Cape Charles

Your 3 was on tour in Cape Charles last week . . . we had fun, see?




This is Nathan . . . he works at the station - he's working hard, can't ya tell?

Pretty Things

It's time for something on the lighter side!

So, the S&S Gray 2.0 household has a new camera. Be warned, this means more pictures in upcoming posts, and probably posts solely for the purpose of posting pictures. Now, I firmly believe that it's not the camera, it's the operator that makes beautiful pictures . . . but there is a point when the limitations of a point-and-shoot camera limit the posibilities of a person's skills. Thus the Canon Digital Rebel XT - our first fully functional SLR that can be completely manual. We are (obviously) excited. Tomorrow I'm headed to the eastern shore for a remote newscast "Your 3 On Tour" - I'm taking the camera, so expect one of those aforementioned pictures only posts in the near future.

Anyway, on the theme of pretty things, I was playing with the camera today. I didn't wander much farther than the fire escape, but I found some fun stuff.









Now, those are all pictures of things that aren't mine. On the gardening front, I planted a little New Zealand Spinach in one of the pots on the fire escape just to see how it did, and while it's still small, it's coming along nicely. I had good luck with some lettuce, but now that we've reached the dog days of august, lettuce gets very bitter (inedible, trust me). NZ spinach, on the other hand, doesn't mind the heat.



Now, the gardening thing is not new news around here . . . most anyone who has been reading my ramblings knows I've been playing with green growing things this summer. But in an attempt to find a portable form of entertainment that I could take to work for when I had down time, or long meal breaks, I have turned to . . . Knitting! I'm sticking primarily to small projects that provide a little challenge - the first of which was a pair of socks. I think I'm hooked. My domestic adventures never end!



Now I'm working on socks for the boy (gray w/red heels and toes), and a bunch of possible christmas presents . . . pictures will come, but not until after they're given to the folks they're for.

So, that's what's up here, at least for now.

I feel a need to clarify

. . . but as to whether or not I have the ability, I'll leave that to you.

As long windedness is not my strong suit . . . I will try to sum up what I was getting at last time -


I think that the legal battles being fought by the homosexual community in terms of their rights reguarding civil marriage ceremonies and the subsequent ability to file jointly on their taxes or obtain "family" memberships at establishments like country clubs and pools . . . should be decided in their favor - they do have the right to all those things. I don't think they should be treated any differently than any other person.

In terms of their battles within the church, I don't think the church should adopt a homosexual marriage ceremony, and I don't think the church should be elevating active homosexuals to positions of authority (priests, bishops and the like). But I don't think the church should exclude them from the fellowship, or sacramental activities of the church.

It's really a tough issue to deal with. I still think homosexuality is a sin. But homosexuals suffer from a great deal of exclusion in the church, not because of their lifestyle, but because their lifestyle is more visible than other sins. The reason the church shouldn't decided who gets to take communion, or participate in other ways is simply because the church can only make that decision based on what it sees. But the visible isn't everything. It is really up to the individual to hash it out with God and decide if they should or shouldn't do something . . . but within a large body made up of people, what should happen and what does happen are often quite different . . . and perhaps it should be that way - this is our earthly existance; I'm not sure we're supposed to get it right much of the time.

Clear as mud, right?

To Continue

In light of an article Curly suggested after reading my last post . . .

I would like to add something to my statements -

The church should not take it upon itself to allow or deny a person participation in the sacrament of Eucharist . . . it's not the job of the church to decide who can and cannot partake. Whether a person should or shouldn't take communion is between them and God, and if we were brutally honest more often . . . we wouldn't take communion half as often as we do (I too am guilty of that one).

Also - Wyman, glad to know I'm not alone on this one - it's one of the few issues on which I get all "separation of church and state" on folks.

Raising Controversy

I'm really not trying to raise eyebrows, or give people frown wrinkles . . . really.

I've just been thinking about some stuff, and I'm fairly sure my conclusions are going to make some people angry . . . somewhere . . . if they find out about them. Unfortunately, I'm feeling a need to get some of these thoughts off my chest - so here goes.

I think homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.
Therefore:
- Homosexual unions should not be honored in the church.
- A homosexual marriage ceremony should not be canonized.
- Active homosexuals should not be placed in positions of high authority in
the church. Just as people who sodomize young boys, or embezzel money, or lie uncontrollably should not be placed in positions of high authority.
- I'm not particularly comfortable with calling a homosexual union a "marriage"

But . . .
- I see no reason not to allow homosexual unions in the civil and legal sense.
- I don't think the federal or state goverments should outlaw homosexual unions.

And . . .
- I see no reason to treat homosexuals as second class citizens, they are
people after all
- There is nothing especially wrong with someone living a homosexual lifestyle that isn't wrong with all of us (we're all sinners, it's in Romans), so they deserve the same respect and love that I'd give anyone else.
- And for that matter, I know a bunch of really cool people; some of them are gay. No.big.deal.

Have I offended you yet? Or at least confused you?

As a species we tend to fear what we do not understand, and while that's a fairly good survival instinct in the wild, in society it's not a habit we should be proud of or try to maintain.

Ok, I'm done being offensive now.

This Looked Pretty Cool

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Quizzes . . . Internet Crack

1. One book that changed your life: they really all have in one way or another . . . I'm like a french lacquer finish . . . with every pass of the alcohol soaked cloth, my surface is refined.

2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Jeremy the Tale of an Honest Bunny by Jan Karon

3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

4. One book that made you laugh: Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Berniere . . . though I didn't get very far with it.

5. One book that made you cry: The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman

6. One book that you wish had been written: I often find the library lacking in practical guides for my age/stage/lifestyle/budget . . . they're either too gung ho or not at all helpful. (see: The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old Fashioned Recipe Book by Carla Emery)

7. One book that you wish had never been written: Beloved . . . and really anything else by Toni Morrison. I know lots of people like her books, but I.just.can't.

8. One book you’re currently reading: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

9. One book you've been meaning to read: oh . . . here is where I confess to having not read any of the Anne of Green Gables books . . . but I promise it's on my to-do list.

10. Tag five others: Anyone who hasn't been tagged yet, is officially tagged here.