Category: Into The Light

Funeral For A Friend

Thought I would share something I think many of you will appreciate and even enjoy. Someone I know here in Indiana passed away and we had his church funeral service today. Not going to share a lot, but he was a bit of an outdoorsman, farmed (including a maple syrup grove), and was just a neat and good person. He had cancer, but kept it mostly to himself until he had to share the news. He died surrounded by family and love.

He arrived today in a simple, plain, unvarnished or painted wooden coffin via a hearse, was brought into the Church and given the funeral service he deserved. We all got to line up and say goodbye to him at the end, before the top was put back on and we sent him on his way to Missouri to be buried on Monday. We escorted him back out, where he was loaded into the back of a pick-up truck to be driven to his final resting place. So appropriate for him!

Gonna miss him, not going to lie. But I’m sitting here laughing as he’s going out to Missouri in the style he wanted. I can only imagine, but can hear him saying ‘Just throw me in the back of your truck and get me out there.’ God Bless!

Into The Light: Brigitte Bardot

Growing up in the 1960s, I — like so many American boys — recognized beauty when I saw it. Fact is, I had a bit of a crush (if not other emotions) for Goldie Hawn, Ann Margaret, and Raquel Welch. Despite growing up in an area that was about as far from a foreign film hotbed as you could get (and a mother determined to save me from the evils of rock and roll as well as godless foreign sexpots), I became aware of beauties like Diana Rigg, Claudia Cardinale, and Brigitte Bardot. The two latter turned the pout into a sexy art form.

Brigitte Bardot retired early but still managed to pop up in various places and media over the years. While I appreciated her work on behalf of animals, I also have to admit she pushed it well beyond my comfort zone on occasion. I will also admit that when I learned how she treated her pets, I was ready to volunteer as such.

Over time, I came to appreciate that she was a complex individual who battled depression and other issues; was addicted to cigarettes; and who actually had a working mind and a good heart. The latter led her overboard in some things, IMO, but it also showed that she was human. She was also bluntly honest on things, and her take on immigration, MeToo, and other issues made her an outcast from progressive circles (while delighting many others). Also, if you have not checked out her music, you should.

Please join me in saying a prayer for her soul, and in appreciating the beauty of a particular time and place. The era of the movie star is not yet dead, but it is fading fast as those who were such leave this world.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, 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.

Into The Light: Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner and his wife Michele passed into the light yesterday, apparently the result of being stabbed to death. Even more tragic, a family member appears to be the prime suspect at this time. I’m being cautious as this is LA, and the current LAPD, we are talking about and getting information from, which warrants a good deal of caution. Especially since the initial press conference wouldn’t even discuss who had been killed or how and was blindsided to find out Mayor Security Threat (not just because of her loose lips) had already blabbed details ahead of their conference.

Politically, we were worlds apart and I didn’t care for his online persona (and it was a persona). His work, however, was quite often genius and he had a special gift for making us laugh at the absurdities in life. From the extremes of A Few Good Men on one hand to The Princess Bride on the other, he handled generes and topics with a masterful touch. For The Princess Bride alone I would have been willing to put up with much more from him as it is one of my favorite movies of all time. He leaves behind an impressive and enjoyable body of work.

I invite you to join me in saying a prayer for God’s Mercy on their souls; for God’s Mercy and Illumination on their killer (son or other); and for God’s Mercy, Illumination, and Comfort to all those they leave behind.

Prayer Request

I just found out that my Godfather and confessor, Fr. Stevan Bauman, unexpectedly fell asleep in the Lord last night. Please pray for the blessed repose of his soul; for mercy and comfort to his wife, two daughters, and their families; and, for the many, many, many people who’s lives he touched for the better.

UPDATE I: Will be offline mostly until Tuesday (at least). We are holding vigil and taking turns reading the Gospels over him in the Church until his funeral on Monday. I really need to tell his story one day soon, but it will be hard to do justice to him. He was a humble man, with a quick wit and amazing intellect, but simple is not a word I would associate with him. Which is part of why our Bishop is flying in to conduct his service. For those not Orthodox, it’s something like a Roman Catholic Cardinal flying in to do the funeral of a retired parish priest. Not the best analogy at all, but it’s the best I have right now. I will share that our Metropolitan was reported to be upset that he couldn’t come do it (he is above the Bishop).

Memorial Day 2025

I am hoping to go raise a glass to/with them in just a bit. Meantime, enjoy the day but do take a minute to think about, remember, and pray for those who gave all for this country, from our founding until now. I pray for them all, and I especially remember:

ENS Albert Foster Powers, MIA 1945 Japan
LCPL Bill Stelpflug, Beirut
COL Rick Rescorla, NY 9/11
SPC Ryan Dallam, Iraq
PFC Damian Lopez, Iraq
SPC Marieo Guerrero, Iraq
CPT Anthony Palermo, Iraq
SPC David Behrle, Iraq
SPC Joseph Gilmore, Iraq
PFC Travis Haslip, Iraq
SGT Jean Medlin, Iraq
SSG Christopher Moore, Iraq
PVT Alexander Varela, Iraq
LCPL Jeremy W. Burris, Iraq
SSG Brian Cowdrey, Afghanistan
MAJ Andrew Olmstead, Iraq
CPT Carroll LeFon, CONUS

Thank you Lord that such men lived, and heeded the call to protect and defend. We are all the richer and the better for them and their brothers and sisters who lived the words “No greater love…” You are remembered. You are not forgotten. You are missed. God Bless.

Into The Light: Michael Ledeen

His is not a name well known to most, which is a shame in some ways. Some people have an outsized impact on history, and Michael Ledeen is one of them. I never met him in person, and wish I had done so.

I think I’ve mentioned before that it took a while for Heinlein and others to kick in, and in my early years I was a touch blue as it were. In fact, I have to admit, Reagan (or at least the media reports about him) scared me a bit when he was first elected. That said, by the time he left office, if he had asked me to get something out of Satan’s desk for him, I would have done my best to pull that off. While that change was mostly him (another I would have liked to have met in person, didn’t get to at the Shuttle landing), part of that change and the change in my view of the world came from Michael Ledeen.

It was Michael who was behind part of the strategy that brought down the Soviet Union, and he was involved in many more things beyond that. His take on Iran is one I hope is being well studied and utilized by the current administration. He was not a fan of military intervention, but worked tirelessly to help dissidents around the world achieve freedom and liberty on their own.

His work in ending the Cold War without things getting hot is not likely to be fully known or appreciated, nor will his many other contributions to this world. Godspeed Sir!

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. 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.

Into The Light: Pope Francis

While I am no longer a member of the Roman Catholic church, I have said a prayer for his soul and also prayed for that church. I was not a fan of Pope Francis, though I had hoped for the best when he was elected. That said, I do encourage prayers for his soul and for that church. Personally, I think they could do a lot worse than to look at Cardinal Sarah. To all Roman Catholics, my condolences on the loss.

Jimmy Carter

I generally try not to say something about someone who has passed if I can’t say something nice or good. I’ve been searching for something nice to say about this man, especially as I very briefly (thank you Lord!) worked on his presidential campaign.

Though it was in no way intentional, he did enable the craft beer revolution in the U.S. That is, he signed legislation crafted by others and guided through Congress by others that allowed people to brew for themselves. In essence, the bill removed constraints put in place by Prohibition, and when it became law it started the process of modernizing both state and federal law. For the full and real story, read up as it is a good story. However, despite the ongoing tongue baths, it is not honest to say that Jimmy was a true and huge champion of craft brewing.

As an ex-President, he helped Habitat for Humanity get publicity and he was involved in efforts that have boosted tropical medicine and health. He does indeed deserve credit for such.

Sadly, there is not much more good that I can say at this time about him. I grew up in Georgia when he was active, and find that he and Biden do have much in common: they are both petty, vindictive, and not known for holding to the truth. I have to give Carter the edge on that, as a case can be made for hyperbole on his part as opposed to the outright fantasy that spouts from Biden.

The man did more damage to world peace and the advancement of Western Civilization than any outside enemy. What he did to intelligence operations is something from which we have yet to recover. I can’t truly put it as a good, but I will say that outside experts became a thing, and in those days we were referred to as Soviet Watchers, China Watchers, etc. Today, OSINT is not just a thing but starting to be a full-up industry, all thanks to Jimmy’s incompetence and the fact that Ronald Maximus realized that outside, honest, intel was needed.

As president and ex-president, Carter truly screwed over Israel and the Middle East. While there wasn’t a totalitarian dictator he wasn’t eager to fellate he was particularly fascinated with Arafat and slurped him at every opportunity. The damage he did in both facets of his life will take generations to repair, if they can be repaired at all.

Nor was such evil limited to the Middle East. You can find it anywhere he touched, but much of the issues facing South and Central America can be laid straight at Jimmy’s feet. Start with Venezuela and work your way out from there.

There is more, and much more detail, into which I can go. For now, I will leave that for others. I will ask you to pray for his soul, for it is needed and right to do so.

Into The Light: James Earl Jones

I can’t remember ever seeing him give a bad performance. Indeed, I seem to recall that his performance was the best part of a couple of vehicles that were not really up to his level. Thing is, don’t remember that many like that as he had a tendency to find really good projects, even if small.

He gave a master class on acting one time, when he played a man just released from prison. He arrives in Chicago and gets a Chicago Dog (you really do need to try one if you haven’t done so) from a street vendor and with his eyes and expressions conveyed so much pure emotion it wasn’t funny. An amazing talent with a sense of humor that apparently matched.

Godspeed Sir! Thank you for the entertainment, the laughter, and the thoughts provoked. You will be missed.