Why My Musical Tastes May Seem Strange

...and it is not because ABBA is the greatest pop/rock group of all time. That is obvious.

However, let's harken back to 1982. For that year, the #1 song of the year was "Physical" by Olivia Newton John. The #1 song at my (all male Catholic) high school was "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band.

My number #1 song for 1982 is one of which the vast majority of people have never heard. The singers are, for the most part (especially in the U.S.) unknown. The music production in the song isn't the greatest. The lyrics are not too deep. However, the strength of the tune (of which the vast majority of people should be familiar) is the glue that brings numerous weak features together in a manner that makes the song work.

Another Reason Why Others Might Dislike The U.S.

While walking the beloved canine this morning through a "swanky" neighborhood, we got caught in a downpour.  Still, we continued our walk...right past a property that had automatic lawn sprinklers going full tilt.  I am sure the millions of people suffering in the world from lack of water would feel better knowing that this property owner's lawn was getting a double dose of water.

Why Others Might Dislike The U.S.

Would the media in other countries cover an event like a hot dog eating contest?  On the holiday that celebrates the birth of our county, ESPN had live coverage of the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  I am sure all of the starving people of the world that have no food or televisions could not wait to learn that Joey Chestnut won the contest by eating 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

A Better Way

I am currently taking an online course through the University of Notre Dame on Emerging Models of Catechesis.  The course discusses the differences between traditional faith formation models (those that use classroom learning techniques targeted to age specific groups) and intergenerational faith formation models (those that bring a broad range of people from a faith community together to be both learners and teachers).  Most of the other people in the course have some formal role in catechesis at their parishes.  I am one of the few in the course that do not have such a formal role.

I think I caught some of the catechesis veterans off guard when I mentioned that this method of learning/teaching is not special to faith formation.  What is the best way to learn a language?  Immersion.  One can learn a language in a classroom with vocabulary and grammar drills.  However, things don't "sink in" until one has the opportunities to apply the language - conversations with other people in the language, reading magazines in the language, seeing movies in the language, etc.  The idea is to get people to apply what they have learned about a language without really thinking about it.  That can only come about with exposure to diverse opportunities to use the language.  That further comes about only through contact with a diverse group of people.

Why should one not expect the same with faith formation?  I can read and memorize the Catechism.  However, unless I have access to experienced mentors that can help me apply what I have learned to my daily life, I haven't learned anything - I have just memorized some information.

Between A Rock And A Hard Place....Again

Poor Penny.  I have written about her before.  She is a thirty year old African Amercian woman with developmental disabilities.  Although she has such disabilities, she is fairly high functioning.

Penny has been in jail or in a mental health institute since the middle of April.  She broke into an apartment to seek things to steal for her "husband".  This man is not her husband, but a man that takes advantage of Penny for sex and money.  He has a lengthy criminal record.  He has treated Penny in every horrendous manner imaginable.  Yet, Penny's primary desire is to seek the "love" of this main.  In doing so, she has become an addict and a criminal.

When Penny was arrested and jailed over two months ago, there were questions about her competency to stand trial.  An outpatient evaluation was ordered by the Court.  The "expert" physician could not figure Penny out.  So, Penny was shipped of to a state mental health institute for inpatient evaluation.  After two weeks, they could not figure her out and asked for another two weeks.  The extension was granted.  The report for Penny stated that she was incompetent to stand trial, but likely to gain competency with 3 to 6 months of treatment.  Along with Penny's attorney, I argued that it was unlikely that Penny would regain any level of competency.  The Court agreed, but didn't drop the charges.  The prosecuror argued that, if released from custody, Penny posed a significant risk to herself.  All of us on Penny's support team agree.  Penny has diabetes that is not closely monitored.  Penny has refused all efforts to provide her with more community-based supervision (such as living in an adult family home).  Because of this, Penny has been languishing in institutions for over two months. 

The issue will be addressed at a hearing later today.  My hope is that everyone will agree to drop all charges and release Penny from custody with the understanding that, if she ends up in court again, the prosecutor will have no alternative but to petition for an involuntary commitment to a mental institute.  To her credit, the primary concern for the prosecutor is Penny's safety.  She worries that Penny will end up dead from complications related to diabetes, being shot when breaking into someone's home or from an overdose. 

Both the human service system and the criminal justice system have done a tremendous disservice to Penny.  Penny does not belong in an institution and she is a huge risk to herself when left unsupervised in the community.  Penny rebuffs most of the assistance offered to her.  So, Penny falls through the cracks.

I fear that the day will soon come when I get a call that Penny is dead.  If that day arrives, the cause of Penny's death won't be diabetes, trauma or an overdose.  The cause of death will be chronic asphyxiation by the "system".

Mid-Year Resolution

I never make New Year's resolutions.  I think that if I really wanted to accomplish something, I wouldn't have to wait until the turn of a year to make a commitment. 

Which leads me to this:  A few of the millions of readers of this blog have said that they enjoy reading most of my posts.  I even admit that I struggle to come up with something worthy to write.  However, I am making a public (at least in the blogosphere) commitment to have at least 5 posts per week.  For faithful readers, this means that you will likely encounter an increased number of both worthy and unworthy posts.  I promise to do my best to help ensure a high ratio of worthy to unworthy posts.

One quick tidbit for the day:  With all of the media coverage of the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, one has to wonder if developments in technology get ahead of ways to ensure such technology is safe and effective.  This was brought home yesterday when I came across an incident that required a response from law enforcement.  One of the other observers asked if anyone had texted 911.

Knowing Where To Look

My wife's sister passed away early this morning.  She had been battling cancer for many months.

Many years ago, my wife's sister simply walked out on her husband and two small sons.  She wanted to lead the party life.  The party life proved to be a tough road with many challenges.  There was very minimal contact between my wife's sister and family members for decades.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife's sister called one of her sons "out of the blue" to let him know that she was coming for a visit the next day (she lived in a different state and had to fly).  She was barely healthy enough to fly.  However, she likely sensed that her earthly journey was nearing and end.  It is good that she had the opportunity to spend some time with each of her sons.  She also saw her only grandchild for the first time.

My wife's sister spent decades pursuing happiness, the same happiness for which all of us long.  She didn't have too much success in her pursuit.  She didn't know where to look for the happiness.  My hope and prayer is that God has provided her with the opportunity to finally enjoy the happiness she could never find on her earthly journey.