More fun with turkey...

You all remember my Mother's famous words, "What's wrong with you people?", well I have a new update. The day after Thanksgiving, the family headed over to my Mom's house for Thanksgiving redux (since my sister hosted the big one this year). The meal was much the same, but I was asked to carve the bird. I didn't know it at the time, but my Mother's intention was to have me practice my carving skills (cause I use them so much...like once or twice a year). Since I thought the request was simply to get the meat off the bones and onto a plate, I began to carve with reckless abandon. No sooner had I hacked off one side of the bird when my Mother gave me a horrified look. I said, "What?" She informed me of what I was supposed to be doing and I said that how pretty it looks didn't really matter to me as long as we stripped the bird of all the meat. She tried telling me that I should have carved it like my brother-in-law did the day before, but I wasn't watching what he did since I was doing what men are supposed to do on Thanksgiving, watching football. I'll have to work on my presentation skills for next year.

The 24-hour news cycle

The 24-hour news cycle has perhaps created more harm than good. Two examples are the war and crime. Even going back to the Vietnam war, the reporters who were allowed to capture footage and send it back did more harm than good to the war effort. Our country went weak when they were allowed to see what happens during a war. The same thing is happening with our current war as well. Everything the US body count increases or another bomb is set off, it sends the moonbats on the left to the presses about how horrible things are over there. It makes me wonder what would have happened if we had the technology we do today during WWI, WWII, or Korea for that matter. Would the US called for us not to go into war when we lost 2000 soldiers in an exercise prior to our assault on Normandy? Or what about all the lives lost in the Pacific theatre during our march to Japan? I must qualify my opinion as my own and only based on my limited knowledge of both history and the current situation. I try to stay up on the current issues by reading/watching the news and reading blogs from both the left and the right.

The second example of the 24-hour news cycle is crime. While crime statistics continue to fall, the perception is that if you take your eyes off your child for 10 minutes, they'll be abducted. If you watch the news (if it bleeds, it leads) or the news magazines, you'd think that building a concrete bunker isn't a bad idea to keep all the bad guys away from your family. When I was a kid (God I sound old when I say that), I could be gone for hours running around with my friends and my parents didn't worry about me being abducted or killed by some psychopath. If you buy into the news cycle, you have to worry wherever you go. No one is safe and it's going to happen to you next. I just don't buy it.

Strange Homilies...

For those of you who don't know, I was baptized a Episcopalian which I've heard is like Catholic light. I cannot ever remember attending an Episcopalian service, but do remember going to our local Catholic church every Sunday while growing up. Church to me was boring and the hour seemed like forever when I was young. I really didn't understand anything that was happening, but knew that there was a good deal of routine built into the service. I enjoyed the Christmas service because I actually knew what the heck they were talking about and liked the song selections. My parents never pushed church on me and asked if I wanted to attend Sunday school (I declined). My Mother gave me the option to keep going or stay home when I was about 13 I think and I opted to stay home and sleep in on Sundays.

I married a Catholic girl who attended church some of the time. She even went to Catholic school until college, so I think you could say she was somewhat devout. As a couple, we didn't attend church often but that all changed once we had our first child. I agreed with my wife that we should start going to church since it's a good place for kids to learn about God and the Ten Commandments. I thought that it would be a good reinforcement in her upbringing. After a few months, I started to enjoy the service too. For me, the service was a place to be reminded of the higher morals and ideals that I may not live up to everyday, but keep striving for anyway.

I'm still a neophyte when it comes to understanding, Catholicism, the Bible, and church overall. I get most of the big points, but the last two homilies were a little unsettling. A homily, for the uninitiated, is where the Priest or deacon uses one of the parables to illustrate a point in our modern world. The last two homilies were focused on how Jesus was akin to a Communist and would be against the war. I understand that Jesus taught people to help one another, but when the Priest threw in the word Communist, I was shocked. The Priest did qualify the word and did not try to extol the virtues of Communism, but he opened the door to the philosophy. I agree that people should take care of each other to an extent. I think the person needs to take responsibility and do what they can and those who truly can't deserve a hand and not just a blanket handout. I also think that those who help the people who don't need it only act as an enabler and make their bad behavior acceptable. I also understand that Jesus was against war and I wish that war was unavoidable too. Unfortunately, the world is filled with people who do not believe nor accept Jesus' teachings about peace and would kill us for no reason at all. I think that war is always the last option, but I believe in our cause. I understand that the Catholic church does not endorse the war and hope they are not trying to circumvent the war effort by attempting to put a wedge between Catholics and those who support the war.

I just thought both homilies were strange and confusing. Looking for your thoughts on both issues.

Halloween and kids today

Thought I should post about my Halloween experience before it got too far past the event. What is it with kids today (how old do I sound)? When I did go trick-or-treating in my older teenage years, I at least went to the trouble to wear a costume. This year, several bands of older kids came through in next to nothing for a costume just expecting candy. I just don't get it. The problem is that I don't want a Larry David episode going down later that I still give them candy. The other issue was that while my wife and daughter were out, I was left behind with our youngest. I just left the bowl outside with the screen door open and when kids came up, I told them to take a few. For the most part the kids did as instructed, however, there were a few boys who grabbed handfuls of candy right in front of me as if it was okay?!? I had to let them know that they were only supposed to take "a few" and not a handful...which will lead to another post about the lack of respect in children, but that's another post.

Blue Wednesday...

Listening to the radio on the way to work was like a kick in the nuts today. As I retired for the evening, two of Arnold's initiatives looked like they may pass. It appears that Arnold lost on every front. I understand that CA is left leaning, but I thought that common sense would prevail on at least a few of the new ideas. In my humble opinion, Arnold's message took it's biggest hit when the unions carted out their sympathetic mouthpieces that included nurses, firefighters, and teachers. The Dems won this round, but I remain hopeful that the GOP can learn from this defeat and do a better job of messaging and getting the word out to the masses.

Kids and backpacks

What the hell is with today's youth and their backpacks? On the way to work I saw some kid who's backpack was at least half his size. I don't understand what is going on in school? Is there a ton of homework everyday? Do schools not have lockers anymore? I just don't get why these kids are wearing gigantic backpacks. Not to mention what kind of stress the load is placing on their backs and what that will mean for their future. Just looking for some answers here people.