Povey Prattle

As I backed out of a parking spot at Target this morning I braked, and heard a clunk.  I thought it was because a bag of tools in the trunk had shifted and moved around. I began to drive away slowly, and a super excited person ran alongside me and yelled "you hit that other car".  So I stopped, walked back, and chatted to the woman whose car I had "bumped".  I asked her to wait so that I could re-park my car, and then exchange insurance information. I did not want to drive forward and find a spot in another lane, lest she should think that I was doing a moonlight flit.  So I had to reverse to regain my previous spot -  not easy because  there was yet another car trying to enter the spot I had vacated. The driver of that car was gracious enough to give way to me once the situation had been explained to him. That being done I fished out my insurance information, and walked towards the woman whose car I had hit.  The damage I had caused was minimal. She said

  Muslims often say that "Islam is a religion  of peace", whereupon some Christians roll their eyes in apparent disbelief.   How should  Muslims react when  Christians assert that their faith  is a "religion of love"? ====================================================== Here is  a dreadful story about violence in the name of Jesus Christ.     http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tens-of-thousands-of-muslims-flee-christian-militias-in-central-african-republic/2014/02/07/5a1adbb2-9032-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html   ============================================================   Jesus said (John 8:7):    He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

I was in a store today, and when I got to the check-out the clerk (cashier) said "thank you sweetheart ". I bristled. She was a pleasant young woman in her mid-twenties. I am a seventy, going on seventy-one year old man. Truly, whether I am an Englishman with a stiff upper lip (doubtful ),  or an old fart  (probable) I do not wish to be called " sweetheart " by an utter stranger. I responded to her words with a soft and gentle:   "please not sweetheart ". She immediately apologized. I do not fault her.  I blame her employers who have been dilatory in their staff training. In my opinion "thank you sir", or "thank you ma'am"  are perfectly adequate greetings. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Am I an Englishman with a stiff upper lip (doubtful ),  or am I an old fart  (probable)?

A wise priest once said: "There is no letter I in the word team "

Last Sunday (1st February 2015) I wrote this on my blog (and posted it to Facebook). It's been a wee bit chilly (by our standards) today, so I thought it wise to wear a blazer, alongside my slacks and short sleeved shirt (for Church in the morning, and for the Symphony Concert in the afternoon) Trouble was, I could not find my one and only blazer, which I purchased from our "Goodwill" charity shop five or six years ago,   Lord knows what happened to it. Did I leave it somewhere? Did I jettison it? Is it at the cleaners? ( Doubtful 'cause I always keep the dry cleaner's receipt in my car  - poking out of the never used ash tray, and because the cleaner would have 'phoned me by now had I failed to retrieve it).   I thought that a blazer would be appropriately smart  and necessary clothing for the Concert, so after Church, I went up to "Goodwill", a fine place for pre-owned clothing, and got a nice blue blazer - just the right sleeve length - for

The next part of my great day was being at Sarasota's "Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall" for a magnificent matinee concert given by the Sarasota Orchestra, under its Musical Director Anu Tali.   It was a truly magnificent concert which began with a work which was probably unknown to just about all the concert goers - in a full house no less -: "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten" by the Estonian composer Arvo P ä rt (b 1935). P ä rt stopped composing when Soviet censors banned some of his music.  He emerged from his silence in 1976 ... using a style he called "tintinnabuli" ... including his Cantus in memory of Britten - characterized by harmonic and rhythmic simplicity  and steady tempos. (Italicised words extracted from yesterday's programme notes).   The piece indeed had rich harmonies  which supported the regular tolling of a bell.  It was good to hear something new.   After something new, we moved to something old,  

It's been a wee bit chilly (by our standards) today so I thought it wise to wear a blazer, with my slacks and short sleeved shirt. Trouble was, I could not find my one and only blazer. Lord knows what happened to it. Did I leave it somewhere? Did I jettison it? Is it at the cleaners? ( Doubtful 'cause I always keep the dry cleaner's receipt in my car  - poking out of the never used ash tray, and because the cleaner would have 'phoned me by now had I failed to retrieve it).  Not to worry - I went up to "Goodwill", a fine place for pre-owned clothing, and got a nice blue blazer - just the right sleeve length - for the princely sum of $6.49. Back to the great day.   It was a goof off day - one on which I did not attend my "home" at St. Boniface Church, but instead joined in worship at the Presbyterian Church of the Palms here in SRQ. I was there to hang out with my friends Gary and Colleen Buchmeier, and their daughters Anna and Sophie , an