Musings of a Catholic Convert

This week seems to have flown by.  I can't believe it's already Thursday. Last night was my Catholic Social Teaching class, so I guess today really is Thursday.  Tonight at RCIA we are going to have a Passover Seder meal and look at it's similarity to the Mass.  The Seder meal is so full of symbolism.  I'm looking forward to an enlightening night and some excellent fellowship.  

This weekend is going to be busy.  I think I'll turn in early tonight and get a little extra shuteye.

While I'm thinking about busy, let me tell you something I heard from the King of Catholic Media.  The KOCM says that we are getting superclose to phase two of our catholic social network.  Blogs are working good, and I guess that means you're sending him your bugs and requests.  Phase two will add new elements to enhance the community and give us more ways to reach in and reach out.  He made me promise not to spill ALL the beans, but I think I've told you enough to get you interested, right?

The best way to treat ingrown nails is to not get them in the first place.  If I've read it once, I've read it a thousand times, CUT YOUR NAILS STRAIGHT ACROSS!  Now have I EVER listened to that advice?  Yes and no. 

I got this monster ingrown nail about 10 years ago.  It got so bad that I was afraid it would get infected and kill me, so I reluctantly went to see a doctor.  I hate going to the doctor.  He looked at it and said, "Ughhh!"  Then he asked, "Do you cut your nails straight across?"  After getting a million shots in my big toe and watching him DIG TOENAIL out of my foot for what seemed like hours, I was thinking that the straight across method would be a good thing to do. 

Did I follow his advice?  Yup.  Well, most of the time.  Every now and then I have performed the old "home surgery" of cutting a nail out that is digging into the sides a bit.  Who wants to go to the doctor for something easy like that, right?  So I had such a situation a few weeks ago.  I cut and when I was pulling the ingrown part out, the nail broke so everything did not come out.  I couldn't get at the rest without digging into my toe so I had to leave it alone.

I let it grow and I didn't mess with it that much.  I looked to make sure it wasn't getting red and puffy or that stuff wasn't coming out.  I bathed it in peroxide every night to keep stuff out.  Ooooh it was sore for days and I could feel in my toe where it the nail grew under the skin.   After a nice long time I could not take the pain anymore, so I put on my scrubs and went into surgery mode.

Let me tell you something, brother.  I got it all out in one cut and pull.  That dude was HUGE!  I should have taken a picture to show you the crooked growing mess that was dwelling under my toe surface.  It looked like a giant shark tooth that was pulled out at the root.  Maybe it WAS a shark tooth.  I don't know.  I just know that the thing was out.  What followed?  Instant relief.  No more pain, no more crooked nail. I felt like a million bucks after I extracted that monster.

And you better believe that I am cutting ALL my nails straight across now.

Did you figure it out yesterday? 

You know two men could be standing in front of you wearing identical looking shirts.  They both have a Tommy Hilfiger trademark symbol stitched into the "chest pocket" area of the shirt.  Same color.  Same size.  And let's even say that the two men are actually identical twins!  One of them - let's call him Tomax - is wearing a knockoff and the other - we'll call him Xamot - is wearing the real Tommy shirt.  How do you know which is which?

There are actually two correct answers to this question.  I'll give you the easy one.  Tomax's hair is parted on the right side of his head and Xamot's on the left.  Also, there is a scar on Xamot's right cheek, and Tomax has no scar.  See?  Simple.  

Know let's make a stretch and assume you didn't know how to identify Tomax or Xamot.  You'd have to use the shirts then, right?  So how would you do it?  How do you spot the fake shirt?

I'm going to tell you how tomorrow.  There are ways to tell.  But for today, let's assume you cannot tell them apart.  You might say, "Who cares?  It doesn't matter to me if one of them has a counterfeit product."  You might even be persuaded to buy into the lie that this isn't hurting anyone and that it is harmless.  Somebody is saving a buck, right?

What about the real merchandiser who stocks the actual Tommy shirts?  What is he saving?  What about the manufacturing plant that produces the goods?  Are those plants and their workers saving a buck too?  What about the families supported by those plants?  How is their savings?  And what about the shirt itself?  Is it made of quality material?  Is it going to last?  Is it made of safe fabric, or could there be something potentially harmful?

The picture on the left shows two feet that were chemically burned by a pair of cheaply produced sandals (not name brand even).  Several people were injured by these products and countless emails were circulated warning of the very real problem (I checked it out, because we got so many emails).  The quality of manufacturing materials DOES matter.  

And that is just a shirt or a pair of sandals.  What about baby formula?  What about medicine?  People can be seriously injured by counterfeit products.  It is a big deal, beyond the fact that it is theft on several levels, which in itself is a grave sin. 

Let's make another application to this.  What about false teachings?  What about fake Christians and the things they teach through their living and speaking?  Do you think there is potential there to cause harm?  Eternal harm even?  Absolutely.  All paths DO NOT lead to God.  All theological viewpoints are not equally truthful.  Someone is wrong.  Everyone is not right.  And it matters on an eternal scale.  How do you spot the fake?

I'll tell you tomorrow. 

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Memphis Tigers Saturday night by a score of 66-62.  It was one of the best sports events I've watched all year, and I'm not a big basketball fan myself.  I do, however, support Tennessee's sporting endeavors across the board.

Go UT AD&D Squad!  Roll the Crimson Tide with your 20-Sided Die! 

Coach Pearl motivated the men and they responded, even though they shot poorly from the floor.  Both teams did actually.  I expected a much higher score by game's end.  It didn't matter to me, though, if the score had been 2-0, so long as Tennessee held the 2 points to win the game.

Both teams played aggressively, which is always exciting to watch.  And even though there was some shoving and elbowing, things remained about as civil as you could expect in a heated #1 vs. #2 matchup between in-state rivals.  Now I wasn't at the game - I couldn't afford to pay thousands of dollars for the rare available seats - but I didn't notice any of the fans being uncivil toward one another.  They were certainly emotionally involved in the game.  In fact, even on TV you could tell that the roar was deafening whenever Memphis made a play.  But the fans on both sides seemed to get along well enough, testimony to the overall good sportsmanship I've witnessed among Tennessee fans and Memphis fans.   

Now all eyes and pressure are on Tennessee to defend #1 standing.  They have to play a tough Vanderbilt team (23-4) in Nashville, where the Commodores are undefeated at home this season. 

As historical as all this ranking business is for the University of Tennessee men's basketball program, what matters most to them and to me is a good performance in the NCAA tournament.  I hope they can run the table.  The talent is certainly there, and a high ranking should give them a good seed in a weaker bracket.  Here's hopin'.

Does anybody know UT's AD&D record and/or player levels? 

Kissimmee Baptist edges emperor toward sainthood

Orlando, February 5 (CNA).-Karl von Habsburg, the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire moved a step closer to sainthood last week, the Orlando Sentinel reports.  A Florida woman has claimed that by praying for the intercession of the emperor, she was cured from breast cancer.

The Baptist woman from Kissimmee, Florida received the ruler’s holy card from a friend, Paula Melancon, who became interested in Emperor von Habsburg on a trip to Europe.  The cancer sufferer prayed that Karl intercede on her behalf.

Doctors as well as a judicial tribunal of the Diocese of Orlando agreed that there appears to be no medical explanation for the woman’s recovery.

Karl, who was emperor during World War I, opposed the war, censored obscene materials, closed brothels and increased the chaplains sent to troops.  He was exiled and died of the flu at the age of 34.  In 2004, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.

Orlando Bishop Thomas Wenski said, “It is an honor for our diocese to be part of something that is larger than all of us.  Miracles are not done for show. Jesus didn’t do miracles because he was a showoff.”

I am slowly adapting to WordPress, having used Blogger/Blogspot for years.  I really like the customization and the features.  What I am working to learn now, however, is how to format all the posts I imported from Blogger.  I imported something like 1600 posts and they flew over in a matter of minutes, but I need to reformat them in the wordpress style.  If any gurus have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

Internet Explorer is giving me fits. I only now figured how to get back to my “new” blogger account with Firefox. I’m frustrated, but I am alive (in case anyone doubted). I trust you are all doing well. During my hiatus, we were blessed with a new addition to our family. Little Raegan Therese was born last Thursday. She and mommy are doing great.Question: anyone in the Memphis metro area interested in being part of the Third Order of Dominicans (Laity)? Email me if you are. I have some information you may find helpful.