Friday, August 27, 2004

I took today off. I was supposed to have last Friday off, but because, once again, people at headquarters could not do their job, their lack of competence somehow became my emergency.

I did some odds and ends around the house. It looked like rain most of the afternoon, and drizzled some, but I stayed in this afternoon to catch up some with the blog and some other correspondence.

I had lunch with Rev. Mac, my friend, spritual guide (the Lord knows that’s a huge job), and Associate Pastor at Palma Ceia United Methodist Church. We always have great conversations, and the topics are wide-ranging and rapid fire. Today, Rev. Mac was responding to my previous post about how I felt about the topic of using religion for political gain. He’d composed an email, and I hope he will post that here in the comments section. He largely agreed, but took exception when I summed up talking about religion being a very private issue. I quoted Jesus teaching about, "going into your closet to pray." He wanted to use the passage about, "wherever two or more are gathered." Rev. Mac’s concern here is, "We are not "here" simply to devise our own belief system." My understanding of his concern is that we need a way to be held accountable.

I certainly see his point, and I understand it. To try to expound on the point of my post, we talked about Jimmy Carter. I was making the point that while President Carter was probably the most genuinely religious and Christian of our recent Presidents, I never once felt that he used religion to try to gain votes. While I’m certain his belief’s, grounded in that religious tradition, guided many of his decisions and policies, he, like John Kerry, never wore it on his sleeve. And at the end of the day, that was the point I was trying to make.

Being that this is Friday, we will most likely be heading out to a local bar called City Side. This is the Friday evening…happy hour…place to be, and its our usual Friday night entertainment. I’ve been coming City Side since the first time I lived here in Tampa. I met most of my best friends there. It’s general a lot of regulars, and the best part is, its busy at 7pm. For some reason, most gay bars don’t get busy until late, and I’m just too darned old to do a lot of "late" anymore.

So, that about catches you up. Special wishes for a great birthday go out to the very best friend I have on Coon Path Road in Lancaster, OH, Rose Reef-Miller. She’s great, and I miss working with her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSE!