Really? It’s only Monday?!?

Much of the past weekend was spent paying final tributes to a friend, Ignacio Jesus Garcia, Sr. (July 31, 1925 – October 16, 2012). He was a devoted husband, father, and friend. Despite his 87 years, it seemed that he was taken from our midst much too soon. Te echaré mucho de menos, Papi!


Despite the solemnity of the occasion, I suppose that I was a bit of a bitch to a friend of mine. But you know what? It annoys me when people are out of contact for several months at a time, who lack the courtesy to return a phone call and say “hey, got your messages, I’m ok, just really busy. Will circle back later,” who can’t do any of that, but who can call you up and say “Hey, I need you for x, y, and z.” I know that friendships should be deeper than that and that love should keep no record of wrongs, but this bothers me. Then, when I agree to help you out, you proceed to make arrangements for my time and co-opt me into your plans?

Maybe I’m evil. I just kinda feel like if you don’t have time for me, I’m ok with that. And if circumstances demand that we spend time together, I can be ok with that, too, but don’t assume I’ll then be willing, able, or interested in further or continued socialization with you. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’ve lost my Christian charity. But I think my bs tolerance has dramatically decreased. While I love and adore all my friends, at this point in my life, my personal relationships have to have a fair degree of reciprocity. If they don’t, they’re really not relationships. If it's only going to be about me meeting you at your point of need and tending to your needs, then that’s not a friendship, it’s my job. Which is fine, but there are boundaries to that job.

I guess this is why I don’t pastor.

If I were one to categorize such things, I might say that my life is approaching unmanageability right now. I changed my mortgage from 30 years to 15. It’s good, but I have like zero free money. I started this paragraph intending to say that because I have zero free money, I can no longer afford a housekeeper, and my place is just waaaay cluttered.  I'm afraid they'll put me on that TV show.  I prefer that, though, to the thought of semi-perpetual debt. At least this way I sort of have an option to stay in NYC in my old age; with a 30 year note, I’d pretty much be compelled to sell the place and move South if my primary source of income were to stop.  I can always clean it later.  I just want it clean now.  Though my mind does not work within linear constraints, I really do like things to be structured and well-ordered.  I may completely deviate from the structure, but I need it to be in place.

Speaking of which, tonight, October 22, 2012, is the night of the third and final presidential debate. The incumbent POTUS, Barack Hussein Obama, will square off against Willard Mitt Romney over the issue of foreign policy. So wait. We have a whitebread and mayonnaise child of privilege (who, incidentally, managed to piss off the Queen of England during the Olympics) debating a guy who’s a synthesis of Black, White, and Asian cultures? We have a loudmouth whose initial reaction to a terrorist attack in the Middle East was to begin a campaign attacking the commander in chief of his own country, a man who, in his campaign stumping never publicly acknowledged the service of veterans until that lacking was made an issue – we have him debating a man who has cut his political teeth by phasing us out of unnecessary wars in the Middle East; who maintains a working relationship with Israel while publicly acknowledging that Netanyahu is, well, a yahoo (no one really thought that tape was an accidental leak, did they?); who has supported our military in the US, Asia, and the Middle East (by giving them resources they need and by TRYING TO BRING THEM HOME!); oh, and who was responsible for finding and assassinating Osama Bin Laden. Not trying to justify assassination here, but if I have to pick, I’d prefer the assassination of one terrorist who’s vowed to destroy America rather than the sacrifice of thousands of young patriots who’ve vowed to defend her.

So I don’t understand how anyone who’s not a wealthy straight white male could vote for Mr. Romney. I get it that this is America and we all have choices; it just seems to me that the only people well served by the choices Mr. Romney appears to make are the people in the very small group (wealthy straight white males) mentioned above. Straight white males who are not wealthy are not well-served by Romney; wealthy white males who are not straight are not well served by Mr. Romney; wealthy straight males who are not white; wealthy straight whites who are not male are not well served by Mr. Romney – you get my point. Only if you are in the same demographic as he is do you stand to benefit from his policies.

That’s the scariest thing about him, that he is so single-mindedly selfish. Combine that with the dearth of critical skills displayed by most Americans (not their fault; we don’t teach our children), and you have what to me is an abhorrent prospect: that someone who has pretty much stated they don’t care about “other” Americans, that someone who attempts to categorize those others and put them in a box (presumably so they can be handled appropriately) that such a person could be a serious contender for the most powerful office in the Western World.

I’m now writing run-on sentences with poor grammatical construction. I’m clearly no longer capable of rational thought. Just checked my calendar and realized I’ve registered myself for TWO trainings tomorrow, one on fundraising and one on converting temporary housing to permanent housing. And then I have Church History. My mind will be jelly by 5 pm tomorrow. And I’ll likely miss the first hour of the debate because I’m heading to the Y to swing some bells. The debate will be starting right when the class is ending, but by the time I sauna, shower and get home, the debate will be almost over. Oh, well. That’s why FB and Twitter are great. I can read all about it later.

Fortunately, I’ll head south for the weekend. Where I get to be the featured speaker at our Family Reunion. Which would be really cool if I’d bothered to prepare. Or even if I had time to prepare. But I’ve got a lifetime of experiences from which to draw, so I’ll take a deep breath, go way inside, and listen to hear what God has to say about all this. At the end of the day, no matter the situation or the circumstance, it’s all good. I’ve gotta run with that knowledge right now.