Chatting at the Lake
general
Take 1
If it were anyone other than Tommy and Joscho (the two greatest living guitarists — there’s no way to argue differently), I’d never believe this was the first time they played this song together.
Millennium Falcon
It was the greatest moment of my life to that point: a new, clean Millennium Falcon, nearly as big as I, was mine.
At times all I could do was sit and look at it incredulously.
Now, over forty years later, it’s in the Boy’s room, though the newness has worn off — both from the Falcon and for the Boy.
Perspective
Jablonka in World War 2
A Way Out
You shouldn't use a student's behavior as a good example of bad behavior, but I did just that today. We'd finished early, and I was talking to the kids about three questions we should all ask ourselves before speaking:
- Does it need to be said?
- Does it need to be said by me?
- Does it need to be said by me now?
The motivation for this gem of advice was from a young lady who speaks her mind -- literally. If it comes into her head, it soon comes out of her mouth.
It can be disruptive, to say the least.
As I was talking about the first question, another student made an unrelated comment to our talker.
"See?" I said to the girl J and class, "that was a time when the answer to the question 'Does it need to be said?' was probably 'No.'" I said that and thought, "Perhaps I shouldn't have said that."
And on cue, the girl starts up with the disrespectful arguing: "I was talkin' quietly. I wasn't botherin' you or interrupting anything."
"Perhaps, but you certainly are now," I smiled. I glanced over at one of the most studious kids in the class, a girl I already think I'll remember for the rest of my teaching career, such is the positive impression she's made with her work ethic and charming personality. She was aghast.
"Make the tension go away!" her face begged.
So I attempted to do that: "It's okay," I laughed to the class. "J and I had this all planned as a good bad example." And I thought, "Please, girl, for the love of all that's possessing common sense, realize the out I've given you, fake a smile, and say, 'That's right, Mr. S.' We'll drop it. You'll save face. I will have deflected a challenge to my authority. Everyone else will take a breath and think, 'God, I'm glad that's over.' We'll all win."
"No, we didn't!" she blurted out loudly.
It was really difficult restraining that laughter bubbling up inside me...
Evening Reading
Polish Mass and Thoughts
It's been many, many months since the Polish community gathered after Mass for any sort of social event. Today, there was an informal gathering afterward with a small potluck.
I've mixed feelings about such things. I'm vaccinated as are K and L. E is of course not vaccinated, but he didn't spend any time to speak of in this room. And while I'd like to assume that everyone else was vaccinated, I'm just not certain.
Numbers are rising; the CDC now recommends a mask for everyone regardless of vaccination status; such gatherings seem increasingly risky.
Yet risky for whom? The unvaccinated. That means three groups:
- Children whose parents would willingly and quickly get them vaccinated if the vaccine received FDA approval for that age group
- People who would get a vaccine if they could but have associated health issues that makes it risky and
- Every unvaccinated person who has chosen not to get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, almost all of which (no, all of which, come to think of it) I regard as willfully ignorant, idiotic, selfish, and immature.
At this point, I'd really like to say of such people, "Screw 'em. Let them get sick. Let them die if that's the course the disease takes. They had a chance to get preventative help and they elected not to. Choices have consequences; 'freedom' is truly never free."
The real problem, though, is that these people who are unvaccinated and getting sick are taking health resources from the few vaccinated individuals who contract the disease and everyone else with any other conceivable health issue that now have to wait for medical attention thanks to the anti-vaxers.
I'd honestly have no problem with hospitals setting up tents in their parking lots and putting unvaccinated covid cases there. Everyone else should receive priority.
"But you can't do that! It's immoral!"
Since when is triage immoral?
Additionally, insurance carriers should start applying a hefty penalty for those who can be vaccinated but are not.
Harvard Chaplain
The original comment along with the article:
So if you want to have an idea of false prophets in the modern world…Check this out. I’m pretty sure this is probably a good example, not only for this person, but for all the clergy people who voted for this to happen. Also- Harvard was originally founded by Puritan ministers to train future ministers-how far it has fallen.
Assorted comments:
- We are on a slippery slope speeding our way to hell! We are so messed up in this world and the more we tolerate and accept this irrational ideology the sooner we will never understand God is the ultimate answer! God HELP US!
- Shameful, what kind of message are we sending to our youth. This is a very bad example for our children. You can’t possibly be a chaplain and an atheist, it is contradictory.
- Storm heaven for his conversion. With God, all things are possible!!
- The devil’s at play, but he hasn’t won yet. Battle with prayer, Christians!
- He wrote a book titled ‘Good Without God’, sympathetic with Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris, etc and all the New Atheist dummies. I guess it helped him get a decent job in leftist Academia being responsible for the spiritual counseling of young people.
- I wonder what judgement sic day will be like for him.
My comment
The “nones” are the fastest-growing demographic in the nation. Many are looking at the answers religions provide and finding them lacking. This is simply a reflection of that. As science answers more and more questions about origins, consciousness, and other things that used to be under the purview of religion, young people find religion increasingly irrelevant. Science makes new discoveries every day; religion is static and dogmatic. It’s a one-way street, this change.
No response.
Family Outing
Our first family outing in some time. We took the kids for some Afghan cuisine and ice cream -- something new, something loved.
