Born to be Mild: Bad Friend Brent Bill at Bridge City End of April.

Born to be Mild: Confessions of a Bad Quaker, Bridge City Friends, April 29
If you do not have a way to read the long text in grphic exercise below, see what can be found at
www.brentbill.com

Memorable

What is the point of memorial minutes?

To celebrate the life of a departed Friend?

To impress upon people new to Friends how one weighty Friend lived out his beliefs?

To impress on people new to Friends the names of specific organizations one Weighty Friend devoted his time, energy, and other resources to?

To help people connected to the same organizations find each other if they have not already done so.?

To capture piquant and memorable moments from memorial Meeting?

To create connections with younger Friends

RantWoman is vexing herself and those around her meditating about improvements she would like if the minute had not already been to Meeting For Business.

The memorial minute for our late member Alan Rabinowitz read at last Meeting for Business was adequate. Yes, RantWoman can see that, some of the time.

But the memorial minute:

--Forgot about the resolution of Congressional Recognition, something which definitely does not occur for just every memorial.

--Forgot about the sonnets. Lots of people at the memorial exchanged sonnets with Alan. Many of the sonnets were read at the memorial. Also something that does not happen at just every memorial and fun besides. RantWoman realized that in Business Meeting being heard about even one suggestion was going to be, um,.... but the sonnets did make it into the approved version.

--Referred vaguely to "many community organizations" when some were specifically mentioned at the memorial BEFORE RantWoman gave a message tying some of the organizations together with both cross generational and cross cultural attention. The Three organizations are

One America
   Serious immigrant rights, civic education, candidate forums,
usually with professional 'terps equipment...

The Western States Center
   serious community organizer trainings, all gender restrooms,
sessions that wind up all in Spanish because none of the gringos
present need interpreters...

The Social Venture fund.
  Some kind of venture capital thing which came to mind only because
besides being mentioned at Alan's memorial Twitter says it just picked
up and funded expansion of a project from a hackathon.

RantWoman um, er, used EMAIL to see whether even one person had heard of the specific organizations on RantWoman's mind. RantWoman was THRILLED to get back info that at least one person is already familiar with the organizations on RantWoman's mind.

RantWoman will save reports on other data collection in connection with her email inquiry for their own post and sends warm greetings, prayers, condolences to everyone who knew and especially was inspired by Alan.

Eyes Open Yellow Lid White Floor Broom

RantWoman's eye rants of the day.

RantWoman has new glasses. The transitions coating works great to darken in the sunshine. RantWoman is very glad to be minus a big ugly scratch in one lens of the old pair BUT it is really hard to measure RantWoman's prescription and the optometrist mentioned something about change because of astigmatism. RantWoman does not quite believe that. RantWoman also has blur in places she does not like. The blur gets in the way and gives RantWoman headaches. UGH.

RantWoman's other eyes moment: during the morning eyedrops ritual the yellow lid for one of RantWoman's bottles got dropped. It took RantWoman THREE different rounds of broom and dustpan to find the dang bottle cap. RantWoman is probably supposed to be grateful her floor is a lot cleaner. But this is RantWoman!

The Orange One Rocket Man PRAYER

RantWoman did not go out drinking green beer for St Patrick's day. Nor did RantWoman do whatever one is supposed to do to observe St. Urho's day on March 16. Indeed RantWoman spent March 16 providing the ministry of presence for a situation involving robot surgery, blind people fogging around a hospital, dancing broccoli emojis, and other moments of prayer. The patient is doing VERY well. She has groupies to bring food daily. She and wife are both holding up....

RantWoman for her part tonight is home trying to shepherd every strand of comedic material about the current occupant of the White House into SOME kind of prayer for same.

So far this video is the best RantWoman can do. Helllp us Oh Lord...!  RantWoman admits to deep amusement about a moment in the middle that is both tasteless and hysterical. RantWoman also strains to imagine how to work with The Orange One and Rocket Man in proper Quakerese.

50th Anniversary of My Lai and someone who ....

RantWoman files this story as testament to the heroism of individuals

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-wiener-my-lai-hugh-thompson-20180316-story.html

Another (former?) atheist finds the flock

RantWoman loves collecting people's accounts of their first experience in Quaker worship. Enjoy.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2010/jan/08/religion-quaker-quest

Open Submission to that of God in everyone?

Wisdom from the Association of Bad Friends group on Facebook. Pick a search string and Find it your own self to locate the original author.

Son of a biscuit... not even 24 hours after I posted my judging, my own Meeting judges me back in the minutes for Meeting with Attention to Business

"*Is our behavior therein that of open submission to God
in silent communion?* For many this is a touchstone query. Some ask whether they are acting in ”open submission to God” when discerning whether to share a piece of spoken ministry during meeting for worship.

We find not all messages we consider rise to this standard. For others open submission to God means open submission to that of God in everyone present"

Awright, awright, awright... at least give me credit for being silent about my lack of submission?

Does U District Mobility reach the Meeting?

RantWoman has more than one life in blogland. The item below collects some thoughts from a public engagement event related to mobility planning for the Light Rail station due to open near RantWoman's Meeting in 2021.

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2018/03/u-district-mobility-workshop-1.html

Here RantWoman notes some meditations and wonderings specific to the location of RantWoman's Meeting. RantWoman has NO opinion about whether anyone else will find her wonderings germane to anything. RantWoman posts them here in Light and faithfulness and as a diversion from other thoughts seething in her soul. Hold RantWoman's soul in the Light.

RantWoman wants to see the maps drawn by other participants because RantWoman is interested in traffic, ped, bike, car, bus (do not forget freight) between the new station and Wallingford a neighborhood a good bit west of the meetinghouse. How much of the burgeoning pedestrian flows are going to be streaming past the Friends Meeting? Is information about that likely to come out of this U District mobility project or should our Meeting be thinking about our own small area with a different project????

Mention was made at the workshop both of family friendly housing and of 300-ft towers. As far as rantWoman knows no one expects the 300-ft towers to be anything but office space, meaning more traffic at commute times. RantWoman though is wondering whether the  family friendly housing is a realistic vision and how, where it might come about.

And speaking of neighborhood circulator vehicle, any chance the various faith communities in the U district MIGHT find it supportive of their congregational life to ensure that such a circulator also operates on Sundays?

There. Probably enough for now.

Oops. Another topical link not to lose track of
https://www.udistrictpartnership.org/