September 28, 2003

• Sunday Musings
  
  Our priest really gave a great sermon this morning. He usually gives great sermons, often I feel as if he is talking right to me, but today’s was even better than most.
  
  His topic was religion – DUH! He’s a priest and it was church – but it was not specifically OUR religion and what we are supposed to believe. It was diverse religions and what we can learn from them. His premise was that religion is not a competition. It is not necessary for all of us to see things the same way. We have many ideologies, even within Christianity, and when you consider the diversity of religions within the world, the potential for learning and growing is immense.
  
  Father Jerry stated that all religions have 2 common teachings: 1) That we should treat others as we would like to be treated, and 2) That there is a Higher Power. Beyond that, religions tend to fit the needs and the cultures of the people who espouse them, which is entirely appropriate. Even within Christianity, practices vary according to culture. What we need to do is appreciate and learn from the differences in order to reach a greater understanding and appreciation of truth, not try to argue dogma in an effort to prove our own faith superior.
  
  It made a lot of sense to me. In fact, there are many areas of life where I would like to see this principle applied.
  
  The Wisdom of the Funnies
  
  Have you ever read the funnies on Sunday morning and thought to yourself, “This cartoonist is really saying something pretty profound?” It happens to me all the time, and this morning I was impressed with the messages of several of the strips in our Sunday paper.
  
  Cathy had a good commentary about the lines in women’s restrooms. Now, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I hate being stuck in the restroom line while my male companions buzz in and out of the men’s room. Once I actually met a woman in the ladies’ room line who told me that she had met her best friend in a similar line. I had a hard time picturing that kind of bonding happening while you wait for a stall to open up, but, then, I was there long enough to have that conversation with her. Yes. I would like to teach a class for architects on lavatory design!
  
  Arlo and Janis hit close to home, too. It seems that Arlo started a home repair project in 1999, took a little break, and had not returned to it. I was just amazed that it took 4 years for Janis to ask him about it! I am a much quicker nag than that! I certainly admire her restraint!
  
  Dennis the Menace’s mother had a great approach to car repair. When her car started making an unusual noise, she just turned up the radio and drowned it out. Now, there’s a useful maintenance tip!
  
  Crankshaft spoke to the eternal youth in all of us when he was daydreaming about squirting a neighbor girl with a hose during his youth, and then turned the hose on the same female, now his elderly neighbor. I’m with him. I don’t ever want to grow up! Nurture your inner child!
  
  Dilbert, who is Dan’s hero, had a great strip about open and honest communication in the workplace. It went something like this:
  
  Pointy haired boss: “I have the results of the employee morale survey. The number one issue is ‘not enough open and honest communication from management.’ Well, Okay, I’m willing to give it a try.
  
  “Management is looting the company while hiding the fact that we are in a death spiral.”
  
  Pointy haird boss to female employee: “Whenever you talk, I think about my fishing lures until the noise stops.”
  
  Pointy haired boss to group: “When I see an employee suffer, It excites me in ways I don’t understand.”
  
  Pointy haired boss to bald employee: “On nine separate occasions, I’ve fired bald guys because I thought they were you.”
  
  Pointy haired boss to group: “If this doesn’t work for you, let me know on the next employee morale survey.”
  
  And the moral of the story? A little honesty goes farther than you want it to sometimes!
  
  Roll Out the Welcome Mat!
  
  Go over and say hi to twoberry. He’s not really new to Xanga, but he has just started blogging and would like to make some Xanga friends.
  
  Saturday With Our Friends
  
  Some very dear friends came to spend the day with us on Saturday. The men spent a considerable portion of the time watching sports on TV, which was fine, because it gave us women a chance to catch up. Female talk is better when kept between the girls!
  
  At one point, the husbands disappeared into the computer room. Soon we discovered that they were doing price checks on a trip to Hawaii that we are planning in about a year. We are all looking forward to the trip, but it is being planned by someone else, so it was interesting that they chose to do research.
  
  In the middle of the afternoon, we had a wine, cheese and fruit snack and played a couple of games of SkipBo. Then MaryLu said she had been wanting to buy some apples, so we piled into the car and headed to Minnesota Harvest Orchards. As soon as we arrived there, I realized that I should have brought the camera. The place is a big party. It’s a huge apple orchard, and of course now they are at the height of the fall harvest. They have a sales and tasting room, where you can sample the various varieties available and purchase bags of apples. There are also indoor and outdoor restaurants and a bake shop. Each restaurant has live music. Inside they are always playing polkas. Outside they had country western. There’s a petting zoo for the kids (or for me) and a pony ride, so it’s really a family destination and you can easily spend several hours there. We talked about going back some evening for steaks from the outdoor barbecue. If we do, I will bring along the camera and take some pictures.
  
  When we got home from the orchard, I cooked the Yakitori that I had marinating in the refrigerator, and we had supper. Then it was more sports for the men and more talk and a brisk walk for the women so that we could find room for dessert. About 10:00 p.m., we had good-bye hugs all around. It was a grand day!
  
  Xangaversary
  
  My first Xangaversary came and went and I did not notice it! I knew it was around this time, but I rarely look at my public preview, so I don’t see my membership date very often. Anyway, it has been a great year!

  • 5:03 pm
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