— Bumper
sticker of the week: Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
— Quote of
the week: ÒWhat do atheists scream when they come?Ó The Peever
— HereÕs a
tip: If youÕre killing someone in the name of God, youÕre missing the message.
— Born
again: I been spending too much time down South. A lot of talk about being born
again. I donÕt know, I guess itÕs alright. Most the people I hear tell of being
born again really needed it. They usually screwed up pretty bad. I suppose the
notion of being able to clean your slate is not a bad one, although I think it
would be a better idea to clean up your messes in this realm, not the next.
Apologize, change your behavior, do better. I wonder how many times youÕre
allowed to be born again?
— Gas
prices: Another confirmation: In Galesburg, we pay a higher price for gas than
anywhere between here and Hot Springs, Arkansas. When I got back home, the
price in Galesburg was $2.53. I bought gas in Missouri for $2.25, and
saw it for $2.21. (I couldnÕt get stopped in time.) As much as I can make out
of the whole thing, there has to be a collusion among the station owners to
keep the price jacked up. The one constant seems to be Herr. Either theyÕre
terrible buyers of gas, always paying the highest wholesale prices, or theyÕre excellent
screwers. And guess who the screwees are?
— People
ask me about my spiritual practices, what religion I favor. I never quite know
what to say. Some days are pretty good and I seem to have a notion of where IÕm
headed. Other days, I canÕt put it into words how lost I feel. It would be much
easier if I just picked something and went with it. But IÕm too much of a
contrarian for that. I keep grabbing here, and taking there, and blending this,
and adopting that. I sit and meditate, and pray, and read spiritual books. I
look for that solace to help me explain what it is IÕm seeing. ItÕs a lot like
telling a drowning man, ÒHey, thereÕs a life preserver somewhere. Hang on!Ó
— $100
worth of advice for 50 cents:
¥ Trying is
lying.
¥ Never look for
an excuse. Admit it if you are wrong.
¥ DonÕt get too
down on yourself. ThatÕs what you have friends for.
¥ Never go to a
counselor that has more problems than you.
¥ Medications can
help, but it will cost you in the long run.
¥ Talking is way
over-rated. Try listening.
¥ The best
bull-shitters make terrible spouses.
¥ Fear is the
worst crippler. It incapacitates many a person. It requires getting over the
worst thing that could possibly happen to you: death. Once you get to there,
nothing can scare you.
— Sometimes
I long for the good-old-days:
¥ You could buy a
tank of gas and not have to take out a loan.
¥ You never had
to flush the toilet.
¥ When you went
to a movie, no oneÕs cell phone rang.
¥ You could go to
any doctor you wanted. Paying was encouraged, but not required.
¥ Families ate
together, took vacations together, prayed together, and made plans for the kids
to go to summer camp together, while the parents got a divorce together.
¥ You dealt with
local companies. Someone you could meet face to face, and choke if necessary.
Now I talk to people in foreign countries, who donÕt even know when IÕm
cussing.
¥ I can still
remember when the President was elected, not chosen.
¥ You could eat
what you wanted and not worry about it killing you.
¥ I kind of liked
it when we had jobs that paid a living wage.