Religious prejudice

I come from a long line of working-class Catholics (mother's side) and Protestants (father's side). My paternal grandmother was first a Baptist, but joined a Pentecostal church later. She could talk in tongues and taught bible study for children. Cool, but kinda scary.

My Tennessee Grandma was the best person I ever knew. She told me that she once chased the devil out of her house because he was trying to turn her against Jesus. Yeah, I know, sounds a little fanciful. I'll tell you what, though, if anyone could pull off a caper like that it was her.

She was a die hard Democrat until JFK ran for president - my Grandpa made them both switch to Republican because he hated Catholics. She was raised to submit to her husband as the head of the household. Plus, I'm sure her pastor was raising (un)holy hell over a Catholic trying to get elected president.

Scotch Irish Appalachians have hated Papists since John Knox left the priesthood to follow John Calvin in the 16th century. The Reformation was sadly necessary because of the corruption of 16th century Catholicism. In fact, the Catholics reciprocated and behaved just as badly. Wars were fought, people killed, men glorified, women diminished. If there turns out to be a divine force we call God, I'm sure s/he is perfect. People are not, though. I can't put my faith in religion. Faith is too precious and important for man-made constructs.

It hurt my heart to realize Grandpa hated Catholics, because at time I was a soft hearted Catholic school girl. Grandma found ways to let us know she knew Catholics were still Christian, and that Grandpa was too harsh. Grandma's God was a loving God. Grandpa's was a God of fire and brimstone. As a fully indoctrinated Catholic, this made me think about the limitations of dogma at the tender age of 9. I expanded my concept of spirituality because I loved my Grandma. I found ways to let her know she wouldn't go to Limbo* for not being baptized Catholic, ha. It's ridiculous looking back on these religious prejudices. It's hard to believe they still exist, but I'm afraid they do.

It's the nature of our reality that evil has always existed in this world, and always will. We have to choose to walk away from it in our own lives, but it still exists out there. Sometimes people are fooled if they don't exercise their mind and search for the truth. Grandma might have voted for Donald Trump the first time, because he pretended to be anti-abortion and folks were preaching conservative politics from the pulpit. However, I'm confident she would not have supported him a second time. Why? Because he's a liar and a cheat. He's filled with hate and tries to spread it around. Grandma knew the difference between good and evil.

Sometimes good people come together, regardless of 
propoganda, dogma, or belief systems

*Limbo re Wikipedia: "The unofficial term Limbo /ˈlɪmboʊ/ (from Latin limbus 'edge, boundary', referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned."

Paying Forward

I went to the grocery store the other day. I had about $116 worth of food, and went to the check-out lane. A friendly older woman was working the register, and the bagger was a high school boy. We exchanged pleasantries, and then it was time to pay. I reached into my purse to pay and in horror realized I didn't have my credit card. As you can imagine, I was distraught. 

I told them I only lived about 10 minutes away and asked if they could put my bags in the cooler until I returned with my card. They were very sweet to me, but I was humiliated.  

Suddenly, a woman in the next check-out lane walked over and announced she would pay. I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted. She told me to consider myself blessed. What can one do when confronted by an actually good religious person? I pulled the 3 packages of Halloween candy out of the cart and asked the bagger if he could put them back for me. I would accept her kindness, but I wasn't going to take advantage. I joked that she was for sure going to heaven for this act of kindness, and she laughed. I thanked her profusely, as one does when they are embarrassed. I promised her I would "pay it forward" and do the same for someone else. 

The very next day I returned to buy the Halloween candy. The woman in front of me in the check-out couldn't get her card to work, and was upset. Something was wrong. I uneasily recognized her humiliation. I stepped up and paid her bill. It was $118, almost the same as mine from the previous day. When she tried to dissuade me, I told her my own story and that the amount was virtually the same. She accepted and promised to pay it forward. Wow!   

And if you think this is all about the goodness of white people, think again. The only white people in this narrative were me and the high school boy.  

No Kings, Clermont, Lake County, Florida, 18Oct2025

Me, sitting down on a picnic table in the
back, because I had pneumonia a few
weeks ago.

 

Feeling better

Yesterday was my last antibiotic.  I'm feeling better, but I am Oh So Tired!  I suspect it will be weeks before I feel like myself again.  In the meantime, I sleep.  

Sick and tired

I've been sick for over a week now.  Nothing major, but started with chills, slight fever, fatigue.  I tested negative for both flu and COVID, but still it hung on.  After 5 days I went to a clinic, who determined me dehydrated and sent me to the hospital's ER.  There they hooked me up to an IV of fluids, and started doing bloodwork, scans, etc.  A chest x-ray revealed a spot of infection in my right upper chest which they determined was pneumonia.  This is how my poor mind remembers it all anyway.  I actually had an EKG that I can't even remember having. Which is strange, because I never really felt out of it. I remember the chest x-ray, and I remember a CT Scan. But I don't remember the EKG.  So, I could be explaining it wrong, but this is the best I can do with a muddy mind.  

Pneumonia is a scary word, and for good reason. But if mine were a bad case, they would have admitted me to the hospital.  I'm taking it as a good sign that they sent me home. 

I'm definitely getting better after a few days of antibiotics.  Staying hydrated!!!  I never thought I'd say this, but I look forward to feeling well enough to clean my house.  

Busy

I no longer enjoy being busy, although I was happy being busy when I was a working person.  Multi-tasking, rushing around, talking to a lot of people was all fun.  I was proud of all I could accomplish.  I'm not sure I ever relaxed, because when I came home there was cooking, cleaning, and shopping to do.  Early on there was child-care as well.  It's all a blur.  It was an important time, a time for productivity.  I'm glad it's over.  

The War of the Roses

I have not seen that new "Roses" movie, but I intend to. However, this isn't about that.

Coincidentally, I have been reading a book called The Wars of the Roses: The fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones.  It is a history, not a novel.  I have a sincere interest in history, especially concerning Europe. Why? I dunno. Maybe that should be a separate post.

Jones writes compellingly for nosy civilians like me. The book is action-packed, revealing the nature, intention, and driving force behind actions of flawed yet formidable rulers. Men, and a few women, who knew few (if any) limits to their egos and lust for power. The world benefited from the best of them. Not just in Europe, but across the world we survived the worst of them, but not without historical regression and decreased virtue.

Sounds modern, doesn't it?  Why don't we evolve into wise and just people? The human race could get by making mistakes in the past.  Now, I'm not so sure. 

"Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens" after the original 1910 fresco painting by Henry Albert Payne (British, 1868-1940) based upon a scene in Shakespeare's Henry VI, the original in the Palace of Westminster and a later similar painting by Payne in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, this print marked "copyright 1912 in London & Washington by "The Fine Art Publishing Co., Ltd. London"

An old favorite (sandwich)

My husband introduced me to things like mayonnaise and butter after we married. My family had more plebeian tastes. We used Miracle Whip and margarine. 

I ate tomato sandwiches when I was a child, consisting of white bread, tomato, and Miracle Whip. I loved them. I've tried eating these as an adult on our robust multi-grain bread with mayo, but it's just not the same.  

My grandson prefers white bread, so I had some in the freezer. This morning I decided to make myself a tomato sandwich with that white bread. What a disappointment! Maybe mayonnaise isn't sweet enough? It just wasn't what I remembered. It also wasn't the least bit filling. 

Sometimes childhood favorites don't hold up well. Our tastes evolve. Don't even get me started on Velveeta grilled "cheese" sandwiches. 

Who invented the piano?

I was trying to nap yesterday, and of course when a mind is quiet thoughts sneak in. Our grandson is taking drum lessons, and he is also learning the xylophone in the school band. Percussion. My husband (Tom) recently told me piano is also a percussion instrument. I found myself wondering "Who invented the piano?" I gave up on my nap and went outside to sit next to Tom. I was sure he'd know.  

He didn't know "who" but he launched into an interesting effusion of musical facts related to the piano, and modern western music, tuning, keys, chords and even Bach.  I never learned an instrument, so I don't have a firm grasp of musical nomenclature.  The terms don't resonate with me, but I think I understood the gist of it all.  Maybe.

I still wanted to know who invented the piano, so I googled it.  AI, currently still an obedient servant, told me this:

"The piano was invented around the year 1700 by Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori, who developed the pianoforte, an instrument capable of producing both soft and loud dynamics by using hammers to strike the strings instead of plucking them. The term "pianoforte" was eventually shortened to "piano" and is the basis for the modern instrument we know today."

Now I'm wondering what "Cristofori" means in Italian?  

Feelin' good

It is 10:11 a.m. and we just got back home from a bike ride.  I only had one cup of coffee before we left, and I have a second cup to enjoy now.  The rest of the day is unplanned and before me.  I must confess I always dread going for a bike ride; however, when I'm actually on the trail I'm happy.  

I feel virtuous, free, and unencumbered at this very moment.  It won't last, but damn!  These simple moments are divine.

Azaleas in a forest up north