Month: June 2008

Well, I took the plunge. I joined my boss this morning for a Mass at the big church here in town. The most remarkable thing is that I did not turn into a Catholic! In fact, I got a lot out of the message, which had a lot to do with faith, searching for it, and not thinking that when we have it, it is enough to keep it the same. Faith must grow and change with my life and sobriety. It was no surprise to find that the young Padre who led the mass is a recovering alcoholic himself. His homily sounded a lot like Step 11…

Afterwards I went to lunch for a ‘Big Mac’ but at a local joint, not MacDonald’s. I always make this mistake…Whenever I try to eat something vaguely American overseas, it is not the same. In this case, they don’t use beef for the burger meat, but rather unseasoned ground pork, which made the sandwich resemble a large breakfast sausage pattie on an over sized bun. Never again. I’ll stick to the local food, as I have always tried. The more it tries to be like home, the farther away it really is. Tonight it’s cevapi and pomfrits with salad.

Tomorrow I head back to Mostar for a meeting at the Social Services office and then to the banks of the Neretva River and the Gypsy encampment. I have been assured that picture taking is not only allowed but encouraged. I am hoping for a lot of wonderful shots…Right now I am off to a picture printing place to have some shots of a young man’s club foot printed off for the doctors to see…

Johnnyboy

Here in Me?ugorje there are more statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary than I have ever seen. One could buy a rosary for every hour of the day and still not count all the little beads. Crosses of every description, even vestments in shop windows. It is Catholicism run amok, gone mad, out the window!

There are some fearful people here who are quick to lash out against those who do not feel that way. There are those that believe that when a Muslim is killed with a Catholic bullet or sword, they are immediately saved and go to heaven, thereby justifying murder and war. The great majority believe in their hearts that there is a grand puppet master behind the curtain pulling all the strings and designing the firmament.

The other day I was having coffee with some folks and one of them said, ? Isn’t it amazing to look at the stars and realize that we really know nothing about them at all?? I mean, really…No hard science, no research, no radar telescopes or radioactive isotopes that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the distance, age, temperature, speed of decay, etc…? What about that funny yellow star that shines during the day around this part of the solar system? It is my conclusion that many of these people live in a twisted version of medievalism and are happy that way. The less thinking they have to do, the better they feel. These are the exact same people who locked up Galileo for thinking the way he did.

Of course, there are some very nice folks who believe more strongly in ‘thou shall not judge’ and their own version of ‘Live and Let Live’. Nice folks, them, my landlords included. I am also working with some nice folks who do not judge, but are very much into education, the broad world, and living in modernism.

Tomorrow I head out for the day to Mostar to take some pictures, which I badly need to do. Being a singular and new town, there isn’t much to take pictures of. Not much history in this place, at least not for me. A day away will be a needed break. I need to think the way I need to think and visit the real world for a spell.

I have registered for fall classes and will only be taking two courses, both of them at a distance. the first is US /Caribbean Foreign Policy in the 20th century and the second is Digital Art and Design, both advanced level courses. The second means I will have to purchase PhotoShop and learn that! Yay!

More to come…

Johnnyboy