General – Page 5 – The Laughing Wolf

Nope

Given that I almost threw the dirty laundry in the trash, and the trash into the dirty laundry bin, don’t think I’m up to writing today. Enjoy your day!

I really do need to do a post about my Godfather soon, but right now I’m fried. Not going to lie or try to hide it. I’ve been at the Church almost non-stop since his repose. In the Orthodox Church, when a priest dies, they lie in state at the Church and to honor their teaching of the Gospel, the Gospel (books of the New Testament) and the Psalter (the Psalms) are read over them 24-7 until around the time of the formal funeral.

Took some of the night shifts and was also involved in various other services. Didn’t get a lot of sleep since last Thursday, wasn’t really hungry so did just one small meal a day, and knew I was not alone. As I noted before, a Bishop came to conduct his funeral, and more than a dozen other priests showed up as well. I think there were 10-12 priests involved with the service, and a lot of others were there but just no room or way for them to participate.

Not all of them were from our branch of Orthodoxy either, which tells you a lot about him right there. For all I wasn’t surprised, it was a bit staggering to find out how many people flew in from across the country to see him off. I didn’t have the time to do a proper count, but it looked like more than 200 of his closest friends came to pay last respects. Our little Church was standing room only and packed.

This morning, several of us took him out of the Church and put him into a funeral van to be driven to his final resting place in Missouri. His family was traveling with him (our priests can marry) and in a few hours he will be interred at a monastery in Missouri. In a few weeks, several of us are looking at going and spending some time there.

I’ve made some decisions, but more on that later. Right now, I’m exhausted, sad, happy, and a few other things. Still feels like a gut punch, but when seasoned priests choke up during the proceedings it pretty much says it all. Then again, to go peacefully in one’s sleep is a good ending in my book. I miss him. I will miss him. I am so very, very glad he was a part of my life. I can’t wait to share more of you with him. I wish each of you could have met him, as he had wit and a great sense of humor; an amazing intellect and more importantly a curiosity; and, a way about him that made everyone at home around him.

It is going to be hard for so many. Many grew up with him as their Priest, their Confessor, their friend. He was my Confessor and a good one. I can’t say how hard that is going to be on so many, as a Confessor just doesn’t hear your sins, they help you to grow so you don’t do the same sins again. A sub-Deacon at another Church and I had a great talk during all this about how good it was to have a Confessor who had extensive experience in the “real” world as well as simple lived life experience. Add in things like studying psychology and such, and you had someone who could and would truly help you grow. No offense against my Priest, but he is young. I am old and steeped in sin. I need someone with a lot more life experience to help me.

Too long, too much, too maudlin. May your week be blessed, and more regular posting will resume soon. After I catch up on some sleep and get my emotional feet back under me. Be good, be safe, keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.

Saint Ailbe

In more traditional churches, it is the practice for people to be named for Saints and Martyrs, and for those joining as adults to take the name of a Saint or Martyr. When I joined the Catholic Church (I grew up Methodist, moved to the Episcopal Church, wandered a bit, then became Catholic) I was Michael Ailbe. When I joined the Orthodox Church, I was told to pick one name. St. Michael will always be a part of me, but I went with St. Ailbe. BTW, it’s Gaelic so is not pronounced anything like it looks (Ahl-Vee-ah)

Now, for the heathen out there, we don’t worship icons. Icons serve two primary purposes: they are windows into heaven, and they are a challenge to our lives. For the first, the short version is that the only people we know are in heaven for sure are the Saints and Martyrs. Icons are in effect windows to them, and we ask them to pray and intercede for us as we know they are in heaven and in position to appeal on our behalf. As for the second, go to any good military base or museum and look at all the photos, art, and illustrations of famous military figures. They are there as a challenge to both the recruit and the old salt, to live up to what they did on the field of battle. It’s the same thing with the Saints: they did good, so can you: can you do as well as they did?

For example, a Saint I have grown to admire is Saint John of Krondstat. Back in the day, he looked around at things and said this is bull. In his wake were orphanages, homes for the widows, food for the hungry, and medical care for those who needed it. The man did an amazing amount of good, and from what I have read was worried he hadn’t done enough. That’s a challenge for any warrior of the soul. As a side note, I was relieved to find out I wasn’t the only one to feel that the icon of St. Gregory of Palamas, who in our Church is next to St. John, was giving me/us the side-eye as I talked to St. John.

Back on track, St. Ailbe was a fifth century Irish priest and more. He had been born in Ireland and was a child of the hillside. Legend has it that the infant was rescued by a wolf, but what is known is that he was taken to England as a youth by a group of Christian evangelists and raised there. He became a priest, went to Rome, and was reported to have been made a Bishop there.

Other than he was highly regarded, his hearth (hospitality) was highly praised, and he dressed and spoke well, there is not a lot of verifiable fact to go with. Given the Irish penchant for tales, there are a lot of legends. He is alleged to have provided sanctuary to a female wolf who ran into his abode while avoiding hunters, with some legends saying it was the wolf who had saved him from the hillside many years before. Given that wolves do good to live five years in the wild, legend. It may be true that animals were as welcome at his hearth as people, as it would fit with the rules of hospitality at the time, especially Christian hospitality. He built several Churches, a monastery, and when he died was reported to have been buried in the cathedral at Emly. Sadly, that cathedral disappeared centuries ago.

There were a few icons and representations of him out there, but they were mostly generic and not terribly inspiring. Save for a couple that were less than flattering. In fact one with him and a wolf frankly looked like they were both up to no good and enjoying that fact. Again, not inspiring.

I had been looking around for something good, and have even looked at some Iconographers in England and Europe. Then, someone pointed me to a noted Iconographer who was located here in Indianapolis. I had seen his work, and to be honest his Icon of St. Brigid of Kildare is my favorite representation of her. I hadn’t really realized he was truly local or that he might be interested in working with me.

Long story short, I met with him and he had been briefed on me and my circumstances. Despite the latter, he was intrigued and we had a good discussion. I gave him all I had on St. Ailbe, and discussed some concepts I had thought about, but that he had free reign. A few months later, a concept sketch was presented which went in a very different direction, and was pretty much perfect. A few months after that, and today he presented me the Icon you see above.

Pretty much every report notes that the first Church he built upon returning to Ireland was by a lake and a yew tree. A basket of food at his feet symbolizes the hospitality of his hearth. There are a couple of other minor details, but those are the large ones that will stand out.

As you look at it, appreciate the colors and shadings. Something I didn’t know at the start, this talented artist and Iconographer is colorblind. I’m told his wife will help him a bit on colors, but appreciate that he can’t see the wonderful richness of the Icons and artwork he creates. If you are looking for a good Icon, and particularly if you are Orthodox, Catholic, or other traditional Church, be glad to put you in touch with him.

For me, I took the name Ailbe for several reasons. Yes, the connection to wolves led me to him, but the hospitality of his hearth hit home as I love to cook, helped lead a charity that cooked for troops and veterans (particularly wounded), and think highly of the ancient laws of hospitality. That he also did such a great job of spreading the Word, doing right by those who accepted the Word, and helped establish and expand the monastic tradition in Ireland made him someone to emulate. To have a good Icon to challenge me to live up to the name if I can is a treasure.

Oh, and if you are still bristling over the subject of Icons, keep in mind one of the earliest known Iconographers was the Apostle Luke. Yes, that Luke who is responsible for several books of the New Testament. I find it interesting that he is reported to have interviewed the Theotokos (The Virgin Mary, Theotokos translating as God Bearer/the one who gave birth to God). Note that the Book of Luke is the only book of the New Testament to have stories from the youth of Jesus. I would also contend that those are only stories a mother would tell. Of the Icons Luke created that have survived, I think it is four that deal with Mary and the infant Jesus.

The most famous (and most copied) is The Directress, where the Theotokos has the infant Jesus on her lap, and is pointing to him (He is the way, the truth, and the light). Another is the “Vladimir” Icon, which I love though the sadness in her eyes can rip your heart right out. I find it interesting and telling that while the infant is different in each, the Theotokos is pretty much identical, as if he had seen her but not him. Which is the historical case. There is more, but if interested it is well worth looking up and a fascinating glimpse into art and history.

As for me, once the Icon comes home (it is at the Church to stay on the altar and be blessed), it goes up in my room at the little shrine I have. I’m like a lot of guys in that if given a challenge, I try to live up to it. I hope I can do right by the name. I’d like to live this new life I’ve been granted such that I do so, and even do good enough St. Gregory stops giving me the side eye. I’m proof that God can work with anyone, and I remind myself and any who need it that Christ didn’t come down from the Heavens for the perfect. He came to save the sinners (of whom I am chief). Also keep in mind we are all called to be Saints in training. Few of us can and do live up to that, but the challenge is in trying.

Let’s get to it.

Two For Your Pleasure

And hopefully for your edification as well. I’m going to be offline for a good bit of the day as I am being presented an icon of my name Saint by a noted Iconographer. May do a little post about this, as there’s a twist to the story of the Iconographer that you may appreciate.

First up, spiders — for all they do a lot of good in many cases — are not well loved. I suspect that one of the fastest ways to get a female out of her clothes is to tell her a spider is in them. We’ve been overrun with them this summer, and despite one apparently biting me, I’ve let most live as they have been dealing with the gnats, flies, and other abundant insect life quite nicely.

Now, however, there is a new wrinkle. Spiders are firemakers. And the author of this wonderfully worded article gets a bow for the wordplay. It’s worth reading for that alone; but, lot of good info and links in there too. Hat tip and thanks to Sarah A. Hoyt at Instapundit for that one.

Second, is a post by Sarah at her own site. She talks about a concern which I share, and hope can be avoided. As I pull back from pure politics a bit, need to do a post this week on the things that worry me, that I see as entirely too probable.

Enjoy the links, and more soon.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

A Good Day

I caught a Lyft ride up to the Carmel farmer’s market this morning to get my chef’s knives sharpened. There is a professional knife sharpener (two actually most days) who can sharpen my good knives without voiding my warranty. They even give me the industry rate, which is good because it usually is seven or so knives.

Bacon on a stick, about a quarter inch thick or better

While I waited, I shopped as there are several vendors there I like. I did eat a bit as well, as seen with the deep-fried (I think) bacon-on-a-stick above. There’s a local charcuterie place that honestly is as good as some I’ve had in Europe; a farm that has amazing eggs and good meats; lots of other meat, veggie, and even mushroom vendors; lots of ethnic food; and even a local mead maker is there.

I tried to be good, but did come away with eggs, meat, a huge thing of fresh basil (plan to make pesto Monday or Tuesday for freezing), fresh garlic, local goat cheese, and a few other delights. I also had good coffee and enjoyed an arepa filled with shredded chicken and avocado (cold).

Sadly, was starting to overheat and dehydrate a bit so did not get back to a favorite: a Vietnamese lady who does Vietnamese egg rolls. She doesn’t seem to speak a lot of English, but that’s okay as she has help that handles that while she makes and fries some amazing traditional egg rolls.

A good way to spend a morning, and now most of my knives are ready for a “new year” of cooking. Want to find someone at the Church to tag-team with so I can do some chicken souvlakia, salad, and a blueberry moz dessert. If I can get a good recipe (and maybe some native guidance), hoping also to do some Pho this fall. I can do cooking on Friday and Saturday, but need someone to reheat and/or get things out on Sunday as I really can’t leave during the service to do that. Besides, if they have a car and can get me to Restaurant Depot or other, all the better.

Home now, dealing with package delivery issues (have one package lost in the purgatory-or-worse that is the new USPS center that is a black hole for mail, that needs to be a column). I did get my new driver’s license today, sans donor status. Now in my wallet. I’m also imbibing water and electrolytes, and enjoying the cool. I’ve been using LYTEshow electrolytes with biking and other activities, and really like them. No sugar or artificial sweeteners or flavors, just electrolytes. Tangy, but tastes pretty good and works.

More soon. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Change Of Plans

I had planned a different post for today, but what I thought was a trip to the dentist for a simple bridge wasn’t. Turns out, my dentist isn’t doing a simple bridge or implants, but two crowns and a bridge.

Instead of impressions and such today, we did impressions, grinding of teeth, temporary “skins” over the ground teeth, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a partridge in a pear tree wasn’t involved at some point in all the scans and such. Numbness is fading, but despite a flavorful drink while downtown there is still a bit of the taste of burnt tooth/teeth in my mouth.

Not too bad, but also not great as my first dentist was rather cruel and brutal (slapped a little girl neighbor of mine because she cried, amazed he lived), which makes me a touch skittish on dental work. My current dentist is anything but, nice lady, but still caught me very off guard. Only soft foods on one side of my mouth for about four weeks as the “skin” is not that strong. So, have some soft food and think bourbon may be the order of the day. More soon.

Dreams

Finished up with physical therapy today, several weeks ahead of schedule because of good results. Mobility and balance are improved, working on getting strength back where needed, and making lots of progress. So much so, thinking a couple of things I would love to do may well be possible.

One is to do the bike rides previously discussed. Think Scottsdale is out of the question simply due to time (too close). Others, we will see.

The others involve travel. Not typical tourism travel; rather, there are some places I would love to go for other reasons.

The lowest on the totem pole is a trip to Vietnam. I’ve been reading about some amazing success the Russian Orthodox Church says it is having there. Not what I would have expected, and frankly I’m curious. That I also happen to like some aspects of the culture and love most of the food (Vietnamese spring rolls are the best in SE Asia IMHO) would just add to it. I would like to spend a few weeks, or even a month or three, seeing what is being done, how it is being done, and along the way practice/learn proper Vietnamese cooking.

Now, I would also love to visit the Holy Lands. Already have a good idea of where I would like to go including St. Catherine’s Monastery, burning bush, Jerusalem, etc. For a number of reasons, doubt it will happen, but can hope and am plotting it out just in case.

What I do think is doable is a trip to the Balkans. While most of it would be in Bulgaria, it would also include some time in Romania, possibly Serbia, and at Mt. Athos in Greece. If I had the money, have looked into going by cargo ship but it may be cheaper to fly. Romania has my interest because of a train trip into the Carpathian Mountains and a chance to spend a day cooking with a chef. That I could also work in some Churches and such is a bonus.

Most of my time would be spent in Bulgaria, where I’ve plotted out 20+ monasteries, ending with visiting the tomb of St. John of Rila. From there, I would go down into Greece and spend a week (if possible) at Mt. Athos. Now, I would do some other things while in Bulgaria, and am working with some natives to make sure I see the best things. Not necessarily the touristy things, but the right things.

My current plan is to use rail, bus, and other means, up to and including shanks mare, to get around. A number of the monasteries are clustered, which makes it easy to get between them, and they also can provide places to stay. Which makes the trip financially doable. With working out and continuing to do some of the physical therapy at home, it’s doable even if I have to walk a good bit.

To be honest, if I had the money, would look at hopping a cargo ship in Greece to Egypt, see some of the sights, hop a plane to Jordan to visit the Valley, then go back to Egypt and from there into the Sinai and Israel. A man can dream.

Just a crazy idea (ideas) to share with you. Who knows what will happen, but if it does happen, will be glad to post and share the adventure(s) with you.

To All The “Women”

On X, and sometimes on another anti-social media platform, I get followed by a number of attractive young ladies (quite often Oriental). At least to judge by their pictures. I generally ignore such, and figure most or all are bots or scammers (or both).

On the off chance that any of them are serious, I would simply note that if there is the opposite of a ‘Sugar Daddy’ I’m it. I’m old, not quite as well put together as I used to be, and poor.

So, if you really do want to meet, date, etc., know what you are getting into. I would also suggest you act soon, be direct, and accept that if told ‘no’ it’s not personal. You have been warned.

Dear New Readers

It seems that I may have some new eyes visiting the site, so I wanted to take a minute to get into some background that may (or may not) be of interest to new readers. Some of this may be of interest to established readers as well, as there may be some changes coming.

This blog got started more than 20 years ago thanks to a push by Joe Katzman of the missed Winds of Change blog and science fiction author John Ringo (with some assist by David Weber who pushed me a bit as well). It started as an anonymous blog to write about space, space exploration, and space politics. However, I was accidentally outed almost immediately which did cause some issues but I pressed on.

Space politics, along with defense and national security writing, led into more general politics. On some levels, I loathe politics and am not always good at institutional politics as I tend to be bluntly honest more than I should and I’ve not always had the patience I should. My being a sarcastic smartass on occasion is likely to get me killed if I’m not careful. Responding to a typical Captain Obvious with ‘No bleep! Really?!?’ is not always the best approach even if it is therapeutic.

My own political journey is interesting. My Dad raised me to be an independent, and taught me to vote for the person, not the party. My Uncle James (AL National Commander 63) was a Republican who tried to get me to go Republican early but didn’t meet with the success he might have hoped for. Sad to say, I worked very briefly on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign, which is ironic since I’ve spent time since then trying to clean up some of the messes he made.

My thoughts on communism/socialism (two sides of the same coin), are best left unsaid as they can get the blog suppressed. Part was shaped in elementary school when I met (and had a crush on) a Cubanita who’s father was a political prisoner in Cuba. Started meeting survivors of communism from around the world, and cordially loathed such for most of my life.

For all that I found Thomas Jefferson fascinating, I’m probably more Jacksonian in many respects these days. I used to be what would be described as a ‘classical liberal’ though I’ve always been something of a defense/fiscal conservative. I am a small-l libertarian, though I admit that if I had to pick a fictional universe to live in I would quite probably go with the late (and much missed) L. Neil Smith’s libertarian universe (The Probability Broach universe). Had a great time talking with him at WeaponsCon I, where to be there you had to be carrying one or more weapons openly. That was a fun, enjoyable, and well-behaved science fiction convention and I was honored to be a guest there. Need to raise a glass to him and to Irv tonight.

These days, I choose to describe myself as a cranky individualist and independent. The current progressive democrat party is what it is (socialist/communist), and the Republican side isn’t much better. I’ve been amused watching Trump/Maga take over the republican party and wear it like a skin, and the reactions both within the party and without as people realize what is going on. The times are a changing…

I think the worst president in our history was Woodrow Wilson, who started us on the path of rule by the credentialed elite (technocracy for all intents and purposes), followed by FDR, then the Peanut, with Johnson/Obama/Clinton sorta tied. Waiting to see exactly where I put the Biden Regency, but for now will put the Peanut ahead. All of them make Andrew Johnson, Pierce, etc. seem good. I’m willing to entertain discussion on such, as there are a few darkhorse candidates out there as well and a good case can be made for Franklin Pierce just being mediocre.

My political desires are to see the massive growth of the federal government undone, and a return to the Constitutional Republic as intended. The government that governs least, governs best IMO. Within that, I want maximum individual liberty, which happens to coincide with a central point of my religious beliefs. A man (male or female) can’t make a truly free choice if constrained. It’s why Free Will is such a thing in Christianity, and I think that it also applies to our governance. Which begs a good discussion one day soon to get into how the common definition of “freedom” has changed over the years. One is free to do what is right versus one is free to do whatever one wants.

All that said, there may be some changes here as I grow into a new life. Getting hit by lightning ended my old life, and I have a chance to make a new and better life. I honestly do feel I’m alive for a reason, and trying to figure out what it is I’m supposed to be doing is a matter to which I have been paying some attention. After all, if lightning didn’t get my attention, what might come next?

If my health was better and I was younger, monastic life has some appeal. That said, I don’t see it as a viable thing given age and health. As it is, a semi-monastic routine does work for me, in that right now I do best with structure and routine. I suspect some form of lay ministry could be in my future, which also means I may need to not be as blunt, and sarcastic, as I can be. Patience most definitely is a virtue and I need to practice that as well. I also need to work on my use of invective, though I have been working to reduce it for a while now.

This doesn’t mean some of the word play is going to go away, or that I plan to pull punches in discussing situations. It does mean, however, that I want to be/need to be perhaps a touch more diplomatic. Or at least a little less pugnacious. Then again, not sure where the whole thing about priests and saints being milquetoast came from, as I seem to recall more than one time two (future) saints got into fistfights at some of the early councils, and wasn’t it reported that St. Nicholas punched Arias?

We will see what happens. I do feel that some of my work on disaster and emergency preparedness is something I’m supposed to be doing. It may be I concentrate more on that and some other topics than politics. But, the future is unwritten, and it is up to us to write it. For me, I hope and plan to do a lot more writing, with God’s help and guidance. Meantime, I wanted new readers to have a bit more background on myself and the blog. Discourse is welcome and good, and I value the great comments and discussions so many of you regular readers bring to the site. Let’s keep that going.

Onwards.

Friday Musings

The Ring of Fire continues to be sparky. There are likely to be hundreds, if not thousands of aftershocks from the 8.8, though many are likely to only be noticed by the seismologists. There is a lot of volcanic activity around the rim, which is not unexpected but spectacular. The eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia featured some spectacular volcanic lightning. Given all, if you are on or near the Ring of Fire (including the San Andreas), double check your preparations as what you plan for never happens…

Here, the weather has moderated a bit and I’m glad. Makes it easier to use the bike to get around, and to get out and walk. One thing I’m keeping an eye on in regards the ring of fire are underwater volcanic eruptions, as the last big one (Hunga Tonga) did a number on the weather. I really would hate to see more water vapor added given how it did last time.

Today got consumed by paperwork and related. The state has decided to re-verify information even though I have been on disability for less than a year. So, have been jumping through hoops so I can get all the forms and printouts mailed out to them next week.

I realized I’ve talked about going to physical therapy a bit, but not about some of the core (pun intended) issues. When I was hit, most of the charge seems to have gone down the right side of my body. When I finally got to PT this year (as noted previously, original neurologist was pretty useless), gee, we discovered weakness and other issues in various parts of the right side. Who could have figured. (/sarc). There are also balance and coordination issues, vertigo, and a few other delights. PT is helping, and I’m also gearing up for what comes next.

One of the errands I ran today was to a gym I’ve been interested in. Seems my insurance includes something called Silver Sneakers. This gym is part of that network, and net result is that through Silver Sneakers my membership is covered. Which is good as I need to get serious about working out and continuing the PT after the current sessions stop. Nice thing is, I can take the bus close; ride my bike to this gym; and, get rides there as needed. Got a lot of work to do to build back from the lightning and this should be a huge help.

And to the anonymous donor who helped with the Bosu Ball: Thank You! I’m having to get a few other things for use at home, but I’m hoping soon to be able to match everything at the PT shop, even if some of it may be a bit rougher. Yes, I am improvising. I don’t care about the looks nearly as much as function. Anyone wanting to help, hit that tip jar please.

Lot of things going on in the world. Keep your eyes open, your friends and family close, and your things where you can find them in the dark. Preparedness always pays.

Category: General