Tuesday, March 6th 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Before I dive into the business at hand I just have to give a shout to my most recent obsession, mc chris. I first learned about him through his work on various Adult Swim shows and then through the 2008 documentary Nerdcore Rising. He's a begrudging member of the "nerdcore hiphop" movement coined and popularized by MC Frontalot in 2000. Basically they do hiphop about "nerdy" things like Star Wars, role-playing games, computers, Harry Potter, etc. How could I not go in for that?! Write what you know, eh? I'm not exactly sure what draws me to mc chris specifically (and yes, that's not a typo, the correct writing of his name is all lowercase, no punctuation.) but his hooks find themselves in my brain most of the time and something about that voice just does it for me. I can understand why his stuff can be hard to get into for people though, Kelley CLAIMS she's not that into him but I've heard her hum "Emo Party" and complain that things are stuck in her head. Ha! Victory! If you don't feel like checking him out, and shame on you for that, his voice is kind of like Aziz Ansari but tinier, his lyrics are funny, equally self-deprecating and self-aggrandizing and smart. Clever wordplay with this dude, let me tell you. Musically it's all over the board within the confines of hiphop though there are an abundance of blips and beeps but not like that Skrillex bullshit that sounds like a dial-up modem. Besides, one of his best songs is about the oft-overlooked key Harry Potter character Neville Longbottom. !!!
And this new-ish record store in Dover that puts on shows is booking him in the near future. I'm very, very stoked to see this show if and when it happens. A dude rhyming with a laptop never seemed exciting until now.
------
Wednesday, March 7th Twenty-Twelve
Kelley is still asleep (it's 830am on a Wednesday, let sleeping Bonesaws lie, damnit!) and I'm mentally trying to figure out what's going on today. I believe we're heading to her parents' house at some point to do laundry and probably have some sort of snacky snacks utilizing her father's newest acquisition: a shiny Wusthof chef's knife. Funny story: two days ago we (Kelley and I) were in Portsmouth running some errands and I mentioned I wanted to stop at the kitchen store to price cutting boards and cast iron pans/skillets. I'd cook everything in cast iron if I had my way, just about. As we make our way to the boards we turn to find her parents coming our way. Weeeee! They said they were just thinking about us or me because they were there to procure this knife and wanted to know my opinion on it. See, it's no secret that I'm a cooking nerd (I'm seriously considering "Cook Food" as my knuckle tattoos.) and apparently over the years I've inspired Kelley's father to cook better or something. I think it all started one Thanksgiving when we needed to make gravy and the classic Harrington gravy comes out of a mix. Ew. I posed the question "Hey, why not make a pan gravy?" So we whipped up a nice dark roux, reduced the pan drippings and voila, delicious gravy. One dinner he told me that I was kind of his inspiration since then and it warms my heart a bit. As much as I'd love to be self-deprecating here and act all super humble I know I'm a good cook. I've got talent, yo. People of varying palettes, backgrounds, and positions have told me as such. Plus, I can taste my own food. I know what I can do. However, given this, knowing that someone tasted something I did and was compelled to recreate it or retool their own cuisine is kind of cool. It's like back in Our Last Minus Fred days when kids would come up and say I helped inspire them to write songs or play in a band. Having any kind of affect on someone, especially in a positive way is a profound thing.
Alright alright, getting someone to season their food differently or mince onions finer is a stretch to call a profound thing and I'm probably way overstating things but I can't say I'm good at being subtle all the time.
Speaking of her father, we popped over to do laundry earlier and as sometimes happens he offered to take us out to lunch so we tried this sort of new place on 125 called Sunny's on the site of the old Gauthier's restaurant. Having not heard any reviews of this place I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food, the portions, and the prices. Kelley got a chicken finger plate (kind of her jam, really) and I was very surprised to see it came with a $6.99 price tag when the portion was easily something that any other restaurant would charge $10 or more fore. Plus I could tell they were made in house and not frozen from a bag. Very nice indeed. We all ate our prospective meals, enjoyed our tasty beverages and made our way back to the House of Harrington.
Where I promptly evacuated the entire contents of my stomach.
I'm not certain if it was what I ate or how much I ate that did it but really, either one can cause me to have a date with Monsieur Porcelain Paul. That's one really annoying thing about my disease and physical limitations: every meal is a gamble because I honestly don't know if something's going to set me off and not stay down. Fortunately I do at least know that if I eat a lot of anything that's usually a sure way to throwing up BUT the problem is on some days a certain amount of food is too much while others that same amount is just what I needed. It's frustrating to say the least. My system is just not equipped to deal with food a lot of the time. Hopefully at some point my body figures things out and comes back to normal but I'm honestly not sure if that day is really coming but then again, given what could have happened to me if I just have to deal with the occasional vomit party then I'm ok with that. Puking > dying.
------
"Hey unfaithful, I will teach you to be stronger. Hey ungraceful, I will teach you to forgive one another."
------
Angel posed an interesting question last night. He said "What makes someone a Christian?" A relatively simple question, one would venture. The way I see it, by definition a Christian is one who follows the teachings of one Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Big JC. Baby J-Dogg. I think I said having a relationship with God or talking to God or something, but that doesn't make you a Christian, that just makes you a person of faith, which (at least where I sit) is far more important than being involved in a particular club. My main issue with religion or Christianity is that it has nothing to do with God. I believe in God. He and I have had our words. Religion is politics and faith is pure and I'm more interested in having a one-on-one with the Big Guy than saying I'm part of this group or that group. Let's face it, the world could use a bit more solidarity and ecumenical thinking these days.
The reason he asked me that question was because he was wondering what it would take to make them believe he was a Christian. It's funny, their hangup isn't that he might not believe in God but that he's not a member of their club. That's kind of a fucked up set of priorities, kids. Not "Ok, this guy's genuine, solid, empathetic, loving, caring, my daughter will never want for anything, and I won't have to worry about her safety or happiness. Ever." Nope, it's "What? He doesn't believe in the same invisible man in the sky in the same manner as we do? FUCK HIM." I can't be the only one that thinks this is utter batshit craziness. I can kind of see the awkwardness of a lifelong Torah-abiding Hasidic Jew falling in love with a Shi'ite Muslim but we're talking two genuinely good people finding each other amid all the craziness in this world who technically believe in the same invisible man (the God of Abraham God, not L. Ron Hubbard or The Flying Spaghetti Monster or David Koresh) but because he doesn't go to their church or carry scriptures around in his back pocket he's a bad person. Blacklisted. Not my daughter. No, they'd rather set her up with "good, wholesome Christian boys" who, and I'm not making this up, delight in sending lurid and very sexually explicit text messages to this lovely young lady detailing the many ways they would like to violate her body and innocence. Yup, right neighborly folk who's idea of a conversation starter is "I want to pound your naughty bits" or something like that, just nastier and more explicit. (I'd rather not write what was actually written but use your imaginations here.) I'm not saying that's the decorum of the young male followers of JC on a whole but it's been my experience that people who come from culturally and sexually repressive upbringings tend to spread their little wings pretty hardcore when given the chance. I wonder if our lady in question has ever showed her father what kind of dudes he's tried to set her up with because Angel is a motherloving SAINT compared to some of these scumfucks. Sure, he's had his share of...experiences but the dude's in love and just wants to protect what he considers his.
Case in point, I was having a conversation with Our Lady of Wholesome Special Goodness one night and while trying to think of something to start the conversation with I just said "So, when I met him (Angel) it took me about...thirty seconds to fall in love. You?" And she just looks at me, laughs and says "Oh yeah." or something to that effect. That doesn't mean I'm going to be engaging in some steamy dude on dude space docking here you pervs, I just mean you meet those people that you know you're supposed to know and it just hits you. There's different kinds of love, children. There's nothing disingenous with her, either. She knows he's the one and he knows the same. The ladies have that ability, uncannily.
Oh and as you may have noticed I've annoyingly avoided using her name here. Why is that when I namedrop everyone else in my life? For some reason I have the thought that if her father stumbles into my corner if the interwebs maybe just maybe he won't put two and two together. Fat chance. Besides, it's kind of fun to dodge just typing her name. I guess I do that sometimes with other people, though quite a few people know that Kelley is Bonesaw though I haven't gotten into the reason WHY she is Bonesaw. Or le Bonesaw. Or any other derivative of that name but it is directly related to the little trip we plan on taking in early June. That's right, the geeks are headed to nearly-Mecca: Philadelphia ComicCon. It's no San Diego but it'll have to do. Why now, you ask? So Kelley can meet and greet and hug and display her Army of Darkness tattoo to/for/with Mr. Bruce motherloving Campbell. If you do not know who The Bruce is then stop reading right now, go IMDB him and see what comes up. I'm looking forward to seeing Kelley freak out and stuff, as weird as that may sound. I'm slightly guessing I'll end up being her interpreter because she'll just have garbled words and phrases and "Uh...um...I loooove youuuu..." and such. It's going to be CUTE.
------
Thursday, March 8th. Two-thousand and twelve.
One last thing before I go. I promise that I'll get back to the business at hand soon and make this about being sick again...or I won't I dunno. This is my corner of the internets people and I shall do with it as I please. I've had a good mind to do another recount of my crazy coma dreams so maybe that'll be next. Or how I thought I talked to God or saw cats all over the place or swore up and down I had the powers of Harry Potter. People like reading that stuff, right? Like it or not, it's happening.
Anyhow, to finish things up, it occurred to me yesterday on our way back home from Nottingham and LaundryTime that there's an interesting dichotomy going on in my music life and has since I really got into music. My three favorite bands are kind of in direct opposition with each other, at least philosophically. We've got Five Iron Frenzy (fairly evangelical Christian ska/pop/punk/etc.), Alkaline Trio (punk rock with lyrics referencing drinking, murder, death, heartbreak, Satan, Hell, anger, etc.) and Bad Religion (socio-politcal punk rock, LOTS of lyrics about how religion/God is a farce.) Chronologically my getting into these groups was BR, FIF then Alk3 and it never bothered me that even when I was a loyal, good-natured Christian young man I listened to A LOT of Bad Religion. It bothered the shit out of Liam, that's why he gave me my first BR records, Recipe For Hate and Stranger Than Fiction. Even as a kid I could seperate what I felt to be true with what these dudes that I revered were saying. Funny story: Leanor Inez Ortega, aka "Jeff the Girl", the saxophonist for Five Iron also counts Bad Religion as one of her favorites and that lady LOVES her some Jesus. "But P-Dizzle," you say, "isn't it weird for a super strong Christian lady to love a band that has albums-worth of songs taking apart her religion?" Nay, I say. In her own words, listening to them makes her faith stronger because it makes her think about why she believes what she does in the first place. Hear that people, it's ok to be into things that are opposed to your beliefs. As I stated in the last post, if your faith is that weak and shaky (and this is faith in anything) then you need to step back and reevaluate some things because clearly you're not as steadfast as you thought. That's like saying "My kids can't read Harry Potter books because they're EVIL." Fuck you. Although, and I'll have to dig up the link, one of my favorite websites ever is all about how this lady says that Harry Potter is all about Satanism and evil and teaching kids to hate Jesus. It's AMAZING. There are lots of websites out there that talk about this but one in particular is just breathtaking in its craziness.
I couldn't find the link I was looking for but settled on this. http://godhatesgoths.com/godhatesharrypotter.html
True, being a work of fiction you can glean what you will of these books but if you haven't read HP, I assure you there is no animal sodomizing, man-boy love, Satanic sacrifices/offerings, or any of the other crazy bits this lady purports to be true. Folks like this put the fun in fundamental.
------
That's all for now. As I said/wrote/psychically implanted in your noggins I'll be doing some old-fashioned coma storytelling soon I think. Also, I'll have some new stories soon because I'll be getting my tubes pulled (!!!) and having minor surgery to deal with my never-closing leaking awful wound.
Until then, I'm going to enjoy the rest of this day and hope I don't have any issues today.
Toodles.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Part Twenty: Phoenix Ignition.
(FYI I started writing this yesterday, the 29th so any references to "yesterday" mean the 28th. Sorry for the confusion.)
This is my third attempt at a new post, the first two being very different and without much direction and I fear the same this time around except now I'm not as concerned about it. That's one of the many problems I've run into in keeping this thing alive and well: what do I really write about? Ostensibly this is "an account of living with pancreatitis and how it affects my world" but more often then not I end up writing about things in the past, current events, relationships with people...and most of that does inform why I got pancreatitis in the first place but the connection can be a stretch. Also, I hate repeating myself or being redundant but I'm also completely ignorant of my readership and don't know who's read everything from the beginning and what I've left out. I'd have to re-read every post every day to remember everything I've already said but is it so bad to repeat oneself, especially in this context? The point of this blog is as much for education as it is for me to liberate myself from all these thoughts cruising around in my noggin. Going with the redundancy aspect I know I've posed the question previously that I'm not sure which direction to go in, or what people enjoy reading and what they could care less about. Sure, the overtly humorous bits are a nice read as are the bits about things I dreamt about in my fun little coma or things I said when I was out of my mind but there's only so much of that I can go over and this is all about my current living as much as it is about what got me here. That's right, I'm a walking after-school special. Jimmy Got Pancreatitis! Here's How!
No offense to the James, Jim, and Jimmy's of the world but it's not a name I would want for myself. And not just because I'm Team Dwight.
------
"Yeah it's a chronic pain in my ass but no, It's not a burden.
It's ironic that I drink to make my insides stop hurting.
And it's love that gives me heartburn,
it's a song that makes my stomach turn
and I wouldn't trade my hand for all the aces in the deck.
------
Yesterday was my brother Seamus' birthday. He's 30 now. I'm not sure how many people actually believed he'd live this long. I may have had my brushes with the Great Black Beyond but he's had a foot in the grave for a very long time. If you haven't figured it out yet kiddos, drugs are bad mmmk. Our relationship has been...interesting? over the years. Not to be overly cryptic or creepy or going for shock value but there are things that went on between us that not only have I never told anyone (and I was in therapy for YEARS, people) but I actively force myself not to think about and I'm pretty sure I've blocked a bunch of things from my consciousness because it'd make me want to kill myself. Use your imaginations to come up with things that could do that and they're probably not even close to what really happened. Despite his shortcomings, fracturing of our family, rampant drug abuse, thievery, physical and emotional abuse to me and God knows who else I still love him. If anyone on this planet has righteous reasons for outright hate in his general direction that would be me, but I don't. I can't. Despite all the fucked up things he's done to himself and to everyone else in his life we all deserve a second chance and an opportunity to change. Over the past few years he's even made real efforts to get clean, been in rehab programs, and still fights to this day to keep his addictions at bay and for that I say bravo fucking bravo. His marriage fell apart, he's lost most of the people in his life and now he wants to do something good with his life and really, who's place is it to beat him down for that? I'm told when I got sick he came to see me a few times and it really did a number on him. In my low moments I say "Good, feel shitty about it, asshole" but more often I just think wow, he didn't have to do that. He's not exactly in the family's good graces and he kind of stuck his neck out. I'm certainly not without sin so I'll be keeping those stones in my pocket, thank you very much.
Now, I don't mean to paint the picture that things were all bad between us. He helped teach me how to sing, write some of my first songs, he was the reason why I was straight edge until I was 22, he taught me the joys of Wii bowling...the list goes on and on. It's a very yin and yang relationship. Sure, he did things that I don't think I can ever forgive him for but it wasn't all bad. Hopefully he stays straight and keeps off the junk. At this point I just hope he can live healthy and happy because really, isn't that what we all deserve?
------
This is my third attempt at a new post, the first two being very different and without much direction and I fear the same this time around except now I'm not as concerned about it. That's one of the many problems I've run into in keeping this thing alive and well: what do I really write about? Ostensibly this is "an account of living with pancreatitis and how it affects my world" but more often then not I end up writing about things in the past, current events, relationships with people...and most of that does inform why I got pancreatitis in the first place but the connection can be a stretch. Also, I hate repeating myself or being redundant but I'm also completely ignorant of my readership and don't know who's read everything from the beginning and what I've left out. I'd have to re-read every post every day to remember everything I've already said but is it so bad to repeat oneself, especially in this context? The point of this blog is as much for education as it is for me to liberate myself from all these thoughts cruising around in my noggin. Going with the redundancy aspect I know I've posed the question previously that I'm not sure which direction to go in, or what people enjoy reading and what they could care less about. Sure, the overtly humorous bits are a nice read as are the bits about things I dreamt about in my fun little coma or things I said when I was out of my mind but there's only so much of that I can go over and this is all about my current living as much as it is about what got me here. That's right, I'm a walking after-school special. Jimmy Got Pancreatitis! Here's How!
No offense to the James, Jim, and Jimmy's of the world but it's not a name I would want for myself. And not just because I'm Team Dwight.
------
"Yeah it's a chronic pain in my ass but no, It's not a burden.
It's ironic that I drink to make my insides stop hurting.
And it's love that gives me heartburn,
it's a song that makes my stomach turn
and I wouldn't trade my hand for all the aces in the deck.
------
Yesterday was my brother Seamus' birthday. He's 30 now. I'm not sure how many people actually believed he'd live this long. I may have had my brushes with the Great Black Beyond but he's had a foot in the grave for a very long time. If you haven't figured it out yet kiddos, drugs are bad mmmk. Our relationship has been...interesting? over the years. Not to be overly cryptic or creepy or going for shock value but there are things that went on between us that not only have I never told anyone (and I was in therapy for YEARS, people) but I actively force myself not to think about and I'm pretty sure I've blocked a bunch of things from my consciousness because it'd make me want to kill myself. Use your imaginations to come up with things that could do that and they're probably not even close to what really happened. Despite his shortcomings, fracturing of our family, rampant drug abuse, thievery, physical and emotional abuse to me and God knows who else I still love him. If anyone on this planet has righteous reasons for outright hate in his general direction that would be me, but I don't. I can't. Despite all the fucked up things he's done to himself and to everyone else in his life we all deserve a second chance and an opportunity to change. Over the past few years he's even made real efforts to get clean, been in rehab programs, and still fights to this day to keep his addictions at bay and for that I say bravo fucking bravo. His marriage fell apart, he's lost most of the people in his life and now he wants to do something good with his life and really, who's place is it to beat him down for that? I'm told when I got sick he came to see me a few times and it really did a number on him. In my low moments I say "Good, feel shitty about it, asshole" but more often I just think wow, he didn't have to do that. He's not exactly in the family's good graces and he kind of stuck his neck out. I'm certainly not without sin so I'll be keeping those stones in my pocket, thank you very much.
Now, I don't mean to paint the picture that things were all bad between us. He helped teach me how to sing, write some of my first songs, he was the reason why I was straight edge until I was 22, he taught me the joys of Wii bowling...the list goes on and on. It's a very yin and yang relationship. Sure, he did things that I don't think I can ever forgive him for but it wasn't all bad. Hopefully he stays straight and keeps off the junk. At this point I just hope he can live healthy and happy because really, isn't that what we all deserve?
------
I made dinner for a few friends last night and the topic of another of our little circle's love life came up. Chris is my oldest friend and he's taken a shine on a young lady that is PERFECT for him. This makes me happy. He's been a bachelor for too long and needs and deserves someone that can go toe to toe with him. They read the same comics, are into the same movies, play the same video games...as we say in our parlance, "She can hang." I was present for their first meeting and I truly believed they had known each other for years, the way they were talking to each other. It was magical. Kismet. As far as I've been told they've kept up some healthy conversations since and hopefully this blossoms into something bigger. A match made in geek heaven.
On the same subject my dear brother Angel has also developed a relationship with a lady in his life. Again, he's a bit of a bachelor and this is the first time I've seen him excited about a gal like a giddy school boy. The two of them have had a few outings (and innings) with Kelley and myself and they're just cute. Completely saccharine sweetness here people. Oddly enough, in both cases the gentlemen are a bit older than their respective ladies, by about ten years or so. Now don't get any foul ideas in your heads, perverts. We're talking early twenties to early thirties, not like my friends are trolling school yards or anything. Anyhow, Angel's situation is of particular interest to me because this young lass comes from a very devout Christian household and it just so happens that I can kind of speak her language, in that respect. Despite his name, Angel's not exactly a bible-toting gentleman here. I won't go into his story out of respect but he has his reasons for not being on board with Christianity as a whole. I get it. I respect it. So does she, I think. See, she's really into him and (rightly so) unphased by the fact that homeboy isn't exactly down with JC right now. However, her family, father especially, believe that Christians shouldn't date non-Christians, especially when said people are rocking a decade in age difference. Angel's a worldly dude and yes, she's seen a bit of the world and experienced things but not nearly to the extent of my brosef. He's legitimately interested in her beliefs, faith, etc. because maybe we all need a little bit of faith in our lives. Now, this is where it gets fun for me but not so much for them because her father is kind of a nutcase. Case in point:
"You won't learn anything about God from a young girl, it has to come from a man."
Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? That is fucking ridiculous. Now, I'm no theologian, pastor, or priest. Hell, I don't consider myself a Christian these days but even I know that that is an ass backward way of thinking. I've come to understand that God will present Himself to you in the way that best suits you. How else are you going to see the light or however you want to present it? I personally credit Five Iron Frenzy for showing me the realness of God and guess what? I'm a music geek. That's how God's going to get to me. Same situation here. I'm sorry, I respect everyone's beliefs but telling him that's not the way to God is a bunch of hoopla. All that does is drive an already skeptical person away further. Apparently her father went so far as to tell a story about the Reverend Billy Graham and how while on the road he would avoid all contact with women altogether outside of church services so he wouldn't face temptation or anything of the sort. Uh. Sorry buddy, if your faith is so shaky that you can't even be in the company of the opposite sex then perhaps you should reevaluate a few things in your life. Also, again, this is a secondhand story, this gentleman says that at one point the Rev. Graham was asked if he happened upon a young lady stranded on the side of the road with a jacked up car would he help her or continue on his way. Billy Boy said that he wouldn't stop to help but call for help at the next opportunity. HORSE POOPY! Are you kidding me?! And this man has counseled and influenced normal folk, musicians, politicians and presidents? WHAT THE HELL?! And I thought I had deep philosophical differences with (not actually a doctor) James Dobson. Holy shit.
Haha. Holy. Get it?
Given my...circumstances? Experiences? I've gotten to know the subject of God and death rather intimately and I've got to tell you, despite what I've gone through I have no definite answers. Guess what? No one does. Literalists of any kind are amusing to me even though they can also be rather dangerous. A book that was written thousands of years ago (in a dead language) then retranslated (into other dead languages) then altered by kings and monarchs based on their tastes and whims (lose this chapter, change the wording of that verse, that cadence doesn't make sense) then retranslated again for only the learned, wealthy, and educated to read (because that's how any manual should be written) then retranslated again so all of the lay people could understand cannot be taken literally. That's a preposterous notion. Ever tried literally translating Japanese into English? It's ridiculous. Makes no sense. Now try doing that from Sanskrit to Latin to English. Something as simple as "God is love and love is everything" wouldn't read like that at all. And that's really the point I'm trying to make with this little tirade: not just with the bible, with anything. What something reads and what something says are two very different things. Stick ten people in the same room and have them read the same book. Then have them all say what that book means. Ten different answers. We've all got varying perspective and that's what makes us human and beautiful.
Alright, it's time to get off the soap box.
------
It's snowing! For real! Finally! I haven't seen proper snowfall since 2010. Despite my utter disdain for the cold I do have a sort of romantic attachment to snowfall. Sure, I got to see a few flecks kick around outside of my hospital window but not like this. Makes me want to bake cookies, get some stock going for soup and have a cup of hot cocoa. Yes, I am a little boy who still loves his hot cocoa. Speaking of, and this has to be said, even though I get free Panera anything their hot cocoa kind of tastes like dirt and coffee grounds, and by kind of I mean absolutely. It's wretched. Decent soups, a few tasty sammiches, a good salad or two, some very drinkable tea and hot chocolate that's nothing short of an abomination. Seriously, do not drink the hot chocolate. Your soul will die a little bit.
------
Time to close up shop for the day, guys and dolls. I apologize for the scattershot nature of today's post but that's how it is when you've had about five hours of sleep in the past 72. My tubes have been AWFUL lately and I've had a few bouts of stomach sickness. It kind of feels like I'm having fluid issues again and my last CT scan showed a new collection so...hopefully this doesn't mean another dance with the ER doctors coming up. Here's hoping.
On the same subject my dear brother Angel has also developed a relationship with a lady in his life. Again, he's a bit of a bachelor and this is the first time I've seen him excited about a gal like a giddy school boy. The two of them have had a few outings (and innings) with Kelley and myself and they're just cute. Completely saccharine sweetness here people. Oddly enough, in both cases the gentlemen are a bit older than their respective ladies, by about ten years or so. Now don't get any foul ideas in your heads, perverts. We're talking early twenties to early thirties, not like my friends are trolling school yards or anything. Anyhow, Angel's situation is of particular interest to me because this young lass comes from a very devout Christian household and it just so happens that I can kind of speak her language, in that respect. Despite his name, Angel's not exactly a bible-toting gentleman here. I won't go into his story out of respect but he has his reasons for not being on board with Christianity as a whole. I get it. I respect it. So does she, I think. See, she's really into him and (rightly so) unphased by the fact that homeboy isn't exactly down with JC right now. However, her family, father especially, believe that Christians shouldn't date non-Christians, especially when said people are rocking a decade in age difference. Angel's a worldly dude and yes, she's seen a bit of the world and experienced things but not nearly to the extent of my brosef. He's legitimately interested in her beliefs, faith, etc. because maybe we all need a little bit of faith in our lives. Now, this is where it gets fun for me but not so much for them because her father is kind of a nutcase. Case in point:
"You won't learn anything about God from a young girl, it has to come from a man."
Exsqueeze me? Baking powder? That is fucking ridiculous. Now, I'm no theologian, pastor, or priest. Hell, I don't consider myself a Christian these days but even I know that that is an ass backward way of thinking. I've come to understand that God will present Himself to you in the way that best suits you. How else are you going to see the light or however you want to present it? I personally credit Five Iron Frenzy for showing me the realness of God and guess what? I'm a music geek. That's how God's going to get to me. Same situation here. I'm sorry, I respect everyone's beliefs but telling him that's not the way to God is a bunch of hoopla. All that does is drive an already skeptical person away further. Apparently her father went so far as to tell a story about the Reverend Billy Graham and how while on the road he would avoid all contact with women altogether outside of church services so he wouldn't face temptation or anything of the sort. Uh. Sorry buddy, if your faith is so shaky that you can't even be in the company of the opposite sex then perhaps you should reevaluate a few things in your life. Also, again, this is a secondhand story, this gentleman says that at one point the Rev. Graham was asked if he happened upon a young lady stranded on the side of the road with a jacked up car would he help her or continue on his way. Billy Boy said that he wouldn't stop to help but call for help at the next opportunity. HORSE POOPY! Are you kidding me?! And this man has counseled and influenced normal folk, musicians, politicians and presidents? WHAT THE HELL?! And I thought I had deep philosophical differences with (not actually a doctor) James Dobson. Holy shit.
Haha. Holy. Get it?
Given my...circumstances? Experiences? I've gotten to know the subject of God and death rather intimately and I've got to tell you, despite what I've gone through I have no definite answers. Guess what? No one does. Literalists of any kind are amusing to me even though they can also be rather dangerous. A book that was written thousands of years ago (in a dead language) then retranslated (into other dead languages) then altered by kings and monarchs based on their tastes and whims (lose this chapter, change the wording of that verse, that cadence doesn't make sense) then retranslated again for only the learned, wealthy, and educated to read (because that's how any manual should be written) then retranslated again so all of the lay people could understand cannot be taken literally. That's a preposterous notion. Ever tried literally translating Japanese into English? It's ridiculous. Makes no sense. Now try doing that from Sanskrit to Latin to English. Something as simple as "God is love and love is everything" wouldn't read like that at all. And that's really the point I'm trying to make with this little tirade: not just with the bible, with anything. What something reads and what something says are two very different things. Stick ten people in the same room and have them read the same book. Then have them all say what that book means. Ten different answers. We've all got varying perspective and that's what makes us human and beautiful.
Alright, it's time to get off the soap box.
------
It's snowing! For real! Finally! I haven't seen proper snowfall since 2010. Despite my utter disdain for the cold I do have a sort of romantic attachment to snowfall. Sure, I got to see a few flecks kick around outside of my hospital window but not like this. Makes me want to bake cookies, get some stock going for soup and have a cup of hot cocoa. Yes, I am a little boy who still loves his hot cocoa. Speaking of, and this has to be said, even though I get free Panera anything their hot cocoa kind of tastes like dirt and coffee grounds, and by kind of I mean absolutely. It's wretched. Decent soups, a few tasty sammiches, a good salad or two, some very drinkable tea and hot chocolate that's nothing short of an abomination. Seriously, do not drink the hot chocolate. Your soul will die a little bit.
------
Time to close up shop for the day, guys and dolls. I apologize for the scattershot nature of today's post but that's how it is when you've had about five hours of sleep in the past 72. My tubes have been AWFUL lately and I've had a few bouts of stomach sickness. It kind of feels like I'm having fluid issues again and my last CT scan showed a new collection so...hopefully this doesn't mean another dance with the ER doctors coming up. Here's hoping.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)