Agnostic Proselytizing

You know what belief system has never converted people at the point of the sword?  Agnosticism, that’s who!  Agnosticism is inherently non-proselytizing, because the core of our belief is that we just don’t know.  And how do we force conversion without a compelling message?  

But maybe doubt itself could be our battle strategy.  If we could get inside the heads of the opposing warriors with questions like … 

• *What if the emperor really isn’t a deity?
• *What if the crusade really isn’t about saving souls so much as gaining real estate for the Pope?
• *What if beef really IS what’s for dinner?
• *What if there are only seventy-one virgins waiting for you - and the seventy-second one is that hottie you had your eye on?  

… and so many other possibilities.  People tend to find all of these laughable, except the one THEY believe.  

We may be missing out on a great campaign - or maybe not.  I just can’t be sure.  

I just can’t be sure.  

Madeleine Get-out-the-vote drive

 I can’t stand it when people constantly put up brag posts about their kids.  It’s like they just want to bask in the light their kids cast off, and take credit for their kid’s actions.  

And I know I just posted a really cute baby picture of Madeleine yesterday … 

So, here goes.  Sue me!  My kid called me this morning from halfway across Ohio.  She has been in Michigan for six weeks registering voters in that critical swing state, in time for these people to vote.  Now she’s driving to North Carolina to help manage a get-out-the-vote drive in what now appears that it might also be a critical swing state.  

This is 100% Madeleine.  I take no credit for her drive, her initiative, or the strength of her convictions.  The pride I feel at this juncture has nothing to do with stealing her fire.  I am happy to enjoy the warmth of being nearby.  

Which reminds me … I’ll be flying there after the election, and driving back with her, coast to coast.  The kid is great travelling company.  

Shere Hite Obit

 RIP Shere Hite.

I read The Hite Report soon after it came out, and it changed my life.  At twenty-one, I was just approaching adulthood in terms of sexuality.  I wanted to learn everything I could about intimacy, pleasure, and sharing; this book could not have come at a better time.

Much of what is contained in the Hite Report is now so obvious, it hardly bears mentioning.  But at the time, it was revolutionary - and the author paid a steep price for the change it initiated.  But for a kid my age, it was the golden key.  As much as anything, the message for men was to listen to our partners - to let them be a partner, rather than merely an object; to be open to trying new things, so that the experience could be as satisfying for them as for us.

Nobody wants to be told that they've been 'doing it wrong', or not doing enough.  The backlash among the (generally male) powers-that-be was overwhelming.  Despite our self-delusions, we are still in many ways a very puritanical society, and many people wanted no talk about women’s sexual pleasure.   Ultimately, this liberation hero chose permanent exile from our country, rather than to continue immersion in our backward society.  

Thank you, Shere Hite!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/books/shere-hite-dead.html

Catheter Funnies

#1

That Instant of Panic ... when you feel the tug in your groin that tells you you're reached the end of your catheter leash ... just as you realize that you have shifted your balance, and committed to that next step further from 'base camp.  

#2

So, they sent me home with a catheter sticking up inside my penis, and a list of post-surgical instructions. 

My favorite instruction says that I can 'resume sexual activity' by now ...

but they didn't provide any 'adaptive' instructions regarding how to make that work with the dick leash.  

Recognizing Essential Workers

I’d like to suggest something; a very simple absolutely free thing we can give another, which will make them feel recognized, and improve both their day and yours.  

Next time you’re at the store, or McDonalds, a pub, or a similar place - thank the worker across the counter, or wherever … not some rote comment, said with no real feeling; look them in the eye, and say, “Thank you for putting your life on the line, so I can buy...” and finish by pointing at the groceries, lunch, drink, whatever.  

I have begun doing this, and have been repaid with the most overwhelming gratitude.  These people deserve better than to be treated like furniture, even under normal circumstances.  In our current crisis, they truly are putting their lives on the line, and people still just look right through them.  Please don’t be one of them … take this small step to demonstrate that you are a decent human being. 

Surgeon, I submit Me

Dear surgeon, I submit me to thy knife;
to replumb my wayward entrails, 
which have given me such strife.

Co-lo-rect this misdirection, 
and segregate the flow; 
that the vapor trail less taken
might be taken nevermo. 

And when the cuttin's done, will that be all?
Will I be clean, or will you find microflora
The future is not ours to see, you see
It is all ... viscera sera

Brandon & Anna's Wedding Comments

I guess I go back with Brandon about as far as anybody here other than his parents.  I was asked to serve at his baptism, after having served at his parent’s wedding.  Because his birthday is within a couple weeks of my daughter Madeleine's, we enjoyed celebrating these touchpoints together.  He has always called me ‘Uncle’ Michael, an honor I take very seriously.  Needless to say, it is a delight to be here for this occasion.  

It has been a privilege to watch Brandon grow into the man we know today, within the environment of unconditional love Gary and Marilyn provided him.  Though Brandon has enjoyed great success in a variety of pursuits, this love and esteem were never conditional on that success.  His parents are lucky to have him – and he, them.  

I have known Anna for a much shorter time – but I see in her much of that same confidence and self-assurance, as well as the kindness and empathy that are the result of a warm, nurturing upbringing. 

I am delighted beyond description that Brandon and Anna have found one another - and am not surprised that each has chosen a healing vocation.  It’s almost hard to imagine them in any other role.  It is gratifying to know that, at the end of a challenging day helping mend the psyches of people who look to them for help—sharing generously from their resources of mind and heart—Brandon and Anna will have one another waiting at home to help them replenish and recharge for the next day. 

Some people marry because they hope to find, in marriage, a partner who has the pieces they feel are missing in themselves.  

As beautiful and poignant as this often is, what I see here are two complete, self-actualizing individuals, who have chosen to come together, not because something was missing, but because they simply love one another – and have found a union that is greater than its component members.  They are strong enough to be gentle; confident enough to freely lend validation to one another; firm enough in their foundations to not need support, but stronger in the combination.  

The world is a richer, kinder place because Brandon and Anna each exist – even more so because they have one another.