RSF&PTL

At church Wednesday evening we wrote something private about ourselves on a slip of paper, something personal and private, folded the paper and dropped them into a basket. Unopened, unread, at the end of the service they were taken outside and burned as an offering. Mine said “Lord, you know.” It’s just between me and Almighty God unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.

Right shoe first and praise the Lord, even, no especially including, when it’s slides, slide on shoes that stay in the back closet near the door for the early morning walk out to get Linda’s PCNH. With focusing, RSF&PTL overcame the lifelong habit of LSF. It was a struggle that now and then involved taking shoes off and starting over upon realizing I'd done it wrong. Neither spiritual nor piously inclined even after last summer’s battery of silent Jesuit directed retreats, the PTL part of the exercise slips away occasionally and has to be reclaimed. For anyone who wants a prayer life but doesn’t know how, try letting an existing routine action trigger the prayer. Putting on shoes ignites anew my knowledge and love of God. RSF&PTL.

Svendborg Maersk loses more than 500 containers in heavy seas.

Ukraine protestors take Kiev without a shot Saturday morning, Yanukovych flees the city. Who’s right? Depends on which side you’re on. People over government. All government is always all bad, all ways. War with Iran for Israel, AYFSM? It's governments that hate and that should be hated, the Persian people are not our enemy. Did you ever see a Persian child?

Russia takes Olympic gold in women’s figure skating. Canada beats U.S. 1-0 in hockey semi-final, moving to Sunday’s gold-medal match with Sweden. Go Canada.

Solitary confinement for teens at Rikers Island as new anti-gay law sparks protests in Arizona.

WiFi works again at 2308 after Bubba discovers and replaces cable with broken clip. Not canceling Geek Squad visit until sure though.

Manziel all self, O’Brien is welcome to him and thankfully CFB is shed of him.

McCain says if 2016 election were tomorrow, Hillary would be president. John’s dead wrong, but I no longer think it would be Christie.

Last, maybe, this from NYT opinionator. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/to-read-or-not-to-read/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 Shortly after her mother’s sudden death at 53 in 1993, Olivia Judson, then 23 picked up one of her mother’s diaries, opened and read, “Olivia wants to be hugged all the time. I find it rather irritating.” It was written when Olivia was two years old. Stunned, she put the diary down and read no more. Now more than twenty years after the death of the mother she adored, author and professor Olivia decides she wants to know the woman behind the mask, and opens the trunk containing her diaries. Would you do that? Would I? Would I want to know the intimate thoughts of my parent? Would you? My children growing up were so doted on and adored that it’s still painful to me to remember how much I wanted them, and could hardly bear to be away from them, and loved them, and still do, and grieved as they grew up and left me. My biggest shock in life to date? Leaving Tass at her college in Virginia and driving away without her. All four have done that to me, I would think I'm used to it by now but I'm not. Would I want them to open my diaries and discover the real me thirty years from now? Would I want to open my father’s diaries? My mother's? Would I want Joe to open mine? How would he feel about what he found, the person he didn't know after all? To those who “know” me I’m a person who ... whatever. To myself I’m a huge disappointment. I should have ... I could have ... I shouldn’t have ... Lent is coming up: I may write more on a slip of paper and burn it again, but I’m keeping this personna, wearing this mask to the grave, and there are no diaries.

T+ mucking on through +Time