Povey Prattle

If you are ever tempted to think that the torture of human beings is justifiable:                Read “My Life as a Traitor” by the Persian/Iranian woman Zarah Ghahramani. ======================================= If you are ever tempted to believe that women should be submissive to men (a common belief amongst Evangelical, Anglo-Catholic, and Fundamentalist Christians):                 Read “My Life as a Traitor” by the Persian/Iranian woman Zarah Ghahramani. ======================================= If you are ever tempted to say that human rights are relative, and that a passion for them maybe fine in the western democracies, but is inapplicable in other cultures/countries:                Read “My Life as a Traitor” by the Persian/Iranian woman Zarah Ghahramani. =======...

As I walked out this morning a neighbour pointed out the glorious sight of a Bald Eagle, perched high on a Pine tree, about half a mile from my home.   I walked back home, jumped in my car, and drove back to the tree, camera in hand. She/he was still perched atop the tree.   What a wonder. ‘Tis the first time in my life that I’ve seen an Eagle!

Amidst the wasteland which is American radio and television there is one programme which is ever worth hearing.   It is the Diane Rehm Show: see    http://thedianerehmshow.org/ You can read Diane’s own story on the website.   She is a remarkable woman.   Her programme is one which I enjoy in my car most mornings.   The first hour is usually devoted to politics (argh), but in the second hour Diane often features items from the broader cultural world: viz the arts, literature, poetry etc. Yesterday, (Dec 15 th 2010) , her guests were David Eisenhower and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. They talked about the Presidency and legacy of Dwight David Eisenhower (1953-1961). President Eisenhower was always known as “Ike”.   There is no doubt that he is among the “greats” in the pantheon of American Presidents.   He was a Republican in those days before bitter partisanship took over.   He was a Republican for whom many Democrats would vote with enthus...

Grumpy? Yes, I “got out of bed the wrong side yesterday”.    I didn‘t think too much about it until I arrived at St. Boniface, faking good cheer. But when a secretary (C.T.) asked, “how are you? I gave an honest reply “I am feeling very grumpy today”.  I was so glad that she did not try to chivvy me up. Instead she replied: “so am I, every little thing seems to bother me these days”.    Later in the day I read the blog “Telling Secrets” which is posted by my Deleware colleague Elizabeth Kaeton.  She commented on “the winter of our discontent”, revealing that grumpiness is not confined to Florida. I can identify some of the sources of my own grumpiness.     First, I have been feeling under the weather for a few days with a cold which seems to come and go just about every other day.    Second, I decided to stop taking an anti-depressant a few months ago.  That was not wise and I must start taking them again.  Thi...

I've been feeling very grumpy today.  I cannot identify any particular reason, but I know that there is a general spirit of grumpiness in the air.  My colleague Elizabeth Kaeton addresses this in her blog today ( Telling Secrets ), and one of the staff at St. Boniface also told me that she too felt grumpy. I will get back to grumpiness in my blog tomorrow. In the meantime my spirits were lifted, albeit temporarily.   In my final and chilly walk with Penne this afternoon I encountered Colleen.  She and I see each other most mornings on our walks.  Colleen is a dedicated walker so she and I do not linger to chat -  we simply exchange warm greetings; comment on the weather; and celebrate or commiserate about the most recent news of the Boston Red Sox or the New England Patriots. This afternoon she was a-walking with her husband Bill.  I'd never met him before.  So we stopped for a while for brief introductions; to complain about the weather;...

It’s been chilly by Florida standards today.   Although my outside thermometer registered 48f,   it felt much colder because of the winds which have swept down from the arctic. These winds have reached 32 mph. The temperature will probably fall to below freezing tonight -   this is abnormal for this part of Florida at this time of the year. There’s no doubt about it.   My bodily metabolism has changed after 4 ½ years in the “Sunshine State”.    It is all very mysterious.    I would have welcomed a 48f temperature in Massachusetts at this time of the year.   Now it feels downright cold. So I’ve had to “bundle up” for my walks with Penne.    She seems to be oblivious to temperature, so we have done our usual 5 miles.   Her head was held high, and her tail was a-wagging, even as I shivered. In the midst of my shivers I decided that a hot drink was in order.   Neither coffee nor tea appealed to me.  Instead I...

Yesterday, within the space of half an hour, I was assailed by a cold which left me sneezing and nose wiping.   By 6:30 p.m. I could not even face the prospect of eating.   So I did not eat dinner. Instead I took a couple of anti-histamine pills before taking myself to bed. Then I slept through until 5:00 a.m.   I have been snuffling and sneezing all day, but the anti-histamines are at least mitigating the symptoms. In the absence of the Rector (he and his wife are in Germany to visit family members who live in Leipzig), I had double duty at St. Boniface Church this morning. I facilitated the 10:15 a.m. Bible Study.   It was an energising time.   The 25 attendees were fully engaged with the texts. That led to some truly useful dialogue.    I love to teach the bible, and my teaching was enriched by what I learned from the “students”. It also fell to my lot to Preside at the 11:15 a.m. Eucharist. One of the choir members (Rachel) sang aft...