The Godless

There are lots of things you should never say, our right to free speech notwithstanding. Everyone knows you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater or joke with the good folks at the TSA while waiting in a security line at the airport. And there are a variety of words that shouldn't be used in public if you want to keep all your teeth. But those aren't the sorts of comments or words that concern me.  Those relate to safety and common courtesy. There are other dangerous words one dare not utter in mixed company.

Liberal, atheist, democrat, socialist, universal health care.  Bet you thought I was going to list anatomical words. No, these other words are far more dangerous depending on the company you're enjoying.  We're living in a time where merely speaking your mind can lose you friends, invite ridicule and contempt, and cause loud arguments. The worst one is "atheist".

 We live in a society dominated by religion.  It wasn't always this way.  I remember when one's religion wasn't a litmus test for character or morals.  Going to church was a private affair relegated to Sundays and not discussed in school or during elections (the Kennedy election being an exception). Now our political leaders must profess and demonstrate their religious beliefs. Although we plainly see how polarizing and destructive religion is in the rest of the world we are unable to see that the same thing is happening here.  The right to freedom of religion has come to mean the right to foist your beliefs on other people whether in the form of a creche on public property or teaching the christian creation myth in schools.  What happened to freedom from religion, the right to hold your own beliefs without having  those of others thrust upon you?

I'm an atheist, not an agnostic, an atheist.  I don't believe in a god, a higher power, or whatever you want to call it. I've tried a few times.  I went to church with both of my grandmothers, on my own as a teenager and I took my children to a church when they were old enough.  No matter what, I couldn't make the leap, the leap of faith in something I could neither see, hear, nor feel. I do believe in many other things I can't see like viruses and radio waves because I can experience their effect.  But god, no.

Professing to be an atheist is like being a leper, it drives people away.  I don't usually tell people that I don't believe in god when the subject arises. It provokes anger and contempt which  never fails to surprise me.  Why does anyone care what I believe? And why are they so angry about it?  I'm not furious because some people are Catholic or Jewish or Muslim. I don't try to change their minds or insult them. But somehow atheism is the ultimate evil. Atheists must lack morals and integrity, we must be ignorant and sinful since we don't believe in god. Of course we are all going to hell as well, despite the fact that we don't believe in it.  For the religious it seems the only reason to behave morally is the threat of punishment. Alternatively, you can ask for forgiveness and all will be well in the hereafter.

In fact I am a generous, moral person with a good sense of right and wrong.  I don't need the threat of hell and damnation to be fair and kind to others. I believe in secular humanism, that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without a belief in god. In fact if we look at religion in both a contemporary and an historical context I would argue that religion actually prevents humanity from fulfilling its moral potential. The brutality humankind has inflicted on itself in the name of religion has plagued the western world for more than 2,000 years and continues to do so.

I'm outing myself, I don't believe in god and never have. I've never been ashamed of it but it always seemed like too much trouble to deal with the fallout of admitting it.  I  ask  that the religious afford me the same right they exercise, to believe as I choose and to respect that right.  I'd also really like some freedom from religion wherein the various religious beliefs of others do not bleed into public domains where they cause division and separation.

RESPECT is a wonderful gift to give.

Good Morning!

This'll be quick. I have a houseful this morning with The Boy and his Girlfriend and the the Big Dog. X-tra small dog sleeps in a crate in the house and has to be let out every morning and guided, yes guided, to the grass to pee. My husband is very good about this but I am lazier and don't like to walk out and wait while she pees and the Little White Dog goes crazy for his breakfast.

I got up early and let  XS  out of her crate and outside, dumping kibble in both dogs' dishes. The Big Dog sleeps in the garage so he was still snoozing. As  LWD wolfed down his kibble XS jumped onto the low brick planter and peed on the bricks! What nerve! Knowing dogs the way I do, I went out with a tea kettle of water and washed the bricks. It was futile and I knew it but I had to do something.

Sure enough it wasn't long before I caught LWD lifting his leg on the side of the planter. As if one can erase the scent of dog pee with a little water!  Next up, you guessed it, the Big Dog.  Now there is a rather large puddle of pee on the patio, isn't that nice?

Just another beautiful day at the kennels.

Confessions of a Book Junkie

You've all seen that bumper sticker: So many books, so little time.  That's something I struggle with.  I've got Anne Tyler's new book partially read on my Kindle.  I started the Steve Jobs biography in hardback, real paper. My iPod is loaded with a 55 hour historical romance The Fiery Cross,  Fool by Christopher Moore, and A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres. I've started all of these books.  I'm farthest along on the historical romance but am increasingly enthralled by the story of Jim Jones.  And wait, I also have In Cold Blood partially read on my iPad.

I don't know what this says about me. Before I had so many options for reading I might be reading 2 books at a time but this is ridiculous. The worst offender is the Kindle, I can download any book in seconds.  Finish one, download another a minute later. I have more trouble with my Audible library.  I can spend a hour or more trying to find just the right book and come up empty. The subject, the narrator, they have to be a good match. Oh, and then I read the listener reviews, that often kills a book for me. But still, notice I have three on my iPod even though I pay for only two per month.

There are so many interesting, compelling, and entertaining stories out there I just can't resist them.  Instead of getting all of them at the same time I should probably make a list and just go through the list one at a time. But the backlog would be enormous because I hear about great new books all the time. The way I currently read, I can get through lots more books because I can listen to them whilst driving, waiting for appointments, exercising, or doing other boring mundane tasks. The print style books are good for bedtime, sitting outside relaxing or when my feet hurt from standing all day.

If I'm honest I have to admit it: I'm an addict, a junkie. I don't think there are any Books Anonymous groups out there  to help with my addiction either. Just clubs that cater to people like me. And they're not even worth joining. Seriously, one book a month and they call themselves "readers"? Ha! I don't think so.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

If you've had small children in the last 20 years you'll be familiar with this book by Laura Numeroff. It chronicles the adventures of a mouse and boy and how one thing leads to another. If you are a homeowner with a less than new home you are, unfortunately, aware of this phenomenon. 


We recently installed a new roof since ours was 30 years old and every time the Santa Ana winds blew shake shingles would fly off with abandon landing all over our yard, front and back. In places the felt was visible and it was only a matter of time before the little rain we get here dripped into the house. So we got a new roof, not the one we wanted because Katrina and the Japanese tsunami have forced the cost of lumber and roofing materials to soar. Good thing too that we chose one of less expensive materials because for the last 20 years termites have been eating away at us. Replacing the damaged wood nearly doubled the cost. Sh**!


The new roof looks ok and the new fascia is primered and ready for paint. So now we need to get the entire house painted.  But first we need to replace all the other damaged trim around the exterior and in 1982 they nailed up a lot of trim. Then if we get the house repainted we have to tear down the patio cover which is also termite ridden and replace it. (I threw a tennis ball for the Big Dog and it hit the corner of the patio cover and knocked a big chunk of wood off!) You know how this works.


We drove around the neighborhood looking at paint colors and decided they're all ugly, especially ours. One or two homes had re-stuccoed their homes eliminating the 1980's termite fodder. This seems like the best idea since it makes homes look more modern AND reduces the need for lots of paint. But if we're going to re-stucco we need to put in new windows. Our dated, once bronze, aluminum windows will look like crap with new stucco.


So here's the list: if we get a new roof we're going to need new paint/stucco and if we repaint or re-stucco we're going to want to replace the patio cover and if we get a new roof, new stucco, and new patio cover we're going to want new windows.  And once we get new windows we're going to want to move because that's the way we are, fix 'em up, move 'em out.


Homeownership - ain't it grand!