Wanna know my take on the latest world happenings? Grab a seat & stick around…
Ouch, the present moment is too much to bear! Guess I’m sick of looking at reality. Wanna bury my head in the sand & no wonder so many from the hippie generation opted to turn on, tune in & drop out. Congrats, Prof. Tim Leary, for getting it right, or at least that’s how it seemed at that time.
What’s been going on in the wonderful world of social media? A trifle depressing for some & where’s my anti-depressant when needed most?
Heard the latest news concerning DEI/woke? Here’s a perfect example of how good intentions slowly went awry. Mankind’s inclination to darkness & all that, don’t cha know. What initially began as a goodwill gesture slowly morphed into something we’d all rather forget, though just wait & anti-DEIs will eventually adopt the same attitude, which was clearly “ram it down their throats at all costs!”
Hopefully, I’ll be long gone by that time, but probably not since I seem doomed to an endless amount of suffering. As Grandma used to say, “I must have a been a sharmootha!” (Arabic word for whore). Speaking of my maternal grandmother, the subject of religion just came to mind!
Palm leaves hanging everywhere on Palm Sundays, religious icons caked on Grandma’s walls. Not just any icons, mind you, real icons from the Eastern Orthodox Church, as Grandma always emphasized.
Of course there was her mother, my maternal great-grandmother, who’d converted to Catholicism, but that’s a different story entirely. Some big deal back in Lebanon around 1880 where the Eastern Orthodox Church ordered the death of a family member. That was the story as related to me, swear to God! One thing I do know, middle eastern folk are a crazy lot. I should know ‘cause I’m one of ‘em.
Surprised someone even exercised the mental gymnastics required to convert from Eastern Orthodoxy to Catholicism because they’re mortal enemies, don’t cha know? Some existential disagreement about how the Holy Spirit was born. Go figure…
Yes, Mom’s side was intense, but Dad’s side of the family was often more so, mostly Lutheran, with a dash of Mennonite. I was surrounded by religion 24/7 as a child, especially at school, where the cornerstone of my education involved the “Golden Rule.”
First order of the morning, students stood at attention to say the pledge of allegiance, with hand dutifully held over heart. Just before lunch, my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Brunson, sporting a large goiter she’d never had removed, prompted the class to stand and say the Lord’s Prayer. The main thing that bothered me (other than the huge goiter no one dared speak of), was the Jewish kid in the class. Joey might’ve known Kaddish, but certainly not the Lord’s Prayer & so simply bowed his head & lip-synched, trying to appear respectful. We were just kids, what did we know? Come to think of it, what do kids really know?
Another hot topic on social media now! Plenty of opinions on both sides, some are (regrettably) quite vocal and rant on and on and on and on…
Mrs. Brunson ‘twas about the time of the landmark Murray v. Curlett Supreme Court case (separation of church & state), and I don’t believe the Lord’s Prayer went on for much longer & recall that Mrs. Brunson retired shortly afterward. God only knows what would ensue in today’s world if such a situation arose. Probably a shootout with assault weapons!
No one ever would’ve considered such a thing way back when. Too much “fear of God” in them, perhaps?
Shan’t we say? Until next time…