Tablecloths

I like tablecloths. My grandmother had tablecloths. My mother had tablecloths. I don't care for the vinyl ones I only like fabric. I have three from my grandmother's house which I got after my mother died. They are smallish maybe tables were sized differently in the '20s I don't care about tables only cloths. One of the tablecloths fits a card table. It has an embroidered design on the corners that hangs off the edges of a square folding table. I don't know for a fact but I am pretty sure that my mother used this cloth when she was first married and hosting a 42 party in my parents little garage apartment on Canal Street in Houston. My mother grew up in house where cards were forbidden but domino games were approved, 42 is a domino game with partners and bidding. I know almost nothing of my mother's newlywed life but I know that socially my parents met with friends from their church, Milby Street Church of Christ. I have one letter that my mother wrote to her mother about a new skirt she had sewn and her plan to wear it to a 42 party on Saturday night.

I buy tablecloths at Ross stores because I can get a cloth for my 102 inch rectangular table for under ten dollars. I'm not terribly picky but I like bright colors. I prefer casual patterns because I don't have a formal dining room or china but for 8 bucks I'll take just about anything because to my eyes a tablecloth is more inviting that a bare table.

One time I brought home a pretty dark green gingham cloth that I was particularly pleased with. I immediately put it on the table and my husband came into the room and duly admired it. He doesn't necessarily care about tablecloths but he is a wise man who knows how to be supportive.My daughter walked in a few minutes later and inquired, "Oh, what's that?"

"Oh, just a new tablecloth I got."

"Why didn't you get a pretty one?" she asked.

Oh dear, a microcosm of the relationship between all three of us. My husband immediately jumps to my defense. My daughter closes up and mumbles sorry. And I am startled into a laugh and a weak attempt to try to disarm my husband. My daughter was not trying to be mean or insulting. You could hear the genuine puzzlement in her voice. I was laughing because I did think it was pretty but my daughter and I do not have the same taste. My husband was trying to maintain the line of respect which is very important to him and which our daughter does challenge from time to time. I still think about that moment every time I look at that tablecloth. I still laugh and feel a little bit sad at the same time.

Fortune cookies

I like fortune cookies because they taste like cardboard so I'm not tempted to eat them. I like the way the break apart and they have that little secret inside. Secrets are fun. I got fortune cookies recently that were beautifully juxtaposed. The first one said, "A man's conscience is his compass". Sure, its not a "fortune" but a truism all the same. The next one said, "A feather in the hand is better than a bird in the air." And I had to ask myself, "is this true?"

Power too

For the Christian, the most desirable form of power is spiritual in nature. It is the power to resist evil and to do good. Since this power is only exercised over the self it differs greatly from the worldly concept of power. The teachings of Christ which are found in the New Testament lay out the problem of sin in our lives and how to overcome it. Sin, which is anything contrary to the will of God, has the effect of separating us from God. Without God, the Christian feels less than whole, less than complete. So how does the Christian overcome sin? Only through the agency of Christ Jesus. Jesus provides the way of salvation from sin through his death on the cross. The sacrifice of the innocent who is God, atones for a guilty mankind. Christians also have the Holy Spirit who enables communion with God. Jesus told his disciples that after he left it would be better for them because he would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit living in each believer would be better for us than his physical presence which was necessarily limited to a few. So with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Christians have access to the kind of power they need and desire. They have the power to live the life of love that Jesus intended for all those who are called according to his purpose.

power

Power holds an attraction and fascination for most people. Some people strive to achieve control over the lives of others. Political power translates to control over people. In politics, the policies and laws which are passed directly relate to how the constituents of a government are able to conduct their daily lives. This type of power over other people is courted by some and purchased by others. The fact that if you have political power, you have the backing of some government's military, means that you can literally coerce behavior. Philosophically people have struggled to find a way to combat this sort of power. Some people have concluded that the most important part of their lives takes place internally in their minds, in their hearts, in their souls. In this way they have protection from the coercion of government. The government can only dictate that which it can see and document. Government bodies have historically been frustrated by this and have repeatedly tried to find ways to penetrate this wall of individuality. The nature of coercive power is that it can never be satisfied.

The thing about Cheetos

Cheetos are the alpha snack because they leave their mark on you. They mark their territory wherever they go. What other snack food does this? Nacho cheese flavored Doritos? Nope, doesn't happen, the Dorito flavor brushes off easily. Did you ever try brushing off the Cheetos dust, it spreads, it multiplies. You have to have water to get rid of the evidence. I think banks should use Cheetos in their money bags instead of dye packs. Its probably cheaper and you can catch the bad guys quicker, they'll be stopped at the first public restroom washing their hands.
Of course another way of looking at Cheetos is that it is the most honest snack. No sneaking those things. "Did you eat my Cheetos? Let me see your hands." MMhmm.

Shopping Carts

I use shopping carts regularly, almost daily. You know shopping carts, they are excellent little machines to propel your selections through the store, to the check-out and ultimately to your car. The critical operation of the cart is to roll smoothly and if I had to guess I would say that probably a good 76% of the carts do exactly that. But there is that 24% that have a tendency to grip, pull to the left or right, or make a hideous screeching sound. I randomly select from the 24% about 82% of the time. Its not fair, you look carefully at the lines of carts available when you arrive at the store. You avoid the obvious bent wheels, the appearance of excessive rust, or the trash left in the bottom. You select a newer looking cart and try to release it from its brothers. The cart will not let go. You know from sad experience that a pulled shoulder muscle awaits if you persist. You go to your second choice, some rust, but you're hopeful. It clings at first but you continue to tug and, voila! Cart separation is achieved. You cautiously push your cart toward the aisles, so far, so good, no obvious pull or grip. You head toward the produce section and as soon as your cart touches the decorative tile floor of the fruit section, the squeal commences. Noooo. You checked, you did your due diligence, its not fair. The only thing to do is to commit to the failure. You push your vile squeeky cart through the store. You ignore the people staring at you. You dare a store employee to make eye contact with you(they won't I've tried). You take your time and slowly go through your shopping list, even backtracking for the hot dog buns you forgot. You pick the longest line for check-out and you take your purchases out to your car. You go the extra mile and take the afflicted cart to the buggy corral. Mission accomplished. Does your persistence pay off, does your suffering make you stronger? It must, it has to.

I'm gullible

I have a love/hate relationship with commercials. I really like a well crafted commercial. I buy Hanes pantyhose, (or at least I used to in the olden days when I bought pantyhose) because of the "gentlemen prefer Hanes" commercials. On the other hand, a bad commercial makes me burn with a white-hot fury because somebody out there paid good money for a terrible idea. I despise the artsy commercials that leave you asking, what was the product? Anyway this particular rant is about a greeting card commercial, (points off because I don't know which company). A mom slips a greeting card under her daughter's bedroom door. The daughter immediately opens the door and expresses her appreciation in a light and not overly sentimental way. The tagline is something like "little things can be big" or some such. Ridiculous. I tried to picture how my boys would react if I suddenly gave them a greeting card. They are very polite so I don't think there would be a loud guffaw. They might ask their dad later if I have cancer or something. I guess my daughter would be okay with it. I have too many issues with the whole concept to ever pursue it. Spend 99 cents on a card, not as long as a candy bar is only 79 cents. Now that's a little thing that can be big. Talking to people I see daily through the medium of a greeting card, tres weird. Now I did buy my husband one of those cards that plays a song. It plays "Hot Child in the City". But that was strictly necessary.