I’ve been “chaffing and chomp-
ing at the bit,” so to speak. A
scholar put it, “Betwixt and be-
tween.” When I read that idiom,

I thought of Pat Boone, my child-
hood hero, who wrote the teen-
age advice books Twix Twelve
and Twenty and Between You,

Me and the Gatepost. It seems
my life has always been betwixt
and between — something. The
meditation was about being in

the in-between place because
of cancer. At some point in the
ordeal, the author saw that dark,
in-between time as an opportunity,

a time of spiritual growth — a way
through it to light. I’m assuming
that she got there after tremendous
struggle. It’s two weeks today since

eye surgery and I’m “both chaffing
and chomping at the bit,” meaning
I haven’t gotten to the “Ah, ha”
moment in emerging from the “dark

night of the soul,” or the dark night
of wondering if I’m going to go blind.
Well, I’m not going to go blind, (Thank
you, Jesus.) so, I’ll tell you what I

have been doing during this recuperation
time, I’ve been collecting catchphrases like
Twixt Twelve and Twenty. Seriously,
was Pat Boone really my hero? Now

I am in the “embarrassed night of
the soul.” I saw the commercial where
his toupe accidentally got caught in
the mobile microphone and was lifted

off his head. Pat, put the wig away
and go through your own “dark
night of the bald soul.” Bald-
ness is not so bad. “Been there;

done that,” and there I go again.