Category: Rev. Joe Dirt’s Ramblings

The unsolicited, unreasoned, uninformed, unapologetic opinions of Rev. Joe Dirt

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 4,234

…yeah I know you did not ask!

Life is purposeless.  Life just is.  Anyone beyond scrambling daily to just meet their existence needs knows this at some level.  Most folks do not acknowledge it.  Perhaps this is actually the healthier response, to remain somewhat delusional.  However it is this unacknowledged comprehension that drives so much of human behavior.  The mass psychoses that are the various religions stem from this.  The fanaticism of the sports aficionado is a symptom of this.  You can add anything that pretends to provide or reveal purpose to life. Being a creative species we have concocted many.

The question becomes what happens when this purposelessness is acknowledged.  An argument could be made that this is a possible cause of depression, addiction, and a varied list of maladaptive behaviors.

The more I dwell on it, the only sane response when you are aware enough to acknowledge that life is without purpose is to live in the moment, to just be.  Another possible response when you accept this is to provide your own purpose realizing that ultimately your purpose is an ephemeroptera.

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Oklahoma Tea Party Candidate Supports Stoning Gay People to Death

Any wonder I do not want to live in Oklahoma…

Click hyperlink below to read story on Slate.com

Oklahoma Tea Party Candidate Supports Stoning Gay People to Death

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 6,787

…yeah I know you did not ask!

Intelligent Design… If there were truly a loving, compassionate god, would he/she/it design a system of carnivorous might.  The strong preying on the weak, biting through their jugular veins, and ripping them apart bite by bite.  A system designed such that many of the males of the species will eat the young of their species if given half a chance.  And so on and so on and so on …

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Pass the Black Flag Please

blackflagMy grandmother, my mother’s mother, was known and addressed by all as Mama Carr.  She had a hardscrabble life.  She was born in the Ozark Mountains in 1897.  She later moved with her family to Indian Territory around Tom Joad country near what is now Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Later she would share crop with my grandfather near Warner, Oklahoma in an area lovingly known as Ignorant Ridge.

Along the way she had 11 children, 9 of whom made it to adulthood.  Her only son died in WWII becoming a well publicized war hero with his final actions.  All her daughters went on to live respectable lives.  Mama Carr was charitable, almost to a fault, but she did not tolerate slackards or drunkards.  She was a Pentecostal who for some reason never went to church, but she was a very religious woman.  She was kind in any number of ways, but she also had a temper and a bit of a mean streak. Continue reading “Pass the Black Flag Please”

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Same Sh**, Different Day

There is absolutely nothing to be said in favour of growing old. There ought to be leglislation against it. ~~ Patrick Moore

Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven’t committed. ~~ Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

The clock never stops, never stops, never waits. We’re growing old. It’s getting late. ~~ Ben Folds quotes

“The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.” ~~ H.L. Mencken

“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.” ~~ Biff from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive. ~~ Willy from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Life may be not only meaningless but absurd.~~ Thomas Nagel

“I had become a perfect fake human, saying the stupid and pointless things that humans say to each other all day long.” ~~ Jeff Lindsay, Dearly Devoted Dexter

“Too much ends in smoke.” ~~ Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 2,363

…yeah I know you did not ask!

If there were truly a loving, compassionate god, he/she/it would allow us humans a graceful, peaceful, and respectful exit from this life.  That happens occasionally, but it seems rare.

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My Father, Ted Weinhaus

ted(This is the remembrance speech that Robin gave at her Father’s funeral.  I thought it amazing and beautiful)

I begin by starting with the end.  Dad died at 8 pm Sunday night. He spent his last day allowing his body to do what it had always done, keep him alive the magical way it could. His breathing was such a struggle and yet breath after breath he persevered. For days, our breath labored along with him, ourselves struggling with each breath.  In the end, the pneumonia won and we gentled our breath in gratefulness and surrender.

Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s many years ago.  He lived in a world where he could not express himself with his words and thoughts. We will never know what he thought.  But we did know that he had joy in his heart. He showed this daily to his caretakers at the nursing home. He showed his joy to most anyone who he could have eye contact with. Just last Wednesday, less than one week ago, he looked into my eyes, opened his mouth and laughed and smiled. He was filled with joy to see me. You could not help but wonder why he laughed and smiled but we all came to the same understanding that there was a shining, golden appreciative man inside.

I am grateful. I am grateful to have been taught by my father to love life and appreciate each and every moment of it. Even when life is tough and it Is not the way you want it to be, there is a lesson and a blessing to be learned. My father has been a great teacher to me. Continue reading “My Father, Ted Weinhaus”

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Rev. Joe’s Random Thought # 5,391

…yeah I know you did not ask!

One of the few things I have figured about life is that it is sloppy. Occasionally life is ugly. And thankfully, rarely, life is ugly and sloppy.

That is when you focus on the hummingbirds in the honeysuckle.