Catch-Up Interlude

Whew!  It's been a while since I've posted.  Fortunately, nothing is wrong here.  It's just that days actually seem to pass more quickly as our chronological ages increase.  I remember when I was much, much younger how interminable an hour seemed to be - particularly if one had to do something particularly unpleasant like pulling weeds in the hot summer sun, which is the kind of chore my mother was famous (infamous?) for initiating. 

On the contrary, HWMBO and I have not been pulling weeds or anything so onerous or unpleasant.  Instead, we have been on a mild and pleasant social whirl since our return from Italy and all last week's hullaballoo surrounding the demise of our giant blue spruce.  And I am also most happy to confirm that we were not among those Raptured last Saturday, 21 May.  Not that there was ever the slightest chance of that happening in my case.  Perhaps HWMBO might have made the cut.  But I, most certainly not.  At least not according to the criteria outlined. 

In fact, if any individuals were Raptured, they were apparently not among the flock of the deluded Reverend Camping, who is the latest in a long line of individuals who have predicted Doomsday - so far, signally without success.  I understand that Mr. Camping has not given up belief in the End of the World, which will occur, according to him, on 21 October this year.  Keep in mind, however, that he is 0 for 2 so far.  Who knows?  Perhaps the third time will be the charm.  But I prefer to tune him out altogether.

We already seem to have enough on our plates in this world without the Almighty dumping on us.  And why, in any event, would a Supreme Being who is supposed to be Everything That Is Good deliberately invoke such horrors?  If it is simply to punish Sinners (the definition of such seems to be uniquely within the province of people like Camping, et al), what about all those good people - like hapless civilians in the ongoing civil war in Libya - who get caught in an End-of-the-World crossfire?  Are they simply Friendly Fire casualties that are acceptable to a supposedly Just and Loving Being?  Well, I certainly don't know.  But I do strongly doubt it.   And if the Almightly did not see fit to end the world during a time when Evil was truly rampant - WWII and the Nazi Regime come to mind - why on earth is now a better time?  Bad as things may be for some - and things are VERY bad indeed for too many - there does not seem to be a universal Final Solution effective or operational that is deliberately targeting certain groups, sending millions to be worked or starved to death in concentration camps, gassed and cremated in death camps or executed en masse.  To my mind, the years from 1939-1945 (and some years before and after both in Nazi Germany and in Stalin's USSR) were literally the End of the World for millions.  If not Then, why Now?

Mr. Camping believes that the natural disasters that appear to be occurring more often, or at least are more publicized than in the past, are signs of the impending End.  I am sure that he is correct about this in one sense.  We human beings have not been good stewards of this wonderful planet that we inhabit.  Our addiction to fossil fuels and industries that pollute our atmosphere and destroy our protective ozone layer may ultimately have sown the seeds for our own destruction.  Global climate change, often described as
global warming, is sending us strong signals that we should be paying attention to.  Hereabouts we've had one of the hottest Mays in this area that many can remember and temperature comparison charts of  the past three years show that temperatures for the past three months have consistently been higher this year.

Horrific events such as the tornadoes in Missouri that have so far killed 125, with the death toll expected to rise significantly, and in Oklahoma appear to be symptoms of this climate change phenomenon.  Earthquakes such as the one that caused a nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan could also lead to our eventual undoing as a species.  But I simply do not believe that they are wished on us by a Higher Power.  They are, in large part, results of our own badly conceived actions, policy decisions and lifestyle choices.  Reputable scientists and others have been warning us for years.

It's all too similar to a story called "The Drowning Man" which goes as follows:

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood.  He was praying to God for help.  Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, “Jump in, I can save you.”
The stranded fellow shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.”  So the rowboat went on.
Then a motorboat came by. “The fellow in the motorboat shouted, “Jump in, I can save you.”
To this the stranded man said, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”  So the motorboat went on.
Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.”
To this the stranded man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”  So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me drown. I don’t understand why!”
To this God replied, “I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

This is the kind of Supreme Being I can be comfortable with:  one with a wry sense of humor who realizes that, in spite of our incredible stupidity in not taking advantage of the opportunities before us and, despite whatever we label ourselves and our beliefs, if we truly treat others as we would wish to be treated and honor the planet where we live, we will be found to be good enough to make it through the Pearly Gates, whatever and wherever they are.