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Sherry,
I like the new YOU! And I like the idea of simply telling your story, day in and day out. Those #1 & #2 reasons you listed are very good for me to ponder this evening.
I like how your template uses the whole screen…..mine has borders which annoy me. I’m scared to change it, though.
Thanks for letting me know about your new site!
Here I go, showing how stupid I am, again…..how can I get the flag counter onto my blog? or the visitor counter? I mean….do I go to layout & then click “add a page element”? But, then, what do I choose from there?
You can email me at junebug1976@hotmail.com
Jeannelle, changing the template is not hard and I’ve never had a problem. Go to customize at the top and get your layout. go to change templates, then just pick a new one, click preview underneath each one, and then see if you like it. It will not hold your color and font info in the preview, but you can change that later. Just pick a template you like, and then do save changes, then go into fonts and colors and redo those as you wish. I think you can revert to default at any time. It’s really safe as far as I can tell unless you go into the code, which I have done once to stretch a picture header, and that worked out okay too, but that’s is dangerous. They advise that you save your original before you go off changing code. I just changed some numbers on one line to stretch a pic is all, so I didn’t bother to save.
Hi Sherry,
I liked your link to the “women warriors” article. I sent for a movie about Queen Boudicca awhile back…..fascinating story!
Sherry,
Enjoyable post…..interesting and humorous family perspective!
How was your mother’s name pronounced? My mother-in-law’s name was Burdene….pronounced just like it looks. She was called “Bird” in high school.
brrdean. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am writing it. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, and this seems the right time. I guess your mother-in-law’s name was pronouced the same as my mother’s. It’s a smaller world than I thought, I’ve never run across anything even close before.
I really am enjoying these blogs from woman about women in history. I got an email from the civil war writer. She was sure appreciative. I guess all us bloggers are. It’s nice to know somebody is reading, although the stats make it clear, a comment always is special. Thanks as always jeannelle.
Sherry,
You are writing a lovely autobiography. I enjoy reading it. I remember, too, about the one-year age difference between friends suddenly becoming a huge deal at a certain age.
Your entry into the world of church is interesting. I’m not Catholic, and know little of its rituals and trappings. I sometimes think our Lutheran church is becoming too “Catholic”.
Hopefully, you’re not snowed-in anymore.
Oh my goodness…..Starry Night hangs on my wall since I bought it at a garage sale last summer. The song “Vincent” by Don McLean is one of my all-time favorites! Its about Van Gogh.
I must say you really have an extensive blog, covering a lot of topics.
I liked the Mark Twain quote
I had never heard of the name Burdene before I met my future mother-in-law. A few years later I met a Berdine in the community. Also a Verdean! And women named Lenora, Leona, Elnora, Leone, Lorena, Luella, Valitha, Arlitha, Elloha….and a guy named Eldo, which I thought was the strangest guy’s name I’d ever heard. This community is very German, and maybe that explains the names, I don’t know.
Its obvious you’re having fun writing! That’s great!
hehe Jeannelle, I guess great minds! You are one eclectic lady, I’m finding as well.
Thanks Hilde, I’m backtracking to find your (hope) blog!
Lutheranism is a high Church, so in some respects it is like Catholicism. The story gets more interesting, but I’ll leave it for a bit later to get into.
We are still snowed in. Still hoping to pass the last storm before getting someone to dig us out. We now are gonna need something like you guys have, with a blower. Parker is a bit worried I think about the cost, but we have no choice I don’t think.
Sherry,
You are an excellent wordsmith! Your perception of being a “watcher” is interesting. And so funny that you wrote of not having “powers to erase the searing agony of my entry into the world.”!!!
I’m intrigued to read of the experience of being an “only” child. My son is getting married in August, and his fiancee is an only child…..to parents who are the age of MY parents!! She was a surprise baby who arrived after 24 childless years of marriage!! Can you imagine!?
thanks Jeannelle! I could say the same for you as well. I truly enjoy going to your blog each day.
About the only child. Well, it has I think more downsides than up, and I don’t recommend anyone only have one for sure. But I think most turn out fine.lol. Your future daughter in law might very much like to have a friend, a bit wiser than herlself yet not parental. I’d play it by ear, and let her kind of guide you in what kind of relationship she might want or need. I bet she had a very intereting upbringing. Perhaps in some ways much better than the conventional. Older parents are wiser, and certainly more relaxed.
Sherry,
Quite a word there….”siblinglessness”!!
Truly, I am enjoying reading about your life! Over the years, my favorite books are the ones where the author allows the readers to really get to know the characters. That’s what you’re doing!
BTW….that’s impressive…you in fourth grade, bringing together the travel speaker and your class!
Every year, through grade school and high school, we endured a travelogue movie assembly given by a guy named Al Bell…..his movies would begin and end with a bell ringing. (Hopefully, he wasn’t your travelogueing relative!)
Good grief Jeannelle, lets hope he wasn’t the same guy! hehe. I really have no idea what I am doing with this autobiography. I’m dipping and darting here and there, attempting to stay in some sort of chrnological order, but I have no idea basically. But it’s been really fun, to recall some of those events and try to figure out what was going on psychologically. We are a strange group, but I daresay the same can be said of most.
I’m sorry that Blogger is acting up today, but I wonder if it wouldn’t at least be tolerable if you had DSL.
My uninformed impression is that even when the web is being sluggish, having broadband makes a big difference. But then, I am not the most patient of people.
Oh, and thank you for mentioning the website Scandalous Women. It has such fascinating information! I’ve added it to my tool bar so I am reminded to check it everyday.
Oh, and yes, your site is on my tool bar, too. It is a fun mix of interesting information and observations. I’m glad I found it.
Dale,
Hopefully, I’ll be getting DSL sometime soon. I am glad you like the Scandalous Woman blog. I think it’s great. And I very much appreciate your stopping by. Hopefully I can continue to provide interesting information.
I laughed out loud (is that the “lol” I see all the time??…) when I read about Obama’s alleged birth place!
I saw the McCain interview on 60 Minutes tonight and he is looking and sounding pretty good. I never would have guessed he would pull out of the pack, but he did. He has quite a history.
I saw a lot of political news today and the big issue is what to do with the delegates from Florida and Michigan. Of course, neither Clinton nor Obama can stand up and just say “no” to them (especially since it won’t make any difference!).
Regarding that 3 a.m. phone call, my guess is that is that if one of them is in the White House when it rings they will ask someone else to answer it!! Oh well…
I am glad I found your blog again…
Have fun in Cedar Rapids! The last time I was there I went to see the Grant Wood exhibit. American Gothic was there.
Take care.
Hey Russell, we went to to the museum this summer.
I’m not a fan of McCain at all. I used to think he was okay, but wow, I’ve learned a lot about him, and none of it is good. I think either Clinton or Obama will rip him up badly. He’s made just way too many public statements that are gonna haunt him.
Hope you continue to drop by. I intend to disprove the idea that a blog must be subject limited to be successful. I’m playing to the crowd that likes to be surprised and likes lots of disparate news.
We are not one dimentional creatures! So I say, a blog shouldn’t be either! So far it’s going well, and the traffic is better by far than either of the two others.
Your blog is so good, I truly enjoy it!
I love your commentary on the Picasso…..about potato eyes!! Very good!
Your times at Houghton Lake sound like wonderful memories to have!!
I tried using the Google Reader, but didn’t care for it, so I’m back to just surfing to the blogs I like……and yours is definitely one of them!
Fun to read of your expedition into town! I agree the worst part of shopping is lugging the stuff into the house and putting it away!
Love the painting! And so many interesting links…
I’ve always imagined “one fell swoop” to be like when a bird of prey makes one swoop down to the ground and is able to snatch its victim in one try…..but, that might be incorrect.
Thanks for the link!
As always, Sherr, so, so, so much interesting information!!! My goodness!
I laughed when I went to the link about the Shroud! Washing it with a red shirt!!! I am still walking around laughing at the thought….! I am Catholic – well, I am using the term loosely – maybe a fallen Catholic is much more appropriate, but…. – so I have heard a great deal about this.
So much I cannot comment on everything – just will say I really, really enjoy the time and effort you put into this most comphrensive blog! I know it takes hours to put together.
Thanks so much for bringing such quality and interesting information to us so often.
Take care.
Jeannelle, Wasn’t that a neat pic? I thought it very apropos. I’m getting very womanist these days it seems.
I think you might be right about “fell swoop”. I’d never thought of it that way.
Molly, You are most welcome. I love you site and will be linking to it often I suspect. Good job and thanks for the stop by.
Russell, I am a Catholic too, and probably much as you. Yet we are always Catholic in the end. I have met a bunch of wacko Catholics who think we are not of course, but they want to return to pre Vatican II days in any case.
I’m glad you can find a thing or two to read and enjoy here. I know it violates the “rules” of blogging, but it works for me.
As the weather improves this blog will shorten no doubt. The autobio and current links will probably alternate. Yesterdays was very long and took a lot of time, but simply because I hadn’t done one for a couple of days. By then, everyone has posted something so it takes longer to review the new offerings.
Keep up your wonderful insights and you reclaim the past for us. I’m always enjoying your words and your pictures.
You bet it is, especially when its a months or more worth at a time. Oh I ordered the DSL, hoping to be set up by next week!
The only think the reader does is allow you to quickly see that some one has not posted since the last time you visited, and you needed go to the site at all. And if they have, you can read the new stuff and quickly decide its not of interest. With the DSL I suppose it takes so little time that it becomes of no consequence. I hope to find out soon. I cannot continue spending so much time at this as the weather improves of course, and expect the DSL to allow me to do this without so much time required.
In any case, I’m with you, I love seeing new blogs and am forever chasing links to new ones mentioned by someone else.
Very thought-provoking post, Sherry. I’ve never seen “Night of the Iguana”, but you’ve sparked my interest in it.
Have you ever watched the movie about the 9/ll airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania? Its called “Flight___”, the flight number escapes my memory at this moment. Such a moving story…..absolutely riveting.
I read a book awhile back entitled “The Alphabet Versus the Goddess”. It was most interesting, all about the two sides of the brain: left/logical/male and right/intuitive/female…..very enlightening. The author also theorized that the development of alphabets and writing contributed to turning human beings into logical meanies. He feels that our culture is slowly becoming more intuitive due to all the stuff we watch in picture form on TV, etc., AND because most of us write on a keyboard nowadays, using BOTH hands, which is allowing the two sides of our brains to work in a more balanced way.
Great post, Sherry!
wow jeannelle, some very interesting points. I’ve not read this book, but it sure sounds interesting.
We purposefully avoided the movie about the PA plane, we avoid most of the stuff about 911. Just too depressing I guess. That show was probably the only thing we watched post 911 coverage.
I think you would enjoy Night of the Iguana. Especially the only really weird part of it, 2 cabana boys one of whom rattles mariachis through the entire thing.
Tennessee williams is one of my most favorite playrights.
Thanks for the kind words!
Wow! As always, so, so, so much!! All very interesting! You blog is a literal feast of information!!
I noticed three things in particular. First, the web site here in Iowa for young people with mental illness. Yes, this is very good. Our state has a long ways to go to catch up with the seriousness of this problem – along with problems of the elderly and many other issues. This is a good start.
George Mason. Yes, one of the signers of Constitution from Virginia. There is something about the man that I think is worthy of note – but I can’t remember it…! My age is showing and it is almost 9:00 at night! I am trying to think if there was some relationship or lack thereof with Jefferson. Oh well…
Finally, you mentioned in the blizzard of 1888. I think this may be the same blizzard that Willa Cather wrote about in one of her stories. Of course, I can’t remember the name of the story (!) but I believe it is one of her short stories.
Maybe I am thinking of a book I read last year about a horrible blizzard in the Dakotas that year. Any way, it was awful!
Well, as always, I enjoy reading through your blog – it is so good.
Take care.
Thanks Russell. We seem to all be getting struck by the “forgets.” It happens more and more as the years go by. In writing my autobiography of sorts, I’m shocked at the weird stuff I remember, and the rather important stuff I no longer do. It’s disconcerting.
Tis a strange blog I know, but I’m enjoying it and that’s the first consideration. I’m gratified that some others find it worth a look or two now and again.
Keep up the great pics and stories, I love to read about them Russell.
And the Contrarian has taken to reading your blog as well!
Great post, Sherry! Your perceptions about growing up are very insightful.
My grandma had a short leg due to having polio at a young age. She always limped. I think it really affected her self-image all through life.
The parts about you and your mom are interesting……since, like you say, you had no sister. She was like your sister, too.
I love your comments about the painting!!
Well Jeannelle, if we were like sisters, it was unlike any I knew for sure. My parents were not physically abusive, but they were mentally so, and they of course did not realize they were so. They were brought up similarly.
It was years later before I discovered that everyone wasn’t brought up like me. I am still shocked when someone says they talk to their mother every day. I cannot imagine such a thing.
Thanks for reading. Glad I am “interesting!” LOL>.
HAHa…well think about it! Nudes are almost always women and in groups and almost always outside in meadows. I think it’s just male fantasy. No?
I was trying to think of a better word to use than “interesting”, but my brain just wouldn’t cooperate!
Your posts are truly entertaining. And the amount of info you pack into them is amazing!
It’s my way of avoiding the spring cleaning I believe! I cannot hold out much longer! lol…
As always, so, so, so much interesting information!!!
I have not been around a computer a lot for the past few days, but I managed to get to a library this noon so I could look at some blogs.
I love yesterday’s post and the painting of Jean Baptiste Camille Corot – I will certainly look for it on my next trip to Chicago. (Okay, I admit – it has been several years since I have been there but I am hoping to return soon!)
Take care and always know that I and many others find your blog to be beyond interesting – it is just plain great!
Russell, such kind words. They really keep me going on days like this! I know you’ve not been blogging because I check your’s every day. Are you contemplating a big decision? Best of luck with it if you are!
Quoting the vice president:
“If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor … and it has been well worth the effort.”
No doubt it was worthwhile for him. He’s much wealthier because of it.
Sherry, the CR Gazette ran a story yesterday about rural gravel roads and the increasingly bad shape they are in. Must be bad if school buses are being told not to use them for a couple weeks.http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080317/NEWS/716656543/1006/news
I hope you don’t encounter any troubles from the roads.
Indeed Cheney has said now, “so” to a statement that 68% of Americans think this war must end. His arrogance is legend.
They are limiting as far as I know school busses to hard surface only. I don’t know how our roads are, we are mudded in as we expected to be. By the time our lane is dry enough to get out again, I’m sure the roads will be fine.
Ok, you asked for comments on Obama’s speech…. I’m going to try not to rant or foam at the mouth.
I think Obama’s speech was brilliant. And that is a bad thing.
It is bad, because Americans do not want to think when it comes to politics. They much prefer style over substance.
Americans want politicians to comfort them. We do not want to confront difficult problems if easy (painless and cheap) solutions are not handy.
Racism does not have an easy answer – it has persisted despite the advances of the past 50 years. And it is likely to continue despite our best efforts.
African-Americans do not have the luxury of ignoring racism, but white Americans do. And often they choose to do so… because it is more comfortable, and is easier than dealing with the problem.
Early in this diatribe of mine, I stated that Obama’s speech was brilliant. It is brilliant and perhaps will be studied in years to come. It is personal, balanced and thoughtful. If Americans are willing to think about racism, it will be because Obama made it so personal without casting blame. We can relate to the universality of his experiences and perhaps appreciate the breadth of his experiences, as well.
But I guess I am cynical. I don’t think the majority of white Americans want to confront racism when they can just change the channel. Or vote for a politician who won’t make them think about it.
Oh, alright. Since I am venting, I will spill some ink regarding women’s rights. Yes, the situation of women in third world nations (if India can still be considered that) is appalling. One of the major reasons for HIV transmission in these nations is that women do not have the power to say no or to negotiate condom use.
A comprehensive anti-HIV program would have to improve the legal, educational and economic situation of women around the world. Their current dependent and weak position is literally killing them.
DAle, very insightful remarks on both issues. I suspect you are mostly right about Obama. It is hailed by the Intelligensia as being uplifting and raising the caliber of dialog. Among the masses, I don’t know there is much that can be done. There resides in America a strong strain of anti-intellectualism that makes all such refined speech suspect. Witness Adlai Stevenson.
As to Women’s rights, you are also spot on in my opinion. There needs to be a total revolution in laws and morays to overcome the inequality and the dangers they pose to women around the world. That was I think the main point of Sister’s remarks.
I take it you don’t blog? Pity, you have important things to say and a bigger audience in which to vent them!
As always, so much interesting information!
I loved the story about Pauline Cushman. I thought I was somewhat up to date on Civil War history, but I had never heard of this remarkable woman.
I laughed at the report about the clueless guys – but I noticed the people were all about 20 years old. I work with 20-year old people and, well…. not surprising that ANY friendly gesture would be interpreted by a young man of that age as having sexual connotations!
Take care and know that a lot of people enjoy your blog – it is extremely good!
Why thank you, Sherry! You flatter me, since I am far too erratic to maintain a blog. I marvel at the consistent quality which you offer up to us, day after day.
It is enough that I comment (and occasionally cross foils) with folks at a religious forums site you once frequented. At least it allows me to vent every now and them.
lol Russell, you may be right about the cluelessness of the 20 something male.
Thanks for the heads up on Josie.What a nice blog she has. I left a comment for her.
As always, you have a lot of good stuff to say. I never miss a single post!
LOL. well now of course I am superbly curious. I assume CAF? And you aren’t petrus or Tom, so? Fess up!
I go there once in a while, but cannot bring myself to get into all that controversy about nonsense. Perhaps I’ll do it as a lark here and there.
I just fine the people so sane that I come in contact with here. And truthfully, I didn’t want to be locked into such a narrow focus in blogging. Here I am free to just run off on every topic under the sun. Surprisingly, its finding an audience.
Perhaps its the “you never know what you may find” quality that I’ve established. That is only because I have no real deep passion, but have interest in tons of things. I’m a renaissance (sp) woman without the expertise one normally would associate with such a person. Perhaps I’m simply nosey!
Please fess up! lol.
Sherry, I really think you have found your voice with this blog. It is a treat to visit here each day.
As for CAF… eh, I have mixed feelings about it. Certainly reading the posts there can be an eye-opening experience. I guess my attitude has been one of needing to keep discussions honest, while bearing in mind the old adage about teaching a pig to sing.
It would be great fun to have a mysterious identity, but my username is no mystery (although I may not have made an impression you), I am Dale_M.
Lol Dale, I thought that might be you. I was there yesterday, first in more than a month, and had a bit of fun.I am more confrontational no doubt,but I too have given up that some people can benefit from facts. They simply prefer dilusion.
As weird as this blog is, it seems to be catching on. I have no idea why, but it reflects me much more than any other I’ve started. I think this one might stick.
I hope to see you around CAF now and again, and I hope you continue to visit and find a thing or two to read and enjoy.
Perhaps the funnest part of this is the search for new stuff. I am constantly overwhelmed with the amazing stuff now found on the internet. There is no end to the surprises it contains. Another one is always around the corner.
Hi Sherry,
First time here, visiting some Blogswarm sites.
I refuse to fear. We are called upon to LIVE the truth, not just examine and explore it; and there’s no room for fear when you really live the truth.
Cheers. . .
Hi,
I am visiting about as well. What you have written here is brilliant. I think so much this way and write about many issues, but what you have expressed here on this topic tops it all! I wish I could write as well as you do.
The neo-cons are a dangerous lot of extremists who suffer from powerful dreams. They are behind this war and the next, and the one to follow that one, and the next… All of these authoritarian types of groups are mutually cultivating one another’s power bases vying for control. Scary times indeed.
Thank you for such a well-reasoned explanation of what it means to be a fundamentalist in today’s world. You are absolutely correct — these people are a threat to the principles of democratic government. One issue to highlight is the fact that fundamentalists frequently reject such concepts as participatory democracy, insisting that their worldview is the only worldview that should inform the American political experience. Thus, fundamentalists frequently disparage concepts such as majority rule, and reject the premise that the US Constitution is the highest law of the land. When the US Supreme Court invalidated an amendment to the Colorado state constitution (“Amendment 2,” which would have had the immediate effect of repealing all legislation granting gay people protection from irrational discrimination at the hands of heterosexual people, whist leaving intact the “other edge of the sword” granting heterosexual people protection from irrational discrimination at the hands of gay people (see Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), in which the US Supreme Court threw out “Amendment 2″ by a six to three vote, declaring this measure to be a facial violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment). Far more frightening was the “ultimate effect” that this measure, as authoritatively construed by the Colorado Supreme Court, would have had had on the political process. Gay Coloradans, and only gay Coloradans, would have been prohibited from petitioning their state government (at any and all levels) for redress of grievances wrought by anti-gay discrimination in employment, access to housing, access to places of public accommodation (e.g. , libraries, restaurants, etc.). The right to petition the government for redress of grievances is explicitly guaranteed by the First Amendment (which provides, in relevant part, that Congress may pass no law that impairs “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”) This proscription is made binding on state and local governments through incorporation by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (see Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319 (1937), in which incorporation is discussed; this is a landmark case dealing with this concept, and the related concept of substantive due process); an alternative argument is that this proscription is made binding on the states by the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was cited, for the first time in over a century, in Saenz v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489 (1999) after being virtually written out of the US Constitution in United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875) (some scholars believe that this Clause was essentially torn from the Constitution by an earlier decision named Slaughterhouse Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1872)).
Gay people, and only gay people, would have been removed from the ambit of the ordinary political processes of the State of Colorado had this measure ever been permitted to take effect. Fortunately, it was stayed immediately, by the District Court for the City and County of Denver; in subsequent proceedings, the Colorado Supreme Court made it clear that this measure would have to survive “strict scrutiny” (a very demanding level of judicial review) in order to survive judicial review. The US Supreme Court, in Romer (supra), affirmed, claiming to do so for different reasons from those articulated by the state courts (in fact, a careful reading of the majority decision in Romer (supra) suggests that the US Supreme Court did in fact adopt the same analysis as that adopted by the state courts, notwithstanding its assertion to the contrary (“We granted certiorari and now affirm the judgment, but on a rationale different from that adopted by the State Supreme Court”). In short, the US Supreme Court held that Amendment 2 could not survive even the most deferential level of review (rational basis review), holding that Amendment 2 was a measure enacted to give substance to “animus” (hatred) directed towards gay men and lesbians (“We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end, but to make them unequal to everyone else. This Colorado cannot do. A State cannot so deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws. Amendment 2 violates the Equal Protection Clause, and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Colorado is affirmed”).
Ironically, those who drafted this obscene and anti-American measure helped later efforts to declare anti-gay sex (“sodomy”) statutes unconstitutional as applied to consenting adults acting in private settings in contexts not involving incest or prostitution. Romer was cited by the US Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003), in which case the US Supreme Court reversed the conviction of two gay men from Texas who had been arrested and fined for having consensual gay sex in the privacy of the home of one of the men (a neighbor with a grudge against these men called the police when the men were having sex). The high court noted that Romer had seriously eroded the foundations on which an earlier, anti-gay decision had been decided (Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), which the Court explicitly and bluntly overturned in Lawrence, noting that the Bowers Court had made a serious error that had demeaned the lives of gay Americans and that had impaired the dignitiy of members of this group).
Fundamentalists were furious when the US Supreme Court invalidated Amendment 2, and were made even angrier when the US Supreme Court held that laws prohibiting consensual gay sex between adults violated both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendmet.
There were calls for the “Romer Six” to be impeached; these calls were echoed when a similar six to three vote was handed down in Lawrence. Fundamentalists do not believe that the US Constitution is the highest law of the land; instead, they believe that the Bible is the highest law of the land, and they loathe judges (whoh are bound by their oath of office to uphold the US Constitution, not the Bible) who abide by such concepts as the separation of church and state.
Few people fully understand the threat that fundamentalists pose to the concept of American democracy. Not long ago, all references to macroevolution were removed from the curricula of public school students in Kansas (fortunately, the board members who proposed this change were booted out of office). These people will not stop — they will keep trying, and trying, and trying.
Thank you for focusing on this group of anti-American people, who, if left unchecked and unanswered, could damage every concept of democratic self-government that so many of us hold dear……
PHILIP CHANDLER
Michael, thanks for the visit, and hope you enjoyed. As you can see, its not my major focus on this blog, but you pretty much never know what you will find here. I’ll be visiting you as well if you blog.
Kitchen window:
Thank you so much for such kind sentiments. I agree that the neo-cons are a dangerous lot, with a total belief that they can and should do anything to advance their world view. They use most effectively fundamentalists who hear the words “against Roe v. Wade” and simply fall in lock step behind them. Of course the neo-cons care not one whit about these “bible thumpers” and simply use their votes to gain power.
Cheney was just telling the Israeli’s that “the American government will NEVER ask Israel to do anything that jeopardizes their security.” I’m not sure what that means, but he talks from an admin. which has less than a year left in office. How dare he speak about what the American govt will do in the future, unless?
Again, thanks for your kind words.
Phillip:
My deepest thanks for such a long and informative comment. I was unaware of the legal fight going on in Colorado over gay rights. I am unabashed in my support of the gay community. I find all attempts to limit their equality as mean and grossly unfair.
I have little expectation of SCOTUS at this time. It is desperately important that democrats claim the white house if for only one reason, to control that next nomination to the court. I wonder how much difference it can make but to mostly hold the lid on. The desire to revision this country along the lines of say Scalia, is frightening indeed.
Thanks so much for informing me, and my readers of what is happening in Colorado. It foretells the kinds of arguments that will go on in other states as well.
And as to the school business, yes we must be ever vigilant about the inroads attempted by the wacko right. They are simply determined to attempt to remove all reference to good science in this country. One wonders in deed how much further we can fall behind in math and science in this country before the effects are obvious to all.
I guess what gets my goat, is the fact that such silliness is observed by the rest of the rational world. They are torn no doubt between laughing and crying, as most of us are.
Happy Easter to you and your family, too!!
I always enjoy your blog – keep up the wonderful work for all us in cyberspace!
Take care.
hey i wrote about the clueless women piece too!
http://www.spaces.msn.com/gordmaninthemoon
(and David is not at the Louvre. unless he moved, he’s been in Florence for the past 500 years)
Sherry,
Thank you for the lovely Easter thoughts here in your post!
I did eat too much.
I’m off to catch up on your blog posts of the past week…..
Thanks guys. Hope you guys had a good weekend. Now its back to spring cleaning, yech, and other such boring things.
Sherry,
That’s certainly interesting (I need to find a thesaurus and find other words meaning thus) about the monkey in the Seurat painting! You’re right…..there is so much we don’t know.
Sherry,
You say you can’t get DSL? So is your local phone company not able to link you to it? Hopefully, they are working on upgrading their systems. Sorry to hear of this complication for you….but your blog excellent the way it is, so don’t despair too much. I really enjoy the focus on art that you’re doing!
Thanks always for your visits and comments to my blog!
Oh, Sherry…..and oh, that was a good song by the Guess Who….but,is that digressing??
I’ll start over:
Sherry,
I really enjoyed this post! How well I remember getting my first transistor radio…..I was SO happy. And, yes, FM hadn’t even started up yet.
My older cousin lived with my grandma, and sometimes I would get to watch a TV show called “Hullabaloo” with the cousin. Do you remember that show? It had mod music and dancing going on. My cousin just loved Herman’s Hermits, too.
Wow, you’re jogging loose some old memories in my mind! They may get funneled into a blog post someday……
Sherry,
I liked Keillor’s article….and, in fact just printed it off. I’m a believer, but I get so turned-off by those who think they have everything figured out a certain rigid way, when there is no way of knowing for sure…..you know??!!
Maybe I have no faith.
And, yes, I read the article about women’s rights worldwide. Awhile back, on PBS there was a show about FGM…..the subject is absolutely sickening. It is appalling the bondage women are forced to live under in some cultures.
And on a lighter note, that little article about prayers and satellites was the perfect comic relief!
Keep up the great blogging!
Hi Sherry,
Saw your link this morning and wanted to thank you for the thoughtful comments on Urantian Sojourn and the article “Can You Say Apocalypse?” We’re a very new blog, so every visitor is still precious in our sight!
Yes, we read The Urantia Book, but our blog is more about being Urantian than being part of a “Urantia movement.” But your comments show you insightfully figured that out yourself, and that alone makes you special in my book. . . And I did enjoy my visit at the Feather, and look forward to many more. . .
Cheers!
Thanks for the nice words. I’ve a bit of familiarity with Urantia. I’ve explored a lot with relgious science, Science of Mind, and new thought in general. I’m fairly eclectic in my faith lol.
I’m adding a small political and religious blogroll so I intend to add you guys blog to it. Not sure which category it fits better!
Global warming…. you forgot global warming, which a surprising number of CAFers believe to be a fraud, perpetrated by Algore (which is actually how they write his name) and the dreaded MSM (otherwise known as the mainstream media).
Sherry, I like your blog very much the way it is. Why don’t you come to CAF and fight the good fight, and leave religion off these pages?
Sherry,
It is about 5:15 Wed morning – and I have a baseball game on TV! Can you believe that??! It’s the one from Japan… At least it is a change from the political shows I usually have on…!
I am also a fallen Catholic. I am not against the church, really, there are just a lot of things I don’t agree with – does that make sense? I guess I have never found any religion I like better. (Sort of like family, isn’t it???!!)
I know some people who still, I think, actually go to Latin masses here in Iowa. I will need to check it out, but I think there is a place near Cedar Rapids that still has Latin masses every so often.
Regarding your blog, it is really good! It is so informative! I read your blog every day but do not respond each time. Maybe if I did one of those “hey, great stuff!” type responses – but that is not my style.
I am just thinking, not only am I a fallen Catholic, but I guess I am a fallen lawyer, too! Oh well… Happiness is a habit, no, wait… Happiness is a, well, something! (I used to always say when I worked as a lawyer that I loved the law but disliked the clients!!)
Take care.
Thanks Dale, I sometimes do forget the wacko right hates environmentalism. The same science they fear I suppose.
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna make this a religious blog. Just a flavor here and there when something seems applicable in a greater sphere. I have been at CAF for a few days, in and out. Stirring up the perverbial kettle full of fish.
Russell, You are so right. Being Catholic is like being in a family. You are stuck with it, even when you fight with it alot. I am more new thought in my religious thinking these days, yet the ritual of Catholicism is very dear to me as well. I don’t ask for permission to receive communion.
There is a latin mass directory online I found once, or a blog. They don’t list anything in the CR area. I actually love latin masses, but I sure don’t view them as the only real mass as some do.
I practiced mostly criminal defense, so I know what you mean about hating the clients. They were for the most part not to be trusted, lol. First point of appeal, “it was my lawyer’s fault!”
Sherry,
I liked your thought-provoking commentary on the photograph you posted. She looks somehow very modern to me.
I’ve heard say that one can simultaneously be a Catholic and an atheist. I’ve had to think deeply on that one…..even though I’m Lutheran. Its the rituals….one can always partake in rituals without actually believing, right? Luther is quoted as saying, “I believe I cannot believe.” That is to say….faith comes from God….not from man in any way. Lately, I’ve tried not to think about it much…..just go to church and do what I’m supposed to do.
Thanks for the link to Keillor’s column. I sent it on to my daughter and son-in-law, who are teachers…..they’ll get a kick out of it.
Sherry, thank you for the link about children of the Catholic Worker. Very interesting – I greatly admire those who live in CW houses, but had never thought about raising kids there.
I was a little disappointed by the man who mentioned that CW is hardest on adult woman since so much more is expected of them. I wanted so say… “Hey, you see the problem, so why don’t you do something about it!” But I should hardly be casting stones.
Yes, you need to prune your wisteria. Otherwise it can take over your house!
http://www.sierramadrenews.net/images/2k8/march/PW6.jpg
On the subject of lawyers…Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy made a memorable statment today:
“There are all kinds of nuts who can get 90 percent on the bar exam.”
I been teasing the Contrarian since yesterday about the Keillor story Jeannelle. He is definitely oe of those who thinks that if it can be figured out, its good spelling!
Most welcome Dale. I thought it was a great article. Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out!
I guess what always impresses me about CW is that they show how the gospel message can be lived out, rather than some we see eh?
Jeannelle, I had the same thought, she does look quite the modern woman.
I would find it hard to be both Catholic and atheist. I think some conflate not believing in a literal interpretation of the bible or that it was “written by God” and being Catholic as atheistic as to the former. Certain Catholics believe that to believe one whit less than every single dogma of the Church is tantamount to being an atheist. I obviously disagree.
Our faith ebbs and flows. Sometimes we find that ritual is comforting, sometimes, meditation, sometimes nature, or art, or music. Sometimes we need to immerse ourselves in inspirational writings. I think we should always follow what feels right deep inside. But when we are really confused, I find its best to doggedly continue in ritual until some solution is arrived at.
Boy Dale do I agree with that. When I saw what kind of idiots could pass the bar, I realized that doctors were no magical wise men either. I got a bit more involved in asking questions for sure. Good point.
Smallpox is definitely scary. The following comment has a “Yuck!” element. I wanted to warn ya.
Watching the HBO mini-series on John Adams reminded me of smallpox’s fearsomeness when Abigail Adams decided to have herself and children “immunized” by having their skin cut and pus from a dead patient smeared into the cut. It was pretty graphic – which made me turn away. I think to go through that procedure – with the substantial risk of actual infection – one would have to be pretty frightened.
I’m not sure how much of a risk is posed by thawed smallpox victims. Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger from the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology put a lot of work into trying to retrieve whole samples of the 1918 influenza virus from corpses buried in the permafrost of Alaska. He was able to only retrieve snippets of the virus, although he was finally was successful (five years ago) in reconstructing the virus. In 1918 that virus killed worldwide 30 million people, primarily folks in their twenties and thirties.
The article suggested that the US and Russia keep samples of live virus because of the threat of its recurrence. But I think its because the two nations don’t trust one another with such a massively deadly virus. Ken Alibek, a Soviet defector, and former head of the USSR’s bio-weapon program, claimed that the Soviets had been actively experimenting with the virus to make it even more deadly and for it to evade common immunizations.
Like I said, its scary stuff.
Sherry,
Thank you again for mentioning Urantian Sojourn, the mosaic, and the article by Liz Sidoti. It wasn’t until I read your entry here that I realized we hadn’t linked back to Liz at the Huffington Post, to credit the source of the article. We do beg borrow and steal, but we try to give credit where credit is due. ;-} Thanks again!
Michael Hart
Dale, thanks for always being informative with your comments. They are much appreciated! I rather suspect that most of the major players in the world have working biological warfare programs. It’s pretty darn scary, you are right.
Michael, thanks for adding the link and correcting the record. We all are guilty from time to time from simply forgetting to give credit properly. The web seems to blur the right of ownership I think. You guys have some interesting stuff to say. I appreciate having the priviledge of visiting.
That brief flash of Richard Widmark’s face you saw……cool! I love things like that.
M-mm…..I’m thinking of the wonderful aroma of homemade bread right now after reading of what you’ve been up to in the kitchen today.
LOL Jeannelle, Ever so often I get real kitcheny! Everything turned out good though. Today I made those buffalo enchiladas. I tinkered with the recipe, but they sure look good, anxious to see how they taste today. I’ll let you know.
But baking bread is like second nature to me. It requires maybe a total of 15 minutes of my time. It’s really easy once you are used to it.
Yes, I know what you mean, and its certainly happened to me before. I definitely think there is some “vibe” one can pick up. Obviously, at least to me, Mr. Widmark was subconsciously sending out some distress and I picked it up. I certainly hadn’t thought of him in years I don’t think. It began a thought process however that led to a conversation with Parker and may be reflected tomorrow in a piece I am mulling around in my head.
Thank you for sharing this most moving insight into your life. I am sure you could write a book and that this is just the highest highlights of a very deep story.
I am sorry to hear you had to endure this as a child, but perhaps, in some way, it made you a stronger person in the long run. I don’t know. I just know people say that difficulties make you a stronger person. I hope that is true.
My divorce became final March 3 – just a few weeks ago. Our situation was much different. There was no yelling or big arguments or hate. We just grew apart and finally we grew so far apart we got the divorce.
I did not want it, to be honest. But I did not fight it. I admit I did not want to continue living the lifestyle I was living, either. Perhaps my wife was stronger than I was, since she filed for the divorce. I just did not resist, thinking that if that if that is what she wanted, then so be it.
Everyone has their crosses to bear and often people outside the family do not see those crosses.
Thank you for sharing your story and always know that the divorce of your parents was between them – it was not because of you or anything you did or did not do. It was their decision to end their relationship.
Take care.
Thefact is Russell, going through it was far less eventful than it appears afterwards. I’ve noticed that more than once in my life. We do what we must at the time. It’s afterwards that we wonder how we did it. Actually, at the time, I thought I was handling their mess rather well. I never felt it was my fault. I resented them messing up my world with their childishness.
You are most lucky that both you and your wife were reasonably adult about the situation and could release each other without the usual misery. I commend you.
Inded, we all go through a good deal in our lives. Few of us sail through, and mostly we are no better or no worse for the enduring of it. I have never considered that my childhood was worse or better than most others. It was simply mine. Thanks for your kind words.
Wow, Sherry….you should think about writing a book.
You are right, though……when things go on in our homes when we are kids…..we don’t know any different…..we don’t see oddness of it…..it is simply normal for our household. Its not until you grow up and get away from it, and then look back…..that’s when you can finally see it, and hopefully be determined to not repeat it.
Your post takes up deep today, Sherry. Yes, when someone who’s always been in our world is suddenly not there…..we have to find a new place of equilibrium…..and sometimes we almost lose our balance in the process. I agree there’s probably much good to be absorbed from the Buddhist outlook on life……to help us keep our balance. Christianity sometimes lacks in helping with the problems of here and now. Very good post, Sherry.
Thanks so much for your nice words about my limericks!
You have totally nailed the issue. It’s the need to reorient ourselves that is so jarring to us. It’s exactly that new equilibrium. Thanks for the insight Jeannelle. You always read a bit deeper than most.
As always, a most interesting post! I am especially interested in the case the court will be hearing involving the religious display issue. It will be nice to read one that does not involve the usual Christmas or school prayer issues (though they are fine, too).
When I taught a class this last fall at a small four-year college, the students really, really struggled with the concept of a corporation or major employer restricting their religious activities within the work place. Of course, most people do not realize that the Constitution does not apply to private parties but the Civil Rights Act does, of course, to most employers…
Keep up the cleaning!! I need to do that but, well, keep putting it off…
Take care.
Wow! What a great blog you have. This is my first visit, but I will be back. I am going to add your link to my blog roll. And now I am going to check out some of the other blogs you have posted here.
Your spring cleaning has tired me out…!
Good point Russell. I’m amazed that kids would think that you could simply engage in religious practices at work. We always had plenty of conversations at work, and some had bibles or read from them at lunch, but I never was confused nor was any one else about where the line was.
My spring cleaning is tiring me out. I focus only on the task assigned for the day. Never look ahead, but I do stop to savor the neat room as it emerges!
Josie: so nice to see you visit. I’ve been trying to figure out where to put you on my blogroll and decided youre just one of the “great reads” every day. Truly you are. I enjoy reading your musings each day. BTW, do you really live in a treehouse? I’d love to see it from the outside.
Sherry,
Wow…..you are really cleaning up a storm in your house…..how about sending me some of your ambition!!
Good luck getting the car unstuck…..I hope everything goes smoothly.
I’m starting to load my old van up with stuff for Goodwill, but you’re still way ahead of me in spring cleaning.
Turned out too wet for that today. And I bet you are done with your spring cleaning before I am. Lol. I am the turtle but I sure don’t expect to win the race.
My ambition is in such short supply, I dare not give even a speck away or it will cease altogether! But I tend to muse about how wonderful I feel when a room is clean. That’s sad isn’t it from someone who hates cleaning. Parker has no such issue with cleanliness. He can handle it! As he said he grandma said, “Ya gotta eat a peck of dirt before ya die.”
i must say, this is a very informative blog indeed. i like the wide variety of subjects your links cover…such all-roundedness!
abd strangely enough, i’m fascinated by animal skulls too. and how they’re different from human ones.
That photograph is amazing. I can’t stop looking at it. To see the eyes of that woman staring out from 141 years ago, is mesmerizing and eerie. It is almost like time travel. Her eyes almost seem to be speaking to us. I wonder who she was.
Yes Josie, I agree, the old photographs have a presence to them that is truly eerie. We so easily forget that our ancestors, no matter how far back we go, had thoughts, desires, fears, and curiosity much like ours. It is interesting to contemplate what they thought of the world they saw. No doubt a good deal differently than how we view their world.
Thanks Jeannelle, but I doubt I could sell this. I can write, though I doubt I can do so in a way that would delight the masses! lol
No problem. I simply think you are so talented I enjoy reading them and linking my readers to you as well.
thanks for the kind words alasmydear. I hope you found a thing or two that you enjoyed. I collect the skulls of the raccoons and possums the dogs catch. I keep trying to come up with some outside decorative thing to use the on. Scary wouldn’t you say? LOL.
Sherry, I swear: The next time I’m in Walker I’m bringing you flowers. =-)
Sherry,
We, for some reason, didn’t get any snow here yesterday. Sounds like this weekend will be warm and then rain coming. Spring is slowly getting geared up.
Hopefully, you got your car unstuck by now.
LOL, well that’s a good substitute for money I guess. I’d rather you send money. I can be bribed you know! tee hee..thanks Michael.
Ours was gone by about 1 pm yesterday. There are only thin strips along the fence lines still visible here. Along the lane there are still some drifts from where snow was piled. We have not got the car out yet, mostly because we haven’t tried. I just think it’s too wet from rain and draining now. Have to wait a few more days I think. I’m getting a bit ansy again, wanting to go shopping.
This is the nicest post I have ever read. Period. My goodness!
It is truly from the heart. My guess is that he feels the same about you and that your relationship was worth the wait…
Take care and, well, what a wonderful, heartful post…!
Yes, yes, yes… Marbury v. Madison. Now that certainly brings back the memories…
Let’s see. Chief Justice John Marshall established the concept of judicial review and now the Judicial Branch is, by far, the most powerful branch of government.
I am shocked you do not have responses to this incredible post!! Do the political posts know of your incredible work?! I GUARANTEE that if some of the political bloggers and/or newspaper related bloggers saw your blog they would flock to it.
You blog is so, so, so good…!! My goodness!!!
Still laughing at the Dave Barry comment about golfing!! Yes, I feel the same exact way!
The list of expressions at the end of your post was too much!! So good and so funny!! I am going to make a copy of it!
Another great post!!
i found you back! and my have i enjoyed reading your blog. i’m going to be one of your 3 or so regular readers from now
this eas a really sweet post, it made me all warm and fuzzy! i’m sorry to be eavesdropping and all, but i am so very happy for you that you found someone who makes you so happy.
and if it’s any comfort, i too didn’t know my Mr in his twenties or thirties (he’s older than i). but i figure it’s much better this way, than having not known him at all or settling for someone less perfect.
PS. this is deborah, i’ve moved blogs too… to alasmydear.blogspot.com
Yeah, I found them quite amusing myself. I feel bad that I did not at least attribute them to the site from which they came. Laugh Lines and the NYTimes.
Well Russell, It’s a combination of things no doubt. First of all, this blog is eclectic and that is a no no for blogging. Multi dimensional blogs don’t fare well. People return as regulars because they usually like a particular topic. Second, I have only been at it for a bit more than a month. They say, assessments should wait until a full year has passed. Third, a lot of folks are readers but don’t comment hardly ever. That is simply their nature. I’m a talker, so I do comment a lot.
I’m doing about 24 or so per day so far. I consider that fairly good,for only a month and given that the blog is so broad. The politics/history/science go together okay, but the rest is probably offputting to some no doubt. Thanks Russell as always.
thanks again Russell. You know how much I adore your blog and wonder reminisences of life in Iowa!
Great Deborah. I visited and saw you were moving but not set up yet. I’ll pick up your feed today. Thanks for the kind words!
I’m going to check out those freebie sites that you listed. I didn’t know such sites existed.
On the look at bloggers and journalism I thought the fellow was a little arrogant. If regular journalists had done their jobs and not sold out we would not have invaded Iraq and there would be no occupation.
I think of blogging as a way to discuss and as a way to connect. It has also opened the door for more direct political participation for the average person.
I am mainly a political blogger. I can source everything as I fact check etc. but don’t feel I have to publish a list of sources as I mostly editorialize. The corporate media is not about journalism – it is about propaganda. That is why I think small bloggers like we housewives, veterans, and everyday citizens are important. “We the people” can bring about change by blogging. We can connect, educate one another, and act in concert when action is called for.
Wow, what a great post. There is so many things to try out. Thanks for sharing.
I love blogs. It takes just a short read to doiscover the political bent of the writer. Everything will slant in that direction. It is the same right or left. The right finds wonderful right blogs and the left recommends left blogs.
What we need is thoughtful people on each side recommending the best of the other side without the need to be insulting. It won’t happen because people who know their view is correct have little time for other views.
I laughed at your comment about how a man creates 7 more hours of housework!! I would have thought it would be …. more!!
You certainly hit the target with what the General had to say yesterday. Bingo! Perfect hit!
I watched part of the hearings but finally had to shut it off as I could not take it any more!
I was impressed with the Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House yesterday. Very moving….
Take care.
Kitchen Window, I tend to agree with you about the article. But I do think the point is well taken that there is little way to guage to reliability or accuracy of bloggers. Some are excellent, many are not. Such is the nature of the internet of course. As much bull as truth.
But I thoroughly agree that the bloggers are pushing the regular “professional” media to clean up their act. I’m not sure they will, since they are controlled by money. We must do our part, small as it may be.
I’m thoroughly sick of letting my Congress people take care of it. They have proven to be interested ni only one thing, re-election.
Easier said that done Dr. John. I tend to agree, but the fact is that since one cannot control one’s readership, its hard to carry on much of a cogent conversation through blogs. Look at forums. No matter how you try to be reasonable, the wackos of either side end up dominating the conversation and controlling its flow.
I think blogs are a perfect opportunity to say exactly what you believe. Those that approve or at least are not totally turned off return, those that are turned off, never return. I have found some rational conservatives, though not many. I rather like George Will, and I also like W.Buckley. It was more for their command of the language than their ideas however.
Hey Russell, I loved your blog on the Medal of Honor ceremony. It was very moving.
The ice cream one was great. I love the pics of the old fashioned ice cream signs.
Belated birthday wishes to Parker!
What lovely words you have written about him, Sherry! I can’t wait until your autobiography gets to the part about how you two met!
Forgot to say concerning the previous post: That gambling maniac woman painting is a hoot! My goodness…..I wonder what prompted that artist to paint portraits of mental patients!? Maybe he had experienced mental illness in his family……maybe this gambler is his mother!!
You have an amazing blog. It’s like going to visit someone (you?) in your home, and having cocktails and then dinner, and all the while having this wonderful conversation about anything and everything – sort of stream of consciousness. Who else would have Garrison Keillor, lemon tarts, and Gore Vidal all in one post. And it makes sense!
I am stealing the recipe for lemon tarts, by the way. I love, love, love lemon.
lol Jeannelle, that might take a few months at least. Im 57 after all! I’m not yet graduated in the autobio. hahaha. You will probably get way bored before then.
Jeannelle, I have no idea why he would paint people in an asylum. I thought the painting was just bizarre I tell ya. I’d love to know her story.
Josie, I’ve tried blogs and sticking to one subject. I had a very big blog on Catholicism and then I tried to do one on politics and one on crafts. I like this best. I’m glad that more and more people are finding something they like. It’s a mystery every day what you might find, and I hope that’s the hook. I’m really enjoying doing it, unlike the others which became a chore.
Wow! So many interesting points I could comment about but my response would be miles long! Yes, I agree with your comment about Josie’s post about guns. Canada is really so far ahead of us, in my opinion, than we are in so many areas. Sometimes I consider moving there…!!
I will be taking a look at that Civil War blog – I have always been interested in that time frame and still remember my visit to Gettysburg. It was a hot, hot day – just like the three days in July when the actual battle was fought.
Here in Des Moines, as you know, it is raining hard and the wind is blowing hard from the east – never a good sign.
Take care and, as always, I enjoy your posts.
Jimmy Kimmel’s quip is too funny!
And I hate artichokes. Yukk.
I agree with the attention to detail in Japanese art. Not necessarily the rest of Asian art though…I know some cultures tend to be lazy where detail is concerned! But Japanese and korean art is sublime – so fine, yet so understated. Perfectly elegant, yet not ‘in your face’.
And no, I’m not British
I’m Chinese all the way. But Singapore used to be a British colony until 1965, and for most of us English is our primary language.
Your blog does make a great read! There’s really something for everyone.
As always, lots of interesting information for me to think about the rest of the day!! Yes, it is a crime we don’t have universal health care. Our Canadian friends are way ahead of us on that one.
Republicans and African Americans – doesn’t seem to go together, does it? Alan Keyes not withstanding..
Take care.
Hey Russell, You’re not the only one wondering if life might not be better in Canada. It’s just the weather that turns me off. I’m no fan of cold!
Deborah, thanks for the comments about Japanese art. I agree. too bad about the artichokes, they are wonderful! hehe. To each his own.
Sorry about the assumption about being British. I associate the use of “Mum” with England. We don’t use it here for sure.
Yes I agree, its an utter shame that we are falling so far behind the world in social issues. It’s definitely speaks to our corporate first mentality.
The Republicans are grasping at straws these days. they have no real hopes of winning and are just hoping not to lose too many congressional seats IMO. The big money in Republican land is staying home for the most part.
Hi Sherry,
I saw part of this post last week and wanted to comment, but had no time.
Your energy just amazes. I read somewhere this morning in searching for this piece, the iterations you’ve evolved through to this blog, and it’s a great result, but to be sure, in addition to your notice of our humble efforts at USojo, the “hook” for me is the vast territory you cover! You do have a staff, don’t you?
I certainly relate to your sparring with fundies. It seems to be a progression a lot of us make as our little barques go cleaving the cultural high seas caused by the great worldwide flood that is the “internets”; it’s just that it’s so disjunctive to find so many people clinging to pieces of antique furniture, washed out from the drowned parlors of ancient religious dogmas; so to speak.
I am impressed by your theory of the intellect vs the emotional; it’s entirely reasonable and well articulated. It does seem to slight the role of religious insight, however, at the expense of the more natural hierarchy of the body, mind, soul, and the guidance of spirit. To my mind, the emotions are more like the condiments of the intellect; not another kind of “beef,” equal to the intellect, as it were.
One may appeal to the emotions as a way of focusing intellectual attention, and the mind thus aroused is the gateway to the soul; then must follow a recognition of the truth to bring about those transformations of character that are indicative of a progressive religious experience. That way, the emotions of mind and body are transformed into the higher loyalties of mind, and the more satisfying experiences of the spirit.
Even so, I seriously doubt God is disgusted by our “displays” with one another; remember, he is no “respecter of persons.” We have only to look to Jesus to see the way to handle those with whom there is no room for reasonable examination of the truth of things; he stood before his accusers in majestic silence; as the insults, taunts, and blows fell upon Jesus, he was undefending, but not defenseless; he was not vanquished, merely uncontending in the material sense.
Finally, they must be allowed to sink or swim according to their chosen devices. We dialogue, not only to share our unique perspectives on the life-and-death issues of our existence, but to persuade each other of higher, truer ways of understanding our plight. Consider again the Son of God incarnate as he faced the intransigence of the Jewish high priests; he no longer contended with them after a point, even knowing full well that some of them knew what they were doing when they devised to put him to death.
The naturally inclination to help rescue/save someone who desperately clings to a piece of water-logged doctrinal wreckage from whatever once-great ship-of-religious-state, must be set aside. Perhaps it is enough to know that those who really believe in him shall have eternal life. Everything else falls away.
Thanks for listening, and thanks for what you do,
Terry
Very good post, Sherry. I was glad to find another installment of your autobio on your blog today!
Again, some funny things……I, too, received my worst high school grade (a B-, also) in Advanced Algebra! And, graduated, like you, “3rd” in my class…..of 49 students, however! No.1 became a lawyer and No. 2, an OB-GYN.
Interesting, too, your experience with Honor Society. They didn’t have that at the school I went to. The school my kids go to has it…..and I’ve heard people comment negatively about it for the very same reason you gave….students and teachers not getting along.
Once again….very good post!!
Isn’t it amazing how often we find that people have shared experiences like that? I do think that we do well when we extrapolate that this would be just as true should we be comparing ourselves with some native from Thailand. It might be about quite different things, but we would find those same shared experiences I believe.
Funny Jeannelle, I never did learn a darn think about Honors Society other than that fact. I guess it’s because I was never a member. LOL.
I’m glad you are enjoying the posts. I’m enjoying doing them for sure.
Boy I wish I did have a staff. I know as the weather improves and I spend more time in the garden this blog will suffer. It’s taking about 2 1/2 hours to do as it is. Not gonna work this summer! lol
The internet magnifies beyond actual numbers those people who live on the fringes. I’m rather angry sometimes that they seem to dominate so much of the conversation. I get mightily tired of the arguing.
Your comments on intellect vs. feelings is quite interesting. I think I agree with some of what you said. I do believe that religious spirit is valuable. In fact its incredibly valuable. It is that “intuitive” feeling that more often than not is right. That is not of course the visceral feelings most people react to. Unfortunately, I do believe that some people cannot get past the idea that “feelings” trump rational thought.
Properly used, I believe that intellect and feelings compliment each other. I suspect most atheists are great on the intellect part, since they seem rational and thoughtful to me, but are quick to dismiss feelings especially the intuitive ones as not rational.
Ah, you just had to raise the “honorable” way to handle it. Serene silence, the way I tend to look at Buddhist adherents. It is mightily hard to remain calm in the face of idiocy I find. It is not one of the traits I find admirable in myself.
I find the argumentation to be worthless in the sense that we change a mind that is hell-bent on this sort of nonsence. It has been my contention that we preach to those who listen and read but seldom speak. The questioners need our response. At least I find that my justification. Perhaps it is a false one. I don’t know.
What kind of doors did they have, in order to get those dresses through them? Omigosh! Well, I guess people will look back at hipster pants and cropped tops, a few centuries from now, and think how odd they were to walk around with about 6 inches of belly exposed.
P.S. I am no fan of Oprah, either.
Your blog is like a whole little community newspaper – very interesting and informative.
Several of Susan Butcher’s dogs died in the Iditarod in her effort to gain fame and fortune. One of the dogs used by Butcher in the 1994 Iditarod died from exertional myopathy, otherwise known as “sudden death syndrome.” Another dog used by her dropped dead in 1987 from internal hemorrhaging. Several were injured and killed by moose. People who love their dogs don’t make them run in the Iditarod.
When they weren’t hauling people around, Butcher forced her dogs to live at the end of a chain. Due to animal welfare concerns, laws against tethering are being enacted across the United States.
For facts about Iditarod cruelties, visit http://www.helpsleddogs.org.
Dogs aren’t machines, which is why they suffer terribly in the Iditarod. The dogs get no benefit from running. The Iditarod is fueled by mushers’ greed and the desire for fame and attention.
Hi Sherry,
I won’t leave a long comment this time – I promise!
Although only two previous popes have visited the US, Pope John Paul II liked us so much he visited seven times. http://www.uspapalvisit.org/backgrounders/papalvisits.htm
But I am excited about the visit. I wonder if the Pope is going to bash President Bush over the Iraq war again?
It will be interesting to see how much media coverage the Pope’s protestors receive. Some of it could be pretty colorful.
There. All done!
Sherry,
You wrote a very heartfelt, thought-provoking post here. As I get older, I ponder more on the tragedy of the white man’s trampling of the Native American beliefs and way of life. You pointed out that they had no concept of land ownership…..just realizing that should prompt us to do do some deep thinking. It isn’t possible to “own” land……we pay for the right to live on the land and make use of it, but we can never truly possess it.
Another interesting post. I was interested in all the deer you saw. I counted 11 once out in the field by our house once. They always seem like amazing creatures and I always wonder where they sleep. I have seen the grass pushed down often where they have, but it would be interesting to be so nomadic.
I did see Obama and Clinton on the Compassion Forum – sort of reminded me of Fox News always saying their news is fair and balanced. I always wonder why they have to tell us that…
I will give Obama credit for actually saying he believes in a woman’s right to choose relative to abortion – and you know that particular crowd probably condemned him to hell a few times! At least he did not waffle around quite as much as Hillary Clinton did and I quit counting how often she used the words “moral” and “faith” and so on….!!
Well, that politics…. Take care.
As do I Jeannelle. I believe we have missed a wonderful opportunity to learn from Native Peoples, mostly about the environment and the sacredness of all life. I am always eager to learn more about their culture and history. It has woefully been neglected.
Lol. I agree. But I think the worst will be the 70’s and the atrocious leisure suit! and platform shoes, and bell bottoms. Oh the list goes one, white plastic belts?
Sleddog: thanks so much for the additional information. This utterly disgusts me. I had always thought the Iditarod was an effort of man and animal together in harmony. I want to cry thinking of the cruelty done these lovely animals.
Dale, Yes I know JP made several trips, I guess I didn’t word that well. He once came to Hamtramk (oh I spelled it wrong) Michigan, right outside of Detroit. It’s a huge Polish enclave. I did not seem him unfortunately. I should have liked to. I did not agree with much he proposed, but I adored him none the less.
Russell, I was a bit worried given the numbers that were hunted this past fall in our meadow, followed by a cold and lousy winter. So I was glad to see so many deer. They looked healthy enough.
I’m getting a bit tired of all politicians and their felt need to parse everything so as not to tangentially offend anyone. In doing so, they offend me! They are under the microscope and every sentence is studied for the possibility of twisting it to suit the other candidate. It’s tiresome.
Sherry…..a very happy birthday to you!! How lucky can you get to be born on income tax return day! Many happy returns on the day of thy birth!!
Also wanted to say…..I always enjoy your commentaries on the art you post. I wonder sometimes if the artists had inside jokes going on when they created a painting and titled it. There has to be a reason this one is called “Woman With the Pearl”, don’t you think? Could it have something to do with whatever she is holding in her hand? There just has to be an explanation.
I enjoyed your book review, Sherry. Yes, there are so many distractions out there….and so much unnecessary “entertainment”. So much time and brain power is wasted on taking in what comes at us over the TV. And how often do we ask “do I really want to know this stuff?” TV makes me feel “had”: used for someone else’s purposes. Plus, we connect with no one by watching TV. That’s the positive about blogging…..tiny connections are made….its like new little neurons being formed in the earth’s brain.
Onward with the blogging!
that was a very good review indeed. and, i may add, a lot more informative than the flashy adjective-ful pieces in magazines and newspapers.
i’m not from the US, so i can’t comment on the education system you have there. however, i do believe that mankind roamed the earth the same time as dinosaurs
really. because i refute the Evolution theory, you see. i’m still a Creationist.
which brings me to the happy conundrum of being a Christian scientist. can the two co-exist in the same mind? apparently so
your parents sound a lot like mine. when we were growing up, they encouraged us to read and draw, and discouraged video games and TV. i’m glad they did. i still don’t watch much TV nowadays. once in our old house, the picture tube went dead for 4 months before anyone detected the fault!
your blog is such a pleasure to read! it’s really meat for the brain, not pretty fluff like most of the sites out there (mine included! *sob*). it’s amazing how you have such a large following, your posts being so ‘intellectual’ and content-heavy. i wouldn’t have believed there were so many folks out there with the attention span needed to read this!
I know Jeannelle, Parker and I watch a lot of TV, way too much probably. But it is our way to spend the evening. We do watch a lot of “good” stuff from IPT and History, Discovery and Nat’t Geo. But still, there is no question it is too much. I also agree that blogging does offer a connection, much better than the old IRC chat network.
Deborah, I guess I’m quite sad that you believe in creationism. I would find that odd given your graduate student status and the field you are in. I find the evidence for evolution and old earth compelling to say the least and it is, as you must know, the basis for dozens of other scientific disciplines. Surely if there were serious questions about its truthfullness the flags would be up around the world. I didn’t think anyone but crazy Americans were in this fundamentalist boat. I hope you know that evolution is in no way incompatible with Christianity. The Catholic Church, keeps a low profile, but the last two popes have admitted that evolution is proven to their satisfaction as the basic method used by God to achieve the world we see today.
I do thank you for your comments which are always appreciated. I enjoy your lovely works of art very much and visit every day that you post.
Thanks Jeannelle. I agree, I bet there is a story behind a lot of paintings, that we don’t know about. The Museums are pretty good about teling you the history as they have come to know it. I guess there is more to art history than I had imagined. I have a huge tomb of a history of art book. I guess I should dedicate myself to reading it.
I liked the Civil War Quiz. It said I was closest to Robert E. Lee!! Well, he was a pretty decent guy but I am no where close to him!! I think it was because I said I would never take up arms against my home…. If I had to make my own choice it would have been Grant since I am not into clothes or pomp and circumstance at all! Oh well..
As always, so, so much information and it is quite interesting. Take care.
Did you just have a birthday??!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are still a kid…!! Take care.
Thanks so much for mentioning my new foodie blog! I’m working to develop a pattern of recipe and technique posts that will help the chronically busy cook!
Sherry,
There were tons of masks at the Mission Central place I was at yesterday. From Africa, New Guinea, South America. It was incredible.
Sherry, Sherry, Sherry…!!!
I think this is a GREAT post!! Of course, I am quite biased… I work at Des Moines Area Community College!! I graduated from North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City many years ago – when it was still all trailers and only two actual buildings!
At DMACC we work a great deal with the four-year schools making sure our classes meet their articulation requirements and so forth. Of course, there are many voc-tech classes but I teach business law in the Associate of Arts program.
We have lots of really sharp students but often they do not realize it. I can relate to your Mr. Martin because I have at times talked to a student and talked about – preached! – the importance of continuing on with a bachelor’s degree.
I know that I would not have made it if I had gone from my little rural high school to a big college. For me, NIACC was a transition and gave me confidence.
I started out hoping to get a degree in Dairy Science at Iowa State – but my true love was history.
A great post and I look forward to the next chapter!
Wow, Jeannelle sounds wonderful. Did you get any pics? I’d love to see them.
I’m so happy to hear that Russell, that you encourage your ‘promising’ students to continue on. For those of us not brought up in the college tradition, it is helpful to be sure. I sure understood little of what was entailed in transferring.
I wish I knew what my true love was. Philosophy probably and theology within that. But I would have loved archaelogy, or astronomy or history too. I really wish I could have remained a permanent professional student. That would have been heaven to me.
Sherry,
I enjoy your autobiographical posts so much. Thank goodness for Mr. Martin caring enough to prod you onward to new heights!
Gloomy and depressing…….that’s my rating for this movie.
Yep, it was certainly that Jeannelle.
Yes, I wonder what I would have ended up doing had it not been for him. Glad you are enjoying it. I think this may take a good deal longer than I thought! lol
Sherry,
First it was snow, now its rain and its resultant mud keeping you cooped up at home. Farmers around here are discouraged, but any day, things could take a turn for the better!
This blogger at “Et Tu” has insightful thoughts on the subject of art:
http://www.conversiondiary.com/2008/04/art-secret-handshake-of-soul.html
Have a great day!
Yes, I keep waiting for things to take a turn for the better. This is the first time Parker claims that he has ever been angry at Iowa. He’s really tired of it. I was tired of it, in January!
as usual a very informative post!
i so agree with what you say about newspapers and TV news. i think the tide is shifting and the old mediums are just now keeping up. that said, while the internet is great for up-to-the-minute real news, it’s very opinionated. not that papers/TV are unbiased, but i find bias more prevalent on the web where people can say what they want. so readers have to learn to be discerning, and separate fact from fiction as far as they can.
and your blog is one of the reasons i haven’t read the papers in months
that lemon curd cake looks heavenly, btw. i’m hungry just looking at it.
and why do Iowan horses have such strange appetites?
Alasmydear, Iowa horses have strange appetites because Iowa is in what used to be known as the goiter belt. The water here is unusually low in iodine, which in earlier days (before iodized salt) used to produce abnormally large thyroids.
Sadly, our soils (and grasses) are low on iron. So the horses tend to graze on fire hydrants (or tractors) to correct their iron deficiency. Naturally, city officials frown on fire hydrant munching. But its open season on tractors.
As for news, I agree with Mr. Gonsalves. Newspapers make up the bulk of my news exposure on the web. I do worry that they might suffer with decreased real-life readership. It would be a terrible loss, which even casual snacking on farm implements would not alleviate.
This is an excellent blog! I will be sure to check it out more often. Count me as a subscriber! By the way, thanks for all of your comments on our blog. If you are ever interested in joining us as a contributor, we would love to have you. Let me know!
Sherry, I agree with Brad. You have one of the most amazing blogs out there. More people should discover you. I might even do a blog about your blog. Your blog is just so incredible.
Hi, Sherry,
So you’ve made the move to WordPress! Looks very nice.
Your idea of sampling blogs from other parts of the world sounds like a winner! Go for it.
Good luck with your mud and run-off situation. This spring is just turning out terrible…….farmers around here are getting rather depressed. But, there’s nothing anyone can ever do about the weather, that’s for sure!
Most interesting. Yes, I agree the first year of college should be one where people can just pick and choose classes. I suppose curriculums are intended to be that way, with general education cores and all. Yet, from the beginning, students are encouraged to pick an area and map out a program of study.
I still believe college students should take a four year liberal arts curriculum and then, after that, focus on a career. I mean, a music major can be trained to work with insurance and if someone wants to be a CPA they can continue to take courses as they work to become a specialist.
I think apprenticeships would be a wonderful addition to the middle or end of the collegiate experience.
Lots of interesting thoughts!
Thanks Russell. I agree with you. There is too much emphasis on majors and career choices and not enough on gaining some plain old education. We are becoming woefully illiterate when it comes to the world and especially history. I just think that kids who have no experience with big city life and the breadth of opportunity need some time to see what is available to them.
Deborah and Dave, I agree Deborah, we have a rough time I think figuring out what we can believe on the web these days. It’s oh so easy to make slick looking, “intellectual” appearing sites that are grossly biased in their postings. It’s very hard to know who you can trust.
Dave, thanks for the heads up on horses and those fire hydrants. I had no idea, but it sure makes sense. Some of these weird laws had their logic in their day for sure. LOL.
Gosh Brad, thanks, I’ll drop a email to you to discuss it. I’m not sure how you think I can contribute, perhaps with my Sunday editorials. I’ve not time I doubt to write separately.
Josie: Thank you so very much. Hopefully this platform will be working better. Blogger is just unpredictable and given the length of my posts, and the work involved, I can’t take any more chances at it screwing me up so badly. I’m glad you enjoy it and I try always to think of new ways to keep it interesting.
Thanks for the mention. So glad you enjoyed my latest limerick!
Hello Sherry,
Hope you had a nice weekend! I found your new address…hope the moving’s going great!
I just passed on to you the “Arte y Pico” blog award, because I really enjoy reading your blog. I know how much work it is putting together posts like yours, with insightful comments and bits from all over the world. Sorry though, as now you have more work
You can see how I did it on my blog http://alasmydear.blogspot.com/
I’m supposed to tell you this:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico’ blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award – http://www.arteypico.blogspot.com/
5. To show these rules.
Have a lovely week!
~deborah
I love the “soddy” photo! Makes me appreciate my modern wood house!
A thoughtful and heartfelt post, Sherry. I, too, believe that evolution can fit with faith in God, and I pray the two sides can come together someday.
I read once that the concept of original sin had to be voted into church doctrine. I believe we are born with a tendency to eventually sin, but not with guilt of sin already there, and does the Bible even teach such a thing. It must not, if the original sin doctrine had to be voted into existence. It was a way for the Church to jump right into everyone’s lives right off the bat.
I read a book about General Grant this past winter and I was not aware he ever owned a slave. I do recall that shortly before he was brought back into the Army at the beginning of the Civil War (thanks to a friend he knew in earlier years) he was actually – and this is so hard to believe! – selling wood from a cart in St. Louis and other towns. He had to sell his few possessions including a gold pocket watch to buy his wife and children a few meager Christmas presents.
Talk about going from one extreme to another! Within 5 years he would be one of the most popular people in the country! You never know, do you? The man you meet today might be ….. who knows tomorrow…
After all this nonsense about having a Lincoln-Douglas type debate, I actually checked out a book the other day that has the transcript of those debates! There was nothing informal or give and take about them! But I suppose it sounds good…
I always enjoy your blog. Take care.
Madeleine! You need not fear, your limericks are almost always featured here. They are simply wonderful! Thanks so much for doing them.
Deborah, thanks so much for the award. I am Unworthy! lol. I’ll pass it along as soon as I can never fear.
Jeannelle, Parker’s mothers side of the family lived in a sod house when they first moved to Iowa. I’m sure it was a rough life to be sure. I try to remember that when I get frustrated at the modern conveniences that have a nasty habit of breaking down. They had horses! Come to think of it, they may have had it better, less to break!
Russell, thanks so much for sharing the additional information. That is the beauty of blogging, we each can add a bit and we all learn a lot more. I treasure your blog as one that always satisfies me much like the comfort food. Yours is comfort food for the mind.
I was unaware of that Jeannelle, about Church voting in original sin. I do think that you can interpret it from Genesis, but it’s interpretation after all, its certainly not there in black and white. I suspect the stories of Genesis were never meant to be taken literally, but their points were to be taken seriously. Most stories were passed around in antiquity because they had morals to them, points that were being offered about how we should live. Turning away from God leads to bad behavior and selfishness. I think that’s what was intended.
Sherry, thanks for this post, it made me laugh. We’ve all had days which would be nice to wish upon our enemies. My car is 16 years old, so I can relate. I needed AAA towing four times in the past year! Thankfully, I can replace the needy Nissan sometime this coming year. Any such prospects for you?
Sherry,
My goodness, what a day you had! But, it provided fodder for a great blog post! Those frustrations with your pickup were worthwhile after all.
I wish it would warm up a bit. Never satisfied, I guess.
Dale: yes, we are busy trying to find a better vehicle. We’ve had some real luck with really cheap trucks, one we paid $500 lasted us 6 years, without hardly a maintenance problem. This one was a gift at $100 and it does have a great engine. Parker thinks its the starter or cellinoid? He has a new cellinoid to put on it, but we are still in the market for a new ride that is more user friendly for me.
Good point Jeannelle! LOL..It did provide a good post, and it got funnier the longer I went with it, and I got calmed down a good deal by doing it. So hey, it’s over now. Today has gone much better! But I didn’t get my burger king! I crave those things and get them about twice a year, and we were planning on stopping there to eat. LOL. So Parker owes me bigtime. Kinda a heavy trick just to avoid going out to eat wouldn’t you say?
this is the most diverse, information-packed, eclectic and delightful blog i’ve ever visited. wow! i fear i may get lost here and forget to eat breakfast (and lunch!!) i’m off to check out the links to all these amazing places.plan to make one of the lemony recipes tonight!! thanks so much!!
So glad you liked it Julie and welcome. It’s lovely comments like yours that keep me perservering to be sure. Hope you find a few things that you enjoy and always mention if there is something particular you’d like to see here. I’m probably interested in it too, since there is little that doesn’t interest me, other than all things mechanical! LOL
As always, a great post! I always laugh at your jokes at the end.
Yes, yes…. the rains are back here in Iowa. I saw a lot of planters moving the past two days – but the weather guys on TV are saying a “monster” storm is moving into the state tonight. Oh well….
Good luck with the Bronco!
Sherry, the New Madrid fault is (fortunately) a long ways away – down in the boot heel of Missouri. Here is Cedar Rapids area we have the Plum River fault. It starts SW of Rockford, IL and passes under the Mississippi River at Sabula, IA. It then runs north of Mount Vernon and south of Cedar Rapids. If you have ever been to Palisades-Kepler State Park the bluffs along the south side of the Cedar River are part of the fault.
Thankfully, there hasn’t been a major quake along that fault in 300 years (if you believe geologists). But every now and then there is a minor shake.
Oh, and did you happen to catch the discussion on CAF about whether the sun circles the earth? I think only one person supported the idea, but at least two others were undecided.
Russell, We didnt’ get hit by too much rain. The early morning was the worst, we probably got an inch. But the afternoon one which we were warned about was minor at best, just a light shower. We’re hoping to get out tomorrow and go see that Bronco. The wind is blowing hard and that is always our best friend when it comes to the lane.
Dale, Glad to know we aren’t facing a bad one any time soon. I meant it more as a joke of course, but the midwest has had some the last several years. I remember one in the late 70’s or very early 80’s when I was living in Detroit. I felt it distinctly. On top of worrying about Yellowstone blowing up (that one will take out most of the world as we know it they say), I don’t need any more! LOL.
Dale you seem one of those who has an amazing array of knowledge. I am surprised you don’t share it in a blog. You have a lot to offer for sure.
I’m glad I finally made it here. Sherry that must have been difficult to write, and in ways I identify with it. I’ve developed some close friendships over the years, but as life has removed the common activities, that too have faded away. I grew up in a home where there no real roots. For me, perhaps that’s why.
hanks for the hat-tip, Sherry. That’s quite a collection. I corrected your link in my blogroll.
Hey Tom, glad to see ya finally. Your blog continues to be excellent and I check it every day. I’m happy to send a reader or two your way!
Actually Tom the process of writing is pretty helpful. But honestly, I’ve worked through most of this stuff long ago. Some of it has no answer, and I accept that too. But reviewing it again has I find been a mostly peaceful process, one that I am glad to be doing. I don’t know the connection to family life. I sure had plenty of functional families around me to see, so I’m not inclined to blame them exclusively. I’m sure they had something to do with it, just not all.
Greetings!
After reading this, I think we must have been identical twins separated at birth, except I’m a right wingnut and you’re… well I don’t know what happened. (big smile) I have enjoyed your blog very much (it is a real treat!) and I think I have a better understanding of where you are on your spiritual journey.
As we said in the 60’s- Peace!
Sincerely,
Nannygirl
Gosh, Sherry, if I sounded smart its because I culled my information from an old newspaper article. Believe me, yours truly is rather dull when it comes to being sharp. But thank you for the compliment. I’ve considered blogging, but I just don’t have the discipline for it. I am afraid that monthly updates wouldn’t hold the attention of many readers.
Too funny Dale. I do see your point. Once you start blogging, you start to feel an enflated sense of obligation to your “readers.” Most of that is a bit over the top clearly, but I sure feel like I owe it to people to get my post up every day. It’s a heady bit of narcissism no doubt, but I know that I tend to stay with blogs that write frequently. I drop blogs after a month or so, if they are not posting regularly. I try to keep my “base” of information as widespread as possible and so need a broad number of regular posters to keep it interesting.
Thanks Nannygirl. I’m well, not exactly glad that you resonate with my post. I wish everyone, including myself, had a vast array of good friends to enrich their lives. But apparently my position is not so uncommon as I thought.
I can appreciate that you think differently on the issue of feminism, especially as it relates to our shared Catholicism. I guess I fell in with the wrong nuns (Dominicans) and the wrong priests. I find CAF such a strange world, so very apart from all the Catholics I know and love and have studied and worshiped with. In any case, my opinions are deeply felt, and I no longer make any pretense about them. I have only to satisfy my God, and I can only do that as my heart leads me. I deeply love the Church, I assure you, but I do believe she is wrong-thinking on many points. That changes nothing about my devotion to Her. The Church is one thing, those who lead her, quite another in my view. Many have been wrong who have led, but I do believe that the Spirit makes her aright in the water in time.
A fascinating and thought-provoking post. I’ve just “found” your blog, and I’ll be back.
Hey, caught ya before you could finish this page, I see.
If you’ll send me your snailmail address I’ll make sure you get a U book; I always have a few around for people just like you, and it would make me happy to gift you.
I think you have more friends than you know.
Saitia@UrantianSojourn.com
Hi Pat, and welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it and hope that you find something worthwhile here in coming days. I’ll drop by and see your blog you can be sure!
I’m enjoying your multi-faceted posts very much. Today’s oxymorons gave me a good chuckle. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind comments.
thanks for the shout out sherry! sorry i’m terribly behind and only saw it today
your bumper stickers made me laugh!
that’s very funny sherry, because i often feel the same way about myself! i’ve not been able to put it as eloquently as you have. but i have only one close friend who has followed me through the years (i suspect it’s because we have lived near each other all of our lives).
all other friends i have made out of convenience – same class, same group, same interest at the time etc. in grade school i used to have a new best friend every year! and despite promises to keep up, apart from the very occasional meeting we all fade out of each others’ lives when the setting/activity that bound us together ends.
i don’t know if it’s necessarily a bad thing. i’m extremely introverted (which prob explains why i’m happy on the Net!) and i wouldn’t at all like having to keep up with so many people and have to go out all the time. like you (and maybe your dad), it’s a choice i consciously make.
Great links, Sherry! I just read the undercover report from guy in the fundamentalist group. My mom reads John Hagee’s books, and she always wants to pass them on to me…….to which I politely say, “NO THANKS!”
Good post, Sherry! Very interesting about the religious intolerance in the early American Colonies. I tend to forget that, and in error I assume that the separation of church and state was due to religious oppression in Europe only.
How wonderful that you and Parker found each other!! May you have many, many more years together!!
I have hermit tendencies, but am having great fun doing a blog. Although I enjoy visiting with people when the occasion arises, I enjoy being alone, and being left alone……and I’ve felt that way since childhood. I would so often think, “Just leave me alone!!”, through the years. I have many interests that can be pursued alone, and I’m guessing you are that way, too. Bless you for being so honest in your post!
Glad you like them Deborah. They are a hoot to me! So many blogs, so little time! I know the feeling!
Deborah, this is making me think that many bloggers are alike in this. We use the computer to foster those relationships but they remain at arms length, to be enjoyed at our convenience. It suggests a basic selfishness which I don’t find bad, but a recognition that we each need different things to remain sane. Thanks for your thoughts.
Jeannelle, I used to dream as a young girl of leaving home and having my own apartment (oddly never a house–though I’ve owned 5 now). I just desperately wanted to be alone, do things my way, and follow my own interests. Funny how much alike most of us really are, yet we all have such a range of differences that nobody is truly like us.
I seriously worried how it would be to be married. I’d lived alone for so many years. But it was so easy it really surprised me. Parker and I are together almsot always 24/7 and have been for 9 years, yet I very seldom feel a need to get off by myself. We organize our day I guess so that we pretty much do our own thing during the day, yet we chat constantly during it. Go figure.
Jeannelle, this is turning out to be a real eye-opener to me. The very group that is most desireous of putting religion in the public arena were the ones who led the fight for religious liberty–baptists. It is truly shocking. They were the minority in colonial times and didn’t like paying taxes for churches not of their liking. They conveniently forget that now. Too funny.
Pat! No problem. I really did like yours. Hope you find a thing or two around that peaks your interest.
Jeannelle, from what I understand, most Jewish folks see Hagee for what he is, and have no truck with him or his CUFI group. Imagine, trying to support war against Arabs in the Middle East just to further one’s armageddon dreams. History reflects that the puritans also thought that armageddon was right around the corner. In fact, the Bible suggests that the earliest followers of Christ also thought his return was imminent. This is something that has continued unabated throughout the past 2000 years. There are any number of sects worldwide who have awaited the dawn on some hill top sure that Jesus was returning that day. Hagee is but one of any number who do so today. My personal favorites are the Van Impe’s from Michigan. Sweet people, but they been running that same spiel for over 40 years now.
One of the doctors I work with says the Art Institute of Chicago is the best art museum in the world!!! I’m going to have to see it sometime.
I’m still waiting on my “economic stimulus package” too. Unfortunately, I already have several places it can be placed once it arrives. LOL!
On my recent trip down south, it was really interesting speaking to family who had previously never experienced intense national political attention. They hated it, every moment of it.
My sister gave me a serious look and patted my shoulder, “I now understand what Iowans go through every four years. Do you know that during the course of a week I got three campaign calls at home?”
I just about died laughing before I confessed that it wasn’t unusual for me to get 10-20 such calls in a day during the height of caucus season. She nearly fell out of her chair. So, I have a feeling if they do a national vote after this Democratic process to see which state’s residents want first-in-the-nation, Iowa will easily have it returned.
nice painting… its on my desktop now
Hey, anything to please the readers!
Josie: I was there once for a few hours. It’s sure a nice place. I’ve been to the MMA and spent several hours there, but you need at least a week I would think. They have 32 galleries of just Egyptian art and they have an entire temple complete with moat in one gallery. I’ve spent considerable time at the Detroit Institute of Art. The huge mural by Diego Rivera dominates the entrance. It is spectacular. They have Monets gladiolas too and I miss seeing that. Their webside has no pictures unfortunately. I think they have been in financial trouble for a number of years.
Lynda, I’m glad others are suffering as we do with non-stop calls. I really think that after this mess, Democrats need to restructure the entire thing. I thought a 3 month primary with all states evenly divided and rotated every 4 years so every state ever 12 years gets to be first, but at aleast all states deserve a say so in the process. This has simply gone on too long.
very colorful painting….nice to see.
my grown children live in indiana and on a visit there yesterday we had a heated debate on the present a photo ID in order to vote issue. thanks for sharing the link to the nun story. it supports my son’s and my opinion that it is total discrimination to require a photo ID. maybe my daughter will see the light now!!!
Hi sugarworks, thanks and welcome. Hope you found something to read as well!
Hi Julie, Yes I thought that article said a lot. It is just another ploy by the conservative right to try to steal elections by keeping people away from being able to vote. It’s thoroughly disgusting and I hope that the Democrats are successful in pushing through some new voting laws, especially the on-site registration. That will be a blessing. It’s our right to vote, there should be very few restrictions placed in the way I say.
Hi Sherry,
Thanks for mentioning the Wright Stuff post; I’m wondering about the difficulty you described getting the one post url though. Did you click on the post title in the left sidebar, or was it just the lead article in the center? (I recently changed the permalink style, and I’m wondering if I created a new or different problem.)
When an article is clicked from the sidebar it should create a permalink in the browser address panel that you can then cut and paste. I hope that solves the issue next time you have occasion to try it.
Hope things are drying out a little!
Cheers!
i really enjoyed reading this. it brought back a flood of memories of my summer job (working in my grandparents very small diner/restaurant). i did that from thettime i was like 13 until my junior year of college when they sold and moved to florida. i always felt like being a waitress humbled me and taught me a lot about people. i envy the variety of jobs you had in your youth. take care!
I really enjoyed this post! Yes, it certainly brings back lots of memories!!
I worked lots of part time jobs and much of the time I was just thinking of the paycheck. I worked in a dorm caferteria scraping plates and as a mail clerk for an insurance company and as a hired farm hand and on and on. Like you, nothing was especially exotic but it was solid work.
I often talk (preach!) to my community college students about trying to learn as much as possible from their part time jobs and building up contacts and so on – but I know they really don’t care. That is not a bad thing – it is just part of being immature. When I think about my own part time jobs and my attitude at the time I understand how and why they feel as they do.
I always enjoy your posts! Take care.
Hey Terry, I emailed you about the site difficulties. Perhaps it’s just me and my browser or something. But if it continues, I’ll try your sidebar advice to get a more direct link.
Julie, wellt that must have been interesting. I bet you actually learned something from all those years of seeing a business run up close. I’m sure I learned lots of things from my varied but largely boring jobs. LOL. I’ve jsut been rather unable to put my finger on anything much specific.
Russell, Boy I agree. I think that when we were getting into the job market things were so basically wide open that we really didn’t need “contacts” as such. Now of course, things have changed and your students would do well to heed you remarks. But as you say, we probably ignored a whole lot of advice ourselves at that age.
“A tidy little theology for tidy little minds”…….very good, Sherry, and very true.
I read awhile back something about happiness that really resonated with me……..that maybe it really doesn’t exist. That the states to aim and hope for are contentment and joyfulness.
Happy Mothers Day!!!
Hey, cute little icons you’re providing for our comments…..or do they come randomly?
Jeannelle, thanks for the comments. I rather liked the phrase..Occasionally I do hit a good one! And the icons are a new thing being offered by wordpress. It’s just supposed to to be those who don’t have their own icons, but it seems somewhat indiscriminate in its choice. They have a few to choose from. Not many. Better than the outline of a human head and shoulders that you usually get I thought.
I am absolutely and thoroughly entranced by that Victorian picture…
Sherry,
Enjoyable chapter, as always!
VERY interesting about the Druze people. I’ve not heard of them before.
Sherry,
I enjoy reading of your spring housecleaning, as it allows me to vicariously do the same!
Also, that seascape painting you posted on May 7 was very lovely.
Have a good time shopping!
thanks so much for the shout-out!
all the best with your redecorating and cleaning…glad to hear it’s coming along nicely! and happy shopping…that’s just the best
Glad you enjoyed it Jeannelle. It’s getting a bit harder now. I’m not sure about all this “honesty” stuff as I get closer to my adult life.
Me either. It’s amazing how much I learn doing this blog. I feel like a regular encyclopedia sometimes!
Leanne, Glad you like it. I sure did. I try to move around and post a lot of different styles from different places.
I wish I enjoyed doing it Jeannelle. And I did really like the seascape one. The colors were so sunny and summery.
Deborah, I always love to send folks to see someone truly talented as you are. I enjoy your success! How you craft and do graduate work is beyond me, all the while married. it must be a stretch to keep it all together.
I love the expression about people wanting you to stay a kid for as long as possible but then when you do something childish they tell you to grow up!
I laughed at your comments about your husband yelling at things!! I confess I am guilty of that, too!! I guess we do such things because we know we won’t hurt their feelings and/or that they won’t yell back!
Yes, yes, I agree with you about McCain yesterday. I was quite disappointed with him though I am not a McCain fan to start with. He had given a nice speech that morning about how he wanted to avoid the typical backbiting politics, take the high road, pull people together and so on. Then within hours or less, he jumped in with Bush and said Obama was naive and would appease terrorists, etc. That was so silly!
I like Hillary Clinton and have been disappointed she did not do better – or that people did not have more faith in her, maybe that is a better way to say it since she has campaigned harder than anyone ever has. Obama showed a lot of strength when he shot back at the Bush-McCain comments.
Mr. Obama has impressed me with his ability to win. Often he has been way down in the polls and managed to win a primary or make it very close — Indiana comes to mind in particular. I think if he makes a wise decision for his Vice President he may surprise a lot of people. If McCain continues to mirror Bush and if Obama does not fall down with a major blunder, I think the race will be extremely interesting.
On a personal note, I certainly hope McCain does not get in since I am in complete disagreement with his policies – in particular Iraq and health care.
I enjoy your blog very much and you certainly put a lot of work into it! My goodness!! Take care.
Russell, I remember hearing Obama give the key note address at the 2004 convention. Both Parker and I said, he is gonna be a player soon. We did not anticipate it would be so soon. Parker was very much for Edwards and I waived between all three frankly, then finally opted for my heart, which was Hillary. I’m quite sad that this has happened though I bear no ill will toward Obama. I dislike his wife, but other than that, I think he has put together an excellent team and that bodes well for the future I think.
I don’t think McCain has a chance. It is common that at this time in the cycle the unlikely side seems to be even or close. All the professional indicators suggest this will be a landslide Democratic victory. Such things should not be taken for granted of course, but I feel pretty secure than anyone can beat any Republican this year.
If the American people decide to choose McCain, i think that will be last election I participate in. I will have given up, figuring that people are not paying attention at all.
I hope I can keep up with the blog the way I want to. The time element is difficult especially with so much extra to do outside now. I’ll do my best.
Hi there,
I’m an atheist and so might not be an authority, but this strikes me as the kindest most Christian blog I’ve come across on WordPress. Thankyou for such a lovely, intelligent and well-written post.
I’m deeply humbled at your words Lucy. Thank you, and may life in whatever manner you define it, give you all you desire and need to be both happy and productive.
Well said. Thank you.
As always an interesting and fun post. I always like the funny stories and quips at the end of your post!! I am still laughing at Brittany talking about going overseas to …. Canada!! Mae West’s comment about marriage being an instution is fun, too!!
Good luck with your garden. I was in a garden store yesterday to get some tomatoes. It was a zoo!! Goodness! I guess it is that time of year.
Be sure to let us know how things go with your garden. I am always interested in that topic! (And it is a nice relief from politics!! – Obama will be in town today and Des Moines has already blocked off 4 square blocks by the Historical Building – that is 16 blocks all together!!)
Take care.
Thank you, Sherry, for your well-stated review of this book. You’ve piqued my interest and I shall work toward acquiring a copy which, after I’ve read it, will go to our church library.
I’m happy to recommend your blog to my church friends and family members. While I don’t always see “eye-to-eye” with all your viewpoints, I find your site refreshing, and always a mental stimulus.
More than welcome Pat. Thanks for reading.
Russell, that little website has just tons of funny stuff. I enjoy including a few every day. We are sure glad that we have a good piece of the garden in. What a lot of work, but the results are so well worth it. Especially with these prices nowadays, its a good defense!
Glad you got interested Pat, it really is an important book to get a balanced look at things. I’m so happy you enjoy the blog. I wouldn’t want everyone to agree with me, since then I wouldn’t learn a thing. But I appreciate that we can all disagree and still be civil and friendly. That is the key that often is missing on the web. Anonymity lends itself to extreme rudeness I think. I’ll continue to try to keep it as controversial as I can with interesting stuff.
Hi, Sherry,
Another enjoyable installment in your autobio! Wow, that’s something…..I figured you had always had it in your mind to become a lawyer, but the idea just kind of grew. Interesting!
I’m catching up on your posts. This is a good one!! There’s a branch in my family tree who were Freethinkers…….honest, hard-working people who happened to not believe in God. They read the writings of Robert Ingersoll. They intermarried with Christians, and the Freethinking died out.
I’m LCMS Lutheran and they basically see every person on the same level…..as a sinner. We’re taught that any good that we do is Christ working through us. But, I do agree with you that nonChristians can and do do good things. Christianity doesn’t hold full claim to morality.
Thank you for this book review, Sherry. It sounds like an enlightening read for all sides.
Oh, the goddess has such an amusing and amused look on her face!
Tell Spencer to please not catch the nice, pretty songbirds…….tell him to go after starlings!
How very fascinating Jeannelle. About the freethinkers. I agree with you on the good we doing coming from God working through us. It is never us, I believe, but the bad, oh that is all us. I assume God works through the unbeliever as well, they just are unaware, though i would never say that to them. Such would be in my view nothing more than condenscending.
Yes, Jeannelle, I certainly found it to be so. It is better than many on the market these days for sure. It truely does seem fairly unbiased in its research and reporting. I think perhaps he bends over a bit too much to be unbiased. I do think the right is more guilty of mistatement on this issue than the left. But the bottom line is all that counts and I think people need to know the truth.
Yes, I noticed that too. Kind of inigmatic I thought. And Spencer? you can tell that boy nothing. He is demon spawn for sure. But the cutest little guy in the world when he’s sleeping. LOL.
aw, yay for you on getting the spring-cleaning done! phew…it’s a load off the mind and hands isn’t it? and your dinner sounded lovely…cooking is always like that – hours to prepare the meal, and it’s gone in 15 minutes flat. well at least you know it was appreciated, if it didn’t remain pushed round on plates for an hour
Sherry, you have not over estimated yourself.. at all, at all! You have the most multi-faceted blog in my group of favorites, and I read it everytime you have a new post. I tend not to comment, but that is not to say that I am the least bit unappreciative of the efforts you put into garnering all the tidbits of information you share with us. – A Faithful Reader
Hi, Sherry!
Thanks for the mention in your post. And, so many informative and interesting links you have…….as is the norm for you!!
If you have the chance to drive around……..the Wapsie River woods in the area of the C-57 bridge look like Paul Bunyan went through and clipped the trees off!! It is quite a sight…….stunning.
Take care.
Pat thanks for the kind words. I’m really out of sorts the last few days. The weather here has been so lousy for so long that I really am getting down. I tend to feel abandoned, lol. If I could post my blog in 30-60 minutes I wouldn’t care probably, but it takes hours and sometimes it seems as if no one is reading it. Yet I know some are, and I know everyone has their own busy lives to contend with. Just ignore my rants, but again, thanks for spending a second to say a kind word. It is deeply appreciated.
Hope you are doing better today (Saturday)!! The past few days have been so, so horrible! At least today and tomorrow are supposed to be nice – finally.
Ames is currently under water. I just saw on TV that they have a new flood level for the Skunk River – it is over 26 feet right now. I tried to drive to Ames late yesterday afternoon to get some fencing and Hwy 30 was closed – that is a first in my memory. That road is a divided highway and pretty high up.
I hope you and your family get some relief after this past week. I am sure the water is much more than anyone can imagine.
I have not been commenting on blogs much lately since I just got moved – but I am so lucky compared with so many people. Everything is relative.
I am still laughing about the headline that said something about “lies about blondes are proven false” something like that!!
Take care.
Jeannelle, I’m sure it must be something to see. We aren’t going out until Monday so we don’t have to rut up the lane so much digging our way through the mud holes that always seem to form after such a bad rain. We are feeling very blessed to have dodged another bullet like you got up your way, for sure. I’m sure glad all of you guys are okay.
Gosh Russell, that sounds horrid about Ames. I guess we are lucky this year. In 1999 the Wapsi flooded badly in Troy Mills. We were living in Center Point at the time but Parker’s ex had the basement flood all the way up the top step before it stopped, and he was off to help her move furniture in the middle of the night. Since then, there hasn’t been a problem, though I am sure I don’t know how they’ve escaped it again this year. The river is high, but not threateningly so. We have other friends who live in the flood plane so everyone is happy here.
We do have corn up, and the garden appears to be draining out okay per Parker’s walk down there today. I’m glad for that. It’s just mucky here and there, but the water has stopped running by the house, so now it will dry up quickly. We live at the bottom of a hill, so it all runs down past us. Our sump ran every 15 seconds most of the night of the rain.
Hope you are all moved in. I know what a miserable thing that is, for sure. I’ve done it more times than i can count in my life.
Well said.
Sherry, for many of the reasons you mentioned, I am on sabbatical from CAF. For the past several weeks I have found those forums to be spiritually non-edifying, and even spiritually toxic at times.
I think part of the problem is that some people are uncomfortable with thinking which isn’t couched in black and white terms. This phenomenon isn’t restricted to religion, it certainly shows up a lot in politics or discussions of social issues. But a religious faith which comes pre-packaged appeals greatly to such persons. They relish the comfort of having all the answers.
The essence of Christianity, as I understand it, is to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. That is, to me, the teaching which I am commanded to incorporate into my life. I do so poorly.
Everything else about Christianity flows from this essence. Or is supposed to flow from it. I believe that Christ was born to save us. I believe that He established the Church to safeguard revelation and to guide us. We depart from Church teaching at our own peril…. but sometimes Church doctrine is not formulated in a way which fits the times. It takes awhile for the bureaucracy to catch up and re-package the timeless truths which it protects. During such times, I think individuals in the Church can faithfully “dissent.” It shouldn’t be done lightly, it shouldn’t be proclaimed proudly, but I think it is permissible. And I think it may even be required by the Holy Spirit.
Most interesting thoughts. I remember the old adage about there being many paths up the mountain…
Since you have a wonderful education and keep your mind active, religion can be more than a little difficult at times! Please don’t take this wrong, but religion is based on faith. Often faith does not square with logic.
I had a client once who was a very intellingent young woman. She had been forced to quit school in 6th grade or something crazy like that. Her family belonged to a radical religious sect. The sect believed that education was akin to evil. Of course, from the outside it was obvious that the more ignorant they could keep people, the easier it would be to keep them in the sect.
The woman broke away, went to college and was on her way to law school when I knew her. She was, however, having very difficult personal issues since her family had disowned her and kept telling her she was an agent of the devil. Even though it was crazy talk, it was hard for her to deal with since, after all, it was her parents.
I have known various priests who are very well educated and invite questions. I like that. It is healthy and makes you stronger in your beliefs, not weaker.
I think if Jesus were walking around earth today, he (or she?) would encourage questioning and thought. I think God believes – if I may be presumptious – that a person should use the mind she was given and not let it waste away.
Take care.
Poor boar.
The fear approach (pregnancy, horrible STDs) of abstinence education is similar to using an air rifle.
[img]http://www.beadesigngroup.com/images/wait_for_the_bling.jpg[/img]
Did you know that 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties provide abstinence only education? Or that funding is based on the number of low income students in the county?
Thanks Pat, glad you enjoyed it.
Dale, I agree that CAF is toxic and offers little that is spiritually uplifting. I am saddened beyond measure that some undoubtedly get their first impression about Catholicism here. I at least state my opinion, but I refuse to be sucked into the research mode like I was before. When people refuse to read what they themselves have cited and read incorrectly, I simply give up. Those that are interested in the other side of the story will do that research though, and that is my only purpose there.
Sadly those at CAF who espouse it’s theological position seem more akin to Catholicism worshipers rather than worshipers of God and Christ. I find that sad indeed.
I agree that the essence of the message is love, for God and for each other. The Church is ponderous and does not change easily. That is in some ways most excellent, but at any given moment is allows for the perpetration of great injustice and lack of understanding in the world as well.
Thanks for your always pointed and insightful comments. Oh that there was a forum of folks who really want to learn something rather than convince others to simply follow our superior lead. LOL.
Russell, well said. Faith is not logic necessarily. I am always reminding my more literal friends that God cannot be proven no matter how very much they may want to and insist that he can. If he could be, it would not be faith. Faith drives the journey in my mind, and our minds are useful for attempting to make sense of it all. I do require a certain symmetry of logic in my faith. And over time and a great deal of meditation, reading and thinking, I feel pretty relaxed in mine. But of course, another thing pops up, and something doesn’t quite fit, and I’m off to thinking again. I’m studying the Urantia Book right now, and finding it fascinating.
I too agree that our minds are our best vehicle to God. That doesn’t mean that that is all of course. Our intuition is I believe but a spiritual gift of sorts to lead us as well. I’ve learned that over the years too. Thanks for your input.
Sherry, I ‘ve often marveled at how much you include in your daily blog. And at the amount of reading you must do before you pick out the best links!
Thanks for doing this blog – it is always interesting.
[...] Bush, as well as international offerings from Beirut, Palestine, Iraq, and Africa. Reports on Rushttp://afeatheradrift.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/water-wanders-wellsprings-wither/Beirut – Beirut – LA BLOGOTHEQUEThis is the story of a Take Away Show we were supposed to film a [...]
Thank you for an insight into a profession that is often treated as easy or trivial or rapacious. I have dealt with many lawyers and have felt that most of them were bright, hardworking people. I am glad that we have lawyers. I would not want to step into the legal arena without them.
Nice of you to stop by Kathryn. I so much admire your cross stitching. Most lawyers are pretty decent people and do a good job for their clients. As with any profession, there are the lousy ones as well. After realizing that, I began to realize that the same is obviously true of medicine. It changed the way I approached chosing a doctor for sure.
What a experience! Thanks for the peep into that year of your being!
Vicki
Hi Vicki, Nice to see you. I love your site and am checking it regularly to feature here with your neat knitting offerings. I wish I had some of your talent. I’m glad you enjoyed the little peek into my life. I’m enjoying the doing of it for sure!
Hi Sherry,
Thanks for this little ramble through the art of photography, two things very close to my heart, too. My drawing skills were fired by a photograph when I was fourteen, and photography has been integral to my art ever since, in a fascinating and ever flexible way.
Even so, I’ve rarely felt a photograph, whether black and white or some other variation of color, was the suitable final expression. So it’s refreshing to hear your take. I could rattle on about black and white x times longer than your column, so I’ll let it go here; suffice it to say, the splendor the eye beholds in what ever it should light upon, if sufficient to inspire the appreciation of Beauty, is just fine in my book.
Wow!! Talk about a picture being worth a 1,000 words! I love this image. It speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
I am sitting here on a Sunday afternoon amazed that the sun is coming out! It has been raining seemingly nonstop for days. This morning was a very strong storm and more storms are predicted for later today and tonight. Water is everywhere – but you would know better than me as your part of the state has been hit even harder! I hope everything is okay at your end.
I keep wanting to drive up to see that tiny church by Festina but the weather has been so bad… maybe in August! If it is wet in August, well, I may just give up!!
Take care and I always like to read your blog!
Saitia, your comments are so very interesting. It points out the fact that we as humans are so perfectly utterly unique. What makes my heart soar to unspeakable heights is just the faintest tickle of intrigue to another, who finds grander expressions in mosaics or music. Some adore violin, other the piano. Our differences blend into our samenesses and make us never without wonderous things to say to one another. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Russell, Yes the rains are continuing here. What was once a trickle of a stream coming down the hill and winding down toward the creek has become a full blown small but real litter river, with a tiny one inch little waterfall at one point. It’s sad, we planted again yesterday, and now fear that will be lost as well. It’s so soggy.
I’m glad you liked the photo. It’s Richard Avedon. I love his work and Annie Lebowitz as well. Also that guy who posed the Weirmires (sp) in varous human poses. I’ve found a lot of photos of Native peoples from the LoC as well. I just never cease to be amazed at how deeply I begin to care of these folks and wonder what happened to them.
I like your photo you picked, the black and white and the mirror, strong piece.
Nice post
as always
Vicki
I just navigated here from that discussion at Catholic Answers Forums (where I’m registered as “theistgal”.
I don’t agree with everything you’re saying here (or there), but I like the way you write, and I’m enjoying reading your blog.
I love my Church but from time to time I do find myself questioning some of the teachings. I think you have the right to ask questions and no one at CAF or anywhere else should put you down for that.
Thanks so much Vicki. Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi theistgal, so nice of you to stop by. I appreciate your honesty. I certainly respect other opinions and expect them quite frankly. I am always saddened at the utter lack of fairness or even basic politeness exhibited by some. We can disagree without villification. I’m run by your blog and leave a note. I’m always enjoying Catholic blogs and learning of al the different view points.
Hi, Sherry!
Great post, and especially, I’m pondering finding new things hidden in the recesses of the soul. That’s a most refreshing thought, really…….it makes each day something to look forward to, and each night, too, in the anticipation of dreams that may come.
And that is a wonderful thing about art…….it can be so personal, defined inside of us in our own unique way. You are very gifted in being able to articulate about this subject and so many others! Keep up the good work.
I am sorry to hear of your flooding problems. The weather has simply been going insane.
so sorry to hear about the flood! i’m glad you have the back-up sump. and i do hope that not too much got damaged by the wet!
i’m far away enough to be quite insulated from US politics. we have one write up on it in the papers every day, but that’s it. of course the length of the write up depends on the importance of the things there are to be said. like, obama was front page news on the day he got his required number of delegates.
there have been a number of articles on election fashion though, mainly pitting clinton against mrs. obama. how completely frivolous and trite, i thought.
Loving way of looking at it Jeannelle, making each day a unique adventure of sorts. Thanks so much for your kind words. I truly enjoy writing and it comes easily for me. I think Parker writes better, but for him, it’s much more taxing.
We will make it okay. It appears the garden is still hanging on. I think the slope of the land down to the creek helps to run it off continually. At least I’m hoping that is doing the trick for us.
No, no real damage. We long ago learned that our basement was too damp to do much storage in. We were worried about the deep freezer but that old guy seems just fine.
Well politics is about all that is being discussed regularly here. I’m not surprised that the fashion of the two women is of central importance. It’s so silly and so backward. We still have a ways to go it seems. Thanks Deborah for your remarks. I always enjoy them, as I do your blog.
Wow thanks for the mention. You always leave me with something to think about.
Vicki
I try to give folks the best I can find. And you are sometimes that best! lol.. Have a good one Vicki.
I think dennis kucinich is hoping that Obama loses so he can run again in 2012.
Sorry Ben, but I’m not seeing the correlation between Kucinich calling for impeachment and this meaning he wishes Obama to lose. I don’t see how one relates to the other. Enlighten me if you can. I think Dennis is a loyal party advocate and will campaign for the ticket.
Omigosh, can you just imagine swimming in those bathing suits? And can you imagine how hot they would be on a warm day???
Thank you for your kind comment on my blog about “political correctness”. I have been going through a sort of rough time lately. *sigh*
This too shall pass.
Cheers!
I know Josie, I mean what is the point in trying to swim in that contraption? More drag than anything it would seem to me. I hope things re going better for you. At least you aren’t drowning like we are in Iowa. It’s simply pitiful at this point in time, with water pouring everywhere. Non-stop coverage now, can’t even listen to my soaps as I type along! LOL.
Hi, Sherry,
I’m glad to hear you’re not in a flood plain, but you are close to the Wapsi, right?
I’ve been mesmerized this afternoon by the news videos from downtown CR. My goodness…….what an unbelievable sight, and what a mess for that city.
Troy Mills was mentioned a few minutes ago……did the town have to evacuate?
Take care.
I was glued to CNN last night. My heart broke for those young fellows and their families. I have never even seen a tornado, but I would imagine they are awful. Just awful…!
I’m praying for ya, Sherry.
Iowans, and folks from other storm-affected states, have been in my prayers. The Boy Scount Camp tornado is just one more terrible event in a long string of sorrows.
I continue to enjoy your eclectic posts. You’re on my must read list.
Wishing you safety, continued electrical power and a pumped-out basement.
Yes, I expected, too, a bit more coverage of the tornado at the Boy Scout camp. Last evening, during the 9 p.m. Ch. 28 Fox News, they did have a brief story from out there. Otherwise, the only mention has been on the national news.
I’m glad your sump pump is keeping up. In CR…..water, water everywhere, and hardly a drop to drink……it sounds like, anyway.
Fascinating to read, since I’ve not the slightest idea what law school is like!
Jeannelle, We are not in the flood plain an neither is most of Troy Mills. It’s hard to figure that to some extend because its an unincorporated town. We’ve have a lot of warning. Happily Parker’s ex lives in the house that will likely at least reflood the basement, and not us! I hope certainly it doesn’t happen, but I suspect it will since she flooded in 1999.
It’s really sad. St. Patrick’s on 1st in CR is deeply in the flood. It’s stone, so I suspect it will survive, but I am sick at what will be lost.
Josie, Yes, my heart is sad for those poor boys. It would have been worse, but those boys are also well trained and they really stepped up and did what was necessary. Tornados are very dangerous, we have a sturdy basement so we are always safe we expect. And it would be a weird one that came down in the holler for us I suspect.
Thanks Dale, we are praying for others way less fortunate than us. We have a minor inconvenience, not what so many have, having lost everything.
Thanks Pat. I was just sick when I found out about the tornado. Had to find that on GMA, locally it has not been mentioned which I think is terrible.
As long as the power stays, and I suspect it will now, we are good. As long as the pump doesn’t quit. It may be some time before sump pumps are available locally. I’m sure there has been a big demand for them.
Thanks as always for your kind remarks. I enjoy searching the net every day for stories I think others will enjoy or need to know about.
Well, I can’t identify with any of the law school experiences, but your dismay at having your solitude interrrupted…..now, that I can understand!!
Sherry,
I happened to tune to Channel 3, KIMT, from Mason City this afternoon……..it comes in fuzzy here, but viewable. They are planning to do a story tonight on their 6 p.m. newscast about the Boy Scout from Eagle Grove who died at the camp. I know you probably can’t get Ch. 3, but their website will have the story, too.
Glad you are not floating yet. As always I enjoy your posts greatly. Now I have my hubby reading you.
My favorite, the evolution of medical treatment!!
LOL JEannelle, I sure did resent it I tell you. I was an emotional basket case after those exams and just needed real solitude to unwind. My father is not what you would have called a man who could in any way discern the emotional needs of another. He was simply incapable of that for some reason.
Thanks Vicki. We are still not floating. In fact, we may just get some drying time in the next few days. Glad you are enjoying the blog. It does help when folks indicate what they most like. I try to focus of course on things that I think people will enjoy or will want to know.
I love the humor a lot. It makes a nice transition expecially from the serious political stuff! lol.
Jeannelle, I saw some of the stuff on the boy scouts on other cable channels. It was so sad, but boy were they to be commended for how well they were trained to help themselves and each other. I’m sure many parents are very proud of their young boys, as they should be.
Most interesting!! I can certainly relate to your experiences in law school and especially the first year. My criminal law professor was a Harvard graduate who prosecuted cases in Phoenix for six years before coming to Drake. Today I would think six years was, well, not a lot of experience (!) but then I thought the man walked on water!
I worked as the director of a legal aid office for eight years in Story County, Iowa (just north of Des Moines). We only did civil cases – lots of family law, bankrutpcy, guardianship, some landlord-tenant, and so on. We were one of only two community funded legal aid offices in Iowa – the other is in Muscatine.
The federally funded Legal Services Corporation – now called Iowa Legal Aid – did more poverty law than we did. They do food stamp appeals, denial of Title XIX benefits, some domestic abuse, etc. and a ton of information giving over the telephone. Being independent and small, we did not have the paperwork that organization has and we had the freedom to accept a wide range of cases. I did several unemployment appeals, for example, if I felt the case had merit.
I won’t ramble on and on, but I sure like reading your posts about your law school expeience. Take care and good luck with the flooding in your part of the state. Down here by Ames (Nevada), I have been lucky and not had water in the house. The fields have been full of water but, thank goodness, the last two days we have not had rain… Maybe we will get a few days now without rain!
Wow! This sounds like the diaries of Noah’s wife. My first reaction was: Hey! Turn off the TV and start looking for animals there.
The real story is about the underlying currents of anger about what is happening in your town. And all you can do is watch or play poker on line. I recognize a sense of grieving here over the helplessness of your community. The sadness in this news, seeing the University of Iowa threatened with all of the community, is as incredible as what happened on September 11th.
Well I guess we all have our opinions don’t we. I guess you are unaware that unauthorized persons are not allowed in the area to search for people or animals. If you were aware of this story in the first place, you might realize that all of us had days of warning about this. No lives have been lost because everyone had time to prepare and leave the area. Friends of ours have moved everything out days ago.
I think it a tad presumptuous so suggest that what is happening in Iowa is equal to 9/11. That is absurd in my opinion and I doubt you would find very many Iowans who would agree with you. We are all sad about what is happening throughout the region, but feeding the egos of broadcasting news readers is not helping at this point in time.
As always, you are most welcome to comment whenever the mood strikes.
Wow Russell, you certainly had a most interesting experience doing civil work. I never did a single civil case in my entire career. I bet it was a sight more rewarding than what I did. We could do nothing but court appointed cases, so we never gave advice over the phone. It was a unique office, and next week, I’ll explain more about that.
It was a wonderful experience for a number of years until leadership changed and it became a rather different and horrid place to work in the end. But that would be getting ahead of myself a bit.
I viewed law school as a lousy experience well done with. It virtually killed my appetite for education for a very long time. I’m not sure if there is a better way to do it, but I’d be all for listening to any suggestions if I ran the schools for sure.
Glad to hear you haven’t had any flooding. My heart goes out to farmers who have flooded fields. Even if most arent in flood plains, most have a good many low spots which means their yields will be down this year, and this a year with record breaking prices. They had a chance to catch up on bills. Sadly that is quite unlikely for most now. We’re expecting dry weather for a few days starting Monday. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and keeping the channel to God open round the clock! LOL
Gosh, Sherry, why don’t you unwind a little and tell us what you really think?
LOL
The comparison to 9/11 is apt. Television news coverage was abysmal. Yes, TV crews were on the spot and capturing live when horrible events were taking place. But after that they ran the same footage over and over, repeating the same information, giving us no new insights. National Public Radio really shone in the aftermath of 9/11.
Turning the television off may not be a bad idea. I rely on radio for my news, either KUNI (the local public radio station) or listening online to the BBC. Of course, they don’t have the dramatic pictures of television.
BTW, the Cedar Rapids Gazette has been as bad as the television stations. They did run the story about the scouts killed in the tornado, but otherwise flood coverage has pushed everything else off their website.
LOL Dale, well discharged anger is cathartic! I agree with your assessment of 9/11. It too in the end suffered from the usual broadcasting euphoria at being center stage. I don’t know what it is about us that we crave the limelight so much during such a tragic time.
I at least as 9/11 goes, put some of it down to the fact that it seemed somehow immoral to go back to business as usual. Remember how Jon Stewart and Leno and all had such a difficult time being funny again.
There were so many stories they just ignored, one of which is the farming losses. Instead it got to be the same old tired nonsense of film of boat rides through neighborhoods.
I was just super pissed at missing George Stephanopolos which is a Sunday must for me. We have TIVO and cable so we watched movies a lot, and other cable fare in the evening. I don’t watch TV much during the day, but I do have it on as noise, lol. Okay, I keep up a bit with the soaps on ABC. Don’t breathe a word of that on pain of, something or other.
Senator Obama is NOT a Dirty Muslim!
“What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge,” says Mr. Obama, while denouncing statements of him being a Muslim as a smear. Why is the presidential candidate who claims to be religiously inclusive is treating the word “Muslim” as an insult? Apparently, it is OK for Mr. Obama to be associated with terrorists like William Ayers or racists like Jeremiah Wright, but God forbid somebody would call him a Muslim! No, he won’t stand for that kind of smear! We admit that most terrorists are Muslims, but most Muslims are not terrorists and the statement on Mr. Obama’s website is insulting to hundreds of millions of people.
How could a man who discards his family heritage in favor of political expediency be even considered for presidency of the United States? Where are all the so-called “Islamic civil rights groups” like CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, MAS, etc. who are quick to defend every Islamic terrorist, but are silent when Muslims in general are being denigrated? Would Mr. Obama have the same reaction if someone claimed that he was raised as a Jew? We sincerely doubt that.
Muslims Against Sharia demand immediate removal of “SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim” statement from the official Barack Obama’s website as well as an apology for giving the word “Muslim” a negative connotation.
http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2008/06/senator-obama-is-not-dirty-muslim.html
ReformIslam:
A couple of points. The site is called “Fight the Smears.” That does not mean that everything is considered a smear. Rather this particular reference that Obama is Muslim is a falsehood, a lie. That in no way means or necessarily suggests that Mr. Obama would be ashamed of being a Muslim.
I do agree that there is some inference that one could draw along these lines. But, it is paramound to remember that we live in a particular climate in this world, one that is sadly permeated with bigotry of all kinds by most people. Mr. Obama is in a race to win the presidency, and frankly many of us think that it is essential that he rather than McCain win this presidency, if only to stop the continuous bloodshed and the deteriorating conditions between us all.
Many in this country, wronngly, in my opinion, would not vote for Senator Obama if they believed that he had Muslim ties. Many did not vote for Mitt Romney solely because of his Mormon connection. This is not right, but is the reality we live in. I can understand why Obama supporters would want to make it very clear in this atmosphere that he is not Muslim, because every vote counts. Many African Americans also believe Obama has not spoken out strongly enough on racial inequalities that still plague us. He again, does not for the same reason. A certain type of voter would be alienated by such rhetoric.
I wish we lived in a world where every politician could state exactly and truthfully how they felt about all manner of issues. I trust, based on what I have seen that Mr. Obama is neither a hater of Muslims nor of any other group of people. I trust that he will do far more to forge a better relationship with all groups around the globe than his opponent.
I thank you for your statement. Saying that I would ask that you speak directly and not simply post in a comment a post from your blog. You may always suggest that I check your post for possible linkage, as I link to dozens of blogs every day. I think it was worth your time to speak directly and not simply drop a cut and paste job. The issue is worth dialogue, not simply posting across one another.
Thanks for the mention, the day is not complete for me and my hubby until we read your posts. Always insightful, we love the topics you cover (not afraid to tackle anything) My husband has compared you to The Daily Show. (this is high praise indeed, coming from him)
I also have a reoccuring similar nightmare, as always, I love the photos you use!
Vicki
Sherry:
“The site is called “Fight the Smears.” That does not mean that everything is considered a smear. Rather this particular reference that Obama is Muslim is a falsehood, a lie.”
When Obama website states: “SMEAR: Barack Obama is a Muslim” it is hard to consider it anything else. If it said: “FALSEHOOD: Barack Obama is a Muslim”, there wouldn’t be any issues.
“particular climate in this world, one that is sadly permeated with bigotry of all kinds by most people”
That in no way justifies perpetuating bigotry of any kind, especially, by a presidential candidate’s website.
“Mr. Obama is in a race to win the presidency, and frankly many of us think that it is essential that he rather than McCain win this presidency, if only to stop the continuous bloodshed and the deteriorating conditions between us all.”
So, if McCain sucks more than Obama, it is OK for Obama to project bigotry?
“Many in this country, wronngly, in my opinion, would not vote for Senator Obama if they believed that he had Muslim ties.”
We have no problems with Obama denying being a Muslim, especially, considering the fact that he is not. We have a problem with the form in which he is denying it. He is equating the word “Muslim” with something libelous.
“I have seen that Mr. Obama is neither a hater of Muslims nor of any other group of people.”
You’re probably right. He doesn’t insult Muslims because he hates us, he insults us because it is politically expedient. But the end result is the same.
Muslims Against Sharia
Okay, fair enough. I think you mistake my attempting to define the reasons why this occurred and took it as a defense. I do not and will not defend what was said or done. I seek only to explain it. I agree that you are certainly more right than I. You are morally right as well.
I agree that the ends do not justify the means. I guess it comes down to proportionality. The greater harm will occur if Mr. McCain attains the office, so I’m willing to accept this from Obama when I would certainly prefer a clear statement that he finds this kind thing irrational and bigoted.
I am sure that if I were on the receiving end I would feel a bit differently. I can certainly say that I found much of the misogyny regarding the campaing of Senator Clinton much more offensive than did my husband who I considered a very fair, open-minded man. He truly does not see himself as anti-liberated in any fashion, yet we found ourselves in some disagreement during this political season. I am not saying he was right and I was wrong, or vice versa however. We cannot escape our own lenses as it were. And I don’t expect you to either.
So I guess it comes down to the fact that I agree with you intellectually and morally. However, I do see the explanation of this, hard as it may seem in this vicious political climate. Perhaps in the end, he should have made a statement that was clearer. It is probably correct that those who continue to profess that Mr. Obama is a Muslim, are simply determined to use that crutch (as they see it) to mask what they feel is unacceptable but true of them: they dislike him because he is black.
Of course, as in all such bigotry, the real issue is the lack of self-worth exhibited by the people who hold such views.
I hope you continue to dialogue here. Your imput and point of view, and those similarly situated, is essential if we are to bridge the gap that threatens to become a gulf.
Gosh, Vicki, I’m overwhelmed by the praise, and shall let it go to my head! LOL. I have fun doing this, although from time to time, some of these issues make me rather angry. I have discovered that I have some small talent of witty slapstick humor. It is small, nonetheless. I’m glad you guys enjoy it. I am sorry that my life interfers here and there and I can’t devote the time that it takes to give a good roundup of what I have found.
I can’t even respond to the bit about the Daily show. That is sacred ground. I am not fit to untie his shoes! LOL.
Glad to know that I’m not the only one with such weird dreams. Parker asks why don’t I wake myself up when I gotta pee like that? My response is HOW???? He claims he can do it, but I think he got some help from the docs at the VA when he was being treated for PTSD after Vietnam. In any case, I cannot just realize I’m dreaming, and awaken. Wish to heck I could.
Sorry to laugh at your woes, but nearly every paragraph (not all of course…water-soaked cornfields in Iowa are definitely not funny), brought a laugh. Mr. Fixit’s solutions sound a bit like those of my late husband; you describe them as “farmer functional”, I called my DH’s “baling wire mentality.” Wishing you a fully functional sump pump and garden tiller – Pat
Feel free to laugh. I think laughing makes them easier to live through. I started out just writing the facts in explanation of why I wasn’t doing a regular post, and it just took on a life of it’s own. Glad you liked it and had a giggle or two. I like the “bailing wire mentality.” Sounds like we shared a common type of husband. They are the best!
Your on fire today! GOOD JOB!
Vicki
LOL. Somedays I guess I’m more frustrated than others! I definitely was getting hot at some of these stories. The poor Contrarian gets the brunt of my wrath! He’s pretty good about making me sensible again.
An interesting post, as usual, Sherry. Thanks for all the time you put into bringing these diverse items to our attention.
I always smile when I think of zucchini. The joke here in Arkansas is that you must always leave your car locked and the windows rolled up in the summertime. If you don’t you’ll find your car seat full of zucchini.
Hi Sherry, thanks for including a photograph by Sebastião Salgado. His work is amazing. I remember chancing upon a book of his photographs of the Serra Pelada gold mine: heartbreaking human suffering multiplied by the hundreds. He does such good work photographing forgotten people. To see he has photographed gorillas was a pleasant surprise.
You really do have the most amazing blog in the blogosphere. I learn something new every time I visit here. Who knew the study of patterns in nature could lead to understanding cancer cells. But of course, it makes total sense.
Loved the famous last words – “I wonder where the mother bear is”. *heh*
Have a great weekend!
Pat, I know what you mean about zucchini. It seems everyone has the same problem. When I worked, I used to take those big baseball size ones in and give them away. I try to use as much as possible with breads and muffins as well as eathing them as veggies, but eventually you just can’t keep up. I guess I could grate them and then freeze it that way. Maybe good for little pancakes or more breads and muffins.
Hey Dale, I really liked that photo. I’ll look for more of his work now that you told me about the book you saw. I am really enjoying a site I found that has just hundreds of galleries with dozens of prints on each. So much to choose from.
Thanks Josie, I certainly enjoy bringing all the news to you guys. I certainly learn a lot myself of course. Science has always fascinated me, and we watch a lot of it on PBS and other cable shows. I wish we got the science cable station but it’s a premium one so we don’t. But the couple of sites I check always seem to have lots of great stuff.
Love the owl pic, think I will stay that way until the election.
Vicki
NO way Vicki, you are required to suffer like the rest of us with non-stop coverage of every tidbit of nonsense from now until November. And I just thought the owl was so cuuuuute. I don’t know as I’ve ever seen one with his eyes closed.!
Hi I’m looking to build up my incoming links for my blog.
Would you like to exchange blogroll links with me?
If yes, please visit: http://bigmoneylist.blogspot.com/
and leave your URL for your blog there. I’ll link to you within hours. Thanks.
I have a special love of the southwest. I love this photo!
Vicki
Oh Vicki I totally agree. I was in NM a few years ago, and fell in love with the colors and art and well, just about everything. I loved the photo, and wonder what became of this young man.
Hi There! Followed your link off one of your posts in Catholic Answers. (Young Earth thread– I’m rosebudsal over there The photo is awesome. I’ve probably seen it somewhere. My parents have two paintings of Native Americans and the artist is a Curtis. I’ve often wondered if the painter and the photographer might be the same person. I’d say the paintings are about the same age as the photographs. (I could be wrong but the subjects are quite similar.)
None the less, I just wanted to say hi. I think you have a pretty interesting blog and I like some of your resources.
Maria (In NM btw)
That lunch sounds good! I like coleslaw a lot! You do sound like you know you way around a kitchen and I envy that a great deal!! (When I was typing that just now I typed “enjoy” instead of “envy” – talk about a Freudian slip!!!)
I always like the humor at the end of your posts! Yes, Letterman is right. People will have to wait ….. 15 minutes to get a gun now!!! Take care!
Hi Maria, So nice of you to stop by. I don’t know if they are the same Curtis, but I know he did a ton of photography of the southwest and I just love it. I expecially love these portraits.
I hope you will stop by regularly. I try to keep the mix, well mixed so there is a lot to choose from. I loved N Mexico when i was there for a couple of weeks a few years ago working at a parish out in the boonies. It was wonderful working with mostly Native American kids. I learned so much, and just loved the countryside. Your landscape is truly wonderful.
LOL Russell, don’t worry, a good cookbook will help you out just fine in maknig that cherry pie. If you need some help just ask. I can give you a pretty much fool proof crust! and a good recipe to boot from Joy of Cooking which is the cadillac of cookbooks!
How can living under Saddam’s brutality be more appealing than being freed by American troops? Yeah, it’s so much better to be whipped, beaten, jailed, tortured, abused than be free. Have you heard about Saddam’s abuse against women?
Read the accounts by others who found women bleeding to death by breast castration. The accounts are not hard to find – on the internet if you care to look.
You wrote: “Clark suggests that McBush never had any command responsibilities.”
I’m sorry, that’s funny. And Barack has done what??? Been in what branch of the military? Has lead who to where? Lead what organization besides the Law Review? Giving his life for what cause?
If you’re going to go to leadership experience on McCain, hold up the same mirror to Obama. He comes so short it’s embarrassing he’s running for president.
Obama is against gay marriage now, but wait. He’ll change, just like he did on gun control. He was for it until the Supreme Court’s brilliant decision.
Obama is a paper mache. Changes his mind on so many things. That’s the kind of change he’s campaigning on. “Change my mind” campaign. He’s worse than Clinton on sticking his wet finger in the air to see where the wind blows.
I fear what will happen to our country, our foundations, our wallets, our freedoms if he is elected president. I truly don’t believe he’s the best candidate. He can’t even pick a VP without a committee.
He’s marching to “the machine’s” tune so he can be the first black president. It’s sad.
By the way, I’m sorry about American’s not affording health care. It is ridiculous. Maybe someone in Washington should tell their lawyer buddies to lay off the medical law suits! Insurance wouldn’t be so high! Hey, maybe lawyer Obama could work on that, or have his wife work on Tort reform.
I’m in the low middle income bracket, so I understand not having health care at times. But I DO NOT want my government in charge of my health care. It’s frightening. In England, a woman had to EIGHT MONTHS for EMERGENCY dental appointment.
Please, don’t just quote the sob-facts, think it through. What will it mean if incompetent Washington is in charge of your doctor appointments, surgeries, hospital stays? It will be a disaster. Look at Social Security.
Listen, people have plenty of money for cell phones, dish TV, cigarettes, bear and expensive cars. Maybe they should save a little for medical expense or insurance.
Signed, A reader.
Wow, Where do I begin?
1. Iraq–nobody here, including me has ever said that Hussein wasn’t brutal, and that a lot of misery was visited on the Shiite majority. That is up against more than 100,000 dead at American hands and 5 million displaced, a total wreckage of their country, no utilities, no jobs, and ethnic cleansing since then. So I don’t think on par most think that things are any better at all.
2. McCain has had no command experience in war as Clark pointed out. Your remarks don’t prove otherwise. I never said Obama had any, and nobody suggests that that is a requirement of the job, except McCain. If he would stop using his POW status as some sort of entitlement, nobody would say a word. He introduced the subject.
3. Flip flopping, don’t forget that McCain was against the tax cuts for the rich, and now he’s for them, against off shore drilling, now for it, against evangelicals, now for them, against revoking Roe v. Wade, now for it, against torture, now its okay, for campaign finance, then rejected it when he could get away with it, I could go on, but of course you get the idea.
4.Your’re afraid for our freedoms? Where were you when Bush started taking them all away? Tell me you didn’t vote for bush and his band of idiots who use YOU by playing to your fears, and then promising you that you can make you own decisions, but then never giving you the money to do so. They’ve bloated government and ruined the economy with their endless spending on garbage.
5. What is the nonsense about picking a VP? Do you have any FACTS about McCain doing it differently? If you want to rant, please pick up a real fact before starting. People listen better.
6.Wake up on health care. There is NO evidence that tort actions have had any real and appreciable impact on health care costs. It’s due to the fact that they can charge what they want, and so they do. Medicine in Canada costs hugely less and from the same companies that make it. We are told we can’t buy drugs there because they might not be safe, but then we learn our drug companies actually outsource to China, and oops, it turns out not so safe. Anecdotal cases prove nothing. If you ask people in Canada and Britian generally, they are happy. Most all modern democratic countries provide health care to their citizens. Being sorry is nice, but doesn’t help one bit. The VA provides excellent care by and large and that is governmentally run. My husband as a veteran gets tremendous care. If you don’t want the government involved in your health care, don’t get it. Look at the VA and medicare. What is the complaint about SS? My husband gets his check every month without fail, and gets his cost of living without trouble.
7. The worst this that you buy into the big business generated lie that “if you pull yourself up by the bootstraps you can move up in the world like I did” mentality. This garbage originated way back after Darwin, and was manipulated by eastern elites to prove a natural rising of the better man. Business put it to use to keep people like you in your place, not asking why they received unbelievable salaries while workers received hardly enough to live on. You probably hate unions as well. THey have used you well, my friend, you vote them in, they give you nothing, and you do it again. Stop being a dupe of the rich. It is so meanspirited to suggest that people are poor because they are lazy. That’s your argument. It’s shameful. Didn’t figure you had the guts to put a name at the end. Figures.
I can understand that you would not wish to blog-survive on the occasional brief comment of a daily reader down here in Arkansas. I would have posted a comment on your ‘books that changed your life’ post, but I’m still engaged in thinking about that one. With your permission, I will make here a brief — ok, not too brief–comment on that subject.
I’ve been a voracious reader most of my 70+ years, reading between 100 and 200 books every year for 50 years or so, but I must have been reading “air-head” stuff whilst you were reading meaningful fiction and non-fiction. Outside of The Holy Bible, it’s hard for me to pick out any one book that had a major impact on my life. There were several which led my interests in new directions. A few which immediately come to mind are:
‘Miracle at Carville’ which I read when I was about 13, intrigued me enough to read more books about medicine and, as a teenager, I thought I might want to become a physician. I didn’t, but I still find the subject fascinating and read both fiction and non-fiction books with a medical theme, and enjoy real-life medical programs on TV.
Somewhere along the line, I encountered books about Archaeology, Anthropology, and Paleontology, fell in love with that scientific discipline and I thought I’d like to make a career of digging up dinosaur bones. I didn’t — but I still read and enjoy books of that sort and love TV documentaries about such things.
Lloyd C. Douglas’ novels ‘The Secret Journal of Dr. Hudson’ and ‘The Magnificent Obsession’ taught me the power of prayer and of doing good for the sake of doing good without expectation of repayment or recognition. I read those when in my mid-teen years and they have helped shape my subsequent life activities.
‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’ took me almost two months to read (between bedtime and 1 a.m., while I was raising four kids and holding down a more than full time job.) I found (and still find) the information contained therein and the lessons which should be learned from that era a fascinating subject.
I have greatly enjoyed books on the natural sciences, and I hope that exposure to those concepts and ideas has made me a better Earth citizen.
I spent almost 48 years in banking and human resources. I can’t say that anything I read during my formative (or adult) years in any way specifically prepared me for it, but the eclectic nature of my reading, I think, kept my mind open to receive new ideas; I think I was an excellent employee and I retired with a feeling of satisfaction for my contributions.
I sometimes hesitate to leave any comment on your posts because I don’t have a breadth of knowledge which is in any way is comparable to yours. I suppose I live by the dictum “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” (attributed to various folks, including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Eliot and several others). I hope I haven’t violated that by having chosen to respond today.
Being a blogger-newbie, I understand how important feedback, or just a general comment, is, and how disappointing it is to have no feedback whatsoever. I wish I had an answer for you. I *know* that you have some appreciation out there in blog-land because I see “A Feather Adrift” as a link on several other blogs I visit (I added you to my own link list after my first read.)
I will close (really) by saying that if you decide to quit blogging, I would miss your insightful posts and intelligent commentary. I do understand that you can’t keep on writing just for my sake.
Pat Phillips
it’s ok, really
take a little break and see how you feel about coming back after that. a blog is plenty hard work! it was getting too much for me to keep up my daily posts, so now i write once or twice a week and it’s working much better. i don’t feel so obliged, somehow 
your 4th celebration sounds like it’l be one big hearty cookout! how fun
here our equivalent is national day, in august. we spend the morning cycling in the park, then have dinner together in front of the TV watching the broadcast of the Parade. nowhere as fun and family as yours!
enjoy the sunny months before winter rolls around again! you do deserve it
and i’m afraid i don’t have any books to offer that were life-changing…somehow the printed word doesn’t seem to have that effect on me. i enjoy reading, yes, and i’ve read many good books in my day, but none really life-changing. except, perhaps, the bible?
I’m happy to see another post from you, even on this topic. I agree; you certainly do not owe me, nor anyone else, an explanation of what you do, or why, and I leave to you, as I must, the blogging schedule you choose to follow — or not.
I have come to enjoy your insightful posts, and while I don’t always agree, I find your viewpoint interesting (more of my eclectic leanings) and, by golly, you’ve even got me looking at the current political situation much more carefully. I despair, but that’s not your fault. {grin} I sent your URL to my more learned younger sister some time ago and she has told me on occasion that she has enjoyed your commentary or links to things in which she is interested. Now, if I could just get her to read my blog from time to time. A blogger is without honor in her own family!
Enjoy your summer — and beyond; do things that will make you and the Contrarian happy and content. I hope your garden survives and flourishes despite the beating it took during the deluge. May its produce keep you busy cooking and enjoying your bounty.
Whenever you’re ready to blog again, my RSS feed for your site will be waiting.
You should listen to the voice within you. Your blog posts are wonderful. I often comment briefly, and often feel guilty because a comment or link from you starts a debate that may last days in our house, but don’t tell you.
Thanks for all of the time you spend on it.
Hope you find the right space for your voice. For you do have a great one.
Vicki
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Thank you so much for mentioning me in your blog. It is a honor – or honour as we would write it down in Africa. I don’t know how you manage to get through all that news though!
This gives me mind of all of the Matriarchial families/societies. In humans they tended to be more peaceful, art-and-craft oriented, and more prosperous overall (you could argue). Meanwhile in the animal kingdom it is more prevelent and this female cheetah does look very like a queen.
Vicki
Digging we will have to go for the “truth”, as he sees it on this. Most of the Veterens I know that served time, fought, god forbid were POW’s have a very different additude that McCain.
Eek it makes me retch.
Vicki
“She worries not, she ponders nothing. She is.”
Thanks for sharing Nick Brandt’s lovely photo. Your words do more than justice to his art.
Wishing you a peaceful and enjoyable 4th of July.
“The other side is that I am going to read things I want to read and if something motivates me, I’ll write a few paragraphs and post it.”
That’s why I visit here; because you write about whatever you want. Of course we all have to breathe in, and breathe out; it’s not an option. Same with writing; sometimes we have to write, sometimes we have to NOT write. And Blogs like yours are insanely work intensive, and on top of that the dial-up time killer.
When I’m stumped, I abdicate to a higher power. I’m committed to doing things his way already, so let him decide. So you might want to pray this one out. Find out what the Gods prefer you do; they’ll certainly let you know. Then you can spend as many hours as you want, guilt free, because it’s what you should be doing, and you have that on the highest authority!
“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.” –Henry David Thoreau
Yes Vicki I very much agree. He is out of touch. I was very upset with his fight against the Webb Veteran’s Bill. It smacked of just a total reversal for this man who claims to be the spokesman for all military personnel. I know that is untrue.
Pat, I sure didn’t mean to sound angry. I was frustrated I guess. Perhaps this new format will work better for me. I feel better about it, and not so darned under the gun all the time. In any case, we can all stand to be provoked into thinking more. I guess that is what I missed, nobody was provoking me! I was just running off at the mouth a lot. That may not change, but at least I won’t spend as much time!
Have a great summer yourself. It’s looking up here as the garden improves and we are enjoying it. Got the first lettuce for salad the other day. It does one’s heart so good to eat what you have grown yourself.
Vicki, thanks for the kind words. I know what you mean, Parker and I argue many of these points again and again. And it’s always a search for your “voice” it seems, the right place for me in this crazy blogosphere. It would not be so difficult if I were in a less crowded arena. I’m a tiny goldfish among whales, and hoping to be heard. How egotistical is that! LOL.
I agree with you.
To answer your question about when did it become standard policy to move toward the middle after the primaries. The election season has been getting longer and longer in direct proportion to the speed the news is made available. Everyone know what James Monroe stood for. Kennedy gave a couple of speeches, a couple of debates, and the deal was done.
By the time we got to Carter, it was a marathon. Now, with instant access to hundreds of pundits take on every little issue that comes up, it would be impossible for any candidate to win without “refining” their positions.
Thanks Michael. what words of wisdom! I’m feeling freer already, as I just slip around to sites I favor and read. When something gets to me, I set it down. And so far, it seems to be working. I spend way less time and seem to be enjoying the rest of my world a bit more. Parker has encouraged my walking and I’m grateful for that. I’ve done it before, but now it seems different and purposeful. It gives me time to inhabit my world a bit more effectively and hopefully it brings a new prospective to my writing. I’m definitely feeling more spiritually attuned. I take your advice to heart however, and will spend more prayerful moments contemplating where I fit.
Vicki, what a important idea you raised. I never thought of that, and it sure makes me think. I continue to think that women do bring a different prospective to the mix of society, one that is seldom recognized. Thanks for your insightful remarks.
Hi Pat, I just thought she was breathtaking in her power yet sweet loving attention to her cubs. Such a mixture of quiet beauty and danger. I’m glad you liked it.
I see your point about the length of the election cycle adding to this problem. I tend to think that people like Madison, and even Lincoln were pretty clear about their platform and saw no need to “shift” to the middle.
It’s one thing to refine one’s position. I understand that. In relation to his supposed refining of his Iraq policy, the perfect answer would have been, “We’ve had 8 years of a man who will not deviate from his stated “principles” no matter how later facts prove him wrong.”
But boy his FISA stand is not intelligible to me, nor frankly his gun stance on the DC case. I understand the perceived need, but I’m just not so sure in the end it gets you more votes, not at least when offset by those you end up losing. Time will tell, and my husband says, there is NO way you’re staying home on election day! LOL. so I’m more roar than bite perhaps?
Politicians *will* play at ‘politics,’ one definition of which (according to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary) is: “political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices.” I’m not saying that he’s dishonest, but I believe he is artful. I fear that Mr. Obama is not immune to the idea of doing/saying *whatever* it takes to get elected. Too bad!
Yes Pat, I agree, it is too bad because I flat out believe it is unnecessary to win the election. John McCain is in some sense doing far worse, since he likes to be portrayed as a Maverick, however, he’s coming in line against his own previous stands on plenty of issues to stay in good stead with the reactionary right. I just hate to see Obama playing the game as it has come to be played by all. Really ticks me off.
Amen to this!
Vicki
You said it — very well!
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Good piece. Too bad it’s true.
I’ve said this in Canada fro years. Pass a simple test and you get to vote.
Want to mess someone up real quick?
Ask them who they are going to vote for.
Then ask why they are going to vote for their choice.
Nine times out of ten you will get a blank stare.
If you can’t explain your decision-you don’t get to vote.
If you’re to too stupid to know why you’re voting for someone you shouldn’t get a vote.
Enjoy the day
Ron
http://www.windfarms.wordpress.com
You are quite right. Most people can’t come up with a reason. They “don’t trust Obama” for instance, yet when pressed can point to no actual fact. It’s just a ruse for either racism or simple party adherence without thinking.
I’m loathe actually to require a test to vote. We did that and it was called a literacy test. The South used it to disenfrancise black voters in the early 20th century. So we rather vicerally react negatively to such a suggestion. But I do admit to being tempted sometimes when some idiot can’t even tell how many branches of government there are.
Thanks for the imput and hey, nice site. You are fighting a battle that needs our attention. I urge all my readers to slip on over and support your efforts!
You find the most beautiful photos, and then write so well about them. Your narrative on this one is poetic!
One of the things I most enjoy about reading your posts is the exposure to all sorts of new and wonderful things that might not otherwise have come to my attention. I’ve just spent some minutes visiting one of the Chihuly sites I found through Google and was absolutely amazed at the scope of his work. If you’ve not seen this particular photo, I invite you to look at it. I had no idea that many of his works were extremely large.
http://www.chihuly.com/persians/install008.html
Thanks, again, Sherry!
Good grief, I thought I left a response yesterday. In fact I know I did! LOL. I just love this piece of sculpted rock. Wind is amazing isn’t it? I find nature something that just fills me with wonder and thanks to the God who did this for us. Thanks for the kind words as always Pat.
Oh my goodness Pat, thank you! What gorgeous stuff! I would love to go to an exhibition of his work. I’ve never seen anyone do this with glass on that scale for sure! I think you have given me a good idea. i find most of my photos at gallerys. Now when I find a great photo, I’m going to google them to see what more I can find. It should have been obvious, because I do that for my favorite artists like Annie Liebowitz and Richard Avedon. Good tip!
Very enjoyable post about books!
Recently, Ruth’s Visions & Revisions had this post about a list of all-time important books:
http://rhchatlienblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/big-read.html
Do I conform and find my fit in the world? I think I was raised to conform, its that old traditional thing for a woman to do. So I’ve conformed to what I’m supposed to be, but now as I get older, possibly I’m sprouting a few new branches within that conformed existence. That probably makes no sense. Thanks for making me think about it, though.
Good post. The more I find out about Buddhism, the more I agree, too, that it meshes easily with Christian teachings. Its simply a sensible way to live and deal with our ever-changing daily lives.
Green and blue is my favorite color duo.
In response to your ponderings awhile back about the worth of blogging……We all need to do what we love to do. You are very gifted……your writings reflect that fact. If some aspect of the blogging becomes heavily tiresome, then don’t do that part, but continue with the parts you enjoy and can do in a practical amount of time.
Golly, don’t I sound bossy or something! Your walks sound wonderful, too……keep that up!
Yes Jeannelle, I tend to agree with you. I think we are all taught to conform to someone else’s expectations, usually our parents. Some folks never find themselves at all, most of us do, it just takes us years. The greatest gift perhaps a parent gives is the freedom to be you. I love how a piece of art can engender such thinking. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I think that we are better spiritually when we are aware of what we are doing. So much of our lives is devoted now to multi-tasking and lists and trying to do too much. We lose sight of the Now and I submit that is where God is. He must frown a lot at our constant obsession with the past and the future.
I feel so much better already. I spend less than half the time, but actually enjoy it so much more. I post and go do something and come back later and perhaps add a piece of art, or respond to another post I found. It’s more me, and less a job now. Thanks for the support.
I am deeply thankful for your link Jeannelle. What a nice list that was and I’m now on the track of several new books I want to read.
Hi Sherry. Glad to meet you. Thank you for visiting my blog.
I don’t think it was meant as a “supposed to read” list. I think (I could be misremembering) that they just took a survey of the 100 books most commonly on people’s shelves. That explains the omissions. It’s still a lot of fun to do!
Now I’m off to read a couple of your other posts.
If your politics are any indication, I think I’m going to like this blog.
But of course, I should tell you that I’m not a good American because I’ve never been a prisoner of war. And I actually enjoyed visiting Europe.
Thanks again for visiting my blog and allowing me to get to know you.
What a vivid story from your past. I could almost feel the heat!
LOL Ruth. Glad to meet a fellow traveler. I’m not sure all my readers appreciate my politics, but some find other things that amuse them I guess. I have your feed and will be stopping by frequently. I really enjoy your writing. Thanks for the visit.
Ruth, you are correct. I misstated it surely. It does not proport to be a “recommended list of what every person should read” list. Still it is interesting for what it leaves out. Twain for instance is a huge omission, and I would assume that Uris and Mitchner would have been on the list as well. Just goes to show, you never know people as well as you think you may.
Good lord, that gave me a hot flash, that sounds like the 17th level of hell, or maybe the 18th. Wow
Vicki
Sometimes I just feel like I’m not going to vote this election, of course I always do.
My husband points to this link, http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/
Take care
Vicki
Excellent list, this could be what I would take to a island with me, of course I would need some fiber, or maybe a sheep also.
Smiles
Vicki
LOL Vicki. I love thinking of that list a lot. But I always cheat and start adding multi-volume sets to the list!
thanks for the site Vicki. I’ll check it out. Might need to add it to the blog roll at least until the election. Have a good weekend!
Vicki, LOL. It was an experience the likes of which you wonder afterwards how you did it. Probably a lot like child birth. You kind of take it minute by minute while enduring it.
Ruth, well now that I’ve successfully turned everyone off to the practice of law as a career! LOL. Honestly it is a really sucky way to make a living. If I had to to do over again, I’d pick medicine, but really, no, probably theology, or paleontology, or philosophy, or history, JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE!!!! ROFL
Wow, Sherry! At the time, you must have *really* wanted to be an attorney! One of my granddaughters obtained a law degree and passed the Bar exam; about all she would say was “it was kind of hard.” After reading your post today, I suspect that was a gross understatement.
Hey Pat! LOL. Well I was committed by then, and also full of righeous anger at the establishment and ready to do battle for individual rights. I’m sure your grand daugher did find it hard. And talk about hard, the NY and California bars are even worse. They look to flunk people because of course they don’t need more lawyers. That is probably true of Ariz and Fla as well. Other states have reciprocity, after a few years in a bar association and payment of a fee, you can get a license in many other states. The big states require you to take their bars and make them very very difficult.
Sherry, I’m thinking you and I have a lot in common. I have wandered my way through the Baptist, Mennonite, and Catholic denominations before finally coming to attend an Episcopal church. Not to find the perfect church, which I do not believe exists, but to find the right one for me. I also believe that we are all unique and yet somehow reflect the image of God–and that it takes all of us to reflect the whole image. One of the things I write about a lot on my blog is God as the author of process, transformation, and healing–rather than a God who is hung up on black and white legalism. Like the atheists you speculate about, the God I don’t believe in is the God of the fundamentalists. I was blessed enough to have an instinctive relationship with God from a very young age, and so I never really had an atheistic phase. But many of the things you wrote in this post resonate with me.
Ruth
Just a note to let you know I was here and read every word. I wish I could put my faith and beliefs into words as beautifully as you and Ruth, but I can’t. Your prayer is beautiful.
Between my husband and I our families consist of southern baptist, evangelical free, hindu, christian scientist, and catholic, oh I almost forgot methodist. If nothing we have learned tolerence, and there is no one path.
Your prayer is a excellent one, and I enjoyed reading your post.
Thanks
Vicki
Ruth, Thank you so much. I have come to be a huge fan of your blog from the first visit. You have a true gift for getting a point across in a way that truly resonates. I am not sure what to do. I love Catholicism but find that as time goes on, I cannot abide it’s positions on some things. Perhaps it is the awful forum I frequent which is chock full of ultra orthodox (read opus dei types) who spew nothing but hatred and judgment. Perhaps I just need a break and a return to normalcy. Out here in the meadow I can’t always attend Mass, we were snowed in most of the winter for instance. I perhaps should check out the Episcopal Church. I’ve visited Unity and Unitarians. I love the High Church rituals I confess. What to do? lol.
Pat you have nothing to feel less about. I love you blog, and enjoy your whimsical take on the world. You sound like someone with a very varied and interesting life. We here in the meadow tend to be rather hermit like in comparison and often spend weeks with just the two of us conversing.
I always appreciate your comments and stopping by. I think there is something to the idea of inspiration when writing. I sometimes rather surprise myself, in that I often start in one place and end up in quite a different one. It often leaves me scratching my head. Sometimes I guess it leaves the writing a bit disjointed! LOL. Take care.
Vicki. Wow, that is eclectic of you. My family is mostly nothing or Catholic. I think a couple of my cousins kids have gone somewhat baptist is orientation, but to tell the truth, most of my family is pretty much uninterested in the subject. My second cousin at near 70 has recently converted to Catholicism and she is so happy. She’s now busy doing Church stuff. Her daughter became Catholic after her marriage some years ago, and they gave my cousins husband a “Catholic” Mass even though he was at best Lutheran, and they never went to church as far as I know. She was so grateful for their help while he was dying that she converted on the spot. I’m the only other real “Churchy” type. I was admitted to the Dominicans but finally realized I was not called to the Congregation in the way that I felt I should be.
I believe tolerance is something we all must strive for. As long as no one is hurting another, we must learn to accept that others think differently than we do. Thanks for stopping by.
I don’t really understand why people are so bent out of shape about this. If a person believes in the bodily resurrection and Jesus’ appearances to multitudes of disciples (as I do), finding this text will not negate that. If anything, it’s must another one of those mysterious foreshadowings / semi-prophecies that happen often. I think there is a reason why myths and religious stories so often mirror each other, and that is because they touch on some great truth.
If someone dismisses the bodily resurrection, etc., then their mind is already made up and at best this is just another piece of “evidence” for their idea that it was all made up anyway.
Either way, this doesn’t seem to be a smoking gun.
God forbid that the Iraqis should actually ask for control of their own sovereign nation or that we don’t give the neocons the 58 military bases they want.
And on top of all that, Bush just rescinded his dad’s moratorium on offshore drilling.
I can’t believe how badly Bush has treated this country, and the world, for that matter.
Interesting story, Sherry. I had not heard of this yet.
Ruth, isn’t it the truth? Most of us knew that this was never about anything but oil and military bases. But of course, they used the lie, and effectively sad to say.
Kurt, yep, he is beginning to make a good case fore being one of the more evil folks in history. Added to being nearly the dumbest, I think he’s on the road to a real record!
My thought exactly Ruth. I don’t see it as threatening but suggestive that indeed we are intuitively drawn to these things. And intuition is spirit to me. I’m having a laugh at Catholic Answers wherein a dude related about the latest archaeological finds and that they supported what many feminist biblical scholars had been saying, naming that women were vastly more powerful in the leadership than previously admitted. His question: How do we refute this? LOL Not is this true, anyone have any additional info on this? No. he wants it refuted because it messes with his perfect little fundamentalist world.
Jeannelle, Ditto for me to Jeannelle, I’m surprised that I haven’t read about this from some of my more religiously oriented sites. I’m really interested in what will come of it. Nothing is more intriguing to me than learning of this period in our faith history.
Oh, my gosh! Those photos are beautiful and awe-inspiring. I had never before heard of this place! Is it a closely guarded secret because of its fragility? I admire your turn of phrase “fill the soul and cause it to soar.” Indeed, indeed!
I’m now off to read your previous post. I was torn as to which to read first, but beauty *will* triumph over the beast.
He has no clue! Even if he *had* a clue, then what? Either no one tells him anything REAL, or he ignores it completely. Reminds me of the old saw : Q. “What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy?” A. “Don’t know; don’t care.”
You nailed it Pat. It really doesn’t matter at all. He’s determined to either be stupid or else just shill for the big oil, big business interests. Oh Lord we must elect Obama or we are going to get nothing more but the same. McCain is getting more senile by the minute. He can’t remember what he voted for, and he can’t explain his “programs”. This is political leadership? What has happened to us?
Aren’t they just something? They say no amateur photographer can be called a photographer until they have snapped here. I can believe it. I just think it gets lost in the Grand Canyon thing. People aren’t aware. But I think it shows up on travel guides and such. I’d love to see them. People show up for the lottery every day just to get the chance.
Sherry, thanks for your visit to my blog.
Arkansas is a great place to retire, with many areas of natural beauty, especially in the northern part of the state. There are a number of beautiful, unpolluted lakes in the state and there are abundant opportunities for fishing and hunting, if that’s your thing. There is still rural land available, if country living is what you’re looking for, or there are a number of ‘retirement communities’ in various parts of the state – each with its own particular beauty and amenities. Nice housing is still relatively affordable in the cities and towns and the cost of living, although increasing every day — as it is everywhere — is reasonable.
I could type pages about the Arkansas weather, but have searched out what I think is the most useful information, at the URL below.
http://www.arkansas.com/helpful-info/weather
I live in the central part of the state, with foothills just to the north and delta to the east and south. It can get really, really hot (and humid) here during the summer, but the winters are (generally) mild, with below freezing temperatures occurring infrequently. Folks around here start their cool weather gardens in February and March. We don’t get much snow here; our really inclement winter weather runs more to freezing rain.. a royal PITA to be sure.
You and The Contrarian need to come visit Arkansas before you decide where you’re going to retire. I lived in Des Moines for a very short time in 1962 when the snow along the major streets was piled up 6′ high. Not my kind of weather at all.
This is stunning.
I have never been interested in Utah until recently. I just finished writing a Utah state government handbook. How I wish it had been a geography book with color photos instead of a black and white government book, but alas, I must write the assignments I’m offered. It has made me want to visit though. Did you know that the federal government owns 67 percent of Utah. Mostly protected forests and wilderness areas.
Grrr, it ate my comment.
“How do we refute this?”
This sums it all up in a nutshell . . . or maybe I should say nutcase.
Yeah, that’s why all these smart business people have a backload of monster SUVs and Hummers no one wants to buy.
You know, the government is supposed to have very smart analysts who figure out some things. Let’s see. 1. Petroleum is a limited resource. 2. The bulk of the world’s supply is controlled by nations that don’t like us. 3. China, the world’s most populous nation is industrializing at a rapid rate and demanding more and more oil. 4. There ain’t gonna be enough to go around. 5. Maybe we should do something. 6. And what is that something? Wait for people to decide to buy smaller cars.
Good move, Bushwacker.
Thanks Pat! I really appreciate the information. Undoubtedly we will travel to check it out before hand. We are more concerned with snow and cold than heat. We get plenty here in Iowa and I’ve never lived anywhere where it wasn’t muggy, except Connecticut which didn’t seem as bad for some reason. thanks so much for sharing the information!
I sure didn’t know that Ruth. I knew most of Nevada was federally owned, but not Utah. That is interesting. I sure would love to see that park. How lucky you are to have work like that. I wouldn’t know where to begin to get a chance at that. I’d love that type of writing I think. I’m good at that. My desire would be to write fiction, but I’m just completely lost at how to start. I’ve never thought of a decent plot in my entire life. I guess it’s a gift some folks like you have!
Yeah Ruth, you would think they were all 10 year olds wouldn’t ya? I mean duh…But its come to my attention that guess what? I’m just a citizen, I have no influence and they don’t care what I think. They haven’t for at least a number of decades. When you even watch how FDR, whom I respect, had to “slowly walk the US into WWII” you realize that they mostly see us as infant children who must be cared for, because they simply know better. We get lip service and not much else from any of them to tell the truth. I demand a modicum of intelligence however in the folks who are going to be deciding for me.
LOL. yep Ruth, you got it. Doncha just hate when your comment is eaten? My are fairly frequently. Dial up is like that far worse than any I think. And my server was down all afternoon yesterday, so that sucked too.!
I keep waiting for McCain to lose control of that lovely temper of his. It would help Obama’s cause no end.
Sherry.. this has nothing to do with this post, but rather with Chihuly glass. I’ve just stumbled, as it were, across this photoblog with some magnificent photos of his work. Thought you might like to take a look.
http://www.photoarrow.com/big/10/10chihuly.html
Ruth, I have no doubt he will, he’s come close a number of times. He can’t help it, he only wants things reported his way. He is going to become infuriated once the 521’s start hitting his POW history. I’m learning that there might be a lot to question. Although I think it’s out of bounds period, he’s made a serious point of claiming that his POW status is important. So be it.
Patricia, indeed. Thanks so much. I’m totally in love with his stuff. I’d love t own a piece so I could enjoy it every day. I’m sure it’s well out of my range though. $15? LOL. Thanks girl.
Sherry, you cracked me up with this. Blog posts don’t need to express sense of common all the time.
I enjoyed the stream of consciousness.
The “Who Would Jesus Vote For?” post was interesting. I’m not sure I totally agree, but it was thought-provoking.
Using Jesus in the New Testament as a guide is rather specious because, you know, representative democracy wasn’t really an option for Palestine. Given that we do have some say in who rules over us, I think God is concerned with the priorities and values that our votes reveal. Like do I mostly care about keeping my big fat tax cut and getting a big fat stock dividend and driving my big fat SUV . . . or do I worry about how our systems affect the poor and uneducated. I know, I stacked the deck there but this is a comment, not a post, so I let myself be more biased.
More than entitled to Ruth. I just like to include points of view from people in other countries looking at us. I find it enlightening. I do think he has a point, to a point as one might say. I agree with you that our votes reflect on our priorities. Of course, Hubby who is a bit more libertarian than liberal, but moving a bit, tends to not paint the Repubs all black as i am wont to. Still I can’t get past the concept that being for big business and not supporting those who need help is basically and morally wrong. I have a book review coming us soon, that will address it more completely, but the trickle down theory is a big lie.
LOL well I didn’t set out to do that, but thats what happens when you give a platform to me and a keyboard. Anything at all can happen.
Please pass the open straightjacket!
Haha Pat. Now that’s something I can get behind!
Yes, you do smell a legacy. And maybe that’s why San Francisco is considering naming a sewerage plant after W. They smell it too.
ROFL….Great one Ruth. I loved that one! You are spot on as they say!
Thanks for adding me to your blog list. I don’t have time to visit right now, but just wanted to say “thank you.”
My husband and I have been writing state government handbooks lately, so I’ve been thinking about these things a lot too. Politics and media and repression and this unadmitted trend of moving toward secret oligarchy is all so enmeshed and complicated that it’s beyond me to know what to do about it. All I do know is that the first order of the day is to get rid of this administration. Then maybe we can start to reclaim our civil rights and stop acting like the rest of the world is our personal servant class.
Have you ever seen Ben Hur? It’s one of my husband’s favorite movies, so we watch it at least once a year. There is a scene where Ben Hur tells the Roman soldier who was once his childhood friend, “I tell you that Rome is an offense to God!”
Every time I hear that line, I think “And so is the U.S.” All these Christians who think God especially loves this country because we are a “Christian” nation have it backwards (or so I believe). I think God must be terribly grieved by our hypocrisy, ruthlessness, violence, waste, destructiveness, and greed.
Hi Jan, thanks for stopping by. I hope to see more of you in the future.
Ruth, I couldn’t agree more. In fact the fundie right actually thinks that most of what goes wrong in the US is God’s displeasure, not at all the things you mentioned, but because we are not the Christian Nation they invision God wants. So God is punching us literally with one terrible thing after another until we return to our Christian roots and get away from all this secularlism. That they totally distort our history to arrive at this faulty conclusion is something you just can’t get through to them.
They think God wants us to be even more violent in erradicating what they see as evil in the world. I too think that we have to start with getting rid of this nutty administration and then work to reclaim our rights and return some sort of morality to our actions in foreign policy. NO more ends justifying means.
Its ok to post a photo like this…….but, Sherry, you did not fail this woman. And, neither did I. Most likely it was her parents, who instilled in her—–at a very young age—–the idea that she was worthless, and didn’t deserve any better than to end up in an abusive situation. I’ve been involved for a lifetime with a person with such an attitude towards herself……..I have tried to help her……..to my own detriment. You did not fail this woman.
Fascinating! I can’t imagine firing a person!
Many belated congrats on passing the bar! And, now I’m anxious to read of your courtroom experiences!
Thanks Jeannelle. I suppose I understand that, but still, I as in we have failed, when we allow this, we don’t protect such women. but I know what you mean. We do our best, and sometimes its not good enough. Other forces have arrived before us, and done too much damage. I just feel bad, and have no outlet but to cry for her. Thanks for your kindness in saying what you did. You are to be commended for your efforts. I’m sure you did all that was possible.
LOl. well you’ll hear some of them I guess. Not 19 years of them though! HAHA. That would bore the tears from you.
One of my most frustrating experiences was when I was temporarily supervising a young woman whose boyfriend gave her a concussion.She finally became so stressed out one day that she poured it all out to me. I told her she could stay with me till she found a better living situation, but she didn’t take me up on it. I found out later that she had gone through the same conversation with numerous coworkers but wouldn’t act. When the strain got too much, she just vented but did nothing to change the situation. Eventually she did leave him, but the experience was eye opening to me. The woman really does have to want to save herself, and as Jeannelle said, so often they don’t believe they deserve it.
I thank God often that I have a gentle and supportive husband.
I much enjoyed reading this. Myzell must have thought very highly of you; well deserved, I’m sure.
I look forward to the next installment.
Well he did, Pat, but I thought just as highly of him. I was a competent lawyer, but never had any real dedication to it in the end. I found it once mastered to be boring. That seems a basic pattern of mine. I love to learn but lose interest in most things when I think I have the basic gist of things.
I iknow what you mean Ruth. I’ve had the same type of experiece myself. But i do see it as a failing of us, women and society at large that we have not managed to instill in children some basic sense of worth. When one is armed with self-esteem, one simply doesn’t allow this to be done to them. I know they can’t really help it. It’s like addiction, until you can see it, you can’t benefit from the help around you.
We are all so blessed in our partners aren’t we? I try to remember it every day.
Sherry, you’ve pretty well covered all the aspects of this issue that I’d want to address. I agree. This so goes along with a cartoon I posted on my blog, probably before you started looking at it. Go here.
Indeed Jan. You’ve hit it directly on the mark. I keep asking those opposed what they are protecting marriage from and I NEVER get an answer, just more scripture. Perhaps I need to look more closely at the Episcopal Church.
Your use of the term “schizophrenia” in this context is unhelpful. This serious, incurable disorder, which affects about 1% of the population, has many and varied symptoms but ‘two identities’ is not one of them. You do sufferers a great disservice by misrepresenting their symptoms.
A good place to find more information is http://www.schizophrenia.com/index.php
Your a bit over the top there John. Words can be used in many contexts and I have not in any way spoke in a way that is disrespectful to those who suffer from this medical disease. I think you are just a bit miffed that the tag didn’t turn out to refer to what you were searching for. I in no way referred to the medical disease nor represented any symptoms.
Having represented a fair number of people diagnosed with the disease, I have no particular need of your link. Your criticism is way out of line.
Sherry, I applaud your post and agree with it.
I also sent you a very, very long answer to your email. Sorry for the overload, but I had lots to say to cover all the things I thought you might be wondering.
Thanks for letting us peak into your life, this is a wonderful told experience. vicki
Thanks Ruth, Glad you enjoyed it. I periodically have to get rid of pent up frustration at all the idiocy of our obsession with sin and sex. I feel better already!
I guess it’s a bit narcissitic, but I am enjoying it. Of course I’m only hitting some things, not all. The truth is, there is an amazing amount I’ve forgotten. I wonder about that too! LOL
The neocons will find some sort of plausible deniabiility. They only hear what they want to hear.
Wheww my head is spinning, along with all of the political spin….
vicki
Ruth, undoubted true. The problem continues to be that the truth is out there, and the questions to McCain and Bush are obvious. Trouble is, they aren’t being asked by the lazy media.
Yes Vicki it is a joke isn’t it. But some of us are listening and recording and trying to state the truth as it’s uncovered. Hopefully, it will make a differnce come November. I hear the McCain people are already trying to decide if another trip for their boy will hurt them even more or somehow they can have some hope to salvage something. Too funny.
I just wish this election “season” would end. It goes on and on and on. Thanks for posting news, because I’m beginning to ignore it all.
Jan, there is no end, since America is in a state of permanent campaign. But I sure as heck hope Obama/Biden beats McCain/Romney in the November match-ups.
Jan, I grow tired of it too, so I know what you mean. I try to get out the news but sometimes I just get bored with the entire subject! LOL
Kurt, isn’t that the truth. I’m thoroughly appalled at the amount of money spent on this stuff. Surely we have better things to spend money on. I wish we were more like Britain in that regard.
Sherry, thank you for describing that profound experience of your youth. The connection you felt reminds me of what a scientist felt when she had a stroke, of all things. Have you ever heard of “My Stroke of Insight”? A neurologist had a stroke when she was 35. It took 8 years for her to recover. She experienced the connection of peace and unity when the chatter from her brain stopped with the bleeding in it. I interpreted her experiences as mystical and connected with the Divine Energy of all. Funny how that got me going off on that.
I liked your image of Carl Sagan enjoying himself as he traverses the universe.
No Jan, I’d never heard of it, but I do think that these types of experiences are glimpses for us. I have had brief and I mean seconds of pure wandering unbodied. There is nothing but wonder and inquisitiveness, no fear at all. I think that the supernatural sometimes bleeds into the physical universe unintended. Sometimes we are lucky enough I guess to capture a whiff of it for a few seconds or so.
This was beautiful, Sherry. Thanks for sharing.
I also get tired of all the indignation and posturing. I’m glad you’re taking some time away from that forum.
Sherry, I tagged you for a meme . . . if you’re willing to play. See my blog.
Thanks Ruth, I am well rid of it for a time at least. I am rejuvenated already!
Ye gods and little fishes! The Family is one scary bunch of folks! Thanks for the review, Sherry.
Too true Pat, I had never heard of ‘em I can tell you, and I thought I knew more than the average bear about fundamentalism too!
You thought of such interesting seven facts to share! For someone I admire (you) to like Martha Stewart surprises me, but I liked your attitudes about organization. Pierced nipples sound painful to me, but maybe I’m just too old to consider just a thought.
Guess I’ll have to read it, though it is probably depressingly true like “The Shock Doctrine.” I do appreciate you reviewing it so thoroughly.
Yes Jan, sad to say it is depressing. More so that I thought when I started it. I really thought it was another amusing look at the wacky world of fundamentalism. Sad to say, these folks are quite evil in my opinion and have done a lot of damage to this country, most of it unbeknownst to most Americans.
LOL. Jan. I know Martha has her flaws, boy does she, but then so do I. I do love her attention to detail and would love to be that perfectly organized person, with drawers in every room perfectly organized, always able to find everything, never missing an ingredient for a recipe, you know, that kind of thing.
The piercing was surprisingly not painful much at all. It’s done very quickly and I had no trouble with infection, but then I was scrupulous about disinfecting and all that stuff until they healed.
This was fascinating. I really loved the preteen episodes of naughtiness.
I never knew either of my grandfathers. My mom’s dad died when she was 17, and my dad’s dad died on my parents’ wedding day.
I think one of the most shocking things is . . . that it doesn’t really shock me. It explains so much.
I’ll put the book on my list.
Hi, Sherry,
Thanks for the tag…….it may take me a few days, and I know my info will NOT top yours!! You joined a convent AND you have pierced nipples! I’m in a state of awe. Wow, I’m very glad you survived that marathon drive to see your old boyfriend….my goodness. As for your taking the photo…..good for you……I’d probably have done the same thing…….sometimes in family situations you have to do things like that. I’m not surprised you admire Martha Stewart…….I’ve always thought your blog is very organized and simply packed with fascinating info!! I’m humbled that you visit mine…….thank you always for your comments!
Sherry, you were almost a nun? And you have pierced nipples? Ouch!
Ouch!!!
It’s amazing the things one finds out about people, reading their blogs. There are so many interesting people out there in the blogosphere. My goodness!
I have a new blog. Here is the link to it: http://majorityoftwo.blogspot.com/
I have been scrambling around trying to get my blogroll back together, and I found you again on Russell’s blog.
Cheers,
Josie
Thanks for the tag!
A pierced nipple nun with preteen issues! Love it!
I am on vacation – but this stop was worth it. Gotta do mine as well I guess. But my stories won’t be half as interesting as yours!
AA
So is The Family part of, or another organization similar to, the Skull & Bones club? Or what about the Scottish Freemasons? Didn’t they actually build the White House? There are a lot of secret societies involved with our government – obviously is it not the people’s government.
I don’t think they have any basic association with either of these you mention. I don’t think Bush is even a member of the Family so far as I know. I’m not I’m afraid a general conspiracy thinker by and large, but I do see various groups vying for control. It’s not so much a decision to form a group something as like minded folks just naturally gravitating to each other I think.
Thank you Ruth. For some reason, I started with the notion that the seven things should be wicked things or things one wouldn’t ordinarily tell about themselves. I don’t know why. LOL. But I’m glad they were interesting to some of you. I should be more circumspect no doubt.
Jeannelle, I love your blog and always have from the first stop. You cover a wide range of interesting topics, and I truely love the horticultural posts that give me the names of so many native flowers I never knew the names of. I walk with a bit of more purpose now. Your photos are excellent and your humor is getting funnier every time. I love the animals talking for you.
Angry African: Well, when you put it that way, I sound pretty darn weird I guess. I’m basically fairly normal I think, but then I’m the one thinking it, so what does that say! Hope your holiday is grand and I look forward to more good stuff from you. Loved the next weeks news. We should be so lucky that it happens!
Jo, I’ll scoot on over. I thought you had gone. I left a comment with Russell, yesterday when I saw your blog was deleted. I haven’t been able to pull up a feed for about a week. Glad to see everything is okay.
I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw McCain on the stair-climber!
You know, I’m almost starting to feel sorry for McGrumpy!
Yes Kurt, I am too. I mean he’s just looking so forlorn and lost these days. He kind of pouts when he speaks now, apologetic, like it’s “I hate to speak badly of the kid but”…and then it comes out lame. Sad to say, his senility it beginning to show rather badly.
It’s going to be so interesting to see how this plays out.
Glad to hear you’re visiting Christ Episcopal. I liked their web site better too. Let me know how it goes.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I’m glad to hear your visiting Christ Episcopal. Let me know how it goes.
ES Curtis’s works are represented well in ‘The Indian Picture Opera’(Amazon,dvd). It’s a re-creation of his 1911 lecture and slide show.
His work reverberates on through history because he knew how to capture character and soul on camera.
Curtis has turned into a subject of controversy because of the tug of war between documentary and art. Many people try to hold him accountable for 50 years before, and 100 years after his images were taken.
The images speak for themselves.
I haven’t been paying much attention to news, so I appreciate this.
Sherry,
I do not understand your point that the Catholic belief of periodic abstinece is “arguably immoral from a health standpoint”. While periodic abstinece may be incovenient for a couple, are there studies showing it to actually cause health problems?
Jay, thank you so much for the link. I love Curtis’s work. It is compelling and extraordinary. I feel that I could sit down and talk to his subjects. You can see them as people just like any other. They are simply haunting to me.
You have misread Ben. I didn’t state that abstinence was immoral from a health point. I was arguing that the admontion against using contraception of any kind is in some sense immoral from a health point. Everyone is well aware that condoms help to prevent the transmission of STDS and HIV viruses. That is what I was alluding to. Perhaps my wording made it some how unclear, but that was my intent.
Demanding that sex is sinful unless within the confines of a particular Catholic version of santified marriage is something that is followed by a very small percentage of people on the globe. So to argue that contraception is doubly wrong, both for Catholic married couples and for otherwise married couples and for singles chosing to engage in sexual relations does help to promote a culture of medically dangerous behavior.
Ruth: Yep, I’m quite excited. I really had no idea how closely the Episcopal Church was in “format” to Catholic mass. I expect to find a home actually. I tend to know when I’ve found the right place. I shop Churches, and always have. You pretty much know when you have a fit. Course, I haven’t been there yet! I admit I’m swayed by appearances. I like the old stone churches, and so Christ Episcopal isn’t as appealing in that way, being more modern in design, still it has some nice looking stained glass, and I LOVE stained glass! I guess I sound superficial, but I simply find certain exterior things conducive to me for spiritual soaring as it were.
Jan, Glad to here you find it helpful. I know not everyone is into politics as Parker and I are, so that is really my purpose, to let folks know some of the things I discover that the press seems to “miss.” You give me reason to continue! LOL.
Hey Sherry,
Wow. Seven things. Thanks, but that was tough! (BTW, I wanted to get my nips punched just as soon as Matthew McConaughey did, because we have identical– *I mean identical*– torsos. . . ( http://preview.tinyurl.com/my-torso ) but it turns out he’s a big chickenshit who would NEVER do it. Just sad.
And seven blogs. That was tough, too. . . I have blog-reading deficit fur shur; I better get after it. Thanks again for the excursion!
He he, Saitia, meme’s are mixed blessings! But the part about McConaughey, well, oh lordy, next to Depp, he might be my favorite. Hubby is a Halle fan. He says he always fantasizes she’ll be broke down in her car on his way to Troy. LOL.
Interesting and eclectic post today, Sherry; lots of meat. Being an Anglican (Episcopalian version), I read with interest Sr. Joan’s article, and perused the site for Cornmeal Biscuits (I’ll have to try that one to go with my soup). I enjoyed the article at rogueclassicism.
Lovely potpourri today! Thanks.
I too love the vastness of the prairies and consider myself a prairie girl, but my heart is drawn to the ocean. I wonder sometimes if it is an ancestral memory from my Swedish side–or maybe the English. They were seafarers too.
I hope you get to see a vast panorama of both oceans someday. In my experience, the Atlantic and the Pacific feel very different. But that may just be the associations I bring to them.
Thanks Pat, I do enjoy doing it. This way works ever so much better for me. I can still do a bit of it, yet I’m not spending a whole working day trying to hit every site every day. I’m glad when somebody finds a thing or two they enjoy.
Ruth, I do think there is something to our ancestral brains that we but faintly perceive. I’m mostly English and central European but certainly not seafaring as far as I know. LOL. I doubt I’ll make it to the Pacific, since we don’t intend to move that way, and with the pets, travel is nearly impossible. I certainly imagine that one could ‘feel’ different than the other however.
I’ll never get back to working on my paper! (Who cares??) Thanks for all the links. It was fun to do the Greek goddess thing–I’m Athena, too. Now off to check out all the good reads!
Hehe Jan, weird. I’m interested in your paper! I so loved theology and biblical studies. I miss it but find it quite hard unguided on my own. Moltmann just stopped me dead. I was unable to grasp but a tiny idea of what he was saying. sigh…
I am impressed with your collection, links, and sources. Thanks.
Sherry,
Good post! I’m glad to hear, too, that you’ve turned away from that forum for awhile, maybe for good. I used to try to argue on an orthodox Lutheran web forum, and I came to see that it was just plain stressful for me, and they are never going to see things differently, and well, neither am I. So we might as well stay out of each others’ way.
What a neat experience you had! I would say when I had my breakdown that my ego just melted away for a time…….I felt completely flattened, and simply one with all the other patients in the psych unit. Then the ego had to get pumped back up so I could exist in my “normal” world again.
Also, I just looked at your “Family Pictures” page. Maybe I’ve said this before…….your Calvin looks just like our cat named Cal. Uncanny!!
Oh, and I wanted to say something else……in connection with your post and the Carl Sagan quotes: One reason I like SkyWatch Friday is because it helps me see that we humans all over the earth share the SAME sky!!! All of us!
Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Walk beside me and just be my friend.AlbertCamusAlbert Camus
Thanks Jan, just doing my part to hopefully keep the record straight on what is going on.
Barack, LOL. well that gave me quite a start. I was at least hoping it was from his campaign people. I’ll run you down and find out who you are in reality, but the sentiment was nice.
Jeannelle, Thanks for sharing about your experience. I am sure that we each face issues during our lives that totally re-organize our egos for us. I suspect in the end its a very good thing. Our realization that we are just little cogs in a big mega machine called a universe is unsettling in some ways and most comforting in others.
I’m becoming a big fan of Sky watch and want to contribute my own pics. It’s fun.
[...] miss the fabric decoupage tutorial, and women’s history and Civil war entries. Just a lovely pothttp://afeatheradrift.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/227/Beanie in a hurryBeanie in a hurry This beanie took no time at all to make. Big hook, big yarn, [...]
By the time you swear you’re his, / Shivering and sighing, / And he vows his passion is / Infinite, undying – / Lady, make a note of this: / One of you is lying.DorothyParkerDorothy Parker, 1893-1967, US writer
May God bless you, Sherry. Thank you for sharing your experience today. I will keep you in my prayers as you continue your spiritual journey.
Well I’m a big fan of Dorothy Parker too! You’re two for two, but I am wondering what is the point you are attempting to make. Thanks for the comment none the less.
Thank you Pat, I’m very happy, more so than I have been in a long time. Catholicism was wearing me down, even though my experiences in individual churches certainly was not. But I was living untruthfully, not accepting the clear teaching of the Church. I’ve come to see it as sad. Catholics will in the end be a small, pure, hard-hearted but superior feeling sect I fear.
Sherry, I’m glad it was a good experience. Episcopal Churches differ and some are more “high” or “low.” The priests sounded welcoming; I’m glad.
It is hard to leave a church, especially one you have grown up in. My prayers are with you.
If you go to the labels on my blog, and hit “faith story,” you’ll eventually find out how I joined the Episcopal Church in my youth but only recently returned to it. In fact, I had a long, wrenching time of leaving the Methodist Church, which was my home and spiritual re-birthing place for over a decade. I’m glad I am again a member of the Episcopal Church. The Eucharist and liturgy speak to my heart and soul.
Hi Sherry. I’m glad it was a good experience for you. How did you feel about having a woman priest? Isn’t it a mind-blowing experience the first time? (Oh, and by the way, we call our female priest “Reverend Kate.” She doesn’t let us call her Mother either, not that I’d feel comfortable doing that.)
Here is a link that might be helpful with the view of the Eucharist: Real Presence
Also, here’s something my priest taught me. The bishops of the Episcopal Church are part of the Apostolic succession of the universal Catholic church. As I understand it (I’m doing this from memory), the bishops of the Church of England aren’t in the Apostolic succession because of the break with Rome under Henry VIII. But when the Episcopal Church was established in the United States (because of the American Revolution), they could not go to England to get their American bishops ordained. So they went to the Church of Scotland, and apparently Scotland’s bishops can trace their succession straight back with no break. So if you care about the apostolic authority in terms of consecrating Eucharist, the Episcopal Church of the United States does have it, whether Rome currently admits that or not.
Thanks for sharing that, I am a long time lost Catholic. We have “shopped” around and never found that “feeling” that you refer to. But, yes, you are right, that is what we were shopping around for. I am currently on the fence about going back. But your long terms views are the same as mine. That keeps me spending my sundays feeling the Grace of God in the woods, or in my backyarn spinning right now.
Vicki
Hi, Sherry,
Its fascinating to read of this journey you are undertaking, and of your experience today at the Episcopal church. You tell your story very honestly and openly.
Here’s the risk any blogger takes in having a blog……..someone might come along and bestow you with an award! And someone has! Please visit my blog to pick up your award if you wish to!
Keep up the great blogging!
Adam did not want the apple for the apple’s sake; he wanted it because it was forbidden.MarkTwainMark Twain
Jan, I surely will read your story Jan. I find everyone’s story enlightening and comforting. We are all struggling to find our place. Everyone’s journey is different as it should be no doubt. We are all specially and wonderfully made with God as our guide. I am always convinced that when I do this new path, I am pushed by God. I’m such an intensely lazy person that there can be no other reason I do it. I am grateful for all the insights others give me. I think Christ Church is ‘high” the Rite I service was thees and thou’s and holy ghosting. Rev. Bill said he preferred the 10:30 service. I shall see next week.
Ruth, to tell you the truth, it seemed so completely normal to me that I was shocked a bit. It seemed perfectly right. I don’t worry about apostolic succession. To tell the truth, Roman Catholics are on thin ground themselves. There was no unbroken line of popes, much as they try to insist otherwise. The various city churches didn’t amalgamate under ‘Rome for centuries actually. Who knows how priests and other bishops got their authority in those days. Saying that I deeply appreciate what you have related. I am waiting rather impatiently for the book I ordered, and am sure that I will be borrowing a number of books from Rev Bill and Barbara. I have hopes they have a library! I have a thirst to know and it seldom stays quenched for long! lol.
Vicki, Oh I hope you find your home. I know I basically ignored the entire thing for about 8 years this last go around. I didn’t like the Catholic churches close to home, and was too lazy to go to Cedar Rapids, though I had one in mind there. It was badly flooded and won’t be open for some time now. I suspect God allowed my laziness so that I would be ripe for change with it came. I do tend to know where I feel home. Oddly my last home was a Hispanic Catholic Church. LOL. So you can see it is a spirit thing, and has a mind of its own. My best wishes and prayers that you find your place. I used to read the daily mass readings, meditate and talk to God a lot. Sometimes that is enough. For me it was, for a while. Now I yearn for community again.
Jeannelle, Oh dear, what have I done now? LOL. I shall visit a bit later. I thank you in advance. You are always so kind. Your quiet and lovely faith in the Lutheran church has always impressed me, and no doubt played a part in my return to actual church going rather than talking about faith all the time. Thanks Jeannelle.
afeatheradrift –
your blog is beautiful –i’m coming back!
but, now, this is totally off topic but in relation to what you posted at leave it lay.
I saw earlier that you were thinking of or preparing to join the Anglican tugboat. and now you are worried.
if you would like to talk in earnest about the situation and all that is being discerned –please write me megsbed@gmail.com
my thoughts are –we are not a church driven by bishops. our bishops cannot decide anything and then tell us all to get in line–the whole church must meet, and that includes parish priest types and laity. the episcopal church meets every three years–general convention. even general convention resolutions are merely the mind of the communion–each and every bishop can decide what is appropriate in their diocese through and with their local conventions of lay and clergy delegates. and our bishops are elected–not appointed.
the lambeth meeting of bishops is purely relational and happens only once every ten years. it is not, nor has it ever been a legislative body. our churches (read diocese and then province) are entirely autonomous.
Things to consider –what diocese are you in? have you talked to your clergy about your concerns?
–do write me. let’s talk
many blessings,
margaret
Hi Sherry,
Leave it to you to come up with twenty-two paragraphs when you fell like you’re coming up dry.
Reading them took me back to my own departure from the RCC, which was replaced by an uniformed agnosticism, not another church. And by the time I had returned from Vietnam alive, I was looking hard into atheism.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and wish you well in your new faith exploration with the Episcopals. . . And in the next breath conjecture that it will eventually fall by the wayside just like the Catholics. Outside of the satisfactions of group worship, evolutionary religions have little to offer faith adventurers like myself; and unless I miss my guess, like you.
If and when you finish your first trek through The Urantia Book, you will in all likelihood find yourself far beyond the intellectual and spiritual reach of the doctrinaire orthodoxies of the religions of men. At first, it’s a little like walking out on a plank extending from the top of the world’s tallest building; at once both terrifying and inexpressively beautiful; the vision you had prayed for commingled with the fear of the greatest unknown.
But no; there’s nothing incompatible in the book with congregational worship; in fact, the entire populace of Paradise gathers periodically to worship together, and that is described as the highest joy of Paradise existence, even though our “mode” of worship on Paradise is beyond mortal comprehension. (Paper 27, Section 7, Conductors of Worship)
You’re right, the entire world is our classroom, but the kingdom of God is within you; and it is there you will find the most satisfying forms of worship, on this world and the worlds to come.
Sherry, I feel like a flittery-gibbet because you write on such profound topics, and I just wrote about my greed for more books! What a heartbreakingly beautiful photograph. Thank you for reminding me of whom the photographer is and the picture that is indelibly marked in my mind.
That is such a beautiful photo and makes your point so well.
But I’m so glad that you didn’t just point the finger at “them” and not talk about “us” / the U.S. Thank you for that.
Have you seen the latest story that a recent study shows that the press is biased against Obama? Exactly what you’re saying here.
As always, very thought provoking. I worked with a man from India who visited with me quite a bit about the caste system. It was all very interesting and, well, disturbing…
I really enjoyed your post about going to church last Sunday. I am not even a back pew Catholic. I am completely fallen. Suffice it to say the church had nothing for me during my divorce. Prior to that I found serious disagreement with many issues – most of which you set out. I felt quite uncomfortable with it all. And, to top matters, the only time I ever seemed to hear from the church was when it was solicting money…!
I am not saying I will go to church next Sunday, but you certainly got my brain thinking… I had pretty much written off the whole religion business but perhaps there is something out there after all.
I really enjoy your reflections about your legal experience!! I can really, really relate to each and every one!!!
Take care and know I enjoy your writing very, very much.
Margaret! Welcome. I shall surely contact you. I’ve just had my first experience in an Episcopal church and it was very positive. I’m not sure what my diocese is here, Des Moines I believe. I am saddened by what is happening over the homosexuality and women priest issue, but surely not dissuaded, since I have been told that there is more independence in the Church as opposed to the Catholic where dissent is just that, dissent. Different parishes handle it differently, but of course, your priest can be changed on a moments notice and suddenly you find yourself in hostile territory. I will email you though soon. I have a bit of a full plate today!
Jan. Nonsense, I grouse about not having enough money for books all the time. I get some, but most are political, for review for free, but the religious ones are a bit harder to come by. I used to get a lot of Catholic ones for review, but I don’t know how many I can find in the Episcopal vein. LOL.
I tend to just roam through online art galleries until something grabs me. This one did, just it’s incongruous title to the picture, then a quick google to find out more about untouchables. I’m glad things are improving for them, but obviously like here, much remains to be done.
Ruth, that is one thing I really am against, the quick condemnation. There is a reason why much of the world hates America. It’s best we start addressing that issue as I see it. I am always amazed at how talented people are, and how much they touch me with their art.
Russell! Nice to see you again. Ruth had a huge impact on me when she related about how a change in priests at her parish sent her packing. I realized for the first time, that I was being quite hypocritical in being a “dissenter” in a church whose stated doctrine was against what I believed in my heart. I think I am going to be quite at home in Anglican land. In fact, there is little to tell it apart from Catholicism in ritual, and frankly that was most important to me. The rest of the differences are mostly Catholic hyperbole and chest beating. LOL.
How’s the corn coming? We are distressed at so little silk shooting. Our garden is just about a total bust, but for a very few things. sigh..
Yes, Ruth, it’s all too true, and I’m getting very angry at it being reported the opposite way. Truth is McCain is getting a pass, his gaffes are being cleaned up, and they bend over backwards to attack Obama to appear fair. Such has been the success of Republican carping.
Terry, go ahead, make fun of my verbosity! HA. I know what you mean. I truly do. But I have missed congregational gathering for some time. And I miss it sorely indeed. I was so happy Sunday to return to that. I have searched in Religious Science (Science of Mind and Course in Miracles). Both are pretty singular in their pursuit, and I just felt lonely, I guess. But I truly take your words to heart as well. I do think that on an intellectual level Urantia appeals to my sense of order and logic. I’m not quite sure it’s in agreement with what I believe scientifically or not. I’ve heard tell, that there is some dispute with some of its claims in that manner. I am not well enough versed in science to know for sure. But I am thoroughly enjoying it nonetheless. I rather thought tht the typical “heaven” invisioned in orthodox Christianity sounded rather boring to say the least. What does one talk about for eternity wandering around in that garden? LOL. I suspect we have great work to do, and this is but grade school.
The sanitizing is one reason why young men continue to think that war will be a big adventure in which to prove their manhood.
Sherry, what I find almost as disturbing as the whitewashing of the effects of war is the sudden plethora of video games glorifying war. Our young people are being programmed. Somehow, I don’t think this is a coincidence.
Thanks to courageous photographers and reporters — and bloggers– (relatively few though they may be) it is impossible for any administration to completely sanitize war, and the effects of war. You cannot long hide the stench of death, and the grief and agony of those who survive. My daily prayer is not only for the members of our armed services but for *all* those in harm’s way, which definitely includes those on the “other side.”
Probably 20 years ago, I read Phillip Knightley’s book “The First Casualty,” the title of which was taken from a statement by U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson (1917) –”The first casualty when war comes, is truth.” The book covers the role of war correspondents, from the time of the Crimean War, as reporters and myth-makers, with a lot of emphasis on the myth-making.
I just checked with Amazon, and Knightley’s book is in its 3rd edition (updated Sept. 2004). I would like to hope that he will continue updates to cover the conflicts since that time.
Ruth, I agree. I am sickened by the new video games that make war a game. It makes me want to cry in anger and shame. They teach nothing of worth, and are exactly the kinds of things our kids should not be seeing as games. It is one of those things that seem unavoidable in a free society but I wonder where are parents? Where is self-respect in the hearts of those who develop and market such horrors?
Pat thanks for such an insightful comment. I have not read Knightley’s book but I seems I should. Normal Mailer’s “the Naked and the Dead” did it for me. Never after reading it did I see anything glorious about war. As Parker, who considers himself a pacifist now, reminds me, the military is essential to us, much as we may regret that. I do, and I certainly counsel no person to join it, much as Parker is undoubtedly right. The only way to stop war is to stop waging it. There is always and will always be a good reason found, until we accept the premise that there are no good reasons.
very powerful article. i cant even comment effectively at the moment cause it has my mind thinking and i dont wanna have my conservative bias make me say something stupid. very good article.
god rest the souls of the fallen.
those who support the war like myself do feel personal responsibility for each fallen serviceman/woman we just believe we are saving future generations by securing the most violent region in the world minus maybe african states.
AmericaLives.wordpress.com
Stefan and others have done an exhibition here, check it out:
http://www.battlespaceonline.org/
America Lives. I thank you for your comment. I realize that good people disagree on this issue of the war. I personally don’t agree that we have done the Iraqis any service at all. If so, it was done at great expense to them and this is due almost exclusively to the utter bungling of the entire invasion and occupation. I look forward to civil discourse with you in the future. I shall drop by your site, if you have one.
Thank you Faizel. I shall. And thanks for stopping by.
Congratulations. And I was seriously planning to give my award on to Jan, so you did to me what Jeannelle did to you! LOL. I’m not complaining really. I just think it’s funny.
Thank you, Sherry and Ruth!! I don’t know who to give this to now, since you both have (and will) pick blogs I love. Will be pondering today. Congratulations also to you both, and thank you for honoring me.
Why thanks! Appreciate those kind words.
Hehe, A mutual love fest. We really got to stop this and get back to business! It’s very hard work this award stuff! It took me about 10 tries before I figured out how to include it on my sidebar. I must have spent a good hour on that alone. anyhoo, enjoy enjoy. I’m finally back to work! But I truely do find some wonderful blogs this way. I’m so in debt to everyone who has won, since I check out your choices and add more blogs to visit every day. Anybody got a spare 24 hours?
Yes, this award business can be quite involving……you have another award waiting for you here:
http://midlifebyfarmlight.blogspot.com/2008/07/awesome-thinking-awards.html
This “thinking blogger” award really fits you to a T, Sherry!! Keep up the great blogging!
Oh lordy, lol. Jeannelle, you are a scamp!
I’ll be by.
I like the new look for your blog.
Erm…uh… I should have asked you before I did it, but…. um…
is it ok to include a link to the blog in my CAF signature?
Astonishing but, I guess, not surprising. The sad thing is that many will believe.
I agree with Ruth.
Well, you know the old saying. If you lie to people long enough, eventually they may believe it….
Congratulations on your blog award!!! Well deserved!!! I am applauding!!!
Take care.
You sure can Dale. I’ve had some traffic from there recently. I bet, if I go back I’ll be really reamed since it seems rather certain I’m defecting to the Anglican Church quite soon. LOL. Feel free to carry my link there of course. I find a few rather intelligent people there at CAF. I probably will return in a couple of weeks after I’ve renewed myself among the sane!
Yes Ruth, Jan and Russell. That is entirely the problem. Rove was brilliant in that, realizing that the lowest common denominator is that most people will accept anything as true if it’s said often enough. I guess that’s why I keep doing this. But I also admit, that people tend to read what they already agree with. But if one person a day changes their mind, hey, that’s a lot of folks in a year!
He’s really getting desperate, isn’t he?
Google alert brought me your post about Hubler/King. If you are in the Fifth District and would like to support Hubler through writing about this race, I would be glad to add you to the internet campaign email list. I am sending out regular notices to people about on line opportunities to comment, etc. You have my email address.
OFF TOPIC ENTIRELY –
7:30 p.m. GMT is 1:30 p.m. Central DST. However, you have all day Friday to get your post up. You just get more traffic if you post earlier. I usually have my post already on my blog by noon on Thursday. When 1:30 rolls around, I pop over to http://skyley.blogspot.com, go to the bottom of the list (wherever that may be) and enter my information. Please do join; it’s so much fun!
P.S. I like your new blog format, but miss the feather in the header. I thought it was such a beautiful picture.
I love the family pictures! I am fond of dogs, and have had several (none at present), but I love cats. I am owned by three felines, but if I had room (and finances) I would house a dozen, at least. All my babies are indoor creatures, though; I lost my sweetest kitty to poisoning a few years ago, and reacted by restricting the movements of the others. I just couldn’t bear to lose another one.
Your new blog appearance (including the header) is growing on me. The main thing, of course, is what you write, and that I appreciate, whatever the format.
Yes Ruth, he’s using nothing but Rove and his cohorts now as his leads in how to run his campaign. Truth is, they have told him this is his only hope, try to destroy Obama. He has no issues.
Thanks Pat, I’m such a dolt about these things. I’ll try to get one up next Thursday for sure. And. lol, there was no feather in the header, just a pic of M100 galaxy. At least I think that was the galaxy in question. I thought this one fit a bit better with the sub heading of the blog, and I couldn’t find a color that the sub head would show up right on either on the other. LOL. I just love to redecorate. I’ll probably change again in a few months.
Thank you for the award! I promise I will anoint seven worthies this weekend! If I don’t have the time, I will make the time.
Thanks so much for this link. I still don’t know how you manage to get through so much stuff – and make sense of it. Thanks for doing it. Your Friday makes it a perfect stop before I hit off for the weekend. I hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks African! I enjoy your blog so very much. Especially the fun next weeks news. It’s always a hoot! Enjoy the weekend yourself!
Blue Girl, I surely know the dilemma. It takes a fair amount of time to bestow them on others. LOL
Thank you Pat. I am having a ball with this blog, especially now that I figured out how to upload my own pics. I do know what you mean about losing animals. We let all ours roam, and to be sure, we have worried a good many times about cats who didn’t come through at least once in 24 hours. Mostly they do though, finding it more comfortable here and a ready meal any hour.
Yes, Sherry, you definitely deserve this award!! I will look forward to visiting Margaret’s blog.
I like your Wildflowers page! The flower ID’s look to be correct! I looked in my book…..Pale Spiked Lobelia is “lobelia spicata”, and the Evening Primrose is “oenothera biennis”. I’ve been having a ball this summer watching all the different wildflower blooms appear!
Today’s weather is much more pleasant. Yes, sometimes, riding in an air-conditioned vehicle is just the best relief there is!
Wow, glad I got the names right. What book do you use? Oh, duh, I’ll bring it up on your blog. I don’t usually go back to check on my comments and assume you don’t either. But anyhow, I hope you like Margaret’s blog! Thanks again for the award.
Good choice, both times! (You and Margaret)
Sherry:
Thanks for the kudos and the link.
Re linking to individual urantiansojourn posts, I’ve noticed that WordPress adds a “/” to the permalink when you click on the title. Try eliminating that / and see what happens.
Regards…
Propagandee
You are a deserving recipient of this award, without doubt, and you have made an excellent choice in the person to whom you passed it on.
Thanks Ruth, Margaret’s writing is just super I think, but then so is yours. I never miss a post of many folks, they are all so good.
Pat, thanks. I thought Margaret was a good choice. But as I said to Ruth, there are many I could have chosen from.
A good post to think about on this sunday!
Thanks
Vicki
This is a good post.
I think one of the hardest things about modern life is that there are so many issues to wrestle with. We grow tired and give up. It’s hard not to. But you’re right. We must try.
First-time visitor.
We all hear things differently, I suppose, but my take on saying “Detroit” the French way would be “Daytrwa” — I think English-only speakers find the “trw” construct a little odd and a little difficult to say because it doesn’t occur in English. Neither, by the way, does “eu” the way the French say it; you don’t say “bloo” and you don’t say “bluh”; you form your lips as if you were goin to say the “oo” in “moon” and then you try to say “mean” instead. That’s how to pronounce what “bleu” cheese really is.
Love your blog, by the way.
I hear what you’re saying. I agree in part and I disagree in part. It’s Sunday. (Actually, it’s Monday — close enough.) I don’t feel like arguing. But two things I heard just today prompted me to comment:
1. The first sentence of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Life is this: It’s not about you.
2. Beth Moore says in her study on the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5), that the Hebrew word translated “gentleness” means “to stop fighting with God.”
So you can go on wrestling with God if you want to, but you’ll miss out on one of the fruit of the Spirit. On the other hand, if you stop wrestling, you might miss a blessing like the one Jacob received.
Maybe I have misunderstood what you mean by “wrestling.”
Great post, by the way.
I’m no expert on French.I told part of a semester in college. I give anyone the edge in pronunciation over me. I was aware of bluh for bleu. Thanks Bob, and hope you enjoy the site. I’ll back track and check if you have one you can be sure.
Thanks Vicki, nice to see you stop by. It’s my job, I have to suffer with thinking to I figure others should too.LOL.
Ruth, yes I agree, that is the rub. There is so much we are engaged in every day that it’s hard to really stop and think about whether this is really ethical or fair or doing harm to others in ways we are just conveniently ignoring. None of us can probably do it consistently, but if we do it just once or twice a day, we are doing better than most and can make a real difference I believe.
Bob, interesting insights. I think what I was meaning is that it’s never fun to bring God into the equation. It’s just easier to do was we are inclined, what is convenient in the moment for us. In our hectic lives, time saved is well, time saved. So we ignore God a lot, though I suspect we often have the nagging feeling that if we thought about this or that thing seriously, we might have to change our way of doing something, and that change might be inconvenient in some fashion. So we often pretend not think about it. We miss a big opportunity to join with God in those moments. I didn’t mean actually arguing and being upset with God so much.
I shall not rest until I discover whether there are taste buds in one’s lips! Whatever else you may say about The Contrarian, he does pose some interesting questions. Maybe it’s just his timing that’s off.
I am sorry you are HOT. I cannot imagine living without air conditioning, although I did so for at least the first 30 years of my existence. It’s 100 degrees in the shade here today and I’m giving my ice-maker a workout.
We have Bibles (RSV) in every pew pocket in our Episcopal church. Should The Contrarian ever visit our congregation, he would have something to read during the sermon, and we wouldn’t mind if he chortled from time to time.
Wishing you some cooling breezes.
You can tell The Contrarian — Yes. We also have a few taste buds on the lips (especially salt-sensitive ones), AND a few on the inside of the cheeks, the underside of the tongue, the roof of the mouth, and the back of the throat.
I suggest you poke him in the ribs just as he is drifting off to sleep and deliver this fascinating information.
Good grief Ruth, I burst out laughing. I shall I shall! too funny girl!
Sherry, I am glad to learn how PUMA was formed. Makes sense. Thanks for posting this. I also appreciate your comments over at my blog for my neophyte political posting!
This was so refreshing and funny to read. Thanks, Sherry. Hope your grumpiness is lessening, though it is hard when it is so hot.
The Contrarian sounds like he lives up to his name rather well.
I do agree with you about the ads. We watch a lot of football, and I can sum up the ads they show during games in two sentences. Women use sex to get beer. Men use beer to get sex. (Or is it the other way around?)
It’s just spiteful to decide for a Hillary supporter to decide to vote for McCain rather than Obama.
LOL…!
I have often wondered what those two people were doing in those bathtubs out in the middle of a field. And is it part of the foreplay? Or is it afterwards? And shouldn’t they both be in one tub – either way? It makes no sense at all.
Oh, you’re so right…..it is HOT! And, I am just about going insane with it. Glad to hear I’m not the only one without air conditioning in the house.
It was a surprise for me too Jan, but I guess one’s shouldn’t be. Such is the slimy method of politics these days. I thought you did a wonderful job on your post Jan. You’re an excellent writer!
I agree Ruth. I can’t think there will be but a very few who would do such a thing. It is spite after all. It has no logic to it surely.
Jan, it’s much better today! the temps are down, and so is the humidity. It makes me ever so much more cheerful!
Yes Ruth, he does, but I love him anyway. I periodically get a rant about commercials. I find them so incredibly stupid, and usually they cause me to not want the product. If they hire that kind of nonsense as an agency, their management, thus their product must be questionable as well.
Jo, I scratch my head at so many commercials it is mindboggling. I suspect Madison Avenue is from another galaxy, just dropped down in Manhattan. The tub thing is totally baffling to me.
I can’t imagine Jeannelle the misery of working with hot animals in a barn on a day like yesterday! But I hope it’s better today, as it is here.
In some ways I could be “classified” with you, Contrarian. I like the community and liturgy of my particular Episcopal Church and am moved by the Mystery sometimes symbolized. I also believe that dogma is made by humanity to try to understand the Holy. However, sometimes the symbolic actions and worship bring about a feeling of Presence for me. I think the genuflections and other practices are to remind one and possibly trigger more openness or awareness.
I view the rituals as ways of responding to the mystery, not as requirements laid down by God. As Jan says it’s a way of reminding myself that I’m approaching the divine. But if they feel stifling or contrived, it’s better not to do them.
I don’t know how I skipped this one yesterday, but it makes so much sense. Terrorism by its very definition is an act committed by lawless people against states.
Thanks for posting this thought-provoking analysis.
Yes Ruth, I thought it was rather obvious myself. I sure hope the public gets wind of this one and McCain is called to answer for his rather backward analysis. This is a clear winner for Obama it seems to me.
Being the apathetic that he is, the Contrarian certainly appreciates your comments but is not moved to respond! LOL. Just kidding, he has not mastered how to change authors, and to tell the truth, it’s a bit of a pain!
Hi Sherry,
Good post! Well, I guess it’s politics, isn’t it?! Heh! But I agree with you. These are very important issues and sometimes the politics and the talking down gets difficult to bear…
Thanks for your comments on my post yesterday (regarding law school, some crazy fact patterns, etc.). I was being a bit sarcastic when I said I thought law school was silly. Of course, it was a very interesting and expensive (!) experience. I did get pretty upset with one pompous professor who talk Constitutional Law (and who was a hard core Republican state senator who had a great dislike for me and my liberal ideas…). We went round and round — but I realized he had the power of the pen and I wasn’t going to risk not making law review because of a personality clash.
My biggest disappointment with the legal system, at that time, came when I interviewed for jobs. The big law firms had absolutely no interest in me – none. I was too old and I was married. They wanted some young, single person who would work 6 days a week and part of Sunday.
One firm made fun of my law review article on agricultural drainage wells and that only poured more salt into an open wound (!). I could not keep my mouth closed after that remark so the interview ended very quickly (!!) but at least he and his two young women associates knew what I thought of him (!!!!). I will say he was the only one who was honest (and stupid) enough to come right out and tell me they were looking for young, single attorneys (that was quite an interview!!).
I always found the cases and hypothetical problems very interesting. It made me angry to see kids spacing off in class or not caring (parents were paying the bill). I did have a few negative thoughts about a few professors but overall it was a great experience.
I had actually taught business law in the community college before going to law school so I had a vague idea of some basics. Plus I had taken legal research and writing courses plus a few others through the community college’s paralegal program before going to law school.
Well, I am rambling so I will stop! Take care and thanks again for your comments.
I get so tired of it all. Don’t any of the politicians think long-term?
thank you for all your posts on the US presidential politics. i try reading them in our local newspapers, but always give up after a while because everything seems so garbled. i’m not sure if the reporting is bad, the english is bad, or i’m just slow! but you’ve made everything so clear and understandable. thanks
Thanks Deborah, I’m glad I’m helping to cut through the garbage that passes for media these days. We have a tough time as well separating truth from fiction or worse.
Russell, Thanks for the comment. I can imagine the interviewing. I didn’t travel that route thankfully,but I’m glad since I would have suffered badly too given that WSU was not a A list law school for starters and a lot of firms still weren’t looking at women to be sure.
I guess I really didn’t get any overtly political profs. Our property prof was supposedly quite famous for some cases he had had, and he was incredibly dry with humor, but he was never what I would call condenscending or anything like that. Most of the profs I recall were darned nice.
But the paucity of teaching what happens in the real world was truly poor in my opinion. They teach you good moot court tactics and good writing and research, not much practical help in a big city courtroom.
Ruth, they don’t think any longer than the next election I don’t think. I don’t think they will unless we force them to it. Alas.
Welcome to Sky Watch! You chose a beautiful picture for your first time participating. Hope to see you soon again.
This is almost like 2 moods of sky happening at once! Great capture!
Welcome to Sky Watch, Sherry! You have a lovely view from your front porch. I love the humor in this post — “alert the media” indeed. I once lived six months in a city where I was 180 degrees disoriented. The sun came up in the west and set in the east every single day of my residence there, even when I knew the difference. Must have been a magnetic thing, huh?
See you soon. — Pat
Congratulations on your first entry to Sky Watch and I must say it’s an impressive one. It never ceases to amaze me what our sky is capable of doing. Thanks for stopping by Photonic Harmony and thanks for sharing!
Welcome to SWF! Wonderful photo and you captured the sky so well! Way to go!!!!
That’s so pretty! It looks nice and peaceful there and you have a beautiful view. Welcome to Sky Watch.
Well, I must say you certainly are lucky to get sunsets like this! Fantastic shot… I would be so lucky!
Welcome to Sky Watch. I’m fairly new myself. Beautiful colors and I love the way the trees frame it.
Very lovely, Sherry, with the sunset through the silouetted trees. Nice idea for a SkyWatch photo, and congrats on your first one!! Enjoy all the comments you’ll get!!
Lovely. I like the silvery contrast to the sunset colors.
Sometimes you just have to pick your guilt trips.
We have an uncovered basement window well that is quite deep. Last year I diligently rescued the two toads that feel in there and returned them to the garden. This year I didn’t feel like doing it right away, and the next time I looked, the toad was moribund and there was a dead one next to him. I don’t feel as bad about it as I think I should. Oh well.
I’m back . . .
Guess what? You have a blog award over at my place.
It’s quite pretty, and you are lucky indeed.
Very nice photo.
Welcome to SWF. Nice picture with cool colors.
How lucky you are to live in a place with beautiful sunsets AND a west-facing porch! Good planning. LOL
LOL Ruth, I’ll be over lickity split. Yes we do have to parcel out our guilt trips it seems. Just way too many of them it seems.
I never thought I’d say it, but too many comments to answer each one individually! Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I’ll visit as many of you as I can. With dial-up it takes me so long to load that I can only see perhaps 10 or so a week, but I’ll try to get around to everyone. Your too nice in your praise of my meager efforts, but I sure had fun. I was overwhelmed by all the professional photos taken out there. I can’t measure up, but I’ll make sure to let you know what this little piece of sky has to offer for sure! I’m addicted.
I am glad you joined SWF–specially with a photo like this. It is gorgeous!
Definitely. In a way I can somewhat understand why the fun poking at his comments. On the other, I think it just shows how little people like to actually think things through these days. They’d rather have someone tell them how it is and take their word for it.
If they actually did the math on how much everyone could save it they took a huge part of the responsiblilty for how much oil we waste every year, they would find that it will more than surpass the 200,000 barrels a day we will get out of the ocean about 20 years from now. But, then again, they will also fail to realize that not all of that 200,000 barrels is going to go to the US, so that’s even more oil we’ll be saving by inflating tires, changing filters, tune-ups, less idle time, and slower acceleration.
But their brains will probably misfire trying to think of all that since they let theses people do all the thinking for them. To much work in such a short amount of time in a brain that hasn’t been properly used in quite some time.
I think it shows if we all do just a little bit it all adds up to a surprising amount of savings.
I don’t know how many times I have heard people say ” yeah it’s bad but I can’t do anything about it, so I’m not going to worry”, everyone has to get out of that mindset. From oil/energy to politics/global crisis.
It all starts with the individual.
Thanks for reminding us of that.
Vicki
Welcome Anya, I agree with what you said. It’s actually McCain making fun of the average person’s ability to make a difference. Its drill drill drill since that is what he is being paid to say. McCain seems to demonstrate that he is not a very smart person at all. He continually talks about issues, that when pressed, he becomes dumbfounded and unable to answer. He basically has a little script, and can’t think outside it at all it seems.
I agree Vicki, that is what they said about recycling and all that too. We all can make a big difference if we all agree that together what we do counts. But it requires everyone to not make a joke of it, but actually do it.
Why do we have to even politicize something like this? Shouldn’t responsible politicians welcome any practical suggestions for saving oil? Grrrr.
Wellcome with this nice shot, hope to see you next week again.
Hello from Germany
first of all thanks for stopping by my page! secondly, since I am not much into politics these days, I stopped directly onto your animals page, since I am into taking care of these creatures… Will come back to read more here!
The composition is good, the colors are lovely and you captured the mood of the sky. Much more than a “meager effort”, I would say! Thank you for sharing.
Ruth, I’m getting pretty jaded by political creatures of all kinds. The Edwards thing takes the cake. I’m dumbfounded, very saddened and disturbed. It seems we can count on none of those politicians at all. It’s thoroughly disgusting.
Hi lara, so nice you stopped by. I can certainly understand that our American version of politics is not to everyone’s interest. I hope to see you again via Sky Watch. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks Rose, torsdag and piedmont. The welcome has been delightful. I’ll be snapping away again next week for sure. I’m again, doing my best to visit as many as I can per week and leave a comment. The page loading is killing me though. Perhaps by next year I’ll have satellite and then it will be a breeze!
Here’s something pretty cool (bear with me; it will initially appear to be a crass self-promotion) – a few weeks ago I opened my first blog to express the distillation of a lifetime’s career in intelligence, the SEAL Teams, counterterrorism, and human existence. It’s next-generation counterterrorism, called PowerfulPeace.WordPress.com.
It’s “apolitical”, so we weren’t associated by that feature, but your site got a hit on my site according to my Stats page. In fact, we both comment on warring on terror and specifically on the RAND study.
Fast forward to last evening, and a friend from RAND (also a retired SEAL) pinged me to point out the article he had just recently published on engaging with foreign populations as the true form of effective counterterrorism…in other words, back to the substance of Powerful Peace!
I’m very pleased to be casually thrown together across our diverse backgrounds with the singular goal of helping humankind.
- P2
Powerful. Thanks for the comment. It is amazing how this blogging thing crosses so many wires and connects people in such odd and diverse ways. I shall keep track of you. I’m so tired of the politics of of might and threat as the means to control the behavior of others. It patently doesn’t work it seems to me. When will we learn? McCain in my opinion represents just that old approach. Thanks for stopping by.
Yes, Sherry, you *do* Kick A**! Glad you’re enjoying your award! Keep on keeping on!
thank you for the kind words about my work.
Yes I truly love quiltmaking and normally I do make quilts as close to the antique quilts I just love!
I really love making traditional quilts.
thanks again for the award, I am honored .
Kathie
Sherry, you definitely deserve the Kick Ass Blogger award. You have one of the best blogs in the blogosphere.
I am curious as to why WordPress is better than Blogger. What is the advantage?
Pat, thanks girl. You are the best. I hope everyone saw my post as the fun thing I was attempting. LOL.
Kathie, I’m so glad you accept. You truly do have a wonderful blog and I love looking at your quilts. I still need to kick my behind to get started on another. I’ve been stalled on a wall hanging for too long.
Jo, I’ll leave a comment on your blog to tell you, since most people don’t have time to come back and see answers. I am very much more pleased overall with wordpress.
You deserve this, Sherry.
You’ve listed some interesting blogs. I’m not sure when I’ll have time to check them, but you’ve certainly piqued my interest.
I love your entry sky so lovely and wonderful, happy weekend..
Sherry, you definitely deserve this award!
When I have more time (and am not taking time away from visiting by using my friends’ computer), I will come back to visit your awardees. Knowing you, I know they will be excellent.
I’m really glad to be connecting, Sherry. Your readers can take heart in knowing that a growing movement within our official counterterrorism effort sees the basic fuel of terrorism: dissatisfaction.
It’s not natural to saw off your neighbor’s head. That takes a lot of energy and makes one vulnerable to retaliation.
It is natural to sit on your front porch with a cup of tea and enjoy watching the kids play. This, however, requires a stronger sense of having “enough” (money, security, dignity….)
We are beginning to unlock powerful solutions of engagement to transform the energy these men use to destroy.
- P2
PowerfulPeace.WordPress.com
Well done Sherry! A well-deserved awardee!
~~~ Mel
Congratulations Sherry — and thank you!
Ruth, I hope you like them Ruth, I sure do. I’m always finding so many new blogs. I is getting out of hand! lol.
Thank you Jan, you continue to have a great vacation and we are looking forward to your return. We miss your posts!
Mel! And so are you! I look forward to your nominees–so I can pick up some more great blogs!
Sue, Thanks and I’m so pleased having found your blog! I can’t wait what you have to say each day!
Thanks Sweet. If I haven’t gotten to you yet, don’t worry I will. I try to do at least 5 a day. And I’ll rotate every week, hoping to get a broad sample of all these wonderful pics.
I’m so glad to hear this Powerful. It gets to a point you think everyone in Washington is just plain nuts. A rational approach is sure necessary!
Well – a warm welcome then to SWF! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! And you start off well!
Cheers, Klaus
(Skywatch Team)
“It should be about the human, striving to achieve his or her best. Running faster, jumping higher, throwing farther, this is what I come to see and applaud.”
Me too. That’s why, despite all the politics and the doping and the economic aspects, I still watch because nothing is more beautiful than seeing some unknown athlete achieve his or her life goal against all odds.
Wonderful post, Sherry! Thanks.
Thank you, I couldn’t wait to read your post on this!! I knew it would be a good one.
Vicki
Ruth, you betcha. We were in bed when Phelps relay team won unexpectedly against the French swimmers. We whooped like kids, urging them on in those final moments. It was a blast!
Pat, glad you liked it.
Hey Vicki, thanks. It’s been something I’ve felt stongly about for some time. Finally have a place to let off steam! LOL.
Wow, how nice Klaus. I’ll be a regular for sure. I love the site, and visit a few more every day. It’s such fun and so many very talented people!
I have nothing to add to your excellent post except to say, “Yes.”
The Chinese are running their entire international sports program on the old East German model.