Big Day

[Kip]

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. -- Mahatma Gandhi

Sometimes, I *totally* get where he was coming from....

...sent by smoke signal from Cigar Country

[Stewmuse]

Kinda always been that way, methinks...

[Kip]

Kinda always been that way, methinks...

Exactly. That's the problem with the Church...it's full of people. It's full of liars, thieves and hypocrites - and so is the public outside Christendom. The common thread is people. Faith doesn't make one a better person; quite the opposite. It should help us realize our shortcomings and be a source of betterment (or at least trying) when it's on an even keel. Whatever one's belief system, it has to be recognized that we're never perfected here on planet Earth. We're a weak race, us humans.

Believer or not, people are still prone to the same mistakes and behaviors. There are just some people from whom I expect better than what I see, and it's disappointing at times.

[Kip]

Some of you know that aside from the tumor I have one other health malady in the form of a congenital spondylolisthesis. This means that some of the vertebrae in my lower back never united into a single bone as they should...so the pieces slide around a bit and compress the nerves around them. Whenever I've been standing or walking for a while my leg will, at times, go numb. Very numb, sometimes very suddenly.

Yesterday afternoon I walked down to the market a couple streets over. On the way home this happened, and as I was kinda limping along I hung a flip-flop on a lump in the road and flat-out fell down. I had my arms loaded with bags of stuff I'd just bought, so there was no catching or steadying myself and I scraped all the skin off the top of my knee and bruised the palm of my hand on the pavement.

A car that was passing by screeched to a halt, and the window rolled down. A Dominican gentleman called out, "Señor! Señor! Estas bien?" He just wanted to know if I was all right. I told him everything was well except my pride.

It's easy to get jaded when you see the constant stream of ugliness from humanity, and people trying to "get over" on others. It's a silly little thing, but my whole day was made better just because that guy stopped to see if I was OK...not because it was *me*, but just to see someone genuinely concerned for someone else they didn't even know...with no agenda. He had nothing to benefit whether I was OK or not. He just wanted to check. It was cool, even if I had to get a couple scrapes and bruises to get there.

[IWinchester]

Sometimes I love humanity.

[kurtdesign1]

Some of you know that aside from the tumor I have one other health malady in the form of a congenital spondylolisthesis. This means that some of the vertebrae in my lower back never united into a single bone as they should...so the pieces slide around a bit and compress the nerves around them. Whenever I've been standing or walking for a while my leg will, at times, go numb. Very numb, sometimes very suddenly.

Yesterday afternoon I walked down to the market a couple streets over. On the way home this happened, and as I was kinda limping along I hung a flip-flop on a lump in the road and flat-out fell down. I had my arms loaded with bags of stuff I'd just bought, so there was no catching or steadying myself and I scraped all the skin off the top of my knee and bruised the palm of my hand on the pavement.

A car that was passing by screeched to a halt, and the window rolled down. A Dominican gentleman called out, "Señor! Señor! Estas bien?" He just wanted to know if I was all right. I told him everything was well except my pride.

It's easy to get jaded when you see the constant stream of ugliness from humanity, and people trying to "get over" on others. It's a silly little thing, but my whole day was made better just because that guy stopped to see if I was OK...not because it was *me*, but just to see someone genuinely concerned for someone else they didn't even know...with no agenda. He had nothing to benefit whether I was OK or not. He just wanted to check. It was cool, even if I had to get a couple scrapes and bruises to get there.

Amen. And I mean that as many ways as can be understood.

[Kip]

How strong is your digestive system, Michael? This is a common lunch spot for us in the mountains. It's always delicious....



...sent by smoke signal from Cigar Country

[Stewmuse]

How strong is your digestive system, Michael? This is a common lunch spot for us in the mountains. It's always delicious....

I am good health personified, have cooked on and eaten off of rocks, and (mostly) fear only slimy foods... and dry, white meat chicken. Bring it!

[Stewmuse]

My wife is less enthused about that. Chicks...

[Kip]

I was teasing about the digestive system comment. Despite appearances, this place frequently cooks for American visitors and I know of no issues. It's the street vendors in Santiago you have to avoid if you're not accustomed.

...sent by smoke signal from Cigar Country