A Message from August 2016 - From a Black Woman in Her 70s

 Therefore, when I moved here, like anyplace that I have ever lived, I became a contributing member of my community, and one of the first things I did, because I am living on a fixed income and did not have money to contribute more than just the minimum $50 annual donation that the Sterling Volunteer Fire Department asked for,  at 67 years old I became a member of the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, of which there were only 5 "Blacks" and may still only be 5 Blacks out of this entire Sterling population.  And, because I was on a fixed income, until I was diagnosed with PMR in 2012 - 2013 I  was a Volunteer Ranger at Wolf Trap, and out of thousands of Wolf Trap Volunteers, the 1300 Usher staff have only 2 Blacks, and out of the Rangers there were 3 including me.  Does that give you a general idea of how Blacks and other "TAKERS" live their lives, but yet are always looking for something from someone else, and "get over" when they think no one is looking.  You impress me as one of them.

"HELLO" what's wrong with that picture.  So I ask you, "Where do Black Lives Matter?" If Black lives don't matter to Blacks at the level of service to the communities where they live beyond partying, playing pro ball ball, fashion or getting dressed to the "T" to drive in the newest cars to go to church on Sunday, Black lives don't seem to matter to them in their own neighborhoods where they live, so why would or should anyone else [many of whom are first immigrants who have come to this country looking for a better way of life that Blacks are still 400 years after the fact still trying to make a case for being brought here as slaves, as were many Asians and other ethnic group, etc.  Therefore, when other ethnicities even today are still risking their lives to come here looking for a better life and band together and open businesses, nail saloons, cleaners, etc., and enhance the neighborhoods where they live.  I just relocated from a community in Queens which has become so drug infested that there isn't even a grocery store in it. There is a place for eveyone, except for people that don't want a place here, then they should consider returning to the place where they feel they fit in their countries and if it is Africa so be it, but as long as they are in this country USA.  They need to care more about the quality of the lives that Blacks and themselves have created for themselves.  I am a product of the Civil Rights era, and was responsible for many of the changes that back then mattered to us and our lives, that was then demonstrated in the communities that Blacks themselves either allowed to deteriorate or they destroyed their neighborhoods and allwed them to go into disrepair because they NEVER held themselves or their fellows accountable.  They didn't back then, and they don't do it today. e.g.  riots, fires, murdering each other, drugs, etc.  when they should be using their "Black Lives Matter" strengths to join together and go from Black neighborhood to Black neighborhood [WITHOUT ANY FEDERAL FUNDS or notoriety] and begin to rebuild their own communities themselves.  Start their own volunteer Fire/Rescue and Axilery Police.  Then Blacks cant't say that they are being discriminated against, because they will become self supporting through their own contributions; or the lack there of, etc.

Open Letter to John Dehlin - Known for Criticizing my Faith

    The subject is personal; I cannot be overly objective about it, but I do think that I can be rational or logical about much of it. This topic covers much of what I believe, what I hope for, aspire to, practice, and work towards. Religion is often personal and private, but for many it becomes public and open, which is what I believe Mr. Dehlin stands for. So here goes. Let me and us be open about these things, as you strive to do. Bringing light, truth, and clarity to the subject and issues of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    I have heard of and followed many of your doings and circumstances over the last years. I recently have seen a number of your podcasts. I normally do not follow podcasts at all, so the fact that I have watched a few is in itself rare. I appreciate your efforts as far as I understand your motives. I like to read a lot of things; I do watch documentaries, newscasts, and listen to my share of radio shows that dive into all types of subjects. I believe that I understand your methodology of presentation and research regarding your Mormon podcasts and dialogs, which seems fair enough as open and encompassing. You try to be honest and fair. But allow me to insert my take on the overall approach or tenor of what I find that you do.

    In criticizing and "bringing light" to things of my faith, you are doing a few things that I take issue with, of which I try not to make it cause for umbrage or ire. However, I appreciate you considering my thoughts and feelings when it comes to the subjects of two primary things, which are the Lord Himself, and what I believe is the Church that belongs to Him.

    I plea ignorant on knowing how you may or may not believe in Jesus Christ. Perhaps you believe that He is who He says he is, like most Christians, or perhaps you consider yourself an agnostic or atheist? Maybe you think of Jesus of Nazareth as a good person, or even a prophet, but He is not Divine? I hope for the best as far as your faith in Him. I believe in Him as my Lord and Redeemer, that He is the Author and Finisher, and on and on. I cannot prove all these things and beliefs about Him. I know many that supposedly debunk Him as a hopeful myth or a fraud, or at minimum minimize Him to another human being, no God at all. Fine. Whatever you believe in your heart and soul about the Divine, unrelated to any official religion or denomination, I wish the best for you.

    

    I believe in the Holy Scriptures, and everything that I have learned about Jehovah, or the Messiah,  through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christian sources, and through what I believe to be God's Spirit. So, in effect, by attacking or deconstructing many parts of the Church that claims Him as a leader and guide that I posit faith in, you are in that way dismissing Him Himself. Perhaps that is the end result for you and others that believe along with you. I do not know. I should probably find out. I likely will.

    To be honest, maybe you even believe that the modern Church that Joseph Smith founded or restored in 1830 is true as stated by its leaders and believers, but you simply want to reform or fix it, like Martin Luther did with the Roman Catholic Church hundreds of years ago. But I doubt that. It seems that you, John, have debunked or disclaimed so many of the so-called truths of this religion that it would be pretty hard to really believe in it as what it purports to be: the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth. It is certainly a bold claim, after all. 

    I do not know how you really feel or believe about the above two things. But here is how I understand and feel about the things that I wish to defend, or claim faith and allegiance to.

    Jesus is the best hope that I know of. If He truly is the Creator and the Saviour of Humankind, then I know of no one or nothing better. If millions of us are wrong, then we have a big delusion going.

    

    Many of us Christians, others who believe in higher, unseen powers, can be lumped together as naive or wistfully hopeful, even delusional by dogmatic empiricists, who claim by the lack of measurable data that God or Divine plans or machinations cannot possibly exist. Well, me and few others beg to differ. God is in control, and His Son Christ conquered most human ills for us.

    Again, at the time of writing this post I know less of his, John Dehlin's actual beliefs. I will find out more.

    What I do know is that he is an outspoken critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that he was excommunicated a few years ago, a process now known by the faith as removing your name from the records of the Church. He hosts multiple guests with all types of complaints, concerns, critiques, and accusations again the faith, known more commonly to the world and many of its detractors as Mormon, Mormonism, or mistakenly "The Mormon Church". Pointed out by may, it is not the church of Mormon. Mormons, yes, but we are Latter-day Saints and we belong to Jesus Christ, not a prophet or person who believe was named Mormon.

    Anyway, I understand many of Dehlin's concerns and qualms. He has legitimate beefs and issues with our faith and practices, methods, doctrines, and policies. I can empathize and sympathize with many of his issues. I can also acknowledge that many imperfect members of the faith make mistakes and do wrong things, and John publishes and points out many of these incidents with his guests. He has hosted perhaps thousands.

My Issue and Defense of Jesus and His Church concerning John

    Jesus aside, the Church and its doctrines aspire to the highest ideals that we as members espouse to; we believe them to be of divine origin and come from continual direction from God and Christ, which is bold and of no small import for those who take it seriously.

    The historical and current Church has its flaws and imperfections, to make a comparison to a human body: it has weaknesses, frailties, warts, suffers from diseases and states of disrepair. In the New Testament of the Holy Bible we know that the body of the Church of Christ has needs of all its members. But we know it is not perfect, but it is metaphorically or allegorically the "bride of the Savior". Christ and His Church are married partners. He loves her and she loves Him, reciprocally, mutually, and imperfectly, in many cases.

    A human body can have its problems that go wrong, too. But, like the human body, the Church of God is still beautiful, warts and cysts, imperfections and frailties and all of it. We love our bride, we love the Church, and the frailties are outweighed by the internal strengths and values. This may sound unfair, or even patriarchal and stilted to many, with a male master and the servant alluded to, but this is the world that we have been given. Again, the notion of a Lord and His followers is antithetical to many, I understand.

       Travels to and From Distrito Federal

    One time my wife and I were in Mexico City. After being there for about a week I did my best to return to the West Coast of the country, to the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Ocean, by choosing a route that would potentially go through a new way with different cities. It did not work. We returned through Cuernavaca and Morelos State, the same way we had arrived seven days before. I was disappointed. But worse still, I also realized later that I made it too hard on my pregnant wife. She was more than four months along-- we took a bus route overnight, providing little comfort for her.

    The next morning we made it Zihuantanejo along the coast; my newly married wife and expectant mother looked terrible. I know she felt awful. She was overtired, having slept poorly and rested little due to my attempts at travel through the night on a bus. And yes, she was carrying another life in her womb (our first daughter, who just graduated from college)! We got our hotel room early that morning; they graciously allowed us to check in early. We finally got some decent sleep and rest in the mid-morning.

    Here is my comparison to hyper-critiquing the Church of Jesus Christ: my poor planning led to this situation in Mexico, which was not the best. My wife at breakfast that morning was far from her best, but would I consider her worthy of criticizing because of this turn of events? Of course not.

    Concluding Remarks

    We beat up the Church, or John Dehlin does with many others, but are his complaints and those beefs and issues of the others he interviews substantially worth overwhelming the good that this organized religion achieves and accomplishes?

    Dehlin is very good at critiquing and pointing out faults in the faith that he was raised in. The one that I have been a part of for more than fifty years. The one that my parents joined and united with in the late 1960s. In my story in Mexico, there were problems with my logistics, the health of my wife with a small life inside of her, and there are reasons why I or others could be condemned and villainized for the way it worked, or how it was somewhat less functional than could have been.

    Was this trip worth it?

    For me, yes. It did have its challenges; it did put my wife and unborn daughter through more strife than hoped, or needed.

    Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the world in a time of stress, discomfort, and less relief than optimal.

        

    Some vacations and trips, missions and endeavors turn out this way.

    Is the Church perfect, or does it follow perfect plans of achieving its aims? No. Does the body and the leaders of the faith have warts and ugly parts? Yes. Can the leaders mess up and take us through seemingly unnecessary travails and pains?

    It would seem so.

    But are there positive things that we can underscore and celebrate?

    Certainly.

    And this is the part that I am missing from Mr. Dehlin.

    My wife and I spent a good ten or eleven days and enjoyed ourselves in southern Mexico. We had a memorable and good time. Was it perfect? No. Was it worth it? I say yes.

    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is far from perfect.

    But the negatives do not outdo the positives.

    But, like my trip to Mexico where I remember some negatives, to include myself in the equation, people may argue and dispute call out wrongs. We are free to do so. Perhaps in my comparison/analogy, my Mexico trip has much more negative than the part that I referred to? Did we have nine bad days in eleven, in his estimation, instead of parts of one night of less than optimal travel?

    John Dehlin is a smart man. I want to see more of what he finds and analyzes of that which is positive in the faith of his fathers. Or, what does he like about other faiths and religions? 

    Is this tenable? I think so.

    If you read this John, Dr. Dehlin, please share your thoughts. Perhaps you think that the Church has so much to expose and scrutinize, and that its own messages and advocates are so strong in their rhetoric and branding, or deceptive or wrong, that you are emphasizing what is most needed. I get it.

    You have to be you.

    

    

     Sacrifices to Remember - 2023

    Another Memorial Day Weekend in the United States; another time to reflect on the heroes of the military and those that support them and us that have given all, resulting in death, early graves, too often sad yet often heroic endings.

    This past year I lost a friend and former colleague, Nicholas. Originally from Missouri, he was a good, decent, competent, kind, hard-working person and soldier. He helped me in my career and helped many others. He deployed overseas with the Army multiple times.

    Perhaps he would have taken his own life had he not been in the military. No one can know, no one can be sure of what his life would have been had he not been a soldier. But the fact of the matter is he was a soldier, and like many before and after him he became a victim of some of the sacrifices of serving his country. Or, he is a part of the U.S. system of those that gave of their time and efforts to make our military better, stronger, and to accomplish the nation's goals.

    And we lost him. I got the call from a former commander in December 2022, but before that someone else had reached out that Nicholas was gone, I think through an email or social media chat. No more for him past 2022, the year of his last deployment (or rotation, a Warrant Officer boss of mine calls it) when he and a small group of us met up at an overseas base where we posed for pictures and smiled and laughed at a USO. A USO, a place where people support and give back to us troops.

    Again, perhaps he would have died whether he had served our country and deployed multiple times or not. But thankfully, he did do those things.

    I believe that he sacrificed and gave back to his nation. I remember him fondly and somewhat forlornly. I think of his remaining daughter, spouses, family, friends, and cohorts.

    As I stated at a celebration of his life, he is a part of the flag now. I pointed back to it sitting solemnly on the stage in front of which I stood and spoke to those that remembered and celebrated him that Tuesday after Martin Luther King's Day.

    God bless the soul and legacy of Sergeant Nicholas. God bless all of us, let us remember him with understanding and gratitude. May our nation continue in strength and moral courage.

Good Quote from an Article

 The Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno writes that suffering can unite us in a way that is joyous. Bodies are joined by pleasure but souls are joined by pain. Instead of trying to cheer each other up, people who share pain together have an ability to connect with one another that others cannot really touch. We don’t get to choose whether we do or don’t have suffering, but the suffering allows us to see other people in a new, profound way.   

Quoted from an article --

Harper is Playing, Fighting, is Uninjured halfway through May 2023

  Bryce made it to 174 all time on the home-run list, tied with six others at 287 long balls for his career. He is now 30, like the long ball slugger Manny Machado with the San Diego Padres.

    Garrett Anderson played memorably with the Los Angeles Angels, retiring in 2010 at age 38. Bobby Bonilla was wrapped up in 2001 at the same age as Anderson, 38, and played one less season. Bonilla is famously earning great money with the Mets until the year 2030. Amazing.

    I invite you and me to look up the other names: Frank Thomas was done back in 1966, while the others are more recent, including the Natural Ryan Zimmerman who finished as the all-time home run leader with the Washington Nationals. He helped bring the title to the DMV back in 2019, quite memorable and special.

    All these guys are special. Rarefied air, Mr. Harper.

    Hopefully he will get another 30 or so this year.

174.	Garret Anderson (17)	287	9177	L	HR Log
	Bobby Bonilla (16)	287	8257	B	HR Log
	Brian Giles (15)	287	7836	L	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (12, 30)	287	5952	L	HR Log
	Matt Kemp (15)	287	6983	R	HR Log
	J.D. Martinez (13, 35)	287	6001	R	HR Log
	Bernie Williams (16)	287	9053	B	HR Log
181.	Carlos Pena (14)	286	5893	L	HR Log
	Frank Thomas (16)	286	6917	R	HR Log
183.	Will Clark (15)	284	8283	L	HR Log
	Eric Karros (14)	284	7100	R	HR Log
	Ryan Zimmerman (16)	284	7402	R	HR Log

Dated 25 June 2023

 Blogger's Delight - 2023

    Sunday mornings I get, or give myself more chances to blog, to write, to think and compose. I did some blogging from 2006 to 2009, which was good for me, and potentially a few others. I like writing most of the time, when I give myself time to do it. Have I been serious enough to the craft of writing to consider myself a writer? Not exactly. But, typing and organizing the language of my thoughts have been helpful and positive to me, at least. Did I get many audiences that read my material? Not really. I have my top ten articles/posts, which usually do not amount to more than 100 viewers/readers. Almost no one comments, other than the occasional follow-ups by yours truly. 

    Have I created more bandwidth fodder for the Chinese to purview and peruse? Perhaps. Maybe they have trackers that deem my commentaries of little use for their purposes. Maybe there are Artificial Intelligence robots that can do this. Incidentally, some of us think that the Chinese of the People's Republic want to take over the world; that they are constantly on the prowl to find out and exploit the United States and the Western World in order to become the biggest superpower, instilling their Maoist and post-Maoist views, visions, and plans upon the rest of us. 

    I blogged a lot about sports in those early years, and a few other things. The two Foxsports blogs were wiped out, sadly. Then in 2014 I started this blog; I feel like I have written a few good things since then. Some memorable pieces, many sentimental, some jog memories that are dissipating and ethereal.

    This year we started a new blog called Artistic Musings, which is supposed to touch on film and art. It has had some critical success. For me, anyway. Some comments, likes, followers. This is blogger progress! Following ‹ Reader — WordPress.com

    Milestones come upon us survivors and those that remain walking and talking. For me now, it is a daughter who has received her Bachelors. That is good, solid, and paid for.

    No small fete. My wife and I helped this happen, and of course the student herself. On to the next chapter!

    Speaking of chapters, I have been writing a book which has 13 or 14 chapters, plus a forward, an explanation, and perhaps two premises. I go up and down about the book consistently. Do I need to trim it of its excess verbiage and comments? It is a purported reflection. Is it to reflective?

    I cannot help but wonder. I decided that the book will have been written by 2022, now that we are deep into 2023.

    So be it.

    Blog on, Sunday mornings... Time to move on to the next chapters...