Some travelin’ music to get us all home safely
We just spent a magical New England Christmas with my sister Lee Ann and her family, along with a gathering of the extended Bookman/Halunen clan. It was a perfect week, complete with a snowy Christmas Day, but life and home beckon. We’re now headed back to the ATL to kick off the new year.
My brother-in-law and host, Reino, is among other things an avid amateur guitar player. In fact, one of the highlights of the holiday came when Reino presented a miniature electric guitar, complete with miniature amp, to his 5-year-old grandson, Nathan, with promises of guitar lessons to come.
Reino’s favorite blues guitar player is the late Gary Moore of Northern Ireland, best known in this country for his stint with Thin Lizzy. So in tribute to Reino and Lee Ann, and in thanks for their great hospitality, here’s Mr. Moore, performing one of his solo hits:
– Jay Bookman
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1,113 comments Add your comment
getalife
December 30th, 2012
3:11 pm
The gop are demanding SS cuts.
Pathetic.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
3:15 pm
FYI — that fine “literary journalism” linked by Heyward:
The Australian Is owned by Newscorp, started in 1964 by Rupert Murdoch as Australia’s first national newspaper. Though it may have once held independent opinion, it was co-opted by self serving ideologues of the Liberal Party and is nothing more then a mouthpiece for their policies.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
3:18 pm
Links are useless to those who suck upon the State-Sponsored Chris Mathews’/Paul Krugman- Type Media Teats.
When you can just suck off Murdoch’s and his legion of paid hitmen. Knee pads provided by Thomas!
Thomas heyward Jr
December 30th, 2012
3:22 pm
JamVet
December 30th, 2012
3:08 pm
Wayward, the tea soaked, Randian trash got thrown out in November. From Florida to Illinois to Missouri to Virginia to Indiana.
And the Wisconsin Twerp, Ayn Ryan, couldn’t even keep his own district from ending up in the Obama column.
Too funny…
——————————————————————————-
.
The “randian trash” that you speak of are …………………….just that.
statist trash.
.
Not unlike your “civil right-respecting progressive God Obama.
Statist trash.
.
lol
Thomas heyward Jr
December 30th, 2012
3:25 pm
DebbieDoRight – A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
3:18 pm
Links are useless to those who suck upon the State-Sponsored Chris Mathews’/Paul Krugman- Type Media Teats.
When you can just suck off Murdoch’s and his legion of paid hitmen. Knee pads provided by Thomas!
————————————————————————————————
.
Murdoch is a silly statist………….henceforth he DOES suck at the state teat.
At least he probably gets something for it.
.
YOU should re-examine your premises.
The State doesn’t even kiss you…………….when they’re through.
.
lol
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
3:29 pm
Not unlike your “civil right-respecting progressive God Obama.
Nope, another lie. Only you whacked out, hard core, fanatical right wingers, are stupid enough to think Obama is God and address him as such. Us folks with brains know he is just a mortal man.
JamVet
December 30th, 2012
3:35 pm
Jr, you can run, but you can’t hide from your dead red Republican hatred for Uncle Sam and our system of laws.
And what’s up with your obsession with statism? It is truly bizarre.
Do you even know what it means?
josef
December 30th, 2012
3:37 pm
ZamVet
“Do you even know what it means?”
Picky, picky, picky. That’s what’s in the memo, and that’s good enough.
getalife
December 30th, 2012
3:41 pm
murdoch media is not credible but it is all they have.
Weak and pathetic.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
3:50 pm
New Years Day Bowl bash, who’s gonna come? This is early enough of a warning for you to drive on up Getalife lol.
Lout
December 30th, 2012
4:04 pm
Skip demonstrates he is incapable of reading comprehension and his lack of knowledge of government formation.
If you have never tried to start or buy a business either a) go do it or b) refrain from telling employers what to do.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
4:09 pm
Fred
Why don’t we extend the invite to the troll? I’m sure he would have no problem with watching the game with us. Besides, I want to see if losing anonymity causes a reduction in courage.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
4:12 pm
I don’t care. I’m the same person on or off the blog as you well know…….
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
4:14 pm
Fred
Hell, I know you don’t change. I’m talking about Captain Courageous who’s trying so desperately to get banned.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
4:18 pm
I know, I was just saying he could expect what he sees here lol. I love that, “Captain Courageous.”
SO tell me this. What happens if Dallas beats Washington tonight? New York already won…….
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
4:33 pm
Dallas goes to the playoffs. I think New York was done as soon as the Bears won.
getalife
December 30th, 2012
4:39 pm
drudgey is trying to get you cons to revolt because of taking your guns.
Hilarious.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
4:41 pm
Well New York won AND lost against Dallas AND Washington. If Dallas beats Washington then they will have won AND lost against both Washington and New York. All three are in the AFC East in what would be a “tie” for the lead. What does Chicago have to do with it?
getalife
December 30th, 2012
4:44 pm
Fred,
doomy was upset that he did not get invited so that made him snap.
Cherokee
December 30th, 2012
5:09 pm
Debbie beat me to it, Indigo – I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that The Australian is just another Murdoch rag…
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
5:51 pm
Fred
I think that New York could only get in by wild card. They needed both Chicago and Minnesota to lose for them to have a shot at the wild card. I think it’s an overall record thing that gives the winner of the Dallas/Washington the division title. Both of those teams would have needed those two losses to have a shot at a wild card spot too.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
6:04 pm
Fred
Looking at their records, Washington only has one division loss where the Cowboys have 2 and the Giants have 3. I think that is the difference.
bman.
December 30th, 2012
6:38 pm
why do people use twitter? I don’t get it….
USA Patriot
December 30th, 2012
7:09 pm
Holy schmolly, who the heck is the short bread w/ cream? What a POS! I’ve never seen such disrespect. Ok, Ok, Ok, was just checking in and, oh my, why do some folks even respond to that …….thing?
Anyway, are adults back in the room?
Soothsayer
December 30th, 2012
7:10 pm
This Green Bay/Minnesota game is turning into a barn burner.
USA Patriot
December 30th, 2012
7:13 pm
Williams just lost it for GB – dumb!
Mick
December 30th, 2012
7:15 pm
brosephus
It’s kinda strange that saban is so beloved in alabama but totally despised in these here parts. You know that even he hates the way it ended with all the underhanded treachery. Still, he made the correct choice but I do believe it weighs heavy on him till this day; so, not only does he take on the irish but also a south florida that is skeptical of his ethics. Leaves us no choice but to hope ND crushes the tide…
USA Patriot
December 30th, 2012
7:17 pm
Mick, Roll Tide! SEC all the way bably!
Mick
December 30th, 2012
7:18 pm
brosephus
Oh yeah and this too-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp6-wG5LLqE
USA Patriot
December 30th, 2012
7:18 pm
Fat fingers ‘Baby!”
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
7:27 pm
The vikings were ahead 17 -0 and they let GB come back, now they’ve tied the game. The Vikings don’t deserve to go to the Playoffs.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
7:39 pm
Mick
AP needs to break one to the end zone.
Skip
December 30th, 2012
7:42 pm
Mick, Sabin’s not loved in Michigan any more. Makes it hard for someone that roots for Michigan and whoever is playing the Irish.
Corbin Sharpe. I think, therefore I am...I think
December 30th, 2012
8:02 pm
Hi all y’all, just got back from our spending jag and a visit to the local taqueria for tamale’s and taco’s.
We own a new gas range (full European convection) and a new TV. I’m still looking a tablets, and sorta like the iPad, but want to check out the new Nook and Kindle for comparison…any suggestions?
_____________________________
Where’s Twinkie? His Mama call him in? He sure is a hoot….bless his heart.
Tomorrow is my big day…knee surgery…I have to start fasting at 2100, so I’m off to scarf up some of those t & T’s I bought. Have a great night and I’ll see all y’all Tuesday to wish y’all a Happy New Year! Peace…
———————–
WOW, they just reported Hillery Clinton is in the hospital with a blood clot from her fall last week. Bad news…send good vibes her way.
I’m out.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
December 30th, 2012
8:05 pm
“OBAMA SIGNS RENEWAL OF WARRANTLESS WIRETAP LAW — BEHIND CLOSED DOORS… ”
Didn’t you libs. get all over Bush for signing that dreaded piece of legislation ??
Jm
December 30th, 2012
8:07 pm
Hi ho hi ho it’s over the cliff we go!
Jackie
December 30th, 2012
8:08 pm
Previous reports have quoted senior government officials indicating the biggest threat to the US economy are those in Congress that refuse to govern responsibly
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/greatest-threat-to-us-is-budget-stalemate-293389.html.
Liberal Pariah
December 30th, 2012
8:17 pm
President Obama appeared on Meet the Press this morning with David Gregory and basically managed to blame the lack of a deal on the Republicans. However, what seems to be happening is the Republicans reaching out to Democrats with no response. Harsh concessions have been made on the right, but the liberals have barely managed to meet the Republicans in the middle. Additionally, the House has managed to pass a bill solving the fiscal cliff, but the Senate has yet to vote on it or even address the options given in that bill. Although President Obama has blamed this stalling fiscal cliff conversation on the Republicans, it is clear that the Democrats are the ones holding things up. When McConnell and his staff offered to work through the night last night, Reid’s office responded by saying they would come back today, and still they have no offer.
Because approximately 53% of the country are ignorant, Obama stands a pretty good chance of blaming this on Republicans. Sad, sad, sad.
1811, etc.
December 30th, 2012
8:24 pm
January 1, 1863
A Transcription
By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
8:24 pm
Corbin
Depending on what you’re looking for, I have the Samsung WiFi tablet. I just programmed it to control my entertainment center.
Jackie
December 30th, 2012
8:26 pm
It appears that basic research on the problems affecting the current financial crisis has not been done.
The House HAS NOT voted on anything that was passed to the Senate for approval, subsequently sent to the President for his signature. The House controls the purse strings, therefore, spending must originate in the House.
It would be a pleasure to see some documentation about who has done what in the current crisis. It seems to me, Speaker Boehner has not even presented his plan to the President because his caucus (Republicans) have refused to vote on the bill he proposed because it contained provisions for raising taxes on the top 2% of the wages earners.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
8:29 pm
Pariah good try — but just because you have A.D.D. and can’t remember one week from the next, doesn’t mean that everyone else does too.
Boehner’s Plan B fiscal cliff bill pulled amid dissension in GOP caucus
Washington (CNN) — House Speaker John Boehner’s proposal to avert the looming fiscal cliff’s automatic tax increases failed to curry enough Republican support Thursday night, after which Congress left for the holiday with no clear end in sight in the high-stakes debate.
Boehner said earlier Thursday that he was confident that his so-called Plan B — which would extend tax cuts that are set to expire at year’s end for most people while allowing rates to increase to 1990s levels on income over $1 million — would pass the House,
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/20/politics/fiscal-cliff/index.html
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 30th, 2012
8:31 pm
This needs to be highlighted:
The House controls the purse strings, therefore, spending must originate in the House.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
8:33 pm
Pariah, how is your bubble? Do we need to send in any food?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
8:36 pm
Why, oh why, does the FCC limit bubble cable reception to Fox? If only those bubbles could have windows and access to real news.
Mick
December 30th, 2012
8:36 pm
It’s pretty easy to see that the republicans are the obstructionists, obama ran on raising taxes on the top 2% and won re-election. So, who are the sore losers right now? It’s beyond pathetic, they can’t govern so they just should get out of the way and let the rest of the country move forward.
At least the democrats laid down their arms for the good of the country after 911. The republicans have been fighting against obama from day one, giving him no quarter, even after the worst economic crisis in 80 years.
It’s not about country to them, it’s about their ideological foolishness, everyone else be damned, sad but true…
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
8:37 pm
Keep
He’s going to be ok.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/bubble-boy-legislation-create-pilot-home-treatment-program/story?id=18074954#.UODri31Olcs
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
8:38 pm
Hillary in hospital with a blood clot from concussion…. wonder when the conspiracy nuts here, on Fox and in the right wingnuts world will begin to claim they never doubted her illness.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
8:40 pm
Oh thanks, Brosephus…. LP, you hang in there. Help is on the way. Try breathing into a paper bag.
Jm
December 30th, 2012
8:40 pm
“The House HAS NOT voted on anything that was passed to the Senate for approval, subsequently sent to the President for his signature.”
Wrong
The house sent a bill with tax cuts for everyone and a delay of spending cuts
Cliff averted
Senate has declined to introduce the legislation under Reid
Democrats: obstructionists
Liberal Pariah
December 30th, 2012
8:40 pm
Speaking of ideological foolishness, what will be gained by raising taxes on the top 2%? Without spending cuts, there is no solution to the problem. Name one spending cut Obama OR the Dems have offered….. Crickets chirping. Obama is willing to take the country over the fiscal cliff because of his class warfare. Obama is a politician, not a leader.
Liberal Pariah
December 30th, 2012
8:42 pm
Keep, at least my bubble is not in my mommy’s basement. Call names and deride when your mind is unable to handle the truth.
Liberal Pariah
December 30th, 2012
8:43 pm
Gotta go watch somebody from Washington get something done… beat the Cowpokes. Night all
Jm
December 30th, 2012
8:44 pm
Meh
Let’s go over
I’m hedged
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
8:46 pm
Ahhh, poor LP had a meltdown. A “mommy’s basement” attack? How silly. Call names? Someone is apparently seeing things or just making them up.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
8:48 pm
The house sent a bill with tax cuts for everyone and a delay of spending cuts
Cliff averted
Senate has declined to introduce the legislation under Reid
Democrats: obstructionists
Election 2012 decided path to include tax increases. Republicans : tone deaf
TaxPayer
December 30th, 2012
8:49 pm
Keep, at least my bubble is not in my mommy’s basement. Call names and deride when your mind is unable to handle the truth.
That reads like Liberal Pariah’s mind is unable to handle the truth. Confession is good for the soul.
TaxPayer
December 30th, 2012
8:51 pm
Meh
Let’s go over
I’m hedged
Jump, Jm. Jump! Jump! Jump!
getalife
December 30th, 2012
9:12 pm
Hillary is in the hospital with a blood clot from the concussion.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 30th, 2012
9:23 pm
Jay’s gonna need a whole can of Bon Ami to clean this thread.
Heh, heh, heh.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
9:36 pm
He’d better be wearing a hazmat suit.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
9:40 pm
As Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist’s outfit, puts it, “tax hikes are real in these deals, but the spending cut promises are a fraud, plain and simple.”
It’s a trick so dastardly that today’s conservatives think even Ronald Reagan got snookered! “We know that President Reagan fell into the trap and President George H.W. Bush fell in the trap of ‘Here, just raise taxes on somebody, and we’ll come along with the cuts later,’” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, on Fox News.
It’s an odd argument because it would seem, on its face, to invalidate everything the GOP wants and has been working toward. If no spending cut agreed to today can be counted on tomorrow, then what’s the point of the Ryan budget, which includes $897 billion in unidentified spending cuts that future congresses would have to decide?
Or of the 2011 Budget Control Act, which included more than a trillion dollars of spending cuts, and that Republicans were sufficiently confident in to agree to raise the debt ceiling?
It’s also an odd argument because it’s manifestly, provably untrue.
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
9:40 pm
Kam
If it was up to me, I would leave all that foolishness for everybody to see. I would even do a thread highlighting all the dumb stuff posted here.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 30th, 2012
9:50 pm
Great video if you have not seen it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/putting-out-a-boat-fire-new-zealand_n_2381551.html?utm_hp_ref=comedy
Jackie
December 30th, 2012
9:57 pm
The House PROPOSED a bill to be sent to the Senate. Sen. Reid (D-NV) said the bill as stated would be dead-on-arrival. I think that was Speaker Boehner’s Plan B.
No bill has been sent because the House Repubs refuse to vote on anything that has been proposed by the Speaker.
bman.
December 30th, 2012
9:59 pm
Thanks Keep .. .. you are the go to -information, when you need it – guy.
Bing-Bong
getalife
December 30th, 2012
10:21 pm
“Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to the American economy is our American Congress.”
Yeah, it is called the gop senator.
Lout
December 30th, 2012
10:26 pm
Keep- the City of Atlanta hangs on your every word. Please go beyond politics and tell us your keys to life, the secrets to financial security, your favorite recipes. Don’t hold back- you go go go, the world is your stage.
Jackie
December 30th, 2012
10:27 pm
The major problem with the GOP Senators are the people that vote for them.
If there were citizen accountability, the Repubs would have very members of Congress.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
10:50 pm
What I find funny is that people like “Lout” have no clue how influential Keep is in Georgia. Many of his ideas become laws here lol.
Lout on the other hand? Just another mystery meat coward tossing darts using an alt. The antithesis of influential.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
10:56 pm
Wow. Can you say 7 dollar a gallon milk?
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/top-news/deal-reached-for-stopping-spike-in-milk-prices/nTh6J/
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
11:00 pm
Fred
That’s why I drink almond milk. Well, that and my system doesn’t much care for regular milk anymore.
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
11:06 pm
Almond milk? Really? i had to google that sht to even know what you were talking about you damn yuppie.
How can you be a yuppie AND an Alabama redneck all at the same time? Inquiring minds want to know………
Fred ™
December 30th, 2012
11:13 pm
Wow. Adrian Peterson came within 9 yards of breaking Dickerson’s single season rushing record. He is a modern miracle for medicine. How many times have his knees been torn up? Imagine if Gale Sayers had that kind of medical treatment available to him?
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
11:19 pm
Fred
If I drink regular milk, my stomach could provide the sound effects for Jurassic Park and all the sequels.
Mick
December 30th, 2012
11:21 pm
Looking forward to the inevitable brady vs. manning duel. My moneys on brady…
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
11:34 pm
Mick
Gotta go with my mortal enemy on that one…
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4FlwJwL6kdo&feature=related
CharlieB
December 30th, 2012
11:36 pm
Fred/Bro/n the other guys u have connected with on the blog…Couple of comments;
Almond milk is delicious. I Use it in baking
Thanks for the link to US IN UK recipe blog
Would love to be a fly on the wall when u all get together to share a drink
Like the way you all send respect to the women(that includes your female children) in your life
Read the blog most days, just never have the desire to respond. You guys give me reason to chuckle every day. Thanks
Brosephus™
December 30th, 2012
11:40 pm
CharlieB
Don’t be a stranger. I think we should all laugh and laugh often. Feel free to jump in anytime, and that includes grabbing a beer.
CharlieB
December 31st, 2012
12:01 am
@Bro…I agree about the laughter…I try to remind myself to be thankful daily. Even when money is tight but we’re tucking ourselves into our warm bed and the mortgage is paid, I am thankful.
It’s just nice and warms my heart to see some of you men refer to your other half so fondly. It reminds me that when men love, men really love. My dad always told me that.
Old Timer
December 31st, 2012
12:02 am
Jay great Holiday piece. Reminded me of our past family trips to relatives in Michigan for a Snowy Christmas. They are all gone now–memories– as our trips–Thanks for the Christmas memories.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
12:18 am
CharlieB
I can’t answer for the others, but I wouldn’t be complete without my two ladies. That said, if the new addition turns out to be another girl, family trips are going to be hell on luggage and my back.
CharlieB
December 31st, 2012
12:28 am
@Bro…Like I said, I love the way you and a few others refer to the women in your life. I like that you take the role of protector.
Your current life will be hell if you are blessed with another girl. But she will ultimately pick someone who makes her feel as secure as “dad” after she is done rebelling. In your elderly life, you will be so blessed. Daughters take care of their parents, especially their dads. Believe me, I am helping my two sisters to take care of my 86 year old dad and he still spoils us whenever he can.
You make sure you are their first love and you have half the battle won. The other half of the battle will be with their mom just for the heck of it. From your comments, I think u will do a good job.
Mick
December 31st, 2012
1:50 am
Can’t sleep, this is a particularly insightful view-
“How does one celebrate Christmas with the fresh memory of 20 children and 7 adults ruthlessly murdered in Newtown; with the searing image from Webster of firemen rushing to save lives ensnared in a burning house by a maniac who wrote that his favorite activity was “killing people”? How can we celebrate the love of a God become flesh when God doesn’t seem to do the loving thing? If we believe, as we do, that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, why doesn’t He use this knowledge and power for good in the face of the evils that touch our lives?
The killings on the cusp of Christmas in quiet, little East Coast towns stirred a 30-year-old memory from my first months as a priest in parish ministry in Boston. I was awakened during the night and called to Brigham and Women’s Hospital because a girl of 3 had died. The family was from Peru. My Spanish was passable at best. When I arrived, the little girl’s mother was holding her lifeless body and family members encircled her.
They looked to me as I entered. Truth be told, it was the last place I wanted to be. To parents who had just lost their child, I didn’t have any words, in English or Spanish, that wouldn’t seem cheap, empty. But I stayed. I prayed. I sat with them until after sunrise, sometimes in silence, sometimes speaking, to let them know that they were not alone in their suffering and grief. The question in their hearts then, as it is in so many hearts these days, is “Why?”
The truest answer is: I don’t know. I have theological training to help me to offer some way to account for the unexplainable. But the questions linger. I remember visiting a dear friend hours before her death and reminding her that death is not the end, that we believe in the Resurrection. I asked her, “Are you there yet?” She replied, “I go back and forth.” There was nothing I wanted more than to bring out a bag of proof and say, “See? You can be absolutely confident now.” But there is no absolute bag of proof. I just stayed with her. A life of faith is often lived “back and forth” by believers and those who minister to them.
Implicit here is the question of how we look to God to act and to enter our lives. For whatever reason, certainly foreign to most of us, God has chosen to enter the world today through others, through us. We have stories of miraculous interventions, lightning-bolt moments, but far more often the God of unconditional love comes to us in human form, just as God did over 2,000 years ago.
I believe differently now than 30 years ago. First, I do not expect to have all the answers, nor do I believe that people are really looking for them. Second, I don’t look for the hand of God to stop evil. I don’t expect comfort to come from afar. I really do believe that God enters the world through us. And even though I still have the “Why?” questions, they are not so much “Why, God?” questions. We are human and mortal. We will suffer and die. But how we are with one another in that suffering and dying makes all the difference as to whether God’s presence is felt or not and whether we are comforted or not.
One true thing is this: Faith is lived in family and community, and God is experienced in family and community. We need one another to be God’s presence. When my younger brother, Brian, died suddenly at 44 years old, I was asking “Why?” and I experienced family and friends as unconditional love in the flesh. They couldn’t explain why he died. Even if they could, it wouldn’t have brought him back. Yet the many ways that people reached out to me let me know that I was not alone. They really were the presence of God to me. They held me up to preach at Brian’s funeral. They consoled me as I tried to comfort others. Suffering isolates us. Loving presence brings us back, makes us belong.
A contemporary theologian has described mercy as “entering into the chaos of another.” Christmas is really a celebration of the mercy of God who entered the chaos of our world in the person of Jesus, mercy incarnate. I have never found it easy to be with people who suffer, to enter into the chaos of others. Yet, every time I have done so, it has been a gift to me, better than the wrapped and ribboned packages. I am pulled out of myself to be love’s presence to someone else, even as they are love’s presence to me.
I will never satisfactorily answer the question “Why?” because no matter what response I give, it will always fall short. What I do know is that an unconditionally loving presence soothes broken hearts, binds up wounds, and renews us in life. This is a gift that we can all give, particularly to the suffering. When this gift is given, God’s love is present and Christmas happens daily.”
Fred ™
December 31st, 2012
6:44 am
Hey CharlieB, don’t be a stranger. You don’t have to join the “fray” of the politics, you can drop in a line a goodness anytime.
Mick: nice start to a page. Hope you got some sleep.
bob
December 31st, 2012
7:53 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed into law a five-year extension of the U.S. government’s authority to monitor the overseas activity of suspected foreign spies and terrorists.
The warrantless intercept program would have expired at the end of 2012 without the president’s approval. The renewal bill won final passage in the Senate on Friday.
Just think, when Bush did this the leftist swine whined like stuck pigs, Obama does it and not a peep.
Georgia
December 31st, 2012
7:54 am
Is this guy really a priest? Cause I wanna make a confession. Bless me Father I have sinned. Father, I, trolled a blog three hundred and sixty five times. I lusted after every single Falcon cheerleader 16 times. I cursed congress and used the C word, the N word, the F word, the B word and the P word. I brought my own M&Ms into the movie Django. I watched the “Rosary” with Mother Angelica and made fun of all the Tom Selleck moustaches. I am sorry for these and all my past sins.
Tundra Dude
December 31st, 2012
8:04 am
I am sorry for these and all my past sins.
Why….??
Granny Godzilla
December 31st, 2012
8:05 am
bob
Obama does it and not a peep.
.
.
.
You are looking in the wrong place for a peep Mr. Silly Pants.
The Progressive wing of the Democratic Party is mad as hell about this.
Might I suggest you educate yourself by perusing HuffPost, DU, Kos, etc.
.
.
I am truly growing weary of the willfully ignorant.
RB from Gwinnett
December 31st, 2012
8:07 am
I heard there is a Youtube video claiming Hillary has a blood clot. I wonder if there is any truth to that….
Geez….
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
8:09 am
GG
You know that Bookman’s is the leftiest of the leftist lefties. If bob doesn’t see it here, then it doesn’t exist.
Granny Godzilla
December 31st, 2012
8:12 am
Bro….
So if Jay mentions Secretary Clintons’ blood clot even RB must accept it?
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
8:19 am
GG
I think that’s how it is supposed to work. You can’t always compensate for the wilfully ignorant though.
barking frog
December 31st, 2012
8:22 am
Granny Godzilla
So if Jay mentions Secretary Clintons’ blood clot even RB must accept it
…………………………………………………………………………………………
RB accepts everything Jay says as gospel, he just pretends otherwise
for attention.
Mick
December 31st, 2012
8:28 am
Let’s all step off the curb, walk down the slope or better yet do some cliff diving! Our congress is an embarassment with mcconnell and boehner at the helm, nothing is possible…
indigo
December 31st, 2012
8:29 am
Mick – 1:50
Your post was written by an old Catholic Priest.
Even though he has had extensive “theological training” it’s clear he’s as clueless as the rest of us about why God allows such suffering.
It’s also clear that he’s saying, in so many words, that there is no “God of love” watching over us and, in the end, we’re on our own and all we have is each other.
Rightwing Troll
December 31st, 2012
8:32 am
“Just think, when Bush did this the leftist swine whined like stuck pigs, Obama does it and not a peep.”
As Granny mentions, a lot of libs are quite upset about this.
Now, lets compare this to the treasonous wingnut swine who made nary a peep as W enacted one of the largest new entitlements in decades, suspended Habeus Corpus, lied to start at war of choice, and generally as a lame duck president spent money like a drunk sailor while Darth Cheney uttered words like “deficits don’t matter”… nary a peep from the wingnut swine and thier sheeple… the deficits you and your ilks swoon over, and screech on about are largely a product of those years.
Rightwing Troll
December 31st, 2012
8:34 am
“God is like a kid with an ant farm”
Constantine, 2000
Gale
December 31st, 2012
8:41 am
If all we have in the end is each other, we should pay attention to the Mother Theresas and Dalai Lamas of the world and practice more compassion, starting with the person next to us.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
8:41 am
Rightwing Troll @ 8:32
You know that you’re not supposed to mention President “He who shall not be named” when talking about things that happened before Jan 20, 2009 as he did not exist then nor does he exist now.