"Surviving" The Government Shutdown: Day Four

Got up

Took the dog for his morning walk.

Showered.

Made a cup of coffee.

Went to men’s group for breakfast, prayers, and discussion.

Completed a shift for 40 Days for Life outside Planned Parenthood, joinng others in praying.

Went home.

Washed, cut up, and removed the seeds from hot peppers from our garden to ready them for freezing.

Made lunch (leftovers). Included some slices of hot peppers to add some spice.

Checked emails, responded to some.

Took dog for his afternoon walk, a mile around the neighborhood.

Downloaded from my camera the pictures I took at last night’s Transitus Mass (for St. Francis of Assisi), selecting and editing some for inclusion in the newsletter I’ll be editing tomorrow.

Practiced the Mass readings for tomorrow in preparation for lectoring at the 9 a.m. Mass.

Read a chapter of an Agatha Christie mystery (Sleeping Murder).

Beat the computer at Scrabble.

Later I will practice guitar, play with the dog in the yard, watch some television with my wife, work on the newsletter, read some more Christie and some of a biography of St. Catherine of Siena, and say my evening/night prayers before going to bed.

Right now it’s 3:15. The sun is shining. The dog is sleeping at my feet. The birds are at the bird feeder. I’m listening to The Hillbilly Thomists.

What was that about some sort of a shutdown somewhere?

Pax et bonum

Not In The Bible, But ...

Jesus and John are sitting in the shade of a tree.

The other Apostles have gone into town to get some food.

“Can I ask you something, John,” Jesus said.

“Anything, Master,” John replied brightly.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about what might happen after I go.”

“GO?! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? CAN I COME WITH YOU?”

“Be at peace. I’m not leaving now. But what if I, oh, got arrested or something like that.”

Tears streamed down John’s face.

“They…they couldn’t. They wouldn’t.”

“Of course. But just hypothetically, if I had to go for a while, what do you think of Andrew to run things for a while?”

“He’s just a follower, not a leader.”

“I suppose. Maybe I should put an X through his name. But Thomas, now he’s no follower.”

“Thomas? He’s so negative and cynical. He keeps saying things like “Prove it.”

“Hmm. You have a point. Of course, he is intelligent.”

“So is Matthew, but who’d listen to him.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He was a tax collector. I know he reformed and we’re supposed to forgive and all, but still, some don’t trust him.”

“Who doesn’t trust him?”

“Judas, for one.”

“Ah, yes, Judas. Sharp fellow.”

“Judas? Yes. Everyone respects him. You can count on him to get things done.”

“True, Judas has everyone’s trust.”

“I guess if you have to pick anyone, Judas would be a good one. He’s smart. He’s good with money. You get a sense he knows what he’s doing.”

Jesus chuckled.

“Not like Simon,” he said. “He means well, but …”

John laughed.

“Poor Simon. He keeps messing up. And there’s that mother-in-law of his. Oy! Oh, he tries hard, and everybody likes him, but he’s not the brightest fellow.”

“I like the fact that he acts with his heart and not just his head,” Jesus said.

“Head? Sometimes I think he has rocks in his head.”

Jesus nodded and smiled.

“Rocks? Interesting description.”

“If you want my advice, Judas is your man,” John said.

Jesus sighed. “Yes, I think Judas is capable of playing a bigger role.”

“As for Simon,” John added, “well, heaven only knows what he’ll end up doing.”

Pax et bonum

Sob, Snob, and Slob

The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and so I try to share those blessings, including the financial ones.  

Over the years, in addition to my church, I have donated to a number of charities - religious orders and organizations, shelters, food pantries, health clinics, pro-life groups and centers, cultural groups, and so on. 

As a result, I have gotten on some mailing lists. Each week I get multiple appeals for my money. Sometimes they come from organizations to which I have already donated. I also regularly see appeals on television. I've noticed that the appeals generally fall into three categories: The Sob Appeal, The Snob  Appeal, and The Slob Appeal.

The Sob Appeal 

The Sob Appeal is the most traditional. In words or images the appeal tries to appeal to the potential giver's emotions and sympathy. Those words and images include sad-eyed children, shivering dogs, sobbing elderly women, and so on. One emotion they seem to be manipulating is guilt: If you don't give you must be uncaring. 

The Snob Appeal

In this kind of appeal, there is a stated or implied message  that somehow you are one of the informed, intelligent, insightful individuals who would of course support the cause. One of the tactics this appeal uses is to send a fake survey/census for the giver to fill out, and to return it with a donation.

The Slob Appeal

This form of appeal includes some sort of a "gift" - notepads, greeting cards, a calendar, pens, and so on. They ask you to enjoy the gift, than ask if you could reciprocate by sending them a donation. If you don't give, they hope seems to be that you will feel like a slob.

When I receive these appeals, especially when I receive multiple such appeals from the same organization, I begin to wonder how much of my donation will be wasted on paying for such appeals. I have even told some organizations to stop sending me multiple appeals, Those who have not are no longer on my donation list.

Pax et bonum

They Have Blood On Their Hands

I stopped by a local bookstore today. As I often do when I'm in a bookstore, I wander about looking at the books in particular sections. 

One of the sections I always check out is the new books one.

And what did I spot today?

Why Fascists Fear Teachers by Randi Weingarten. 

In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination that title jumped out at me.

The alleged killed used that language in reference to Kirk - echoing the language used by people like Weingarten and various people on the left when talking about Kirk and the Trump administration.

Weingarten is, of course, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She has repeatedly used such intemperate, violent language.

In the wake of the shooting, so many teachers and school personnel have been suspended or fired for celebrating the killing of Kirk, and they frequently say or imply he was a fascist. Echoing Weingarten's  language and the language of various people on the left. 

The use of that term and similar language helped to create the climate and attitudes that engendered the kind of political violence that led to Kirk's killing.

Weingarten has blood on her hands.

On another shelf in the new books section I spotted the word "fascism," 

Lessons From Cats For Surviving Fascism by Stewart "Brittlestar" Reynolds.

It's supposed to be a humor book, but the references to "Maga" and "Mar-a-Lago," along with repeated use of "fascist" and "fascism," made what inspired this book clear. He is exploiting the language and attitudes that helped to create the climate of political violence that led to Kirk's killing. Exploiting it to make money. 

Reynolds has blood on his hands.

Pax et bonum

If I Had 1.8 Billion Dollars

The Powerball jackpot is up to 1.8 billion dollars. It may grow even bigger by the time of the drawing tonight. 1.9 Billion, or maybe even 2 billion.

I broke down and bought a ticket.

Now, given the fact that I would take the lump sum, and with taxes, the actually amount I could receive would decrease. One estimate for my state is about 450 million dollars.

What would I do if I won? After all, the odds are about 1 in 300 million, so you never know.

First, the prize would be divided five ways. My wife and my three daughters and I would each get a share. So my share would come to about 90 million.

One thing I’d do with my share is increase the amount I donate to the charities I currently donate to, places like my church, Focus Pregnancy Help Center, the Margaret Home (for women facing unexpected pregnancies), St. Peter’s Soup Kitchen, Saint Luke Productions, St. John Bosco Schools, Chesterton Academy, Restore Health and Wellness, Brightstar Community (women escaping human trafficking), and so on.

Given our ages and infirmities, I’d buy a house that better suits our needs and limitations - one floor (no hauling laundry to the basement!), a library/study for me so I can put all the books in boxes up on shelves, a music room where I can listen or play my instruments without disturbing anyone.

I’d get a new computer. I’m currently typing this on a 2010 laptop with Windows 7!

There are a few places I’d like to visit, especially Donegal and Scotland because of my roots, and Fatima and Lourdes (where some of those previously mentioned infirmities might find some help).

I’d buy a better Santa outfit.

I’d book time in a recording studio and record some of my songs while I can still sing and arthritis isn’t interfering with my guitar playing yet.

I’d self-publish a couple of my poetry books, and a collection of my Christmas stories. Christmas gifts!

That’s about it. I’d just bank the rest.

I wouldn’t buy an emu, a monkey, or John Merrick’s bones.

But I would still eat macaroni and cheese.

And I wouldn’t have to buy my wife’s love. Nor she mine.

So I’m already rich.

Pax et bonum

He Sure Liked To Read! (Part 2)

A couple of days ago I wrote about Dan Pelzer, who, when he died in July at age 92, was found to have kept a list of every book he's read between 1962 and 2023. In that span he read 3,599 books, a truly impressive total. He averaged 59 books a year.

The library from which he borrowed those books created a catalog listing books he'd read. It was heavy on nonfiction, especially history, biography, politics, and religion. I looked at a couple of the pages of the catalog and saw no fluff. I know of people who read lots of lighter works who could probably claim to have read more books than he did, but certainly not books of the level of those on his list.

I then noted that I had been keeping a tally of my own since 2013. In the past 13 years my total is 560 books. That works out to an average of 43 per year, but since I retired in 2020 my average per year has been 65 books a year.

My list is not as heavy as his, though. I do read histories, biographies, and religious works, but I also read lots of  fiction, including YA fiction from my teaching years. I read classics, but I'm also fond of mysteries, fantasy, and science fiction.

In my earlier post I observed that I had only begun keeping my yearly tally in 2013 when I was 57/58. Mr. Pelzer began his tally when he was about 30. So if I had started when he began I would have had a list that included books from 27 more years. That probably would have added about a thousand books to my tally. Moreover, I've been a voracious reader since I first learned to read, which probably could add many more titles to my list.

But I did not have a list of those books.

Then I remembered that in this blog before 2013, in a previous blog, and in a written journal I used to keep, I sometimes mentioned books that I had read. I did a quick look at my blog posts and the journal.

Yes, I am a bit obsessive at times!

I was surprised to see some books I'd forgotten I'd read. 

I've been able to identify an additional 161 books at this point. So my total increases to 721, though I may be able to add more to the list eventually. Still, even if I keep up my current rate, and if I live as long as Mr. Pelzer, I will not equal his remarkable total. 

Not that it's a competition. Mr. Pelzer's is in a class of his own! 

Pax et bonum

Blogging Limerick

There once was a blogging progressive
who judged conservatives too aggressive.
He went on the attack
and they fired back -
isn't Screwtape's scheming impressive?

Pax et bonum