One year ago today: September 8,2018, does that spell?
Five years ago today: September 8,2014, phased array sonar.
Nine years ago today: September 8, 2010, power cut off.
Random years ago today: September 8, 2011, auction sale, my eye.
The neat thing about Nashville sometimes is that even the church bands are studio caliber. Today the service was particularly spirited and Reb was the featured guest. Alas, the video won’t be here but take my word for it, her show was world class. I’ve always been immensely proud of the way she sings. This week it will be 31 years since we first played together. I took a different path in music, nothing that would be suitable for Sunday services. Not that this church was ultra-conservative, think of it more as a community gathering for worship. For instance, immediately following the service, most of the same congregation stayed for a town hall meeting.
The Sunday brunch part of Nashville is a challenge. You see, half the town has the same idea and heads for the same places. We wound up driving all the way out to Berry Hill, finally seeking a private loft for a little peace and quiet. As luck would have it, my kind of place because it was across from Belmont U. I feel at home walking into a place full of open textbooks on the coffee tables. Of course, my university days were nothing like this over-privileged scene. Ah, the memories.
What’s this? A lunar lander from India crashed onto the Moon. I always get a laugh how countries with no middle class to speak of try to duplicate the United States. Sure, China and the Soviets have made soft landings, but they don’t purport to be free countries, and by comparison what they landed was pure junk. Until a nation has a large and prosperous middle class, space exploration is all huff and puff.
Nor can I be the only viewer who notices these third world machines, be they cars, phones, or spaceships, are shameless copies Western (largely American) technologies.
Flying taxi concept.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
We stopped after at Cosmic Connections. It’s a New Age store full of crystals and polished stones. Reb is amused by their therapeutic claims, I’m interested because of my background in gemology. I took that college course that has allowed me to mispronounce at least half the names of these minerals. There are rocks there make you happier, richer, and even one to make you a better public speaker. It is also across from Belmont U, so take time to stroll through. The staff is long-term enough to actually know a lot about the inventory. Here’s a photo of just one of a dozen racks they have of more rocks than most mining companies. The prices range from cheap to you can’t afford it.
Taking the remainder of the day off was wise. Like back home, a day off can mean a lot of activity around the yard. I worked on JeePee’s outdoor playroom until dark. The Reb suggested I stay an extra day more than planned. So I got more elaborate with the woodwork than needed. It is mostly scrap lumber but not the wire mesh. That stuff is far more expensive than I expected. They say the product is to be used for landscaping, to protect plants from animals. But at those prices, you might have to put up another barrier to safeguard the wire.
ADDENDUM
There were two guest speakers at the church this morning. I was put off by the one that went on about liberty in this country. One thing liberty is not is a liberal point of view. I remain of the opinion that most people who appear to be supportive of liberal policies do so only when they know they are being watched. In this nation, we have a purported separation of Church and State, but that line is very often crossed in one direction. Such was the case this morning when, without explicit anti-Trump details, the speaker was advocating members to vote against him personally. And to go about their neighborhoods haranguing others to do likewise.
I was quick to note they meant anti-Trump and not the Republican party at large. It would seem they were content enough with the old party, as it were. The point here is that the law is very clear. If a given church begins to preach politics, it can lose its tax-exempt status. No dabbling in running the nation unless you pay your share. I would be very careful about that, since nobody wants to set a precedent. I’m no more happy with politicians who quote the Bible, but at least they are not interfering in church matters.
There have been some recent violent incidents at churches around the country. I wonder if there is any correlation to what those churches have been preaching besides the word of God. Because they cannot have it both ways.
