I like this quote very much.
Here is the essence of me. Maybe the "kidlets" will find it amusing. I still have the glass and love how milk makes a nice background for the flowers. A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."
SHOEBOX
I told you this is a shoebox and we all know that we simply put stuff into a shoebox in no particular order. That's how things are going to appear here. When something whaps me over the head you will be the first to know.
Right now, I want to tell you about my favorite blog in the whole wide world - Margaret and Helen. Hope you go read their post called "I can see November" - while there note their statistics. A grandson set this site up and it's been around the world several times. Margaret and Helen have been friends for over sixty years and counting.
http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/
Don Floyd and I have been friends for more than thirty years and counting. We first became pen pals in the late 70's. We are cousins and share a passion for genealogy. My major project this year was helping Don get his book "The Captain and Thomasine" published. Will give you more details in later post.
Friday, August 16, 2013
71st TRIP AROUND THE SUN
71st
TRIP AROUND THE SUN - July 16, 2013
When I was a
child, before television, I listened to a radio program called “No School Today”
that used a song called “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” as a theme song. This was a
special birthday. I was serenaded by the
“kidlets” with “Teddy Bear’s Picnic”.
Earlier in the year I recalled the song and looked it up and found
several renditions sending the cutest to the McDermotts. They remembered and rehearsed it as a
surprise What fun!
The past
year has been very interesting; The McDermott’s returned from Okinawa in March;
Kelly was born July 11; and on the same day Mark found a job in Washington D.C.
Shannon celebrated her 11th birthday while at our home this year in
St. Pete. I asked her if it was the best
birthday ever and her reply was that this year was the second best. Her 10th birthday was the best
ever since that was the day her father learned about his new position and their
move to Washington D.C.
The special
treat this year was the arrival of the “kidlets” for a month long visit and
their participation in the sailing program at the SPYC. In between sailing lessons they learned to
spin fiber to their great delight.
The
McDermotts have lived in their new home for almost a year. I haven’t visited, but don’t feel the need to
be there as I know every inch from seeing pictures when they were considering
buying and seeing pictures since they moved in.
I don’t do stairs as easily as before and the only full bath is
upstairs. However, I am so happy for
them.
My best
accomplishment this year was introducing the “kidlets” to Wagner in particular
“The Ring Cycle”. I was fortunate to
find a book written for children detailing the complete story. I read it to Shannon, Brigid and Molly and
they loved it. I also showed them a bit
of the Met’s most recent production.
They were simply enchanted with the story. As they mature this will be a treasure that
will only get deeper and more significant.
My second
best accomplishment was getting a large portion of the coral reef project to a
permanent home at Great Explorations.
I have a
gnawing sadness for our country. So much
could be accomplished if it were not for the stubborn Republican Party that is
determined to thwart the President no matter what the cost. We continue in two ill thought out wars that
drain our treasury. We barely escaped a
financial meltdown and nothing is being done about global warming. I regret the mess we are leaving for our
kidlets to clean up. The possibilities
for the future could be so bright with our wonderful technology if only we
could get past our age old hostilities. And,
don’t even get me started on religion.
The Bible is a bunch of Fairy Tales written by ignorant old men. The
Jews invented guilt and Catholics perfected it.
I am tired of living. Perhaps this will be my last trip around the sun.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
THE PLOT THICKENS AND POPE IS IN THE SOUP
Pope Benedict retired after inquiry into 'Vatican gay officials', says paper
Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking 'Vatileaks' affair and discovery of 'blackmailed gay clergy'
Email
The Vatican is awhirl with rumours about the pope's decision to retire. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images
A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.
The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.
The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.
Last May Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested and charged with having stolen and leaked papal correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and infighting.
According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election.
The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were "united by sexual orientation".
In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail.
It quoted a source "very close to those who wrote [the cardinal's report]" as saying: "Everything revolves around the non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments."
The seventh enjoins against theft. The sixth forbids adultery, but is linked in Catholic doctrine to the proscribing of homosexual acts.
La Repubblica said the cardinals' report identified a series of meeting places in and around Rome. They included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop.
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said: "Neither the cardinals' commission nor I will make comments to confirm or deny the things that are said about this matter. Let each one assume his or her own responsibilities. We shall not be following up on the observations that are made about this."
He added that interpretations of the report were creating "a tension that is the opposite of what the pope and the church want" in the approach to the conclave of cardinals that will elect Benedict's successor. Another Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, alluded to the dossier soon after the pope announced his resignation on 11 February, describing its contents as "disturbing".
The three-man commission of inquiry into the Vatileaks affair was headed by a Spanish cardinal, Julián Herranz. He was assisted by Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, a former archbishop of Palermo, and the Slovak cardinal Jozef Tomko, who once headed the Vatican's department for missionaries.
Pope Benedict has said he will stand down at the end of this month; the first pope to resign voluntarily since Celestine V more than seven centuries ago. Since announcing his departure he has twice apparently referred to machinations inside the Vatican, saying that divisions "mar the face of the church", and warned against "the temptations of power".
La Repubblica's report was the latest in a string of claims that a gay network exists in the Vatican. In 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a "sting" organised by an Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a younger man.
In 2010 a chorister was dismissed for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. A few months later a weekly news magazine used hidden cameras to record priests visiting gay clubs and bars and having sex.
The Vatican does not condemn homosexuals. But it teaches that gay sex is "intrinsically disordered". Pope Benedict has barred sexually active gay men from studying for the priesthood.
70th trip around the Sun - update
May 24, 2012
My upcoming 70th birthday has been on my mind for
at least the last six months. I’ve been
keenly aware that the end is near – at least I hope it is. When I look at
pictures of the “kidlets” taken six short years ago I come face to face with
the fleeting nature of time. In one of
my most recent projects, translating Alla’s book from French, I can see a huge
picture of humanity that staggers my mind.
Alla’s book traces her ancestors back to just before the first
millennium detailing thousands of people and their struggles to live and order
their lives. Each was born struggled and
died. I remember when my dear father got
close to the end he had a desire to divest himself of possessions. My thoughts are in that direction as well.
My world is closing in and I am happy with that. I really do not want to go anywhere except
home. I am happy doing my projects,
knitting, spinning, writing and tidying up my lifelong genealogy project.
This morning I finished reading Carl Sagan’s book “Contact”. I think I needed it at just this time in my
life. It’s been on the shelf unread for
years, but as always Sagan has helped put things in perspective. I am a mote on top of a pile of motes going
back and forward forever. My life has
been much better than most and my problems pale. Just as I needed the words I found the above
quote from Anne Frank.
The past year has been emotionally tough. No good is served by rehashing a story that
everyone knows.
As always, I have sought to know the truth. I’ve also tried to share hard won
knowledge.
It’s inconceivable to me that Sarah Palin and Fox News still
represent information to so many individuals.
The hypocrisy of the Republican Party is stupdifying. I fear for our country and the future for the
“Kidlets”. I fear the divisiveness of
the Catholic Church that has no business interfering in government and would do
well to govern themselves. An institution so full of the rot of child molesters
has no standing in my eyes. Ask yourself
what would Jesus say or think to see the pope, bishops and priests marching
around in splendor will ignoring the poor and abused?
I fear that relying on The Bible as the unerring word of God
will ultimately be civilizations’ undoing.
The Bible is an anthology of tales written by people with little
knowledge of science and it is used to control people and marginalize a huge
segment of the population. It is full of
hatred and wrath. Thomas Jefferson
discovered that over two hundred years ago.
My faith is rooted not in fear of punishment, but rather in
seeing how I can be helpful. I get great
pleasure performing good works in secret.
I have no idea how many more birthdays lie ahead. I know for sure that I’ve accomplished all
I’ve ever dreamed of doing and if this is my last birthday I am content. I
could leave this life easily. I am certain that I will never seek to cling to
life. I guess I am getting ready.
I am sure I will never win the lottery as I’ve had my chance
at luck and struck gold. Lexus gave me a
brand new car this year. Quelle
surprise!
I am enormously grateful to have had the advantage of
computers and the internet. When I look
back at how genealogy was done in 1976 when I started I am amazed at the
technology we have today.
One last item. I’m
reading “The Edge of Infinity” and it suggests that huge leaps are on the
horizon. We must drop our fear and hypocrisy
as we march forward. 
We all live with the objective of being happy;
our lives are all different and yet the same.
- Anne Frank
We all live with the objective of being happy;
our lives are all different and yet the same.
- Anne Frank
Today is October 12th 2012 and I am three months
into my 70th trip around the sun. I have survived, but it has been a
roller coaster ride and I am hoping to coast gently to the end from here. A great joy for me was helping Mark and Page
find a home that appears perfect. I
always like doing this and the personal experience was fascinating and
rewarding. We’ve come a long way from
the old days of MLS when all information was controlled. Now it is possible to almost buy a home sight
unseen on the internet. Page and the
children came for a six week visit while they await their furniture. It was a magical time to see the three oldest
girls so enthusiastic about sewing and knitting. The baby is very sweet and no trouble at
all. Daniel almost killed himself by
pulling over a heavy lamp and my house is a chaotic mess. Add to that the virus we all developed and
the days of misery and it’s fair to say the visit was not uneventful.
The girls are thrilled with their new rooms and eager to
decorate them. While they were here I
completed my “Doodles Cute Wair” knitting book and the girls made several
successful pieces.
I sought something momentous to mark July 16th
2012 and it was that day that I signed my non-disclosure agreement with Audrey
in anticipation of helping her publish Fred’s book on Sarah Palin. (looking
back from October I must report that the project withered on the vine.) However, a new memorial raised its head in
the form of the Coral Reef Project. When
I learned that it was to be dismantled and sold off piece by piece, I offered
to buy a large section and donate it to the Great Explorations Children’s
Museum. This is a very suitable marker
for my 70th birthday.
Kelly was born July 9th. It was a difficult situation for me, but it seems
that was more in my mind than in fact.
She is a lovely child and may be the best of the bunch. This summer I pulled my spinning project
together and sent it off to Vermont.
Haven’t had any door buster sales yet, but I am having fun imaging
solutions to tags, advertising and display
July 4th was a red letter day with the
confirmation of the Higgs Boson particle.
I am greatly saddened to hear my daughter say she doubts the theory of
evolution, but I must press on. Science
not superstition will be our savior if there is any.
I finally pulled the Affaired d’Art Chihully project off to
benefit the Museum of Fine Arts and some of our finer glass pieces have been on
six month display celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Art Glass
movement.
I continue to read with one of my favorites being “Catherine
the Great”. In addition I discovered
that I have a better knowledge of French than I realized. I interpreted Alla’s genealogy for her.
As is my habit I looked for another human being to help –
someone from whom I expected nothing.
This year is was Mark Guidici – the gentleman who came to repair
appliances and was a bit depressed. I
wrote his resume for him and suggested advertising tactics. I continued to encourage Dena my manicurist
and she continues to hold on.
Of course the visit last fall of Page and the children was a
blessing and a strain – but that is life.
The surprise of it threw my life into a tornado that only now six months
later has seen the debris settle. Her
unexpected pregnancy and the secrecy of it caused me to seek professional
help. Through my doctors and friends I
learned that her actions were based on the sure knowledge that I would never
abandon her. In a way I suppose my
sufferings were a privilege that only a mother can receive. The pregnancy caused me to reexamine the issue
of birth control and the Catholic Church.
I intend to write extensively on the topic elsewhere as I am in the
process of research. The most revealing
and shocking is “In The Name of God” by David Yallop
My health is good but each day I note obituaries and know
that one day my time will be up – I am ready.
My biggest regret is the emotional trauma the kidlets will suffer when
they come to know, as I did, that their religion is full of politics and
corruptions. I do not say this lightly,
but after six months of intensive readings I’ve come to know that the truth about the papacy is disgusting
and that’s before you talk of the child molestations.
Our election is in less that six weeks and things are not
looking good for our president. He is an
honest man who seeks reconciliation. He
simply cannot believe that Mitt Romney would stand on stage and lie through his
teeth. Unfortunately many Americans
watch Fox news and believe all of the vitriol that is spewed. Case in point is that four years later Sarah
Palin is still a very potent force for evil.
I think this will be my last birthday commemoration. Page and family are back and settled, I’ve
had many opportunities to know all the kidlets and they to know me.
Update – February 21, 2013
I am in the process of cleaning up my files and in doing so
found an opportunity to reread my comments.
Since there have been significant events I feel they need to be
included. Most significant is the fact
that the pope resigned!!!!!!!!!!!! Being
my usual curious self I sought to find the reason. In a nutshell it seems that the child abuse
scandal is about to blow sky high. A
California judge ordered the release of 12,000 pages of documents that show how
Bishop Mahoney begged and pleaded with the pope to take action even going so
far as making a personal visit to Rome.
The pope did nothing. Meanwhile
Mahoney is accused in civil actions of continuing the cover up and will be
deposed before he can go to Rome to vote on the new pope. Think of it as a circular firing squad.
Benedict has been deep in the cover up since before he was
pope and things are starting to unravel.
It first came to light with his butler leaking private papers last
spring. It really reminds me of
Watergate. Once the toothpaste is out of
the tube it cannot be put back.
Unfortunately this scandal of scandals concerns the spiritual well-being
of many people. As a child in Catholic
school I was taught by the nuns that the worst sin one could commit was to
bring scandal to the church; the next worst was hypocrisy. I can say no more.
The next significant event was the reelection of President
Obama and his realization that there was no way he could bargain with the
present Republican Party. I predict that
Obama will go down in history as one of our greatest presidents. The Republicans lost the election and the party
is dead on the vine. It appears that
Hillary Clinton my run in 2016 and her thinking is described as being similar
to that of the former Republican Party before it was hijacked by the extreme
right wing “tea party”.
The very vile Sarah Palin is no longer on Fox News, but
still no one will call her on her stunning fake pregnancy.
Recently scientists suggest that the Higgs Boson may
indicate that in several billion years the universe will cease to exist. I guess it just comes and goes endlessly and
why not? I wonder where heaven fits into
all of this. Perhaps I am right – heaven
is within each of us all along – we make our own heaven or hell and experience
it daily. I hope to make a bibliography
that might interest someone exploring the same idea.
I continue to spin yarn and sold my entire inventory last
week at FAB.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Dark Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI
Follow
The pope has chosen to step down, the first pope in seven centuries to do so. As a Christian, I witness his legacy, and that of his predecessor, with profoundly mixed feelings: outrage over the crimes committed against the people of God, and relief that the masks covering the corruption of the papacy have at last been removed.
I see that the 42-year reign of the past two popes has so destroyed the church we once knew that now the Holy Spirit can give birth to a community far more attuned to the revolutionary Gospel of Jesus than the current and dying structures ever could be. More than ever, we recognize the warning of historian Lord Acton after Vatican Council I defined papal infallibility: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
We have witnessed how Cardinal Martini on his deathbed, issued a damning call to action to a church "200 years behind the times." We have witnessed the retaliation of the past two popes against theologians and pastoral ministers who have dared to dissent for the sake of social justice, eco-justice, gender and gender preference justice: 105 and more have been and continue to be hounded, silenced and expelled.
So as one of these dissidents, speaking now from outside the Vatican's punitive reach, I offer a short list of some of the issues for which history will hold Ratzinger accountable, both as cardinal and as pope (I offer page numbers of my study on his life and papacy in my book, "The Pope's War: How Ratzinger's Crusade Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved," to see the backup evidence).
- His silence for years about the notorious pedophile priest Father Maciel, who was so close to Pope John Paul II that he was often invited on the papal plane -- and who sexually abused dozens of his seminarians, had two wives on the side and sexually abused his own children. Fr. Maciel was not fully investigated until 2005 even though a New York bishop reported his actions to Ratzinger's office in 1995 (125-130).
- His attacks while head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly "Office of the Holy Inquisition") on theologians and pastoral leaders the world over who dared to do their job which is to think (they are listed on page 238-241 but the list keeps growing).
- His (and his predecessor's) bringing back the Inquisition and dumbing-down the church, educing theology to 1) a catechism and 2) agreement with the dictates of the pope and his curia. History does not remember Torquemada as a theologian; neither will they remember Ratzinger as one.
- His unrelenting attacks on base communities and Liberation Theology even though this movement, like the civil rights movement of the U.S., was the most Christ-like movement for democracy and justice and freedom in centuries (41-62).
- His (and the previous pope's) promotion of neo-fascist sects as the new "religious orders," including Opus Dei, which is now embedded in places of great power including the financial headquarters of E.U., the U.S. Supreme Court, the CIA (especially under George Bush the first), FBI and the U.S. mainstream media (106-124).
- His and the previous pope's support for extreme right wing groups from Maciel's Legion of Christ to Communion and Liberation to Opus Dei (130-144). Opus Dei members are being placed as bishops and cardinals in Latin America and now in North America: Los Angeles, the biggest North American diocese, is run by an Opus Dei bishop. Likewise the diocese of Kansas City, whose bishop is convicted of covering up for a predatory priest but refuses to step down.
- His destroying the integrity of the canonization process by eliminating the role of "devil's advocate" in pointing out the shadow side of the candidate. With this obstacle out of the way, Ratzinger pushed through the canonization of the founder of Opus Dei, Fr. Escriva -- a recognized fascist who praised Hitler -- faster than any saint in history (106-125).
- His covering up the scandal of pedophile clergy and putting the image of the Catholic church ahead of the rights of young children in the U.S., in Ireland and elsewhere. The recent HBO film "Mea Maxima Culpa" tells the facts about some of these horrors and how the buck stopped with Ratzinger (134-174).
- His public disrespect for other faiths and disavowal of religious ecumenism. Ratzinger as pope managed to insult Islam, Judaism, all Protestant churches (saying they are not churches) and the mind-body-spirit practice of yoga. As cardinal he presaged this anti-ecumenical attitude, unbelievably calling the globally revered Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn, "the anti-Christ" (260).
- His absolute reaffirmation of a "morality" of sexism (no women priests ever; Catholic sisters in America are now being subjected to inquisitions as theologians have been; priests who support women are dismissed -- but pedophile priests are not!).
- His un-Christlike diatribes against gay persons, borne out in not one but two documents: his ignoring scientific research on homosexuality has created another Galileo moment in church history.
- His irresponsible positions against condoms even in an age of AIDS and against birth control in a time of excessive human population on a crowded planet. His positions on sexuality are all about St. Augustine's antiquated ethics and not anything Jesus ever taught.
- His interference in the presidential election of 2004, wherein Ratzinger instructed American bishops that any "Catholic politician" (i.e. Kerry) who did not denounce gays and abortion could not receive communion. This resulted in three states having very unusual Republican votes from Catholics -- if just one of them had had a more normal Catholic vote, Kerry, not Bush, would have been president.
With such a track record as this, Father Ratzinger is right to retire. Unfortunately, because he and his predecessor appointed only yes men as cardinals, one should not expect any improvement in the next pope.
Instead, we should recognize that history has passed the papacy by. Now is the time for the Holy Spirit to push the restart button on Christianity -- both Catholic and Protestant versions -- so as to strip down to the essence of Jesus' teaching and the Cosmic Christ tradition.
Christianity can be rebuilt without basilicas on our backs but mere backpacks. Travel lightly. Walk humbly. Do justice. And peace will follow.
Monday, February 11, 2013
POPE RESIGNS Read Andrew Sullivans comments
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)