Thank God it's (fill in the blank) FRIDAY

Dear faithful five followers, presuming you guys/gals more or less do what I do on Sundays, Holy Days and feast days like Thanksgiving Day, we invested an hour at Mass yesterday. Wendy and I weren't going to be home and "do" Mass, but she caught a fever and that changed our travel plans. Then our organist also became ill, so we gladly served to lead music for a good crowd of worshippers yesterday. I love Thanksgiving Mass, as I do all "intentional" Masses as those who come, do so with "intention." One particular moment that proved that intent was the last response of the "sursum corda" where the only words heard were "It is RIGHT and JUST" rather than the Sunday tug of war between the front pew sitters and the real catholics who seem to cling to "right to give Him thanks and praise." I digress.
Anyway, before Mass, we watched a little of the wonderfully revamped CBS This Morning Show which featured two wonderful segments. The first was a celebration of Arlo Guthrie's famed "Alice's Restaurant Massacre" (long "e") broadcast on Thanksgiving tradition. Just seeing that Arlo's eyes still had that gleam of inner joy....The second segment was a prepared piece by the great Wynton Marsalis, giving perspective to the term "thanksgiving." Being so gifted a musician, he also is an icon of the deposit of limitless love that God infuses into the human heart, especially artists. A convergence of St. Cecilia's grace by two musicians who have their heads and hearts on straight!
Mass was wonderful.

Came home, read what little news and opinion was in the daily local paper. Then as a perfunctory nod, did the yearly scan of the two inches of ad circulars for shopping on BLACK FRIDAY. I'm glad that the term "Black Friday" has a positive connotation, as in "to be in the black" means fiscal well being. But as I scanned the glossy inserts, I couldn't help but notice the collusion of certain items that tickled the "Terry Gilliam" portion of my brain as signifiers of where we are in the USofA as a cultured society; besides being terribly self-absorbed and unsatisfied.
The first item that seems to encapsulate the zeitgeist is the well known (now) Beat Headphones by Dr. Dre. Huge over-ear, richly colored, thick, inch wide head band, total noise suppression from outside while touting absolute faithfully reproduced sonic purity, clarity and power! You are enveloped in the music or sound of your choice while making the simultaneous, obvious statement: "Don't talk to me, mess with me, and you know I mean business and have swag because I spent nearly 200 big ones on these.....headphones." Charlie! Come to the table grampa's carving the bird now." BEATS sez "I got your bird right here, Mom."


OUR LOWEST PRICE, EVAH!



I can't help but notice that a more direct indicator of the enclave mindset that sporting good stores aren't shy anymore from putting onto their ad pages is the "firearm." In fact, everyday this last week one gun retailer had a one page, two sided insert in the paper featuring really cool handguns. So confident they, no retail prices were posted for the handguns. Doorbuster prices on shoulder arms were shown, but not for the larger calibre semi-automatic clip rifles. You know, the kind used in Boulder, Virginia Tech,\ and for when....well. The Home Protection weapon. It's almost a must have feaver now. I think it's likely a greater contagion than we suspect, just like illegal drugs like crystal meth or stolen Oxycontin. "Hey, we know the sh*t's comin', damn zombie apocalypse, racial civil war, fiscal cliff class warfare, failure of the power grid or the communication intertubes, whatever, I got my short barreled hand gripped carbon fiber shotgun and mean to take out who ever the hell walks up my walk when it's on." I can appreciate that-protect the homestead and family and all that. But for the sake of how far we predators have progressed beyond the reptillian fight or flight impulse, just how many of you preppers expect you're going to mow down these "intruders" before you can reload? I figure I can take a swipe with my decorative big ass claymore sword at the bug eyed neighbor at my door (who probably came over to see if our puppy was okay, what with all the shotgun and handgun and machine gun pop-pops relentlessly rattling the city), take her out and then yield to the swarm of zombies behind her while barking out "FREEDOM!" From what? would likely then be my last thought as I slip into the void where God doesn't dwell.

And rather than this on the right, this on the left would have been the herald of the times. Call of duty and black ops is how to "get" the bad guy, not by forgiveness, repentence, restoration, reconciliation.









Wow, what a November it's been since Halloween. I'm humming "What goes up, must come down..." by Blood, Sweat and Tears" in my mind. I don't need "Beats headphones" for that.

And how does it all come out in the wash of the cosmos?