RantWoman is having one of those moments where Things Must Be Shared even though the message is coming in the form of beads on a string and "How DID all those thoughts need to be herded into words at once?" Think of it as Narrative Theology, defined as "How is the Holy Spirit moving around RantWoman?" RantWoman is happy to elaborate but would prefer simply to wade into the signs and miracles or not.
Some Music and Musicology to help Center.
Christopher Costanza on Bach Cello Suite No 5
The whole suite one movement at a time. This and the words of commentary make everything both more digestible and more penetrating than just viewing a performance of the whole suite.
More on the Suffrage Movement in anticipation of August 26
NYT on Queer Women and the Suffrage Movement
(NB as with the abolition of slavery, Quaker women campaigning for suffrage were not necessarily intensely supported by their Meetings. RantWoman wishes she had time and patience inconnection with this anniversary to engage more about all this history, but...)
Make it PINK
RantWoman notes info in the media to the effect that, in a sign of pandemic anxiety, gun sales are up. It's a freaking VIRUS . How are bullets going to help? Recently, though, RantWoman was speaking of Little Sister and her husband, Brother In Law's interest in personal protection for his wife. By personal protection, Brother in Law means purchasing a pink camouflage BB gun. Said pink camouflage BB gun must also be prominently displayed in the living room in appreciation of the gift. RantWoman can barely stop laughing about the phrase "pink camouflage BB gun" long enough to tell the story, but someone RantWoman knows can top that.
RantWoman's counterpart in a conversation shared her own personal protection story. Last year for Christmas, her sister-in-law gave her...drum roll please...a bright pink jewel-encrusted personal pepper spray dispenser. Said item now lives in the bottom of the gift recipient's bag but recipient, like RantWoman wonders how she would access it in moments of need. RantWoman also considers possible difficulty finding one's pepper spray some kind of Divine mercy: RantWoman has heard that pepper spray can be hard to handle without getting oneself contaminated.
RantWoman further wonders what would it mean if the many local police departments needing to pepper spray anti-police-brutality, pro-police accountability demonstrators got to pepper spray from bright pink jewel-encrusted dispensers. Welcome to Absurdistan.
Protest Fatigue: What if there were a panel of judges like those cooking shows?
RantWoman and God keep having a dialogue about the current local civil rights and window smashing festivities. : what if protests were like one of those cooking shows where there is a panel of judges, some kind of multi-round competition, and people get voted off the island between events? Readers, what dimensions would you rate contestants on?
Hold in the Light Item #1
RantWoman sent this item off to Computer Science professor friend
In return, RantWoman received an obituary and a couple very funny stories for someone RantWoman has never met but whose death will leave a big hole in Professor friend's life
RantWoman notes that "leave a big hole" comes with some gnarly family stories! Leave a big hole also comes with the volunteer role in an Episcopal church called junior warden." RantWoman mentions this because of the next bead on the string.
Hold In The Light Item #2 a very sick Guide Dog
Recently RantWoman called up another friend just to check in. Friend happens presently to be Senior Warden at a nearby Episcopal cathedral. Readers will note reference just previously to Junior Warden. RantWoman has no idea what Junior Warden meant but here Senior Warden, as RantWoman may already have posted means a giant ring of keys and needing to go to more meetings than God. Can you top that Nominating Committee?
RantWoman had tried a couple times before to contact this friend and was worried. The conversation started with the usual "how are you" Exchanges. Friend told RantWoman "you first." RantWoman blurted out "I had a colonoscopy and an inflate your intestines CT scan SIX days ago and I am still burping and farting (Odorously!) from all the added air in my gut but so far I have managed to avoid mass murder. I mean it's a low bar, but can we honor the achievement?"
Friend is used to RantWoman saying things like that and RantWoman completely trusts her to say something if anything sounds too far over the top. This time Friend took a deep breath and said for the last two weeks she has been dealing with a very sick guide dog. RantWoman knows that guide dog well enough to smile thinking about his preferred Guide dog on the bus misbehaviors. RantWoman has also been around lots of blind people long enough to stop rolling her eyes when blind people speak in extremely abundant detail of of their animal partners' lives.
RantWoman is very sorry to hear about illness and guide dog retirement. Guide Dog thinks he is still working and somehow has not absorbed that he does not have to wear his harness anymore but also that means he cannot enjoy many guide dog privileges either. But many days after that conversation, guide dog is still holding his own, and news has come to RantWoman of two other guide dogs who have to be retired in connection with injuries to their handlers. And how is your pandemic going?
RantWoman needs to Go Off Item #1 Teenager
In the realm of Teenager possibly saves the world, RantWoman wishes sincerely to thank 15-year-old Claudia Conway, daughter of Trump 2016 campaign manager KellyAnne Conway and Republican political consultant George Conway. RantWoman has seen her video or a video of her statement about being abused and belittled by her parents.
Why of Course! Considering the bullying tone of communications emerging around Kellyanne and the communications patterns of who she works for, RantWoman, come to think of it, is completely unsurprised to realize that is probably going on at home too. RantWoman thinks that in the same rueful way she thinks of Woody Allen: Allen spent his whole career making movies about older man attracted to younger woman and pretty soon we learn the sordid details of what that means for family members.
RantWoman imagines that the President Orange Foolius re-election effort will lurch along without KellyAnne and RantWoman applauds the phrase "Less drama, more Mamma" and hopes there will be opportunity for the public to learn from the family's break from public life.
Topic to go off on # 2
Who are we kidding? RantWoman is pretty self-absorbed. The Conway family story makes RantWoman reflect on ways she sometimes sounds like RantDad, sometimes like RantMom and to say the least not like the best part of either. RantWoman mostly considers herself lucky that, although childhood religious experiences were a mixed bag, RantWoman still emerged with a sense of being loved by God, sometiems no matter what others around her are doing, and also some capacity to stretch, extend grace, work with forgiveness, over and over if necessary. Well sometimes.
RantWoman is aware of some big Owwws around her. RantWOman feels terrible for a number of reasons about them. RantWoman KEEPS expressing willingness to try for bridges. RantWoman said this over and over around the Care and Accountability Committee but besides the Committee's utter unwillingness to engage about how disability affects different circumstances, there was much handwring and no coherent followup steps such as maybe clearness committees resulting. RantWoman is holding all of this in the Light and is clear both about further data releases and about specific actionable steps that would go a long way....
Topic to go off on # 3
Yes, indeed RantWoman is a little stuck on some of the better moments in the gospel of Mark, specifically the two instances where Jesus heals a blind man using spit. In one case, Jesus just spits on the ground. In the other the text seems to say Jesus spit into the man's eye. RantWoman knows real blind people who have had someone offer to try this. Once again, DO NOT try this unless you are Jesus!
Hurricane
RantWoman has not been doing as well as she would prefer about having only centered well-considered reactions to the ReCoronation, er Nomination Convention for President Orange Foolius (See?) The Queen of Spades has been striving valiantly to intervene.to no avail. RantWoman has also been humbled to realize how many others around her suffer from the same need to be relieved of inappropriate prayers. RantWoman for instance has been thinking that when #POTUS45 delivers his acceptance speech on Thursday people should just bring Bibles and loudspeakers to Lafayette Park across the street from the White House and do some serious Bibling and praising. RantWoman is pretty sure she could find some people with Bibles who at least know how to hold the right side up. RantMom for her part just mentions a certain hurricane which may or may not make it that far up the coast. RantWoman just burst out laughing at this revelation.
Lead us all not into temptation!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment