the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Holier than who?

“Some men never feel small,
but these are the few men who are.”
-G. K. Chesterton

I hadn’t expected to write much more along the lines of my last post, but the buzzing in my head (propped up by some gracious and thought-provoking emails from a respected reader) hasn’t stopped yet, so here I am with a little magnification on the subject, which is only incidentally related to Ms. Coulter.

When partisan political folks talk about things like godlessness and holiness, I often chafe. I have less trouble with folks who defend a hard-right agenda with non-Christian ideals, mostly because so much of the extreme conservative agenda doesn’t stand up to Christian ideals. Which isn’t to give extreme liberalism a pass, either; it’s just that I notice far fewer liberal voices using God as not only their refuge, but also their excuse. But anyway… [Read more →]

8

I remember when
things like the meaning of life
meant nothing to me.

undulant

watery ripples
lapping the sides of the boat-
this wake of pebbles.

fourth of july

the fourth of july,
we gather to gaze at the
fire in the sky.

obligation(s)

if it’s just a kiss,
not a collection of debt,
you’re free to resist.

about me

wrapped in brevity,
attempting to demonstrate
something about me.

overdrawn

why can’t i be yours?
why is the price of your love
so hard to afford?

So tired

I’ve been neglecting this space for a couple days, but despite my weariness, I wanted to note that my previous post unwittingly underscores the fact that hell can freeze over from time to time, as two of the top members of PA’s legislature lost their re-election bids in Tuesday’s primary.

Blast from the past

Donkey Kong

via Suburban Guerrilla

Through the Waters

On Saturday, February 25, my children were welcomed into Christ’s Church by the ancient rite of baptism. For those who know me (either as an online entity or from the reality-based community), and especially for those who may have followed our tortured journey from the Evangelical Church beginning Lent 2005 towards the Roman Catholic Church, I thought this might be of interest. Officiating were Frs. Martin Rauscher and Dennis Crowley of Assumption Parish two blocks from our house here in Morristown, NJ.

Here is Daniel (14)…

(Click for larger image)

And his sister, Karen (10)… Yes, you read that right: 10 (11 in May but 10 til then)…

(Click for larger image)

Here’s Jeremiah (7), who hopes to be a “mathologist” when he grows up (if his career as Ice Cream Truck Driver doesn’t pan out)…

(Click for larger image)

And Maria (5 very soon), who having difficulty making up her mind between ballerina and princess (nice work if you can get it)…

(Click for larger image)

Finally, Ezra (3), whom you met earlier. Click Ezra in that post for the Flickr photos including a good one of my dad relaxing in front of the wine table (the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree).

(Click for larger image)

Here is the whole baptismal party (if you call it that)…

(Click for larger image)

That is 5-times mother but not til this day Godmother Christine on the left holding Dara (#4). And on the the right (where else?), you’ll find the inimitable Howard, proprietor of these blog-parts, and Godfather of these beautiful kids. At center is my lovely wife Robin (Howard’s sister), and, just in case you think it might be rude to ask, yes that is our #6 (if experienced prenatal ultrasound technicians may be believed, Esther Linda) riding along with her. Your scribe is the grey-haired guy with the hopelessly fat tie. As Howard alluded to earlier, we went to our local friendly Italian place for an “intimate” dinner for about 30 people.

I have much to say about this journey that God has led us on. Much more than can be said here. But I do thank Christine and Howard for standing up for us, as well as all the others who attended and shared with us (even when they had to hold their noses for the Catholic theology). It was and continues to be a celebration of life, new and old, of water and of spirit.

Protected: What about Headman Shabalala?

Happy New Year!

May your dreams be ambitious and may they not be dashed…

Coming down

And as if losing 42-0 wasn’t bad enough, the ABC crew didn’t even have the decency to broadcast the ceremony retiring Reggie White’s jersey.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day

-just a quote lifted from my Google home page. I always dug Ray Bradbury material.

One strange cat

When I was younger (like childhood younger) I remember this cat we had at home. It was my sister’s cat, and her name was Misty (the cat, not my sister).

Misty had a tendency, especially on warm summer days, to seek shade under the right rear fender of my father’s ‘69 VW Beetle. I guess it made sense, except that as her age increased, her alertness seemed to decrease somewhat, so there were risks in taking naps on top of the rear wheel of the car. One of those risks, you might guess, was that the car would start moving and she would be rolled off the wheel and run over.

Now, this didn’t seem too likely, and there were all sorts of reasons why. One is that the rear wheel well of a 1969 VW Beetle resides adjacent to the engine compartment, which, even when one isn’t sleeping in the wheel well, is not a quiet place. Given the combination of a noisy horizontally-opposed engine and a cat’s, um, cat-like reflexes, it would seem unrealistic to expect a cat to sleep through the starting of the car’s engine, let alone to remain in her stupor long enough to be flung underneath the wheel of the car as it rolled backward.

Unlikely? Yes—but nonetheless, this is what happened. My father started the car, shifted into reverse and slowly started backing. And then we all felt that strange bump where we were reasonably sure no bump should’ve been.
[Read more →]

Dollars and “Sense” in Pennsylvania

I vented a little over at Philly Future about the recent legislative pay raises here in the Keystone State.

I’ve been pretty faithful to certain state politicians over the years, but the ones who supported this ridiculously wasteful and entirely unsympathetic pay hike will hopefully get the message next election cycle. And by getting the message, I mean losing their seats in the state assembly. In that vein, I should also applaud my state senator, a man by the name of Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson, who did oppose this raise. I’ve got your back, Tommy.

UPDATE: A great related post from Tony Phyrillas that makes a lot of sense.

Weekenders

Today will be the first official day of the annual Willow Grove Air Fest. It has become a favorite tradition of us Philly suburban folk, and the recent news of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station being on the base closing list makes one wonder how much longer this tradition will survive.

[Read more →]

Quote: Bertrand Russell

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”

I’m almost certain that this is a great fact of life, but to avoid coming off as stupid, I’m only almost certain…

Debunking diabetic origins

The Tattered Coat posts about a New York Times article, in which some researchers purport to offer explanations for the origins of type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes.

And it all makes perfect sense, as Matt notes, unless you happen to know something about the disease. His post is better written than anything I could add right now, so read it if you’re at all curious.