THE BEST LAID PLANS 

OF  MICE  AND  MEN 
AND  WOMEN

SUB-TITLE: ON BECOMING

A BUS PHILOSOPHER

AND A SIDEWALK THEOLOGIAN

[This is sort of a story - a reflection coming out of today's readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - when vineyards don't work - and plans for the future go sour and get crushed.]

Justin was having a tough year.  His wife walked out on him and he lost his job.  As I was saying, Justin was having a tough year.

He got a new job.  It was in Washington D.C. and he discovered  that buses from and to his new apartment was a great way to get to and from work. The bus drivers weren’t singing - especially in the early morning commute - “And leave the driving to us.”

What to do on the bus on his way to and from work? 

It was the same bus at the same time every morning: 6:57 A.M.  It was the same bus at the same time every afternoon:  4:14 P.M.

He began to notice there were 4 different small communities on the bus - and he could overhear conversations and comments about sports and weather, politics and public policy.  Hey a lot of these men and women were government workers. He got to know different voices and different laughs and different exclamation points. He got to know who were loners and who Noah’s ark type folks - liked to travel two by two - and who were groupies.

He was a loner.  He was new to all of this.

He was still in a funk over his failed marriage. Thank God they didn’t have any kids. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about life and family - what’s new and where you’re  from?

So with book in hand - or newspaper - or magazine - and always a window seat - he remained quiet - giving signals,  “I prefer quiet right now in this ride to work or this ride home from work.”

He found it hard to read. He found it easier to just sit there and think.

Looking out the bus window, he saw a poster or an ad for something - that featured the statue called, “The Thinker.”

And so he started to see himself as “A Thinker”.

Then he changed that image and that title to, “The Philosopher” or “A Philosopher.”

He smiled because he remembered being tempted in college to take a course called, “Philosophy 101.”  He took 2 classes and then switched over to a history course of Southeast Asia instead.

“I wonder,” - he thought - “maybe I should have stayed with the philosophy.”

He bought a medium  spiral note pad - blue cover -  the ones with the wire along the side - 150 blue lined sheets - 9 ½ inches by 6 inches.

And to and from work he became a philosopher - jotting down life issues - like, “The Secret of Happiness,” - “The Meaning of Life” - "Sour Grapes and Vinegar" - “Suffering and Loss” - “Success and Failure” - “Men and Women”.

With those titles and themes on the top of the page - he then jotted down thoughts and questions that he philosophized about on his trip to and from work.

One day, on the top of a page -  he put down a title, “The Best Laid Plans”. He remembered that from high school - that it was part of a poem by somebody.  Sure enough - he was close. It was, “the best laid schemes”. It was part of a poem by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns - from way back in November 1785. It was about a farmer plowing  his field and ruining  a mouse’s house - and changing a  mouse’s  schemes for “What now?” "What's next?"

Smiling for the first time in a long time - he said to himself, “I’m becoming a philosopher. That’s me. When she left me - my whole life - all my plans - have changed. My nest and my next was ruined. Wow - imagine what all these people in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Florida, Houston, Southeast Asia - have to go through when their plans are ruined?”

Sometime while slowly becoming a philosopher  he slowly began to become a theologian. This was not from the bus - but from the sidewalk.

It was Spring and the weather in Washington was becoming beautiful -cherry blossoms were springing from the trees and flowers popping up from the ground. Resurrection and new life were appearing everywhere.

Instead of eating lunch at his desk - he decided on getting outside - feeling and sensing the sun and the spring light breezes. And he found a favorite bench - on the mall and he sat there - eating his sandwich - and an apple - and watching the world go by on the sidewalk.

Without knowing it, he was about to become a theologian. He saw two blocks down a church - and he could see folks going in and out - every once and a while.

So one Friday - he walked down the sidewalk - crossed an avenue - came to the church - walked up the steps - opened the door - and found himself in the semi-darkness.

He put his hand into the holy water dish. “Must be a Catholic Church,” he said to himself. “I haven’t been in one of these since my marriage.”

He walked down the side aisle - and slipped into a bench - and tears came to his eyes.

He began to pray - well just a one word prayer - “Help. Help. Help!”

In time it would become, "Christ, where are you?"

He sat there that first time in church in a long time - for a good 22 minutes - till he realized he should be back at work.

He ran - walked - ran - and snook into his desk - a good 15 minutes late - but nobody noticed.

That afternoon - he opened up his spiral pad - and wrote on a fresh page - just one word, “God!”

He jotted down two or three pages of words about his God Life” - but then he smiled and said to himself, “Wrong book!”

Getting off the bus he walked into a supermarket where he shopped. He  picked up some groceries, a shepherd’s pie for supper, and a medium size spiral pad - this one with a red cover - 9 ½ inches by 6 inches - 150 sheets - blue lines.

After supper he wrote on the top of  page one the word, “Theologian.”

He remembered he signed up in college for a course on Theology 101 - and he dropped out of that course after two classes as well.

He remembered the professor saying that Theology came from two Greek words, “Theos” meaning “God” and “Logos” meaning “word”. 

So under the word “Theology” on the top of page one he wrote a sub-title, “Words About God.”

And that professor said, “Philosophy comes from two Greek words, ‘Philos’ meaning ‘Lover’  as in ‘Philadelphia - City of Brotherly Love’  and ‘Sophia’ meaning wisdom.”

He got up and got out his other spiral pad and wrote on the top of page one, “Philosophy” - Subtitle: ”Wisdom Lover.”

Now he had those two books - one blue one red - that he kept in his small backpack - which he traveled with to and from  work.

He was a neat nick - the writings he did on the bus - he limited himself to wisdom and philosophy and the writings he did on his favorite bench and church near the mall, he limited himself to words about and with God.

He had a plan.

But in time - plans and schemes and subtitles change. He found himself back in church - on a regular basis - on Sunday mornings.

And oh yeah, he met this nice gal - on the bus - and time will tell when and what he’ll write again and what happens next.