Friday Funnies

Please enjoy Sometimes Saintly Nick's

FRIDAY FUNNIES

with Roger and ME 

 

Here are some cool (and cheap) Christmas gifts recommended by Sometimes Saintly Nick

 

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

Giving Thanks

I have a multitude of items for which I am thankful since last Thanksgiving, beginning with human beings.

The Rev. Richard Pearson, who is my new pastor—even though I have yet to

worship at Faith United Church of Christ due to my numerous infirmities—has been a true Angel in my life since my April 12 falls. He has visited me in hospital and rehab Center, driven me to medical appointments, cleaned my apartment (many, many times), fed my Kitty Kids and kept their litter box clean and filled with fresh cat litter. He has always been willing and able to assist in various projects, from putting together furniture to assisting Jenny and taking my humongous wheelchair out of storage and placing it in the back of my CR-V. Richard has been willing to come to me almost every time I have needed him. For example, on Tuesday I attempted to take a bath for only the third time since I moved into this apartment and the first time since my April 12 injuries. That was because there has been lots of lime clogging up the water system and I have been unable to obtain a good flow from my shower head making showering almost impossible. The bath was a wonderful experience; however, we encountered a major problem when I attempted to get out of the bathtub. I couldn’t! So Jenny telephoned Richard and he came to my apartment where he and Jenny attempted to lift me out of the tub. So they called 911 and a couple of strong men got me out of the tub. Richard stayed around until he was sure that I was okay. The Richard Pearson has brought God’s love and grace into my life. I am extremely thankful for all that he has done for me and the Kitty Kids.

I see my son, Nick, too infrequently. However, he came to me when I was in 

the

hospital and rehab Center. Nick is the first person I saw when I came out of the 12(?) day coma in the ICU. He visited me regularly throughout April and May. He was at a restaurant nearby when I was given permission to eat solid food and drink non-thickened water. I telephoned Nick and he brought me the first solid food I ate after the ordeal of thickened water and mushy food. I am extremely thankful and proud of my firstborn, Nicholas Lawrence Temple III.

I am also thankful for my ex-wife, Janel, being present so often at the hospital and rehab Center. She assisted me in understanding things that my battered brain could not. When it was determined that I have prostate cancer, she went with me to numerous appointments with pathologist, oncologists, and urologists. Even though she stated that she did not think I am grateful for all that she has done during my illness, I am extremely thankful to Janel.

I am thankful to my retired former pastor and colleague, the Rev. Doug Fowler. Throughout the years he has been more supportive than I can express. He has come to me when I have been in need, talked with me when I have been confused, given me advice that was much needed, and been a true pastor and friend. Now that Doug is retired, I have much less contact with him. I remain thankful for his bringing God’s grace and love into my life.

My sister, Debbie Bennett, is a blessing. Because of the age (14 years) and questionable reliability of my car, I am unable to visit my mom and heart nursing home in Elizabethtown. Debbie visits mom just about every day and cares for her in ways that I wish I could. I am extremely thankful for my little sister.

 

 

I have known Jenny Renee DePierro several years through a mutual friend.

However, it is only been in the last several weeks that I have begun to know her well. She had a need: a safe place to live. I had a need: a house keeper and caregiver. We are now meeting both of our needs. I am extremely thankful for all that Jenny is doing, which is really keeping me out of a nursing home.

There are lots of other people to whom I am most thankful. These are too numerous for me to name individually. They consist of my doctors and nurses; the volunteers to bring my Meals on Wheels; my friends on Facebook and Twitter; my fellow bloggers; my friends who are actively working for justice and peace; folks here in my apartment complex. In many ways, they too have been messing jurors from God to me. I am most thankful for them.

I have some nonhuman friends for which I am very, very thankful. They are my Kitty Kids. Alex has been with me 11 years; I love him dearly. Midnight was born in this apartment. She is still a young kitten and very entertaining. Unfortunately, Sugar and escape the apartment while I was in hospital or nursing home. I pray for her safety and hope for her return. LG (Little Girl) escaped the apartment just after her kittens were weaned. She is a young cat without Sugar’s street smarts. I pray for her safety and hope for her return. My Kitty Kids are my closest companions. I love each one dearly and am thankful for their being with me.

ALEX

 

 

 

 

 

MIDNIGHT

SUGAR

LITTLE GIRL

Labor Day 2015

From Marx and the Proletariat (Philosophy & Philosophers)

prōliˈte(ə)rēət/

noun

workers or working-class people, regarded collectively ."the growth of the industrial proletariat"

synonyms: the workers, working-class people, wage earners, the working classes, the common people, the lower classes, the masses, the rank and file, the third estate, the plebeians; the lumpen, the lumpenproletariat. derogatory: the hoi polloi, the plebs, the proles, the great unwashed, the mob, the rabble.

Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. On June 26, the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. ~ from HISTORY.com

A Brief History of Labor day

This weekend—Labor Day Weekend—is the one time each year Americans celebrate the hoi polloi, the plebs, the proles, the great unwashed, the mob, the rabble. Sometime since the first Federally affirmed Labor Day, the meaning has been lost to picnics, beginning of school, a few parades, and lots of alcohol consumption.

For a lessening few, this is a time to remember and celebrate the working men and women of the United States. I suppose there are many ways to this; I rather prefer the music of the proletariat to any other way.

Woody Guthrie

 There are all sorts of songs: some are humorous; some are motivating; some celebrate heroes; some remember tragedies. Below are a few that I was able to locate as videos on the Internet: 

HUMOROUS: High Sheriff of Hazard (Tom Paxton)

MOTIVATING: Which Side Are You On (Pete Seeger)

Tragedies: Ludlow Massacre (Woody Guthrie)

HEROES: Joe Hill (sung by Paul Robeson)

That’s all for this Labor Day weekend post. If by chance you are interested in learning or hearing more, may I suggest:

July 4, 1776 vs. July 4, 2015

1776

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! ~ Patrick Henry’s “Treason Speech” before the Virginia House of Burgesses, March 23, 1775

…that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States. ~ Richard Henry Lee, June 7, 1776, proposal to the Continental Congress

I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph. ~ John Adams, July 3, 1776, in a letter to his wife, Abigail

There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head! John Hancock, upon signing the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately. ~ Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind! ~ George Washington

Permit me then to recommend from the sincerity of my heart, ready at all times to bleed in my country's cause, a Declaration of Independence, and call upon the world and the Great God who governs it to witness the necessity, propriety and rectitude thereof ~ Nathanael Greene, General, Continental Army

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. ~ Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776

2015