Many, many years ago, I overheard my friend Ruthie (whatever happened to Ruthie?) say
Breath is the difference between man and laws.
Well, that certainly sounded deep, but what did it mean?
Then she added
Or Rampal.
Oh! She meant Herbie Mann, Hugh Laws, and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Ruthie played the flute.
I was thinking of this because I heard Jonathan Schwartz play Rampal. Rampal was wonderful of course. It’s the breath.
Earlier in the week, I found fresh bialys at the market, so I bought three. For breakfast Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And I get home and slap my forehead. “I forgot to buy cream cheese!” ARGH! What good are bialys without cream cheese? I don’t know either.
So all week those naked bialys have been sitting in the fridge, burning a hole in my appetite. (Yes, I can mix metaphors better than you.)
Last night I went shopping to entertain myself with pretty colors, and I got tired, and I got in the car to come home, and I remembered the bialys. And thought about all the hassle of going to the supermarket just for cream cheese. And my scary brain, which was tired, thought,
“Is there a drive-thru cream cheese place?”
I thought that. And by the Gods there should be. But it turns out, not so much.
I went to the supermarket. Such is life.
I accidentally scheduled two events for the same weekend, which frightens me about my brain. It’s all fixed, and thank you Crystal Fox for being accomodating about the brain thing.
You’ve probably already read the WaPo story (or a similar one) on the VA’s refusal to allow a Wiccan symbol to be used on military graves and memorials, including that of Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, killed in Afghanistan last year.
At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.
That’s because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion — a five-pointed star within a circle, called a pentacle — to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials or grave markers.
So, you’ve read it, I don’t need to tell you about how appalling it is. What I want to talk about instead is the remarkable level of support, no, of acknowledgement, this story has received. Oh, sure, the media has to write about it; dead soldier, wartime, human interest, big stink. But I tell you, ten years ago, we would not have had so many non-Pagans rallying to our support.
Among the surprises are Christianity Today and the ultra-conservative Rutherford Institute.
The blogosphere has been rockin’ on this as well. Shakespeare’s Sister isn’t Pagan. Pandagon isn’t Pagan. The Carpetbagger isn’t Pagan. These people aren’t blogging to support their own community, they’re blogging to support the rights of everyone, and they’re acknowledging that Pagans are included in “everyone.” Lefties and progressives all over the map are taking this issue on as their own, just as heterosexuals are taking on gay marriage as their own.
Folks, that’s new. That’s news. And in these dark times, I am all about celebrating the good news when it deigns to show up.
He’s just so damn cute. Unfortunately, as you’ll note in the picture, he’s gnawing on the box. The gnawing is less cute than the jumping into things.
Cat-in-the-Box
You see there? This is what I’m talking about! This is everyone’s fight.
A Schaumburg company allegedly fired a woman, and one employee is accused of calling her a “devil worshipper” after she disclosed she practiced Wicca — a pagan religion viewed by some as witchcraft.
Hat tip to Jason.
I’ve been reading about this story everywhere. In short, a Jewish family in Delaware was driven out of town by the aggressive Christianity of the school district.
A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they’re suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from “state-sponsored religion.”
The Bush White House and its fundie-sponsored Republican majority thrives on strife. It needs an end to pluralism; it needs people to hate and fear one another. It’s called a “wedge issue.” That’s what’s behind the phony campaign to “do something” about immigration. They don’t want to change the law (which is why attempts to do so have been blocked by Repugs), they just want people riled up and full of hate.
And it’s just so classic to hate Jews. » Read more..
Listening to The Waitresses on the drive home last night, and I was struck by how much I still love these lyrics:
Get tough, don’t be so patient
Get smart, head up, shoulders straight
Since when is it a disaster?
If the “S” on your cape is a little frayed?What’s a girl to do?
Born to shop? No! Pretty victories
What’s a girl to do?
Scream & screw? No! Pretty victories
Chris Butler was a man writing from a woman’s point of view. Sometimes he got it and sometimes he didn’t, but mostly the songs were great. And this one, Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?, reads almost like a feminist anthem.
The song is written as “girl talk.” One friend speaks to another who has dropped by, giving her a pep talk about relationships and self-esteem.
Don’t work your buns off, for a fool, for a fool
Who can barely tie his shoes.
Twenty-four years later, Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? feels fresh and smart and interesting, and expresses both anger and hope. And now I have it stuck in my head. Full lyrics below the fold. » Read more..
Arthur: “Hey, I can use the magnet as a bookmark.”
What else needs to be said?
Tonight I traversed half the length of New Jersey, driving from Hamilton to my New York home, a total of 83 miles. We left Hamilton at about 8 p.m, and arrived home at 9:45.
On the way, we saw a total of 26 different fireworks displays from our highway’s eye view (first the New Jersey Turnpike, then the Garden State Parkway). We heard but did not see two more. Once in New York, in our own backyard, we saw two more and heard a third.
What a way to celebrate the 4th! Like the world was a fireworks display that we were riding through. Pretty damn thrilling (although I’m not sure it was all that safe for driving).
And thanks to Bruce for my post title.
