Life is Good between fits of coughing, nomesane? Good, Not good, Good, Not good, Good, ... Brain, good sense, is slow returning, where did I catch this? IDK, could have been any one of half a dozen situations. I'm thinking most likely using a grocery cart where they didn't have the purificator wipes available, but could have been anyplace.  Obviously not some allergic reaction, this is communicable, as Linda seems to be picking it up from me. Seeing that I cannot think or write sensibly, my test to see whether my brain is still working at some level is to play card games online.   For years, a favorite distraction was reading comics back into the dark ages of my life, but my comics site has now started requiring a paid subscription, which I'm not doing. There were several favorites, "Calvin and Hobbes," "Cul-de-sac," "For better or for worse." "Dilbert" before the artist went off politically incorrect and got jerked, there's a buz...

  All is not as it seems, and just because you believe something, that does not make it so.  Whether it's your religious certainties (you should have no religious certainties, religion is for faith, which is assurance and conviction, not certitude) or the world around you, things are not as they seem. This week's conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, they were about to collide as we watched, but it was only perspective, what seemed so from here on Earth. Venus and Jupiter are tens of millions of miles apart,  but at the moment lined up in our line of sight like the moon passing between Earth and Sun in a solar eclipse. ++++++++ Terrible, terrible! When someone asks me, "HI, Tom, how are you?" I most usually say, "Above average!" not only because I don't like to say, "Fine, just fine, thank you!" Because coming up on my nintieth birthday is not "Fine!" it's mind boggling and I keep waiting for the shoe to drop, nomesane? Well, it dropp...

Pausing on a Monday morning so Time doesn't move so fast, I'm starting with a lot of notes in mind, probably only a third or so I'll be able to hold in mind. Morning walk in Harbour Village park and stopping under the pavilion for breakfast, a bottle of water and a liverwurst and cheese sandwich with mayo on Pepperidge Farm's very thin whole wheat bread. A lifelong favorite. I buy my liverwurst at Grocery Outlet just up Beck Avenue, which I can see from the window in my study office den here in 7H. Might as well get the food thoughts down while they're on the surface. Saturday bought a couple of smoked pork butts at Grocery Outlet and later tore them to shreds for our contribution to Sunday's festive meal at HNEC's Rally Day and Blessing of the Backpacks, always one of our most fun events of the year.  Although, Holy Nativity is blest with lots of children, which makes nearly every Sunday a fun occasion. If you prefer quiet worship, there are lots of other c...

2025: Saturday, 9 August 4:49 AM. To the west of me, a full moon on the setting side of the firmament; to the south of me, lightning in distant clouds over the Gulf of Panama City, Florida.  Munching on those little flavor bomb tomatoes again, and sipping a magic mug of hot & black, the July shipment of my club coffee - - the club has notified me that the August shipment has been mailed but that USPS is tardy in picking up their usual shipment notification - - mox nix mir, nomesane? sometimes this happens and it simply shows up in the mailbox, most often the ninth of the month or so; maybe today, eh? After the service Thursday afternoon, the Hollands came up to visit with us. We told them we'd not eaten at Something's Cookin' Downtown yet and they urged us to go. So yesterday after dropping off a carload of good but long unused stuff at the Habitat place on E. 11th Street, Linda and I drove downtown via 77/MLK/Cove Boulevard and the 4th Street Bridge, round the clock at...

It's fuzzy, not at all a great shot, but the moon was setting and I had to move fast to catch it before it sank into the bank of clouds low on the western horizon beyond the high-rise towers on Thomas Drive. It should be maybe 99% illumination tonight, and a full moon rising tomorrow, Saturday evening. Inside now, but a mug of hot & black outside on the porch earlier as I watched a lightning display in clouds to my south far beyond Shell Island out over the Gulf, and stretching all the way round to over the tall building that's the paper mill remnant east of 7H. That old building remnant needs to come down, but it may take explosives to bring it down safely and neatly.  Going outside with coffee in predawn blackness, I take my phone/camera along, not just for photographs if there's something worth snapping, but to shine the light into my coffee mug and check for bugs before each sip. We have few to no insects up here on the seventh floor, but now and then. This morning ...

My opening prayer and eulogy at this afternoon's service for John Robert Middlemas, an extraordinary man. TW+ Thursday, August 7, 2025 OPENING PRAYER God of Assurance, be present with us this hour as we remember, and honor, and share good words about John Robert. We were blessed by his life among us, and we know that our love was a blessing to him.  In your compassion, console all who mourn his death. Strengthen our faith to continue life on Earth confident that you do better things for us than we can desire or pray for.  Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of Creation, for you give us life, and you sustain us, and you have brought us to this Time together. Amen. EULOGY Acts 20:35, Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. You may be seated! Mary Middlemas asked me give the eulogy today. A eulogy is not a sermon or homily. “EULOGY” is Greek, it means “good words,” and I hope my sharing, along with Ben’s good words rememberin...

  It's been several days and I've wanted to write, and meant to write, I really have. But I got diverted by pastoral considerations, so am trying now!  It's about a presentation I watched that was linked on a recent Big Think email. British physicist, cosmologist, author and university Professor Brian Cox of the University of Manchester, England, gives an exciting talk about Black Holes, and then discusses the likelihood of life and civilizations on planets of other solar systems in our Milky Way Galaxy, and in others of the some two trillion galaxies of our observable Universe, and possible other universes, based on scientific knowledge of the origins of life on Earth. Are we actually alone in Creation at this Time? If so, and it seems likely, the implied responsibility on us is incalculable. Professor Cox's presentation style is captivating and his knowledge and instant recall are astounding. It was absolutely fascinating. I especially enjoyed the second part, Chapter...