CONVERSATIONS: Chat with Steve Hall
Only the stuff worth passing on, of course
The gathering of Christians happens incrementally, one soul at a time. Or, maybe I’m wrong about that. Anyway, Steve and I were gathered that way.
I have great respect for Steve Hall. He’s older than me and given advice that only someone older than me could get away with. For instance, Steve outlined the sharp, tactical details with each step forward on how to retire as a partner in a computer firm. The feat (for so it was) hurt with necessity, but transpired with smooth progress. I did it the way he said I should. Also, regarding Steve’s good advice, eight years ago, when Steve wasn’t yet old, he insisted I finish writing a book that he needed to give to his sons. Steve then spent 1 1/2 years reading, editing, and keeping me on pace to finish it.
I also love Steve Hall, which I said out loud to his son, who’s eyebrows rose at least an inch when we met at the hospital where his father was deathly ill. Philia love, to be specific. His son knew that, and was pleasantly delighted, and visibly moved by the force with which I said it. “Why are you here to see my father?” his son asked. He didn’t know me. “I love your father,” I said. It came out easily, like you would say when you’re desperately afraid for someone you both like and know very well.
Steve likes banana bread and my wife usually makes a loaf for him every time we pay him the interest on a loan he’s given us for a real estate development project that we finally got finished. Steve’s wife came armed with salt and water to the property when it was just sticks and siding. She performed a type of exorcism thingee-dingee (I believe a dash is needed in thingee-dingee) to ban demons from all four stories of the building. She was bold, salty, evocative, and from what I can tell, enormously effective. It’s up for sale this week. I haven’t told the real estate agent about the thingee-dingee, though he’d probably work it into his sales pitch for particularly difficult buyer’s remorse situations.
“We’ve gotta pray about selling those condos at our men’s meeting,” Steve said just yesterday. There’s four of them, one each on the four-floor castle-looking home built in the 1890’s. You can view it at 2GrandAve.com (unashamed sales plug), if you’re so inclined. Steve said “pray” with emphatic declaration. He’s my kinda guy.
The renovated “castle” converted into four condos.
Today, Steve and I sat and chatted like we try to do every so often. I brought him his interest check on the construction loan (I have three such friend-supplied investments), but my wife hadn’t baked a banana bread this time. We met at StarBucks. I was buying. He didn’t know I was short the banana bread, and yet he picked a slice of banana bread from the glass covered counter, dutifully inspired by God. We got a laugh and a head bow about that when we sat down.
At StarBucks in Colorado (I don’t know about anywhere else), there’s usually one set of comfy chairs bookending an end table. They’re never available by rare customers like me. Except for today. Our legs crossed comfortably as we sipped on our caffeine concoctions. We blabbed and babbled for an hour. Sip, blab, pause. Sip, pause, blab. Ah, yes.
We talked about SubStack, our opinions about unions from experiences as young men and small business owners (rattled on just like you’d imagine), the price of coffee in 1929 (Coolidge riffed about finding a good 10 cent cup), whether rampant homelessness in California was fake news (mostly not), and how writers need readers.
He’s gonna check out SubStack. I’m figuring it out, and I know together we’ll get pretty good at it. I didn’t get Steve’s permission to use his name, but that’s OK. He’s already published on the Homeless Catholic website and extremely popular in an austere Kansan seminary dropout sort of way.
Steve and I exchanged thoughts on how all of God’s interventions are revelatory into him, the Divine being. That diatribe followed a short SubStack conversation I told Steve about. I exchanged some thoughts with Phillip Hadden regarding his well thought out piece on the bible and the Immaculate Conception. You can read Hadden’s article, at:
The interplay with Phillip marked my first foray into online fellowship in this writer’s space arena. That article/reply/reply/reply/reply repartee was weirdly exciting. Almost exciting as his subject matter on God’s authority, scripture and revelation, and so much more.
Having a place to parlay is both intriguing and muscle-building.
I pray you have a friend like Steve who shares your spiritual journey.
Fini.
Tomorrow, I’ll report on my weekly spiritual direction meeting with my good friend “unamed.” (I keep forgetting to ask him if I can use his name. I’ll call him “Feynman” until I get permission, because he’s just like Feynman.) Again, just what I can reveal without ruining lives and exhausting good will.
God bless