DEAR GOD...

I won't believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, no devil as well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You're always letting us humans down. The wars you bring, the babes you drown. Those lost at sea and never found, and it's the same the whole world 'round. The hurt I see helps to compound that Father, Son and Holy Ghost is just somebody's unholy hoax, And if you're up there you'd perceive that my heart's here upon my sleeve. If there's one thing I don't believe in

It's you....

~ XTC

I've always liked and related to this song. There is one thing about my atheism that I find interesting and a little weird, I love churches. I love highly ornate catholic churches and I love the austere protestant churches. I love store-front iglesias de dios and synagogues. They are all so different and interesting. I suppose it comes from my art history background and being immersed in the symbolism of all that art. The mind reels at all the time and energy and money that went into creating those interiors, the statuary, the sculpted altars, the stained glass, and that's just the inside!

My father's family is catholic, my father was an altar boy almost until the day he married my mother. Needless to say, we were raised catholic. Our church was in Manomet, St Bonaventure's. It was a boring church, none of the archaic or gothic about it. Well except for the priest, Father Higgins. But that's a story for another day. Sometimes my dad would mix it up and take us to St Peter's, the church he grew up in, or to St Mary's out in North Plymouth. I remember those churches being dark and very mysterious.

St Peter's has those magnificent columns and vaulted ceilings while St Mary's was all dark wood inside with a very large (and somewhat creepy) crucifix hanging over the altar. To the right of the altar was a votive offering consisting of red and blue glasses holding candles. You could put an offering in the box and light one for somebody who had died or was sick or just needed a little something extra. And the plaster wall behind these votives was black with the soot from so many years of being lit, over and over again. I loved going to St Mary's, it had an old-world charm about it because the parish was primarily Portuguese and Italian immigrants who worked for the Plymouth Cordage Company.

Alas, times, and the churches with them, have changed. Both St Peter's and St Mary's have become more user-friendly. They have renovated their interiors to be more welcoming and less oppressive. Gone are the dark woods and soot covered walls, and in my opinion, a lot of the mystery.

I started this post to introduce some pictures I took of a greek orthodox church down in Hyannis in July. They have an annual festival and I was excited to be able to see the inside of the church and all the artwork therein. One of the prettiest I've ever seen.

MEMOIRS

I've been taking a memoirs writing workshop with my mom for the last few months. She is a prolific poem writer and wants to get them organized in a coherent manner to make a book for all us kids. I'm her typist, but thought taking it with her would help with my blog writing.

The last assignment was to write about somebody who has made a difference in our lives. I don't even know where to begin with that. I've met a lot of people in my life and most of them have been influential in one way or another. I guess we're supposed to pick the person who has had the greatest impact on us, but there are so many people from whom to choose! Needless to say, I have not even started this assignment, I might never.

I feel that everyone I come into contact with makes some difference in my life, good or not so good. And the not so good probably have some positive affect, even if I'm not immediately, or ever, aware of it. I am one of those people who thinks that everything happens for a reason, so that jerk who cut me off in traffic this morning could have saved my life, but I'll never know! There have been a lot of people I have never met and never will who have impacted my life.

Animals too have had a huge impact on my life. I love my cats like they are my children and I still miss the kitties that have gone on to the giant catnip field in the sky, Windy, Max, Miles, Alec, Winston, all my precious babies. Fish in an aquarium, stray birds and mice I've tried to save, they've all left an imprint, taught me something about myself and the world in which I live. There was one sheep in particular that changed my life forever.

I think maybe that sheep was the most influential, really. She was at the Topsfield Fair being shown in the 4H sheep tent. I squatted down to see her at eye level and pet her. She nuzzled my face and that was it. I decided right then and there that I would stop eating meat.

I had been reading a lot about vegetarianism and the impact livestock farming is having on our planet but hadn't made the final commitment to giving up meat. I had stopped eating meat the previous spring but when I smelled the first cookout of the summer, it was all over. In November of 1988 I stopped eating meat. In December of 1988 I stopped wearing leather and using products that contained animal-derived ingredients. In October of 2009, I finally gave up dairy, eggs and honey. I feel lighter, healthier and happier, knowing that I'm not harming other animals and I'm taking better care of myself.

Becoming vegan is probably the single most important thing I've ever done.

ALMOST WINTER

I went up to the cottage with my mother on Friday. It was very cold and very windy. This is not the time of year we spend much time up there and so I'm always surprised by how barren and gray everything is. We can't see the water from this vantage point in the summer.

I hope the cottage is hibernating and not missing all the people and activity.

After all the rain that Plymouth has had recently, the beach is half gone! It should be back by the time we want to swim.

Water all the way up to the fire pit!

The kayaks all nestled in for their long winter nap.

I am really looking forward to the spring when the green will be back and the promise of summer will be in the air!

THE RESPONSE

from the organizing committee of the Plymouth Thanksgiving Parade to my letter of complaint.
Hi Penny,
Thank you for giving us this important feedback about the parade. We have worked diligently since we took over the management of the America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration to best represent Plymouth's heritage. We pride ourselves on bringing to the community something to be proud to be a part of. The balloon piece of the parade something that one of our sponsors managed independently. It is our understanding that the balloon company delivered the Native American balloon in error and was actually
supposed to deliver a balloon depicting a turkey and a chef. We recognize that everything that comes through the parade is a reflection of our organization and your email is a reminder to us to be constantly diligent. If you would like to further discuss this or have additional feedback that you think would be useful for us to preserve our heritage, please do not hesitate to call me directly. Again, I thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. Feedback such as yours is vital to the growth of our organization.

Sincerely,
Olly Demacedo
America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration
617-759-3139

GOOD KNEES GONE BAD

When I was 11, I was diagnosed with Osgood Schlatter Disease and I was excused from gym class for all of sixth grade. Since then my knees have been a little sketchy. Most of the time they're cool, but every once in awhile, for no apparent reason, they just "go out".

As you know, I've been working out at the Y for a month and I'm loving it. Well, about a week ago my knees started to bother me, the left one especially. One night last week it got so bad I was lying on my bed crying in pain and frustration. I was so worried that, after the progress I've made, I'd have to give up the aerobic workout I have come to LOVE.

I went to my doctor and had some x-rays and found that I have mild arthritis in the left knee and moderate arthritis in the right. I am not surprised by this, it runs in my family. My grandmother was all but crippled by it and my dad had knee replacement surgery a year ago because of it.

For me it's a bit of a catch-22. I have been overweight all my life, which exacerbates the arthritis and when I'm finally doing something about it and actually losing weight, the knees are bad enough that changes must be made to the workout. No more elliptical for me. I have begun to swim.

The Y has a 75 foot long pool with lap lanes available every day, all day. I went for the first time on Thursday thinking it wouldn't be as good and it kicked my ass! I did 5 laps of the crawl and it made me dizzy.

My armpits are sore.

I can't wait to go again tomorrow!