All week, the people have been clamoring about a priest who bit a woman trying to receive Communion at Mass. I was bemused because I kept seeing that headline in isolation and wondering what on earth was going on. Everything about the story seemed bizarre. People were saying conflicting things about it. Somehow, a woman tried to receive Communion at Thomas Aquinas Church in Saint Cloud, Florida, and the priest bit her. I couldn’t imagine how such an event could... Read more
I woke up sore, itchy, and worried. One of the errands I ran yesterday, before I made that strawberry jam, was a trip to the doctor. In 2021, the nurse who was giving me my COVID vaccine pointed out that one of the moles on my shoulders was getting dark, so I got a referral to the dermatologist’s office to have it biopsied. The dermatologist cut off two odd-looking moles, one of which turned out to be normal, but... Read more
I figured out how to make strawberry jam. I planted those five little strawberry plants in 2020, when Trump and Biden were running for president and the whole world was falling to pieces. The menacing neighbor ran onto my property one Sunday morning in a fit of mania and tore one of those strawberry plants out of the ground, along with a bean pole and most of the broccoli, but the other four plants survived. They sent out runners,... Read more
We need to talk about Donald Trump again. I look forward to the day when I don’t ever have to talk about Donald Trump again, but that day hasn’t come yet. The prosecution and the defense have rested in Trump’s tawdry Hush Money trial. This is Trump’s first criminal trial, but not his first trial for his disgusting dealings with a woman. We’ve heard from the sleaze David Pecker and from Stormy Daniels. We know details we wish we didn’t... Read more
The talk on the internet right now, is all about the stereotype of the Tradwife. A Tradwife, as you know, is a vicious stereotype of a certain kind of stay-at-home wife and mother: the kind who appears obnoxiously perfect, cooking everything from scratch, tending the family garden with ease, caring for children with infinite patience, and all while looking chic in a modest yet sexy dress and manicure. There are social media influencers who claim to be Tradwives, and their... Read more
Last night I went dancing. This was because of the Baker Street Irregulars, Adrienne’s old friends who live at the corner. There were only five Baker Street Irregulars when they moved into the rental house, and now there are at least six, but they never hold still long enough to be counted. The middle child of the Baker Street Irregulars, the one who saw God, is a musician. I didn’t know this until she came pelting up to my... Read more
I found myself thinking about the difference between a human and a robot’s version of Christianity, for the second time in a few weeks. This time, Harrison Butker is to blame. I don’t even know who Harrison Butker is. In fact, when I saw the words “Harrison Butker” next to a photo of a meticulously coiffed bearded man at a college graduation, I actually thought the photo and name were something an AI had mocked up. I believed this... Read more
I’d meant to work in the garden all day, but I kept having to run errands. First I had to pick up Adrienne from school, where they had celebrated the upcoming end of the school year with a Color Run, with all the teachers spraying the students with powdered dye. She got in the car with neon pink residue all over her t-shirt, and left it smeared on the passenger seat. I joked that it was the first pink... Read more
On Sunday night, I tried to see the auroras one last time. I drove up to Fernwood State Forest, to the scenic overlook facing northwest. I could see for miles, and the sky was perfectly clear, but there were no auroras. An owl hooted at me from a nearby tree. I hadn’t heard owls in years and years, not since I visited Pocahontas County as a teenager. Hearing an owl in the dead of night is unnerving in a way... Read more
It was the best kind of Sunday: cool, bright, sunny. We were going to church at the 5:30 Mass that evening, so I slept in until noon. I woke up to Adrienne presenting me with a wooden plaque from Dollar Tree and an origami card she made in school, signed in her best cursive. The school has been able to teach her cursive, something I never could. I praised her for the gift and told her it was... Read more
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