This week I'm taking the time to hand write a few letters for National Mail a Hand Written Letter Day on November 1st. Thus this blog is taken a short recess this week so I may concentrate on writing a few letters to friends and family. I hope that each and everyone reading this will take the time to write a friend a hand written note or letter just to let them know you are thinking of them.
See y'all next week!
Happy Halloween everyone....
I was reading the paper a couple weeks ago when I stumbled upon a story about a couple driving along and as they started to drive through an underpass they encountered a jaywalker,who was merely just strolling along like she owned the road and had every business being out in the middle of harms way. The couple,perhaps frighten by the sudden sight of a woman lolly gagging through the street, blared their car horn at her as to alert her of the danger of oncoming traffic. Well the jaywalker actually took offense at this and proceeded to cuss out the couple driving. As the woman in the car drove by the jaywalker bitching a mile a minute,she found it curious that the jaywalker wasn't concerned for her life. Or even making a solid attempt to move out harms way. The jaywalker's biggest complaint was....as she yelled out to the couple driving by....
"Can't you see I'm on the phone!!"
Apparently the loud horn being echoed in an underpass makes it even harder to yak to friends on a cell phone as you conflict traffic patterns.
I was driving home from Vinton one evening this past week and a couple attempted to step out in the middle of the road to cross the street. Now to their defense there was no crosswalk for them to use seeing how I was using local roads or "back roads" as I refer to them (Besides...all roads leading out of Vinton are "back roads" right!?!?)
This couple had to second guess their timing once they saw me quickly approaching and the took a quick step back onto the curb. As I passed by them and looked their way. The shot me a death glare like I had some nerve driving on the road they wanted to cross.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The behaviors and attitudes I just described above is due to a phenomenon I refer to as... The Walmart Complex.
Anyone who has ever driven through a main entrance of a Walmart,Target,or Kroger can tell you that pedestrians have the right of way. I,myself have darted out of these stores and without even looking for oncoming traffic just stroll through the parking lot knowing I have the right of way. The trouble is, this carefree crossing the street has carried over into the real world of jaywalking. Attitudes intact!
I see this all the time when driving downtown. People stepping out in front of you knowing that they do not have the right of way. Staring and daring you to do something about it. Jaywalkers are suffering through the Walmart Complex and someone's going to end up in the hospital as a result. Hopefully not the driver when he/she is just merely in the right place at the right time. I like to put scares into jaywalkers..I hit the gas! Give them something to think about. If they give me the attitude and my car window is down...."This is not Walmart pal! You don't have the right of way...."
I'm under no obligation to stop. Guess the only reason I would is I'm not interested in serving time for involuntary manslaughter. But, in worse case scenario; As I'm serving my time...I wonder: Will I be losing any sleep over taking someone out whose suffering from the Walmart Complex?
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth...And God said,Let there be light: and there was light." -Genesis 1:1&3
"And God said unto Noah,The end of all flesh is come before me;for the earth is filled with violence through them and behold I will destroy them with the earth." -Genesis 6:13
"And the Lord said unto Moses,Lo,I come unto thee in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with thee,and believe thee forever..." -Genesis 19:9
"And God said (unto Abraham), take now thy son,thine only son Isaac,whom thou lovest,and get thee into the land of Moriah;and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
-Genesis 22:2
God said this and God said that. The Bible is riddled with quote after quote from the Almighty. In "biblical days" God was as common a voice as any modern day news anchor. God was around every street corner and directing traffic in the world that He created. Every story you read in the Old Testament was pretty much dictated by the voice from above. As a kid growing up in Sunday school class every week I couldn't help wonder...Why would a voice heard so often in the Holy Bible be so silent in the year 1983. If God is so animated and interactive with his humanoid creations in "biblical days" why then, can't I "see" Him or hear him in more modern times. This was my thinking as an eight year old.
I'm not sure how old I was when I figured out there is no actual voice of God,but it has taken me even longer in life to make this bold claim:
Ladies and gentlemen, God has never said jack shit! No one who has ever walked the face of this earth,including but not limited to,all those "characters" in the bible, has ever heard the actual voice of God.
Let's rephrase that so there be no misunderstanding:
God has never spoken to anyone that's ever walked the face of this earth. EVER.
NO ONE:
Not Adam nor Eve,Noah,Moses,Abraham,Wesley Smith,the Pope,Jerry Falwell,Bin Laden,Andrea Yates,Matthew,Mark,Luke or John,David Koresh,Jim Jones,nor Mother Teresa. NO ONE!
Mankind has been shoving words down God's throat for thousands of years. God said this and God said that, God spoke to me...,God speaks...,God has lead me to do this or that. All these claims are false. To anyone that would like to dispute this claim I would submit to you that you should thankful for there not being an actual voice of God. The bible is littered with "stories" with so much killing and barbarism and completely wiping out entire cities of "corrupt" people which, you have to assume included the innocent lives of women,children,and unborn fetus'. It should tame one's mind that this is merely men doing these acts of violence in the name of God or perhaps claiming that God commanded this violence. Once you realize there is no voice descending down from heaven and instructing a mere man in commandments and violence;Its actually a big sigh of relief.
I guess the big draw back in admitting this lack of voice over from heaven is not knowing where your morals or goodness towards man comes from. I'll refrain from mentioning the evolutionary process of man has spawned acts of kindness towards others. This is another blog entry in itself. Your morals does not come from a reading of the bible. Period. Stay tuned for this entry coming soon.
I saw an interview with Bill Maher on the Conan O'Brien show once when Maher was promoting his movie "Religulous" and he made a comment on the voice of God.
"God,I mean why? If He's all powerful,why does He always tell his important stuff to one prophet,alone? He always takes some guy up on a mountain,or out in the woods where nobodies around. Why don't He just stop the world and go "Hey! Hi everybody! Its God! And the correct religion issssss...Shinto!"
This is hitting the nail on the head. Moses was asked to climb Mt Sinai alone. Wesley Smith had a conversation with God alone in the woods. No one was around to witness the voice of God when Abraham was being instructed to sacrifice his only son to show loyalty. The same can be said for Andrea Yates when God told her to drown her 5 children in that bathtub. Anyone who has ever claimed to have heard a voice of God should be treated as needing lots of medication. They are borderline insane once they act violently from the voices they hear.
Most Christians thinks its wonderful when they hear such testimony that God is calling someone into the ministry or as a missionary. The trouble is God has never spoken to anyone. Their claim that God instructs them is false. I hear a voice inside my head every day. Its called my conscience. And my "voice" says there is no God. I guess to the believer that's the voice of Satan.
So let's approach this divine voice with extreme caution. Rational and reasonable people understand that once someone makes bold claims (as our world's religious leaders so often do)about hearing a voice from the heavens its a free for all. The sky's the limit. You can make any claim you want and make it believable by simply telling your followers you're under divine instruction. But sadly since there are no gods talking to us. That claim is made by man. And man has spawned so much lunacy in the name of an imaginary voice.
IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:::
Top Ten Guests I'd Want at My Cocktail Party
10. Mary Carillo
9. Roger Federer
8. Sam Harris
7. Richard Dawkins
6. Martina Navratilova
5. Larry David
4. Wanda Sykes
3. Ellen DeGeneres
2. Elton John
1. Mark Wade
Top Ten Food Items I'd Want Served As My Last Meal
10. Garden salad with 1000 island
9. White bean chicken chili with cheese
8. Dinner rolls from Red Lobster
7. Filet Mignon (medium well)
6. Mashed potatoes with chives
5. Steamed broccoli
4. Cheesecake
3. Vanilla ice cream
2. Vodka
1. Mountain Dew!
Top Ten People the World Could Have Lived Without.
10. Kim Jong Il
9. Queen Mary I
8. Joesph Stalin
7. Osama Bin Laden
6. Timothy McVay
5. Jim Jones
4. Pol Pot
3. Ruhollah Khomeini
2. Attila the Hun
1. Adolf Hitler
Top Ten Places I Want to Visit Before I Die
10. Hawaii
9. Australia
8. Toronto
7. Berlin
6. London
5. South Africa
4. Prague
3. Bangkok
2. Tokyo
1. Rio De Janeiro
Top Ten Favorite Activities
10. Volleyball
9. Poker
8. Travel
7. Video games
6. Internet
5. <censored>
4. Eating
3. Sleeping
2. Tennis
1. Sex
Top Ten Musts to Be Surrounded By on My Death Bed
(if applicable)
10. Family
9. Pet(s)
8. Laptop
7. Smartphone
6. TV
5. Music source
4. Alcohol
3. Water
2. Meds
1. Scented candles
Top Ten Things I'd Rather Not Be Doing
10. Shave
9. Cut finger/toe nails
8. Work
7. Pay Taxes/Bills
6. Nursing a cold
5. Cleaning
4. Reading
3. Talk on Phone
2. Walk in the rain
1. Deal with snow
Top Ten Favorite TV Shows
10. Golden Girls
9. Saturday Night Live
8. Cheers
7. Night Court
6. Cleveland Show
5. A-Team
4. Will and Grace
3. Family Guy
2. Seinfeld
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Top Ten Favorite Video Games
10. Dante's Inferno
9. Mario Kart
8. Wii Sports
7. Ice Hockey
6. RC Pro AM
5. God of War Series
4. Ratchet and Clank Series
3. MegaMan Series
2. Tiger Woods PGA10
1.Mario Brothers Series
Top Ten Most Visited Websites
10. Yahoo
9. eBay
8. Tennis
7. Overstock
6. USPS
5. VA Lottery
4. RPEFCU
3. Blogger
2. Google
1. Facebook
Almost 14 days ago I dropped my phone at work and it completely stopped working. Living without a dial tone and text messages has been quite a chore. Imagine! No iPhone means no hand held email,youTube,Facebook,sports scores,Angry Birds,Words with Friends,texts,calendar,alarms, you name. My convenient pocket guide to life is gone. I jokingly made a reference on facebook this week about anyone needing to reach me should write me a letter and sure enough in my mailbox this week was a hand written letter from my youngest brother. It instantly put me in a reflective nostalgic mood. It felt totally 1980's to receive this. It has literally been years since I had seen this form of communication addressed to me. I thanked him the best way I know how. Through Facebook of course. I joked "If only I had a pen and paper...I'd write you back!"
Consider this: There is a generation among us that has never seen an envelope in a mail box with their name on it. We live in an age of texts,emails,facebook,tweets,etcs... Sitting down and actually writing letters to friends or even family...those days are gone.
It's weird to think that there are twentysomethings out there that has never felt what its like to even experience what a nice hand written letter will do for the "soul" ....assuming souls exist,....but you know what I mean.
This gave me an idea. I'm declaring a National Mail a Hand Written Letter Day for Tuesday, November 1,2011. Your goal should be to write to someone who has never had this experience to receive one. I'm not talking about a greeting card, I'm referring to a pen and a sheet of paper...complete with stamps and addresses. Our demographic to reach should be someone 24 or younger.
I will spread the word with a more modern means of communication. Facebook. I will be creating a "National Mail a Hand Written Letter Day" page and making it public for all to attend. Hey, if a page getting started to campaign for Betty White to host Saturday Night Live could achieve success, why not this?!
I'm off to buy a book of stamps....Peace
