tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247174002024-03-07T21:27:16.687-08:00Ron's RuminationsThe musings of a Catholic who hopes someday he's worthy of that title.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-26084901782561234352011-11-25T19:23:00.000-08:002011-11-25T19:26:38.321-08:00Black FridayToday there was sunshine. <br /><br />It wasn't Black.<br /><br />Neither was my mood.<br /><br />I avoided the news and the annual wallowing in shopping frenzies and reports of violent excess.<br /><br />The sun was out.<br /><br />I took a walk.<br /><br />Not at the mall.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-49565317382444898742011-08-22T09:35:00.000-07:002011-08-22T09:46:35.579-07:00Morning MassI had a chance to go to morning Mass.
<br />
<br />I was sitting there, thinking about ... this blog, a poem, the way the light was hitting the altar, a clever response to something someone said yesterday.
<br />
<br />Mass started. I mouthed the prayers.
<br />
<br />The lector mispronounced the reading's title. Twice. The Letter of St. Paul to the Theologians. Thessalonians? Theologians.
<br />
<br />A woman rushed in. Late. In the middle of the first reading. She sat in front of me.
<br />
<br />Hurrying to work. Maybe. But she does this regularly.
<br />
<br />What's the second reading?
<br />
<br />Will the woman leave early as she often does?
<br />
<br />Father is saying something. A homily. Hard to hear him. Hard to understand him.
<br />
<br />On with the Mass. Consecration.
<br />
<br />Working on a poem.
<br />
<br />Oh, right, Jesus.
<br />
<br />The late woman shakes my hand at the sign of peace.
<br />
<br />Communion.
<br />
<br />I kneel after.
<br />
<br />Thank you Lord.
<br />
<br />That poem again.
<br />
<br />The woman hurries out. Where?
<br />
<br />Mass ends.
<br />
<br />I leave.
<br />
<br />I sit in my car.
<br />
<br />I wonder why I came.
<br />
<br />I wonder why my mind would not focus.
<br />
<br />I wonder if I ever will make it to heaven.
<br />
<br />The Letter of St. Paul to the Distracted.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-30802087495543486952011-08-22T09:33:00.000-07:002011-08-22T09:35:40.830-07:00CloudsIt's one of those days when the clouds hint at something more, then the sun breaks through and hints at something else. Hot. Cold. Rain. Sunshine.
<br />
<br />Do I hang out the laundry? Do I mow the lawn? Or do I go to the coffee shop and suck in some caffeine?
<br />
<br />As if there's any doubt.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-71464530896041461342011-08-21T16:00:00.000-07:002011-08-21T16:02:10.660-07:00Ways to enjoy French toastSlowly and secretly
<br />Without mustard
<br />Naked
<br />Listening to Edgar Winters’ “Frankenstein”
<br />Only if
<br />On the jungle gym
<br />Dancing erratically
<br />Thinking of dada
<br />In translation
<br />Holistically
<br />With someone who speaks Swahili
<br />Dryly
<br />Nodding at a crying mime
<br />Looking at her
<br />Open eyed
<br />Interminably
<br />During the High Middle Ages
<br />Reading Hungarian haiku
<br />Yo-yoing
<br />Watching midnight creature feature movies
<br />Smiling at someone who doesn’t notice
<br />During the American Revolution
<br />Disturbingly
<br />With toothpicks
<br />Sipping mead
<br />On every third TuesdayRon Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-81010982435471366842011-08-20T18:10:00.001-07:002011-08-20T18:13:50.368-07:00Night songThe dog on her knees types in blood.
<br />But even as tears stain the artificial tombstones
<br />Breathe deep: Bird songs
<br />(yes
<br />she)
<br />YES.
<br />
<br />Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-30614510025725294872011-08-20T08:31:00.000-07:002011-08-20T08:50:35.599-07:00Agitating and apologizingI was out there agitating as usual when this guy with exposed arms and tattoos and a discharging cancer stick looking like he needed a shower or a shave or some sort of sanitary action rolled by and yelled twice "Prochoice! Prochoice!" and I had thoughts like maybe he looked like the kind of person who should not breed and who perhaps should have been a victim of choice but then the prayers of the rosary I was reciting popped into my head and I felt like I needed to apologize to God and him but he was already gone somewhere down the road discharging and inhaling cancer just as I was allowing a different kind of poison to create a cancer of sin in my heart mind and soul.
<br />
<br />Sorry Dude.
<br />
<br />Sorry dude.
<br />Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-39828657362700793942011-08-19T07:03:00.000-07:002011-08-19T09:02:24.395-07:00Angry SaintsOkay, I'm an angry guy. Not the kind of angry guy who'd slug you for smiling at the wrong moment. But still, it percolates in there and sometimes spits out sarcasm, insults, and general verbal abuse.
<br />
<br />My wife was a patient woman. She's dead. No, it wasn't me. But she's at peace now.
<br />
<br />Watching me.
<br />
<br />Probably smiling.
<br />
<br />She's a saint. She was a saint.
<br />
<br />As for me, I keep hoping there's a halo for me. But that anger thing.
<br />
<br />So I wondered: Are there angry Saints?
<br />
<br />Rumor has is St. Paul was hard to get along with, and some of the things he wrote seemed to have an edge of sarcasm. And St. Jerome was reportedly a piece of work.
<br />
<br />In fact, St. Jerome is the patron saint AGAINST anger.
<br />
<br />Maybe there's a job for me.
<br />
<br />St. Ron the Rabid
<br />
<br />I know. My real job is learning curb my tongue and stop fulminating.
<br />
<br />Perhaps I need to go off and become a hermit like Jerome.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-81047063905086519972011-08-18T16:20:00.000-07:002011-08-18T16:21:11.863-07:00Hey, you knowSo I've been away. Busy.
<br />
<br />But I'm back.
<br />
<br />Watch out.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-57502685048695189552009-09-19T12:51:00.000-07:002009-09-19T12:59:29.363-07:00Yeah, I knowBeen a while. Lots to say. Nothing worth saying.<br /><br />I took a tour of the bogging world. Not pretty.<br /><br />People on the left and right not playing nice.<br /><br />I stopped at one local blog and commented on a personal insult leveled at a naughty nun.<br /><br />Criticize what she does, not her personally. You know, that Christian stuff I was taught by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">good</span> nuns, good priests, good lay people, saints.<br /><br />Responses? Justifications ... Excuses.<br /><br />Well, she's like that so that's why we can get personal.<br /><br />Hey: Two wrongs make a wrong.<br /><br />And the old wrath of God <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">bugaboo</span>.<br /><br />It's God's wrath.<br /><br />Not mine.<br /><br />Not yours.<br /><br />Let him take care of it.<br /><br />Anyway, after I got done reading those blogs, I took a shower.<br /><br />Needed one.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-666239281391323012007-05-17T14:38:00.000-07:002007-05-17T14:41:39.963-07:00In the knowSomeone told me I look like someone who knows what's going on.<br /><br />I nodded.<br /><br />That's how you fool people.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1167570534641280982006-12-31T05:08:00.000-08:002006-12-31T05:08:54.650-08:00Face itI have face only a mother could love, and she's dead.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1167229990218698702006-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:002006-12-27T06:33:10.226-08:00Handy advice in parts of EuropeNever moon a werewolf.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1164376546634364032006-11-24T05:55:00.000-08:002006-11-24T05:59:39.076-08:00A thoughtIsn’t calling someone a criminal lawyer redundant?Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1162655452281927382006-11-04T07:50:00.000-08:002006-11-04T07:50:52.326-08:00Question authorityQuestion authority - and that's an order.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1155327670544997982006-08-11T13:20:00.000-07:002006-08-11T13:27:39.476-07:00Sorry TomScientology proves that one man's religion is another man's science fiction.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1153165691423948732006-07-17T12:47:00.000-07:002006-08-09T06:02:51.646-07:00Bush sworeBush swore.<br /><br />He said shit.<br /><br />He didn’t know the mic was on.<br /><br />That’s no excuse.<br /><br />The fact that he talks like that when he thinks no one is listening tells us something about him.<br /><br />I’d rather have a president who swears openly.<br /><br />Honestly.<br /><br />Of course, I’d really rather have a president who doesn’t swear at all, public or private.<br /><br />Or better yet, one who is not ruining the country.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1148505363639133422006-05-24T14:15:00.000-07:002006-05-26T03:11:18.206-07:00A sayingSome people burn their candles at both ends. I just throw mine in the fire.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1147739616764489542006-05-15T17:33:00.000-07:002006-05-15T17:33:36.773-07:00Aphorism 3Using contraception is like eating a meal then vomiting so you can eat some more.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1147019634261942462006-05-07T09:29:00.000-07:002006-05-07T09:33:54.270-07:00MooMaybe I’m getting old.<br /><br />Just before Mass, Sister said we needed lectors and Eucharistic ministers.<br /><br />I volunteered.<br /><br />No problem.<br /><br />When it came time for me to read, I noticed a young lady in the front row.<br /><br />She was chewing gum.<br /><br />Constantly.<br /><br />I looked around.<br /><br />I saw more women chewing. Some were in their 30s or 40s.<br /><br />Chew. Chew. Chew.<br /><br />Moo.<br /><br />Here are still rules about fasting, even if they are relaxed.<br /><br />And what do they do with the gum at Communion?<br /><br />Move it over to the side of the mouth?<br /><br />Swallow?<br /><br />That sort of thing bugs me.<br /><br />Like people who talk during Mass.<br /><br />Not the occasional comment.<br /><br />Actual conversations.<br /><br />And then there are the people who leave early.<br /><br />Why the hurry?<br /> <br />Did God scare you?<br /> <br />Maybe I’m being petty, but He did die for us.<br /><br />I think we can afford to give Him a little of our time. <br /> <br />With our mouths reserved for prayer and song and ready to receive him.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1145648682114189042006-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:002006-04-21T12:46:27.596-07:00A time for poetryEaster break is nearly over.<br /><br />I attended all the Easter services. For some reason, I didn’t get to lector.<br /><br />I did join a march for life on Good Friday. Lee Strong (View from the choir) was there.<br /><br />He waved. We didn’t talk.<br /><br />But he wrote later.<br /><br />Dada. His latest fad.<br /><br />Actually, I know he’s been interested in Dada for a long time.<br /><br />He even created this joke character for his daughters.<br /><br />Baba Dada.<br /><br />But now Christian Dada?<br /><br />Why not just be a Christian? That’s Dada enough.<br /><br />I guess he has a point there.<br /><br />As for me, I’ve been reading. Lots of poetry.<br /><br />Spring does that to me.<br /><br />It’s National Poetry Month too.<br /><br />Winter is a season for novels.<br /><br />Spring is for poetry.<br /><br />Flowers.<br /><br />Love.<br /><br />Birds.<br /><br />A middle-aged man’s mind turns to poetry.<br /><br />It’s better than cleaning the yard.<br /><br />That’s next week.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1145320558710432622006-04-17T17:35:00.000-07:002006-04-17T17:35:58.726-07:00Aphorism 2He who laughs last probably didn't get the joke.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1145050337775864022006-04-14T14:26:00.000-07:002006-04-14T14:32:17.790-07:00Aphorism 1Whatever doesn’t kill you will probably leave scars anyway.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1144780760312288112006-04-11T11:37:00.000-07:002006-04-11T11:39:20.326-07:00Reading on Palm SundayI was a reader on Palm Sunday.<br /><br />I was Voices.<br /><br />An anonymous Apostle.<br /><br />Peter.<br /><br />The High Priest.<br /><br />Pontius Pilate.<br /><br />The Centurion at the Cross.<br /><br />A serving girl.<br /><br />A man with a wine-soaked sponge.<br /><br />Judas.<br /><br />A rogues gallery.<br /><br />When I studied acting, one of the things I was taught was when you play a character, try to find something in yourself to build upon and help to bring the character to life.<br /><br />I could do that with each of the person’s whose voice I was.<br /><br />I was tempted to give each a different voice as I read, by the way.<br /><br />I didn’t.<br /><br />But it was fun to think about.<br /><br />Pilate was British.<br /><br />Peter was Irish.<br /><br />The high priest was this priest I sometimes hear on the radio.<br /><br />Judas was one I was still searching for.<br /><br />Nixon?<br /><br />Reagan?<br /><br />Pat Robertson?<br /><br />But as I prepared, I did manage to find something in each character I could identify with.<br /><br />That’s scary.<br /><br />That’s probably one of the points.<br /><br />Dang. Whoever wrote the Gospels was good.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1144445923812218562006-04-07T14:37:00.000-07:002006-04-07T14:38:43.823-07:00Paying a billI got a bill today.<br /><br />It wasn’t mine.<br /><br />It was mixed in with a pile of my mail.<br /><br />I absent-mindedly opened them all without looking at the addresses.<br /><br />It was a credit card bill for a Cynthia S.<br /><br />Being nosy, I looked at the bill.<br /><br />She was nearly at her credit limit.<br /><br />She’d only bought four things with the credit card last month.<br /><br />Two of the purchases were at a bookstore.<br /><br />I liked that.<br /><br />The purchases were all at the beginning of the month.<br /><br />Like she was being careful so as not to go over her limit.<br /><br />Last month she paid just a bit more that the minimum payment.<br /><br />I recognized her street.<br /><br />It’s in a neighborhood of college students and young people just starting out.<br /><br />Cheap.<br /><br />Maybe she’s in a low-paying starter job and can’t pay off her bill.<br /><br />Maybe she’s been swamped with other bills.<br /><br />Maybe she’s looking for work.<br /><br />Maybe she’s a student just trying to get by.<br /><br />I looked at the purchases again.<br /><br />Two at a bookstore.<br /><br />Each about the cost of a book.<br /><br />I wrote out a check.<br /><br />For double the minimum payment.<br /><br />Just to help out.<br /><br />I put it in the mail.<br /> <br />People used to help me when I was just starting out.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24717400.post-1143899667611861482006-04-01T05:53:00.000-08:002006-04-01T06:42:57.516-08:00D*** you, AdamSpring ahead, fall back.<br /><br />Tonight is the night we lose an hour of sleep.<br /><br />It's all that daylight savings stuff.<br /><br />Of course, the sun will come up and go down at the time it's supposed to.<br /><br />It doesn't care about a clock.<br /><br />That's a human thing.<br /><br />The sun is God's thing.<br /><br />I wonder what the world would be like if we paid heed to God's things.<br /><br />Would we have global warming?<br /><br />Would we have passenger pigeons?<br /><br />Would I have to wear ties to work?<br /><br />If Adam had paid attention to God's things, I wouldn't have to wear a tie, or shoes, or underpants that bunch up in the wrong places.<br /><br />I could run around naked.<br /><br />With lots of other naked people.<br /><br />And none of us would care.<br /><br />Of course, I don't believe in Adam.<br /><br />Not literally, anyway.<br /><br />But I'll blame him anyway.<br /><br />It's a Christian thing.<br /><br />So I have to wear ties.<br /><br />And turn my clock ahead one hour.Ron Legesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975655373841689866noreply@blogger.com0