Does It Strike Your Fancy?

So here is a different one that might strike your fancy:

A policeman in a small town was on night patrol and, as he was checking the used car lot, he came upon two little old ladies sitting in a used car.

He stopped and asked them why they were sitting there in the car. Were they trying to steal it?

"Heavens no! We bought it."

"Then why don't you drive it away?"

"We can't drive."

"Then why did you buy it?"

"Friends told us that if we bought a used car here we'd get screwed....

So we're just waiting."

Cheers,

Paul (A.)

That Paul. He's a naughty one, and he tempts me to naughtiness, and I succomb.

Nevertheless, it was a real pleasure to see him again at the convention. And he lent me his computer, too! Good thing, because I was wasting away from internet deprivation.

Please Pray For Frank And Carol

From David@Montreal:

This prayer call comes in response to two of your cherished number who in the last 24 hours have e-mailed requests for news on my dear cousin Frank, who as you might remember is under-going genetic therapy as a last-ditch attempt to beat his leukemia.

I've just spoken with Carol, Frank's wife and to quote her 'they're in the thick of G vs H' (Graft vs. Host) which is the grueling process which will see if Frank's body permanently accepts the new genetic material or not. Something which is complicated by the fact that only a 9/10 match was possible to begin with.

Frank's spirits are incredible, and he's convinced he's 'going to beat this' but the process has been remorseless.

In reaction to the prednisone his muscle tissue has been seriously diminished, so he's falling down unexpectedly on a regular basis. For someone formerly quite athletic, it was quite the experience the other day when two senior ladies tried getting him to his feet again at the bottom of his driveway.

There's also the first signs of some slight impact on the liver.

He's been hospitalized twice in the last three weeks with extraordinarily high temperatures, and there's more secondary complications than you really want to know about. Good news: the c-difficile is beaten for now.

So I'd ask for your prayers for both Frank and Carol please.

Thank-you my beloved Giants

Many prayers for Frank that the side effects diminish and that his body accepts the new genetic material. Prayers for strength and peace for both Carol and Frank.

Sue-z Update

From JimB:

She is showing a little more kidney function. While it is still not adequate it is better and the trend is positive. Her breathing is still not great but with the O2 she can catch her breath. She is still getting lots of Heprin and Cumidem and the concentration in her blood is rising. It is not enough to actually dissolve the clots yet but we are closer.

So, she will be better -- but it will take a while. Our family doctor had the same problem. Getting home took him 10 days. On that schedule we are talking about a wee from now.

I will keep sending updates to Fr. Jon on OCICBW, facebook, and my own blog Jims Thoughts.

Sue-z says thanks to all for their prayers and thoughts.

FWIW
jimB

Thanks be to God! Prayers that Sue-Z continues to improve until she is restored to full health. Prayers for peace for all the family.

Bishop Gene -"Restored To The Community"

Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire posted a final summing up of GC09 from his vantage point at his blog Canterbury Tales from the Fringe.

This Convention had an unexpected -- and wonderful -- effect on me. The marginalization I have felt from my own House of Bishops since Lambeth seems to have disappeared. Finally, after months of feeling "cut out of the herd" by Lambeth, I once again feel restored to the community of bishops. Perhaps it was my own doing, I don't know. But whatever distance I felt, now seems mostly healed. And for that I am very grateful.

One brother bishop noted in private that my blog was still called "Canterbury Tales from the Fringe," and wondered if that was not out of date now. While I had simply decided to continue the same blog, rather than establish a new one, I now wonder if at some level I had still felt "on the fringe." Because that is no longer the case, if I decide to blog again (I'm sure I will), it will be under a different name. I, along with my gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters, are moving into full participation in the Body of Christ. There is no sweeter result of General Convention than this one.

Please read Bishop Gene's entire post. I regret that he was not able to participate in the African Indaba process at Lambeth, as he did at the convention in Anaheim, because I believe that he would have made an enormous positive contribution. Although he was barred from the meetings at Lambeth, the Anglican Communion came no closer to unity because of it.

Of the meeting of 25 bishops who stayed up late in the night, Bishop Gene says:

NEVER in my six years as a bishop have I experienced the holy speaking and holy listening I experienced that night.

Thanks be to God.

Thanks to David@Montreal for sending me the link.

Frank McCourt - R. I. P.

From the Washington Post:

Frank McCourt, who melted the hearts of millions of readers with "Angela's Ashes," a lyrically poignant memoir of his poverty-stricken Irish childhood, died of melanoma July 19 in New York. He was 78.

Mr. McCourt was a retired teacher in his mid-60s when he wrote "Angela's Ashes," an unflinching and unforgettable account of his family's misery in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s. It was his first book, published in 1996, and immediately won critical acclaim and a vast readership.

The memoir received the Pulitzer Prize and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 117 weeks, including 23 at No. 1. In a review, Washington Post book editor Nina King wrote, "This memoir is an instant classic of the genre."

I'm ashamed to confess that I have not read Angela's Ashes, but I intend to remedy that as soon as possible. The reason that I didn't read the book is that I thought I couldn't bear it. Reading about suffering children takes a heavy toll on me. The images of pictures and verbal descriptions stay with me long after I read the stories.

May Frank rest in peace and rise in glory.

Image from Wiki. H/T to The Lead for the link to the story.

Your Gasoline Purchases At Work

 

AN ENGINEERING MASTER PIECE

During the construction phase…Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

 

All finished. Notice the palm trees outside.

 

The INSIDE view:

Remember, this is in the middle of the desert. The very HOT desert where temperatures get up to 120 degrees...

Unbelievable! But true.

 

But, but, but...where's Santa and his sleigh and reindeer in this Winter Wonderland?

I confess to doubting that this was a real vacation spot, but I owe Doug an apology.

Thought For The Day - Richard Rohr

Let’s state it clearly: One great idea of the biblical revelation is that God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concrete incarnations of life. That’s opposed to God holding out for the pure, the spiritual, the right idea or the ideal anything. This is why Jesus stands religion on its head!

From Things Hidden by Richard Rohr.

Happy Birthday To TheMe!

From themethatisme:

hang on a moment..

...and now I'm 43!!!

Gosh, he's getting old. The last time I saw him, he was 42.

"Broken Heart" - From Roseann

From Roseann:

My arms are swelling again. I had a good day yesterday and today I am in a lot of pain. Mostly my heart is breaking for Gary. When will this suffering end?

Dear, dear Roseann, I don't know when the suffering will end. Much love and many prayers for you and Gary.

Big People Words

A group of kids were trying very hard to become accustomed to the first grade. The biggest hurdle they faced was that the teacher insisted on NO baby talk!

"You need to use Big People words," she was always reminding them.

She asked Alex what he had done over the weekend.

"I went to visit my Nana."

She replied, "No, you went to visit your GRANDMOTHER. Use Big People words!"

She then asked Mitchell what he had done.

"I took a ride on a choo-choo."

She said. "No, you took a ride on a TRAIN. You must remember to use Big People words."

She then asked little Johnny what he had done.

"I read a book," he replied.

"That's WONDERFUL!" the teacher said. "What book did you read?"

Johnny thought real hard about it, then puffed out his chest with great
pride, and said, "Winnie the Shit."

Don't blame me. Blame Paul (A.).