I actually started writing this last night, but am now resigning
myself to the fact that I may miss a day of posting. Not really sure where to start this. In my previous post, I wrote about the monks
walking for peace. These are a group of Buddhist monks who are walking from
Houston Texas to Washington to DC for the purpose of spreading peace. It was my
privilege and pleasure listen to them in Saluda SC; the experience was
incredibly impactful.
Today, I want to start chatting a bit about peace and about
peace in the Christian Church. One of
the things I noticed when I saw the monks was a lone “Christian protester.”
This protester had signs saying things like “Jesus died for you!” “God loves you and wants to save you from your
sins!” “Repent!” “Believe the Gospel!” and “Obey Jesus!” As I stated yesterday
my brief encounter with this individual revealed a person so full of vitriol
that it was off putting to me, and indeed my thought is that many of the people
who claim to be Christian and who have a variety of agendas actually operate
more out of fear than out of a love for the Gospel. But
that’s another story or maybe it’s not. I don’t know -- I wanna talk about two things
here and I don’t know if they’re related.
I guess I’ll find out as I go along.
Recently a prominent African American pastor was seen in
public with his wife wearing a dress that evoked incredible public commentary.First of all the woman in question has a very
attractive figure; second, the dress seemed to give the illusion of nudity -- even
the design on the dress drew your eye to the wearer’s private areas.But as
her husband, the pastor, said in a public response to all the outcry “this is
my wife, I bought the dress and I had her wear it.”Now I publicly am a bit more conservative in
my dress so even if I were to have worn a dress to a formal event, it’s not a
choice I would have made but I also would never have publicly condemned a
clergyperson for their or their spouse’s sartorial selections; in the overall
scheme of things, the way a woman a
married woman dresses when she is in the company of her husband -- I don’t understand how that’s anybody’s
business but theirs.I personally don’t
care what the lady wears. I didn’t buy
her clothes, I’m not gonna wear her clothes, I don’t care how she looks in her clothes,
end of discussion.That’s me. But it was interesting to see how many people
felt the need to comment on it another.
Another recent situation (this is the third week of January
2026) -- another situation that has been in the news recently is this comedian Druski
who made a skit ridiculing mega churches.I don’t know that I’ve seen the skit
in its entirety, though I have seen snippets on social media.One of the things I saw was Druski suspended
above the congregation.I assumed that this was sort of parody of at
least one pastor who in the last couple of years entered his sanctuary on a zip
line.At another point in the skit Druski,
as he’s suspended above the congregation, is seen wearing red bottomed shoes, and
he says something silly along the lines of “I wear Christian Dior and I wear
Christian Louboutin because I’m a Christian, and I wear red bottomed shoes
because I walk in the blood of Jesus!!”It was kind of a tortured analogy but I thought it was silly enough to
be funny.It was a comedian doing his thing, taking a
poke at mega church culture along with the excesses and the tenuous theological
literacy that we sometimes see in popular religious culture.Again, I thought it was funny and would not
have given it a second thought except for the fact that it has been the source
of nearly endless discussion online.People are clutching pearls and saying that “Oh my God he’s attacking
the church!” “Oh he’s gone too far!” and
so on, and other people, like myself, laughing at what they thought was typical
comedic output.
This past Sunday, January 18 2026, the Sunday before Martin
Luther King Day, a group of protesters in Minneapolis entered a church and
disrupt the “worship” service.
The reason this group stated they were disrupting the “worship
service” was because the pastor of the congregation is reportedly an ICE agent.
ICE is the arm of the government that has been responsible, through legally and
morally questionable authority and tactics, for rounding up and deporting
people in this country who may not have the necessary legal authority to be
here. ICE and its proponents state that
they are securing our borders and rounding up “illegal immigrants,” but a
review of their actions suggests this is not the case. Sadly they have effectively become a
racialized goon squad. I personally regarded disruption of the supposed worship
service as a righteous act. I thought this because I believe that many people
who are calling themselves Christians are acting in ways that do not honor the
teachings of Jesus Christ. Specifically I believe that those who embrace the MAGA
agenda cannot be Christians. I say this because from where I sit the MAGA
agenda appears rooted in an America First ideology and/ or a white supremacist
ideology. Both of those are contrary to what I
understand to be the teachings of Jesus. Consequently, I believe that active
participation in the MAGA movement and or ICE operations and being a follower
of Jesus are mutually exclusive states. Therefore,
I think that anyone serving as an ICE agent and standing in front of a
congregation to “pastor” it is defrauding the congregation. I
think that they are not a real Christian pastor, but rather are agents of
satan, and for that reason not only do I see no harm in disrupting that farce,
but I believe that disruption to be the only righteous course of action. From where I sit, the MAGA agenda crucifies
Christ over again; I see no vestiges of Christianity in the MAGA agenda, and the
fact that so many people embrace it in the name of Christianity is but another
demonic deception. While people may have
looked a little askance at me for holding that position from 2016-2020, given recent
events and the actions of the 47th president of the United States, I
didn’t think my position was particularly controversial. It is worth acknowledging my own sort of
vanity; if I’m being honest, then once I arrive at a decision, whether it is
purely intellectual or whether it is emotional, once I have embraced a decision,
I own it and I’m good with it.
So I didn’t think my position was particularly controversial. So I’m a bit shocked to see scores of church
people protesting the disruption of a worship service. I haven’t seen anyone protesting the fact
that yanking people away from their families is unchristian. I haven’t seen anyone protesting the fact that
when we are unkind to the stranger within our gates that we are behaving directly
contrary to what Christ instructed us to do.
I’ve seen no one up in arms over the fact that when we fail to take care
of the widows and orphans or when we cut benefits for those who are needy among
us that such actions are in direct contrast to the teachings of Christ. I don’t
see any clutching of pearls or any outpouring of outrage that these sorts of
actions by the MAGA base are anti-Christian, but to protest the presence of
this unchristian, MAGA pollution in Christ’s churches THEN there’s the
clutching of pearls and the “Oh my God, it’s anti-Christian!!!”
I’m just not understanding that. I don’t understand why it’s
such an affront to Christianity that people are going in and saying “no you can’t
pretend to lead while serving two masters,” “you can’t be beholden to ICE,” “You
can’t serve ice and Jesus!”I don’t know why it’s so wrong to protest and
imposter in the pulpit while we remain silent as we are inhospitable to
strangers, and fail to care for those who are in need, or are downright prejudiced
against our Muslim cousins – I’m finding it more than a bit hypocritical that
we are comfortable speaking out against those who say “this is not the way of
Christ,” while we are unable to see how our own behaviors (or those of people
and organizations we champion) are not Christlike.My thought is that we live in an era where it
is politically expedient to vilify “the left” or any one or any thing that
behaves in a manner that is too liberal for our tastes, while we cower behind
propriety instead of addressing the many ways in which we mindlessly crucify Christ
every day.
It seems that whether we're talking about the dress, the comedian,
or the protest, it seems to me that the focus is misplaced. People want to
focus on the disruption without acknowledging (at least in the case of the
comedian and the protest) without acknowledging that which is being disrupted
or why it is being disrupted. I think that in a world as fractured as ours, disruption
of the status quo is a necessary prerequisite to peace. Judging from what I
have observed of people's reactions to the monks walking for peace, it is clear
that Americans and perhaps all humans are longing for something. We Christians
seem to have failed them either through our theological incompetence or through
our hypocrisy – especially when we stand in support of organizations that act
in ways that tear down rather than build up, that foment hatred rather than
love – we have failed to abide by Christ’s Great Commission, to go and make
disciples by preaching and teaching. The
presence and continued tolerance of an ICE official in a Christian pulpit
epitomizes this failure; the continued decline in attendance at Christian
worship services as well as decline in American’s self-identification as
Christian are further evidence of this failure.
Into the midst of this failed mess you have a couple of dozen unassuming
monks, walking across the country, teaching mindfulness, and encouraging us to
look inward. Their message not only encourages
us to take the twig out of our own eye, but they offer mindfulness practices as
a guide to how we can take that first step.
As each of us takes the twig out of our own eye, we begin to see more
clearly, and as we begin to see more clearly, we sow a seed of peace. As we see more clearly, the seed grows and
blossoms, and ultimately, we can cover our world in a canopy of peace!
So.I’m a little too
invested in this to know whether or not it makes much sense; I did wait a day before
posting it, and the net net of what I want to say is that these Buddhist monks and
their mission have encouraged me to be more mindful, to look within, to be
still and know that God is God.That,
they say, is how peace will bloom in each one of us, and then it will blossom
and those blossoms will spread into a beautiful canopy of peace throughout our
land and throughout our world.
Another characteristic of post-PhD life is my attempt to
honor the fact that I’m a being of body, mind, and spirit.Pursuit of the PhD almost required all my
resources go into the “mind” bucket; I remember some time after I defended
climbing to the top of a hill in Marcus Garvey Park. There I sat to pray and
meditate and nurture my spiritual side; the steep hike up the hill was enough
to engage my physical body.I’ve
continued to exercise:lifting,
swimming, and just moving more while intentionally increasing my spiritual
practices.
One of the things I decided to do was attend the CME Pastors’
Conference. It’s an Annual Conference held in Atlanta the first week of every
year, and it coincides with homecoming for the Phillips School of Theology, THE
Seminary of the CME Church. The Conference
always seemed a bit Phillips or ITC (Interdenominational Theological Center, a consortium
of Atlanta-area seminaries of which Phillips is a member)-centric. Additionally,
I find value in attending conferences where publishers offer books at a 20-40%
discount; I was about to purchase a book at this conference and the preacher
beside me nudged me and let me know he’d purchased it on Amazon for less than
the conference price!! So attending the
Pastors’ Conference wasn’t a high priority while I was completing; having successfully
defended, I was interested in attending the Conference. The CME Church is a Connectional Church, and
our national meetings are a bit like family reunions; I was excited at the
prospect of seeing old friends and perhaps meeting some FB friends IRL.
I encountered that and more!Dr. Michael Eric Dyson presented, followed by a Scholars’
Roundtable.After worship and an alumni
luncheon there was a special pastoral session on handling conflict, then a
service by the Commission on Women in Ministry and an Outstanding Ministers
Service that evening.I think I left
after the next day’s Plenary, but found that I didn’t need to attend every
event, and time spent fellowshipping was time well spent.I also managed to make some connections that
will facilitate forward motion on some of my church projects, but the real
value for me was in the corporate worship.My home congregation has waned over the years, often resulting in a more
intimate, private worship experience.While private and corporate worship each have advantages, I don’t think
I’d been in corporate worship since this summer in Sweden.So the corporate worship was edifying and
invigorating, it was great to see so many folk, and then I left the conference,
rented a car, and headed to South Carolina to visit my Dad. He lives in a rural
town that could not be more unlike the fast-paced life in New York City, and
always provides a welcome respite.
Headed to South Carolina after a spirit-filled conference
would have been enough, but I heard about the monks Walking for Peace. They
were to have been near Atlanta when I was there, but as I checked their route,
it seemed that on January 8, the 75th day of their walk, they would
be about an hour’s drive from my Dad’s place.
They were to be in a little town called Saluda, the hometown and final
resting place of one of my parishioners, so I thought that would be an
appropriate site to visit. As I drove
through the South Carolina highways, I first had the opportunity to appreciate driving
again – having lived without an automobile in NYC has been an adjustment and
while I continually think about buying a car, for my purposes, renting one once
a month or once every other month is sufficient. So I drove through the South Carolina
countryside – acres and acres of farmland, little cotton balls dotting the
countryside, more roadkill than one would have expected, despite the deer and
other critters scampering by the roadside.
For a native southerner who’s lived longer in NYC than anywhere else,
this was a welcome change of scenery. There was even an old ESSO (Exxon’s
precursor) sign!
Got to Saluda. It was the middle of the week, and I didn’t expect
much of a turnout to see a bunch of Buddhist monks walking through a small
South Carolina town. Boy, was I wrong!! The crowd was massive, though not
nearly as large as it would grow by the time the monks reached Columbia, the state
capital.In Saluda, they were assembled
at the Saluda County Courthouse.I
actually had to drive around for a while looking for parking, and ended up
parking in a questionably legal spot a couple of blocks away from the
courthouse.When I approached, the monks
were sitting in the yard, eating lunch. I snapped a picture of them before I knew
of their request to not record them while eating, but once I learned of their
request, I sat on the steps of the courthouse waiting for them to finish.
When they finished eating, the spokesperson, the Venerable Bhikkhu
Pannakara, came to address the crowd.To accommodate him, the police officers had
those of us on the steps move off the steps.We were free to sit on the ground facing the steps, which I did, gaining
a front row seat in the process.Venerable Bhikkhu spoke to us for 20+ minutes, on mindfulness, on taking
a break from our lovers (electronics), on the monkey mind, and on meditation.I recorded most of his talk, and will try to
post it along with pictures from the event.While nothing I heard from him was new, he delivered these truths in
such a way that they not only made sense, but they stuck.Earlier I noted the need to nurture my spirit
more, and one of the best ways I know to do this is to increase my mindfulness
and meditative practices. (Truth be told, there’s a thin line between corporate
worship that is edifying and corporate worship that is performative; for me
right now a bit of corporate worship is edifying, but too much becomes
performative.I’m grateful for
mindfulness and meditative practices:mindfulness
to direct my focus away from the external world and meditation to really listen
to the voice of God.)So there was a tremendous
benefit in this exposure as it redirected me back to mindfulness and meditation.Perhaps even more significant, though, was
the ENERGY (or spirit if you want) these monks generated. I said to someone
that if they can simply be conduits of this sort of energy on their journey,
they will bring about peace in our land.I think of SC in general as a red state, one where the different races
appear to coexist only because everyone “knows their place.”I think of Saluda as another stereotypical
Southern town, embodying all the best and the worst of those stereotypes.What I saw was a town full of people desperately
seeking peace.I saw a town full of people
who’ve not found the Love or Truth of the Christian Gospels, and who are still
seeking.In America in general, perhaps
in the Western world, I see people who reject the hypocrisy they see in those
of us who claim to follow Jesus, but who still seek the love, joy and peace
they’ve been taught are available in Him.And in today’s pluralistic society, even folk in the Bible Belt are
willing to commune with Buddhist monks if peace is a probable outcome.
…. well, most folk, anyway.
The only sad spot in the gathering was a gentleman with an amplifier and
a sign, trying to drown out the monks with his voice, and displaying a sign proclaiming
“Jesus Died For You: God Loves You And
Wants To Save You From Your Sins. Repent of Sin. Believe the Gospel. Obey Jesus.” It was quite sad; I walked past him at the
end and told him I hoped he got to know Jesus some day. That comment produced a response so charged
that its vitriol was almost palpable.
The sad thing, and something I didn’t realize when I started chanting
decades ago, is that the practice of Buddhism does not interfere with and is
not contrary to the practice of Christianity.
I happen to think that some tenets of Buddhism enhance my practice of
Christianity, and I have thoughts about where Jesus was from the ages of 12-30,
but that’s a different conversation.
So. I’m going to post
this and hopefully either post pics and video from the day or link this blog to
FB pics and video of the day. I can’t
overstate its impact on me; not only am I attempting to be more intentional in
my daily meditative practices, but I’m slowly imposing some much-needed
discipline throughout other areas of my life.
The monks remind me of how my spirit used to be before living in NYC for
so long: I remember being in my mid-to
late-twenties before finally realizing that some humans are just mean, and
despite where I live, my instinct is still to look every human in the eye and
greet them with a smile. I’d like to get
back to that sort of gentle, unassuming outlook on humans, and think the only
way I can is through much, much MUCH prayer and meditation.
There’s probably more, but this is part of my forced daily
writing exercise, so I’mma post this and figure out the pics later.
Somehow FINALLY completing that dissertation has turned
writing from a lifelong avocation to the source of unhealed trauma.But I choose not to live with that trauma,
and I gotta get back to writing.
So let me tell y’all about my healthcare. In a coupla weeks
I’ll celebrate my 69½ birthday.Yup, I
celebrate my half birthday.At age 60, I
was happy that I had a regular workout routine, was regularly hit upon by
people half my age, and though I took a number of supplements, was on NO prescription
meds.A decade earlier, I’d been on as
many as eight prescription meds, including one or two injectables for diabetes,
so to be on zero scrips was awesome!Now,
at 69½, I’m on a handful of scrips:a
couple to keep my acidic stomach from developing ulcers, one for sleep apnea, a
couple for cholesterol, one for bp, and one to address the inflammation from
the gout in my neck.The stomach ones
are already on an as needed basis, I’ll prolly keep using the sleep apnea one
because I won’t use my CPAP, and my next bloods will determine whether or not
we change the cholesterol meds.I saw my
cardio this week and not only does he want to start weaning me off the bp med,
but he thinks I’m managing my weight well and don’t need to lose any more. I,
of course, noted that I’m 13 lbs heavier than my prime fighting weight (in my
late 20s!).We had a discussion where I
acknowledged that not only do I want to drop 13 lbs, but I want to change my
body composition.My lean muscle mass and
bone density are both above average for women my age, but I want to put on more
lean muscle while dropping fat.My
cardio wants me to understand that, at my age, this will not be as easy as it
was FOUR DECADES ago; nevertheless, that’s what I want to do.
Of course, when I came out of the train today and had to
stop to tighten my belt (once again, my pants were about to fall down), I did remember
his comment that I’ve lost enough weight. So I’mma get back to lifting and
consuming good protein to see if I can start building more muscle.
I’ve been experiencing problems with my eyes since my last
eye exam.There seems to be a bit of
double vision, and they’ve sent me to an ophthalmologist, have referred me to
something called an orthoptist, and I’ve just come from an MRI of my brain and
eye orbits.Now, when I got Medicare, I
took the plan that most closely resembled the plan I’d had when working. I
think they’d call it a gold or platinum plan – I’m a two-time cancer survivor, and
accustomed to buying insurance before the protections of Obamacare, I always selected
the best coverage I could afford.Still
do, even though my PhD degree is no match for deciphering the ins and outs of
Medicare and Medicare-adjacent plans now available to me.I ended up selecting the same plan this year
as last year, only to find a couple of notable changes:the fee for a PCP OV went from $5.00 to $0.00,
which is cool, considering there is now a $54.00 monthly premium for coverage
that was free last year.My cardio did
get approval for the sleep apnea drug, but since it’s also used for weight
loss, the pharmaceutical companies are cashing in – WITH my Medicare coverage, the
first month’s copay for this drug was $600.00 (last year).I was only responsible for paying drugs costs up to $2,000, so by the
first quarter of the year, the drug was free.My pharmacist managed to get me this year's January scrip at the end of December '25 so I avoided the New Year Copay, but I’m kinda dreading what I’ll discover when
I head over to pick it up at the beginning of Feb.
Meanwhile, I go to this MRI of brain and eye orbits. Now, my
insurance company sent me two letters advising me that they’d approved the
prior authorization for this MRI.I just
checked, and the two approvals have two different approval numbers.Not sure why, but I suppose that’s something
else I'll have to research.There’s
nothing in these letters about any charges, so silly me assumed that they would
charge me anything from $0 to $45 (which was the max specialist copay under my
old plan).My new plan shows a $0 charge
for PCP, and a $115 charge for ER, but there isn’t even a SPECIALIST category
listed, and I vaguely think I recall reading that specialists had the option to
charge me anything from $0 to $45.00 (which my mind translated as “there’s no
specialist fee on the card, so they’re not spozed to charge me anything"). Plus, I sorta thought that imaging was 100% covered under this policy. I thought.... ANYway, why in the world do I go to this MRI,
check in, and this lady tells me that I have a copay of TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS?!?!?
I mean, it’s an exorbitant amount IMO, but could they at least have told me about
it beforehand?And the state of medical bureaucracy is such that it will take several hours on hold and several more hours of being
transferred before I reach a human who tells me they don’t know why I didn’t
get an estimated copay, blah, blah, blah….
Ultimately, I’ll be ok.The fact they are doing an MRI of my head to understand why I have
double vision reflects how seriously my medical team takes my
care.I’m blessed to be able to pick and
choose physicians, grateful that I grew up poor enough to understand the
importance of always having “a little something for yourself,” and blessed with
medical practitioners who have expressed a willingness to work with me when
insurance behaves badly.I’m blessed
that every significant physical affliction I’ve had has been covered.I do worry about folk who don’t have
adequate (or any) insurance, and God knows I don’t understand how we can go
galivanting around pretending we’re going to govern Venezuela when we can’t
even govern this country.But from what
I’ve read, free healthcare for all is constitutionally guaranteed to all Venezolanos,
and their public healthcare system has a handshake agreement with the Cuban
government.(In propaganda-free countries, Cuba is known
for its excellent healthcare.In 2021,
it had about 84 physicians to 10,000 people and has ranked as high as 94-95 per
10K people, higher even than wealthy enclaves such as Monaco which reported
86-89 physicians per 10K people).The
Venezuelan healthcare system, like much of their government, seems mired in corruption, and I’m not hopeful
that an influx of North American “leadership” in any sector will produce better
outcomes.
In an ideal world, this blurb would have had a theme, maybe
some points, some semblance of structure and at the very least a beginning and
an end.I’m rusty, and for today, the
win is simply showing up to write.I’ve
only cranked out a little over 1K words; as with every other area of my life, only
through understanding, application, and constant, repetitious practice will these efforts produce results.
August 31, 2022, will mark the one year anniversary of my little brother's transition from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant. I should probably state that I have another little brother through my father, but the one who passed away is the one with whom I shared a womb and upbringing. And in that upbringing, we cultivated our roles of big sister and little brother.
I've created this memorial reel. It will get better over the years: I hope to clean up the pictures and not have so many dupes, maybe make the transitions between songs a bit better. But words can't express what it's like to lose a younger sibling, so I'm just sharing some pics of him with some music that is significant to me when I think of him. I've done my best with the attributions, but if tech doesn't like them, you can see the names of the songs. They are
Lion's version of "If I would have known;
"If I Would Have Known" by Kyle Hume; and the one and only
"I Shall Wear A Crown" by Yolanda Deberry, and First Church "The City."
I should end this post on a positive note, and I believe he's doing better in Eternity than his last few months on Earth in Chronos Time. I still can't process the fact that I was at his funeral and not the other way around.
Oh, well. In one of these years, I'll make a happier reel celebrating him. This is where I am right now.
Today I was privileged to attend the Richard Greenberg play “Take
Me Out.” Other than the Radio City
Christmas Show (which isn’t Broadway proper), I don’t usually do Broadway
unless the ticket is comped, I’m treated, or it’s something I’ve really wanted to
see. In 40 years living in NYC, I may have paid to see Avenue Q; Starlight Express; Fela; maybe the 2nd time
I saw Lion King, and that’s about it. My tastes and pocketbook generally tend
towards Off or Off-Off-Broadway rather than Broadway proper.
ANYway, I was privileged to attend "Take Me Out." The primary reason I went was the leaked nude photos of Jesse Williams, but it was a
delightful experience and I’m so glad I went. Phones had to be turned off and
put into locked pouches, so I wrote my observations. Here they are, in the order in which they
popped into my head:
My seat was on the 6th row, and it
was a small theatre.The people in the
first row could reach out and touch the stage; my 6th row seat felt
like it was about a car length away from the stage.
From before they let us in, through lights down,
I was locking eyes and smiling with every black female I saw.Also noted the number of older white people (normal
theater crowd; I wonder if the leaks impacted their attendance at all) and the
number of single males of all demographics in attendance.
They made a big deal out of it, but I was not impressed
with the security measures to keep you from taking pictures.They did partner with this group called Yondr
to lock up your phones, and they said there was a camera facing the audience to
detect people trying to take pictures, but anybody who’s reasonably technical
and who doesn’t mind sexually violating the cast members (no pun intended)
could do it.PLUS, even though they said
they would not accept phone tix, that you HAD to print them, folks showed up
with tix on their phones, so they scanned them and then made them turn the phones
off and lock them up.They also said no
large bags, but one woman had just come to the theater directly from the
airport and she had a carryon rolling bag.They went through it, but they let her in.Again, I think it’s sexual exploitation to
film naked people without their consent, EVEN IF they’re naked on a Broadway
stage, but if someone were intent on doing it, it didn’t seem to me that it
would have been that hard.
SMH.The
theatre is down the block from Virgil’s and the parking garage is across the
street from a BonChon.I was supposed to
have gone to Orchard Street to check this black-owned vegan ice cream joint,
but that’s gonna have to wait another day.Thought I’d check out Virgil’s because Dinosaur has kinda turned me off
with their high prices and small portions (plus Stephen doesn’t work there any more);
Virgil’s was just as bad.Stuff is high.
While in the theater, I thought it was kind of
nice not having the phone.I had to
force myself to write which is slower than texting, but preferable to making a
FB post for every random thought I have.
Speaking of random thoughts:if you weigh over 300 or so, and you have a
seat that’s NOT on the aisle, maybe try coming to the venue early so a whole
row of people doesn’t have to move.OTOH, even though I wasn’t on the row with the large late people, because
I know I like to book aisle seats, I should maybe wait til I see a lot of folk
seated before I sit down.The cool thing
about going to events solo is when I do it at the last minute and find two
seats on the aisle, if I take the aisle seat, there’s often a good chance the
other one will remain empty! I thought that until 2:08 today…
Before I went to the theater, I made a post where
I worried that maybe Jesse Williams would have been distressed by all the publicity
and there would have been an understudy for today’s show.Y’all, my stomach literally flipped when I
sat down, opened my Playbill, and there was an insert saying the role of DAVEY
BATTLE would be played by Ryan Broussard.I had to actually read through the Playbill til I found the credits and
saw that Jesse Williams was playing a character by the name of Darren Lemming
(Broussard was also the understudy for Darren Lemming).The takeaway for me is that I have to stop
with those negative projections.At this
point, it was about 1:56, 1:57, and all seats in my row were filled except the
one beside me and at the other end of the row where there was also a single
woman on the end and an empty seat beside her.
Writing before the play started, I noted that I
probably was not close enough to get hit with the water from the shower scenes,
but wold probably be able to smell the soap (and sure enough, when the players
were putting on lotion and/or liniment, I could smell it!Or at least, I thought I could…)At this point it was exactly 2:00, and though
I had not seen the lights blink yet, thought I would put my writing away.
At 2:03, the seat beside me was taken.Another black female.Very pleasant, though we both had a purpose
and it wasn’t chatting up strangers.
Intermission was at exactly 3 pm.I don’t know if it was the excitement, the
sprinklings of full-frontal nudity here and there, or the locked electronics, but
I found myself much more engaged in this show than in most Broadway plays.
The second act began with a half dozen nude men
on stage in a shower scene.They were
white, Latinx, Asian, and ... no disrespect to his white side, but I’m
comfortable calling Jesse Williams a black man.I heard a clip where Charlemagne tha god stated that Jesse’s appendage
had to be a prosthesis.I ain’t no
expert, but I inspected as much as I could, since I saw a lot more than I had
expected to see – just about ALL these fellas were blessed, so I found myself
looking to see if prostheses were used.It’s technically possible, I guess, but they all looked natural to
me.By the time of this scene, though,
you were actually as interested in the character development as in their
anatomy.
This was probably more fun than going to the gym
or being at the pool.Jesse Williams’
body is as impressive as his eyes, but his acting talent overshadows it
all.There are scenes in which the only
thing you see is a tear or ten rolling down his face.And I have never watched “Modern Family,” but
if I can see more of Jesse Tyler Ferguson, then I will do that.He was A-MAY-ZING!!!
Finally, if you like baseball, sports, NYC culture,
NYC Sports culture, all in an LGBTQI-celebrating environment, then you’ll enjoy
this play.And if you enjoy
well-developed human bodies (all male in this case), you will also enjoy this
play.I came home and immediately
started searching 2nd Stage.Had
I been able to find an available front row seat on a date when I’m in town, I would gladly
have purchased it.Unfortunately, the
theater is quickly selling out:there
are only a handful of Orchestra level seats left for the whole season (ends on
6.11); on one day I saw half of the mezzanine level was empty, but there are
precious few orchestra seats left, and none closer than where I sat today,
which was Row F.It was a delightful
experience, I’m glad I went, and I am not above being a groupie and going to
stand outside the rear exit doors for one showing.Probably won’t, but it’s a thought…
Haven’t said anything about the content of the
play.It’s a coming out story:Jesse Williams is this star athlete, a
biracial guy who’s never known want and whose embrace of the privilege bestowed
upon him always lives somewhere between simple facts and self-serving
vanity.But such a strong character is
necessary, since the play essentially chronicles the reactions of everyone
around him; the resulting messy drama is the play.As we get through that messy drama, though,
we do it with wit and wisdom and incredible views into the world of
professional athletes as well as members of the LGBTQ family.With or without nudity, if I had a chance to
sit in the first 5 rows, I would see it again in a heartbeat!!!
In general, I liked Google. After today's interaction, I'm not so sure. I screenshotted the conversation as it became more and more frustratingly bizarre.
I was going to make the racist comment that when I dial the 646 number I get people who understand more than when I dial the worldwide toll free number, but you don't dial in to chat support.
In their defense, though, I'm going to say that maybe the support people in this thread do not speak English as a second language, but maybe as a third or fourth language. That still would not account for their sending me all around the Googlesphere, though....
On hold with them again, as $99.00 is $99.00. I'm publishing the blog and sending them the link. Still no confidence in them, though....
Google Support
You’re connected with agent Hermi.
12:59
PM
H
Welcome to Google Support. My name is Hermi. How are you today?
Hermi · 12:59 PM
Hi, Hemi -- I'm fine. How are you?
1:00 PM
H
I am glad to know, you are doing fine, Cassandra.
I am doing good too, thanks for asking.
In case you need to refer to this chat interaction in the
future, please take note of the following ID 2-REDACTED.
Hermi · 1:01 PM
contactng you today because of this issue:
was running out of storage space on my nonprofit account. Called on 10.25 and spoke with Irvin, who assisted me on adding storage.
Unfortunately, it was added to the wrong account. We found that out today and
Arvin assistged me in adding storage to the correct account. But I had to
cancel the storage on the incorrect account (the admin account). And I am
contacting you today requesting a refund. Will provide payment and invoice
details in just a minute.
Subscription Payment Sent
October 25, 2021 at 8:30:11 AM PDTTransaction ID: THERE IS A TX ID IN ORIGN
Payment Status: COMPLETED
Gross amount
-$99.99 USD
Invoice REDACTED INV ID
1:03 PM
H
I see that you are concerned about the Storage subscription.
Hermi · 1:03 PM
um, yes. I just wrote the details in the chat message above.
Would you like for me to copy them again for you?
1:03 PM
H
May I know if you are referring to Google One subscription?
Hermi · 1:03 PM
No. Not Google one. Adding drive storage to a google for
nonprofits account. contactng you today because of this issue:
was running out of storage space on my nonprofit account. Called on 10.25 and spoke with Irvin, who assisted me on adding storage.
Unfortunately, it was added to the wrong account. We found that out today and
Arvin assistged me in adding storage to the correct account. But I had to
cancel the storage on the incorrect account (the admin account). And I am
contacting you today requesting a refund. Will provide payment and invoice
details in just a minute.
Subscription Payment Sent
October 25, 2021 at 8:30:11 AM PDTTransaction ID: REDACTED
Payment Status: COMPLETED
Gross amount
-$99.99 USD
Invoice REDACTED
1:04 PM
H
Can you please help me with the transaction ID?
Hermi · 1:05 PM
Sure. This is the third time i am sending it to you, but:
Transaction ID: (REDACTED)
'Subscription Payment Sent
October 25, 2021 at 8:30:11 AM PDT
Transaction ID: REDACTED
Payment Status: COMPLETED
Gross amount
-$99.99 USD
Invoice REDACTED
1:05 PM
H
Let me check if the drive team is available to assist you.
Hermi · 1:06 PM
The drive team sent me to you!!!
1:06 PM
H
Just to set your expectations, you have reached the chat support
of Google Pay related issues only.
Hermi · 1:07 PM
So who do I go to to get a refund of something paid through
Google Pay?
1:07 PM
H
I am positive the drive team should be able to help you.
(NOTE HERE HE SAYS "I AM POSITIVE THE DRIVE TEAM SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP YOU.")
Hermi · 1:07 PM
So interesting that Google can have me enable Google pay to add
storage to the wrong account, but can't help me to correct the issue?
As I said, the drive team just sent me to you. It seems no one
wants to be responsible?
1:08 PM
H
I am sorry, but my scope of support is limited and we support only
Google Pay payments which includes, tap and pay payments and sending and
receiving funds.
Hermi · 1:09 PM
Understood. What would be helpful then, instead of a litany of
what you can't do, would be for you to go ahead and give me the drive team
contact info. Is that possible?
1:10 PM
H
Let me check and send you to them directly.
Please give me 3-5 minutes here.
Hermi · 1:11 PM
many thanks, Hemi.
sure. No problem.
1:11 PM
H
Thank you.
Hermi · 1:11 PM
You’re connected with agent Melody.
1:14
PM
Hermi left the chat.
1:14
PM
M
Hello Cassandra.
Please give me a minute to read the previous conversation.
Melody · 1:15 PM
Hi, Melody --
Hope this finds you well. Apologies if I seem a bit terse, but I've been
dealing with Google for over an hour now and am a bit tired.
I was going to copy it in for you, but thanks!!
1:16 PM
M
I understand. I apologize if this will take much of your time.
But please allow me to read your conversation before your were transferred to
me.
Melody · 1:17 PM
No worries! You're fine!
1:17 PM
M
Thanks for waiting.
I read that you are requesting for a refund with your non-profit
account.
Is that correct?
Melody · 1:20 PM
yes, because I added drive storage.
Google (Irvin) helped me, but the storage got added to the admin account
instead of my user account
So I am asking for that $99.00 to be credited (I bought it again for the
correct account this morning, because the guy couldn't transfer it to a new
user)
No, Ma'am. This is for c****y@***.org, my nonprofit user
account (I also have a gmail admin account in the domain)
The guy who helped me SHOWED me that we were adding it to the user account; we
think that because I have so many Google accounts, maybe Google got confused?
The same way I came here for c****y@**** and Google kicked you to c********y@gmail, we thnk Google got confused.
1:23 PM
M
Thank you for your clarification. Currently it shows that you
are contacting with the account c*********y@gmail.com which has an active Google One
subscription.
We do not have access to view other accounts aside to the one
you used to contact us.
Melody · 1:27 PM
No, Ma'am. I have been going around in circles with Google and
it's so frustrating. Not sure how you got to c*********y@gmail, as we have been using cgperry@163council
ALL MORNING. This is another exmple of Google making changes, not the user.
So how do you suggest I go about resolving this issue?
1:28 PM
M
Since the issue is with the nonprofit account, you need to our
You need to contact our Google Workspace Support that handles
non profit accounts using the account concerned.
Are you contacting us using a computers browser or phone?
Melody · 1:30 PM
SMH. I will, but I started with Google Workspace support, who
pawned me off on someone else who told me they couldn't help me but GUARANTEED
me that you could and now you say you can't and are sending me back to the
people I started with. Can you please send me the transcript of this
correspondence? I am using a browser.
1:30 PM
M
Okay, since you are an active Google One member, let me connect
you to Google One Support if they have option to connect you with the
NOn-profit accounts. Please give me few minutes to connect you with them.
Melody · 1:33 PM
appreciate your help, Melody
1:33 PM
M
Welcome. Kindly wait for a while.
Melody · 1:34 PM
You’re connected with agent Sophie.
1:35
PM
will do. FTR, I started this process telling the guy I had a
12:00 appointment. We ended at 12:30, I took 20 minutes to meet my appointment,
and have been talking to Google support ever since. And now, two hours later,
Google support is sending me back around in a circle to where I first started.
It's more than a little frustrating.
1:35 PM
Melody left the chat.
1:36
PM
S
Thank you for contacting Google Support, my name is Sophie.
In case you need to refer to this chat interaction in the
future, please take note of this case ID:REDACTED. Am I speaking with
Cassandra?
Sophie · 1:37 PM
Hi, Sophie. yes, I am Cassandra.
How are you today? I'm totally frustrated as Google has been sending me around
in circles for the last TWO HOURS.
I am seeking a refund for a purchase to a NONPROFIT Google Workspace account.
Are you the correct person to help?
1:38 PM
S
Hi Cassandra, I do apologize for the inconvenience. I understand
you want to have refunds for the Google Workspace account.
May I know if you remember setting up an account for that?
Sophie · 1:40 PM
what do you mean? We have a whole company with Google Workspace
accounts.
1:40 PM
S
Oh I see, thank you for that information.
May I ask if you have an Admin or your the Administrator of the
Domain?
Sophie · 1:41 PM
I am the admin and also use gmailadmin as the admin account. One
of the issues is that the first time I added storage, it got added to the
gmailadmin account, even though the guy who helped me VERIFIED that it was
added to my user account, c*****y@1********l.org
1:42 PM
S
Also, may I know what is the email we are going to work on for
me to check?
Sophie · 1:42 PM
c******y@1*******l.org
1:42 PM
S
Oh I see, thanks for that information.
Let me check my resources for that. Can you please give me 2-3
minutes please?
Sophie · 1:43 PM
absolutely. Thank you.
1:43 PM
S
Thank you, please stay connected.
Thanks for patiently waiting, Cassandra. May I ask if you are
the admin of the account as well?
Oh sorry about that, I understand that you are the Admin.
Sophie · 1:46 PM
😁
1:47 PM
S
Since you are the Administrator of the Google Workspace account,
I will highly suggest to contact them directly since my resources is very
limited for Google One.
OK, but TEN MINUTES
AGO, I started this conversation by saying: Hi, Sophie. yes, I am Cassandra.
How are you today? I'm totally frustrated as Google has been sending me around
in circles for the last TWO HOURS.
I am seeking a refund for a purchase to a NONPROFIT Google Workspace account.
Are you the correct person to help?
1:49 PM
S
I understand, Cassandra. I do apologize for the inconvenience.
But since as per verifying that this is a Google Workspace account, they are
the best support team to help.
I understand the time you took to resolve this concern, I do
apologize for that.
Sophie · 1:50 PM
I understand that, Sophie. I just don't understand why you
couldn't have told me that when I asked you ten minutes ago, that's all. It
makes the user feel that you are not listening or not understanding, and that
simply erodes confidence. It's not just you -- the entire team has been this
way. I appreciate your help, and I apologize in advance because I'm copying
this entire thread and making it public.
best regards,
cgp
1:51 PM
S
I do apologize for that, Cassandra. I just want to make sure for
the resolution I want to give you.
Is there anything else I can help you for today?
Sophie · 1:53 PM
ANd i appreciate your efforts, Sophie. Thank you.
I'm good for now.
cgp
bye!
1:53 PM
S
Again I do apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for
your understanding.
It was a pleasure chatting with you, Cassandra. Again, this is
Sophie. Thank you for contacting Google. Bye for now and take care!
Sophie left the chat.
1:56
PM
Thank you for contacting Google One chat support. Your chat
session is now complete.
After some
time on the phone with a guy, I had this
exchange:
Google support
Dwayne
has joined the chat.
9:28 PM
D
Welcome to Google Support. My name is Dwayne. How are
you today?
Dwayne 9:28 PM
I'm incredibly frustrated, Dwayne. DId you receive all that
information I typed inm or must I try to tupe it in again?
9:29 PM
D
Hey, Cassandra! Yes, I see the whole description you have
sent to us, and I am sorry for the inconvenience.
In case you need to refer to this chat interaction in the
future, please take note of the following ID: 8redacted.
Dwayne 9:30 PM
Thank you. Do you see the issue?
9:30 PM
D
I understand that you would like to get the additional storage
worth 99.99 USD canceled, and get a refund.
Is my interpretation correct?
Dwayne 9:31 PM
yes, but there has been confusion between the USER account, c****y
and the ADMIN account, g******in.
I want it removed from the g******in account.
9:32 PM
D
I totally get your point here.
For this concern, I need to get you connected to my colleague
who is more knowledgeable with this and will provide you with the support and
assistance you need which also saves your valuable time.
Dwayne · 9:32 PM
THANK YOU!!!
Специалист Justin присоединился к чату.
9:33 PM
Пользователь Dwayne покинул чат.
9:33 PM
I am so happy somone understands the issue!
9:33 PM
J
Thank you for contacting Google Support, this is Justin. In case
you need to refer to this chat interaction also in the future, please take note
of the following ID: REDACTED.
Am I speaking with Cassandra?
Justin · 9:33 PM
Thanks, Justin. I am Cassandra, and I am the Admin on the
domain.
9:33 PM
J
Hi Cassandra will we be working on this email address, c*****ry@1*****il.org?
Justin · 9:35 PM
Actually, no. Extra storage was finally successfully added to c*****y,
the USER account. Unfortunagely, the first time we added it, it somehow got
applied to the ADMIN account, g******in. THAT is the one, G******IN that we
want the 1 TB storage removed from and money refunded.
9:36 PM
J
I totally understand your concern. I’ll do my best to help you.
If we can’t find a solution, I will collect feedback for our developers and
give you an external resource you might be able to use.
Can I have the email address where you want to cancel the
membership please?
Justin · 9:37 PM
I'm not sure we're on the same page here?
I'm speaking of an extra 1TB of storage purchased for g******in @1*****.org. I
need to CANCEL that and am requesting a refund.
9:38 PM
J
I do understand that however the account that is verify was a
different account.
And when I tried to enter the other email address there is a pop
up message that the account is not associated with Google account.
Justin · 9:40 PM
I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, but I will tell
you that I have SEVERAL gmail accounts, and I think part of the problem is that
Google switches back and forth.
C****y@1*******l.org -- want to KEEP THE STORAGE.
g******n@1******l.org -- 1TB storage is applied and I would like it cancelled
and refunded. Is it the g*****n or the c****y that says is not part of the
domain?
9:41 PM
J
The email that you provided where you want to cancel and get a
refund is not a google account Cassandra.
Justin · 9:41 PM
You may be typing it incorerectly, Justin. I'll screenshot you
the emails. Give me just a moment.
IBut if It's not a Google account, then how did Google add
storage to it? And how/why did Google take my money if it's not a google
account?
but hold on ill give you a screen shot.
9:42 PM
J
Is this the right email address g*****n@1*****l.org right?
Justin · 9:42 PM
nope. Typo. Put the C after the 3 and before the 0
g******n@1*****il.org
9:43 PM
J
Alright! To verify that I'm talking to an authorized person for
this account, please go to this website: g.co/verify
Sign in, and then it will ask you, Did you contact Google
Support? Choose Yes to verify.
Justin 9:44 PM
omw. Hold on
9:44 PM
J
Sure.
Justin 9:44 PM
So it tells me that Everything looks fine
c*****ry@1******l.org
There aren't any requests to verify it's you. If you're waiting for one,
try refreshing the page.
and now everything's turned to russian?
9:45 PM
J
Please make sure that the account that is sign in is this
account g******n@1*******l.org Cassandra?
Justin 9:45 PM
duh. My bad. Hold on. But why is everything
russian?
9:46 PM
J
Please try to refresh your browser Canssandra?
Justin 9:46 PM
Google verified your account
g*****n@1*****l.org
Still Russian, though ...
9:47 PM
J
Thank you for verifying the account Cassandra.
Justin 9:47 PM
Contact us
Step
How can we help you?
Please indicate your problem.
Example: "How do I change the settings?"
Requires 5 Char.
0/100
Next
Useful resources
How to contact us
No worries.
9:47 PM
J
Upon checking here Cassandra there is no Google One plan
subscribed using the account.
Justin 9:48 PM
Perhaps because we are using Google Workspace? Am I being
punked?
9:48 PM
J
Upon checking here Cassandra the 1 TB has been canceled last
October 25, 2021.
Justin 9:49 PM
It was only purchased on October 25. and canceled today. When
will the refund be issued / authorized?
9:50 PM
J
The refund will take 5-14 business days back the card that you
used in purchasing the membership.
Justin 9:51 PM
OK, just so we're clear, what is this membership you refer to? And
can you give me a transaction number or something regarding that refund?
IT
It's jsut that every time I talk to someone in Google I get a
different answer.
9:52 PM
J
You can use this case ID Cassandra REDACTED.
Justin · 9:52 PM
OK, Justin. And you are sure the refund will be issued?
9:53 PM
J
Yes Cassandra.
Justin · 9:53 PM
Perfect. As I told Eduardo, insanity is defined as doing the
same thing and expecting different results, so I'm not yet hopeful. But we
shall see. I appreciate your efforts.
Will my screen go back to English when we end this chat?
9:54 PM
J
Yes Cassandra.
Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Justin · 9:55 PM
No, thank you. I have zero confidence based on the day I've
wasted in the Googlesphere, but I genuinely hope you are better than many of
your colleagues. We shall see. Thank you for all your assistance.
9:56 PM
J
It was a pleasure chatting with you today. Google loves customer
feedback, so you can also click into a short survey about your overall support
experience at the end of this chat. Thanks again for contacting Google One
Support Team, this is Justin . Stay safe and well, have a great day!
I have zero
confidence in Google at this point. They
gave me the survey, but since it was in Russian… I went in later and clicked on the link
here. It took me to a page in English,
so I posted this blog and gave them the link.
