A Note From Roseann

Oh happy happy, joy joy. I am back in the hospital. St. Vincent's

I went to dialysis yesterday and everything was fine except I felt slightly irritable. Just that indefinable grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr on the inside. Got home and laid down on the couch. The second my head hit the pillow I was out. Then I woke up when Gary got up for work and I had 102.5 temp. So I'm getting the usual protocol of antibiotics, anti-emetics blah blah blah.

The nurses here are so nice and I'm such a familiar face I get teased, "oh no, not you again" and we joke around. Gary stayed with me until 4 and then he had to get to work. By the time he came back and 10 we were both worn out. I can never sleep the first night I'm here so now I'm super sleepy but I know I won't be able to rest until Gary leaves for work.

These little infections just pop up now and then. They are somehow related to my dialysis catheter and we've been lucky that Dr. K can find the right antibiotics quickly. He is getting worried though that it is going to start becoming resistant.

I’m looking at this as just another thing leading me to St. Louis.

Love and hugs, Roseann

I marvel at Roseann's courage. May the love of God heal her in body, mind, and spirit. May God give strength to Roseann and Gary during this difficult time, and may God's peace that passes understanding keep their minds and hearts in Christ Jesus.

Thanks to Sue for sending Roseann's note.

From The Episcopal Diocese Of Louisiana

Preparing for Our Next Bishop -

We want to hear from you!

As many of you are aware, we have begun the lengthy process that will lead to the election of the Eleventh Bishop of Louisiana. The Episcopate Committee, which oversees the initial stages, would like to hear from you and has asked that all members (lay and ordained) of the diocese participate in a short survey. (Click Here) The survey will be available until April 30th.

This survey was created to give members of the diocese an opportunity to voice their opinion about both the current state of affairs in the diocese and the qualities that we are looking for in our next chief pastor. Soon, information will be sent out about a series of Community Forums across the diocese to be held in early May. These Forums (for lay persons only) will provide an additional opportunity for all to voice their concerns. Please be honest and take the time to participate in the process. The committee thanks you for your time and asks for your prayers in this time of discernment.

Yours in Christ,

The Episcopate Committee

Those of you in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana who want your voice to be heard on the qualities that you would like to see in the new bishop, please fill out the survey on the diocesan website by April 30. That's only ten days away.

I ask for prayers for the election from those within the diocese and without.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for the Diocese of Louisiana, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p. 818)

Please Pray For Roseann And Barbara

Afternoon Mimi,

I have an update on Roseann. She's on her way to St. Vincent's Hospital with and fever of 103.


Sue

Oh, no!


Mimi,

Barbara wrote me today after her visit to the Surgeon and apparently the Radiologist.

She says,"I went today for the surgeon to 'release' me - the stitches will dissolve - he said it looked good.

The radiologist was even more pleased with the incision and the amount to tumor removed. There were 2 lumps - one marble sized, one like a green pea. He also removed the biopsy 'scars' that were looking bad - not infected, just bad. So anyway, this Thursday I have a CT scan in preparation for radiation. They will make the 'cast' on Thursday too. The cast keeps you in the same position for each treatment. The radiologist said he might start the radiation next week too. So by May 2 or so, i'll start to have an idea how the chemo makes me feel. Hard to tell until it gets going ... The radiation - again it might be any number of treatments before the 'bad' stuff begins...

Please have everyone on both sides of the pond, keep praying... It is working so far."

Speaking for me, I think just knowing others are praying for, thinking of one is a great treatment.


Thanks,
Susan

Barbara is Susan S.' sister, who has a recurrence of breast cancer.


O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servants Roseann and Barbara the help of your power, that their sicknesses may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

NOM - "Gathering Storm"

From Frank Rich in the New York Times:

WHAT would happen if you crossed that creepy 1960s horror classic “The Village of the Damned” with the Broadway staple “A Chorus Line”? You don’t need to use your imagination. It’s there waiting for you on YouTube under the title “Gathering Storm”: a 60-second ad presenting homosexuality as a national threat second only to terrorism.

Nice, isn't it? Well, funny anyway.

Far from terrifying anyone, “Gathering Storm” has become, unsurprisingly, an Internet camp classic. On YouTube the original video must compete with countless homemade parodies it has inspired since first turning up some 10 days ago. None may top Stephen Colbert’s on Thursday night, in which lightning from “the homo storm” strikes an Arkansas teacher, turning him gay. A “New Jersey pastor” whose church has been “turned into an Abercrombie & Fitch” declares that he likes gay people, “but only as hilarious best friends in TV and movies.”

NOM is the National Organization for Marriage. "NOM, NOM, NOM." A good mantra, don't you think. Try it out. It works.

As the polls attest, the majority of Americans who support civil unions for gay couples has been steadily growing. Younger voters are fine with marriage. Generational changeover will seal the deal. Crunching all the numbers, the poll maven Nate Silver sees same-sex marriage achieving majority support “at some point in the 2010s.”

Iowa and Vermont were the tipping point because they struck down the right’s two major arguments against marriage equality. The unanimous ruling of the seven-member Iowa Supreme Court proved that the issue is not merely a bicoastal fad. The decision, written by Mark Cady, a Republican appointee, was particularly articulate in explaining that a state’s legalization of same-sex marriage has no effect on marriage as practiced by religions. “The only difference,” the judge wrote, is that “civil marriage will now take on a new meaning that reflects a more complete understanding of equal protection of the law.”

Well, I'm glad the judge explained that so clearly. Maybe the folks amongst us who didn't get it, will now have their eyes opened.

The battle is won. The question is no longer "if", but "when". That's not a great consolation for gays in other states who want to get married now, but it should, at the very least, give hope to all of us in favor of full equality in marriage laws. It's coming. Maybe not soon enough, but it's coming.

As marital equality haltingly but inexorably spreads state by state for gay Americans in the years to come, Utah will hardly be in the lead to follow Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. But the fact that it too is taking its first steps down that road is extraordinary. It is justice, not a storm, that is gathering. Only those who have spread the poisons of bigotry and fear have any reason to be afraid.

UPDATE: As suggested by IT in the comments, here are two videos which rebut the video above, one humorous and one factual. The humorous video is effective, as is Colbert's, and the other is useful for talking points against the lies in the original video.

From Daily Kos.



From The Friends of Jake.



As to the original, I think "res ipsa loquitur", "the thing speaks for itself", applies, as its nonsense is so obvious. Of course, I could be wrong.

What Would Jesus Do?

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; naturally...



I assumed you had stolen the car."

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

"My Lord And My God!"

"The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" by Caravaggio

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:19-31

Please read Doorman-Priest's sermon for today. It is excellent. He reminds us that Thomas is remembered for his doubting, but that he is pretty much forgotten for his high Christology, which was rare at that time.

God's Woman

Peter, Thomas, are you my kin?
I call you, "Brother". Are we alike?
You imperfect ones, a doubter, a denier,
Am I your sister?

"I tell you I do not know him!"
Three times your Lord denied.
Oh, Peter, when you heard the cock crow,
Your salty tears were bitter.

You, Thomas, to touch, to see was all.
"Me believe? When I see the nail marks,
When I put my finger in his side."
"My Lord and my God!"

You, my brothers, deeply, fully human,
You flaw-filled men of God,
You give me strength; you give me courage.
Perhaps I'll be God's woman, after all.

Grandmère Mimi 4/18/07

It's the third time that I've used the painting by Caravaggio, but I love it, as I do nearly all of Caravaggio's religious paintings.

Here He Be - Our Very Own TheMe

Read about TheMe and his social club in the The Evening Chronicle.

Can you guess which one he is? Look for the guy with the emptiest glass and the most empty glasses on the table in front of him. Now that he's a celebrity, he probably won't even speak to us any more.

Whitby

On the coach trip with the biddies yesterday, we passed breathtakingly beautiful countryside, through dales and moors. Whitby is a wonderful small fishing town and St. Hilda's is lovely.

I sat on the pier and wept a little, because Grandpère was not with me, and because the place was so beautiful. He would have adored Whitby. He's never known a fishing town or village that he didn't like. I sat on a bench on the pier and watched the waves roll in, which was soothing and healing. I'm getting all weepy and sentimental about places. I wept when I left the Yorkshire Moors with MadPriest and Mrs MadPriest. Imagine what MP thought of a weepy woman in the back of his car!

The words above are from one of the few posts I wrote while I was in England. According to legend, Whitby is associated with Dracula and has a creepy feel about it, but if so, I didn't experience it. I have long wanted to have a glimpse of the North Sea, so I fulfilled two wishes when I visited, getting more than a glimpse.

Three wishes, because I saw the beautiful ruins of St. Hilda's Abbey, which is pictured below.


St. Hilda's from the pier.


MadPriest told me that I had to order fish and chips in Whitby, so, of course, I obeyed. When the waitress brought my order, it was huge. The fish was as long as my forearm, and on the side was a large pile of chips. The fish was haddock, and it was delicious. The meat was thick, white and firm, but I could eat only about a third of it. Grandpère and I had fish and chips somewhere in the south of England, in Portsmouth, maybe, served from a stand wrapped in newspaper. The meal in Whitby was much tastier.


Gratuitous pictures of Whitby, just because I think the scenes are pretty.


On the coach trip, I sat next to a lovely lady from Wakefield. She was a widow in her 80s, and she often went on the senior coach trips in the area, because she didn't drive, and she thought she needed to get out. The cost of the trip was only £12.50, which I thought was good value. Our guide talked some of the time, but not incessantly, as some do. That tends to get on my nerves. Once we arrived in Whitby, we were on our own, which suited me very well, as I could roam on my own and go where I pleased.

I'm So Glad I Found Out About This!!!

The correct way to weigh yourself:


I can't believe I was doing it wrong all these years.

WE MUST SPREAD THE WORD.

Thanks to Erika.

You'll Need Your Money For a Lifeboat

From the Daily Comet:

Ivor van Heerden, a sandy-haired South African scientist with a penchant for levees and coastal environments, delighted in his role after Hurricane Katrina as one of the few scientists in Louisiana willing to criticize the Army Corps of Engineers.

With his field instruments in hand, van Heerden was a go-to source for news organizations, talk radio and documentary film makers. His message was consistent: The corps was at fault for poor levee engineering and had to be held accountable.
....

On Thursday, about 30 supporters of van Heerden held signs and marched in front of a LSU Health Sciences Center library in New Orleans, shouting "L-S-U, shame on you!"

The signs read: "LSU take the politics out of hurricane studies" and "LSU — stop gagging experts."

"Van Heerden was one of the few to step out and tell the truth that it was corps' engineering," said Ray Broussard, a 50-year-old maritime photographer. He lived in the Lakeview neighborhood when Katrina hit Aug. 29, 2005, and his home was flooded with 7 feet of water.
....

Michael Ruffner, former vice chancellor for communications at LSU, told The New York Times in May 2006 that "We don't see him as a viable source to be discussing the engineering aspect of the levees."

In a June letter to The Times-Picayune newspaper, Ruffner said he wanted to quell speculation that the school attempted to limit van Heerden's access to the media.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Ruffner wrote. "LSU continues to be deeply committed to First Amendment rights, as well as unfettered academic freedom."

Ruffner wrote then problems arose "relating to his technical and professional expertise to comment on levees and construction matters because he is trained in geology and botany, and not civil engineering."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the powers at LSU shut him up because he was not an engineer. It's true that Ivor is not an engineer, but Team Louisiana, the group that Ivor assembled to inspect the levees after Katrina, included engineers. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have someone on the team who knows something about geology, does it?

We're saving the money we would have donated to LSU to buy our lifeboat for the hurricane season.

It's good to see folks come out in support of Ivor.