Author: Rev. Joe Dirt

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This pandemic is real people…

A few weeks ago I posted an article, The Pandemic Blues – Take II. In it I detailed several things that happened to me during a round of golf that disturbed me in relation to folk’s attitude towards the corona virus pandemic.  I then mentioned passing a popular bar/restaurant on my way home that is close to the golf course.  It caters to a working class crowd,  and is a nice place to grab a cold one and a bite to eat.  What I noticed that day was how crowded the parking lot was, to the point of overflowing.  And how I could not imagine social distancing taking place in there.

The last 2 or 3 times I have been golfing over in Illinois, the bar has been closed.  Today at the golf course there was a young man  behind the counter who I knew and knew to be from the area.  I asked him if he knew the story about why the bar was closed.

Well yes he did.  It turns out 2 of the waitresses tested positive for COVID-19.  They were going to just close down the place for a couple days for a “deep cleaning”, he told me.  He then went on to relate that there was a cluster of 20  COVID-19 cases in a small town close to Columbia, IL  When they did the contact tracing they all went back to the bar!  So they have closed the bar down for 2 weeks.  I suppose that works to… I’m not really sure.

I can only hope when they reopen they test their employees a little better and force their customers into practicing social distancing.  I do not really see the later happening in this particular establishment.

We all need to take care and realize that this is a real and serious pandemic, and that it is far from over.

Keep well.

 

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SING… Sing where you can…

If you ask the lyrical Señora Weinhaus she will quickly tell you that her life is music.  If she could not sing I am not sure she would find life worth living.  Normally she sings in in several choirs, but all that has been curtailed due to COVID-19.

She met two of her mates from the Hospice Choir at a tunnel on the Creve Coeur bike path.  Bonnie’s husband shot this video of their jubilation.

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The Unintended Lesson – Revisited

I wrote the article below a little over 20 years, and I wanted to re-share this story today. 

In all of our lives there are hopefully a few individuals that have made a big impact.  My Uncle Dutch and Aunt Peggy were two such people.  When, as a teenager, I was having a lot of problems at home, they took me in for a while.  They helped firm up my rudder that was wobbling terribly.  My uncle passed away today at the age of 92 after living what I would call a good and meaningful  life.  God bless you, Uncle, and godspeed on your new journey. 

dsc_0001aMy Uncle Dutch is not a tall man, and he has what we affectionately call a Buddha belly. I know that he was skinny once upon a time. I have seen pictures of him when he was young and in the Navy, but that is not the Harry Dodd I know. He is elderly now, with white hair, and it is hard for me to not think of him in a suit and tie. The first thing that you will probably notice about my Uncle is his smile. While he doesn’t smile all the time, it is certainly there more than it isn’t. And it is the type of smile that just lights up his whole face.

He is married to my mother’s sister. Now that I am older, I recognize her as kind, gentle, woman. Continue reading “The Unintended Lesson – Revisited”

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The Magic of Dogs

The peerless Señora Weinhaus has two long term friends, Greg and Jeanne.  She met the both of them when all were taking classes in Reiki some 20 years ago.  In fact she has two other long term friends from the same class, a retired meteorologist from Sicily named Vincenzo and his partner Maury.  Despite living in this country for 50 years Vince still has a fairly thick Italian accent, but I believe his command of English is better than mine.  You will not find many other folks more interesting to converse with than Vincenzo.   Maury hails from Brazil, but  I thought him a native North American the first time I met him as his accent is so perfectly Midwestern.  Maury can give Vince a run for his money in the conversation department… when he can get a word in edgewise.  That is always Continue reading “The Magic of Dogs”

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We got a long way to go

I went for a short bike ride this a.m., about 26 miles. To do this I went out to Creve Coeur Park.  I went to a  lesser used trailhead on River Valley Drive.  This particular starting point allows me to do a little warm up within the park.  I then go over the Missouri River and drop down on to the Katy Trail.  This particular day I rode to and through St. Charles on this rail to trail project, waving to the statue of Lewis & Clark that is between the trail and the Missouri River in Old Town St. Charles.

As I was unloading my bicycle from the back of my pickup truck, I vaguely noticed a black sedan go by. As this road / parking lot dead ends just before the bike path, the car had to turn around and come back.  As they passed me the young “lady” in the passenger seat screamed, “TRUMP KICKS ASS.”

I am sure this was in response to several anti-Trump  bumper stickers on my back windshield.  You can see a picture on my article Ooops…Wrong Digit. I have since added one bumper sticker whose boldest part is Stop The Donald, basically equating our POS POTUS to a sexually transmitted disease.  After I  put the first set on my truck on 20 January 2017 I was flipped off multiple times.  I have not been flipped off for at least 2 years now.  In fact, I have had people comment in parking lots, etc. that they agreed with me.

I am not sure it is the smartest thing I could do, place inflammatory political bumper stickers on a valuable possession, but it needs to said.  And it needs to be said often.  What are you for in these troubled times?  I do understand that folks are afraid of antagonizing MAGAs, but we must stop this madness.

86 45 11-03-2020

Keep well.

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Word of the Day – Latitudinarian

  • Noun: Latitudinarian

    1. not insisting on strict conformity to a particular doctrine or standard : tolerant specifically
    2. tolerant of variations in religious opinion or doctrine
  • Synonyms:
    1. enlightened
    2. flexible
    3. humanistic
    4. lenient
    5. permissive
    6. radical
    7. reformist
    8. tolerant
  • Usage:
    1. “For example, Kevin Roose, a reporter with the New York Times, often posts (on Twitter) a list of the top 10 posts shared on Facebook in the past 24 hours, which almost always come predominantly from conservative voices, including Fox News, Ben Shapiro, ForAmerica, and the right-wing conspiracy theorist Dinesh D’Souza. On the other hand, Twitter has largely become the voice of the left, where the most shared stories, content, videos, and opinions are often much more latitudinarian in nature.”
  • Encountered:
    1. While reading Vanity Fair article How Facebook Became the Social Media Home of the Right

To see more Words of the Day, visit this link: Words of the Day