@ Duck and Decanter in Phoenix, AZ
Thank God, it’s over. The election lasted much too long for my tastes. Now, I hope I can accept the results.
I worked 12 hours knocking on doors, talking and leaving literature on doorsteps, this year. That took quite a bite out of my time this past week. I was also busy doing other stuff so the past week is somewhat of a blur in my memory. Being seventy, I don’t need that as an excuse for not having a sharp recall of events, but I do find when I am busy the details slip from memory easier than I like. I would like to use that as an excuse for not posting a blog last week, but the truth is I started a post that I just could not finish. I thought, that with a new week and the rush of the election, memorial services, (one on the anniversary of my mother’s and Barb’s mother), bible studies, church ushering and a plethora of schedule changes over, I might be able to concentrate enough to do the post right.
Before I start, I would like to mention another death that has touched my spirit.
My friend, Mary, died in a motorcycle accident. She was younger than I am by about 10 or 15 years. Our relationship was a casual one that spanned a decade or so. Despite the casualness of it, we learned that we had both been abused as children and this served to give us an intimacy that we might not otherwise have had. We both loved to ride motorcycles. We were both involved in our separate churches and had a similar spiritual outlook on life. She was on her way to church to ring hand bells when the accident happened. Even though we did not see each other a lot, I miss her joyful presence in life. RIP, Mary.
Back the post I could not finish.
I wrote about a woman that I met. She has a rather disagreeable personality, and I am afraid I made fun of her in what I wrote. The thing is, she is homeless. She was born in 1933, so I came to think that maybe she has a right to be disagreeable. She is also a lifelong vegan. As a vegan she sometimes finds it difficult to find food that meets her requirements. Now, her back is humped in much the same manner that my father’s was. She carries her things on the seat of a walker.
In one of several conversations I had with her last week, she told me that her mother had started her on the vegan path. She also has never had coffee. I don’t know what set of events has brought her to her present circumstances; I never ask such questions. It doesn’t really make any difference. She is homeless. She is frail and in not good health. She doesn’t use drugs or alcohol, and never has. She does have a borderline personality disorder which makes it difficult to deal with her. One minute, she thought I was so helpful and loved me. The next, she was totally disgusted with me, becoming so agitated that her lunch slid off her lap and onto the floor. As I left the Justa Center, the counselor ran out to the door and gave me a word of wisdom.
It’s not your fault, he said.
No, it’s not mine. I am sure it’s not hers either.
I don’t know if I can ‘blame’ society for this. I do know that it could be fixed. This year the US will spend approximately $6 Billion on the presidential and congressional elections. That figure does not take in to consideration all the state and local races. My 12 hours of volunteer time and the millions of other volunteer hours is likewise not counted. The amount of money that it would take to house, feed - with even a vegan diet and treat - with talk therapy, a 79 year old pales in comparison. The fact that a lot of the $6 Billion went to spin and distort the truth makes it all the more unpalatable.
Maybe, it’s God will. I am fond of saying that God’s will is what is.
Is it society’s fault, God’s will, or her fault?
Maybe it was an unnamed adversary as in Job.
In the Epilog to Job, Job 42, Job’s so called friends are taken to task - for lying and saying it was God’s or Job’s fault, and not being true friends during Job’s distress. That leaves only society. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, disagreeable or not.
As Pogo once said, society is us. You and Me. I think we should stop wasting our money on crap and do something useful with it. I think we should love by spending it on disagreeable 79 year olds living in shelters and on the street.
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