, to be held here in Peoria.

So, if you’re interested, please check it out! If you have questions, feel free to post on the Go Play Peoria forums, or ask me here.

So, this Sunday there’s an event called “Sing-A-Long Messiah”. Essentially, the church hires four professional vocalists to lead the four parts, and the people gathered form the choir, singing the various parts. A number of people from my church are planning on going. That’s cool. They love singing, and I’ve heard that this is quite the getup.

I don’t really want to go. I don’t like singing in public, and such an event would largely stress me out. Mea culpa and all that. Not criticizing the event.

But today, at lunch, it occurred to me that this is an excellent example of a new trend in the arts that I think is good. Rather than people merely being spectators to art, they are becoming performers of art. Rather than going to hear the “Messiah” sung, they are going to sing the “Messiah”. Just like in roleplaying, they are simultaneously performer and audience. It’s great! It’s a wonderful trend, encouraging people towards active creation. It’s avante garde. It’s subversive.

I still don’t want to go.

But I’m glad that it’s happening!

(The “Sing-A-Long Messiah” will be held on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, for those who are interested.)

Last night, around 6:00, my family left the house to visit with the Evans’ family.

Last night, around 7:30, a neighbor named John was mugged in front of the neighboring house. Essentially, it happened at the base of my driveway. They took his wallet and his keys and left him on the sidewalk. You need to understand that John is in his 60s, plus he is autistic (or somesuch thing). Attacking him was the act of cowards, looking for an easy hit.

Another neighbor met him just after he was attacked. She called the police and then called us to let us know. I’m still a little unclear on all the details, but that’s really close enough.

I saw John last night. His cheek was scraped up and he had a nasty bruise under one eye. He was with a social worker from White Oaks who was trying to help him find his keys. Without them, he couldn’t get back into his house. I helped the social worker look around, but we couldn’t find the keys, which probably means that John stayed the night in a shelter last night. The social worker told me that the police had captured two of John’s attackers but the keys were still unaccounted for. So, honestly, it may have been better for him to be elsewhere last night. If someone unfriendly still had his keys, then he might not have been safe in his own house.

I prayed with John. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. And I prayed for vengeance on his attackers.

I guess this is why we moved here. That whole “being a light in a dark place” thing. And I’m glad that I was able to try to be helpful to John and to pray for him. Feels like a first step in following my calling in this neighborhood. But still, I would rather that it hadn’t happened at all.

Well, we started playing a game of Dirty Secrets last night. I’ll have a writeup later (along with audio, I hope), but for now, here’s an article about some of Peoria’s real-life crime history. Read the comments, too.

Illinois Central College is going to begin offering a degree in game design.

HT: Yehuda Berlinger

(P.S. Yes, I was reading an Israeli blogger who informed me about something happening in my home town. The Internet is weird.)

Yesterday, during the sermon, James McDonald discussed a family’s move during last winter. He pointed at it as an example of Christian community, how the church came together to help a family, how it was an encouragement to him.

That was my family.

If you were there for the sermon, you probably knew who he was talking about, but you might not know the whole story. So, for the benefit of my church family, I figured that I would tell our tale.

There’s a lot lying under the surface here which I don’t really feel comfortable laying out in any detail on the Internet. Some of you already know these details, and you understand. For the rest of you, I’ll be addressing a lot of things by implication and suggestion. If you want to ask me, come talk to me, but I won’t be clarifying anything here.
Read more…

This poem was written by one of my neighbors. Please pray for her as she fights to end her dependence on drugs.

Cuz Jesus Lives in Me

I’m to start a brand new life
A life without drugs
I’m really kinda scared
I’ll want lots of hugs

I know its sounds silly
But let it be
I’m going to do it
Cuz Jesus lives in me

I’ll get my strength from Him above
Cuz He loves me so
Hanging on tight
Never letting go

Thank you, Jesus
For you are my vine
Without You
My life is intertwined

When temptation comes
And I know that it will
You take the place
Of marajuana, cocaine or a pill

Thank you, Jesus
For all that You’ve done for me
I know I’m gonna do it
Cuz Jesus lives in me

-Anonymous

Today is the one-year anniversary of our moving to Orange Street. God willing, we will be here for many more.

I recently figured out that, from one perspective, Dirty Secrets is about local politics.

This was a response to a playtest thread for Dirty Secrets.I discovered that this response actually brought out something personal in me, so I figured that I’d share. For context, the playtester lives in Switzerland.

Whereas legal status didn’t have too much impact, even though it could have helped to resolve the Clothilde Guerdat’s murder as she was an ex-convict. By the way, what’s the difference between a police officer and a federal agent? In Switzerland we have a similar politico-administrative set-up of the country (mini-states with quite a bit of autonomy form the country), but the federal government has no police of their own. They do have secret agents and spies though (yeah!), so I put that in it’s stead. I’m worrying though whether I’m missing some deep grown rivalry between state-level police and federal agents (which seems to crop up all the time in American films).

First, I’ll point at what Ralph said and say, “Yeah, that.” It’s definitely one of those things that Americans will get, almost instinctively, while others will go, “Huh?” I recall some discussions on the Unknown Armies mailing list that boiled down to “translating” the fundamental American nature of that game. I’m guessing that Dirty Secrets will be similar.

So, part of the reason for dividing them up in the game is to allow for that conflict between local/state and federal police that Ralph describes. The other reason is just the general reaction of the public to the Feds vs. the cops. By definition, the cops are local or regional. They are from “around here”. Federal agents aren’t. That’s not really fair, you understand. I don’t know if there’s an FBI office in Peoria, for example, but if there is, it’s probably staffed by people who live in the Peoria area. However, their allegiance (if you will) isn’t to the Peoria area; it’s to the central government. So it’s a different vibe. As such, I thought that the game should allow for that vibe.

Okay, time for a detour. I’m not totally sure that I’m going to be able to express this well, but I’ll give it a try.

I’ve discovered that one major aspect of Dirty Secrets is the players’ developing of a connection to their immediate locale. In the initial post, you said:

Julien and Gaétan thought it was a brilliant idea to set the game in our city last week. It really eases up descriptions and allows for a lot of private jokes and quick meta-discussions.

That’s exactly what I mean. The game provides an opportunity to interact with your real-world surroundings through the game. This can be a celebration of your locale, or it can be a critique. Regardless, at least for me, the game has brought me closer to where I live. I find myself looking around more, especially at the hidden nooks and crannies of Peoria, because now, I’m curious to know what is over there. Now, maybe that’s just me, but it’s something that I’ll be looking for in AP reports, as they come out.

All that to say….

In light of this, federal agents feel like they come from outside the locale. They are not part of the community, nor are they beholden to it. That’s what sets them apart. This is purely emotional and, as I noted above, not even totally accurate. But that’s why federal agents are a separate category in the game.

On Saturday, I attended the dedication of the Peoria World War I and II Memorial, commemorating those from the Peoria area who died in those wars. It was a rainy day, so I was surprised at the large turnout. A co-worker of mine who is a Vietnam veteran invited me to go, and we had opportunity to chat a bit afterwards about some of his experiences in that war.

It was a standard political ceremony. In other words, it was partly boring, partly interesting, and partly emotional. I wasn’t even living in Peoria when the planning started for this monument, so I don’t really know the people who were being recognized for their work on this project. At the same time, these people did do a lot of work to get this monument in place, so it’s proper for them to be recognized.

The Peoria County Sheriff Department’s Drill Team was on hand. As part of the ceremony, they did some drilling. If you’ve never seen something like this, you really should. Imagine juggling with rifles. That’s what I’m talking about. (Here’s a link to the US Navy Presidential Ceremonial Honor Guard so that you can see this being done.)

Of all the men that spoke, General Wayne Downing stood out. He is the former commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. After his retirement, he was appointed by President Clinton to assess the 1996 attack on the U.S. base at Khobar Towers in Saudia Arabia and, in 2001, was called upon to serve as National Director and Deputy National Security Adviser, reporting to Homeland Security director Tom Ridge and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. He was born here in Peoria, and he has returned to live here. That’s a pretty heavy hitter for where I live.

He is also the son of a World War II veteran who died in action. I was deeply moved when he spoke of his father’s death, of his mother gathering her family together to tell them that he was not coming home.

At the end of his speech, General Downing invoked Iraq, saying that the troops currently serving there deserve our honor as well. I was also thinking about Iraq as I stood there, so I thought that it would be good to discuss this for a moment.

I’ve been on record in various places as opposing the war in Iraq. But, I want to make clear that this is not because of a lack of respect for the military. Rather, my respect for the military is part of the reason for my opposition to the war. One of the most important ways that we can honor those who go in harm’s way for us is to ensure that we have a just cause for sending them into harm’s way in the first place. Sometimes, you need to fight to protect that which you love. Sometimes, that means that you have to die. But, if it could be avoided without compromise, that would be a far better thing.

To close the event, the master of ceremonies read “In Flanders Field”:

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The Honor Guard fired a salute.

A trumpeter played “Taps”.

There were tears in my eyes.

When I finally walked away, I thought of this hymn:

Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a scepter sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
absorbed in prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.

One day, the kings of the earth will bow to their King, Jesus Christ. And in that day, He will do away forever with war. There will no longer be war memorials to spur on the living, for there will be no more need. My soul longs for that day.

Tonight, I’m continuing to write Dirty Secrets. I’m sitting out on my patio in the back yard while I write. My soundtrack: the sounds of the city. In the distance I can hear a rock band performing. Cars honk their horns. From far off, I hear the sounds of a racetrack.

I like this. I like this very much.

But now, I need to write!

This is just a public service announcement. A new restaurant has opened up in Renaissance Park. The name of the place is Johnson’s Deli. They are open 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, and then 11 a.m to 3 a.m. on Saturdays. (I don’t remember their Sunday hours.) Given that this location had been a quick credit place, I’m already happy with the improvement.

I was walking by tonight, and I had a brief chat with one of the employees. Indeed, he may have been the proprietor, although I’m not sure. His name is C.J., and I’m sure that he would appreciate some business. Personally, although I didn’t buy anything tonight, I fully intend to check out their hot wings in the very near future.

I like the idea of places like this existing in my neighborhood. So, I’m encouraging all of you: try out Johnson’s Deli. Then, come here and leave comments about your experience! I’ll do the same.

Johnson’s Deli
841 Main Street, Suite A
Peoria, IL 61602
Phone (309) 677-0110