"You cannot see or touch the Divine with your gross senses. The Divine is within you, not somewhere else. Unite yourself to the Divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are, but do not try to grasp or cling to them."
from Art of Peace




Thank God our troops are coming out of Iraq. The sigh of those brave warriors wrapping up the mission makes me mourn a much uglier "leaving " 40+ years ago. I wonder how different the war in Vietnam would have ended if we and our government had supported our troops like we have in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thank you President for sticking to the deal President Bush arranged. Now please find a way to get our military out of Afghanistan. Every invader since the Romans have been eaten alive by the Afghans.

A couple of nights ago, I was out for a few drinks with some friends and had a few too many beers and some rather nice claret. Knowing full well I may have been slightly over the limit, I did something I've never done before - I took a bus home. I arrived home safely and without incident, which was a real surprise, as I have never driven a bus before and am not sure where I got this one.

So of my friends and family know I have been struggling with internet access for the last month or so. Our provider is Comcast. We would just suddenly lose connection to the internet. We would call the "Land of the Dense" customer support and describe our problem and list the symptoms and actions we were undertaking when connection was lost. The "Voice" would promise to get a service rep out ASAP and give us a 2 hour appointment window. Once the ASAP was 5 days later. But in that 5 days Comcast, with no input from us would cancel the appointment and reschedule. When a rep would finally show up he would fiddle with the connections and change out the cable modem. We had three that followed that MO. Once the voice promised tomorrow and we would get a rewire. Three days later rep showed up and ran a new cable just for the internet. And replaced the modem. When that "fix" died 4 days later I called Comcast and told voice that if a service rep was not out by noon the next day (12/14/2011) I would call AT&T and get DSL internet. At 15:05 pm 12/14/2011 I called AT&T and initiated installation of DSL. AT&T internet is wireless so installation should be easy. The equipment will be mailed 12/22/2011 and will need to be activated. The service rep arrived 12/15/2011 at 1:45 pm and replaced the modem and associated power supply. He left his personal phone number. At 3:35 pm and again at 6:01 pm we lost internet service temporarily. GOODBY COMCAST INTERNET!!

Somebody posted a video of Jimmy Stewart reading his poem about his dog Beau on Johnny Carson's show. I remember him reading that poem. My wife and I watched Johnny every night. That was in 1981. Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Click to picture for the video and marvel at one of the most recognizable voices ever from Hollywood.

All to often I find something in the Houston Chronicle that makes me almost wish the sterilizing hand of God would cull the human race. This morning it was an article reporting the results of a poll showing that just possibly we should have some sort of test before we let a man approach a woman. Read the excerpt below and click the link for the full article to understand my point.

As many as 29 million women say they have suffered severe and frightening physical violence from a boyfriend, spouse or other intimate partner. That includes being choked, beaten, stabbed, shot, punched, slammed against something or hurt by hair-pulling.
The CDC report from which the Houston Chronicle article was drawn is HERE. What has happened to the men in this country? Or were we always so violent?

12/13: O God, in times when we're ready and times when we're not, help us to trust in and lean on your grace. Amen. 12/14: God of love, help us draw upon the love you have put in us and find ways to express it in words and actions, even--and especially--to those who are strangers. Amen. 12/15: Gracious God, help us to be good listeners so that your inspiration can flow through us to those who need direction. Amen. The prayers are from the Upper Room. For your own free E-Mail Devotional visit : http://upperroom.org/devotional/email/ and click on the link "Other Ways to Receive the Daily Devotional"

Breakfast Casserole

4 slices bread
1 pound bacon or sausage
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp. dry mustard

Grease the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Tear up 4 slices of bread and place in the bottom of the pan. Cook 1 pound of bacon or sausage, drain, and sprinkle over bread pieces. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over meat. Mix eggs, milk and mustard together and pour over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes.

This recipe was posted in Bitsy's Kitchen and sounds like a winner.



"Work is a necessary evil to be avoided."
Mark Twain

SGGP

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