Thoughts About Christmas on this Christmas Eve - Happy Holidays to All of my Readers

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone. Now, I'm not Christian, but I appreciate the general feeling of goodwill and joy that permeates this season. I 'm not very Jewish either, although that's a bit closer to the way I was raised. My parents turned their backs on Gods and Goddesses after WWII, stating that any Deity that would allow that abomination was not one they could or would follow. They were possibly agnostic, but more atheist, I suspect. Dad was good, and if I wanted to experience what a church service was like, he would accompany me to whatever Church or Synagogue or whatever I wanted to attend, but Mom flat out refused. She never forgave God for allowing Hitler, and probably let him have "what for" if she met Him after she died. 

There are many, MANY religions throughout the 
world - the above is just a few of them. Mankind 
has always felt the need to acknowledge something 
greater than himself, but has never managed to 
come to an agreement of who/what that something 
actually is and how to communicate with it/him/her. 

I experimented with religion, actually studied it quite intensively for many years. Although there were many aspects of Christianity that I really liked, there was too much that had become warped - too much of that original "Love Thy Neighbors" that had been added to with exceptions and rules. That basic message of Christianity, as explained by Christ, was pretty damned good, and massively inclusive. It spoke to the downtrodden and the slaves of the Romans in Judea, and it spoke clearly, like a bell. And that bell has continued to sound through the centuries and the nations until it still rings today. 

The difficulty with religion is that there are always 
people out there who do NOT share your beliefs. 
That means they are less than you, or that you simply 
MUST try your best to make them see the "truth" as 
you see it. Nope. Not going to happen. Mankind is 
nothing if not stubborn. 

But mankind is a warlike species. We're territorial. We take land and beliefs and ideals expect everyone else to see how correct we are and how incorrect everyone else is. And, my friends near and far, that simply doesn't work on a broad scale. Religion can be warped to justify murder in too many cases. I prefer to keep my religion to myself - to walk the pathway that has been set out for me, to act with kindness when possible, to strike out to protect those I love when kindness fails. Will I be judged for my deeds? That's very hard to say. I am one part of cosmic dust that will return to this infinite Universe and if I'll be judged, I'll hope that I'll have those willing to sit in my corner while the scales are balanced and the forward road is opened for my passage. 

Even celebrating on Christmas Day is different, depending 
on your particular brand of Christianity. There simply is no 
agreement among all of us about who/what/where/when, etc 
for any specific deity, and really, it's the overall message 
that's more important, not the entity delivering the message. 
That message? PEACE ON EARTH, GOODWILL TO ALL. 

Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Many of you will be joyfully exchanging gifts and celebrating the birth of Christ. I wish you all a blessed day and one filled with happiness and family. I'll be cooking a "Roast Beast" and relaxing. I've got DH's chair filled with a variety of gifts, and a few more are on their way (late? a give can never truly be late). DH's birthday is tomorrow, so we get to celebrate a second day, even though we have to work on Thursday. I wish all of you a Blessed and Peace-filled Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I'll be back on Thursday. Slava Ukraini. 

A Book, Some Deep Thoughts and Hockey - That's Life

I'm in the middle of reading a rather sobering book. Now, normally I'm fiction all the way - adventure novels, fantastical novels, alternative worlds novels. But when the right nonfiction book comes my way and moves up on my reading list to be the next one, I dive into it with as much enthusiasm as I would with a new Tolkien tale or a new plate full of Narnia. So, here's one I'm recommending to you, even though I'm not even half-way through it yet. 

I strongly recommend this book to all of you. It's actually 
a really easy read but it tackles a very difficult subject 
with a thorough look at the historical path that has gotten 
us to the political point we're at. Whether you're 
Conservative or Liberal, or in the USA or elsewhere, it 
can help you understand where our politics is coming 
from, and possibly where it's going to. It's a bit 
frightening, to be quite honest. 

Politics confounds me, but it influences how I can live my life, as well as the lives of those friends and acquaintances both near and far. This book is a bit frightening, but I can absolutely see the pattern the author, Bradley Onishi, is pointing out in its' pages. The title? "Preparing For War - The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism - and What Comes Next". If that doesn't send shivers down your spine, it should. It should. Grab a copy, read it. If you're in the USA, read it and think hard about your town or city, your state and your national elected officials. Are you frightened? You SHOULD be. It's enough to turn my stomach, and I can so easily see the progression through his pages and my own studies of history over many years. 

Kids play together after school - they'll 
gather at one person's house for a few 
hours, or they'll hang out at the local 
library or the playground at the local 
park or school. Kids gather together. It's 
their nature - they are "pack animals" in 
essence. 

Those of you in nations which have existed for centuries probably look at the USA as an upstart - a baby in the world of great nations, movers, and shakers. You're right. We are the new kids on the block - the ones with the nicely paved basketball court and a large lot behind the house for baseball and football pick-up games. We're the house where Mom bakes cookies to give to visiting kids, and the TV has all of the latest games and 3-D headsets. In other words, we're the house where everyone wants to come after school. We've built it that way. 

In my childhood, we'd get home from school, dump 
our books into our rooms, change clothes, and run 
outside. I lived in a block where there were at least 
20+ kids within just a few houses, and there was always 
somewhere to go or something to do. It was great! 

But underneath that wholly welcoming exterior, is an interior that's quite a bit more selective. That interior welcomes everyone with open arms, and then cleans the areas where certain people came just a bit harder. Where the guests might get a meal that's a bit less in quantity, or a bit more burnt or stale than the meal the rest of the family is getting. We're jovial and hospitable on the outside, but we're really not on the inside. That difference is coming through loudly in this upcoming election, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to once again be ashamed of my own country within another year or two. 

Right now, we can probably add "No Immigrants" to 
this list. That would include just about everyone "else" 
and would make that far right quite happy. It turns 
my stomach, however. It makes me sick and ashamed 
of calling myself a citizen of the USA and what I had 
been taught that we stand for. That freedom, that only 
seems to actually be available to white, Anglo-Saxon 
people, not so much for anyone else. 

But, enough negativity for today because I'm really not pointing out anything you're not already aware of. My ice hockey team (MN Wild) are on an extended road trip, with the final game of this trip taking place tonight. Then they'll have a few days off until they're back home on Tuesday. They'll have several recovery days then, until their next game on Sunday the 3rd, but they return to the road until the 10th because this weekend and next weekend are the Girls State High School Hockey Tournament (just finishing today) and then the Boys State High School Hockey Tournament (starting on the 6th of March). These are MAJOR tournaments, great fun to watch, and a lot of stars of the future are playing in these games. They're FUN to watch, and I plan to be listening or watching all of the Boy's Tournament games. A lot of NHL players came through that tournament. 

This photo is from the Boys State High School Hockey 
Tournament in 2022. Do you see any open seats there 
in the Xcel Center? No? That's because there AREN'T 
any. Every seat is occupied, and many more were turned 
away at the door. The State High School Hockey 
Tournaments pull in the crowds (the boys tournament 
especially, but the girls tournament is picking up 
steam too). This tournament is where you will find 
the stars of the professional leagues and the scouts are 
most definitely watching every game intently. I'm hoping 
my nephew Flynn will be goalie here in a few more 
years. He has that level of talent. 

On that hockey note, I'm out of here. I need to find something positive to focus on, and hockey seems like the best idea today. I'm wearing my Kaprisov jersey, cheering the Minnesota Wild team on their road trip, and watching/listening to the Girls State High School Hockey Tournament which wraps up tonight. The girls may not skate as fast, but they can hit just as hard - LOL. Have an excellent Saturday and weekend, I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Monday Was a Hell of a Day - Tuesday Might Not be Much Better

I had to call Chickie in to work yesterday, while I took the store's computer system apart and brought the main computer up to my Computer Guru for hospitalization. Dale and I sat with that computer, finding X, eliminating Y and trying Z ALL DAY. I finally left around 4:30 pm, leaving the computer doing a procedure that would take it most of the night. I'll be back at his place again today at 9:00 am, after he's done feeding and taking care of the horses. 

I had to take the main store computer to Dale's 
computer hospital yesterday. I was there from 
9:00 am until 4:30 pm, and we left the computer 
running something or other for the night. *sigh* I'll 
be back at his place at 9:00 am today. 

So it was a long day, and a frustrating one. I'm not sure we'll be able to totally recover from this crash, but we have to try. Right now, it's looking like we might be missing some serious data due to hard drive corruption issues, and DH and I will just have to deal. I'm not sure exactly how, but one way or another, we'll have to manage it. In the meanwhile, we're hand-writing receipts and that's much slower and not necessarily accurate. It's all we can do, however. DH says what he needs more than anything is the Sales History, that the inventory can be toast, if necessary. 

Dale keeps his computer room cold - he's often 
got several computers running, and those can 
heat up a room. Plus, he runs hot. I, on the 
other hand, run cold, and I freeze to death in 
his room. I dress accordingly, but I've been 
known to wear my parka in that room sometimes. 

Dale always keeps his space quite cool - a bit uncomfortable for anyone other than him (he apparently runs really hot) and Frosty the Snowman. I know that, and I try my best to dress accordingly, but I've been known to sit there bundled in my coat while he's in shirtsleeves and barefoot (he tends to be barefoot at all times whenever possible). We got into a couple of decent theological discussions while waiting for the computer to do X or Y, and those are always fun. 

Dale is a devout Christian, having arrived at his 
beliefs through intensive study of 10's of 
thousands of hours, delving into every religious and 
belief system on Earth, and putting all of them to 
the test of scientific principles. He's rigorous, and has 
written 1000's of pages of information about how he 
came to his conclusions, and maybe he's right. Who 
can say for sure? He's certainly got the statistics and 
facts to back him up. Myself? I just can't go there. It;s 
totally not my belief system. We might actually have the 
same beliefs, but with different labels. 

He's a devout Christian from a scholarly viewpoint and years of intensive study, comparison and analysis of religions throughout the world and history. I'm a confirmed non-Christian, or I simply refuse to place a name and body type on my idea of a diety. I haven't studied theology as deeply as he has, nor do I really want to. He's written 1000's of pages about theology and why he's determined that Christianity is the only true pathway, I go with my heart. We're NOT on the same page, and it can lead to interesting discussions and debates. Neither of us are moving on our personal platforms, and we hold onto them for many different reasons. 

Dale is brilliant - genius brilliant. When he delved into his religious 
studies, he taught himself original languages to be able to read 
the texts written in Assyrian, Hebrew and other languages. He 
usually starts every day out with up to four hours of meditation and 
scholarly research, and has extensive knowledge. He could easily 
teach at the advanced college level if he was so inclined. He 
does have a blog where he posts his studies and deductions, but 
I don't read it - it's too deep for me to understand clearly. I see 
with the heart, he sees with the head. Both visions are accurate, 
as far as they go. 

So, I'm heading back out to Dale's this morning, probably around 9:00 am. I'm hoping I left my laptop bag on top of his pool table - I suspect I did. I was pretty brain dead by the time I left his place at 4:30 pm. I owe Chickie a replacement day off, and DH and I agreed we'll offer her next Tuesday, giving her Wednesday, Friday and Saturday to work next week because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. I need to get my "Turkey Day Holiday Sale" flyer revised, polished, and published ASAP, which is why I was looking for my laptop. *sigh* I need the pool! I need to clear my mind from computer crap and lose myself in water, rhythm and breathing. I hope you have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.