Zoe and I passed by Duke’s Body Shop in Crystal today. “Duke’s Body Shop,” she says. “I bet I know where they got that name.”
“Where?” I asked.
“Gilligan’s Island. You know that episode with that guy Duke in it?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, he was a pretty beefy guy, and you know what, I’ve seen some pretty hefty guys goin’ in there.”
Old people really bug me. Except for children, I have never yet seen such selfishness in any people group as in the generations that are in their 60’s on up. With all the retirement homes around here, the neighborhood I live in contains a large concentration of elderly, so I’m probably suffering an undo amount of irritation. I can think of three times specifically and many more generally of how rude they are. They act as if they are the only ones who exist in any given situation.
Zoe and I were at Thriftway the other day. She waited in line to taste test one of their goodies. Just as she reached out to receive her treat, this old gaffer inserted himself right in front of her and grabbed his own, stood there and chatted with the clerk with no intention of moving any time in the near future. He didn’t even acknowledge her existence or anyone else’s for that matter. Eventually, with his mouth full of samples, he finally sauntered away to dominate elsewhere.
Another day at Target, Zoe needed to return something, took her number and stood in line behind the one customer before her. Never mind the queue, even before the other gal had finished, this prim and proper octogenarian barged right in front of Zoe and placed her own stuff on the counter as if no one else was even in the store! It wouldn’t have mattered if the clerk’s hair had been on fire, all the planets revolved around her.
Now here’s the icing on the cake: For three years I have been mowing up mystery doo-doo in my lawn. Finally one night a week ago, I caught this old timer from down the block giving his canine free reign to do his business as far up as my front door. I’ve seen him go by before, but I couldn’t believe it when I saw him waiting in the road while the dog squatted before my picture window! I threw on all the lights and firmly requested that he keep his animal off my lawn. He just shrugged and they toddled off into the dark.
Its one thing for children to act selfishly, they’re learning how to behave in society. But the narcissism of the elders in our land truly sickens me. After 60 or 70 years, they ought to be models of love, compassion, patience and common sense. To have lived that long and not have grown up is tragic. If you ask me, it’s all their fault our country is so whacked.
So I’ve finished Holiness Truth and the Presence of God. Time to catch up on the juicy parts.
From Chapter 5, this one is a continuation of bluer’s theme verse for the time,
But the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to neither overwhelm us not to inflate our egos. The ultimate purpose behind most revelation is that what we behold, we are to become. For as we behold the glory of the Lord, it is mirrored onto our hearts and, in Paul’s words, we are “transformed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3:18) (emphasis mine).
and
As the kingdom of God opens before our souls, it always seems more than we can bear and beyond our means to attain it. Such is truth to our perception… But the truth does not stand alone in the kingdom of God. The height of God’s truth is balanced by the depth of His grace (emphasis mine).
I am blessed by the marriage of head and heart here. I think Francis‘ stuff is one of the answers to the modern/post-modern debate these days. He was writing this stuff back in the 80’s (God rest its soul… please! No more My Sharona…). I think post-modern pain has much to do with the deafness of previous generations…
I discovered a new cd last night - Day of Fire. Besides just being quality work, every song sounds different, which is what I want for 12 bucks. If I can’t hear you without shouting next time, you’ll know why.
As seen at Starbucks at the Target in Crystal today:
Your body is a temple. Fill it with chocolate!
All under the banner of “Daily Offerings”.
I had the following thoughts: That’s kinda funny… That sounds like a religion… That’s pretty blatant idolatry… That’s sick… Behind that humor lurks a troubling reality…
I interviewed for a job today at St. Croix Prep. Actually, they called me as a writing consultant to come fill out their Language Arts program for the rest of the year. One of the families that started the charter school had taken my writing class the year before. They had asked me at that time to be their LA Department for all grades, but I can’t give up Writing Foundations, Inc. that easily (someday I’ll have a web site for it…). I love my job. It calls out the best of everything in me. I’m good at it. And I love being the ruler of my own little universe and not have to jump through every performance standard hoop that comes down the pike. The thing is, with the writing curriculum I use, no one would have to worry about those standards one iota. I hope they take me up. I’d love to make a dent in the system…
Why people went crazy over the Lord of the Rings movies. We watched all 3 for the first time this weekend and you know what? It hurt to stop. Matter of fact it sucked big time. Maybe it’s just a big city in the dirty dead end of winter, but gosh, the landscape here is just ugly. And depressing. It shook me to the core. I actually think that the reality in Tolkien’s world is more real than this one. Where is the common focus/purpose here? Where people of all races fight evil together instead of doctrines, philosophies, policies or each other? Where people pour themselves out for another’s good rather than protecting themselves for their own ease and comfort? Where the spiritual (reality) reigns over the physical (temporary). We each have a ring to get rid of. And it is hard to let go.
I’m missing the Glass Sea big time today…