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Carpet theology

CARPET THEOLOGY

Many of us have rugs at home, perhaps in our living room or under our dining table.  Most of us know that the best and therefore the most expensive rugs in the world come from Persia (Iran.) For example, ten years ago, a rug formerly owned by a one-time U.S. Senator and known as the Clark-Sickle carpet, earned the distinction of being the most expensive carpet in the world.  According to the BBC, the rug: Today, thanks to AI and other innovations,...

Omi's aneurysm

OMI’S ANEURYSM

One of the most important questions Deena and I had to ask of the other when we first met was whether we shared the same faith (or if any faith at all.)  We could not at the time foresee my eventual cancer or Deena’s cerebral aneurysm.  But having a mutual belief system meant that we had a common stratagem which we could fall back on when the road got bumpy (and as we were both approaching the age of seventy, the question...

Why Let the Devil Live Rent Free?

WHY LET THE DEVIL LIVE RENT FREE?

We have a problem with squatters today.  These are people who move into your house uninvited while you are on a six-week vacation in Europe.  They change the locks and set up utilities in their name without your knowledge or permission.  Or, you felt sort for a family in crisis and rented them your empty house.  But now that they’ve trashed it and haven’t paid a cent in rent for six months, you are demanding that they leave, and they refuse.  You call the police....

Confessions of a tree hugger

CONFESSIONS OF A TREE HUGGER

I am a bonafide tree hugger. I love trees as much as Joyce Kilmer did. Trees, to me, are majestic living entities and serve as mentors to careful observers about the need to grow deep roots upon which to build your life, with limbs that invariably stretch towards the heavens. Plus, it is clear from Scripture that God loves trees. After man and God, Himself, trees among all living things are third in the amount of attention in Scripture. For...

Sex, Lies and Videotape

SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE

By now, most of us have heard of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop.  We’ve seen photos in the newspapers, perhaps on social media or videos on YouTube.TM  Maybe we saw them on television coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee as Congresswoman and committee member Majorie Greene (R-GA) held up the more salacious of the photos barely a year ago for the public to ogle.  This is definitely cringe-worthy material.  As USA Today described it:  THE PLOTLINE The story was that Hunter Biden dropped off...

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM ANTAEUS

One of the earliest heroes I discovered in Greek mythology was Antaeus. I’m not sure if it was Edith Hamilton or Bulfinch who introduced me to him, but Antaeus sounded like a pretty cool dude to a ten-year-old like me. Back in the fifties, we didn’t have Ironman or Spider Man like kids have now. Antaeus was a giant of person, the scion of two gods, Gaia (earth) and Poseidon. Antaeus, with his six pack über abs, loved to wrestle....

Scarlet Letters

SCARLET LETTERS

Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is one of the most widely-read books in our society.  It has been adapted into many different plays and movies.  Hawthorne’s book is named for the Puritan practice of “belling” or “tagging” a person with a scarlet letter indicating their crime.  In this case, it is the letter “A”; that of a pregnant woman named Hester Prynne who is married to a husband she hasn’t seen in years. There is much historical truth in the background to Hawthorne’s novel.  In 1694,...

CALIBAN UPON SETEBOS

CALIBAN UPON SETOBOS

Deena sent me to the market a year ago.  She asked me to bring home a pair of steamed lobsters.  When I arrived, I went to the seafood counter to place my order and a young clerk a bit on the scrawny side asked me to pick out the lobsters from the tank next to the counter.  There were about eight to twelve lobsters in the tank, but only two were actively moving about.  The clerk looked at me.  One or two lobsters appeared like...

The Secret Life of Trees

THE SECRET LIFE OF TREES

This is an updated post to include additional information. I have had a few thoughts of trees lately. It’s autumn in New England, and though my wife and I live in upstate New York, the spectacular colors of fall do not stop at the Vermont border. Also, living with a forest in our backyard provides us with ample reminders that winter is fast approaching as thousands of leaves, blown by the wind, scurry across our driveway daily like shifting sand....

Dance the night away

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) once said “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Or, perhaps, by those who would not hear the music? You may hear harmonies, particular chords and notes, even instruments in a musical composition that I am oblivious to. I might find musical patterns in the wind-blown chimes outside my home or in the water of a rushing brook–places where you might not pause to listen....

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