More than 2 miles

I was talking to one of our guys here and he said he was tired of going to the pharmacy. That's always a bit of a red flag because members taking their medication is a good thing (most of the time) so my ears pricked-up.

He went on to explain that he was all for taking his medications but that the walk to the pharmacy was wearing him out. It's a three mile walk for him round trip - he has eight scripts all with different refill dates.

Based on my math he's walking about 50 km a month just to and from the pharmacy. Would any of us drive to the pharmacy eight times a month because our doctor, or insurer, or government, deigned it to be so?

I think not.

This is how those stuck in poverty are typically victimized - not through malicious ill-will, but through inattention and indifference. Those in morbid need often don't know enough to act on their own behalf (or how to act, or who to contact) so it becomes a "S2Bu" (Sux to be you) situation and nothing changes.

If you are looking to make a difference, try and fill that need for someone near you.

Remember, poverty is about need - not money.

K

Kids at Oregon Coast Aquarium

2 miles in their shoes

I just got back from the store. I bought a few things for the Center, some discounted pastries and fresh fruit for our coffee club today.

Typically, I would have ridden my bike, since our trusty old Volvo is getting her voice back. (muffler trouble) However, my bike chain broke yesterday, and as a result I had to walk. It was a nice walk and my bones needed to get moving anyway.

I thought about yesterday's conversation at the Center about the rising costs of cab fare. It is now $12.00 round trip in town and when you don't have a car, or a friend with one.....

While that price might seem an inconvenience to some, and a pittance to others, it is a monumental price tag to the folks I work with each day.

I took a minute or two to map out some incidental costs in St. Stephen:

Coffee/Pop: $1.50
Doughnut: $1.00
Hot dog or Fries: $2.00
Cab fare: $12.00
Medium Pizza: $20.00

Since everything we buy is just a small part of what we have to spend. I used those numbers to make some percentages, relative to their total monthly income of about $600. Then I went to Stats Canada and took the average total income for unattached individuals from 2004, and watched the numbers.

What follows is what the Center's member's see when they look at the "everyday" costs we barely regard:

Coffee/Pop: $7.13
Doughnut: $4.76
Hot dog or Fries: $9.52
Cab fare: $57.00
Medium Pizza: $95.02

Wow.

The walk back to the Center was all downhill. Five minutes into the trip the few items I had bought became leaden and the bags began to dig into my fingers. Two hundred meters down, one thousand five hundred to go.

How come you can never find a cab when you need one?

Re: Jordan Cooper's Sub-Culture Post

I've re written this three times.

It keeps turning into a rant that doesn't do Mr. Cooper's effort justice.

I'll confine my comments to this:

Stop freaking pretending, drop the pretense, the posing and the posturing.

Stop trying to impress the people at church, they are quite often un-impressible.

Just try as you can to be like Jesus in the ways that feel most regular and natural to you. Then watch for who is applauding your efforts. Hang out with those people.

When you find another person with whom you can be yourself, treasure that and then begin to look for another.

Talk to these people about real life and real failures and successes.

Don't settle for good enough.

This is funny cool

"Anti-helium"

Critter

I don't know what this is, but it seems to enjoy prayer.

Diversion

This makes me laugh

Funny flyer

The Twinkie: Ingredients Revealed : DivineCaroline

The Twinkie: Ingredients Revealed : DivineCaroline

I knew it would be something like this

look away

once you realize how surreal this could look to others in the world - you may want to look away.

The picture

Love much.

K

For my sister-in-law Heather

VERY powerful

The images at this sight are VERY powerful. You don't want to be in an "off" mood before clicking to the site. Horrible realities of our world - resolve to live the kingdom.

James Natchwey

Hmmmm.

Way cool

Flags of the world revisited with the truth of the stories they tell

Fundumbmental

This was 23 seconds of fun:

Elastic Enthusiastic

Give thanks for your mind

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

I hpoe yuor Avdnet is ginog wlel.

Kteih

Merry Debtmas - Madonna and Card

In the face of our North American seasonal consumerist orgy - I offer this:

Spend time not money on your family.
They need you more than your gifts.
Give to the poor not the credit card companies, resist spending shun over spending.

Riches is not money, nor luxury excess.

God bless us every one!

OK

I just erased this post.

It was intended to be about my thoughts on the last post. Something of a retrospective.
(H tells me it reads a smidge "angry")

I guess it might be - but probably because I am angry. I'm angry about a lot of this stuff. Still.

You don't need that - but I had to write something - so here it is.


SOMETHING.


(Mine is a comic heart - I didn't just "want to" I "had to.")

a scary and curious thing

A field guide to blending in at Church

page 17: What to do when your parents drag you to church

First of all - don’t panic.

You’ll probably only need to attend a one hour weekly meeting. You can handle an hour. Assume that your experience will be the same as many others. In many of these places the understanding of God is firmly held with a commercial capitalist world view - as if God is somehow like that blue genie in "Alladin."

The good news is you’ve probably been to the mall before - just look at this experience as a “Jesus store at a Spiritual Mall.” Here they mostly offer spiritual or motivational speeches aimed at the listeners’ personal growth and development. They seem to feel that the best motivation they can offer is to explain how listening to their speeches will make life “better for you.” (If it’s not about “YOU” why would you possibly be interested?)

But not to worry the challenge toward change is seldom so serious that you are expected to actually demonstrate any of the stuff they talk about. Just listen to the speech politely, the writers often throw in a few corn-ball jokes to keep things moving. Sometimes they are genuinely funny.

Anyway, the challenge to change will mostly be stuff to just think about. The audience is just as afraid of being vulnerable as the rest of the world and they are usually too busy with their own lives to be close to others anyway. It's rare that you would be asked about your true self by any of the other people there.

The good news on this front is that anonymity within the larger whole seems to be a pattern. Many of those in the audience with you, find they are able to just listen to the speech without doing much else. The two key things seem to be showing up regularly while “looking the part” and nodding your head at the right times.

Be aware that some of these places have a group of self appointed inspectors that decide who “measures up.” It’s an especially good idea to figure out who these people are and put your best foot forward.

To help you stay motivated,closely watch how people who are "rough around the edges" are treated by this group. (Pay special attention to women who have become pregnant before they got married.) Seeing their collective, quiet, public, disapproval in action is really scary. You don't need that in your life - shame sucks.

It's weird, the speeches are so often about how important it is for us all to love - but watching them make people outsiders for being human, will make sure your personal life is never too well known....




May YHWH help us all!