Mother's Day is tomorrow

My mother died when I was in college.

She was 63 and I was 23.

When my father called me to come 'home',  I went to see the Episcopal priest because I wasn't sure I could drive the 190 miles without God's grace.

He put on full vestments and gave me communion and healing oil and I made it home.

She lived another three days but passed away without ever meeting her grandchildren who were born after her death.

And my Dad was forever changed. He barely noticed his grandchildren or even me after that.

Then he called me one night and said 'my friends' were going through his house and he had his gun out. I asked him to get one of 'my friends' to talk to me and he couldn't, because it was all in his mind.

I flew down the next day and brought him to New Haven after clearing out his house, including all my mother's clothes.

Mom, I miss you so.

Happy mother's day wherever you are....

 

I probably posted this before

but it deserves to be read again. A poem by a friend of mine in college.

WHEN PEOPLE DIE

          When people die

          It’s like a bird flying into a window

                   On the coldest morning of the year.

          When people die

          It’s like the bears have escaped from the zoo

                   And are eating children on the street.

          When people die

          It’s like a maniac has taken over the power station

                   And the lights go off and on and off

                   And on and off.

          When people die.

 

So it begins....

The Jury took only 3 hours to return a verdict on the former President's case on the sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll.

They awarded her $5 million in their verdict.

This is the beginning of the former President's legal challenges.

The January 6 case, the case about finance in NYC and the charges in Georgia about election tampering are still on the burner.

Things could get very dicey very quickly for him.

Running for President in the face of all that takes a special kind of megalomania.

Stay alert and stay tuned.

The train started down the track today.

 

Gun control vs. abortion

Republican law makers in states all over America are passing laws against abortion, but they will do nothing about gun control.

I've said before and will say again: I don't like abortion.

But as a white man in my 70's, I have no voice in the matter.

It is a woman's right to choose abortion.

I stand by that and regret what Republican states are doing to women and doctors to prevent abortion. Including denying women can pass stay lines to have the procedure. That is against our Constitutional rights.

Yet gun violence is rampant--rampant--in the U.S. and Republicans seem unable to do anything to stop it.

Texas has been the site of two mass shootings in the past week and their Republican lawmakers and governor have stated publicly that you don't need a permit in Texas to carry a gun on you in public.

 Something is screwed up about that--and you can figure out what it is.

I don't need to tell you.

Do what you can to change gun laws.

 

Can't do it this week

 I like to send out my Sunday sermon on the blog--but I can't this week because I am so computer stupid that I couldn't save it and I am too lazy to type it out again.

Alas for me.

It's about faith and doubt.

I really believe 'doubt' is a part of faith--consider 'doubting Thomas' who becomes the first person besides Mary Magdalene to declare Jesus 'my Lord and my God'.

The first three lessons this week are full of faith without doubt.

But in the Gospel of John, Jesus is telling his closest friends what is going to happen to him and that he goes to prepare a place for them.

Thomas (God love him) says "we don't know where  your going, how can we know the place"

Then, a few sentences later, Philip says, "show us the Father and we will be satisfied."

Jesus replies that he and the Father are one.

So, if Thomas and Philip can have doubts, so can we.

"Doubt is on the road to Faith."

That's my message this week.

Looking to his future with glee

The former President is in lots of deep-deep-shit.

How many of his cases--from the federal case of the storming of the Capital to his case in Georgia about trying to steal votes to his rape case that should end next week--are going to result in penalties, including Jail?

I personally think he will be convicted in the rape case, since his lawyers aren't presenting a defense at all.

He said in Scotland that he would testify.

His lawyer said in court, he would not.

His disposition was horribly damaging to him.

I can't wait for all this to play out and for him to run for President from jail somewhere!

Stay tuned for updates.

 

A poem from 13 years ago

 

       Giving with the Wind

 

Standing on the deck of my good friend’s house,

loaned for the week, I watch the tall, tall trees

give with the wind.

                              Tall, tall--a hundred feet

or more, sparsely branched, swaying to and fro.

 

It is Vermont in May. Today it snowed.

The wind swept up the mountain from below

and those ancient pines, moving several feet,

gave with the wind.

                               I smoke and drink white wine,

Watching them bend and bow and almost dance.

 

Ageless wisdom, planted in dark soil:

“Resist not. Cling not. Do not rigid be.”

 

Give with the wind. Sway deeply. Bend and dance.

The storms of life, blow as they might, pass on.

 

jgb

5/9/10