only 12, not 13

Well the Clergy Talks series had its last stand today.

I am sure going to miss this weekly interlude with my boys of religion.

There's talk of these Zoom sessions getting turned into podcasts, but we'll see.

I doubt I'll be drawn to those if I cannot interact actively with these men.

Perhaps they will have another series in the summer?

I will hope for this again, next year, to brighten my winter Wednesdays.

I did miss one episode, as it is.

That was the one on February 23, when I found myself southside, responding to an alert from Dawn and me thinking I was going to get a vaccination.

Nope, that didn't pan out - I wasn't old enough.

What a problem to have!

(smile!)

I was definitely present for episode 9 that first week of March!

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 had just gone into effect and the question posed was: What would you do to benefit your community if you had a trillion dollars to splash around?

I suggested community centers to draw people together, much as the squares designed by James Oglethorpe do downtown.

Michael liked that idea, and thanked me for the reminder of them, but mostly the four men seemed to focus on drawing people to churches for support and comradery.

I also suggested Gardens For Humanity, much like Habitat For Humanity, but with the sweat equity invested in food crops to increase self-sufficiency and decrease food bills.

Robert liked that idea, and my proposal of unused buildings being repurposed as greenhouses for the different foods to be grown.

Such a fruitful discussion!

(smile!)

The March 10th session had a much more somber tone and dealt with the concept of hate and how to quell it.

What good timing for that topic, as I had just been to the SJFF18 Zoom talk for "Shared Legacies" about that very thing!

I told them we live in a combative society, especially concerning sports, in which we are encouraged to belittle and disparage those who are not on the team we want to win. How can we make "sports = game"?
Well, they could all certainly run with that pass, couldn't they?

(Get my little sports-related joke?)

The talk did turn to religion at one point, with Michael tossing in that the story of Cain and Abel is a metaphor, with the growing of crops by farmer Cain being the new way and hunter-gatherer Abel representing the old way.

Say what?

I asked, "Does that mean eat meat, not veggies?"

Apparently so.

I would like to talk to Grandpa about that and get his take on it.

I bet I could have had a grand discussion with Frank about it, too.

David thanked me for my comments - aloud, that is, not just in the 'chat' box.

How very nice of him!

As I told him, I respond there to let them know they have an audience.

I didn't tell him it's also because I want to be included in the discussion, so speaking up will certainly accomplish that.

(smile!)

Want to guess which holiday this session was on?

I found it delightful that Michael and Billy were festooned to show off their Irish spirit!

Robert was a bit chagrined that the day's date had not registered with him, as he had greenery he could have donned, if only!

David, I think, is in Texas, so St. Patrick is not really of interest there.

He had a game for all to play: if you could have a do-over, 1) what country would you want to be born in; 2) what religion would you practice; 3) what job would you pursue?

The only caveat was they could not be born in the USA, choose the religion currently followed, or perform any of the jobs they had ever had presently or in the past.

Very interesting questions, very interesting answers, and this possibly has something to do with the doctoral degree that David is now seeking.

And how had he introduced the game?

By running a trailer for "Quantum Leap"!!!!!

I was so thrilled and made sure they knew I watched the show every weeknight!

I didn't mention that part of the attraction was to the body parts revealed by Dr. Sam Beckett during the course of many of those episodes.

I don't think they would have cared about that.
Side note: Billy and Scott Bakula were in New York City during the same time period, both auditioning for parts in shows to be performed on, and off, Broadway.

Perhaps, if I had not gone to see Sam Waterston and Gilda Radner in "Lunch Hour", I might have seen a show with Billy or Scott, back in 1981.

How cool is that?

(smile!)

And so we arrive at today's Zoom, which I had thought would be penultimate, but, no.

And I had thought there were to be 13 episodes in the series, but, no.

And there were to be four clergy present for the meeting, but, no.

In fact, Robert left halfway through, as he had somewhere else to be, so it was just David and Michael for the last of it.

And, so, just what was the topic?

Books and how they are read.

No, not whether the words are read from left to right or vice versa, as they are in Hebrew.

The conversation revolved around the amount of attention given to the words and whether that concentration varies based on the type of book being read.

They were comparing secular books to religious ones.

Me being me, of course I threw in my two cents' worth.

"I am much more thorough with science books than I am with science fiction... and I enjoy them differently, but I do enjoy both types."

Oh, yes, I am certainly going to miss these Wednesday afternoons with them!

Maybe, once this pandemic is behind us, I'll be able to chat with them in person.

Hopefully so.

(smile)