I may someday catch up on this week's newspapers ... possibly, and am only stopping in here because I don't want to abandon things completely.
Besides the multitude of meetings that were scheduled for this week, one of my oldest members died. It is quite an honor to be present at that point where one passes from this life to the next, and this was a gentle transition. She had lived a long and full life and things were becoming difficult for her, so this was a blessing.
She had done some thinking about her funeral and had several things planned. First on the agenda? "No eulogy." So I didn't, but I couldn't leave her unmentioned. I snuck in a few memories in one of the prayers. *teehee*
The ladies of the church did an awesome job of preparing munchies for the visitation after the funeral. Her sister only wanted something to drink and some cookies. This crew doesn't do "halfway"! I told her sister to just accept an enjoy their gift. Once our crew gets started, even an armored tank couldn't stop them! There were homemeade sandwiches and cookies and punch and fruits and veggies with dips.
Such amazing people! My life has been truly enriched by getting to know them.
Now my feet are tired, and my brain is fried. I think I'm going to take a nap. It's been quite a week!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Whimsical Thought
If one believes that God created the earth and humanity and all creatures great and small, and declared it "very good" (Genesis 1:31, NRSV)
AND
If one believes that our beloved pets are welcomed into God's kingdom along with us humans,
THEN
are there mosquitos in heaven?
AND
If one believes that our beloved pets are welcomed into God's kingdom along with us humans,
THEN
are there mosquitos in heaven?
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A Momentary Harumph!
Static! That's about all I get on my phone. Static! And it's no fun for either end of the conversation.
My AT&T payment includes the In-Line Plus that means the repair people can track down problems inside the house as well as outside without costing an arm and a leg. Everything's covered, right?
Call the repair center. "We've a longer than normal wait time right now. Why don't you try the website?", the voice message says. Ooooo-kay.
Get on website. Begin report. They do their magic via the computer generated testing thingy. Nope! No problems we can see. Here - go do these things first: followed by a list of steps which includes taking a screwdriver and opening some box on the outisde of my house.
WAIT A MINUTE!! Aren't I paying you so many buckos a month to do all that stuff when I have a problem?
I just clicked on the "been there, done that" button and am going to let them come out and tinker with it. HARUMPH!
My AT&T payment includes the In-Line Plus that means the repair people can track down problems inside the house as well as outside without costing an arm and a leg. Everything's covered, right?
Call the repair center. "We've a longer than normal wait time right now. Why don't you try the website?", the voice message says. Ooooo-kay.
Get on website. Begin report. They do their magic via the computer generated testing thingy. Nope! No problems we can see. Here - go do these things first: followed by a list of steps which includes taking a screwdriver and opening some box on the outisde of my house.
WAIT A MINUTE!! Aren't I paying you so many buckos a month to do all that stuff when I have a problem?
I just clicked on the "been there, done that" button and am going to let them come out and tinker with it. HARUMPH!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Holy Carp!
For much of this week, I've been away from technology at the annual clergy retreat. So, only today have I caught up on reading my newspapers. Two thoughts arise from this marathon paper-reading: (Well, there's more than these two, but ...)
First thought -
In Houston this past week, the Catholic church has been celebrating the opening of its new co-cathedral. Okay. A reasonably big deal if you're Catholic. A one day wonder if you aren't, or at least that's the way I see it. The Houston Chronicle has had some kind of whiz-bang article at least four times since Sunday and three of those articles have been Section A, if not front-page. SHEESH!
I don't recall quite this much splash and bother over Joel O'Steen's church opening in the old Reliant Stadium. I certainly don't recall it hanging around on the front page for days. Even the new Buddhist temple didn't get this much coverage. Of course, I will admit that my memory isn't perfect and I didn't do any research to back up my impression.
However, I truly wonder if there would be such hoopla if the Presbyterians or Methodists or whatever denomination or religion built an equivalently brand-spanking new facility. Somehow, I doubt it. Ah, well! Such is life!
Second thought -
In today's paper, there's an article about insurers pulling out of insuring homeowners, if another hurricane blew in along the Texas coast. And mentioning that the current Texas Windstorm fund doesn't even have enough buckos to cover the cost of repair/replacement of insured buildings in Galveston County, if the next big one roared through there.
Here's what totally angers me - Insurers are upping their rates as much as 20-25% along the coast, for less coverage, and making huge profits in spite of whatever losses they may possibly have exprienced in 2005, and they're whining that "if another comes through, we're out of here!". ARGH!
OK, I believe in capitalism about as much as the next person; however, there's this part of me that wants to take all for-profit insurance companies and legislate them out of existence. Let the risks be shared across the country for whatever catastrophic weather events may cause damage of mega-proportions. There's not any part of the country that's totally immune to floods or tornados or hurricanes or wild fires or earthquakes or landslides or drought or whatever.
It probably wouldn't be ideal, and would likely increase rates as well. Yet we wouldn't be held hostage to companies whose main reason for existence is not repairing damage but making sure their shareholders reap profits. Of course, this isn't going to happen any time in the near future, if ever, and there would probably be as many glitches and angering experiences as one might expect in dealing with another bureaucracy. I just wish we could come up with a better way of sharing the risk of natural disaster without bankrupting those who try to plan ahead for when disaster occurs.
First thought -
In Houston this past week, the Catholic church has been celebrating the opening of its new co-cathedral. Okay. A reasonably big deal if you're Catholic. A one day wonder if you aren't, or at least that's the way I see it. The Houston Chronicle has had some kind of whiz-bang article at least four times since Sunday and three of those articles have been Section A, if not front-page. SHEESH!
I don't recall quite this much splash and bother over Joel O'Steen's church opening in the old Reliant Stadium. I certainly don't recall it hanging around on the front page for days. Even the new Buddhist temple didn't get this much coverage. Of course, I will admit that my memory isn't perfect and I didn't do any research to back up my impression.
However, I truly wonder if there would be such hoopla if the Presbyterians or Methodists or whatever denomination or religion built an equivalently brand-spanking new facility. Somehow, I doubt it. Ah, well! Such is life!
Second thought -
In today's paper, there's an article about insurers pulling out of insuring homeowners, if another hurricane blew in along the Texas coast. And mentioning that the current Texas Windstorm fund doesn't even have enough buckos to cover the cost of repair/replacement of insured buildings in Galveston County, if the next big one roared through there.
Here's what totally angers me - Insurers are upping their rates as much as 20-25% along the coast, for less coverage, and making huge profits in spite of whatever losses they may possibly have exprienced in 2005, and they're whining that "if another comes through, we're out of here!". ARGH!
OK, I believe in capitalism about as much as the next person; however, there's this part of me that wants to take all for-profit insurance companies and legislate them out of existence. Let the risks be shared across the country for whatever catastrophic weather events may cause damage of mega-proportions. There's not any part of the country that's totally immune to floods or tornados or hurricanes or wild fires or earthquakes or landslides or drought or whatever.
It probably wouldn't be ideal, and would likely increase rates as well. Yet we wouldn't be held hostage to companies whose main reason for existence is not repairing damage but making sure their shareholders reap profits. Of course, this isn't going to happen any time in the near future, if ever, and there would probably be as many glitches and angering experiences as one might expect in dealing with another bureaucracy. I just wish we could come up with a better way of sharing the risk of natural disaster without bankrupting those who try to plan ahead for when disaster occurs.
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