The Lotus-Eaters

and My First Taste of Persimmons

    
     Last Monday evening I got my first Christmas gift - I met a lotus-eater!  One of the rental customers who had just flown in from California was setting his heavy backpack down at my counter and asked me if I knew what a persimmon was.  I said I wasn't sure, so I asked if it was a small round fruit like a peach thinking of something I saw once, but was maybe a kumquat.   He said, "Funny you should mention that, I just happen to have a backpack full of them so I can show you!  They grow in our backyard in California.  Would you like to have one?"  I said, "Really?  Sure!"  He was bringing them for family and friends and took one out of his backpack to give to me.  It was similar in size and texture to a tomato, only a little thicker or harder and more orange in color.  I asked if you are supposed to eat it just like an apple or a tomato, and he said yes, exactly.

     I waited to try the persimmon until today when it seemed ripe.  The texture was a little less hard to push on and seemed like it might get too soft if I waited longer.  I was amazed at how sweet, juicy and delicious it was!  The flavor and texture were a surprise.  I was also surprised I could eat the whole fruit with the skin and no seeds or core to remove.  Only the calyx that attaches to the stem had to be removed.

     The texture reminded me of a cantaloupe when it's not quite ripe, perfectly firm, not too crisp and yet slightly juicy.  The skin was easy to eat as well, like the skin of an apple or plum.  The taste was sweet and reminded me of a mango, or a honeydew melon, but with a distinct flavor of its own.  I also looked up some information about it:

     The Date-plum (Diospyros lotus) is a persimmon native to southwest Asia and southeast Europe. It was known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the gods," or was often referred to as "nature's candy," i.e. Dios pyros "divine fruit," or literally "the wheat of Zeus," also "God's pear," and "Jove's fire."  Its English name is thought to derive from the Persian Khormaloo خرمالو literally "date-plum," referring to the taste of this fruit which is reminiscent of both plums and dates. This species is one candidate for the lotus mentioned in Homer's Odyssey:  it was so delicious that those who ate it forgot about returning home and wanted to stay and eat lotus with the lotus-eaters.

      The persimmon fruits, like the tomato, are not popularly considered to be berries, but in terms of their botanical morphology, the fruit is in fact a berry.  They are classified into two categories: astringent and non-astringent. The non-astringent is as crisp as an apple when ripe. However, astringent varieties must ripen to be very soft before it can be eaten. If not, it will be a very bitter experience for you. But once ripened, the astringent varieties are as sweet or sweeter than non-astringent varieties.

     My persimmon was not a bitter experience at all, but very sweet.  The experience reminded me that something that seems bitter to me at first, when I give it time, has a way of ripening into a sweet fruit of life.  To use the words of the Lotus Eaters, "A gracing, with a taste of murder in it." One Japanese post says that in Buddhism, the persimmon is used as a symbol of transformation. The green persimmon is acrid and bitter, but the fruit becomes very sweet as it ripens. Thus, man might be basically ignorant but that ignorance is transformed into wisdom as the persimmon's bitterness is transformed into sweet delicious fruit. Dried persimmons, or hoshi gaki, are served at New Year's time in Hawaii. They signify health and success in life for the new year.

Six Persimmons 

(A 13th-century Chinese painting by the monk, Mu Qi (Mu Ch'i), the painter better known in China as Fa-Chang. It was painted during the Song Dynasty.) 

     Another 'Fruit of the Gods' description, in China this fruit is used to regulate one’s ch’i (personal energy) and is symbolic of joy. To the Japanese, it is a symbol of triumph.  They also have a star inside of them when sliced:

     Eating a persimmon in a dream forecasts a surprise meeting with a past friend or former associate. But if the fruit was puckered, the meeting will not be pleasant.

The Lotus Eaters "It Hurts" 

Grab a Yule Log, and your cat:

This is Willow, my daughter Ariele's new kitty, posing with a vintage Christmas bow from 1970's.  It's Christmas Eve and he is enjoying laying down to watch the video of a fireplace and listening to Christmas music with me and Ariele:

This is Willow on November 1st, a few days after we brought him home.  We found him at the Humane Society a while after the difficult loss of her last kitten.  When she saw him, it was instant bonding.  He has the softest fur ever!  It feels more like a rabbit's fur, and he has really large rabbit-like feet.

Re-Post, Lazarus Saturday: Red Onions, Easter Eggs, and Icons

I woke up in the middle of the night last week (April 2013) from one of those Poe-esque dreams and understood his loathing of sleep,

"Sleep, those little slices of death; Oh how I loathe them."-- Edgar Allan Poe

so I turned on the TV to see if anything interesting, or more "uplifting," was on.  Someone was talking about Queen Esther and then mentioned Easter and that some of the Christian traditions of Easter are from pagan origins.  I knew that this was true, but when they mentioned red dyed Easter eggs, I hadn't heard of that before so I decided to look them up online.  I found that they had a different meaning from their pagan origins, which included child sacrifice and shedding of blood.  Dyed red Easter eggs are mostly significant within the Greek and Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition.  I saw many interesting pictures of dyed red Easter eggs online, as well as pictures of icons of various saints.  I also found stories I hadn't heard before within the Christian tradition about the history of red eggs.  One story was about Mary Magdalene giving a red egg to the emperor of Rome to tell him about the Resurrection of Christ.

I finally fell asleep again, and this time I had a vivid (rather than morbid) dream:  I'm in a grocery store (similar to the Walmart grocery store across from Lowe's near my home).  I find a roll of bread and I realize I need to go outside to get my money to pay for the bread.  As I am walking outside I am looking down at my cell phone, which in this dream is an I-phone with a touch screen.  Many colorful photos of icons of saints are on the screen of the I-phone as I am scrolling through them, trying to get to my text messages.  They are really colorful and beautiful images.  Once outside, I look up and see a Greek restaurant in the same building, just next to Wal-mart's grocery store.  As I look up, the owner comes out of the restaurant dressed in grey priest's robes and I seem to recognize him from being his customer.  He was going to the parking lot, which as I look up, I see several saints from the icons and priests on motorcycles and they are all going to his church with him for services.  He says, "Hello Theresa!" and they all start saying, "Hi Theresa!"  I said "Hi!" and then I watch them as they drive away.  Then I woke up.  (My sister just bought a new Harley Sportster this week, so that could explain the motorcycles?)

While looking up information about red Easter eggs, I was also looking online to see if there were any Coptic Orthodox Christian churches in Oklahoma.  I have always wanted to attend their liturgy service to hear the Coptic language.  The closest one to me used to be in Dallas, TX.  However, I found that there was now one in the Bixby/Tulsa area about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City.  I looked up their website and saw that this week was their Holy Week and Easter celebration.  This made me realize why I may have felt that Easter was not over yet!  However, when I went back to look again at their website to call for information the next morning after my dream, I scrolled further down the page this time and saw that the Coptic Orthodox church has an Oklahoma City community that meets every month at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church!  I thought I dreamed about the Greek priest and icons because I was looking at them online, but I didn't have any idea that the Coptic church was meeting at the Greek Orthodox church that very same morning after my dream for Lazarus Saturday (Feast of St. Lazarus)!  I didn't see the announcement in time to attend the service, but I did call that day and speak to Father Andrew Kahlil about attending their next service, and I have been attending each service since April 2013.

The Greek Orthodox church had an Easter egg dying event after their service on Thursday this week, but I had to work so I tried a recipe for using red onion skins to dye them at home and decorated the eggs using leaves from my garden. (They are more red than they appear in the photos.) The eggs are a reminder of the saints from the Icons that visited me in my dream, first on the screen of an I-phone, and then in the parking lot on motorcycles on their way to their Lazarus Rising service, which led me to the Coptic Church in OKC that meets at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church in OKC every month.

The first thing I noticed when I attended my first Coptic Christian Orthodox service was the picture of St. George on a horse in armor, with a sword in each hand.  He was a Christian martyr and in our day could have very well been riding a Harley.

http://oca.org/questions/liturgicalyear/red-easter-eggs

Johnny "Angel"

     Today, as I stood near the piano with a tape measure in hand, thinking how to get home with this second-hand treasure, I wondered if I had taken on too much of a challenge:  "57 3/4 L X 24" D X 36 1/2" H" and approximately 400 lbs. 

     On the brink of my dilemma (of how to get the piano home), my enthusiasm began to fade rehearsing phone calls to piano movers to gather estimates, looking at YouTube videos about what it takes to move a piano, and googeling similar items and prices.  I started to think maybe my unexpected find was beyond my reach for several reasons: 

     What if it was too far out of tune to be a decent piano?  How often would it need to be tuned?  Or moved?  I  first thought a friend with a pickup would be enough to help us get it home.  But suddenly, I was having a crash course in pianos: something I had always dreamed of owning, but I had never looked into realistically.  

     For myself, I might have passed.  But for my daughter, who has always wanted to learn how to play the piano, I didn't have the heart to pass it up.  

     The scenes of the past six months ran through my mind like cards being shuffled by a card shark.  Her father barely survived a suicide attempt in June.  She barely survived her 21st birthday in August and spent days in a crisis center recovering.  Her beautiful calico kitten, adopted after she got home from the crisis center, was killed by a horrible attack from two dogs due to a negligent roommate, which ended their year long relationship.  She almost lost her job due to the effects of new medicine, ongoing panic attacks and depression, and an escalating abusive relationship. Then in November, we lost her dad due to a heroin overdose.  He had been struggling to overcome his addiction for a while.  Being in physical pain with no health care alternatives, as well as the loss of his girlfriend in the last year to an overdose; as Shakespeare says, "misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows."  She lost almost everything dear to her, on top of dealing with my diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer.  

     What would it mean to her to wake up on Christmas morning, facing all she has been through recently, to something that could ease her pain and give her something pleasant to focus on that can actually help her to develop healthy coping skills?  Music, like art, is a good start.  (I also got her a new turntable; but, playing the piano is a more creative form of therapy which involves eyes, ears, hands, feet, and heart.)  That's why I decided to buy the piano.

     Mesmerized in thoughts, I circled like a hawk unsure where to land for a few minutes and then came back to the piano wondering what was I thinking trying to buy a piano and how to bring it home.  One of the employees nearby began to tell me how great a condition the piano was in.  While I listened, my eye caught sight of someone approaching behind her with a pink electric guitar over his shoulder.  (As a breast cancer survivor, this put a smile on my face.)  He caught my eye too, because he looked like someone I would have known, tattoos all down his arms, long hair pulled back, gauged ear plugs, and he walked with an air about him, as an intelligent and artistic musician.  

     He came up and (looking admiringly at the piano) asked if I had bought it.  I said, "yes, and by the way, nice guitar!"  He seemed to know about keyboard instruments and mentioned he has several.  He asked if I had a way to move it and I said I wasn't sure yet.  So far nothing had been decided.  He then offered to help me get it home!  He said he has moved many of his own organs and pianos of similar size.  He also had a Suburban and said he'd be glad to move it for me with the help of one of his friends, or if his friend wasn't available, he felt sure he could find someone from around the UCO campus to help.  (He was an art major at UCO and graduated in 2010.)  

      I was so amazed that someone would consider helping, even after telling him it probably weighed 400 lbs.  We exchanged numbers and he said his name was Johnny.  I said I would be able to pay him something for helping me although it wasn't much compared to the price of a piano mover.  He didn't mind at all, he said he just wanted to help.  

      We met at the store after his friend got off work and they managed to get the piano loaded into the Suburban.  It wasn't as difficult getting it loaded since the store had some flats with rollers and some additional help lifting.  But the bigger challenge came when we got to my apartment, with only the two of them to get the piano out of the Suburban and into the apartment.

     They made it safely over the first hurdle, getting the piano out of the Suburban, (and only one smashed finger).  I was thinking, "What do I have that they could roll the piano on?"  Just as I asked whether I could find something to set the piano on, Johnny said, "I have a skateboard."  I said, "Oh Yes!  So do I!"  The excitement was mutual, not only that there was suddenly a way to move the piano through the parking lot to the apartment on rollers, but also because we were excited to know that we both have skateboards!!

      It worked incredibly well!  We skate-boarded the piano all the way to the (two) steps, then had to maneuver it again once it was on the porch.  I was so thrilled not only to have my piano moved, but to have it delivered with such artistic style!  'Cause, as Johnny said, "That's the way we roll!"

      When we got the piano inside the apartment, they were careful to put everything in place and to instruct me how to replace a screw that was missing on one side.  As Johnny looked around the room for a moment, he said, "you must be an art major."  I said, "Yes, I was an art major, but then I changed to English."  He said he got his degree in art hoping to be an art teacher, but now it will require more than his art degree to teach.  In the meantime, he's working random jobs after graduating until he can pass more tests and get an additional degree.  Then he said, "when I saw you standing there by the piano, something just told me, God told me, to come and help you."  Then he said, "I could also tell you were pretty cool" (i.e. not a square).  Nice.  God definitely knows how to make the scene - being in the right place at the right time!  And I also realized,  musicians with guitars are sometimes like angels with wings.  With that in mind, our dreams are never too big!

Johnny "Angel"

     (The photos on this post are generic this time but nearly identical to the originals, my camera is broken on my phone due to water damage - it ended up in a cup of water, submerged for - not sure how long - or I would have taken many pictures today!)

Happy 65th Birthday Ozzy: Pictures of Matchstick Men & You

To pay tribute to Ozzy's 65th Birthday, (Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013) I'm posting one of my favorite Ozzy songs, a cover by Ozzy and Type O Negative of Status Quo's "Matchstick Men":



Here's a link to the original by Status Quo in 1968:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8THWF09D9w&list=RDY8THWF09D9w

KCDIY - Tuning in now...

http://www.kkfi.org/program/kcdiy/#

Tuesday at 12:00 am

KCDIY

KCDIY Radio is Kansas City’s last and only punk radio program. Each week is a themed selection of punk and hardcore from the past 30 years, including new music each week.

Josh's Brother, Justin Betterton, hosts this radio program each Tuesday beginning at 12:00 am.  Don't miss it!  It's what he would have wanted.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/KCDIY-Radio/42066106928

Rest in Punk




Josh Betterton (and me) in OKC:










going to Guestroom Records










Life, like pictures, sometimes gets a little out of focus, but my memories of you will never be hazy. I will always remember your wonderfully unique sense of humor, your love for music, your honest heart, your insane and crazy bands, your brilliant mind, and sharing so many good times (like the 90's, driving home from a concert with my head tilted so I could get in the car with my liberty-spiked hair)! I will miss you so much and I already do!  Thank you for having such a generous heart, and for just being you.  Being who you are is what made you such a great person, friend, brother, son, and father.




Joshua David Betterton

1-11-1976 - 11-10-2013

Josh Betterton Memorial Fund




Josh's band, the Hopeless Destroyers

 

One night at the Red Cup

(...still at Red Cup)

Josh, you lived much longer than you ever thought you would, (especially when you were getting jumped for being a punk, and almost killed by skinheads for being a punk against racism!), but your life and passion for music wasn't long enough for the people who love you and who will always miss you, your bright blue eyes and your heart of gold.




 

Help if you can:

Josh Betterton Memorial Fund

Friends of Josh Betterton Memorial Page

These links have music samples from Josh's bands:

 Riot in the Plaza - Memoriam - Josh Betterton

Oklahoma Rock.com

(this pic by Tasha)

Classic Josh quotes:
"I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, and more of a woman than you'll ever have."

The Sunday Oklahoman
24 November 2013, P. 25A




































The tefillah of a tzaddik:

Yaakov 5:16

Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

¹⁶ Therefore, make vidduy (confession of sin) to one another, and daven tefillos on behalf of one another, so that you may have refuah sheleimah (complete healing). The tefillah of a tzaddik is powerful and effective.

Monday night while praying in the chapel at St. John the Baptist Parish, a thunderstorm came through with strong winds and flash flooding. As the rain and wind died down again, I started to read Psalm 104. Suddenly the fire alarms started going off throughout the building just as I read, "You touch the volcano and it erupts"! I waited a few minutes to see if anyone would come to shut them off or if I could see any damage, but nobody came. I had to leave because it was too loud to stay. The emergency lights were flashing through the stained glass windows and throughout the building as I drove away. 

Tonight I remembered the scripture in James 5:16, "The prayer of someone seeking to live right with God is a power to be reckoned with." Remember Elijah? Fervent, red hot, passionate, intense prayer yields results?  Sound the alarm. 

(The sprinklers didn't come on right away, however, when I went by again tonight there was a "Wet Floor" sign in the Chapel.)

"Roped Out"

My heart is broken for the people of Moore tonight.  Trained as a first responder, although not at the scene today, I could see the overwhelming devastation and shock on the faces that wandered through the debris after the storm had finally roped out.  I felt a connection to the people in the disaster and the location which is so familiar to me.  I lived with my dad in the same neighborhood during ninth grade and I also have friends who currently live in the area.  Thankfully, they are all accounted for and safe tonight.

On Thursday night, while at work at the airport, they were already talking about severe weather that was being forecast for the weekend and through the coming week, not unusual for this time of year.  When I got off work at midnight, I drove back to Edmond, 25 miles north, but I kept feeling restless and I didn't want to go home.  I decided to drive for a while but I didn't know where I wanted to go exactly.

Then my daughter called me as I was driving toward the direction of her house and she said she would go with me on a drive.  We decided to drive to Moore to check on a friend there.  The airport is near Moore and I had just come from there, but I felt like we should go back.  Her friend was staying at a home near S.W. 149th and Santa Fe in Moore.

 After we got there and saw everything was alright, we decided to stop for a few minutes on the corner of the intersection at 149th and Santa Fe where we parked at the Walgreen's and got out of the car for a few minutes.  My daughter wanted to have a smoke break, and I still felt restless.  As we drove up 149th, a bird flew in front of my car, which was odd for 2am, and as we sat and talked, I mentioned to her that the birds were being unusually noisy for so late at night.  All the businesses were closed except for a 7-11 (which is no longer there after the storm today).  It was very quiet except for the birds, who seemed restless and I noticed it because I felt it too.

Seeing what happened here today, I wondered if the birds might have sensed something was going to happen.  Since I was near the area while at work, I wondered if maybe I sensed something too, because I don't usually feel so restless that I don't want to go home when I get off work that late.

After a few minutes we drove back to Edmond, and I was finally ready to sleep.  I found out today the corner we stopped at was only one block from the Briarwood Elementary School, which took a direct hit during the tornado today.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities at this location.  However, the Plaza Towers Elementary School has had many fatalities so far, where the search and rescue are still underway.

The story of teachers who protected and covered their students even with their own bodies to protect them from the flying debris and falling structures is so incredible.  One teacher saved the lives of six students by shielding them from a wall of cinder blocks that was falling on them.  They are my heroes, as well as those who have helped the rescue efforts in any way. 

at Briarwood Elementary, Moore, OK
 Here's a TV news report: http://goo.gl/RpgLQ

- me in 5th grade -

None Opposed

The Shroud of Turin, thought to be the burial cloth of Christ, has always interested me.  I recently became curious about the symbolism of hands in reference to works of art and noticed the position of the hands on the image of the Shroud, particularly the position of the thumbs.  According to an article by Ray Zone, "Palmistry: Oppositions and Blessings," the position of the thumbs can be significant symbolism.  He writes:

"The thumb at birth is generally hidden and folded under the other fingers.  As the child matures and the personality develops, it opens and almost assumes a life of its own.  During sleep, the thumb reverts to folding back again under the fingers.  As the personality develops in life, the thumb becomes a vibrant display of character.  At death, the thumb is once again folded under the fingers."

Another purpose I discovered for folding the thumb inward towards the palm is shown in the pictures below:

The "knife hand," also known as Sudo Makki, uses this position of the hand to strike an opponent as well as to block.  This hand position is also used in the movie "Kill Bill" to direct one's energy before striking a blow to an opponent or an obstacle:



I also found, contrary to popular belief, that according to one online article in "The Finger," the thumbs-up gesture did not represent a sign to spare a gladiator's life in Ancient Rome.  The article states, "A phlebian's pointed thumb or "pollice verso" (whether the thumb is pointed up, down, or somewhere in between, we don't know) meant the combatant was to be slain.  A HIDDEN THUMB, folded out of sight, or the "pollice compresso," meant he was to be spared."

In a way, Jesus was like God's thumb.  He was with God and God through Jesus, the Word made flesh, unfolded at the creation of the world.  The gospel of John says that everything that was made was made by and through Him, and nothing exists apart from Him.  God did all his work of creation in six days, and on the seventh day He rested.  Then, when the time came for Jesus to come to earth, He did not come to do what He wanted, but He came to reveal the nature and character of God and to do God's will.  If our thumb reveals our character and personality as we live our lives, Jesus lived His life in a way that revealed the character and personality of God, the Heavenly Father.  He didn't do His own will, but He only did what He saw His Father doing, Jesus only expressed what he saw God's thumb print on, or he was the thumb print of God for us to behold.  He was filled with and guided by the Holy Spirit, and He emptied Himself to the point of death, even dying on a cross so that God's will could be fulfilled and accomplished through Him. 


In each of the descriptions I found about thumbs folded inward, I like this idea the best:  That God in His love spared the world from judgment, death, and separation from Him, so that we can receive eternal life, which is to know Him.  Since salvation is of Jewish origin, a "goyim" like me was far from God and without hope in the world apart from Him, and could only be brought near to God by the blood of Jesus' sacrifice by His death on the cross (Ephesians 2:13).  He did this by folding his thumbs inward at the time of his death; through dying, he dealt a death blow to the one who had the power of death, and by separating our sins from us through His blood that was shed, He made a new and living way for us to be united to God.  He broke through for us, so that death can no longer hold any power over us.  Since this is the week of Christ's passion in the Coptic and Greek Orthodox Christian Church, we remember his power, not in the glory of his resurrection, but in the humility of his obedience and submission even to the point of a violent death.  He did not oppose death, but entrusted his soul to a faithful Creator, and looked only to endure suffering, to love, to bear, and to save those who put Him to death.  We are all part of that crowd, and are able to recognize his cry, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (I Peter 5:5 & James 4:6)

Dance the "Lou's"

 

something blue...   there should always be a perfect pair of shoes hovering somewhere for every occasion.

I saw these shoes by "Something Blue" floating on a pedestal as if in mid-air, like any dream come true should be.

Remember Dorothy's red slippers? ...

                                     ... or Alice in Wonderland's magical heels?
 

Blue suede heels with satin bows, another step towards a dream come true...

Some dreams never seem to die, and they should never remain in a box on the shelf... they should hover like a possibility of hope that you catch a glimpse of at moments like this, when you least expect it.

At least for dreamers there should be a perfect pair, which includes an element of "something blue."

And if the occasion for something "blue" keeps alluding you, there is always something ~ "lou"!  Christian Louboutin's Ballet slipper/heel: 

YES!!!  You can always DANCE the "Lou's!

"

 

Peering into the dark

Much going on the past few weeks has made it difficult to get my thoughts together.  My landlady, a good friend the last five years, suggested that I might go to one of the Catholic churches in the area that offers perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist.  I am not Catholic but she said the chapel is open to all people, and that you can spend as much quiet time there as you like, day or night.  She then invited me to go with her and see the chapel at St. Monica's where we spent a few minutes in prayer.  Afterwards, we went to St. John the Baptist's chapel which is closer to home and the perish she attends, but they only have overnight prayer one Friday each month.

I thought she mentioned that the night of prayer would begin this weekend at St. John the Baptist's, so I planned to go and spend the night there on Friday night.  A slumber party with Jesus and John the Baptist sounded pretty inviting, the thought of swimming in muddy waters comes to mind.  As one friend's dad used to say "Jesus always loved a party, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

It was late after getting home from work, so I made it to the church just after midnight.  St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is a beautiful building with a large sanctuary and large scale windows that bring the outdoors into full view.  The parking lots were empty when I arrived, which is not unusual for there to be only one or two cars during the night when I've been back to St. Monica's, and since there were several parking areas around I didn't think much about it.  I collected my things (book, journal, small pillow and blanket) and finding the doors unlocked I went inside.

St. John the Baptist Sanctuary (lights on)

Once inside, I entered the door to the small chapel where the Holy Eucharist is usually kept; however, unlike the time I was there before, the room was totally dark.  I could see through the round window that opens up to a view of the sanctuary that it was also completely dark in the sanctuary except for the street lights shining through the large stained glass windows.

Small chapel at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (lights on)

Standing in the doorway for a moment and peering into the darkness of the small chapel, I could see the table where the Holy Eucharist is kept.  It was not exposed now, but was put away in its small tabernacle.  There were no candles burning, only dim lights from the entry way arrested before crossing the path of the door.  I wanted to go inside and sit to spend time in prayer, but thought I might be intruding at this point, so I left.  I drove to St. Monica's chapel that is open 24/7, but I could see from the parking lot that it was also dark inside except for the lights on the statues of St. Mary and St. Joseph.  It began raining heavily as I drove home and the only person I saw on the road was a toad.  He was heading for the pond across the street, his own muddy waters no doubt.  Suddenly, I thought of Jim Morrison's song, "Riders on the Storm."

The darkness of the empty chapels which are usually well lit with lights and candles burning, an atmosphere of quiet prayer and humility, left me with a cold feeling of absence much like in Morrison's song:

Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out alone
Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirmin' like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If ya give this man a ride
Sweet memory will die
Killer on the road, yeah ..."


I felt like an actor out alone, a rider on the storm.  The glimpse of the darkness in the chapel gave me a deeper appreciation of the nights I was there in the warmth and light.  I imagined what it would be like if Jesus hadn't come into the world and we were all thrust into the darkness of the world like a dog without a bone.  And speaking of a bone, my "killer on the road" has been my recent battle with breast cancer.  The diagnosis last summer was that it had metastasized to my bones.  There was no evidence of disease to any tissue or organs, however the lymph glands near my kidneys were swollen and began to cause them to shut down the flow to my bladder on both sides.  I had to have stints placed in both sides to keep them working, so as long as they remain open, my health has been fine.  The most recent bone scan and CT scan were clear of any activity since beginning hormone therapy, along with the Cherokee Indian Herbal medicine in the form of a tea I drink daily.  Aside from having to replace the stints every few months, an outpatient procedure, as the swelling goes down, my health has been really great and I refuse to "give this man (cancer) a ride"!

What a difference one unassuming Jewish rabbi made in the world.  Sometimes the absence of just one person can be like that.  I appreciated the silence in memory of the death and burial of Jesus, in honor of his family, Mary and Joseph, of his friends, what it must have been like for them to lose such a remarkable light.  I am thankful to know those in my life whose presence has been a light for me, and I keep a candle burning for those who have gone out.  I am also thankful for the power the promises in the scriptures and the hope of the resurrection brings.  Also, until we meet again, Jesus left us with a meal to remember him by, another Jewish tradition I admire.

Before:  Silence

After:  "Say hello to jumping for joy!!!"  Jesus Resurrection

Unexpected Holy Relic

 “Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine”

Barna da Siena - c. 1340

     An unexpected holy relic: "This painting shows Jesus slipping the Holy Prepuce onto St. Catherine’s finger.  St. Catherine of Siena is one of the Jesus’s 76 virgin brides.  During the mystical marriage Christ appears to his bride in a vision and presents her with a ring.  This is followed by a ceremony where his mother, saints, and angels are present." reposted from:

 Marriage of St. Catherine of Siena 

     In the painting of the Mystic Marriage, "Jesus gave her His Holy Foreskin to wear on her finger instead of the usual gold ring."

     A medieval Book of Hours includes an illustration of Jesus with the Rings of Saturn as the Holy Foreskin, which the 17th century Catholic scholar and theologian Allacci Leone (Leo Allatius) "published the treatise De Praeputio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Diatriba (“Discussion concerning the Prepuce of our Lord Jesus Christ”) in which he proposed that the Holy Foreskin had ascended into heaven at the same time as Jesus, and had become the recently observed rings of Saturn."  reposted from:  Rings of Saturn

     Since holy relics were abundant and not always authentic, there were several holy prepuce in circulation during the middle ages with stories surrounding their existence.  The most recent was stolen from it's location in Calcata, a small town 30 miles north of Rome, in 1983. 

     This was one holy relic I didn't expect to hear about but which has a familiar ring to it, considering the story told about the circumcision of Jesus in the gospels (Luke 2:21).