The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke: 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of t...

  Outside, 41°F but wind ENE 10 mph gusts to 17 mph make it feel like 31° in this 3:56 AM CST predawn darkness of Xmas Eve Eve, Mon Dec 23 2024.  Opa mug of hot & black with one tsp avocado oil and a thick slice of deliciously heavy pumpkin nut bread, yesterday's gift that made me feel like I'm still a real boy and not something that's faded into the, what? Universe? Multiverse? the ether of endless space. Again, have you noticed it happening? AI has started answering every question I ask of Google.   From NASA, Hubble and Webb images of two galaxies interacting. Is God there? What is God interested in? Does God have hobbies? Who or What is God? Is God force, intellect, mindfulness, intention, chaos, energy, ... ? Where is God? My seminary theology professor insisted that God, Christ, Jesus is not present with one alone, because the promise is, "Where two or three gather in my Name, there am I in the midst of them." Jenson was a little bizarre, but so have I b...

  Advent Four: today is Mary Sunday, in the background she sings her song while I read poetry, this morning by Seamus Heaney. And Yeats: are the Irish poets best? Here's one I liked, "Twice Shy," but then I liked them all, like them all: Her scarf a la Bardot, In suede flats for the walk, She came with me one evening For air and friendly talk. We crossed the quiet river, Took the embankment walk. Traffic holding its breath, Sky a tense diaphragm: Dusk hung like a backcloth That shook where a swan swam, Tremulous as a hawk Hanging deadly, calm. A vacuum of need Collapsed each hunting heart But tremulously we held As hawk and prey apart, Preserved classic decorum, Deployed our talk with art. Our Juvenilia Had taught us both to wait, Not to publish feeling And regret it all too late - Mushroom loves already Had puffed and burst in hate. So, chary and excited, As a thrush linked on a hawk, We thrilled to the March twilight With nervous childish talk: Still waters running deep...

Fri Dec 20 2:25 AM, seems like up too early, but it was early to bed so it's early to rise, a man in extreme old age sips hot & black from his 8 oz. mug. As yesterday, it has a teaspoon of oil in, but this Time it's the recommended EVOO, California brand bought at Target after the 9:30 dermatology appointment.   It is strange, fresh EVOO may have a peppery taste, and this does, adds it to the coffee. Reminds me that the Chief Commissaryman used to add a pinch of black pepper to the coffee urn as it was perking and brewing. Established in 1948 combining several specialties of cook and baker, the rating Commissaryman was changed to Mess Management Specialist in 1974, and then to Culinary Specialist in 2004. I'll venture to stir the pot by speculating: was that all about getting "man" out of the title, and was it a form of Woke at work, and did I read that Pete Hegseth is waffling on his position against gays in the military and women in combat assignments? Havin...

What am I doing? After extensively reading about it yesterday, trying one teaspoon of EVOO in my hot & black this morning, but not violating my magic mug with it. It's not noticeable except for the oil film on my lips. And I can't use it, as I frequently do, as acidic hot coffee for cleaning my eyeglasses. Why all this nonsense? If you really want to know, read about it yourself.  Which would be healthier for me, EVOO or the spoonful of cod liver oil that I remember having to swallow as a kid? Or the fried mullet red roe that I used to love - - I missed the mullet roe this year, when I was a boy working in the retail fish market, red roe used to show up in the mullet in our ice case in October. It was delicious, but don't eat too much, nomesane? If you don't nomesane, go ahead and eat too much fried red mullet roe and then you'll soon nomesane.  Except that we don't have any EVOO so I used avocado oil this morning. After our dermatology appointments this mor...

  We all have experiences and memories in life that make each of us unique humans, unlike anyone else on the planet, living, dead, or yet to Be. And so, from my perspective as one who, as a boy growing up in America, lived through the period of The Third Reich and its NSDAP era with the brown-shirt storm troopers beating up people on the streets, and eventually the Gestapo and Germany's expansive aggression and mind-boggling cruelty in warfare; and witnessed our discoveries about the Holocaust and its horrors - - these are things I recall that are part of what makes me who I am. You are different, you don't have the same things in your head, and so you don't necessarily understand how I'm feeling these days - - distressed beyond measure as I see and read about and hear about political upheavals going on in Western democracies where people don't have the past that I have. It's distress so keen, unto despair except for my being thankful that I lived when I did and...