With all the mowing, trimming, cutting, hauling, collecting, sorting — this is all I’ve got for the day: the bushes I assaulted with a trimmer.
One-Picture Day
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Pride
Conservative Christians on social media are having fits about Pride Month. They like to point out that pride was, in their view, the original sin of the angels. Never mind that this notion owes more to Milton and Paradise Lost than to anything in the Bible — once something gets in the conservative Christian psyche, it’s hard to shake it out.
But no conservative Christian is as upset about Pride Month as Catholics, because June is dedicated to the “Sacred Heart of Jesus.” Conservative Catholics are upset about this, suggesting Catholics need to “reclaim the month.”
I’m curious how they see this working exactly. Do they expect that in “reclaiming the month,” they can convince masses of people to abandon Pride Month and embrace this idea? Most non-Catholic Christians have never heard of this notion of the “Scared Heart of Jesus.” They might ask, “What about his other internal organs? Is there a month of the Sacred Spleen of Jesus, too?”
The Catholic Culture website explains it thusly:
Understood in the light of the Scriptures, the term “Sacred Heart of Jesus” denotes the entire mystery of Christ, the totality of his being, and his person considered in its most intimate essential: Son of God, uncreated wisdom; infinite charity, principal of the salvation and sanctification of mankind. The “Sacred Heart” is Christ, the Word Incarnate, Saviour, intrinsically containing, in the Spirit, an infinite divine-human love for the Father and for his brothers.
“Month of the Sacred Heart“
I don’t think it will sell in 2023…
Berries Approaching
Soon — very soon…
Pressuring Washing Monopoly Blueberries
There is a tsunami approaching: we got the first hints today. Hidden here and there among the pale blue berries are a few dark, ripe ones. There were not many this morning, but there were enough to fill a small cup. What awaits us, though, is overwhelming — in the most positive way, to be sure, but overwhelming nonetheless.
We picked them after we spent a bit of time blasting off the last bit of paint on the ramp that leads to our side entrance.
It was the ramp we built to help us get Nana and Papa into their new quarters a little over four years ago. We don’t have much need for it now — we could survive with a simple path and a couple of steps, but of course, we would never go through the time and expense of taking out the ramp and putting in a walkway in. As with the walk-in shower, it’s a reminder of a time now gone, of family now gone, of times never to return.
And so, as if almost in an unconscious effort to make the most of the times we have together, we did something we haven’t done as a family in a while: play a board game. L, of course, won — she almost always wins. The Boy came in last, as he frequently and sadly does. K and I, not worrying about who’s winning or losing as the game progresses, end up in the middle.
A perfect evening in the middle of the week. We need more of them.
Paint Peeling
We’ll definitely be doing some repainting this summer…
Prayer Before Praying
Nothing could epitomize better the sense of worthlessness that Catholicism instills in its believers than this “prayer before praying.” In it, the penitent admits that even when praying, when doing what the god of the Bible commands, he’s a worthless pile of nonsense, and without a little bit of Jesus’ blood smeared on his lips, he would say the most outrageous things…
But then there’s the eternal problem with such things: if there should be a prayer before praying, shouldn’t there be a prayer before praying the prayer before praying? And logically, shouldn’t there be a prayer before praying the prayer before praying the prayer before praying? If nothing I say is worth saying without praying beforehand, and even that prayer is not worthy of anything other than scorn because I’m some useless shit of a sinner, shouldn’t I just play it safe and keep my mouth shut?
Grilling
K is turning dinner over to me over the summer. Time to fire up the grill!
Our Saturday, Their Saturday
Last Day 2023
Eighth-Grade Day
Coming faces
I spent the day in a sixth-grade classroom covering for a teacher wanted to go on today’s eighth-grade field trip. I met about 100 young men and ladies who are about to move into the seventh grade, students who will eventually turn out to be my students. I started each session taking roll and asking them about first impressions.
“What is a first impression?” I asked, and some really didn’t know. They’d heard of it, but they didn’t really know what it was or how we create those critical impressions that serve as the initial foundation for all future interactions.
“Are you making a first impression?” I asked Jose when I called his name.
“What are you doing that is creating a first impression,” I asked Sara ask I continued down the roster.
“What first impression have you presented to me?” I asked James when I got to his name.
“That’s making an impression,” I said to Nadia, pointing to her foot that bobbing up and down. She looked down then stopped immediately. “I’m not saying it’s a bad impression — I’m just pointing out that it is contributing to the first impression you’re creating.”
These are the basic social-emotional skills and awarenesses that so many kids are completely clueless about. They’re not aware of the simple fact that they are communicating with every single thing they do. They’re not aware that even when they think that no one is watching, that no one is drawing conclusions from how they walk, how they talk, how they interact with their friends — when they think they’re completely invisible.
Elementary School Graduation
Today, our Boy finished elementary school. “I mean, I have to go three more days after that,” he explained to me the other day, “but once I get that piece of paper, I’m basically done.”
Our daughter has two more years of high school; our son starts middle school next year…
Delusion
The original video.
Jocassee
After-Mass Potluck
Fourth Anniversary
Comments for the 2022-2023 School Year
This year’s entries:
- I know you’ve heard the rumors of how bad Mr. Scott is but trust me there are worse teachers out there.
- Mr. Scott is not working against you, in fact he is here to help you. It may seem horrible and never ending now, but it will help you in the long run.
- In conclusion, I know Mr. Scott seems intimidating and scary but trust me he will be there for you because he wants you to be the greatest writer you can be.
- The next one-hundred eighty days are about to be life-changing! If you are reading this you are lucky enough to have the hardest but most useful teacher of eighth grade. Mr. Scott has by far been my favorite teacher because of his challenging assignments, cheery attitude, and desire for you to think independently.
- Although it may seem like Mr. Scott is just trying to make your life impossible, he doest do all of this to be mean, he just wants you to learn. I know right now you’re probably thinking that Mr. Scott is the worst and there is no possible way you can do this class. Please just trust me when I say, this class will make you so much better at writing, reading, and at the end of the year you will see how much you improved in just a couple of months. I have learned so much and become such a better writer and I know you will too.
- This school year you will have the misfortune of getting Mr. Scott’s English 1 Class. This class will push you to your very limits and make you want to break something at least three times a week. It is a class of very high standards and a lot of work that will eventually prepare you for your highschool years. The work you have will make it difficult to want to do but in the end you will become a better reader and writer because of it.
- [T]hroughout the beginning this class may seem like it is never going to end but as you get through the year you will notice that each unit feels shorter and shorter. It may even seem as if it is getting easier, but it is all just a sign of how much you have grown within the year.
- Mr.Scott is the hardest teacher I’ve ever had. He will make you cry at some point this year.
- Mr.Scott’s class is challenging but will help you do great in the long run. You will have to thank Mr.Scott for keeping his class tough and everything else he taught you.
- This class will greatly prepare you for English 2, however, it will be a tough year and there may be some tears.
- This class has many qualities such as hilarious, complex, and depressing, but it’s definitely one you will never forget in comparison to any other English classes you have ever and will ever take.
- Welcome to Mr. Scott’s class. The place where I shed many tears, stressed so much I almost went bald, and learned more than I could have ever imagined. This class will most likely be one of the hardest you ever take. So now, go ahead and prepare yourself for some of the hardest and most work you will ever receive from any teacher. Go ahead and prepare yourself for countless late nights, wasted boxes of tissues and piles of papers. Finally, go ahead and prepare yourself for the longest year of your life.
- Mr.Scott may come across as a harsh grader however he is preparing you. Next year when you walk into English 2 honors it will be a breeze.
- This class is both one of the most stressful, and beneficial that you have taken, or will take for the rest of your time at Hughes. In English 1 Honors, you might face difficulties like being organized, staying focused, or keeping up with the writing assignments and projects.
- Mr. Scott may seem like an innocent, and nice English teacher, but he will always make sure that his students are having a terrible time. […] Mr.Scott’s class is just pure evil.
- If you are thinking that this year will be easy-going because it is your last year here, you are gravely mistaken and this class is the reason why. This class will be the hardest class you have ever taken, and there will be many times when you wish that you would have been in the other class. […] This class will be extremely difficult, but the result will be worth all of the hard work.
- Overall, Mr. Scott is not a mean teacher, but his class is one of the worst things you’ll experience this year.
- Mr. Scott’s class is definitely a difficult class, but afterwards you will find yourself writing much better paragraphs and noticing things in passages that you never would have seen before.
- This class will challenge you to think outside of the box and may stress you out sometimes. But ultimately if you pace yourself, pay attention, and ask questions you will end the school year with good grades and new amazing knowledge.
- Welcome to one of the hardest classes you have taken in middle school. You might be thinking that this class will be a breeze like English classes in the previous years, but Mr. Scott’s class is no joke. […] He will push you to your absolute max, and him doing this can cause a lot of stress, confusion, frustration, and maybe some crying. Aside from this, his class will definitely construct you into a better student, writer, worker, and reader.
- After a few months, you might think that you want to drop out of this class but once you are finishing up the school year, you will realize how far you’ve come and you might even start to like English. At the end of this journey, you will even start to like Mr.Scott and realize how much his class has helped you one way or another.
Presentations
English I students had the final day of Lord of the Flies presentations today. The final group looked at mob psychology and how it played a part in the novel:
A mob mentality is regularly made when people are part of a group, and seem to lose their self-awareness, or experience deindividuation. This means they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions, or lose their individual identity. Groups can get carried away, which could lead to behaviors that a person might not indulge in, by themselves. This can also mean that certain groups could make behaviors that were not acceptable, and turn them to a normal activity. In a sense, it is related to peer pressure, but is only effected in a situation involving a large group, or mob, that is making the influence. This is also referred to as “Herd” or “Hive” behavior. (From student presentation)
Lord of the Flies certainly made this obvious.
End of Year
As the school year comes to an end, so does the rigor…
Religious Time Machine
I’ve sometimes wondered what it might be like to travel back in time with our current understanding of the physical world to a time when people thought witches cast spells, that comets were harbingers of the future, that thunder and lightning were from the gods. What kind of frustrating hell would that be to experience others making decisions — occasionally life and death decisions — based solely on uneducated superstition? We would watch in horror as pseudo-physicians drilled holes in epileptics’ heads to allow the evil spirits to escape. We would watch aghast as women accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake, crushed, drowned, and killed in ineffably evil ways. We would witness the spread of the Black Death through Europe and the accompanying brutal attacks against the Jews, whom the non-Jews viewed as responsible for the plague through supernatural means.
With all this swirling around us, we would, I think, find it difficult to keep quiet. As we would attempt to explain to these scientific illiterates the reality of germs, epilepsy, and the complete lack of evidence for the efficacy of witchcraft, we would likely find ourselves labeled as perpetrators of similar acts. Our defense would get us labeled as being “in league with the devil” and likely result in our own persecution or death. If we kept quiet, the frustration of watching people killed, maimed, and tortured in the name of superstition and illogic would take quite a toll on our mental health.
Yet we don’t have to imagine what it would be like to live among the scientifically illiterate who have only the most tenuous grasp on logic because we already do. This is the reality we’re experiencing now watching Qanon proponents try to explain that there is a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who harvest adrenochrome from kidnapped babies who are then raped and devoured. This is the reality we’re experiencing now watching people make unsubstantiated claims about stolen elections even when adequate evidence to the contrary exists. This is the reality we’re experiencing now watching people fall in line behind the far-right position that Russia is the good guy in its war with Ukraine, which has in fact been in various nefarious conspiracies with this or that group bent on world domination. People are swallowing whole lies that are so obviously and ridiculously false that it strains one’s imagination that anyone could respond to such suppositions with anything other than incredulous laughter.
Why would people believe this?
It’s simple: they’re primed to believe things like this. Most of those who hold these various conspiracy theories are on the far-right of the political spectrum, and that usually aligns with the fundamentalist wing of Christianity. These individuals are disproportionally evangelical Christians, and this means they take the Bible literally. There really was a talking snake in the Garden of Eden (indeed, there really was a Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve). Balaam’s donkey really did rebuke Balaam for beating him. Jonah really did survive in a fish for three days. People really do suffer demon possession that results in behavior suspiciously similar to epilepsy. And behind this all lurks an evil spirit secretly pulling the strings of all left-leaning individuals, institutions, and ideologies in an effort to ensnare souls and drag them down to hell with him.
Evangelicals are not the only ones holding these conspiracy theories; Catholics increasingly are falling for them as well. Their view of the source of evil in the world so much the less nuanced that they have a prayer about it:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Yet no matter whether Evangelical or Catholic, these fundamentalists have one thing in common: their religion itself is a conspiracy theory.