From old to pagan

[Dell Ray]

I was raised in a lower-middle class family in the ,Äò60,Äôs.¬† My parents are quite religious and required their 4 children to make their weekly Sunday pilgrimage.¬† I have many cherished memories of sitting in the back of the congregation and playing with a friend with small electric motors with pieces of paper hooked on the motor shaft that would make a whacking noise or worse yet, fly off and hit someone sitting in the pew next to us.¬† When we brought too much attention to ourselves, I,Äôd look up and see my mother glaring from the choir with her tongue in her lower lip with the look of, ,ÄúIt,Äôs whooping time!,Äù...ah...good times.

I have one brother who married into the Cathlotic religion, another nonreligious brother, and my sister and I are more earthy and believe in an aggregate of philosophies and religions.  My sister and I often chortle over the irony of people who follow such strict doctrine on either side of the spectrum.

My mother is very conservative in her daily life to the point of being a miser.¬† This lifestyle has served her well throughout life, because my parents are comfortable in their early ,Äò80,Äôs with reasonably good health.¬† There are moments in my life that I,Äôve been concerned about her zealousness though...like the times the church has had clothing drives for native Americans (American Indians, in her words).¬† Sometimes when collecting the clothes, she finds something she thinks her children would like, she,Äôll conscript that item and give it to us.¬† I,Äôve always perceived this as, ,Äústealing from the Indians,Äù.

My grandmother (mom,Äôs mom) lives in a retirement home in Wellsville, Kansas.¬† Grandma,Äôs 101 years old and still pretty together (for 101).¬† When mom and dad go to visit her, the retirement home always has extra nonfat dry milk in huge bags which mom brings home and gives to me (I don,Äôt think she gives any to any of my siblings).¬† My wife isn,Äôt thrilled because of our ,Äústockpile,Äù of dried moo juice (along with the numerous plethora of items mom bestows upon us), but I remind her of the fact that the more mom and dad get rid of, the less we,Äôll have to deal with when mom and dad decide to move from the homestead (they,Äôve lived there since 1960).¬† Their home was originally a 3 room hunting cabin (with a privy in back that,Äôs still there) in one of the first housing developments in Evergreen, Colorado.

Anyway, my wife and I were sitting at the breakfast table talking about life and I mentioned that I had to bring a nonperishable item to a pagan festival I,Äôm attending to sell my hemp jewelry.¬† My wife asked who the nonperishables were for (thinking the pagans need food).¬† The food is actually for individuals who are financially impaired (I don,Äôt know if they,Äôre Christians or Pagans).¬† I told her that, and she inquired why the pagans couldn,Äôt wave a wand for their food drive.¬† We both cracked up and the one-liners started flying.¬† I wondered if the pagans would be so politically correct as to be offended by the wand joke.¬† Then I mentioned that, in theory, Mom takes from the heathens to bestow on me, and I take from mom who took from the aged, and give to the pagans.¬† It would seem that what comes around goes around...I think?

[Jasper]

Things like that only come and go around because we feel the need to make them.  Whatever satisfies your sense of justice, eh Hammurabi? 

Hey, welcome to PD.

[davznothere]

it seems that the cycle still pedals eh ? ..... and as far as PC and religions ..... i find the more fanatic they are about their religion the more PC-ness goes right out the window ..... and besides people who are all concerned for PC-ness can suck farts cause PC-ness has no place anymore .....