Month: September 2003

  •  

    It's been years since I first saw the following, I still think it's about the funniest thing ever sent to me in email... so I'm sharing it with you.


     


    Laws Concerning Food and Drink;
    Household Principles;
    Lamentations of the Father


    by Ian Frazier


      OF the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room.
      Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, but not in the living room.
      Of the cloven-hoofed animal, plain or with cheese, you may eat, but not in the living room.
      Of the cereal grains, of the corn and of the wheat and of the oats, and of all the cereals that are of bright color and unknown provenance you may eat, but not in the living room.
      Of the quiescently frozen dessert and of all frozen after-meal treats you may eat, but absolutely not in the living room.
      Of the juices and other beverages, yes, even of those in sippy-cups, you may drink, but not in the living room, neither may you carry such therein.
      Indeed, when you reach the place where the living room carpet begins, of any food or beverage there you may not eat, neither may you drink.


      But if you are sick, and are lying down and watching something, then may you eat in the living room.




    Laws When at Table


      And if you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were.
      Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me.
      Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.   
      Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away.
      When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck; for you will be sent away.


      When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.
      Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips.
      I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is. And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why.
      And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why.
      Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away.
      Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup.
      And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.





    Laws Pertaining to Dessert


      For we judge between the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert.
      But of the unclean plate, the laws are these:
         If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert. But if you eat a lesser number of peas, and yet you eat the potatoes, still you shall not have dessert; and if you eat the peas, yet leave the potatoes uneaten, you shall not have dessert, no, not even a small portion thereof. And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.


    On Screaming


      Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time.
      If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not, only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault. 
      Likewise if you receive a portion of fish from which every piece of herbal seasoning has not been scraped off, and the herbal seasoning is loathsome to you, and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming.
      Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you a faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to your nose.
      For even now I have made the fish as it should be; behold, I eat of it myself, yet do not die.





    Concerning Face and Hands


      Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off.
      For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there is rice thereon.
      And in the breast pocket of your garment, and upon the tie of your shoe, rice and other fragments are distributed in a manner wonderful to see.
      Only hold yourself still; hold still, I say.
      Give each finger in its turn for my examination thereof, and also each thumb.
      Lo, how iniquitous they appear.
      What I do is as it must be; and you shall not go hence until I have done.


    Various Other Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances


    Bite not, lest you be cast into quiet time. Neither drink of your own bath water, nor of bath water of any kind; nor rub your feet on bread, even if it be in the package; nor rub yourself against cars, nor against any building; nor eat sand.


    Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not that humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Indeed, you will drive me to madness. Nor forget what I said about the tape.




    Complaints and Lamentations


      O my children, you are disobedient.
      For when I tell you what you must do, you argue and dispute hotly even to the littlest detail; and when I do not accede, you cry out, and hit and kick.
      Yes, and even sometimes do you spit, and shout "stupid-head" and other blasphemies, and hit and kick the wall and the molding thereof when you are sent to the corner.
      And though the law teaches that no one shall be sent to the corner for more minutes than he has years of age, yet I would leave you there all day, so mighty am I in anger.
      But upon being sent to the corner you ask straightaway, "Can I come out?" and I reply, "No, you may not come out." And again you ask, and again I give the same reply.
      But when you ask again a third time, then you may come out.

  • Pursuing Happiness


    Happiness is one of those words that has changed significantly in meaning over the centuries.  But it appears in so many of our proverbs and quotes that I think we often get a miseducation on the pursuit of happiness as a worthwhile endeavor.


    Today we understand happiness to be a state of emotion, a feeling of well-being and joy.  Originally, the word happy referrred to the circumstantial conditions that we use the word lucky to describe.  Happy circumstances were the result of hard work plus the randomness of chance.  Which is why the framers of the Declaration of Independence used the phrase Pursuit of Happiness to define our basic inalienable right. 


    No one has an inherent right to a feeling.  Emotions by their ephemeral nature cannot be guaranteed, they must be chosen.  Yesterday I spoke with a friend who found himself suddenly and unexpectedly unemployed.  He was cheerful and optimistic about opportunities this circumstance created.  A happy circumstance?  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  Hardships have already resulted from this disruption in his life and more loom.  But is he under the circumstance?  No, he has chosen not to have his emotional sense of well-being be dictated by this event over which he has no control.


    On the other end of the scale, I have a friend in a stable marriage with lovely children and a husband who works long and hard to provide them with a standard of living that is well above average.  A happy circumstance?  Yes.  But her emotional compass points south.  Talking with her, I would never imagine that her circumstances were so favorable if I didn't have the larger picture.  She is riddled with longing for something that she doesn't have. 


    Over the past few weeks I've seen several blogs that mention the Apostle Paul and every one of them has taken exception to his theology and his influence on the shaping of Christianity.  I suspect that theologians will continue to argue about Paul and his role for years.  I expect that they will never be able to dismiss him because for all the controversies that surround him, he wrote some of the most practical application of spiritual principles in the history of religious thought.  One of his gems comes from a letter in which he said, "I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances."  Wow, whether you agree with everything he said or not, it seems to me that a man who could make that statement is worthy of a listening ear. 


    There is nothing wrong with doing our best to arrange our circumstances for our greatest benefit.  But wouldn't it be nice if we could learn to feel happy in spite of them? 


    My youngest is in a happy circumstance this morning.  We went shopping yesterday and found ketchup in a new sized bottle.  I know you can't see the label clearly so let me explain, this is a 4 POUND bottle of ketchup.   



  • Red is for Blood
    Of Patriots who Died
    to Free us


    White is for Justice
    and Government of Law


    Blue is for Honor
    and Faith in all we do


    This is our Flag
    This is Old Glory
    And it represents
    the Spirit of America


    Unbowed and Unbroken



    When I was a teen, patriotism struck me as odd and perhaps even embarrassing.  At that time the American flag made me think of Vietnam, Watergate, broken promises, and global interference with the governments and policies of other people.  I wasn't impressed, and I felt a great need to apologize to the world - we aren't all like this!


    Now I look back on my adult years, and I'm not sure when the change took place.  It could be when I started reading history.  Or maybe it was when I started seeing things less in black and white and more in shades of gray.  Now when I look at the flag it symbolizes for me the ideals that we set for ourselves.  The fact that we don't reach the ideal doesn't make it a less worthy goal.


    Past
    Freedom is bought with blood
    I will remember the river shed.


    Future
    Justice under Law is the goal
    I will work to make it so.

    Present
    Honor and Faith are my currency
    I will pay my debts with pride.


     

  • Animal Sacrifices


    The stars hung beautiful and bright in the sky over Indiana this morning about 5:00.  My little dog woke me so I took her outside while every thing was still quiet.  Heavy dew bends the grass and a chill embraces the stone walk.  I went barefoot to my bench. 


    It's too early for normal birds, although from down the hill I can hear a rooster crow.  Silly bird - the sun is at least an hour away from sending it's first pink rays through the tree tops, but this diligent fellow is doing his part to make sure it wakes on time. 


    I start by lying back on the bench and finding constellations.  Some day I'd like to take an astronomy course to learn more about the heavens above.  For now, I'm happy that I can locate Orion's belt.  I always start there picking out the stars that are familiar and wondering how other peoples and cultures have mapped the stars in ways that may now be lost to us forever.  People and nations and Empires are less than blinks in the eyes of the stars, but to us with our tiny lives the stars are permanent fixtures.


    Have you ever wondered about the way that stars hurtle through time and space?  Scientists tell us that the stars above have their own life cycles.  They are moving and growing and dying and birthing new stars.  But to my eye, the stars are not discernibly any different than they were to my grandfather, or to his grandfather before. 


    Temporal perspective captures my imagination.  Relative to stars, our life spans are so short that our focus enables us to see, study, and understand an infinitesimal unit of cosmological time.  We fret that we can't access the perspective of the universe who's clock ticks in light years.  If only we could just see whether our theories do apply across the galactic ages. 


    On my way back into the house, I forget to step over the altar stone.  I don't know why they do this, but my cats have made it a point of nightly ritual to eviscerate a mouse on this partiuclar stone.  Every night for almost four years, they have brought their victims to this place eating the flesh but leaving the organs for me to discover in the morning - rather like the ancient Hebrew animal sacrifices.  These feline priestesses take great care to make certain that livers and hearts are there each morning for the sun to see and to know that they continue their liturgy of devotion.


    The lives of mice are so tiny compared to my own, I wonder if I'm like a star to them?  I experience my life in a rush through the heavens, busy, fretting, worrying, laughing, crying, and seeming never to step into the same river twice.  To the mouse, I must seem never to change at all.  Hundreds of generations of mice have come and gone since I moved here - so many generations that I think that the empty field which was before my family came, is not even a distant racial memory to them.  To the mice, there has always been a big white house at the top of the hill. 


    Now I have the blood and flesh of the mouse du jour on my feet and it doesn't gross me out.  It feels like the appropriate response that I bring - goddess immortal and awesome - to acknowledge the sacrifice of my worshipful subjects. 


    This is true until I walk through the door of my house, then I rock back on my heels so the gory toes don't touch the carpet and I hobble straight to the bathroom for soap and water. 

  • Exciting Announcement


         Way, way back a long number of days ago in Xanga time, we had this blog-a-thon to attract the attention of the Xangagods to a problem.  One of the wonderful (for me) outcomes of that experience was the number of new writers I met and am now getting to know. 


         One of those people, T S Gray, Love_Secrets, has just published an ebook.  I'll warn you before you go and check it out that her writing is erotic, so as Oprah says when she makes a movie recommendation - don't send me email saying I didn't tell you about this part.  LOL  I recieved an email last night with the following information for where you can find the book.  First - there is a sample of her book available at THIS SITE for free download. 



         From the Publisher:  T S Gray's, Chautauqua combines quirky characters, southern superstition, and small town life together with the steamy undercurrents of a sexual cauldron.  Unlike most story collections the characters who inhabit these pages wander in and out of each other's stories as background characters so that the reader has the impression of coming to know them gradually over the course of the book.  This is not to say that there are no suprises, because the stories don't stop with the characters' public appearances.  Pulling back the curtain on their private interactions, Ms Gray invites us to witness the intimate and erotic encounters that take place after dinner parties and in the neighbor's backyard.   


         The opening and title story Chautauqua features a Native American Shaman.  Then bringing the reader into contemporary life, the poignant, Sarah, sets the stage for the rest of the book when Sarah McClure runs out of gas in a place that feels like home.  Most of the stories feature the kind of sexual encounters you would expect in a small town, married couples and heterosexual dating partners.  But there are also scenes of a more adventurous sexual nature. 


    This release pertains to the ebook version of Chautauqua. 


    Format: Adobe PDF Ebook
    Pages: 90
    Publisher: DPebooks, Locust Grove, VA
    Purchase: Ebookmall

  • Monday Musings


    Well, it seems that all of Mommy's distraction over the past couple of weeks has led to a particularly unpleasant happening.  I've discovered that my children are slacking in their schoolwork and their chores.    I know that it's not fair to come down hard on them, because if I had been doing my due diligence they would never have gotten so far behind.  Unfortunately, no matter who's fault it is - THEY have to make up the work.  So it's turning into a LONG day for them. 


    I got my cholesterol report back.  It's higher than it's been before - but at 198 - I'm still two magical points below the line where the doctor feels free to make hurtful comments about beef for dinner.    I guess it's time to break out the oatmeal.  You know, with the weather getting cooler I ALMOST don't mind the thought of oatmeal.  Almost.  I kind of like it in oatmeal cookies, but just oatmeal in a bowl for breakfast?  Ugh.  Okay, that would be true of almost anything I tried to have to breakfast.  I know what all the Mom's of the world (including me) say to their kids about the importance of breakfast - but I rarely eat anything in the morning.  I can deal with a cup of tea, and that's about it.  I used to feel guilty about my lack of diligence about breakfast, but now that Michael knows how to make omelets and pancakes, I figure if they want hot food they have options


    Did you have a good weekend?  We did.  Got some yardwork done.  Went out and did some shopping.  One thing I haven't done is get the dog a bath - eeewwwww!  How a five pound dog can get water all over a 9 x 12 room is beyond me. 


    I got my brother hooked on George R R Martin's Fire and Ice series when he was here.  He called last night to tell me that he's plotting a suitable revenge upon my soul because he can't stand it that he's going to have to wait a couple months for Feast of Crows.  I'd probably have more sympathy if I hadn't been waiting a YEAR for that book myself.  Speaking of my brother - I'm very proud of him.  He came in late - just got out of the army and missed the hiring process for teachers last Spring, but he has a job.  He's going to be teaching Math while he works on his Masters.  Way to go, Dave!  I'm a capable math student, it's not my favorite subject because I don't much care for the tedium of following all those steps.  It's so inflexible!  But Dave has been able to show me things that get me excited about math.  So I figure he'll do great  teaching.


    Speaking of teaching and teachers, I had a lovely phone chat with one of my favorite teachers yesterday.  The lovely Daffodilious is doing well - up to her earlobes in honor's students and wackiness.  And yes - I am rubbing it in a little that I got to talk to her.  Gosh - where DID that mean streak come from?


    Must be cause it's a Monday.  I hope yours is going well. 

  • Perspective on Patience


    patience (pay-shenz) n. 1. calm endurance of hardship, annoyance, or inconvenience or delay etc.  2. perseverance


    Okay, I'm calm, check.  Wait a minute, the blood pressure is a little elevated, the heartbeat races and my head is spinning, but I'm smiling, speaking in calm tones and really unless you're holding my hand, you might not notice anything particularly energetic going on here, that ought to count - shouldn't it?  How calm is calm anyway?  Isn't there some sliding scale?  I mean I don't have to be calm in the same way as when I'm meditating, right?  That level of calm would put me in a state just a few degrees off from catatonic making it somewhat unlikely that I'd care that I burned the broccoli because I was staring out the window contemplating the beauty of the trees.  (Yes, I did this two nights ago, and Michael is still asking me if I was mad at him because "you know I like broccoli, so why did you burn it?"  He has a hard time believing that Momi doesn't MEAN for everything that happens around here to turn out the way it does.)


    Hardship, I can handle hardship.  Tighten the shoelaces, tuck my chin and just do it.  After all energy used to complain is energy taken away from the stores needed to get through it.  I'm a big believer in "just do it" when things get rough.  During the times that things are going smoothly, I spend a lot of time overthinking myself, second guessing, and generally doubting that I have a clue about what I need to do or why this option is better than that one.  But let things get rough and I turn into the fieldmarshall around here barking orders right and left.  It may take me a half an hour to decide what to make for dinner, but let Tucker get a cut on his leg and I'm in high gear.  Shoes, keys, kid - ER.  And if I'm a little gruff, they'll get over it.  That's not impatient, that's focus.  See, I'm doing pretty well on my little self-exam here.  I've figured out that I'm calm enough, and I can handle hardship.


    Annoyance happens.  You know every where you turn there are annoying circumstances and people.  Annoyance isn't hardship, it's just - well, annoying.  I handle some types of annoyance with grace and humor.  The salesman who hovers, he's just doing his job.  The woman who shoves in front of me in line, gotta feel sorry for someone who is in such a bad place that she would disrespect herself by acting that way.  If the annoyance is with people I can extend compassion and patience.  My tolerance for annoyance drops pretty rapidly when it involves noise.  The neighbor operating heavy machinery ALL DAY LONG, the repetitive dings and blips from the video game machine (and now we know the REAL reason I limit the boys to only an hour a day on that thing.)  Noise grates on my nerves, disrupts my concentration, distracts my focus, and wears on my ears.  Especially noise associated with the kids I find incredibly difficult, because I can't tune it out.  What if they suddenly change from playing and start talking to me?  But I've zoned out somewhere?  That's not good.  I've given them permission to use the chainsaw before I realize what they were asking! 


    Inconvenience - what is that?  A prickle in the spot of my ego that retains the belief that I deserve to have everything go my way?  Mostly inconvenience can be dealt with by laughing at myself and moving on.


    Aaaaaaah, but waiting.  Waiting is hard.  Having to wait for something I want badly begins to trigger all those fears that I've tried hard to grow away from over years.  Is this really going to happen?  Am I out of step?  How do I know when the timing is right?  What if I push the process and get a less than mature product? 


    Take a deep breath.  What can I do right now that will not push, rush or press?  How can I be calm when I'm waiting for something that I've waited for all my life?  How can I not be calm when I can see the thing that I've waited for all my life almost within my reach?


    If anyone asks you whether its a wonderfully fulfilling experience to publish a book - laugh and tell them "no." 


    When I was in school, I studied calligraphy for a couple of semesters.  I learned there that while other art forms have a patron saint or angel associated, writing - beautiful writing - comes with a demon, Titivillius by name.  Titivillius delights in allowing the artist to get down to the final sentence of the last paragraph then blowing an inkblot across the page.  He, howls with glee if he's able to cause an inattentive monk to misspell a word.  In this day and age, he's become technically savvy.  I'm convinced that he lurks around the edges of my life and causes delay.  He kills my computer or the battery in my cell phone, or creates a hitch in my travel plans.  He causes my ink cartridge to run out HALF WAY through printing the manuscript.


    Who came up with this idea that it's a virtue to be patient anyway?  Probably the same guy who said that it's a good idea to be kind to people and to promote justice.  Easy for him to say. 

  • This Has been Quite a Week for Ups and Downs


    It's ending for me on a very good note.  My new machine seems to have recovered from the virus with no lasting damages.  My kids have just finished their school work and are hard at work now with scissors, paper and markers making love letters for their Mom (you know, I know they will grow out of this stage soon enough so I'm enjoying this very much while it lasts.)


    I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Now that it seems everything is running smoothly, I'll be spending a considerable amount of time trying to get around the learning curve on my new toy. 


    Bright Blessings everyone. 

  • Sometimes I Wonder ...


    My new PC got the blaster virus.  It's been in my home less than THREE days - and the thing is sick.  This is NOT good. 

  • I have been SHOPPING!


    I am coming to you this morning from a brand new PC, with a wonderful new flat screen monitor, and my desk is even cleaned off.  If there was even the remostest question about the importance of my ability to connect to the world through this little screen - it's all answered now. 


    Did I mention that I have a new PC?  Oh, she's a beauty.  For the tasks I usually perform, it's like getting a sledgehammer to kill a fly.