GREAT LINES FROM THE MOVIES

Talos, Man of Bronze, from "Jason and the Argonauts", 1963

In the the Greek Myth, Jason must sail to Colchis, at the end of the world, to find the Golden Fleece and regain his fathers Throne as king of Thessaly.
This movie made a huge impression on me when I was a boy. It was not just the huge bronze statue of Talos, chasing Hercules and Hylos, or Hercules strength, or Poseidon holding back the clashing rocks; it wasn’t the Harpies plaguing poor Phineas, or the 7-Headed Hydra and the Skeletons that rose up from the earth as Children of the Hydras Teeth that left me so affected when I was but 7 years old…though Harryhausen's special effects in this movie were terrific for the day.

It was the conversation between Zeus, Jason, and the Goddess Hera after Hermes transported Jason in a dream to Mount Olympus that really affected me.
Zeus, king of the gods, told Jason he would assemble a crew for him, and build him a ship, and supply him with maps and all he needed for the voyage.

You know what Jason said?
He said
“Thanks very kindly Mr. Zeus, but I’ll find my own crew, I’ll build my own ship;

I’ll make my way as best as I can if you don’t mind it too much, no disrespect intended.

And Zeus turned to his wife Hera and said:
‘Sometimes the Gods are best served by those who need their help the least”

I told my sponsor this in answer to his question last week of what it is I think about God, and what my relationship to Him is based on.
I figured he would tell me I had a really bad attitude, and my idea about what my God should be was way off.
Instead, he just grinned at me and said
“Yes, God will require some action on your part. I think you are ready for Step 4"

CHANEL #5

I went to see ’Gran Torino” Friay Night at the Movie Tavern. Its one of those Theaters that you order dinner and they serve hard liquor and I imagine they might even have a bottle of Dom Perignon laying around somewhere. Its a Movie Theater that doesn’t smell like Popcorn, nope…it smells like a bar!
A few years back, my kids took me there to see ‘Soccer Dad “ with Will Farrel, and all I really remember was that when they turned the lights back on at the end and I stood up and looked around there were a lot of drunks passed out in their seats.
I wondered how much they paid the the poor SOB that had to go shake ‘em out of those seats.

So Friday night Kim and I got our tickets and stood in the line to be seated and I began to notice that there were a lot of women in my line.
So many that I was compelled to do a quick count of my line and the entire lobby….
There were 49 women and only 6 men! And the 5 men besides me that were there were sitting at the bar, watching "Sportscenter", completely oblivious to what was going on behind them.
And in line with me to see Gran Torino, a Clint Eastwood movie, I was the only dude!
Shit! The guy is almost 100 years old and he still packs ‘em in.
And these women were dressed to the Max!
Miniskirts, Go-Go boots, Black Lacy things, Frilly little pink and mauve things, all that lipstick and eyeliner and rouge.
They all had that lean, hungry look too.
I can still smell the Chanel.

I told Kim I hadn’t seen this much Poontang since I snuck into the Girl Scout Camp back in 1972.
My line peaked at 55 women and just me.
Then I found out we were in the wrong line.
We were in line to see ‘He’s Not That Into You”.

I’m going back in tonight….alone.

QUESTIONS

I know, I've been getting a little heavier on occasion than any of us would like.
This was my assignment this week, to answer questions about my ability to control drugs.
Sometimes you start writing one thing and end up wth something else entirely by the end, and such was the case with this. In fact, it wasn't until the day after I wrote this that I really understood the way it ended, and what I had written.
I won't explain it any further, I'll let you decide.
My sponsor sure liked it.

Can I control the use of Drugs?
The only way that I can control the use of Drugs is by not using, and past performance shows that I will use again and again, and anything short of total abstinence is inadequate. Once I use a Drug, it will do exactly what it is designed to do, and moreover, it will affect me in ways I cannot control. I am likely to increase and continue my useage until my life again becomes so unmanageable, and my behavior so bad that once again, an outside influence (Jails, Institution Death) will have to step in. Drugs affect me in ways I cannot control.

We did not use drugs, drugs used us!
At first I did not quite get this one, but if you consider the countless hours spent chasing or waiting on drugs, the unsavory characters I befriended and placed my trust in to get drugs, and the places I went to placing my life and property in jeopardy I can say that indeed, drugs pushed me around. Drugs became the motivational factor in the better part of my life.
Truly, I handed my integrity over to Drugs, and did things that no one in their "right mind" would do.

The management of my life was interrupted several times by jails.
Even the times I was in jail for non-Drug charges, the charges were completely Drug related. It was the fact that drugs had made my life unmanageable that I was there for countless charges of Registration, Insurance, License and Vehicle Inspection charges. I would rather spend my money, resources and time on dope than to take care of my business.

I fully accept the fact that every attempt to stop using drugs failed.
If I had a dollar for every time I quit or said "this is the last time", I could buy a Marijuana Farm.
I stopped all right; long enough to justify using again; long enough to collect another paycheck so I could spend every last thin dime leftover (and more) on my next high; long enough to pay rent late.
I controlled my using so well I lost the trust of my wife, my inheritance, my home, my car, my friends. I was actually surprised and indignant when I lost my marriage, the respect of my kids and my will to do a days worth of work.
My sense of soul vanished like wood to smoke, beyond all repair, and as answer to what I had done to myself declared to all who would listen...
Man is not a Spiritual Being.



"The only way that I can control the use of Drugs is by not using..."
That is the first sentence I wrote, but by the end of this piece, I came to a conclusion that seemed to be a product of my subconscious and it rendered the first sentence moot.
That last sentence, in italics, just seemed to appear on the page and I didn't know what I had written until the next day. It leads directly to my next assignment, which I may post next week.

SPARTACUS

Spartacus by Denis Foyatier, 1830

I went to the Doctor yesterday for my check-up.
She says "Steve, you have done a fantastic job of getting you sugar levels under control. We've never seen anything like this before. How have you done it?"

I explained that I had been a Chef, and taken care of an old blind diabetic man, and that I had a girlfriend a long time ago who died from diabetes, and how I was an addict going to NA and that fit right in with what I was doing here, and how I didn't keep no Marshmallow cookies around no more, and ate a big breakfast everyday, and all about the Sisters of Mercy, and that maybe soon I wouldn't even have the Diabetes no more because thats just how things go for me, and everything I write about here at the Mailbox that ya'll read everyday sometimes...

And of course I told her all this in my own foolish laughing happy and wise style and when I got through she says...

"Steve, you are such a TRIP!!!"
"I am Spartacus!' I cried

Doctor said I was a Trip!
Thats a trip!

EXERCISE

Grizzbabe and E asked what I am eating these days to help control my Diabetes. Mainly I am just plain eating less, and one thing that has helped is to not keep things around that I am prone to binge on.

Ice Cream and Chocolate Marshmallow pinwheels are out. I buy Vanilla Wafers and those really lousy Hydrox cookies. The sheer lack of quality keeps my intake down to one or two.
I don't buy a whole gallon of milk, I just buy a half gallon and try to stretch it.
For a while, I didn't keep any bread products, because I can eat a half loaf and not even notice it. but I am back to having bread, and one thing I do is buy the most expensive loaf in the whole store, and the cost alone seems to inhibit my intake.
I am willing to bet this would work on other items as well, like juice and Yogurt and stuff.
I used to eat 4 serving of yogurt at a time.
All soda'a are diet. I use Splenda, which I will talk to my Dr. about today, as I keep hearing bad things about it.
These are all the usual things people do, I think, but I have two other things I have discovered.


If I get up and have a good breakfast, with Bacon and Eggs, a piece of toast and maybe a little Oatmeal, my appetite is greatly reduced for the rest of the day.


And I have completely rediscovered Vegetables! I use them in everything!
Brocooli and Yellow Squash, man I'd forgotten how good they are!
I take a can of Campbells Chunky soup and only use half the can with a whole bag of Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables, I use the soup as a seasoning, and I get two meals out of it. Sometimes I'll put this Vegetable stew on top of half a baked potato.
Or I'll take a frozen pasta dish and add a bag of vegetables....Voila...two meals again.

Al these damn prepared foods have like 30% of your salt intake for the day, even the ones supposed to be healthy, and by cutting them in half with vegetables, we get around that problem.

Anyway, my glucose numbers are good, my diet is way better than before.
Still, I'm not losing any weight.
The only thing lacking is a little workin' out.
You know, Sexercise.

OUT OF CONTROL

Took one of the Sisters of Mercy to Red Lobster last night. My daughter, the Water Baby works there.
Red Lobster was actually my first job, back in 1973. I went from Dishwasher to Fryman in three days. I absolutely loved it and that got me started towards being a Chef gfor the next 24 years.

Anyway, I owe E and Grizzbabe posts about how I've changed my diet and what I am eating these days.

Two hours after dinner last night (which was excellent, by the way) I found myself in front of the Refrigerator, hungry again. I pulled out the leftover Chinese from when the Credit lady came by and started to chow down.
Then it hit me.
I told myself
"Self, you just finished spending 60 Clams at the Red Lobster and now you are eating again?
Self, this is how it starts.
Self, the next thing will be that after polishing off this Mongolian Beef, you will wait 15 minutes and then be making yourself a little Fried Bologna Sandwich. After that you are out of control, Self, drinking Hot Chocolate and making S'mores.
COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL!!!!"

So after two bites I put it back, and did not miss it at all when I made Pancakes this morning.
Pancakes!

SINGLE MOTHER OF THREE

Her name was Debbie and she had 3 kids who by the Grace of God were not with her.
This happened yesterday, just down the street from me. (click here)
The reason I am postinng this tragedy is that I am starting to learn to pray again, and I invite anyone compelled to do so to pray for Debbie's family.
And the driver of the sand truck.
No, I did not know her.

POETRY

My daughter, generally known in these parts as Water Baby, has an original poem of hers up.
Go take a look here...

"'A faerie who lies scoff' the gentry of fae
then how do I lie and I do, as I lay. "

NOT SO SILENT READING

A day late for Poetry Day...I heard I wasn't invited...so...here I am!
For Water Baby, my favorite faerie...

THE STOLEN CHILD
WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.
w.b. yeats


And set to music by the incomparable
Loreena McKennet.

CREDIT SCORES

The call came during dinner.
“Mr. Bulletholes?”
“Speaking”
“Mr. Bulletholes, I represent Portfolio Whatever and I am calling about your Capital One Account. According to our records, you owe $1000 and I am willing to work with you to get that amount down.”
“Who are you ?” I say, and she repeats the whole thing.
“But I don’t have a Capital One Account” says I.
‘So you claim you have never had a Capital One Visa Card?” She asks.
“Not that I recall, but never is a long time. When is this from?”
“This is from 1998”
“Oh, my!’ I exclaim ”That was a long time ago. I have no recollection of that account”

And its true…I do not recall having a Credit Card in 1998. I remember having a Divorce, a Foreclosure and a Bankruptcy that year. Somehow the notion that some idiot would extend to me a credit card at that point in my life has slipped my mind.

I tell her this and then she makes the request she and I go round and round on for the next 20 minutes.
‘Mr. Bulletholes, if you will give me the last 4 digits of your Social Security Card, I can verify this is your account.”
“Ma’am, I will not give you any portion of my Social Security number”
She does not understand why, and the argument ensues. I won’t bore you with the details but after a bit I think I have found a solution.
‘Ma’am, why don’t you tell me what the last four digits of my number are, and I will verify for you!”
She says “It doesn’t work that way.” And we argue some more.
So I say ‘Why don’t you send me something in the mail that will let me know you are a legitimate business, and allow me to respond in that manner?”
Again ‘It doesn’t work that way”
So I say “Well, we aren’t getting anywhere here are we?” and we begin to argue about my Soc. Sec. # again.
Finally I sense her exasperation and she says “Mr Bulletholes, you obviously are not going to be responsible and take care of this bill so I am terminating this call. Goodbye!”
There is silence on the line, I do not hear her hang up. After a time I say “Are you still there?”
“Yes”
“Why don’t you hang up?”
‘I’m waiting for you”
Well, I’m waiting for you”
“No, you hang up”
” No, you”

Its like I’m in the 2nd Grade all over again and we argue about the Social Security # again. She doesn’t understand that I am unwilling to give it to her.
She says again she is going to hang up and I wait. I sense that she is upset, even desperate.
She doesn’t hang up. This is baffling me now so I do what I do so well and ask a real simple question in a very kind voice.
‘Ma’am, why don’t you just hang up? Really, I want to know.”
She is hesitant and seems to be fighting back tears
“Because ... I…can’t!”
‘You can’t?”
‘No sir, we are on Auto-Dial and YOU have to hang up. I can’t”

Well, that does it for me. I just crack up and she laughs too. But hers is not a real laugh, it’s a laugh designed to make me her friend.
I say:
“So I could just set this phone down here and go back to watching my Ken Burns Civil War Tape? Its 12 hours long you know. Fascinating stuff, I could even turn it up for you and we could listen together. Did you know there were more than 600,000 Americans die in that War? Or that 'Dixie " was written by a Yankee? I’m in the part about the Monitor and the Merrimac right now. The Monitor had 52 patenable inventions created during its constuction. Can you imagine?"

She’s being quiet, and not laughing so I try another angle. I lower my voice and say

‘You know baby, I hate thinking I have you over a barrel right now but I have another idea….you sound kinda good to me, if you know what I mean, and I don’t know where you live but if you are legit you probably have my address. Maybe we could find a way to work this out over a little Chinese takee-outee or something. What say, babe?”

Long pause, then...
"Are you done now ?’ she asks.
"Yes, that ought to do it” and I hung up.

ONE WRONG TURN

One wrong turn is all it takes
and there ain't many signs -
you only get a few breaks.
Some get more. Some get less.
One wrong turn leads to the next.

The days go slow and the years go fast.
The future you look for is soon the past.
You seldom end up where you thought you would.
One wrong turn can change it all for good.

One wrong turn is all it takes
and there ain't many signs -
you only get a few breaks.
Some get more. Some get less.
One wrong turn leads to the next.

Love ain't a hug. Love ain't a kiss.
Love is every day doing this, n'that, n'this.
We put in our time and we put in our heart.
One wrong turn can tear it all apart.

One wrong turn is all it takes
and there ain't many signs -
you only get a few breaks.
Some get more. Some get less.
One wrong turn leads to the next.

Where's that little house with the porch light on
in a stand of cedar and the highway gone -
Good smells of cooking sweet garden loam -
I'd have thought by now I'd have found my home.

One wrong turn is all it takes
and there ain't many signs -
you only get a few breaks.
Some get more. Some get less.
One wrong turn leads to the next.

greg brown

HAIL MARY, PASS THE GRACE

Its been a tough week.

This damn Computer Program.

Supposedly, when we get it working in the next 4 years, it will render my job obsolete.
Yesterday, I knocked over shelving, threw equipment across the Office, kicked boxes and generally had myself a “spell”.
Fifty-two years old and I threw a Temper-Tantrum.
The lady I work with said it was “very un- businesslike”, so I pulled out my pocketknife and began trimming my nails as I glared threateningly over the tops of my glasses at her. I said

'Business-like? I'm just a cranky old ex-Chef and when things ain't going right, I don't mind makin' a whole lot of noise."



And I hate to say it, but it seemed to get results that 100 polite Business-like E-Mails had not. Conference calls ensued, a flurry of EMails and R&D managed to come up with a Beta-manual or something.
But that doesn't make it right, losing my temper like that.
It hurts me down deep when I let my anger and frustration control me.

So I went over this with my sponsor, and he was glad to help me with a Prayer.
Its the first prayer i have said in 35 years:

‘Dear God of my Misunderstanding:
Please Sir, I humbly ask that you grant me Grace, Patience and Tolerance enough to get me through this situation with some Dignity, how-so-ever you might see fit.
Thank You in advance for Your Loving-kindness and Consideration.
Bulletholes in the Mailbox”

So far today it has worked very well.

Update- it worked all day long, and into today as well!
I don't know how, or why it works, but I am willing to keep giving it a chance.

TWINKLETOES

"Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee
Jest, and youthful Jollity,
...Sport that wrinkled Care derides,
And Laughter holding both his sides.
Come, and trip it as you go,
On the light fantastick toe."
Milton

When I was four years old my Mother enrolled me in tap dancing lessons. I was the only little boy in the Class and I cried to and from it.

But when I got to High School, those lessons paid off well!
I loved to dance!
I was a dancin' Fool!
I had a girlfriend named Jeri with this long blonde hair and man, could she dance! She looked good doing it too!

My Senior year at the Halloween dance , I went as an Ape from the “Planet of the Apes”.
My Artist buddy made us Paper-Mache' Ape Masks, and we wore suits, just like in the Movie!
we really looked pretty good, and I had the longest silkiest blonde hair you ever saw on a Gorilla.
Jeri was no longer my girlfriend, as detailed HERE so I had to find a newdance partner (victim).

The Band began to play, but no one was dancing.
I asked the most popular girl in School, Trixie, the Captain of the Drill team to dance.
The anonymity of the Ape mask had given me a courage I'd never known before.

She watched in wonder as I whirled like a Dervish.
The song was 'Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple.
I was Jammin'!
I was just startin' to really rock when it happened.
I fell down, feet in the air, flat on my back, and found myself staring up at the ceiling.
Trixie's face appeared within my field of vision and she mouthed the words
"Are you OK?”
I just grinned behind the safety of my mask and started squirming and floppin' about.
“Break Dancing “ was born that night!

Thanks, Mom!



These are my dances that I do nowadays...

The Geritol Shuffle (keep de-fib handy))
The Two and three Quarter Three-step (watch toes)
The Un-Followable Waltz (its in the timing)
Snap, Crackle Pop Stomp (bugs in the britches)
The TwoWhatsHe? (kind of a Wackwards Batusi)
Rude-Dogtrot ( the ladies cant resist)
Nuclear Polka (slow song, fast dance)

Belly-to-Belly (fast song, slow dance)
and
Rockin' the Bunny Hop (shakin' a leg)

What are your dances?

NUMBER TEN ON THE LIST

for cornbread hell

Sponsorship.
The way NA works is by working the Steps.
The way we start working the steps is by finding a Sponsor. A sponsor is a mentor, someone with experience in working The Steps.
I found a good sponsor for myself last week. He is a bit of a Ballcap Cowboy, a Welder/Roughneck/Heavy Machine Operator that don’t put up with any bullshit.
He is as serious as an electric barbed-wire fence, and sharp as an Acetylene torch.

My first assignment was to list 10 things I am Powerless over. It is hard to make this list, especially for a guy like me that considers himself fairly capable of doing most anything.
Try it yourself!
But powerless I am as evidenced by the fact that…well…that’s not what this post is about…this post is about my list.

The first Five Items on my list were fairly easy.

I am Powerless over:
1) The effects of Drugs and Alcohol on my mind and body
2)Life and Death
3) The consequences of my actions, or lack of
4) The Laws of Physics and Thermodynamics
5) The actions and reactions of other people

The next four were a bit of a stretch, but I did OK:
6) War and Peace; Love and Hate
7) Past and Future
8) Thinking and Feeling
9)Basic Human Needs

Number 10 did not come easy. And when I showed my list to my Sponsor, he nodded as he read them aloud, commenting on each one:
“Oh, this is good”;
“Don’t take that first Drug”;
“We could all die tonight”
“Can’t change the Weather”
“I like that”
“Great list”
"Good stuff here, Bulletholes"

Then he got to Number 10 and he read :
“I am Powerless over the Sisters of Mercy”
He looked at me, quite puzzled and asked
“Who are the 'Sisters of Mercy'?”
I grinned and said
“They are my girlfriends and they don’t do ANYTHING I tell ‘em to!”

And he just busted out laughin’!

"THINKING...

...is Feelings sad little brother."
Martijn

TIMES UP!

When I was five years old I lived on a street where there was nuthin' but girls.
When they played Barbie, I got to be Ken.
Always.
When we played Tarzan in the backyard, I got to be Tarzan.
Always.
When we played Superman, well, yes, you guessed it; I was Superman.
Always.

But when they decided they didn't want to play with me any more, guess what?
When the girls decide they don't want to play with you any more, you're outta there!

CRY FOR LOVE

Guys, Listen up!

Long, long time ago, I chased Donna for about 3 months before she would go out with me.
I took her to a Junior Achievement Dance. After, I tried to take her parking, but she told me she had to be home by 12:00.
I said ‘Hell, I was sposed to be home 30 minutes ago” and we just laughed and I took her home like a good boy.

Then I took her to a party. We smoked some Pot and we left early and went Parking. All she would let me do was kiss her, and then only for a little while.
We went to parties a lot. Sometimes they would have beer there and I would try to get her drunk so that we would do more than kiss. But Donna was a good girl and always stopped after only two beers.
It was excruciating.

Sometimes we went to movies. We went to see ‘The Longest Yard” and she wouldn’t even go parking that night.
So I took her to see ‘The Owl and the Pussycat” and it seemed like she let me make out more than usual that night.
Then we went to see “Love Story” and she actually let me get to 2nd Base that night.

I started to see a pattern and thought I was really onto something so I took her to see ‘Trial of Billy Jack”.
The movie made me cry.
I cried in the theater, I cried walking to the car, I cried all the way to our favorite parking spot.
And you know what?
That did it!
Home run!Donna was impervious to Pot, Liquor and Bad Movies.
But she could not resist the tears!

Ah, Persuasion!
There is nothing on Gods Green Earth like tears.

SISTERS OF MERCY, PART TWO

I got these two girl friends, see, and they live together, see, and they are really GREAT girl friends.
I have known them for many years, but had lost track of them until recently.
I have taken to calling them the "Sisters of Mercy" after a Leonard Cohen song.

I really don’t know how I would have gotten through this last several months without them.
They take me dancing and when Kim gets out on the floor, she has this cute little Pony-tail that bounces around like you wouldn’t believe.
The there is Jo and when she starts dancin’ she looks like a Memphis Showgirl on a Riverboat.
And they don’t seem to mind the way I dance too much cuz they only say "No" every now and then. Actually, they don't say no at all.
I dance kind of funny sometimes. It takes some getting used too, dancing with me.

And they like to drink that Gran Marnier which makes em really taste good when you kiss ‘em, but they don’t let me kiss ‘em too much.
I’m always the designated driver because my program tells me that Alcohol is a Drug, and besides, I have a blast just being stone-cold sober.
I call ‘em the “Sisters of Mercy” they are so nice to me.
They have a cousin, and I want to make her a Sister of Mercy too!

Anyway, I have also taken on a roommate. He’s a young kid from my NA program, and he needs a job and a place to live and I have all this room since my kids are gone so I have agreed to put him up for a week or two.
I tell him I’m not around much…I spend a lot of time at the “Sisters of Mercy”
I say
“I won’t be home tonight, I’ll be over at the “Sisters of Mercy”
He will call me and ask where I am.
‘Oh, I’m just over at the Sisters of Mercy, I’ll be home after dinner. We'er having Szechuan Chicken!”

So Sunday morning when I woke up on the couch over at the Sisters house ( we had been out Saturday night and had quite a time), and went to go crawl into Kims bed and lurch over her and wake her up like I like to do, I wasn’t really surprised to find she had locked her door!
So I went over to Jo’s room and she had her door barricaded as well!
See, they are real nice to me, but they are not THAT nice.

Then my Telephone rang and I answered it.
It was the kid, my roommate, his name is Ken.
‘Where are you?” he asks.
“Oh, I’m here at the “Sisters of Mercy.”
Up to that point I didn’t realize that I hadn’t really told him about the Sisters and who they were and what we did.
So he asks
“Sisters of Mercy? What the hell is that, Steve? Some kind of Church?”
I looked at the two barricaded bedroom doors and said

‘May as well be Ken, may as well be!”

THEOLOGY...

...has the same relation to Religion as Truth does to History...
That is to say...none at all.

"THAT GOD WOULD HAVE...

...man choose the one true religion by Faith seems a sloppy way to run a Universe."
r. heinlein