Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

“They not like us!” (that’s for sure!)

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Fuck that bum, let’s go Joe!

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

I really should read my own blog.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Never forget that he train is barreling down on Trump, even as he dances on the tracks.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Acts of Kindness: Father’s Day

Acts of Kindness: Father’s Day

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I went down a rabbit hole this morning…thought I’d take you along with me.

I love that he walks around telling a typical dad story.

There’s more….

I love that this dad knew it was his car from ACROSS the street.

There were more, but I’ll stop here. The fun thing is, those videos led me to a whole bunch of “celebrating teachers” videos which I’ll share in another post. Lots of good news out there if you stop and look.

 

Me and my dad, who I’m going to call as soon as I get back from walking the dogs before it gets blazing hot.

Happy father’s day to all the dads out there. And a special hug to those missing their dads today.

Open respite thread…share some good news

 

 

Reader Interactions

116Comments

  4. 4.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I’m FB friends with a guy who adopted a son three years ago. He frequently posts how much he loves this boy and how proud he is of everything the kid does. The son is now about 11, I think.

    Those posts are a wonderful gift to his son. My dad didn’t talk much. I have no idea what he thought of me or my siblings, though my mother once said he was proud of us. Even years from now, this boy will be know what his father thought of him

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    That last one scared me the way he kept clutching his chest. But it got dusty in here!

  11. 11.

    sab

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes. My father’s favorite child is in Korea right now. Debating whether to go see Dad in the nursring home today because I am not sure he will even know who I am, althought I have been around for 20+ years worrying about him. Sis could come in tomorow and he would recognize her.

    Not jealousy here. Just if you like your kid, document it. Otherwise they will be like me. Father’s day, why bother. That’s between Sis and him.

    I am just kid two. Siblings three and four feel like I do, why bother since he doesn’t even remember us. Difference is I have been around him lately so I have doubts. Three and four are sure he doesn’t remember.

  13. 13.

    germy shoemangler

    I don’t know who wrote this song but I remember Groucho singing it in his old age:

    Today, father is father’s day
    and we’re giving you a tie
    It’s not much you know
    it is just our way of showing you
    we think you’re a regular guy
    You’ll said it was nice of us to bother
    but it really was a pleasure to fuss
    for according to our mother you’re our father
    and that’s good enough for us
    yes that’s good enough for us.

  15. 15.

    The Moar You Know

    My father in law has that same green 73 stingray.  He was a fighter pilot in Vietnam.  Fast planes, fast cars.  Helluva nice guy on top of it.

    This is very unfortunately the last Father’s Day he’s going to see.  Wish me luck.  Actually wish my wife luck.  This is going to be a rough day for her.

  16. 16.

    Glidwrith

    There’s a picture of my dad holding me bare bottomed, old enough to sit on his hand without support, both of us smiling. Unfortunately for him, he found out my smile was the preliminary to taking a major poop in his hand. Word was, he was dancing around “Get it off! Get it off!”

  18. 18.

    UncleEbeneezer

    My good news is that next weekend after four weeks of tennis camps in the hot SoCal sun I am taking Sat off to go to the beach. And then On Sunday I’ll be going to the Bowl for Jazzfest, my first live concert since Covid. Absolutely sick lineup including Femi Kuti, Christian Scott Atunde, and Gregory Porter. Can’t wait!!!

  19. 19.

    eclare

    That first video…it’s just dusty in here. Yeah, dust.

    Good news is that it is not as hot as it has been today!  Back into the oven tomorrow, but today is ok.

  22. 22.

    NeenerNeener

    After I got thru sniffling at all the car reveals I started to wonder where they found leaded gasoline for all those old cars.

  23. 23.

    sab

    Weather is so good that every ablebodied father in the eastern midwest is spending father’s day mowing the damn lawn.

  24. 24.

    Michael Cain

    I told my kids years ago that if they were ever tempted to blow the money on a restored car for me for whatever reason, what I really wanted was a “hot rod Lincoln” but with a full electric drive train.  With one of those sport/stupid buttons that enables the 0-to-60 mph in three seconds acceleration.  (For use in safe spaces only.)

  25. 25.

    J R in WV

    My dad loved his cars. Once the family business that my granddad started back in the 1920s was sold and the loot divided up amongst the second generation parents, dad got mom a Mercedes 300D sedan, and got himself a 450SL roadster.

    He loved ragtops and once my brother and I were old enough to not fall out of it, he had one until the day he died. I still have his last convertible, although since Wife and I aren’t crazy about being out in the sun, we don’t drive it enough. It needs to be hauled in to the shop to have all the fluids drained and replaced and a long overdue service of everything.

    It is a garage queen, a 1990 Chrysler TC two-seater… but I can’t bring myself to sell it… It was built in Italy for Chrysler. The cockpit is all leather and burl walnut, nothing plastic but the steering wheel and some dashboard switches.

    Personally, I’m more of a pickup truck kind of guy.

    Happy Father’s Day to all you Jackal parents out there!!

  26. 26.

    TaMara

    @zhena gogolia:

    @Baud:

    He still kinda is. It wasn’t easy growing up with a dad who looked like Boston aristocracy and sounded like it, too. All my girl friends had a crush on him and all the guys I liked wanted to hang with him.

    After my mom passed in November, I knew he would be alright when we went to the grocery store this spring and all these women greeted him with hugs and smiles. He’s still got it. LOL

  27. 27.

    TaMara

    It is a garage queen, a 1990 Chrysler TC two-seater… but I can’t bring myself to sell it… It was built in Italy for Chrysler. The cockpit is all leather and burl walnut, nothing plastic but the steering wheel and some dashboard switches.

    @J R in WV: I just drooled a little

  31. 31.

    Evap

    Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers!  My dad used to grumble at me a bit for going into academia and not considering  a better paid profession.  (He was a very well paid CPA.). My mom pulled me aside one day and told me that he was always bragging to his friends about his smart daughter who has a PhD. He died suddenly at age 70, 24 years ago.  I still miss him.

  34. 34.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    Here’s some good news:

    Apple Store workers in Maryland on Saturday became the first group of employees in the retail giant’s 46-year history to win the right to union representation.

    The union victory, with 65 in favor of a union and 33 opposing one, comes as workers across tech and retail sectors ramp up petitions for labor representation. The victories threaten decades-old business models that have allowed many large corporations in the U.S. to operate without concerns over collective bargaining.

    Ballots from Apple’s (AAPL) Towson Town Center tallied on Saturday evening at the end of a four-day vote resulted in votes overwhelmingly in favor of joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, according to a union representative.

    The workers originally organized into a group called the Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (CORE), though they petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to join the larger, established International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers trade union.

  37. 37.

    J R in WV

    @NeenerNeener:

    After I got thru sniffling at all the car reveals I started to wonder where they found leaded gasoline for all those old cars.

    I think you can still buy a gas additive that adds a touch of tetra-ethyl-lead to a tank of clean new gas. Claimed to lubricate the valves?

  39. 39.

    Kelly

    My parents vacationed in Hawaii several times after us kids were grown up and on our own. Mom always made the arrangements, reserving a sensible, tiny, economy car because how far are you going to drive? Dad always went to the rental shop and upgraded to a Mustang V8 convertible because FUN.

  40. 40.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    So for my Father’s Day, all my plans got canceled over my pretty awful case of the ‘Rona that I got from the Bar Association Convention superspreader.

    I can even tell you when my body first reacted – I was having a second cigar of the evening and mistook what was happening as a reaction to an excess of nicotine. Was sitting outdoors outside a bar that just closed, mid-70s temps – hadn’t really over drank. All of a sudden, my body wracked up with a sudden something unpleasant and not unpainful sensation, I flushed and started to pour sweat from everywhere. The guys I was with reacted quickly (one had a cooler in his trunk with use and water). I slugged the water and immediately applied ice the the top of my head, my neck, my underarms in order to get control. I thought I was just dehydrated and nicotine buzzed, and called in a Lyft to head back to my hotel (the guy I was with ended up fining some strip clubs in Evansville, 35 minutes away).

    I didn’t feel great the next day, but I didn’t feel lousy, either. Didn’t enjoy the glass of Shiraz with the steak I ate the way I usually do. Slept fitfully.

    Friday, was awful tired – bailed out halfway through the Monica Lewinsky presentation to come home, actually had to stop to nap about halfway through. By then, I had the snot tickle, knew I needed to test as soon as I got home (we have a stash of home tests).  Sure enough, I had it.

    Yesterday morning bring was real bad. We do have a pulse oximeter and O2 sat was running as low as 84 for a short period. By making me sit up, it went up to the low-mid 90s (plus, there’s exercises). I had to fight the urge to lay down all day – had to get accustomed to dozing sitting up. I did get started on the Pfizer antivirals. Today is better, but the diarrhea has yet to improve. Am happy the neck pain and headaches are gone. I think the fatigue will stay with me.

  41. 41.

    Soprano2

    Hug your dad if you can. This year will be 40 years since my dad died. As I get older I miss him more.

  42. 42.

    eclare

    @Kelly:   I have been to Hawaii, it is the perfect place for a convertible!  The views, the sky…there is a reason it is known as the rainbow state.

  43. 43.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Glidwrith: LOL, I’d think  you get used to that kind of thing pretty quickly. I remember smelling something suspicious and lifting a kid up to put my nose against their diaper and check. Probably a fairly common move. But one day it struck me that non-parents might find it not a normal thing to do.

    Amazing how quickly your mind melts.

    I promise you all I never changed a diaper in a restaurant booth or on the restaurant table.

  49. 49.

    Kelly

    @Evap: My Dad was a heavy equipment operator for construction and logging. From time to time he’d come home with a story about a trying to explain to a new collage grad that the way he wanted Dad to move dirt was doing things the hard way. Dad got me a summer job on a crew building gravel logging roads. The money was as good as I anticipated I’d get after finishing my Bachelors degree and as a fit 19 year old it was fun! September rolled around and I talked to Dad about staying on the crew instead of returning to school. He said “Yep, it’s fun in the summer. It’s not fun in November when the rain is washing the snow down your neck and you’re up past your boot tops in mud. You keep at it and when your my age every joint hurts”. I went back to school, had a lucrative and comfortable career in IT. Died suddenly at 58.

    Steve Goodman “My Old Man”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAxKDLiwrhw&ab_channel=ImaSportsphile

  51. 51.

    Ida Slapter

    All the videos… Just…WOW! Thank you. It’s 30 years ago today that my Dad died unexpectedly. Nobody knew at the time, but he was born with an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) in his brain, and it ruptured early that day when he bent over to tie his golf shoes. (AVM is what Nate Fisher had on Six Feet Under.) He was only 68.

    Anyway, I’m mindful, not mournful today. He had a great life and, while his early passing was a terrible shock to all of his friends and family, I’ve got wonderful memories. I’ve also got mostly his personality, and that’s the best part of all. He loved to laugh with and at stuff, and so do I.

    June 19 was a Friday in 1992, so Dad was laid out in his casket on Father’s Day. I put the card I’d gotten for him inside, and I also put in a golf ball because he and my mother had enjoyed golfing so much after he retired.

    Dad and I had one last joke together, though it was unintended. We had him cremated – that golf ball blew up in the furnace and caused noise and a bit of a fuss that day! Went out with a bang! I knew he’d be pleased.  ⚰️

  53. 53.

    Narya

    At today’s run, the run bib question was “best advice dad ever gave you.” My answer (a picture of which I sent to him) was “Say that I don’t know when I don’t know.” Dad will be 92 in September if he makes it….I have never doubted his love for me and my sibs, and I’m even named after him. Thanks for this.

  55. 55.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @eclare: Yeah – she didn’t tell me that.  She only told me later when it went up to 87 and then climbed into the 90s. In the meantime, she was calling my primary doc and getting the antiviral prescription.

    I was zombie walking at first.

  56. 56.

    Jay

    @NeenerNeener:

    the lead was in the gas to protect the valves and seats.

    better metallurgy allowed for unleaded gas.

    since the early 80’s, the heads get pulled, a divot gets machined where the old valve seat was, a ring gets pressed in, machined, slide in the new valve, lapp it in place, put the heads back on, run it on unleaded.

    not worth doing on a Chrysler Cordoba, ( then or now), but a numbers* Corvette, yup.

    (Original paint, tranny, chassis, engine, etc)

  58. 58.

    Betty

    Men and theor relationships with cars are really something. So much better than the new fad of feeling that way about guns.

  60. 60.

    CaseyL

    @The Moar You Know: I’m so sorry! I hope this Father’s Day can somehow be made extra special, joyous and loving.

    I’m not sure which is worse: knowing in advance and dreading the inevitability, or a sudden unexpected death that you’re not prepared for.

  61. 61.

    Soprano2

    @The Moar You Know: I’m sorry, that’s tough. Part of me knows that it was more merciful that my dad died of a massive heart attack, but part of me wishes it had been slower so I got a chance to talk to him before he died. At age 21 there was lots of unfinished stuff between us.

  62. 62.

    Soprano2

    @CaseyL: Each sucks in its own special way. I think sudden is harder because there are things you didn’t say or ask that you wish you had.

  63. 63.

    CaseyL

    @Betty: You may have hit on something big.  Cars that are intimidating, shout “Testosterone overload!” to anyone who sees them, and can be tinkered with in the garage are practically nonexistent these days (and unaffordable even if you can find one).  Guns are all three.

  64. 64.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:   My grandmother died suddenly of an aneurysm, my dad took it hard.  Like you said, he was glad she didn’t suffer, but the shock was intense.

    It was so unexpected that my dad’s sister and her husband had just landed in New Zealand for a dream vacation.  They turned back around and came home.  They traveled other places after my grandmother’s death, but they never went back to New Zealand.

  65. 65.

    cain

    I can truly understand those stories. I totaled my Tesla and it was the most devastating thing because it was at a time I had just separated from my wife and it just seemed like every thing I cherished was being taken care of me – at the final, I lost my cat and finally had to move out of the city.

    A year later, someone from Facebook reached out ot me – apparently the car was sold on the open market and was at a place in Jordan of all countries. He showed me how he restored the car, but they hadn’t wiped out all my personal info on the car so he was able to find me. I gave him access to my Tesla account so that he could get inside  and drive it.

    He showed me videos of it running and driving around – it was.. precious. I’d cry every time I drove past the place it was sitting outside – it would detect my presence (eg cell phone) and the handles would come out or lights flashed. To see it back to life and with a new owner was a thrill.

    The man himself was a such a nice person, he wanted to send me a basket to thank me for allowing him to fully restore it. Truly a good person, unfortunately he couldn’t get it past customs or something. He did eventually sell it to someone else now that the car was restored.

    Wherever that car is – I hope it is living its best life.

  67. 67.

    cain

    @Betty: I care about guns as much as I care about a deadly viper about to strike. (don’t get me wrong, I love animals though. :)

    Not my cup of tea – I’m also nostalgic about quilts but thats another story.

  70. 70.

    cain

    @Michael Cain: ​
     
    So you want something with “Supert Pursuit Mode”? :-) (ok, only a certain set of cretins would even know what that even means. :-)

  71. 71.

    cain

    @J R in WV: ​
     
    For the longest time, I wanted a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia – mostly to fuck around with. It’s like the most easiest car to work with. Wife #1 wouldn’t let me buy one – I’m wondering if wife #2 would..

    I dont’ think I have room for a 3rd car – those cars run around 10k or so. Restoring those things are easy from an engine perspective, it’s the interior that is the problem. In these days of 3D printing, I wonder ..

    (I actually would want to replace the gas engine with an electric drive train)

  73. 73.

    Jay

    @Betty:

    @CaseyL:

    If you are of a certain age and gender, a car meant freedom.

    You play your own tunes, go where you wanted, mac with a girl.

    They took a lot of care and feeding, ( 4 tune ups a year, a dozen oil changes) and many could be affordably “souped up”, even if it was just better tires, mags and Thrush mufflers.

    While we were waiting for our prefrontal cortex to develop, one could also, ( and we did), do “stupid stuff”, lots of it.

    There is a ton of nostalgia involved with cars of that era, that’s often not really about the car.

  77. 77.

    JoyceH

    I sort of hate to bring a political note into this thread, but ‘kindness’ in the tag triggered this comment.

    Last night I watched Won’t You Be My Neighbor on Netflix, a documentary about Mister Rogers. I know, awwwww, right?

    But one thing really struck me – later in the documentary, there were clips from Fox News, bashing on Mister Rogers. Seems that telling kids ‘I like you just the way you are,’ and telling them they are special and worthy of love was responsible for a generation of lazy, entitled brats. I can’t find the words to express the vitriol displayed by the word choices, tone of voice and facial expressions. Which goes to show that the right’s jihad on basic kindness long pre-dates Trump.

    Oh, and Westboro Baptist picketed his funeral, because he supported tolerance. Geez.

  78. 78.

    Rachel Bakes

    @The Moar You Know:  I lost my 86 year old dad in February. Hurts underneath everything but once in a while really rears up. Shopping for Father’s Day card for my husband this week knocked me down-that I wasn’t getting one for Dad. Remember the good times and talk about them.

  80. 80.

    Ruckus

    @sab:

    Dad’s been gone for 21 yrs now. Alzheimers for about 15 years before that. Even in the home he lived in (run by a couple of Vietnamese ladies who came to his funeral and cried like moms) he smiled when one of his kids walked in the room, even if he had no clue of our names. He taught me to be a moldmaker/machinist, he taught me to respect people, he taught me to pay a proper wage, he taught me to respect your employees, he supported me when I wanted to take another tack career wise, he taught me to be a better person. Because of the Alzheimers he’s really been gone for about 35 yrs. I sat on his bed with my arm around him in the hospital when he died, it was all I could do for him.

  81. 81.

    PaulB

    One of my favorite clips from Cheers is relevant for today and for this thread: Coach talking his daughter out of marrying a man who is wrong for her. It’s funny and at the same time incredibly moving. That moment when he realizes that his daughter looks so much like her mother. And that moment when she realizes that to the man in front of her, she and his wife were the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Just world-class writing and acting.

    Just be careful of the dust when you watch the clip.

  82. 82.

    Glidwrith

    Another story: sit down to a Sunday breakfast with stacked toast on a saucer. Us kids, with big grins would always tell Dad to take the first piece on top, because we wanted the warmer pieces underneath. He would smile and take the piece.

    Years later, we found out he wasn’t playing along with the joke and thought we were respectfully deferring to the Head of the House. He really didn’t know us very well sometimes….

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @Rachel Bakes: I’m sorry.  I remember the first year after I lost my dad, and Father’s Day was brutal.

    It seemed like they advertised Father’s Day everywhere, all the time.

    I remember one ad where they said “Everyone has a Dad…what are you going to get yours?”  (or something similar for the second part)

    I mentally screamed NO EVERYONE DOES NOT HAVE A DAD!

    And then I thought about the little kids and “daddy-daughter” dances and how cruel that is for kids who don’t have a dad.

  86. 86.

    Ruckus

    @Narya:

    It was a bit of contention for me when I was young that I am the II.

    But as I’ve gotten older I understand it better and it’s funny that dad was in the shriners and went on a “convention” run to LV one weekend, guy came sat down next to him on the bus and said “Hi I’m ______ Dad replied Hi I’m same first name, guy said I’m _______ _____. dad said Hi, I’m _____ _____.  The had the same first name, last name, and middle initial. They have a son who was the II. For LA people the father had owned a burger drive thru that he sold to In and Out and became an executive there. They lived about 4 miles from us. Life can be weird some days.

  87. 87.

    Redshift

    My brother and I took my dad for a picnic at his favorite spot on the Potomac yesterday. He’s in good health and still mobile enough to be able to take a walk along the trail there, for which I am grateful.

  88. 88.

    eclare

    @WaterGirl:   This applies to dads too.  One of the best ads I’ve ever seen was Bear Bryant for South Central Bell, talking about how players need to stay in touch with their families.  The ad ends with “Have you called your mama today?  I sure wish I could call mine.”

    I am sure it’s easy to find, but I’m on my phone so no link.

  89. 89.

    Ruckus

    @JoyceH:

    Isn’t it funny that many of the most religious people seemingly have zero idea of the actual teachings of their religions, you know of Jesus?

    Do they only learn the stories of all the assholes in this world?

  91. 91.

    Ben Cisco

    Missing my dad today. I was wondering what he would make of all that has happened in the last five years. Realized that he would have said “People done lost their damn minds!!”

    Gone, but still making me laugh.

  93. 93.

    lowtechcyclist

    @The Moar You Know: 

    This is very unfortunately the last Father’s Day he’s going to see. Wish me luck. Actually wish my wife luck. This is going to be a rough day for her.

    I wish you both as much comfort and consolation as you can find in your grief.

    My FIL is in his 80s and probably has a few more years ahead, but not many. I’m going to miss him when he goes, but my wife will fall apart when it happens, and I dread that.

  95. 95.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ruckus: ​
     

    Yeah, I’ve never been able to find that verse where Jesus says, “Go forth and be assholes to all nations.” But they’re living proof that they’ve found it somewhere.

  97. 97.

    OGLiberal

    When your wife and teen kids say they want to leave do you do that and where?  I don’t want these assholes scaring me out of my country but my kids are old enough to realize this insanity isn’t temporary.

    Register this – my kids are both less than 16 and want to leave here because too many people are hateful assholes.

  98. 98.

    CaseyL

    @Ruckus: 
    Jesus is nothing more than a Get Out of Jail Free card to RW Christians. All that stuff he did and said is completely irrelevant; all that matters is how and why he died. I have heard some of them say so, in so many words.

  99. 99.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @OGLiberal:

    It’s up to you, but to be honest, things are pretty bad elsewhere, too. It’s not just limited to the US. Plus, you’d need to look up what the requirements are for citizenship, which can be very stringent

    I worry about Europe this winter, especially if the Ukraine war drags on until then and beyond

  101. 101.

    brendancalling

    Gave myself a Father’s Day present by heading to RI for the weekend to stay with an old friend.

  104. 104.

    Redshift

    There was a post years ago on Kos by someone who’d been raised evangelical but escaped, about what the movement is really like. One if the bits that stuck with me was about how it’s common for evangelicals to claim they “read the Bible every day” it “read the Bible cover to cover,” but the vast majority of them… don’t. At all. What they know of the bible is what their pastor tells them, which they accept without question like good little authoritarians.

  105. 105.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @eclare:

    Yup. They only want very in demand careers that their own population can’t fill quick enough, to my knowledge. If you’re an accountant, etc, you’re probably out of luck

  107. 107.

    Ohio Mom

    @OGLiberal: Maybe they can look into going to college in someplace like Canada or Ireland. This idea is based on my niece’s husband coming here from India for college. Now he has a career, a wife and citizenship.

  109. 109.

    Brachiator

    @Redshift: 

    There was a post years ago on Kos by someone who’d been raised evangelical but escaped, about what the movement is really like. One if the bits that stuck with me was about how it’s common for evangelicals to claim they “read the Bible every day” it “read the Bible cover to cover,” but the vast majority of them… don’t. At all. What they know of the bible is what their pastor tells them, which they accept without question like good little authoritarians.

    I know quite a number of evangelicals who take their radical Protestantism very seriously. They not only read the Bible every day, they make a stab at learning ancient biblical languages to get a better understanding.

    They will have home study Bible groups that are fairly rigorous. And when they read along as a pastor explicates a biblical passage, they have no problem shaking their head in disagreement if they think the pastor got it wrong.

  110. 110.

    Ruckus

    @CaseyL:

    I read the bible when I was 12, cover to cover. I was pretty sure it was just a book and nothing in the last 60+ yrs has changed my mind. Remember that not all that long ago we had far less knowledge of the world we live in and the bible/religion gave people some reason to get up in the morning. Besides it was another day and the sun came up. I’ve seen and heard enough from religious people to know there are good people who believe. I’ve also seen and heard enough from religious people to see that often stories can be handed down over centuries that have zero actual truth. My point is that there are as many stories of life as there are people who’ve lived. There is hate, there is good, there is indifference. I’ve held a human being that died in my arms. I was the only person in the room that knew he’d died and they were standing right there and said he wasn’t dead. They didn’t want to believe it. I’ve wanted to believe religion but I’ve felt death in my arms and can’t. Death didn’t win, it just showed me that life isn’t infinite no matter that we want it to be, even need it to be. It’s life and then it isn’t. I’ve been under the bumper of a moving truck and walked away, I’ve held death, I’ve buried friends and family. The good don’t die young, the bad don’t live forever. We are born, we live, we die. The point is to be human, be good, don’t be a dick. Help when you can, support when you can, live as long and live well. Consider others, you share life with billions, leave it better when it’s your time. Six months like my cousin or 106 if you can. It’s not about what might be next, it’s about the here and now, it’s about you, and everyone else, it’s what you make of it, not what happens next.

  111. 111.

    Jay

    @Ohio Mom:

    in Canada, the kids can come here as International Students, then get their “landed” status, then Citizenship, then through the “family reunification process”, bring their parents over.

    It’s not a quick process.

  114. 114.

    Ohio Mom

    @Jay: Let’s say the entire process takes 20 years (just making that number up). The kids are 16 now, so another five before they are finished with undergraduate school, so now we are up to 25 years out, 2022 plus 25 equals 2047.

    So in 2047 (all else being equal), everyone in the family is either settled in Canada or still living in the U.S.

    The point being, the time is going to pass whether the kids emigrate or not.

    During the Bush 2 years I googled becoming a Canadian citizen and it didn’t take more than a few minutes to see that wasn’t going to be possible for Ohio Family. But I still think it’s an idea for others to consider.

  115. 115.

    Honus

    I’ve worked on all of those cars.  In fact i could take the engine in any of them apart down to the shortblock and reassemble them blindfolded

  116. 116.

    Honus

    @Ruckus: “The point is to be human, be good, don’t be a dick.”

    as someone who, as my son pointed out today, has been in the afterlife four or five times, this.

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