THE GREAT MIGRATION

Migrating Wildebeests, Internet Domain

I was out wandering the green, rain soaked fairways of Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC, today in hot and humid August weather while observing the PGA Wyndham Championship. This year’s tournament took a turn for the better as one of the sport’s shining lights, albeit a dimming one, Tiger Woods, announced late that he would participate for the first time. The bad news is that this hasn’t been a good year for Tiger and he’s in danger of missing out on the lucrative playoffs for the season. But the good news is that his presence immediately prompted the sponsors to crank out thousands more tickets for the event and secure more parking space for the golf fans.

I had watched Tiger in his more competitive days in Charlotte at the Quail Hollow tournament. And it was first in Charlotte that the phenomenon of the superstar was first graphically illustrated to me. We had maneuvered about three holes ahead of Tiger’s group and were patiently waiting in a grandstand for them to approach the green. The fans began to slowly migrate around the ropes on either side of the fairway as the empty grandstand seats began to fill. By the time his group had made their way up to the green thousands of fans lined the fairway and the stands were packed beyond capacity. The same phenomenon was no doubt also occurring on national television. That’s when I first associated what I was visually witnessing with the great wildebeest migration in the endless African Serengeti and Masai-Mara ecosystems!

The annual odyssey of two million wildebeest grazers including 300,000 calves follows a regular circular pattern over an endless journey of 1,200 miles in search of green pastures. It's one of the greatest wonders of the natural world. One of the key events in this journey involves the perilous crossing of the Mara River between July and October. The wildebeest must navigate many hazards including ravenous predators such as lions and leopards that follow the vast herds and take out the weak stragglers. Then when the migrants begin crossing the Masai-Mara River in narrow groups, massive five-meter long crocodiles lying in wait attack them from the unseen depths of the water. Thousands of wildebeests never finish the circle of life each year. In October the herds turn the corner and head back to the Serengeti as the rainy season starts in Tanzania.

The game of golf also follows a rather circuitous path as individuals who religiously practice the sport engage in the game of playing fetch with yourself. We depart the first tee and circle around to the ninth green next to the clubhouse. Then we repeat another cycle off the back nine and again return to the clubhouse. The path is fraught with obstacles like sand bunkers, water hazards and even predators if you’re the betting type. But unlike the lions pursuing the massive herds on the Serengeti, the massive herds pursue the Tigers in golf. The fans anxiously move in lock step as they approach their prey. Occasionally, they even obtain a trophy autograph in their frenzied obsession. The majority are appreciative and well-mannered with the exception of a few stragglers who have obviously stumbled onto the occasional clump of locoweed. Apparently it triggers random outbursts of gibberish like “You the man!” and “Get in the hole!” which can become very annoying. I also observed a few red-shirted men wired for communication walking inside the ropes with the Tiger, presumably for security. Now, there’s a switch!

As we witnessed once again today, when their prey is finished grazing on the green and makes the turn to the back nine in search of greener fairways, the madding crowd likewise evaporates within minutes. And you have to wonder, if the Tiger walks into a perilous water hazard, will the worshiping herd blindly follow?

A FACE IN THE CROWD

Times Square 2015, Internet Domain
Face in the Crowd, Internet Domain
NEW YEAR’S DAY, 2015
FEARLESS HOPE

An estimated one million people from all over the world crowded into New York City’s Times Square to celebrate the arrival of 2015. Recent cop assassinations and terrorist threats prompted new security measures including the herding of folks into metal rail pens. They were wanded for guns and knives while hundreds of backpacks were confiscated in response to the Boston relay bombers. If you wanted to be in a strategic place, you arrived as long as ten hours before midnight. If you left your designated pen you could not return, which prompted some diehards to wear adult diapers. Welcome to the new normal of 2015.

It’s truly amazing what sort of events will prompt human beings to gather in large crowds to either celebrate or riot. And as George Carlin famously stated, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups”. For starters, we’re a very curious bunch. We’re drawn like a moth to a flame whenever something out of our normal experience happens. We’re drawn to big sporting events and we’re drawn to big personalities. Whenever a human being has been singled out of the crowd because of something they have accomplished or some skill they have mastered over the teeming masses, we all seem to migrate their way. I’ve sat and watched in awe as large crowds at a major golf tournament gathered around a green and then quickly dissipated as a big star approached the hole, putted out and then walked off to the next tee. People pressed against the ropes vainly seeking an autograph or the slim chance to high five the hand of their idol.

When the unsinkable luxury liner Titanic hit an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, a New York newspaper devoted a feature article to the death of millionaire John Jacob Astor. As a footnote to the article, it was mentioned that 1,800 other souls were lost. The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of a woman that was among a large crowd that had gathered to see and hear Jesus. The woman had suffered for years from a blood discharge which rendered her unclean and an outcast from her culture. In the midst of all the shoving and posturing to be close to him, the woman abandoned all shame and fear to maneuver herself close enough to him as he walked through the crowd to touch the fringe of his robe in the hope of a miracle.

This woman was just another face in the crowd of no distinction, but Jesus didn’t see it that way. God is not like the world which can readily reduce and file away most human beings as an ID number and a password, which can be hacked and abused. He loves and knows every unique soul that is created and chose to heal this woman as a demonstration of his love and power. And he has promised to be with us always. The story of this woman’s faith should give us all pause to resolve to enter another New Year with the fearless hope of new life and new opportunities, apart from the madding crowd!