The Entrance, Thanksgiving, and Frosty the Snowman

The Feast of the Entrance went well. I was excited since Anselm really seemed to get excited about it. I read the account of the feast from the Prologue, showed him the Icon and explained it to the best of my ability. He also got a piece of candy.

The candy is a lesson from the Jews. I read a book a long time ago about a little boy who on the first day of Hebrew school kissed the Torah and found it sweet; the master had put a drop of honey on the Book. So now, on each of the 12 Great Feasts the boys get a piece of candy.

Thanksgiving we did the traditional Thanksgiving liturgy at the Cathedral. (If anyone is interested contact Reader Stephen at HTC for the changeable texts.) Then we feasted with the rest of the parish. Much fun. And I learned some exciting news! Bishop Benjamin is moving into the rectory next to the Cathedral, and is going to move a couple of monks from the Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco to the rectory, too. And here is the answer to my prayer: There are going to be more services!!! Not that I will be able to attend anymore than the few attend now, but I have been thinking for the longest time that if we had the Cathedral open in the afternoons and evenings, our neighbors might pop in on their way home from work, light a candle, and say a prayer.

Today, I took Basil to the park while Athanasia and Anselm made Christmas cards and began getting Christmas presents ready. It was a good chance for me to read St. John Chrysostom's sermons on Lazarus and the Rich Man. (WOW! I don't know what to make of those!!!!) While I was reading and keeping one eye on Basil I was smoking my corn cob pipe. After a little while I heard a little girl say, "I think it's Santa. He's smoking a pipe." I guess, with my long graying beard, big belly, and red shirt I kinda sorta looked like Santa. But another little girl corrected her misperception saying, "No its not, stupid. Its a corn cob pipe. He's Frosty the Snowman!"

Icon of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

This is pat of a paper I wrote for school a couple of years ago on the Icons of the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church.
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The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple (November 21)

This feast is not one of the earliest feasts of the Church (1). However, there is evidence that it was being celebrated in the 4th Century.(2) The major figures in this Icon are Mary “the first and only woman to enter the Holy of Holies(3)”, her parents Ss. Joachim and Anna, and her kinsman the priest St. Zacharias. Like all of the Feasts and their Icons, this Feast and Icon are not just commemorations of historical (4) events. This Feast is instruction in the way of holiness. In the Icon we see the role of parents and the Church in the formation of young souls. Mary did not enter the Temple alone, but was with her family and the priest. We also see that the way to sanctification is gradual. There are fifteen steps (the number varies according to the iconographer) she ascends. There are three chambers she walks through (again, this varies according to the iconographer). The point of this is that sanctification does not happen in an instant. We must progress from the courtyard (active life) to the Holy (natural contemplation), then from the Holy to the Holy of Holies (Knowledge of God) (5). We must ascend the steps one at a time – “precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little”(6).

Finally, we must see the cause of the great joy permeating this Feast. Even though “the angels are astonished to see the Virgin enter the Holy of Holies(7)”, Mary was replacing this Temple of stone. She was becoming the Temple of God. And she, the prototype of all Christians goes ahead of us and shows us what is in the future for all who love Christ: To be temples of God.


1 Ouspensky and Lossky, Op. Cit., 153
2 A Monk of St. Tikhons Monastery, Op. Cit., 160
3 Quenot, Michael, The Icon: Window on the Kingdom (Crestwood. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1996), Page 51
4 Two famous and very influential American priests, Fr. Thomas Hopko and Blessed Seraphim (Rose) are in disagreement concerning the historicity of this event. However, they both see the feast as a very important revelation concerning the attainment of holiness.
5 Ouspensky and Lossky, Op. Cit., 153
6 Isaiah 28:10
7 Vespers of the Feast

District of Columbia v. Heller, 07-290

The Supreme Court of the Unted States has agreed to hear the appeal of a decsion in which the District of Columbia suffered a crushing defeat of its hand gun ban. This will be the first time in my life that the Supreme Court will tackle the 2nd Ammendment.

The question the Court has to decide is if the word "people" means "individuals" or if it means "the states". Regardless of how one feels about handuns, it is critical to read the word people as individuals since to do otherwise does violence to the rest of the constitution.

For instance, what does the 1st Amendment right of the "people to peacefully assemble" mean if "people means "the states"?

What does 4th Amendment 'right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures" mean if "people" means "the sates"?

What of the tenth amendment which says. "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."? Does that make any sense if it means "reserved to the states respectively, or to the states"?

What of the 17th Amendment, whereby the Senate became electable "from each State, elected by the people thereof"? Can "people" possibly mean "the state" here?

Let us hope that even in the case of hand guns, "the people" means "the people" for if it ever begins to mean "the state" tyranny is upon us and the blood of our ancestors was shed in vain.

Now should we amend the constitution to repeal the 2nd Amendment? That is a different question and is entirely within the powers of the people and the states. It is not within the power of the Supreme Court.

Fragmentation

Readers of my blog are probably familiar with my thesis that cars, air conditioners, televisions, and suburbs do much to destry communities. The journalism blog Get Religion has a discussion going about fragmentation going on in the area of Protestant worship.

Back in the 1990s Pensula Bible Church had problems figuring out what style of music to have in the services. When I first started attending in 1991 they had a pipe organ (I am no fan of pipe organs unless they are playing Bach) by the time I left there 10 years later, there was no pipe organ and almost every sunday the music was provided by a really good light rock ensemble. The change was very gradual and if you didn't attend over a period of years it would not have been noticeable. Thinking about what worship should look like (including giving a lot of thought given to the re-runs of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on EWTN) totally primed me for seeing Truth in the worship of the Orthodox Church.

Question: Is fragmentation in worship a symptom or a cause of fragmentation in communities? Or are they both symptoms of something else?

Cranberry-Walnut Pie

For Christmas there are three things I always want.
1. My Aunt Nettie's fruited molassas balls
2. My eggnog
3. My wifes cranberry-walnut Pie


But cranberry-walnut Pie is good for Thanssgiving, too.


Here is the recipe:


Cranberry-Walnut Pie recipe (from an old Bon Appetit)

Flaky Pie Crust (1 dough disk, see below)

¾ cup packed golden brown sugar
2 large eggs
¾ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
Whipped cream


Position rack in bottom third oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Butter 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer crust to prepared dish. Trim crust edge to ½ inch overhang if necessary. Fold over-hang under, forming dough edge. Crimp edge decoratively. Freeze 15 minutes.

Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl to blend. Whisk in maple syrup, butter, vanilla and salt. Stir in walnuts and cranberries. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake pie 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degree F. Bake until filling is set, about 35 minutes longer. Transfer pie to rack, cool completely. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve with whipped cream.



Flaky pie crust (Makes one 9-inch or 10-inch crust.)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Mix both flours, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles very coarse meal. Add 3 tablespoons water. Process until large moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until cold and firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made two days ahead. Let soften slightly before rolling.)

Ancient and Modern

"Well, take last week for instance. The Bedouin from the desert are always bringing their sick to us for healing. Normally it is something quite simple: we let them kiss a relic, give them an aspirin and send them on their way." (Read the whole thing here.)

Prayers answered

You will remember past posts in which mentioned yucky things at my wife's work. Well, through an employee mediation office on Stanford most of her problems were resolved. At the end of the process the mediator encourged her saying, "you could keep fighting but think about this: you are moving on in less than a year, do you really want to keep fighting for the last little bit?" So, even though there are still some issues (such as the fact that she supervises 9 employess and is classified as an administrator, even though other people in the dept. are classified as managers when they only have 4 direct reports) she got the money she was promised when she took the job.

But what about "moving on?" Today she has a fourth interview with the Stanford public safety dept. and a first interview with the Medical school.

This is pretty neat

Today I was asked to be the Godfather of two girls who are converting next month. I'm pretty excited. I just ordered their Crosses.

Anaphora Prayer of St. Basil the Great

For a class I am taking from UMASS Boston that is tought by a real live Communist I am writing a paper titled "The Orthodox Christian Understanding of the Duties of the Rich and to Poor to One Another". I've been looking for a quote (so far unsuccesfully) of St. Basil the Great's where he says something like "The duty of the poor is to pray for the rich, and the duty of the rich is to give to the poor." Nevertheless, I have been very much enjoying, even to the point of distraction from the task at hand, the search for the quote.

For example, I just came across his Anaphora prayer. And it brought back so many good memories, such as Nativity last year at St. Stephen's when, in the middleof the night, little kids in their velvet and plaid holiday garb were asleep all over the floor while it was beeing prayed.

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The Anaphora Prayer of St. Basil the Great (Source abba moses )

(This sublime prayer, encompassing all of salvation history, is said by the priest at the consecration in the Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great.)

O You Who Are, O Master, Lord, God, Father Almighty and Adorable! It is truly proper and just and befitting the majesty of your holiness that we should exalt You, praise You, bless You, worship You, give thanks to You and glorify You, the God Who alone exists, and that we should offer to You this our spiritual worship with a contrite heart and humble spirit; for it is You Who have graciously bestowed upon us the knowledge of your truth.

Who can speak of all your mighty works and make all your praises heard? Who can tell of your miracles at all times?

O Master of All, Lord of heaven and earth and of all created beings both visible and invisible! You sit on the throne of glory and look upon the depths; You are invisible, unknowable, indescribable, without beginning and without change, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior. He is our Hope, the Image of your goodness, the Seal of your Likeness, Who reveals You, the Father, in Himself. He is the living Word, true God, Wisdom that existed before time began, Life, Sanctification, Power, the true Light, through Whom also the Holy Spirit was revealed. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, the Gift of filial adoption, the Pledge of an inheritance to come, the Beginning of eternal good things, the Life-giving Power and the Fountain of Holiness, through Whom every rational and intelligent creature is given the power to worship You and to send up to You unending glory, for all things are your servants. The Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities, Powers and the many-eyed Cherubim praise You. Standing circled before You are the Seraphim, each having six wings: with two wings they cover their faces, with two their feet and with two they fly as they call to one another with unceasing and incessant hymns of praise as they sing, cry out and proclaim the triumphant hymn, saying:

People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

With these blessed powers, O Master and Lover of Mankind, we sinners also cry out and say: "Holy are You, truly all-holy!" There is no limit to the majesty of your holiness. You are revered in all your works, for in righteousness and true judgment You have ordered all things for us. When You created man and had fashioned him from the dust of the earth and had honored him as your own image, O God, You set him in the midst of a bountiful paradise, promising him life eternal and the enjoyment of everlasting good things by keeping your commandments.

But when he disobeyed You, the true God Who had created him, and was led astray by the deceit of the serpent, he was made subject to death through his own transgressions. In your righteous judgment, O God, You exiled him from paradise into this world and returned him to the earth from which he had been taken. But You provided for him the salvation of rebirth which is in your Christ Himself.

For You did not turn Yourself away forever from your creation whom You had made, O Good One, nor did You forget the work of your hands, but You visited him in different ways. Through the tender compassion of your mercy, You sent forth prophets. You performed great works by the Saints who in every generation were well-pleasing to You. You spoke to us through the mouths of your servants the Prophets who foretold to us the salvation which was to come. You gave us the Law to aid us. You appointed angels to guard us. And when the fullness of time had come, You spoke to us through your Son Himself, through whom You had created time.

Being the Brightness of your Glory and the Stamp of your Person, and upholding all things by the power of his Word, your Son did not think of equality with You, Who alone are God and Father, as something to be grasped. And so, although He was God before time began, He appeared on earth and dwelt among us. He was incarnate of a holy virgin and emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant and being conformed to the body of our lowliness so that He might conform us to the image of his glory. Since sin entered the world through a man and death through sin, so your Only-begotten Son, Who is in your bosom, our God and Father, was well- pleased to be born of a woman, the holy Birth-giver of God and ever- virgin Mary. He was born under the Law, so that He might condemn sin in his own flesh, so that those who died in Adam might be made alive in Him, your Christ.

He lived in this world and gave us commandments for salvation. He released us from the delusions of idolatry and brought us to the knowledge of You, true God and Father. He procured us for Himself as a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Having purified us with water, He sanctified us with the Holy Spirit. He gave Himself as a ransom to death by which we were held captive, having been sold into slavery by sin. He descended into the realm of death through the Cross, that He might fill all things with Himself. He loosed the sorrow of death and rose again from the dead on the third day, for it was not possible that the Author of Life should be conquered by corruption. In this way He made a way to the resurrection of the dead for all flesh. Thus, He became the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first-born of the dead, that He might be first in all ways among all things. Ascending into heaven, He sat at the right hand of your Majesty on High, and He shall come again to reward each person according to his deeds.

He left us memorials of his saving passion, these which we have set forth according to his command. For when He was about to go to his voluntary and ever-memorable and life-giving death, on the night when He gave Himself for the life of the world, He took bread into his holy and most pure hands and presented it to You, God and Father, and He gave thanks and blessed it and sanctified it and broke it and He gave it to his holy disciples and apostles, saying: "Take and eat, This is my Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins."

People: Amen.

In like manner, having taken the cup of the fruit of the vine and mixed it, He gave thanks, blessed it, sanctified it and He gave it to his holy disciples and apostles, saying: "All of you drink of this, This is my Blood of the New Testament, Which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins."

People: Amen.

"Do this in remembrance of Me, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim my death and confess my resurrection." Therefore, Master, remembering his redeeming Passion and his life-giving Cross, his three-day Burial, his Resurrection from the dead, his Ascension into heaven, his sitting at your right hand, God and Father, and his glorious and awesome Second Coming, we offer to You Yours of your Own, in behalf of all and for all.

People: We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks unto You, O Lord, and we pray to You, O our God.

O All-holy Master, since You have enabled us, your sinful and unworthy servants, to minister at your holy Altar, not through our own righteousness, for we have done nothing good upon the earth, but because of your mercies and bounties which You have richly poured out upon us, we now have the courage to draw near to this your holy Altar. Presenting to You the Antitypes of the sacred Body and Blood of your Christ, we pray and beseech You, O Holy of Holies, that by the pleasure of your goodness your Holy Spirit may descend upon us and upon these gifts lying here before You and bless and sanctify them and reveal this bread to be the precious Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, and that which is in this chalice to be the precious Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, poured forth for the life of the world.

Unite all of us who partake of this one bread and cup to one another in the communion of the one Holy Spirit. Grant that none of us partake of the holy Body and Blood of your Christ for judgment or condemnation; rather, grant that we may find mercy and grace together with all the saints that have been pleasing to You throughout all time: with our fore-fathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, teachers, and with all the righteous made perfect in the faith, especially with our ever-holy, ever-pure, ever-blessed and glorious Lady, the Birth-giver of God and ever-Virgin Mary.

(The people now sing a Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos.)

With the holy prophet, forerunner and Baptist, John, the holy, glorious and praiseworthy apostles, Saint [Name]., whose memory we celebrate today, and all your saints, through whose prayers visit us, O God. Remember also, O Lord, the souls of your departed, all those who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection unto eternal life. O our God, we pray for the forgiveness and the repose of the souls of your departed servants, [Names]., in a place of light, where there is no sorrow nor mourning. Grant them rest where the light of your face shines.

Furthermore, we entreat You: remember, O Lord, your holy, catholic and apostolic Church, which is from one end of the universe to the other; give peace to Her whom You have obtained with the precious Blood of your Christ, and preserve this holy house until the end of the world. Remember, O Lord, those who offered You these gifts, and those for whom and through whom they were offered, and the intentions for which they were offered.

Remember, O Lord, those who bring offerings and do good works in your holy churches, and those who remember the poor; reward them with your rich and heavenly gifts. For their earthly, temporal and corruptible gifts, grant them your heavenly ones, which are eternal and incorruptible.

Remember, O Lord, those who are in the deserts, mountains, caverns and pits of the earth. Remember, O Lord, those who live in chastity and godliness, in austerity and holiness of life. Remember, O Lord, this nation and her civil authorities, those who serve in the government and the armed forces. Grant them a secure and lasting peace; speak good things in their hearts concerning your Church and all your people, so that we, in their tranquility, may lead a calm and peaceful life in all godliness and sanctity. In your goodness guard those who are good, and in your Loving-kindness make those who are evil good.

Remember, O Lord, the people here present as well as those who are absent for honorable reasons. Have mercy on them and on us according to the multitude of your mercies. Fill their cupboards with every good thing. Preserve their marriages in peace and harmony, raise the infants, guide the young, support the aged, encourage the faint-hearted, reunite the separated. Lead back those who are in error and join them to your holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Free those who are held captive by unclean spirits. Sail with those who sail, travel with those who travel by land and by air. Defend the widows, protect the orphans, free the captives and heal the sick.

Remember, O God, those who are being judged, those who are in prison, in exile, at hard labor and those in any kind of affliction, necessity or distress.

Remember, O Lord our God, all those who entreat your great Loving- kindness, and those who love us and those who hate us, and those who have asked us to pray for them, unworthy though we be. Remember all your people, O Lord our God. Pour out your rich mercy upon all of them, granting them all the petitions which are for their salvation.

You Yourself remember, O God, all those whom we have not remembered through ignorance, forgetfulness or the multitude of names, since You know the name and age of each, even from his mother's womb. You, O Lord, are the Help of the helpless, the Hope of the hopeless, the Savior of the bestormed, the Haven of the voyager, the Physician of the sick. Be all things to all mankind, for You know everyone and their request, every home and its needs. Deliver this [city, village, habitation, monastery], O Lord, and every city and countryside from famine, plague, earthquake, flood, fire, sword, foreign invasion and civil war.

Remember among the first, O Lord, our [Patriarch and/or Metropolitan, Archbishop or Bishop], preserve them for your holy churches in peace, in safety, in honor and in health for many years, so that they may faithfully dispense the word of your truth.

People: And all mankind.

Remember, O Lord, the servants of God, [Names]., and grant them salvation, visitation and the forgiveness of their sins.

Remember, O Lord, every Orthodox hierarch who rightly dispenses the Word of your truth. Remember, O Lord, according to the multitude of your mercies, my own unworthiness. Pardon my every offense both voluntary and involuntary, and do not withhold the grace of your Holy Spirit from these Gifts here set forth because of my sins.

Remember, O Lord, the priesthood, the diaconate in Christ and every clerical order. Let none of us who stand about your holy Altar be put to shame. Visit us with your Loving-kindness, O Lord; manifest Yourself to us through your rich compassions.

Grant us seasonable and healthful weather. Send gentle showers upon the earth so that it may bear fruit. Bless the crown of the year with your Loving-kindness. Stop schisms among the churches, pacify the ragings of the pagans and quickly destroy the uprisings of heresy by the power of your Holy Spirit. Receive us all into your Kingdom, showing us to be children of the light and children of the day. Grant us your peace and love, a Lord our God, for You have given all things to us.

And grant that with one voice and one heart we may glorify and praise your most honorable and sublime Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever.

People: Amen.

Which way does she turn?

This is interesting. Who knows how accurate it is, though. (yes, I see it revolving clock-wise.)

Blood

"Then I turned my attention to the Communion cloths, and I quickly discovered something: When you wash Communion cloths, the water turns...the color of blood." (whole thing here

Lists

A reader of this blog took kind-hearted issue with the lists I posted earlier today. It is true that they are the product of intellectualism and a tendency in the West to boil-down everything, even those things that should not be boiled-down. (If you boil down a T-bone steak you do not arrive at the essence of the steak, rather you are only left with a bone.)

A better, more Orthodox way to think about sin and improvement of our walk in Jesus is found in the Mystery of Confession and the preparation for that Mystery.

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St. John of Kronstadt's Preparation For Confession


A meditation for those preparing to stand before the Creator and Church community in the awesome Mystery of Holy Confession, thereby being given the renewal of a second baptism.

I, a sinful soul, confess to our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, all of my evil acts which I have done, said or thought from baptism even unto this present day.

I have not kept the vows of my baptism, but have made myself unwanted before the face of God.

I have sinned before the Lord by lack of faith and by doubts concerning the Orthodox Faith and the Holy Church; by ungratefulness for all of God's great and unceasing gifts; His long-suffering and His providence for me, a sinner; by lack of love for the Lord, as well as fear, through not fulfilling the Holy Commandments of God and the canons and rules of the Church.

I have not preserved a love for God and for my neighbor nor have I made enough efforts, because of laziness and lack of care, to learn the Commandments of God and the precepts of the Holy Fathers. I have sinned: by not praying in the morning and in the evening and in the course of the day; by not attending the services or by coming to Church only halfheartedly.

I have sinned by judging members of the clergy. I have sinned by not respecting the Feasts, breaking the Fasts, and by immoderation in food and drink.

I have sinned by self-importance, disobedience, willfulness, self-righteousness, and the seeking of approval and praise.

I have sinned by unbelief, lack of faith, doubts, despair, despondency, abusive thoughts, blasphemy and swearing.

I have sinned by pride, a high opinion of my self, narcissism, vanity, conceit, envy, love of praise, love of honors, and by putting on airs.

I have sinned: by judging, malicious gossip, anger, remembering of offenses done to me, hatred and returning evil for evil; by slander, reproaches, lies, slyness, deception and hypocrisy; by prejudices, arguments, stubbornness, and an unwillingness to give way to my neighbor; by gloating, spitefulness, taunting, insults and mocking; by gossip, by speaking too much and by empty speech.

I have sinned by unnecessary and excessive laughter, by reviling and dwelling upon my previous sins, by arrogant behavior, insolence and lack of respect.

I have sinned by not keeping my physical and spiritual passions in check, by my enjoyment of impure thoughts, licentiousness and unchastity in thoughts, words and deeds.

I have sinned by lack of endurance towards my illnesses and sorrows, a devotion to the comforts of life and by being too attached to my parents, children, relatives and friends.

I have sinned by hardening my heart, having a weak will and by not forcing myself to do good.

I have sinned by miserliness, a love of money, the acquisition of unnecessary things and immoderate attachment to things.

I have sinned by self-justification, a disregard for the admonitions of my conscience and failing to confess my sins through negligence or false pride.

I have sinned many times by my Confession: belittling, justifying and keeping silent about sins.

I have sinned against the Most-holy and Life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord by coming to Holy Communion without humility or the fear of God.

I have sinned in deed, word and thought, knowingly and unknowingly, willingly and unwillingly, thoughtfully and thoughtlessly, and it is impossible to enumerate all of my sins because of their multitude. But I truly repent of these and all others not mentioned by me because of my forgetfulness and I ask that they be forgiven through the abundance of the Mercy of God.

Things to consider during Advent

The Seven Grievous Sins
1. Pride
2. Greed
3. Lust
4. Anger
5. Gluttonny
6. Envy
7. Sloth

The Seven Capital Virtues
1. Humility
2. Liberality
3. Chastitiy
4. Mildnes
5. Temperance
6. Happiness
7. Diligence

Nine ways of participating in another's sin
1. By counsel
2. By command
3. By consent
4. By provocation.
5. By praise or flattery.
6. By concealment.
7. By partaking.
8. By silence.
9. By defense of the sin committed.

The Chief aids to Repentance
1. Prayer.
2. Fasting.
3. Performance of the spiritual
and corporal works of mercy.


The Chief spiritual works of mercy
1. To admonish sinners.
2. To instruct the ignorant.
3. To counsel the doubtful.
4. To comfort the sorrowful.
5. To suffer wrongs patiently.
6. To forgive injuries.
7. To pray for the living and the dead.


The Chief corporal works of mercy
1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To ransom captives.
5. To shelter the homeless.
6. To visit the sick.
7. To bury the dead.

A Good Fast to You

Today is the beginning of the Nativity Fast, which is often called Advent.

Taylor, the Latte Boy

If anyone reading this is a person who might resonably be expected to buy me a Christmas present, might I recommend a CD containing the song "Taylor, the Latte Boy" by Kristin Chenoweth?

.

Crab Season

There is more news on the crab front.

San Jose Mercury mentionsw the Governor talking about an investigation of the USCG. Does he have the authority? They also say there will plenty of crab but it won't be local. To that I can only say, what's the point of it if it isn't local? The fun is waiting all summer for crab season to start and then celebraing the beggining of the Nativity Fast with a crab. (For my non-Orthodox readers, during fasting periods such as Advent and Lent Orthodox do not eat meat or fish, but invertebrates may be et.)

Crabs and Oil

For some time now I have though it a proof of God's love for San Francisco that dungeness crab season starts on thesame day as the Nativity Fast. We usually buy a crab on the first day and maybe one or two more during the 40 days. And that was been the plan for this year. But a freighter ran into the San Francisco bay bridge a few days ago and spilled 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the bay. That fuel has since been flushed into the pacific ocean and seems to be settling down on the best area for crabbing, a trianular area with corners in San Francisco, the Faralon Islands and Point Reyes.

Yesterday, the Governor declared a temporary ban on the taking of marine animals for food. Scientists are doing testing to see if the crabs and other creatures (a lot of shark is cought in the same area) are safe to eat. I guess we'll know in a couple of weeks.


"Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them." Psalm 106:29

"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Eccl. 7:29

I really like this guy

Am I the only one who thinks the news guy is making fun of him?

Almost Melt Down

Last night after dropping of pictures of my Mom at my sister's house (for the video at the memrial service) I went to the local Target to pick up a couple of things for my son Billy in Afghanistan. (We have to mail Christmas presents early for them to get there in time.) My son Basil was with me. Looking at all of the Christmas decorations (you know, snow globes, ribbon, bronze stag heads, Santas, stockings, fancy plates and glasses, ornaments, wreaths, etc.) Basil kept saying "Pretty, Daddy, pretty." And I was thinking of my son in Afghanistan, and my son Devon who I haven't seen in almost two years but who is comming to his Granny's memorial service, and my son Anselm who can't hear, and that Christmas is my mother's favorite holiday, how in the hot summer she would play Christmas records.... And I started weeping right there on the stationary aisle. I got it under control, but it was a little unsettling. I don't usually do stuff like that. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep.

A Good Story

"The librarian even remarked once: "Comrade Sergeant, you are reading so much atheistic literature...Watch out you don't become a believer!" It was as if he'd had second sight! "The Atheist's Dictionary" became my first study book on Christian dogmatics. I open it on "A" - "Ascension", and read the explanation. I carefully copied into my notebook the description of the event and it's importance for Christians, brushing aside the atheist rubbish. In this manner I discovered practically all the principal dogmatics of the Church."

Read the whole thing here.

Land Use

I am taking these classes from the university of Masachusetts in the hope of becomeing a city planner when the boys are older. The classes areall on-line. Part of what we do is have very long written discussions about the readings. It is fun to take classes in something I am interested i and will, Ihop, lead to making money. Below is my opening statement in the discussion. It is very informaland not in essay form.

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What measure(s) do you think need to be used to make housing more affordable for all? Is housing affordable in your community? Should all communities be responsible for making affordable housing?

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Some of the answers I give will might seem strange but I am trying to think about this problem while holding several not always compatible ideas in my head at once.

Affordability: The San Francisco Bay area is extremely expensive. If you buy a house here you should expect to lay out a considerable amount of money. If you want to buy on the Peninsula or in San Francisco you are going to spend a huge amount of money. But does expensive mean unaffordable? Well, for some people, yes. But for others, no.

As you all know, I live at the southern end of the Peninsula, in the North East corner of Santa Clara County. The county is a huge area encompassing Silicon Valley, the mansions and wineries along the Santa Cruz mountains, the lowland slums of east San Jose, the hyper-rich tech millionaires of Los Gatos, Palo Alto and Monte Sereno, the great expanses of tract houses in Sunnyvale, and the ranches and farms of Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The Median HHI in Santa Clara County is $78,000. But what does that mean for house prices?

In most of the country, houses cost about 5 or 6 times the median income*. That means that in the Bay area house prices “should” be about $450,000. But the Bay area is an extremely desirable place to live. There is great demand for housing here and even though other California metropolitan areas are seeing their housing prices collapse (In sacramento, out Capitol there are one or two houses for sale on every block, and half of those are in foreclosure) ours are holding steady, with a median well above that theoretical $450,000. The median price is about $700,000. And in some extremely desirable parts of the Bay Area (e.g. Cupertino, Palo Alto, the Oakland hills, Tiburon, Marin, the northern half of San Francisco) there are still bidding wars where houses/condos have lines of buyers waiting with cash in hand. So, obviously, someone is able to afford these prices. Just not me.

Liberty: It bugs me to no end when governments tell people what they can and can’t do with their property. Especially, when the owner of the property wants to build housing. I lived in Cupertino for a couple of years and was driven nuts by the people there. Aside from the fact that they wouldn’t let me grow corn in my front yard or build an indoor firing range in my back yard, they were what I think of as Housing Nazis. They actually had more code enforement officers than police officers. On the street where I lived were four undeveloped lots that were owned by the same peson who owned one of the adjoining properties. He wanted to build 12 2-bedroom condominiums on those four lots, and was willing to pay for the necessary sewer and water upgrades for the hole street. But some of the neighbors freaked out. They were worried about the condos not fitting in with the ranch houses. There were petitions, law suits, angry zoning commission and city council meetings. You would have thought it was a proposal to build a crack house. They wanted ranch houses or nothing. Now here is the problem with ranch houses. They sit sideways on the lots and I do mean “lots”. That’s right. Each ranch house takes up two lots. So instead of housing for 12 families, only housing for 2 families was approved.

Single-Family Detached Houses: I hate them. I think they (along with television, automobiles, and air conditioning) have ruined communities in our country. The Central Valley of California (where most of the fruits and nuts you eat come from) is being paved over as single family detached houses spread like a rash over the countries most productive farm land. Won’t we all be sick with regret when we can’t find an almond, or a fig, or a raisin, or a plum or a kiwi? Or when a jug of Carlo Rossi wine costs $12 instead of $4 because the vineyards have been buried under asphalt, swimming pools, and lawns? Or think about this scenario: When we run out of oil and all of the farms that used to surround our cities have been turned into tract-house sprawl how are we going to get food to where we live?

Street design: I have lived in San Jose and in San Francisco. San Jose (the more populous of the two cities) talks a lot about revitalizing its downtown. This is something San Francisco never talks about. I think a major reason for the difference is that the streets of san Francisco were planned and build before the automobile was a major social influence. That means the streets are more narrow, the side walks are wider, and the blocks are shorter than are typically built. Its difficult for cars, but it seems to be great for the city: People actually enjoy walking around. Which means you don’t have to have cars, which means you can build more housing since you don’t have to worry about where to put cars. San Jose has wide streets, narrow (in comparison to SF) sidewalks, and long blocks. It is easy to drive around in San Jose. But it is difficult to walk around SJ. You have to have a car. Which means you have to have someplace to put a car. Which means there is less space for housing.


So to answer the questions:
1. What measure(s) do you think need to be used to make housing more affordable for all?
I agree with some of what Euchner recommended.
- Allow development on government owned land. I agree with that whole heartedly. What I don’t agree with is “fits the historic character of the community”. That means no skyscraper condos, it means, in almost all of the Bay area nothing higher than 1 story. Even in the denser areas it means nothing higher than 3 stories. What’s the point of going through the hassle of development f its just to build another single family detached house?
- Experiment with split-rate tax system. Such a plan isn’t possible in California. Since 1979 our Constitution requires that property taxes are based on the last purchase price. We do not trust assessors to value our houses. That is for the market to decide. Also, all tax increases have to be approved by the voters and that isn’t going to happen.
- I do not understand “as-of-right” zoning. I would only have 4 zones: Not developable (wetland or earthquake hazard), agricultural, high-density mixed use (residential/commercial/light industrial), heavy industrial.

In addition to Euchner’s recommendation I would do the following:
- Abolish public housing. Instead I would turn every housing project into condominiums and give them to the current residents. This would have two benefits: It takes someone off of the government teat (always a morally dubious place to be) and creates a whole host of property owners, who if they are smart can parley that property into changed lives. It also will encourage builders to build in the neighborhood since they will be able to get high prices that they otherwise would have. In San Francisco it was estimated that being within 2 block s of a housing project took 15% - 25% off the value of a property. For example, my wife and I were thinking about buying a 10 unit Edwardian but the reason we didn’t was its proximity to a notorious project, where even police feared to go. Also, I know of three large vacant lots near housing projects where no one is willing to build.
- Repeal Rent Control Laws. Some rent control is worse than others. San Francisco is bad (for the reasons mentioned in the Consumers’ Research Magazine article) but Berkeley on the east side of the Bay is worse. The number of rental units in that city has actually declined since they passed their rent control ordinance.
- Declare vacant buildings a nuisance and condemn them after 90 days of vacancy. According to anecdotal evidence (the word of a postman) ¼ of the buildings in San Francisco’s most blighted neighborhood (BayView/Hunter’s Point) are unoccupied. They are owned by speculators waiting for the market to raise the price (a new light rail line is going in) before they sell. The speculators are not willing to rent to people because the rent control ordinance also makes it almost impossible to evict a tenant.

2. Is housing affordable in my community: I already answered this. It is very expensive but because people are paying for it, it is by definition, affordable..

3. Should all communities be responsible for making affordable housing? I’m not sure I understand this question. If it means should all governments build housing for people, or subsidize rents, or something like that, then no. No communities should be responsible for making affordable housing. But if the question means should government remove unnecessary obstacles such as setbacks, height limits, 2 to 3 bathroom to bedroom ratios, minimum lot sizes, and garages (as long as one man is homeless it is immoral for the government to require housing for cars.) then yes.


*This doesn’t mean that the people with median incomes are buying median priced houses. Only the top 60% can realistically qualify for a mortgage. That bottom 40%, unless they do a TIC on a duplex, or some other “non-traditional” arrangement should get used to being renters.

Love

Today while I was doing dishes (though at the end of the day who can tell?) we heard on the radio the story of a U.S. Army Medic who was made a member of the Legion of Honor for his actions on D-Day. After the news story Anelm said, "Dad, he's a good man"
I said, "Yes. He did a good thiing."
Anslem said "Can I help the soldiers who fight the Nazis?"
"We defeated them a long time ago. Before I was born. They are no more", I replied.
"How did we defeat them?" he asked."
"When France was enslaved to the Nazis we sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight the Nazis and drive them out of France. Many men, like the ones we heard about were killed on the beach. And though we left 9,000 dead Americans buried in the ground of Normandy, France we still freed France from the Nazis", I answered.
Then Anselm said something I was not expecting,"I wish I had been born earlier."

The Long Story

Some of my readers from a few years ago might remember that I tell my boys the Long Story. I start with the fist Day and go until they fall asleep, which usally happens somehere around the Flood or the Tower of Babel. Thursday, Anselm was playing with a treen statue of the Holy Prophet Moses that my Dad bought in Bethlehem during his pilgrimage. Anselm asked me why the top half of the staff was shaped like a snake. So, I tried telling the story of the Exodus but he asked, "How did they become slaves?" So I had to talk about Joseph being prime minister of Egypt and how his family came to Egypt to escape famine. But my son asked, "Why did joseph go to Egypt?" So I had to el him about the coat of many colors and about how his brothers sold himinto slavery. (boy was he shocked by that.) but then he asked, "Why was Abraham was in Cannan anyway?" So I had to start over with the sojourn out of Ur of the Chaldees. But the questions kept coming and he wasn't satisfied until I took the story all the way back to the Flood. It was kind of funny. He wanted to know exactly how it fit together. But I;m the same way. I suppose that's part of why I am Orthodox. I am thrilled every year when we stand and listen to the recitation of Jesus' entire geneology. And I love being able to identify the Orthodox through every century from Jesus' Holy Apostles on. To be able to look at Iranaeus, Justin, Ignatius, Nicholas, Athanasius, Patrick, Basil, Gregory, Photius, Cyril... and be able to say "See all those guys? I with them." The story is old and long but the parts are not lost to us.

Illness

We have all been sick for the last few days. Last Thursday through Saturday Basil had the coughs, snots, and pukes. Athanasia has had a sore throat, at least, I think she has. She is not the type of person to complain. I have a sore through at a headache. And for the last 9 days Anselm has had a cough. On Tuesday he had a small fever. The same yesterday. Today he kept saying, "what?" every time I said something to him. He could only understand me when he was looking at my mouth. So then I had him close his eyes and point in the direction of my snapping fingers. He couldn't hear. So, off to see Dr. Gali. (He asked me if I had put oil in the boys ears. I wonder if he asked that because he is Orthodox and assumed that I would have put blessed oil in Anselm's ears. I'll try to remember to ask him next time I see him.) Anselm has sinus and ear infections and a 10 day course of antibiotics.

Uncle Fred and Aunt Nettie

Last night my friends Jeff and Christa reminded me of how welcome they felt at my Unle Fred and Aunt Nettie's house when they visted a few years ago. And that got me to thinking about how everyone always feels welcome at Uncle Fred and Aunt Nettie's house. Their house has been a hospice, a campground, a refuge, a conference center, and a retirement home and an orphanage for hundreds of people. For the first 12 years of my life I was at their house every Thanksgiving and Christmas (
In case you are wondering, I will be posting Aunt Nettie's recipe for fruited molassas balls as we get closer to Christmas.), and usually a few days or even weeks in the Summer.

The first fig I ever ate (except for those in fig newtons) was off of their fig tree. The same is true of persimmons and pomagranites. My cousins and I would spend whole days in their pool. And once we got into a milk fight with the goats. There are no open canals around there now, but when I was a boy there were canals all over the place. My cousins Jamie and Brian and I would build wooden boats and race them in the canal. I always lost, but I was thre years younger. And one Thanksgiving we went "swimming" in a big mud hole. It must have been cold, but when you're six years old you don't notice things like that.

I think that was the same year my cousin Rick accidentally shot my brother Mark. They were 14 and fifteen, if I remember correctly. They looking for pheasant. Strangly, they thought it would be a good idea if they approched the center of a field from opposite directions. Well, the predictable happened, and Mark's new down jacket got the arm ripped open by Rick's charge of birdshot. It could have been much much worse.

When my Uncle Fred's mother moved into a double-wide mobile home behind the pool I would visit her and we would watch the Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas shows together. When I was 10, shortly before she died, she gave me a quilt. Each block is patchwork butterfly. Some of the seams are comming out of it and I suppose it is worn out. But I love it and often sleep under it.

My Aunt Nettie's mother, my maternal Grandmother also lived on the property. (it was actually in this mobile home where I slept nights.) I know she loved me but I was always a little afraid of her. She had ornamental chickens from asia that my little dog loved to chase. So she didn't like my dog. To a little boy that is a big deal.

I have more memories of that place and the people who lived or passed through there than I can possibly write down. But one of my favorites is of a Bingo game that occured the day after Christmas when I was 11. Everyone in my family sings. All of my anunts (6 of them), my mom and dad, uncles, cousins - we are our own choir. And we do that family harmony thing that only family can do. Well, during the bingo game Aunt Lena was the person who was drawing the numbers and calling them out. But Uncle Fred's mother couldn't hear Aunt Lena's voice so he would repeat the number. After the first three or for times, Aunt Nettie a began repeating them along with Uncle Fred. Then someone else joined in but singing. Then we all started singing the numbers in a very solemn 8 part harmony. It was like Aunt Lena was leading us in the world's silliest call-and-response hymn. Eventually, Aunt Lena and Aunt Joan and some of the younger cousins fell apart laughing and we got back to the game.

And there were many nights when we stayed up till dawn playing cards or Monopoly, or later when my two oldest sons were little boys, Risk.

A few years later, after I was grown and married and divorced, and after my parents were retired, Uncle Fred asked my parents to move into his mother's place. I guess it had been sitting empty since she died. Those five years that my parents lived there were, I think, the happiest years of their lives. They weren't exactly healthy, but they were healthy enough to get along without help. They did a great thing for my two oldest sons during those five years. They brought them to that place each year for the whole summer. So now, those two grown boys - one fighting in Afghanistan and the other asking me about wedding rings (I don't know who I am more afraid for.) - have memories of running through the same orchards, swimming in that pool all day until the slow summer sun goes down, eating BBQ tri-tip on the patio, shooting guns (when they were five or six I set up targets in the eucalyptus grove and taught them to shoot pistols.) and watching TV with the old folks.

Well, I heard tonight that both my Uncle Fred and Aunt Nettie are in very very bad health. It doesn't look like they can come to my Mom's memorial service; sickness prevents travel. I'm going to see if I can't adjust my schedule so I can go visit them soon. I hope I am able to do for my children and nephews and nieces what my parents and unles and aunts did for me, my siblings, and my cousins - provide a place that always feels like home. But first, I guess I'll have to buy a farm. My wife says we can start looking next July.

I apologize to my handful of regular readers for writing about my family so much. But it seems that these last few months all I can think of is my family.

Memorial Service

Last night I went to the memorial service for my friend Jeff's dad. I only met him a couple of times but I really liked him. After surviving the depression and serving in the Navy during WWII he got a job selling fiber canisters. (I learned about fiber canisters last night. They are pretty neat. Superior to cardboard boxes in every way.) Bill, that is Jeff's Dad's name, had that job for 40 years. FORTY YEARS!!!! He raised two sons, coached little league, was himself an Eagle scout and helped his sons earn their eagle scout badges. He smoked cigars and drank martinis. The thing that was really neat was that so many people fro different parts of his life all came together last night. There were people from work, little league, boy scouts, neighbors, and even a couple of people like me who onlymet him briefly but liked him very much. One speaker summed him with these words. "Bill was easy to be around."

Cleaning Out My Parents Last Home

With the death of my mother a week and a half ago my siblings and I have been having to go through her stuff; also my Dads stuff that she kept after he died last December. I just got home from spending three hours there tonight. Anselm was with me. While I was fighting back tears the whole time he was having a blast. One of the last things my Mom said to me was "I always want my grandkids to be happy when they visit my house." Though I miss my mother and father so badly I wish I could die I am glad Anslem was there tonight, and that his last memory of their last house together will be of having a good time going through closets, looking at pictures, and eating all of their candy.

My father was a preacher. He has many books, and many of them I read when I was a boy. When they moved into this little apartment a few years ago they got rid of most of them but they kept one case full. Among them a seires called the Biblical Illustrater. (It is out of print now but there is a software version available.) It is probably, the best and most thorough commentary on the Protestant Bible in existence. When my Dad was pastoring in Los Angeles back in the 1960s the congregation there bought the books for him. Each volume was purchased and dedicated by a different person in the congregation. I started reading them when I was about 13. The text was so tiny (my astigmatism wouldn't be diagnsed until I joined the Army at 17) that I would get headaches from working so hard to see the words. But I loved them. I am sure that after my Dad died she kept them for me. I left them in their apartment. I don't have room for them. I can hardly believe that they are going to wind up in a pulp mill.

I don't have room for any of the stuff I brought home tonight. Pictures, mostly. But also some of my Dad's highschool report cards. My Mom and Dad's wedding certificate. My Dad's attendence and punctualty awards from elementary school - two years without being tardy or ansent! I took both my Mom's and Dad's 8th grade diplomas. My dad's adoption decree (he was a foundling).

Tonight I saw posters of my Mom when she was a teacher at summer camps in the 1950s. Anselm said, "She was very pretty. When did she get old?" I bet she wondered the same thing. I read some of her notes from when in the 1980s, as director of Christian Education for her denomination in Florida, she taught seminars for Sunday School teachers. I found songs, articles, and poems she wrote.

I took my Dad's minister's manuals (My mother gave one to my friend Jeff, who's father just died, a couple of months ago when he had to do his first wedding.). Essentially, they are sevice books for ministers in non-liturgical denominations. For my Dad being a Protestant he sure had a high view of the calling to be a pastor. The service he wrote for ordinations, which I only heard twice is really beautiful, being mostly quotations and paraphrases of St. Paul.

I was born in February 1969. In August 1969 my biological father murdred my biological mother. I have no memory of them and talking about them is to me like talking about a stranger one hears about on the radio news. I know it happened, but I don't even know what the people looked like. The mother of my biological mother suddenly found her self with a whole bunch of kids, including me. She was a member of the church pastored by my Dad. He had been by a couple of times to check on her, and each time he said to my Mom, "You need to go and see that baby", by which he meant me. But each time my Mom, who ws a teacer and a mother of three, said, "Billy, I don't need to go see a baby. I am with kids all day long." But on August 17, my Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, he went and got me. I was only wearing a dish rag for a diaper. Be fore he took me into his house he said "Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shhhhh" and he carried me into the the kitchen where my Mom was doing dishes. I am told that I did not make a noise and that she didn't know we were standing there. When she turned around and saw us standing there I became her son. A few days later she wrote this (my sister found it in my Mom's papers):

"What do I need with you, little boy
Looking so solemn with big blue eyes
There with Daddy holding you close
Smiling because of his big surprise?

What do you need with me, dear little one
Old enough to be your granny-
Why to love each other, what else? My son.
So God gave you to our family.

Thank you, God."


Yes. Thank you, God.

Touchstone Published My Letter

One of my fave magazines published a letter I wrote in response to a a picture in an article dealing with relgious studies in academia. If you look in the November 2007 issue of Touchstone Magazine (Website is here. but I don't think they put the letters on the website.) you will find the letter. I expected them to only print one or two excerpts but am pleasantly surprised that they published the whole thing, giving me about 13 column inches. My subject was a bref history of the religion program at Stanford University. My favorite paragraphs arethe last two, reproduced for you here.

"Today Stanford's religion department is very meager: It only offers Ph.D.s in Buddhist studies, Judaism, and Modern Western Religious Thought and Practice (with much emphasis on post-Kantian German ethics, as though that has much to do with religion at all). The religion department at Stanford can not even compare to that of other universities in its rarified stratum, such as Harvard and Chicago, to say nothing of Christian universites such a Gerogetown and Biola, to which none of the previously mentioned schools can hold a candle.

"And therin is the main problem. There are no candles. If you visit Stanford's Memorial Church, you will see a building that is bult to look like a RomanCatholic church, full of breathtakingly beautiful icons of Jesus the Lord, his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. But there are no candles burning before those icons. There is no worship. And there are no relics in the altar. That is the heart of the problem with the study of religion as just one more academic subject. But you knew that when you selected the photograph for the article, didn't you?"

If you are not a subscriber to Touchstone Magazine you should become one. They regularly publish much better stuff than my letter.

Mulled Ale, Champagne, and Pate de Foie Gras

In the book, The Wind in the Willows, there is a scene of friendship and domestic beauty that brings tears to my eyes and howles of laughter from the mouths of my son Anselm. If you have not read the book let me give you some background. Mole has come out of his hole, has made friends with Rat and the two of them have been traveling around since the spring of the year. On a mid-winter night they were walking back to the Rats house on the river bank when Mole was suddenly seized by the compulsion to return to his own home. Upon arriving Mole is ashamed of hiself for bringing his friend Rat to his little for-months-abandonded house. Mole is dejected but his friend (and never a truer friend has there been) Rat is determined to be of good cheer, and sets to dusting and cleaning the little house. Mole joins him and is starting to feel a little beter when he realizes that they are hungry and have no food.

If you read these words with the right inflection there is no way you can but smile, and perhaps shed a tear of joy.

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"Rat", he moaned,"how about your supper, you poor, cold hungry animal? I've nothing to give you - nothing - not a crumb!"

"What a fellow you are for giving in!", said the Rat reproachfully. "Why, only just now I saw a sardine-opener on the kitchen dresser, quite distictly; and everybody knows that means there are sardines about somewhere in the neighborhood. Rouse yourself! Pull yourself together, and come with me and forage."

They went and foraged accordingly, hunting through every cupboard and turning out every drawer. The result was not so very depressing after all, though of course it might have been better; a tin of sardines - a box of captain's biscuits, nearly full - and a German sausage encased in silver paper.

"There's a banquet for you!", observed the Rat, as he arranged the table. "I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us tonight!"

"No bread!" groaned theMole dolorously: "No butter, no-"

"No pate de foie gras, no champage!" continued the Rat, grinning. "And that reminds me - what is that little door at the end of the passage? Your cellar, of course! Every luxury in this house! Just you wait a minute."

He made for the cellar door, and presently reappeared, somewhat dusty, with a bottle of beer in each paw and another under each arm. "Self-indulgent beggar you seem to be, Mole", he observed. "Deny yourself nothing. This is really the jolliest little place I was ever in. Now, wherever did you..."

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My little boys, Basil and Anselm have been walking around for two days saying, "No pate de foie gras! No campgne!" and busting up laughing.

Just as Rat and Mole were about to tuck into their supper they heard the field mice outside in the fore-court caroling. Mole explained to Rat how the field mice were a local institution and that he often in the past would invite them in for a drink or a meal. At rats urging the two friends stepped outside to listen to the sining. The song is beatiful but I won't reproduce the lyrics here.

Rat in his exuberance invited the field mice into moles house, gave some coin to one of the mice to run to a shop and bring back food enough for all. Whale waiting for the mouse to return with the food they chit chatted and had what to me seems to have been a lovely good drink.
---
The Rat meanwhile, was busy examining the label on one of the beer bottles. "I perceive this to be Old Burton," he remarked approvingly. "Sensible Mole! The very thing! Now I shal be able to mull some ale! Get the things ready, Mole, while I draw the corks."

It did not take very long to prepare the brew and thrust the tin heater well into the heart of the fire; and soon every field-mouse was sipping and coughing and choking (for a little mulled ale goes a long way) and wiping his eyes and laughing and forgetting he had ever been cold in all his life.

---

Here occured a scene where Mole encourged the mice to recite lines from a play they had ltely put on. But it wasn't long before the food arrived.

---

"Under the generalship of Rat, everybody was set to do something. In a very few minutes super was ready, and Mole, he took the head of the table in a sort of dream, saw a lately barren board set think with savoury comforts; saw his little friends' faces brighten and beam as they fell to without delay; and then let himself loose - for he was famished indeed - on the provender so magically provided, thinking about what a happy homecoming this had turned out to be, after all. As they ate, they talked of old times, and the field-mice gave him the local gossip up to date, and answered as well as they could the hundred questions he had to ask them. The Rat said little or nothing, only taking care that each guest had what he wanted, and plenty of it, and that mole had no trouble or anxiety about anything.

"They clattered off at last, very grateful and showering wishes of the season, with their jacket pockets stuffed with rememberances for the small brothers and sisters at home. When the door had closed on the last of them and the chink of lanters had died away, Mole and Rat kicked the fire up, drew their chairs in, brewed themselves a last night cap of mulled ale, and discussed the events of the long day. "

---

There is a little more to the chapter, and it is beautiful in a homey way. nd it is a good story to end a day with. A good story for the boys to hear after baths and prayers as they rest their heads on their pillows and close theit eyes.

Today I decided to find a recipe for mulled ale. It was easy enough, as Google seems to know all. But I can not find fire-heated tin immersion heaters anywhere. I can find electric immersion heaters, but none of the variety that are described in the passage you have just read. If any of you, respected readers, have heard of where I might find one would you, please, tell me where that might be? I think they might be put to good use this coming Nativity Feast.

Earthquake

We just had an earthquake. Well, it was 9 minutes ago. All is oky. It seemed like one end of the living room went up about 3 inches then came back down. Basil is still saying "Scarry Scary" and holding onto my leg. Anselm is checking the walls for cracks. The USGS says the epicenter was over near east San Jose. I hope they are okay over there.

I don't know what to title this

Yesterday I went to my Mom's apartment to start cleaning it out. Everything in those rooms seemed to reflect echoes of her back to me. But they were weaker than they were on Thursday. And much weaker than they were on Tuesday when I last talked to her on the phone, when we talked about how beautiful my nephew's wedding was, when she asked me to take her to the doctor on Friday, which would have been yesterday.

The echoes yesterday when I was cleaning out my Mom’s refrigerator were much weaker than the Friday before (or was it Monday? I can't belive I am unable to remember what day it was.), when I last was in her apartment. When, for the last time, I saw Basil run down the hallway to her door with his arms in the air and his red shoes a blur. I thought then, “I’m going to miss the sound of those little feet running down this hallway when he is older.” When he reached her door she was standing there, barely, to greet him. And as always he hugged her knee. He will not rundown that hallway again.

The echoes were fainter still, and mor horrible when I looked in the clost and saw the toys she had bought for my sons to play with when they visted her. That they had played with at her feet on Just a few days earlier.

I brought some pictures home from her apartment. Anselm brought home the broom that he used to sweep off her patio, the patio he has swept almost every week since he was two years old.

Today we were at a farm on the coast to get pumpkins. We got the pumpkins but we also climbed up onto a 2 ½ story high stack of hay bales and jumped off. I rode the boys around in a wheel barrow. We played with the goats and the pig. On the way home I thought, “I’ll call Mom when I get home. She’ll love hearing …”

But there is no one to call to tell about the exploits of my children. At least, no one who will be as delighted to hear as their Granny was.

I am sad for me. I am heartbroken for them.

But I will tell them the stories and they will remember she loved them. And, I hope, the echoes of her love will not fade to nothing. I hope its enough.

My Mom Died Last Night

She didn't answer th phone this morning. My brother-in-law went to check on her. He found her sitting on the side of her bed.

The funny thing is that I am not nerdy at all.

A Problem Solved

I don't know about you but I have always felt bad about throwing away my pumpkin after Hallowe'en. But now, thanks to these guys, I know what to do with it

Indian Aesthetic

Lately, I've been attracted to a south Asian aesthetic; clothes more than anything else. I've been seriously thinking about buying and wearing some kurtas, and I've been encouraging my wife to wear salwar kamis. But it never cooured to me that Indians would see something in western culture that they could so easily adopt. I am talking about the Infant of Prague.

Back when I was an aparment manager I had a tenant who was a devout krishna devotee. But on her wall was a poster of the Infant of Prague. I recognized the other gods on her walls but I did not know this one. I thought he was just some child-king of 17th century central europe. It never occured to me that it was a picture of Jesus. And she was shocked when I asked who it was. She was probably thinking, "Stupid American. Dosn't even know his own gods." But he looked much more like a Hindu god than the Jesus of the Bible or the Icons. It was just a strange moment.

Then a couple of days ago I was in a bead store. On one table were a bunch of little boxes containing little one inch portratis of Hindu gods. Among them, painted in the same style was the Infant of Prague.

This is so weird!!! Does anyone understand what is going on here? Do Hindus see the beautiful clothes and think, "He must be one of ours"?

Wedding

My nephew Kevin wed his friend Courtney today. They had a 10+ year courtship. It was more than difficult for all of us who love them to be patient all of those years and wait for them to get married. But today they did it. God grant them many years and an expedient number of children.

Islam is Evil

"Benazir Bhutto was totally talking like an infidel. What should be the reaction of jihadis? "

One woman TALKS like an infidel, so some other people have to DETONATE BOMBS AND KILL PEOPLE. That's a pretty amazing escalation curve. Our president is naive to think these people want freedom and peace. They want victory and are willing to kill anyone to achieve it. America might not win this war. I don't think we have the stomach for it.

Be yourself

"Do not be afraid because of your Orthodoxy; do not be afraid because, as an Orthodox in the West, you will be often isolated and always in a small minority. Do not make compromises but do not attack other Christians; do not be either defensive or aggressive; simply be yourself." - Elder Amphilochios of Patmos

Spam

Every couple of months I look in my Spam folder to make sure the Spam filter is not misdirecting real email in to the trash. (That happens sometimes with my wife's work email.) I'm happy to report that my spam catcher is doing a fine job. A randomly selected sample of 50 filtered-out-as-Spam messages contained the following:

5 - Contraband pharmaceuticals (Who takes drugs they get from a website?)
7 - Penis enlargement therapies
1 - Breast enlargement therapies (apparantly men are more insecure about their bodies than are women)
9 - Investment advice/Get-Rich-Quick scams
2 - Distance education – legitimate
1 - Degree mills ("Get the respect that only comes with a Ph.D.")
5 - Loans/credit cards/financial services/insurance
8 - Discount (aka counterfeit) designer watches, purses, shoes, etc.
7 - Deceptive subject lines (i.e. “Order Confirmation #12492-1334” / "I forgot, are we meeting after work tonight?")
2 – Internet gambling
1 - Weight loss (legitimate company, I think)
1 - Magazine subscriptions
1 - Discount cigars

Two of above items came with attachments sure to infect my computer with many hideous viruses.
I was kind of surprised that none of the filtered spam were Nigerian scams. I was surprised that legitimate companies/schools are still Spamming. It seems that the ban on intenet gambling in the US is working. (In 1999 I made a lot of money promoting internet gambling for the mob. I didn't know I was working for the mob at the time. I used to sell access to an email list of 1/4 million "known internet gamblers". It was a very valuable list. Of course,today, with the new law, that kind of list is much reduced in value.

Least favorite words from a five year old

"Look, Dad! I took it apart!"

A Psalm

My friend Mateo (see linksin right margin) had a link to this on his blog.

You know you're Orthodox if...

Your two-year-old insists on kissing all the X's when you're trying to teach him how to play Tic-Tac-Toe on the sidewalk with chalk.

eating machines and a soup recipe

My boys' appetites seem unbounded. Today they had:

Breakfast: oatmeal with maple syrup (Basil likes his with butter. Anselm wants no butter), milk,black plums

Second Breakfast: Toast with butter, Milk

Lunch: Norwegian sardines on toast, tangerines, milk

Afternoon snack: Semifreddi baguette, milk, See's chocolate coin (1 each)

Supper: roasted tomato soup (Anslem helped me make it. He also sharpened my knives.), milk, baguette


ROASTED TOMATO SOUP (with links to recommended ingredients)

2 lbs San Marzano Tomatoes, washed,peeled, and halved (long ways)
5-8 sliced cloves garlic (It depends on how big they are, doesn't it?)
1 onion sliced
1 cup vegetable broth, chicken broth, or beef broth
A little olive oil

1. Put the tomato halves face down in lightly oiled glass pans, cover with sliced onion and garlic, and bake for 20 minutes at 400 F (You pre-heated, didn't you?)
2. Remove from oven and dump all the contents of the pans into an blender (it is okay if there is more than will fit in your blender,you can blend the remainder after this first batch.), and totally liquify the tomatoes, onion, and garlic.
3. Pour all the liquified goodness into a saucepan.
5. Add broth, and while stirring, heat to desried temperature.
6. Pour into blue and white porcelain rice bowls. (Because red, white and blue look good together. Just ask any of a couple of dozen countries.)
7. Spoon one tsp of sour cream into each bowl.
8. Enjoy.

Global Warming

I have to admit that part of the reason I think global warming is bunk is because most of the people who are promoting the theory are people I regard as being enemies of liberty and haters of humanity; people who think population control (aka abortion) and socialism are the best ways to combat global warming. But part of my skeptecism is because very prominent scientists also regard it as bunk.

"ONE of the world's foremost meteorologists has called the theory that helped Al Gore share the Nobel Peace Prize "ridiculous" and the product of "people who don't understand how the atmosphere works". (More here)

Boy! That's a relief.

Eucharistic theology created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Orthodox You are Orthodox, worshiping the mystery of the Holy Trinity in the great liturgy whereby Jesus is present through the Spirit in a real yet mysterious way, a meal that is also a sacrifice. Orthodox 100% Catholic 75% Luther 75% Calvin 63% Zwingli 25% Unitarian 0%

The Nobel Prize

Al Gore has a Nobel Peace Prize. So does Yassir Arafat.

Supper in Autumn

Sugar pumpkin with grade B (its better) maple syrup.
Diced tart apples, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and raisins, baked and topped with butter and maple syrup.
Coffee for Me. Milk for children.

Boys are playing hide and seek while I write this.
Much fun.

This day so far

The boys are napping. I just fed thim lunch.
Anselm had science class again this morning. They learned about some of the uses of ultraviolet light. While he was doing that, Basil and I went to the park, where we played in the sand, and played follow-the-leader. Basil thought that was the neatest game ever!

When we picked Anselm up from his science lass we did something very special. One of my wife's teachers does something (I don't know what) with the Heth Hetchy system, and that teacher gave all of her students these great big cartoon maps of the system. (For those who don't know, the Hetch Hetchy project is the most importat water system in Northern California. It brings water from high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains all the way accross the State to the people of the San Francisco Bay Area. Without it there would be no Silicon Valley, and San Francisco would be a little parched town.) Well, on this map we saw something we had never heard of before: The Pulgas Water Temple. WOW! I'm 40 years old and have lived 15 minutes away from this thing most of my life and was totally oblivious to it. So, right after science class the boys and I went to the Water Temple. All I can say is, this is amazing. The last pipe from the east comes out of that ground and you can look down into the well of the temple, drink from the relflecting pool, see the water roaring out of the pipe and into the canal that takes the water north. It is just amazing. Oneof the neat things is hearing the roaring water coming out of the well in the center of the temple while reading these words carved in the top of it: "I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people" (from Isaiah 43)

While we were there some men were doing some tests on the underground machiery. They let us go down and look at the pipe. Very neat. I love California. I love being a Californian.

have you seen this?

Eliot lived 99 days.

A good day

We went to church today and got to hear a new priest preach his first sermon. He is the son of a woman who was a pillar of Holy Trinity Cathedral when we first started attending. Not long after we we met her she died. I bet she was proud to hear her son preach today. After this week he becomes the priest of a new mission in Bend, Oregon.

Though the new (I think he was ordained last week) priest preached today (and will be serving the Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Cathedal every day this week) Bishop Benjamin was the celebrant. After the service I had a chance to talk with him about you know what (and if you don't knowthenIam happy for you). I am much comforted. Also, His Grace made lunch. It was pretty good. Fr. John lead the parish in singing "Many Years" for Basil and then "Happy Birthday"

After church we visited my Mom. Since my Dad died she has not had joy. I don't mean she walks around weeping. She just doesn't want to be here anymore. (As for weeping, I'm the one who does that every time I think of my Dad.) I took out her trash and got her mail from the mail box for her. She gave Basil his birthday presents. I can't belive it was two years ago today that he was born.

Then we four went and got a pizza (it seems to be Basils fave food) and to Butter, Sugar, Flour for cupcakes. They must have been 900 calories each. I had an apple tart tatin.

Then we came home and I finished reading the last volume of the Chronicles of Narnia to Anselm. And, of course, I cried at all of the reunions. (Anselm: "Why are you crying" Me: "Because this part of the book is True")

After everyone went to bed I organized the DVDs and CDs. And read a little bit. I'm going to bed now. Have to wake up in 6 hours.

Field Trip

Our homeschooling group had a field trip today. We (all four of us) went to Seacliff State Beach and went fossil hunting with other homeschooling families. We saw a lot of very cool things. 20,000 year dead whale skulls, 50,000 year dead clams, etc. We followed the line of 11,000 year old sedementation in the cliff from sea level up to about 60 feet on the side of the cliff. I'll try to explain that a little better. In California we have earth quakes. Those quakes move the earth (duh!) but at this beach they have, over a period of years raised one end but not the other. So as you walk along the beach you can follw the 20 inch thick, white sedimentary line from sea level at one end of the beach to the up up up to the top of the cliff at the other end of the beach. The docent said that the same sedementary layer is found above 900 feet above sea level farther north on the coast. Anyway, we had fun. Anslem used a brush and uncoved some 11,000 year dead nasa snails. After that we drove north to Santa Cruz where we met my wife's sister and her husband for lunch at Vasili's. It was a good time. It was a good day.

Cole Porter Wrote a Song

One of the best songs written by Cole Porter is I've Got You Under My Skin. In fact, it is one of the best songs ever written by anyone. But it was Frank Sinatra who made the song famous. Or, if like me, you think it is the horn section that makes this version of the song what it is, then you might say Nelson Riddle's arrangement was key to its success. But really, it took all three of them: Cole Porter, Nelson Riddle, and Frank Sinatra.


The first time I heard the song was during an appearce of Martin Short on the Tonight Show. He was nuts!!!! He was thrilling!!!! He was like a three-way cross between Frank Sinatra, Ethel Merman, & Bobby Short (Most people know Short from the Charlie commercial though he was an institution in at the Cafe Carlysle). With only one exception, which is at the bottom of this post) I can't hear the song without seeing Martin Short running in to the audience to sing "...use your mentality..." as loudly as possible. It was a total spoof, but as I would learn later, he totally captured the essence of the song as performed by Sinatra and then amplified it X10. Not long after that I did hear the song by Frank. (He lets me call him Frank). And I began to appreceiate the song for what it was, a very grown up song about coming to terms with being in love with someone.






Even though he is the one who made the song so unbelieveably famous, even turning it into a cliche to be performed by Martin Short, Frank Sinatra's version is only one of several good versions of the song. Among the versions I like are Michael Bubble's almost reincarnatin (the dates don't quite work) of Frank. The piano only version by by Vanessa Paradis is cute if you need something to tap dance to, and I can even listen to Bobby Darin's bizarre Rock & Roll version of the song. Sammy Davis Jr. (he was really wild.) did drums only version in his stage show. Even I, just a few months before I met my wife, did a duet of the song in a resturaunt with cocktail waitress. But there is one version of the song that is almost hypnotizing. Here it is: The only version of the song that can block Martin Short out of my mind.

Mars

Things improved considerably after that ast post. Anselm had science and acting lessons, Basil got in a short nap, and we three went to the park for a picnic (rice cakes, apples, and bananas). We stayed at the park until after sunset, then went to pick Athanasia up at her office. (She stops working at 4:30 and then doeshomework until 7: or 7:30) We had te boys in bed by 8. Read the second chapter of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis aloud. Then all three fell asleep. I stayed up reading for school. I woke Anselm at midnight and we went out to see the moon rise. Mars was to the right of the moon and very bright. Anselm brught his binoculars. They really did improve the view. It never occured to me that just as the moon has phases, so do the planets. I had expected to see a small red disk through the binoculars. Instead, we saw a brilliant red/orange 1/4 phase planet. it was beautiful. Anselm was vrey happy.

This yucky yucky day.

I won't go into the details but it started last night am with a sense of foreboding about church and the Metropolitan who was going to be there. Then I began thinking that maybe I shouldn't go. That my passions might get the best of me and I might yell Anaxios! and embarrass Bishop Benjamin. (It is hard to remember that the bishops are just men and I need to expect less of them.) Even as I was getting fressed thins morning, after convincing myself that i wouldn't do something like that, I was still anxious about going. But we all got into the car and began the hour drive to SF. Half way there God intervened and had Basil puke all over the back seat of the car. Boy, was I ever releived. Believe it or not, that was the best thing to happen all day. Other than that the day has been filled with mostly useless activity, spinning wheels, waitin for the day to end so we can get on with better things tomorrow. I'll send Bishop Benjamin a card congratulating him on his enthronement. I'm sure it was beautiful. And God used my sons stomach to "lead me not into temptation". God is good even if the state of my heart isn't. I need to go to confession. Soon.

Why We Fight

Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taliban militants hanged a teenager in southern Afghanistan because he had U.S. money in his pocket, and they stuffed five $1 bills in his mouth as a warning to others not to use dollars, police said Monday. Taliban militants elsewhere killed eight police.
The 15-year-old boy was hanged from a tree on Sunday in Helmand, the most violent province in the country and the world's No. 1 poppy-growing region.

"The Taliban warned villagers that they would face the same punishment if they were caught with dollars," said Wali Mohammad, the district police chief in Sangin.

Dollars are commonly used in Afghanistan alongside the afghani, the local currency, although the U.S. currency is more commonly seen in larger cities where international organizations are found.

Militants often justify their attacks and executions as a response to U.S. meddling in Afghan affairs.

In Sangin on Saturday, the Taliban shot and killed another man who had sought farm assistance and seeds from an international aid program, Mohammad said. The militants accused him of being a spy.

Trip to the doctor's office

Monday morning we were up at 6, took my wife to work, then came home where I taught Anselm how to make oatmeal. Basil decided to help. There was some oatmeal scattered about the kitchen. Then we went to te library to check out the final volume of the Chronicles of Narnia. We have read all the others alound to Ansem and this is all that is left. (We had started the Harry Potter series but HP2 is too frightening for Anselm. Every time Harry heard the voice Anselm was too disturbed. So we decided to shelve the HP series and finish up CofN.) While walking into the library, I holding one of Basil's hands and Anselm holding basil's other hand, Basil decided he wanted to be free. He threw himself to the ground violently while shouting, "Walk!" the whole time we were in the library he was i a bad mood. Whining even crying. I didn't understand what was wrong until we got home. Then I saw his right arm was hanging limp. I thought, "Oh, no! Not again!" Trip to the doctor. Bone popped back into place. The doctor taught me how to do it so I won't have to keep bringing him in. So far this week, I've had to heimlich this kid (he tried to eat a quarter) and take him to the doc to get a bone popped back into place. Lets hope this week improves.

Well, I have to be at church in just 8 hours. I don't know how they are going to fit seven bishops, their deacons, and all the priests in the diocese into my tiny parish, to say nothing ofthe faithful. It going to be nuts. Hope it isn't too hot.

Death in my sons unit

Yesterday the Pentegon released the names of several men killed in Afghanistan. One of them was from my sons battalion (about 500 men): "Matthew D. Blaskowski, 27, of Levering, Mich.; sergeant first class, Army. Blaskowski was killed Sept. 23 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire in Asadabad, Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy."

This man, as a Sergeant First Class was in the position known as Platoon Sergeant. There are only 15 or 16 of these men in the battalion. They are amazingly important and without them the Army would cease to function. These are the senior sergents who make sure troops are fed, armed, trained, alert, and obedient (this last thing is very difficult when everyone is iritated, tired, and armed) It is going to be difficult for the Staff Sergeant who gets moved into the vacant position to fill those boots. It will be difficult for the unit to functiion as effectively. Please pray for them.

I wish I could have a more topical blog.

I look at other people's blogs and i think to myself, "gosh, they have really neresting things to say. All I do is put up lists of my daily activities." Oh, well. C'est la vie, Que sera sera, and Damn the torpedoes.

I was listening to a music station today, which is a very rare occurance, when allof a sudden, they played "Someone Will Think We're in Love" from the original cast recording of OKLAHOMA! It just made my afternoon. There's nothing like show tunes to pep up one's day.

My friend Jeff (who used to blog with me here) was laid off today. He has been with the same bank for 11 years and today, without warning, they closed his department and laid everyone off. Please pray for him.

I was looking for an akathist to pray for him and his family (his Dad is dying of cancer, too.) when I came across http://www.saintjonah.org/services/akathists.htm It has tons of cool prayers.

Athanasia, did great in the second interview yesterday and is doing the third "interview" tonight. She is shadowing the emergency response dispatcher at a Stanford football game. It is down to her and one other candidate. If they make her an offer they will have to do a background check. That will take through January. In the meantime, it looks like the yucky stuff I mentioned is working out. Thank you for your prayers.

I took the boys to the beach at Half Moon Bay yeasterday. I expected it to be cold and foggy, and that we wouldexplore tide pools. Instead it was warm and overcast so we got in the water. Much fun. We had calamari at a little beach side place. It was very strange. It was just heads/bodies. No tentacles, which, as everyone knows, are the best part. It makes me wonder what they are doing with the tentecles. Also, it almost made me ask for my money back. But since I didn't ask before I ordred (I will from now on) I held my tongue and tried to be thankful. I wasn't successful, but I faked it for the boys.