Monday, Monday

[kyburg]

I really hate cancer. It got Diana Wynne Jones over the weekend, and I can already hear folks pishing and poshing that 'well, she smoked, she got what she deserved and she Had To Know - '

Okay, nobody deserves cancer, okay? Just stop it. You can ride a motorcycle and die doing it, the statistics are all lined up to tell you that's the probable outcome. You still don't deserve it. (I will look at you funny, maybe even chortle if you ride around with a helmet, shorts and sneakers when you ditch that bike on the interstate, you fool - but you don't deserve to DIE, for crying out loud. Psst - go get a decent set of boots and at least some long pants - m'kay?)

Looking at the short write up, there's plenty she didn't deserve - but ended up having to cope with, and I'm amazed she was as lovely a spirit afterward as she was. I've met so many adversity soured like a moldy loaf of bread, you have no idea.

That said - if you smoke, please stop. That's all I want for my birthday, Christmas and forever.

I am sick to death of hearing people claim 'hackery' when it's plain they just don't Like Something. You know what? I declare a moratorium on the word around me - I won't use it if you don't. Find other words, and more of them. *grumble*

Going to church yesterday, I passed the Calvary Chapel megachurch near the house - can someone explain to me why a church needs a security checkpoint? You know the kind, search your bags, metal detectors and pat you down before going in?

What the eff are they looking for? And from a congregation where everyone has to know at least your employment status to join? I got nothing.

I went to ours, told my friends and we were suitably aghast. Church services are NOT a rock concert, for crying out loud - this is the place with the new buildings, gift shop, you name it, they have a bumpersticker for it - megachurch. What are they telling people inside there that's scaring them so much they don't even trust each other?

What are we doing? Looking for ways to get people to come visit us, no strings attached. All the public Easter egg hunts have been cancelled and done away with (thank the budget cuts) - so we're looking to expand ours to allow the public to join us. NO CHECKPOINTS. Matter of fact, I'm floating a gaming night once a month in the church hall - thinking of starting out with Settlers of Catan - anyone want some? The stich-n-bitch is nearly a done deal - and I'll be teaching sewing and find someone to come in to service sewing machines if I don't miss my guess.

We're nice. And we'll feed you if you're hungry. Yes, those are pink triangles you see folks wearing, and oh, the multi-faith group meets as often as we can arrange it, you curious about this or that? So-and-so will be here and loves to answer questions.

Kid loves church - in his age group, he's the only one so he gets a daycare worker (one of the youth, a delightful teenager who loves playing 'Star Wars' out in the yard) all to himself. Best day of the week.

I've told you what a wonderful adoption resource this group has turned out to be, right?

Jim had his 47th birthday Saturday, and I'm remembering being in Japan 7 years ago (one trip, just ONE and it's already 7 years ago) and wishing this one could have been bigger, but. We did manage to get out to Palm Springs and up the Tramway - managed to get kid into enough clothes he wasn't cold playing in the snow - managed to get up, down and home before we all collapsed in exhausted piles. I'm sure the pictures are going to be awesome. Me, still a bit sore. Sleep was also very broken during the weekend, too. Didn't help.

n6vfp was down Sunday (yay bike! yay CDs!), and kid was introduced to my old friend Marian Kelly and her daughter Dianne who finally managed a visit - it's been over two years and change, and it was wonderful. Marian *really* likes Xander and while kid thinks she's neat, he also dragged out what I consider the circus seal behavior I'd like to see him ditch. My kid will test you out to see just how much abuse you can handle, disguised as 'play' - she thought the attention was wonderful, I had to tell him to quit throwing toys at her. Ah, parenting.

I'm looking forward to sleeping tonight. Yay, Monday.

Comments

[gallo-de-pelea.livejournal.com]

a congregation where everyone has to know at least your employment status to join?

wat

[pagawne.livejournal.com]

If your are born alive, the chances are 100% that you are going to die at some point.

[vampireanneke.livejournal.com]

Generally if someone is in a motorcycle accident it requires another person/vehicle, the street being badly maintained. Rarely is it due to driver being untrained (but sometimes the case I'm sure) to opperate the vehicle.

In the case of cancer related to smoking, it's seen as an issue where the consiquences of a person's actions are directly linked to their choices. And don't forget the damage such actions may (likly has) caused to those around them due to secondary smoke. So then people see this issue in a very selfish way because they see the smoker's actions as an attack against themselves (Secondary Smoke).

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Yup. They require a credit check as part of the application.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

I like your church's attitude!

There is something very, very wrong with the megachurch - they wouldn't need security if all was happy and shiny inside of it.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

What I'm finding is that they're blaming a cancer victim for causing their own cancer, and hence their own death from something they KNEW would kill them.

That's...really mean, to be blunt. And smoking is not the only thing that causes cancer. And so on.

(You want to smoke, fine. Go do it by yourself. I'm allergic as heck to it.)

As far as the motorcycles go, remember I'm the kid of a ICU nurse and you didn't mention them around her. Most of the deaths are some nitwit clocking the cyclist, end of story. Ride the motorcycle long enough, it'll happen.

I'm reminded of Leslie Fish cancelling out of ConChord this past year because she couldn't smoke in Pasadena anywhere *near* conveniently to her taste. Welp, you get to. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.

My Mom had two of the three largest statistical indicators for bladder cancer - one, open beam radiation (she worked in a doctor's office taking chest x-rays with equipment so badly shielded she had two miscarriages and anemia before she left it) - and she had smoked. THAT risk doesn't lessen if you quit - you've done it. Bladder cancer is also the first one discovered to have direct environmental risks, the largest one being to aniline dyes (which aren't used much anymore). (You remember this, she lost her bladder and a kidney to this cancer.)

This sort of thing turns normal people into test pilot snobs. It hasn't happened to them yet, therefore they get to pat themselves on the back and so on.

Bullying the dead. What lovely people.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

The last thing - the VERY last thing I ever expected from regular church attendance was fun.

Gee, that was a nice surprise.

[moropus.livejournal.com]

Once somebody has cancer, blaming them is down right tacky. It also doesn't change anything. They will have cancer, whether you blame them or not. It doesn't matter why they have cancer, they have it and might like a tiny bit of dignity to go with it. Also, so much not your job to judge them. Are you a god? Very much doubt it. Only gods have the right to pass that kind of judgement.

My mom has 2 kinds of cancer, never smoked or lived with anyone that did, but some horrible people that find out run up and ask her about smoking. Its a bit rude, to say the least.

If you live long enough, some day something horrible will happen to you. Then some self righteous person will explain to you why it was your fault and what you could have done to prevent it, regardless of what it was. That has already happened to me. You will not believe how it feels.

[sekl.livejournal.com]

Huh, exactly how many of the prophets, not to mention Jesus himself would have passed that check? Lovely, just lovely.

[sekl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up on Diana Wynne Jones. She deserved more of an obit.

[moropus.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew a fun church.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

*checks profile* Yeah, that would be a toughie. Go out to ucc.org anyway and see who's near you. We're a great denomination -