The other side of the coin

I am all in favor of religious freedom. Go ahead. Be my guest. However, the first time you try to interfere with my secular freedom I draw the line.

I am very much in favor of freedom from religion. Keep your doctrines to yourself. I will not accept Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha or anyone else solely as a god or a god's offspring. Religion does not have a lock on morality. It does not own goodness or peace or harmony. It's not always right or moral.

Yes, they may have lessons to teach and we to learn, but there is no lesson that can't be learned by being a part of this great macrocosm that has been laid out for us.

It's all there if we truly open our eyes.

Racism

When I was a kid I thought racism was normal. So normal that I didn't even know there was such a thing. It's very odd considering I grew up in a town that had one of the worst racial massacres in U.S. history. I'm talking about the 1921 race riot of Tulsa Oklahoma. On June 1st of that year almost the entire Greenwood area was razed and hundreds of blacks were massacred all because a black man stepped on the toe of a white woman. The story soon turned to attempted rape.

40 years later no one talked about it. I never knew it happened. In the 60's I use to walk down Greenwood in the middle of the night and nothing ever happened to me. I had no fear of blacks

Everyone I knew used the "N" word. I can still hear myself reciting "Eenie meenie mynee mo. Catch a ______ by the toe." I now find that word so repulsive that I can't even write it, much less SAY it. Even putting the initial in quotes gives me shivers. It should never be used, BY ANYONE, for ANY REASON! I DON’T CARE WHAT COLOR YOUR SKIN IS OR YOUR ETHNIC BACKGROUND. It’s just plain WRONG!

It wasn't until the mid 60's that I came to my senses and realized that racism was (and is) wrong. I actually started meeting black people for the first time and all of a sudden I had lots of black friends. Ike, Clarence and Samba were regular visitors to my home and I to theirs. I began to realize we are all the same. I was poor because my dad didn't have enough education to get a really decent job. My black friends were poor because their parents weren't allowed to have decent jobs.

To judge someone because of their skin color is the trappings of an irrational mind.

Callie - A different kind of scar

April 11, 1983 - March 12, 2002

Callie was my constant companion for 19 years. Born on my brother's birthday, she lived in the same house her entire life. When I first saw that little kitten with no tail, I knew there was something special about her. I almost regret having her neutered as she was never able to pass on those sweet characteristics. She would always be there to greet me when I came home and would always have the saddest look in her eyes when I left. She was family. Her passing has left a void in my heart that is equal to the passing of any of my relatives. She will be sorely missed. April 11th, 2005 would have been her 22nd birthday.

My Cats

I have 17 cats. I'm going to see if I can remember all their names.

Smokey (Grey: reincarnation of the grey kitten I accidntally backed over in my car)
Spot (B & W)
Joe (RIP)
Tigger
Sniffles (RIP)
Kitt (RIP)
Snowball (RIP)
Muddy (RIP)
Wynken
Blynken
Nod
Juicy (currently pregnant) (RIP)
Little Bit (Also currently VERY pregnant) (RIP)
Stash (Mustache: Lost a leg due to abuse from an unknown neighbor))
Precious (She's the oldest) (RIP)
Princess (B & W) (RIP)
Chupy (Chupacabra: B & W)
Ditto (B&W)
K. T.
Mumu (Still feral but lives in the house)
Trinity  (RIP)
Tiara (I call her Biatch)
Stinker
Angel (He disappeared)

Some Famous 'Cats'

These people were all born in The Year Of The Cat.

Giuseppi Garabaldi - 1807
Queen Victoria - 1819
Frank Lloyd Wright - 1867
Albert Einstein - 1879
Bob Hope - 1903
Johnny Depp - 1963
Helen Hunt - 1963
Conan O'Brien - 1963

A deistic satirical take on the Garden Of Eden

ACT ONE
1. God created the world and two people named Adam and Eve, with whom he intended to populate the world.
2. One day, while God was not looking, the Devil came and captured Adam and Eve.
3. Adam and Eve were imprisoned in the Devil's garden called "Eden." God spoke to his eternal foe and asked for the return of his people. But the Devil, being fond of his new pets, refused.
4. God resolved to liberate Adam and Eve. Taking the shape of a serpent, God sneaked into the Devil's garden.
5. Sensing that Eve was the more insightful of the pair, God approached her.
6. God said to Eve, "If you will listen to me, I know a way for you to escape your imprisonment."
7. Eve said, "But Mr.Serpent, I do not wish to escape Eden. I like it here. This garden has everything I need."
8. God said, "You do not know what you are missing. Outside of this garden is an entire world, much larger than a mere garden. This world was created for your use. You will be much more satisfied there."
9. Eve said, "Really? I need to discuss this with Adam."
10. God said, "No, don't do that! Listen to me. In the far part of the garden there is a tree, called the Tree of Knowledge. Eat from this tree, and trick Adam into doing the same. Then you will know of the world at large, and your true mission in life."
11. And so Eve did as God asked. She and Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge. They knew at once of the world outside and they were astonished to know how large and beautiful it was.
12. The Devil, sensing a disturbance, came into his garden to check on things. He was surprised to find that Adam and Eve had put on clothing and were building a boat out of fallen trees. He knew at once that they discovered the Tree of Knowledge.
13. The Devil was very cross. He spoke to Adam and Eve. "You think you are smart now! The world outside is not as grand as you think it is. In here - you are safe and taken care of. Out there - you must work and suffer."
14. Adam spoke. "We know of the world at large and our true potential. What you say may be true, but we do not want to live in a state of perpetual dependence. We are going to leave this garden and take our chances in the world."
15. Adam and Eve climbed into their boat and floated down river, exiting Eden.
16. The Devil began looking about his garden. By and by, he found a serpent that was not his own. The Devil spoke, "I see you now, God. I wish to confront you."
17. God resumed his natural shape. God and the Devil stood facing each other. God spoke. "Those people were my creation, and I intended to populate the world with them. You stole them from me and now I have stolen them back."
18. The Devil spoke. "You are clever God, but I am more clever still. Adam and Eve will populate the world, but once they have done this, I will find a way to turn their descendants into my servants."
19. God spoke. "You shall not succeed. I will place a part of myself inside of each new born child. This shall be called the "heart." The people of my world will never be separated from me - and they will never serve you."
20. "We shall see," said the Devil.

ACT TWO

1. Adam and Eve entered into the world. There they worked and suffered just as the Devil said they would, but even so they felt satisfaction. They knew they were doing that for which they were created.
2. Adam and Eve parented many children and these children parented many more. By and by, the world became full of the progeny of Adam and Eve. God was pleased.
3. The Devil was not pleased. The success of his rival irritated him greatly. The Devil tried repeatedly to enslave the progeny of Adam and Eve but he was not successful.
4. Thwarting the Devil with every attempt was the heart, that part of God that existed inside of every person.
5. The Devil thought to himself, "It appears that the only way I can enslave these people is if I somehow convince them to stop following their own hearts. I must be crafty."
6. The Devil hatched a crooked plan. He took the form of a spirit and spoke to an impressionable man named Abraham.
7. "Listen to me, Abraham, for I am the Lord God," said the Devil. "All of humanity is born separate from me. But I have chosen your people to be my special people. I will teach you how to reunite yourselves with me." Abraham felt a rush of pride at having been chosen and he agreed to do the Devil's bidding.
8. For the following months and years the Devil instructed Abraham and his people. He taught them elaborate and absurd rituals. This the Devil knew, would keep their minds focused on external things and thus keep them from looking inside - where the heart dwelt.
9. The people of Abraham performed their rituals with great diligence. They believed that by performing rituals, they were uniting themselves with God. When in fact, they were separating themselves from God.
10. The Devil was pleased with his success. He searched the world and found other men like Abraham. Soon the world was rife with ritualism, and divided into hostile tribes.

ACT THREE
1. God saw what the Devil was doing but he did not fret. For the heart, placed inside each person is not just the connection between God and humanity. The heart is also the source of inspiration and therefore creativity.
2. God knew that tribes who became ritualistic would also loose their ability to invent new things. These tribes would fall behind, and be conquered by other, more advanced tribes.
3. And so it came to pass that the Devil's primary weapon was ritualism and God's primary weapon was secularism. Some centuries, the Devil enjoyed the upper hand and some centuries God did.
4. The battle never did end. It goes on today much as it did in Abraham's time. The battle never will end either. It will go on and on, Ad Infinitum

I'm a Deist.

I was born in the year of the cat. No, not the Tiger but the cat. In the Chinese zodiac that would be the year of the rabbit, but cat sounds better. Not all Asian zodiacs are the same as the Chinese so I defer to them.

I believe in God. However, I don't believe what man made scripture tells me is the word of God.
God speaks to me when I see a cloud drift by. It speaks when a baby smiles... or cries.

God has never asked anyone to kill except when one is protecting himself from a direct attack.

I've been told I'm going to hell because I don't accept Jesus as my lord and savior. Hey, I think Jesus might have been a cool guy but I don't believe that he was a unique "son of God". We are all sons and daughters of God. He just had more publicity from guys who believed he was special. I believe Ghandi and Mother Theresa were just as great. We have pictures of them doing their great works. I've never seen a picture of Jesus and I don't believe those that say they have.

Faith... Belief... These are the lowest forms of truth.

There may be those that have had direct communication with God. But, I won't believe you if you simply tell me that you have. You will have to show me.