Early, up too early, way too early, well before three o'clock.  What to blog about in an overwhelming world. Anything light seems lame, inane, oblivious, obscene, irrelevant to the lives of Neighbors and disrespectful of their condition. Terrified, hopeless people in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Yemen ... . Ordinary people just want to live our lives peacefully, not driven by the hatreds of self-certain religious and political fanatics. Communities wiped out, innumerable homeless and helpless and 100+ dead from Hurricane Helene. And just the start of things to come in the changing climate of hurricanes. This is not different, it's a New Normal developing as Earth warms. Does it seem like that sometimes? Or is it all our own doing? Or the start of the next Age of Nature? Be honest, not sanctimonious.  What about prayer? Does prayer press God to get moving and save things? We are in an incomprehensible Universe, is our God big enough to fit universal reality? Coffee hot ...

Hello, it's Saturday evening, 6:06 PM and the day has slipped, or slept, away. Maybe slept, because I had two naps, a morning nap and an afternoon nap, both long and goofy enough to have dreams. Morning naps are pretty much free-for-all, but if an afternoon nap goes to five o'clock Linda wakes me with a vigorous back rub.  Which makes the entire nap process worthwhile. There's a gnat in here. Inside 7H, I'm in the living room. We seldom to never have flying insects up this high, which has been a pleasant blessing these ten years in 7H. No flies, no mosquitoes, only a gnat now and then. But I know they are out there, because sometimes there's a wild, darting swarm of dragonflies, mosquito hawks, flitting about just off 7H porch evenings. But, oh, if I cook steak and open the doors to air the place out, we may attract a fly or two. No roaches either, the HOA contracts with someone who comes round a few Times a year and smears something under a kitchen counter draw...

Here we are, WMBB Channel 13 on in the next room notifying us where the tornadoes are, and there are a lot of them, but so far none this far west of the projected storm track. To my overwhelming relief, at 4:49 this morning, Tass texted me from Tallahassee saying "we are packing up and heading your way." We are eight here now, six humans and two cats. The cats were terrified when they arrived, but are in my study/office/den where they can feel safe. They might enjoy 7H porch, but cats aren't always careful about heights.   It's raining continuously, though not hard, driving rain, and no wind. Hurricane Helene has sights set for landfall this evening, east of Apalachicola, toward Carrabelle or Panacea. There's mandatory evacuation over that way, one hopes people use good judgment. It's not safe to stay for a projected high surge if you are in low country, or to stay at all if very high winds are expected, depending on your structure and location.  Just notified...

  Early dark mug of hot & black. Later breakfast was going to be a liverwurst sandwich on whole wheat bread, with mayo and a slice of onion, until I felt a taste for sausage, but my deer sausage is long gone, as is my sausage from Bradley's in Tallahassee. However, I remember that my grandfather Gentry's favorite sausage was Conecuh sausage, and that he used to drive up to Conecuh County, Alabama to get it. So, a quick trip to de sto' and home with a small package of the sausage that I remember but haven't had in many years. A foot long length of Conecuh sausage, regular not hickory or spicy hot, on a hotdog bun, with mayo and Zenf, German for mustard.  +++++++++ Now, uncle Bubba is vitalized for the task at hand, which is to clear both porches, 7H balcony porch and front entrance area, of everything. Here in the Florida panhandle, late September and October quickly slide into our end of hurricane season, and sure enough this is Monday and we're looking at Thurs...

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation!”  Our opening, processional hymn calls to mind the ancient Hebrew prayer,  Baruch ata, Adonai Eloheinu, Melek ha-olam “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe,”  praising God for things of this earth, when e veryone but us is at the beach getting earthy hot, earthy sandy and earthy sticky in salt water! A perfect September Fall morning for Shell Island Sunday!  Pray a safe day for them, and praise God for the magnificence of the Earth. ++++++++++++ You may have noticed, I did not pray the Lectionary’s Proper Collect for the Day, which goes,  Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly ; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure. No thank you! The scholars who frame our  Book of Common Prayer cling to ancient Latin prayers from the ancient Roman Church, and Boy is this an oldy. ...

  Yes, I know you think I'm strange. But that's fair enough, because I think you're strange. Early, a slice of feud cake with my mug of hot & black, and now for breakfast, leftovers from birthday party supper treat last night, of fried oysters, fried catfish, fried shrimp, with ranch dressing here in case I want to touch a bite of seafood into it. And that doesn't look like a good breakfast to you?  Oh, brother, you are strange. Let me off at the next bus stop, nomesane? ++++++ Friday the 20th POD. Haircut sppointment for 1:15 PM, preceded by dropping stuff off at Habitat for Humanity just up Beck Avenue from 7H, and followed by a stop at HNEChurch to leave food for the food pantry, and to pick up a bulletin for the Sunday services because I'm preaching and celebrating as supply priest for Fr John Tober, who will be across the Bay for his first Shell Island Sunday adventure.  What should I preach about? Here are the lectionary propers for Sunday: The Collect Gra...

  This has been and continues an interesting week. "Big Think" comes by email every so often, not every week as I recall, but usually some essays worth reading. In this morning's issue, "Cracking Life's Code" about figuring out what goes into creating life; it's not necessarily a mixture of air, oxygen, water - - life in other parts of the Universe could be very different from all that we imagine, and could be an entirely other mix of basics. There are walking trees in some modern fantasy fiction, observant and talking trees in Narnia, why not? Whatever you say, Lord. Oozing blobs with vision all around and bottom-side that decomposes and digests whatever it oozes across; the ring-tailed-goofus animal with wheels; creatures that float in the planet's atmosphere; creatures that live in oceans of petroleum-like liquid; creatures that need no sustenance but the atmosphere, sentient but amoral predatory creatures ...   In the same Big Think issue, a shor...