Sometimes You Just Can't Win

You're on an elevator with three other people. One of them passes gas. The elevator stops and those three people get off leaving you alone with the reekness. With only three floors left to go you figure you can tough it out. But then the elevator stops at the next floor. Two young children and an adult step inside. Immediately the kids react and one of them asks, "What that stinky smell?" The adult gives you a hard look.

Do you say anything? If so, what?

Where To Hide Keep Them

After reading this article I have a clear understanding of why we need to keep all those detainees in Guantanamo locked up for as long as possible. Setting them free exposes the shameful truth.

"I'm a normal man," said Boumediene, who at the time of his arrest worked for the Red Crescent, providing help to orphans and others in need. "I'm not a terrorist."

The 43-year-old Algerian is now back with his wife and two daughters, a free man in France after a Republican judge found the evidence against Boumediene lacking. He is best known from the landmark Supreme Court case last year, Boumediene v. Bush, which said detainees have the right to challenge their detention in court.

That decision was a stunning rebuke of the Bush administration's policies on terror suspects. It set up a ruling by District Court Judge Richard Leon, a former counsel to Republicans in Congress appointed to the bench by Bush, that there was no credible evidence to keep Boumediene detained.

After what Boumediene described as a 7½ year nightmare, he is now a free man. Boumediene: "I don't think. I'm sure" about torture.

Thinking Is Bad

I wanted to write about this yesterday but going on a Spokane Bicycle Club ride ate up most of the day. Still, that allowed me more time to mull this over. I've mentioned this fervent young priest at St Thomas More church before. Yesterday he gave a sermon about the unknowable and unfathomable mystery of the single God with three parts. He contrasted that with worldly mysteries which are everything else and how just about every television show has a mystery in the story. Once the mystery is solved we move on to the next mystery. He explained how we should not pursue worldly mysteries but only that of the single mystery. Yet by his own admission that mystery is unknowable and unfathomable. So we are to just accept it and rejoice in it.

Then he comes up with this jewel. "Take science, for example," he says with a dismissive attitude. "Look what they do there. They solve one mystery and then move on to another."

Like it's a bad thing.

Now I for one am rather grateful that people like Louis Pasteur, Charles Drew, Jonas Salk, Alexander Fleming, Nicolaus Copernicus, George Washington Carver, Galileo Galilei and many others solved the worldly mysteries they pursued. It's taken a long time, but mankind is far less ignorant than 500+ years ago. And one problem with solving worldly mysteries is that they tend to diminish the unknowable and unfathomable mystery.

This priest is an Army reservist and he's being called up to active duty. I wish him the best. While he's serving I hope that at least on one occasion he'll ask why he has to do something or why something has to be done a particular way. I'm guessing there's pretty slim odds of that happening, eh? He doesn't seem like the type to think about things and ask questions. But if he did, more than likely the answer would be phrased differently than, "It is a worldly mystery you need not concern yourself with."

Barefoot Running - Don't Look At Me, I'm Hideous

They look worse than they feel. The blister was definitely a setback. Mostly because of the tender skin that was exposed when the dead skin covering the blister broke away. My lower leg muscles are really feeling strong now so landing on my forefoot while wearing shoes is working well for me. So if nothing else, it looks like I'm learning a less strenuous running technique. I'm growing impatient with the slow callous growth. In short, nothing new to report except my feet look uglier than before.

I ran during lunch last Friday. After a mile I took my shoes off. Another runner stopped me and said, "For a second there I thought you were running with no shoes." Pretty funny. Anyway, he asked me how it was going and I blathered about callouses for a minute and then we went on our respective ways. But there was something that seemed familiar about the guy. It was like he reminded me of someone I've never met before.

Was that you, Al?

FBC Prom Ride

More fun than the law allows.

What A Neat Idea

I most certainly would have benefited from something like this when I was young. When I joined the military I knew nothing about drinking alcohol except you weren't supposed to stop. Although there were a few "incidents" as a result of my drinking--okay, a lot of "incidents"--nobody ended up injured or dead. Was I lucky or what? I'll leave out the details of all the stupidity. There isn't enough room here anyway.

As an example to our children, Kathy and I drink moderately and responsibly. We also talk to the kids about responsible drinking and so far it seems to be working. The idea of a provisional license to drink alcohol appeals to me as an opportunity to provide experience which would presumably help young people make better decisions later on.