Thursday, February 28, 2013

We're all ascetics.

c0 a picture of an Eastern ascetic; I don't know the origin but it was a fitting picture to illustrate this post.If you're married, you may be one of the vanishing breed (like me) that doesn't cheat on your spouse. If you're health conscience, you give up sweets or carbohydrates or sodium, etc. If you're creative or athletic or driven in some way, you deprive yourself of indulgences while you're in the zone. If you're a recovering alcoholic, you don't drink.

Etc.

Self-denial is inherent in human activity.

I've been hearing more criticism of religious celibacy (mostly directed at priests, nuns, and other holy orders), and chastity inside marriage (mostly from evangelicals who think such a thing is "sick").

Regardless of our personal opinions, there's no reason that sexual asceticism should be different than any other; except, of course, when we wish to excuse our own excess and so criticize those who make a different choice.

Psychologists have shown that those who are violently anti-homosexual actually harbor homosexual tendencies. True. We sometimes criticize those who draw attention to what we hate in ourselves.

Introspective minds rarely behave this way. They know themselves too well, and for flaws they recognize, they usually shrug and say, "I'm working on it," even very serious flaws.

Dad used to call me a "work in progress." He was being very kind and supportive. He wasn't excusing me, he was telling me how much he believed
in me.

c0

c0 In It's a Wonderful Life, Clarence is helping George discover why he matters. He asks the St Joseph how he's doing. We don't hear Joseph respond, but he presumably compliments Clarence and then asks if Clarence has had a drink; Clarence is a bit annoyed and says he didn't. He actually ordered some mulled wine, which got both him and George tossed out on their ears.How am I doing, Dad?

Thanks.

No, I didn't have a drink!

 

c0

Started: 2013-02-24

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Old institutions carry on old ways.

c0 Cover of Chicago VIII which includes the hit "Old Days," embedded at the bottom of this post.Tomorrow the Pope will officially step down and a billion Christians will wait for a new spiritual leader. I am not of that tradition, but I think it's an epic moment each time it happens.

When I was a young teen and a new pope was announced by a puff of white smoke (probably Pope John Paul II in 1978), I remember making fun of it. Being a good Baptist, we could let nothing this momentous occur without trivializing it with a joke.

We all believed the departed Pope was in hell and the new one would be there someday too.

The Vatican smoke signal dates back to 1914, but the conclave began burning paper ballots as far back as the 1400's. I did a little searching and couldn't find any indication that the smoke from burning ballots was seen as a message that far back, but since everything associated with the Pope takes on biblical proportions, I wouldn't be surprised.

Maybe the Vatican will tweet the new pope, who knows. A good portion of those billions of Christians have cell phones.

But why not continue the old ways along with the new. We do this with everything else, from birthday cakes to Christmas trees.

Old ways connect us to the past.

Some are good, some are bad. Just like the new ways.

[2013-02-17]

c0

Those that take the high road are easy targets. They won't return unkind words and they often fall the farthest and hardest.

It's a better road anyway.

Jesus said it was narrow. Maybe it's high and narrow, like an elevated sidewalk. With hills. And ice. And no salt trucks.

[2013-02-25]

c0


c0 a weary Pope Benedict XIVBTW, the Pope's got a bum ticker and has two pacemakers for crying out loud. Give the guy a break. If you were in charge of a billion people you might want some time to unwind too.

[2013-02-25]

 

c0

Chicago – Old Days

 

 

c0

I Want the Government to Do My Taxes

c0 picture of a broken pencil over a US 1040 tax formThe government knows more about me than I know about myself. They know how much I make, what I pay in taxes, how many children I have, whether or not I'm disabled or a farmer or received a military pension or bought or sold a home etc etc etc.

The government could press a button and file my taxes for me.

The only reason they make me do it myself is to catch me in a lie. But I'm on the up an up. I don't dislike the government or the IRS or even tax forms. I just don't like the time it all takes and I wish the government would just do it for me.[1]

I don't like numbers and I don't like being held accountable for numbers by people who like numbers. I don't care about the national debt, the fiscal cliff or all the lemmings jumping over it. I can't fix any of it and I don't trust the folks that say they can.

If we cut all the stuff out of our lives that we do just because others think we don't know what they know, we'd double the time we have to do something worth our time.

I wish the human economy ran on words.

Everybody would have to write a term paper
due April 15 on "What I plan to do with my tax refund." The better your grade, the more you get back.

c0

[1]
I know, I know, there are a few folks reading this that think I'm really naive and the last thing a person in his right mind would do is give the government more control over his life.

Look, I'm a lot closer to the grave than I am the cradle and what free
time I have I give to my wife, my precious children, God, and this blog. And when I'm gone, those are the only things that will remain. Anything that gives me more time with them is a good thing.

c0

Started: 2013-02-24

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

My beautiful wife not long before we met...

c0 Jinghong Zhao in Canada before we metThis is a picture of Jing in Canada (Montreal?) not long before we met.

She grows more beautiful every day.

Children will do that to you if you're a woman.

But they
just make guys feel old.

 

c0

Monday, February 25, 2013

Puddle Jumping

c0 little girl jumping over a puddleFor the first time in my life, upon hearing someone say "well, that's a matter of faith[1]," it occurred to me of a sudden, in a rush of utter clarity, that faith is only a metaphysical hypothesis based on accepted propositions. They may be right or wrong, but the principle is no different than a scientific hypothesis based on physical observations.

In other words, the "leap of faith" meaningfully connects pieces of a construct, satisfies a need, fills a gap, makes sense, etc, in a way that others can review and debate in an equally meaningful way.

(It's very different from "I believe ancient astronauts built the pyramids, now let's discuss why you think I'm wrong." That's not what I'm talking about.)

Faith need not be a trans-oceanic "I believe despite my senses," it can (and should) be more of a puddle jump, "I believe because of my senses."[2]


c0 Julia Child, the French Chef; I used to watch her daytime show on Erie TV when I was very little; that memory probably predates kindergarten.This seems so obvious to me now, I'm sure many have
come to the same conclusion; philosophers have been doing it for thousands of years, I just never connected that discipline with faith. Bear in mind, none of this speaks to the accuracy of a metaphysical hypothesis, only that it parallels what we do every day in science or anything else.

(Eg, "I liked that French restaurant yesterday. I may have a taste for French food. I will try some more French restaurants to verify this is true." After a few more visits, I may have refined my hypothesis to "I have discovered that I have a taste only for French pastries. I will experiment with a few more French restaurants to be sure this is true."

We may not think we are doing this, but indeed we are
.)

c0

[1]
c0 Click this image to read the instructions. You can also see the figure by following he instructions and just closing your eyes.Raymond de Souza, columnist, priest and Christian apologist. As he said that, I was leaping with him; I don't recall the context, but I think I may actually have been ahead of him, and when I realized where he was going, I thought, "No wonder I am here."

De Souza is funny, sincere, meticulous, and has the most delightful accent; that may sound pandering, but it's not meant to. His rhythm is easy on the ears.

[2]
I have a story that I might someday share. There is some validity to personal religious experiences, eg, "I know how I feel even though I can't prove it to you." It's of the same sort as being the only witness to a falling leaf or a shooting star or a jumping fish. And at some point, after all, I am not obligated to prove it to anyone, just embrace it and share it, which I do here in this blog pretty regularly.

FWIW, we can believe nothing apart from our senses, so to say that faith somehow informs us apart from our senses is nonsense.

c0

Started: 2013-02-14



Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sophomoric Atheism

c0 Richard DawkinsThis is the most ignorant tweet from an otherwise intelligent person I've ever read. It's so bad, I can't help but think this isn't the real Dawkins, but it was regarded as his by others.


c0 Tweet from Richard Dawkins. It reads: "I feel sorry for the Pope and all old Catholic priests. Imagine having a wasted life to look back on and no sex."

And I like Dawkins. I just don't understand how someone as smart as him can be so juvenile. Certainly, a human lifetime devoted to elevated themes can't be considered a waste, even if you disagree with the person's motivations. And the sex thing I just
don't get at all. That remark sounds like it came out of a 6th grade locker room.

It's comments like this that reinforce intractable belligerence on both sides of any divisive issue, religious or otherwise. Dawkins seems especially good at it and he has a cheering section that probably validates a need for attention that exists apart from his opinions on the Pope.[1]

[2013-02-20]

c0

c0 Chairman Mao says, "No RSS for you!""On March 5, 2013 Twitter will turn off its RSS and atom support"

Story >


Probably means nothing to you, but I use that feature to follow some Twitter accounts in Outlook and Thunderbird. I really like seeing Twitter updates in my email inbox; of course, the API is used in a gabillion places, not just my inbox, but that's where it'll affect me first.

For example, if you wanted to see my tweets in an RSS reader (Outlook or anything else,), it's just this URL with my Twitter ID at the end...

http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=clarenceoddbody

If I understand the change, that will come to an end. But I will be able to add an RSS feed from Topsy that gets close the same result.

[2012-02-11
]

c0

[1]
The story is told (forgive me if I'm repeating myself) of Barbara Streisand meeting Queen Elizabeth and she's told she should kiss the Queen's hand when it's extended. She asks in the Queen's presence why in the world she should do that? And the Queen responds simply, "I believe it is the customary practice" (or something to that effect).

Point being, some behavior is simply poor form. There's no right or wrong about it, just the way most people expect most people to behave most of the time. It's how naked apes like us managed to colonize the planet without blowing ourselves up (yet). Mr Dawkins ably demonstrates we haven't entirely escaped that possibility.

It is about manners (which are how shared values are expressed), always has been and always will be. And it's why we shoot each other in gang-infested neighborhoods or lob missiles across borders.

Religion - if nothing else, and for good or for bad - codifies this behavior so it can be taught consistently and successively.

c0


Saturday, February 23, 2013

Don't laugh at ignorance when the question is sincere.

c0 "Grandpa Listening In on the Wireless," painting by Norman Rockwell, 1920Two examples come to mind that cast an especially bright light on this:

1. Radio...
When I was first getting into ham radio and learning what it all was about, I watched videos from trade shows and hobbyists. One trade show series was from Icom (if I recall correctly), which is a big player in amateur radio. In this video, a pretty correspondent went from booth to booth interviewing radio hobbyists and reps.

In one segment, an expert was telling the correspondent about a lady who had bought a ham radio as a gift. It was a dual bander, but it only had one knob for changing frequencies. She wanted to know where the other knob was. He laughed, as in, "how could you be so dumb?"

Everyone is new to everything once. I now have a limited understanding of amateur radio, but I remember the day when I watched that video and didn't know what the heck a dual bander was, and I would have liked to know. He could just as easily have been laughing at me.[1]


c0 Pope John Paul II walking away2. Religion...
A Catholic radio show host said he's been getting questions on who the new pope is going to be. He laughed it off and said "How should I know?" as in (but not stated directly), Why are you asking me?

But the folks asking thought he might know. Not because they're stupid, but because they don't have the understanding the radio host does about how the pope selection process works. This was an opportunity to talk about a timely topic and not laugh.[2]


73,
--KD8OSB

c0

[1]
A dual bander in amateur radio is able to receive and transmit on two bands; 2 meters and 70 centimeters are commonly paired this way.

Sarcasm seems to pervade "manly" activities that involve electricity, oil, moving parts, loud noises, etc, of the sort you encounter in hardware stores, auto shops, electronics outlets, and yes, back in the day, radio stores. (And there used to be lots of radio stores; you have to look for them now; there's one in Cleveland I drive very near on the way to Pennsylvania - AES (Amateur Electronic Supply) on Euclid Avenue; one day I'll be stopping there on a trip home).

[2]
I'm a former educator. This falls in to the same category as "There are no dumb questions."

(Not paying attention is a different matter; I'm not talking about that.
)

c0

Started: 2013-02-18


Friday, February 22, 2013

Megachurch Ecumenical Discussion of the Da Vinci Code

c0 In this picture, a rabbi, a minister and the Pope are sitting next to each other. The rabbi leans over and says, "So, a priest, a rabbi and a nun walk into a bar..." and the Pope says, "I think I've heard this one before."I recently watched a video of pastors from a couple Michigan-based churches discuss The Da Vinci Code.

The group was composed primarily of megachurch evangelicals[1], but the audience crossed a wide spectrum.

The panel included...

Steve Andrews, Relief Pastor at Kensington Community Church
Dan Kopp, Spiritual Formation Director at Kensington
Dr Craig Mayes, Teaching Pastor at Kensington
Fr John Riccardo (formerly pastor of St. Anastasia Catholic church in Troy, MI,, now pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI
)

c0 Andrew Stevens find common ground with Fr John RiccardoKensington Community Church appears to be an evangelical/charismatic nondenominational church; it has a number of locations and reaches nontraditional worshipers.


Watch the discussion here >
(Recorded: May 21st, 2006 at Kensington Community Church. Unfortunately, this clip only features Steve Andrews and Fr Riccardo. Depending on how your computer is configured, the movie c0 Fr John Riccardo finds common ground with Andrew Stevensmay launch or begin downloading to your computer.)

Listen to the Q&A followup >
(This is an audio-only segment from the Q&A followup. It includes Dr Mayes and Fr Riccardo.)



c0

It was refreshing to see evangelical Protestants and Catholics engaged as brothers and openly expressing their love for Jesus. You can see them step delicately through areas of disagreement if you know where they are.

c0

I find the facts behind the controversy more interesting than the controversy itself. Dan Brown tells a good story and I don't take his theology seriously, but misinformation is serious and I respect those that take issue with it.

Dan Brown is to Jesus what Oliver Stone was to John F Kennedy.

I did read the book, BTW, and enjoyed it.

c0

Watch Fr Riccardo and Steve Andrews seek common ground >
Excellent Video on Common Ground with Fr Riccardo and Steve Andrews. If you finish this (Part 2) you can view other parts of the same conversation. Part 3 shows how deeply moved Andrews is by the discussion.

Part 1 > 

Part 3 > 

Andrews: Do Catholics believe you can work your way to heaven?
Riccardo
: No. We're saved by Jesus' precious blood. Period. End of story.

c0

Where am I?

I'm not a Baptist (my home church removed me from the membership role years ago after I left town for college and didn't return). I'm not Catholic. I attend a charismatic megachurch for my family, but not myself. I'm not a Calvinist, even though my degrees are from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. (I'm decidedly non-Calvinist, actually.)[2]

I have a lifelong personal and educational relationship to Christianity. I understand some of the literature, popular and academic. And I am sometimes needled with doubt. But at 50 and counting (backwards), I am persevering, daily, when I'm tired and when I'm not, when I'm happy and when I'm not, when I'm frustrated and when I'm not, and when I'd just rather not.[3]

I have no label, though I have a direction. I was baptized into a bible-believing community and I confess The Apostle's Creed. (More on that at another time.)

I am at this time, I suppose, like those of which Christ said, "Whoever is not against us is for us."

c0

[1]
I prefer quiet, reflective worship. To each his own. I've heard that megachurch attendance lasts on average a couple years. I'd be curious if anyone reading this who also attends a megachurch has an opinion on this.

Maybe the trade-off is worth it? If you can get them in the pew for a couple years, you've planted a seed that may last a lifetime.

But if justification is a journey and not (only) a decision, it may end when they walk out the door for the last time.

[2]
Calling yourself Baptist without being a member of a Baptist church is like calling yourself Catholic without being confirmed.

[3]
That is a good sentence.

c0

Started: 2013-02-19

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Some pictures of Mimi (Kayla Marie)

These are from friend Christine Sikora's Facebook (that she took and posted – she is a very talented photographer), but I know some folks that read me are not on Facebook, so I am presenting them here.

 

Tomorrow I have something you might find interesting on The Da Vinci Code. (Old news but new to me.)


[2013-02-19]

c0

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Bring a Torch, Dee Dee

c0 Dee Dee Jean CairnsA couple Christmases ago I burned a CD I labeled "Mannheim Nighttime." It's a collection of 20 or so quiet Christmas songs that make great lullabies. I played it in Dee Dee's room at night the weeks leading up to Christmas.

This last Christmas was a blur. So I thought, why not play that CD some more, now that the music can breathe outside the frenetic holiday? And so I have been, and Dee Dee has come to expect it. I often restart it in the middle of the night if she wakes up.

One of the tracks on the CD is called "Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella." As I understand, it didn't start out as a Christmas carol, but has become one over the years.

The other night, I was checking on Dee Dee before I went to bed myself, and that song was playing. I stood there in the doorway and just watched her sleep by night light for the two and a half minutes that song played.

That inspired me to do this this little collage.

Good night sweet princess....


Started: 2013-02-17

c0

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Something I wish I didn't know...

c0 Charlie Brown says "Oh, good grief"The actor who voiced Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins) was arrested on charges that include stalking.

"Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown for TV specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Story >


[2013-01-23
]

c0



c0 Clarence talks to George after he pulls him out of the water. George is suddenly able to hear with an ear that's been deaf since a childhood accident. George says to Clarence, "Say something else in that ear." Clarence replies, "Sure. You can hear out of it."Say something else in that ear...

"I don't understand how trivial differences on metaphysical questions that can't be demonstrated to be right or wrong can possibly lead people to kill each other.

There is a human flaw that underlies this type of disagreement that is entirely independent of race, religion, gender, or historical context.

Perhaps our fears (and related behaviors
) are vestiges of survival instincts left over from days when killing first and asking questions later was more often than not the wiser course of action. That was a very, very long time ago."

--Clarence 0ddbody

[2013-02-14]

c0


Monday, February 18, 2013

Papal Typo

The Pope apparently doesn't tweet ex cathedra[1]. Note the typo...

Sat 2/2/2013 6:02 AM
_tmp_amn_pic_92_10_0

Sat 2/2/2013 7:03 AM
_tmp_amn_pic_23_13_0

[2013-02-11
]


c0





c0 I think this painting is called Our Daily Bread. I don't know the artist. It hung in my Aunt Berniece and Uncle Dave's home for years; I think it still does. Its simplicity has always held my attention. Where's his family? Is that all he has to eat? Is that a bible? Paintings like this that you see every day invite lots of questions.Overheard

“When [Jesus] wanted fully to explain what his forthcoming death was all about, he didn’t give them a theory. He didn’t even give them a set of scriptural texts. He gave them a meal.”

--NT Wright, Simply Jesus

[2013-01-17]

c0

[1]
When communicating ex cathedra, the Pope is regarded as infallible by Roman Catholics. Of course, it is possible that someone else actually does the Pope's tweeting, or there may be an allowance for linguistic stumbles that plague us all, or, of course, tweeting is not ex cathedra.
Nothing really meaningful here, I just found it interesting.


c0

Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Rhythm of Rudeness

c0 Stephanie Tanner from the old TV Show "Full House" often said "How Rude!"There seems to be a change in how human bodies interact with other human bodies, at least in my universe. People are less likely to hold the door for you, say thank you when you hold it for them, or accommodate your path through their personal space in a stairwell, hallway, doorway, etc.

I'm sure this is normal in big cities, but it's new(er) for me in this city.

If I might share a short story along this line from a trip to Chicago, at a fancy hotel in the financial district. I was in line at the counter to check in, behind someone else. They finished their business and moved on. I inched forward and waited to be called by the receptionist, who was finalizing paperwork.

I left what in my experience is a comfortable distance between me and someone waiting to call me forward. It's the same distance I use at the bank, the pharmacy counter, the Secretary of State, etc. Approximately three feet.

Apparently, in Chicago that distance means I am loitering, for an eager woman huffed and moved into that space and was promptly served. The receptionist didn't say anything like "that gentleman was waiting." In fact, it went downhill from there. When I did reach the counter, I was treated very rudely, and when I got to my room, a clerk called up to say my credit card had been declined.

The card was fine. I told him to try it again, and if I have to come down and discuss this at the receptionist's desk, it will be unpleasant.

He didn't call back.

I'm inclined to be angry, but what's the point. There are a gabillion small people in the world who think they are more important than others.

As Truman Capote said, the rich are different than you and I. (For all of Truman's wit
and wealth, he was rejected by the rich and famous he so much admired.)

c0


I don't travel much, but I have stayed in some large cities and fancy hotels and I know the etiquette. You can probably tell that if I have a choice, I prefer Holiday Inn, a continental breakfast and cup of coffee in the morning, and maybe a copy of USA Today.

 

c0 in this comic, a woman asks a man, "Did you stick your tongue out?" and he responds "Only to lick a stamp."



c0


I don't understand the rhythm of rudeness. It does have a cadence[1]. You have to shrug and move on. Some folks are accustomed to putting themselves before others.
 
 
 
c0

[1]
Folks who know me know that I hate the word "cadence"
when it's used in a business context - eg, for the interval of a media campaign. I'm twinging a bit using it here. It's a form of self-therapy. Cadence cadence cadence cadence....

c0



Started: 2013-02-07

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Characterized by a Certain Emptiness



Sat !
2013-02-16


co circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works becauseReligious commentary may not always be logical, rational, or compelling, but it's often sincere and genuine.

Have you spent much time listening to atheist/progressive talk? I have. It's fascinating, informative, insightful, and entertaining, but it's also often characterized by a certain emptiness[1]; you can detect it after a lot of listening, and the same echo can be sensed in radio, TV, print, etc., and in fact anywhere there is no ultimate appeal to a deity or a fixed measure of fairness, justice, etc.

At the moment,
I'm making no claim that this is good or bad, right or wrong. It's just an observation.



c0


[1]
c0 2+2=3 for sufficiently small values of 2. Tell you what, that there's funny.It's impossible to describe this feeling without emotionally-loaded language, but it's proper to note it and treat it separately, which is why I am footnoting it. The feelings I am often left with after listening to a conversation among atheists is depression (being right is just about outwitting the other guy), frustration (the other guy is often an embarrassing rube), and hunger (an hour of talk yields nothing new or satisfying).

It's very possible, given my upbringing and the materials I consume, I am "tuned" to hear sincerity in some religious matters and hollowness in some atheistic ones, ie, that my cognitive filter sifts new information in a way I can't control.

How does one know this?

I think that is impossible. It would take someone outside myself to explain where I am wrong, but that person thinks through his own filters, so that's no help.

Until we're able to be sure that the color you call green is the same color I call green (the mental perception, not the light wavelength), I cannot trust another person's insight into my own.

Of course, that is, unless we allow for revelation (divine messaging) in which this insight bypasses our filters, or corrects them so we see things rightly.

I'm not a a philosopher. Others have devoted lifetimes to this subject. Clarence just thinks about it a
l lot.

c0

Started: 2013-01-29






Friday, February 15, 2013

... he half-expected to be terrified with the sight of Marley's pigtail sticking out into the hall.

c0 Marley's face appears in Scrooge's doorknocker; from the Christmas Carol version titled Scrooge, with Albert Finney.I've worn a ponytail for much of my Midwestern corporate career and have, by my choice, circumscribed my opportunities and partially defined the opinion of others around me, sometimes bad, sometimes good. We are judged by how we appear.[1]

[2012-03-24]

c0

I learned recently of a pet cemetery that cremates aborted fetuses along with deceased cats and dogs.

Story >


What have we come to.

We discard the unwanted unborn with our dead animals..

[2013-01-23
]

c0

c0 Clarence at the Black Rose, maybe 8 years ago.[1]
The law prevents official sanction for nonconformity. But it still happens and always will. You can't legislate a private opinion. I don't wear a ponytail right now. My LinkedIn picture 
is current, but I l like this picture better; you may have noticed it's also at the top of this blog.

I've given my ponytail it to Locks of Love a few times now. Somewhere a sick child is wearing Clarence's hair. I think that's nice.

 

c0

Thursday, February 14, 2013

We are all lepers.

c0 Bishop Fulton J Sheen smiling; he was often too serious for the camera IMHO.The late Bishop Fulton J Sheen tells the story about his visit to a leper colony during which one man who had been especially wasted by the disease approached him with a rosary hanging from a stump at his shoulder where an arm was once attached.

At first Sheen
was repelled and didn't want to touch him, but realized at that moment he had become more consumed by leprosy than anyone around him, and he embraced the man, and every other leper that came to him to be blessed that day.

I was reminded of this while waiting to check out at a local grocery store when a man wheeled in line not too far behind me in a motorized
wheelchair. His left foot was swollen ten times normal size and was entirely uncovered (even though it's the middle of winter), revealing cracked, dry skin and toes the size of baseballs.

He was in good spirits, or seemed to be. A woman was helping him. They didn't appear to be together. I overheard him say that he worked at a local mission. The woman made polite small talk and helped him load his groceries from his motorized cart to the belt.

I initially pitied him, like Fulton Sheen had pitied the leper, then I pitied myself.

There are some Christian sects that believe it is in the needs of people like this that you find Jesus. These sects often build hospitals and orphanages first and care for souls later.


[2013-01-30]


c0



c0 Clarence talks to George after he pulls him out of the water. George is suddenly able to hear with an ear that's been deaf since a childhood accident. George says to Clarence, "Say something else in that ear." Clarence replies, "Sure. You can hear out of it."Say something else in that ear.

"Getting old(er) doesn't mean you don't understand the current generation; it means you have something to compare it to."

--Clarence 0ddbody

[2013-02-11]




 

 

c0