Percentage

One hundred percent
Of us die. The percentage
Cannot be decreased.

C. S. Lewis

The Move

After more than four years in our 3200 square foot monster home, St. Eva the Good and I are moving to smaller digs. Just 1700 square feet of living space in a community called Village by the Lake in Southern Pines, NC. This place is is for "old people." In fact the rules and regs of the condo association prohibit "young ins" and a few other things: pickup trucks ( no biggie there) and....motorcycles (Groan!!) For forty years I waited to buy my cycle and now it is unwelcome in the community into which I am moving. This is a real dilemma.

A friend of mine said, "Gee, moving into a community that bans bikes may have saved your life!" Thanks, Bob. You are no help. For the moment, I am leaving Big Red here at the house. Gordo and his wife Karen will be renting our old home for a while. But I will have to drive 6 miles in my van to pick up my bike to drive the 8 miles to the office, which, I guess, makes no sense. So that leaves me just a few riding opportunities each week. It's killing me.

Bikers are a strange lot. They are cultically devoted to their mechanical steeds. It is like we are members of the Church of Harley. There are rituals: When bikers pass each other, they always give a left handed, low wave. It is a way of saying, "Be safe, Brother." Just like at Mass...a mobile "sign of peace." And of course, there are special vestments and rubrics. Leather, wallet chains, doo rags, boots and vests figure prominently in the Church of Harley liturgical garb. And lets not forget the fellowship meal. No wine is served in the Church of Harley, but capacious amounts of Budweiser and burgers are consumed in convivial fellowship, when bikers gather.

And so I am agonizing over this. Our maintenance man at church is currently building his own Harley. When I told of my situation, he exclaimed, "Hell (he is Protestant, you see,) I'd sooner give up my wife than my bike!! HMMMMMMMMM. Big Red or St. Eva the Good... Oh, Hell..."Bye bye, Big Red."

Thought

Blaise Pascal once wrote:
"Thought constitutes man's greatness."
No wonder we're doomed.

Nix on X- Files-the Movie

So what am I doing in a movie theatre at 12:30 AM on a Friday morning? Simple. It was free. My son Jonathan has worked out a deal for his Chik-fil-A staff. He brings left over chicken sandwiches and nuggets for the Cinema staff "free viewing night," and his CFA staff can join in. The only negative is that the bloody flicks start at 12:30 AM.

OK. The X Files movie. What a fan I was of Mulder and Scully during those salad days of the TV program. In fact, I had a real "thing" for Gillian Anderson. (My thoughts were always chaste, of course.) Duchovny, well I could take him or leave him. A little too whiney and wimpy for my taste. A metro sexual male paradigm, if you ask me.

And so it was with great excitement that I got my free Diet Coke, hand full of sandwiches and nuggets and found my way to theatre #4. There were about 50 people in the lobby. When 46 of them made there way to the other 9 theatres to view whatever mindless pap Hollywood is distributing these days, I should have guessed they knew something that I didn't. I soon would find out. In addition, suffering through the previews for what is on tap for American tastes, does not give one occasion for much hope. (Saw V...Do you mean that actually made four others of these?...Mirrors demons take over a mirror museum. What a genius script! And there was some clip about Girls Pants That Travel Around the World #2 Yes, this is a sequel. What a novel idea!)

On with the show. I am going to try to summarize this anti-Catholic movie rant in a few words:

1) Plot #1- Scully works in a Catholic Hospital. She wants to save the life of a young boy with brain cancer. The evil priest administrator, who looks like Don Knotts in clericals, wants her to "fuggedabowdit." Let the boy die with "dignity." Oh yes, the hospital has religious stained glass in the lobby, large crucifixes in all rooms and giant plaster statues everywhere. In addition, nuns in habits walk menacingly down the halls with hands folded, always frowning with disapproval on poor Scully who is standing up for "life." Comment: my wife worked in two Catholic Hospitals. First, you had to look far and wide for crucifixes outside of the non-sectarian chapels, secondly, statues were non-existent and thirdly, nuns in habits? Are you kidding?

2) Plot #2- Now this really gets complicated. Scully gets Mulder out of retirement to help the FBI find missing women. A psychic ex-priest is leading the FBI to locations in West Virginia (lots of Catholic hospitals located there, what?) where body parts are being found. So now you may be wondering, why is this character an ex-priest?....Try to guess before you continue (Insert mental 'Jeopardy' jingle here).....Yes, of course. He is a convicted pedophile!! This fellow who speaks with an Irish brogue, it seems, has visions of the missing women. But Scully is unimpressed. Why would God give visions to a guy who, as she angrily says, "buggered 37 altar boys?"

3) In order to make this a serious picture, after "bedding" Scully, Mulder and she carry on a way too long conversation about how evil God is for allowing suffering. Scully can't sleep because she is too busy "hating God." Mulder replies, "Scully, go to sleep. Let me take over hating God for a while." Ohhhhh...so heavy!

4) Well, to make a long story long, the body parts are being used by mad Russian surgeons to piece together the male "partner" of a Russian guy who drives a snowplow. ( Did I mention the film was supposed to have been set in West Virginia...in winter. It looks more like Siberia.) Nevertheless, the Russians have figured out how to decapitate people and transfer the heads onto healthy bodies. (Reader: are you following this?) So the "male partner's" head has been severed, the body of the woman they have selected to receive the man's head is on ice, when Mulder and Scully arrive in the nick of time to stop this madness.

5) OK. Here is the coup d' gras.One more anti-Catholic twist. The "male partner" turns out to be one of the 37 boys that the old psychic ex-priest had "buggered." Whew!

And so at 2:45 AM, I found my way back home, awakened my sleeping spouse and vented over this horrible movie. "Sounds like a waste time and you should have walked out."....Ah, St. Eva the Good. How right you are. It was and I should have.

Hearing

I listened to him.
In his voice I was hearing
The accent of God.

St. Eva's Family Update

Eva does not have a blog yet, but this is an update she sent to her email list about the Dozier family:

I am not a "blogger" Guess I will have to get with the times. In the mean time I will continue with my "Dozier Updates."

Let's start with Dyda. He continues his recovery at St. Joseph's skilled facility. His days are up and down. We never know if he is going to be cracking jokes or just in too deep a sleep to disturb but we take one day at a time. What a treasure he is to us.

Gordon and I are venturing into a new phase of our life. Retirement continues for him ( of course with his great side jobs: at the church and charge of household management aka: chief cook, bottle washer and toilet ministry. I continue my four day a week job in Infection Control. What is changing for us is that we are moving into a senior community. We have bought a smaller ( only 1800 sq. feet) home in an area called Village by the Lake. Angel says it looks like one of those resort homes we have stayed in through our timeshare and she says that it will feel as though we are always on vacation. Good thought when I can finally retire. Here is the link to view our new residence:
http://www.pinkydoyle.com/Nav.aspx/Page=http://idx.advancedaccess.com%2fdefault.aspx%3fMID%3d6950%26Action%3d11%26LinkID%3d1387
Remax of Southern Pines listing go to the far right hand side of page and enter this mls #129253

Gordie was recently ordained a Deacon in the Eastern Rite Catholic Church. He will be starting a Parish here hopefully soon. He continues to be the International Management Trainer for Hartford Life with trips to Japan and Dublin. Karen will begin teaching this year at our Catholic School. She will bring so many of her gifts and talents to those kids. Katie is going there again and Alex and Daniel will continue home schooling. Daniel should be getting his Eagle Scout this year.

Kristi, Jon, Jack and Eva in Dallas. Kristi has a great job with the Dallas YMCA, event planning/funding raising, her specialty. Jon continues with American Airlines having recently accepted a new position there. Eva will hopefully soon be going to MD Anderson in Houston for a second opinion concerning the tumor found on the left side of her chest. It has been determined to be part of the original tumor removed in March but is growing. Please keep those prayers going.

Jay has recently applied to get his own Chik-fil-A store. He also will finish his Masters next month. JJ Jr. has been here all summer and it has been great to spend time with him. Look forward to seeing Jacob soon. Boo, Jay's fiance, is working, I think at last count 3 jobs, and going to UNC-G. What a ball of energy. Wish I could bottle it.

Angel and Graham have done a great job on their new house. (the back yard looks like the ninth hole at the Country Club). The three little ones keep Angel on the run, camps, swim teams and play dates, etc.. She also is managing the Storage Units for the Gulleys in her "spare time".

Ben will continue with his college in the field of nursing. He got accepted into that program. He misses his beautiful daughter, Loralei, talking to her every day.

Nathaniel and Vanessa will be getting married on August 16, 2008. We are looking forward to this event. It will be a small garden wedding at the Marriott in Greensboro. Wish you all could join us but they were only able to invite 40 people. Keep them in your prayers. If you would like to send them a note of congratulations here is Nathaniel's e-mail address : Nathandozier@hotmail.com

JPD will be going back to UNC Asheville in a couple of weeks. He has been managing the day camp at Sandhills Sports Center and the kids love him. Rebecca, his special friend, is house sitting here this summer and working again at Chik-fil-A.

Mary has spent the summer traveling and working seven days a week. She will continue at UNC-Greensboro until January when she will be joining the Air Force. Before going in she has a trip to Las Vegas and Hawaii planned before Christmas.

Keep us all in your prayers as we do you.
Love ya,
Eva

Following

There is seeming risk
In following the Lord. But
Jesus bids us, "Come!"

Actual Church Signs

We use duct tape to fix everything.
God used nails.

2 Great truths:
1) There is a God.
2) You are not HIM.

God is the potter...not Harry.

Our church is like fudge:
sweet, with a few nuts.

No man has ever been shot
While doing the dishes.

God wants full custody.
Not just weekend visitations.

Sense

Come Holy Spirit.
Fill our inner sense with the
Fragrance of Jesus.

The Gadarenes

I have always been fascinated with the Gospel story read today at Holy Mass.(Matt 8:28-34) Jesus encounters two men possessed by demons.They scream in torment and the devils locked in the duo's psyches', petition to be cast into nearby swine. "Go then," Jesus said, and the newly possessed pigs cast themselves into the sea and drown. The swineherds are aghast as they see their pork belly investment sink into oblivion. And so in their outrage, they "begged Jesus," as Matthew tells us, "to leave their district."

A couple of things here. First of all, in our enlightened age, do we need to believe that demons exist, much less take possession of someone? I have talked with priests who have witnessed more than these swineherds from Gadara, so that it leads me to say "yes" to both. In theological circles, a distinction, however, is made between outright possession and simple obsession. The former is rare; the latter much more common.

Secondly, anytime Jesus is in the neighborhood, you can expect things to happen. The Gospels attest to it. And today, those who are committed to Christocentric Gospel living, can also attest to it. The Christian makes the worldly man uncomfortable and like the Gadarenes, they love to see him move on.

The American poet laureate, Richard Wilbur, wrote this wonderful poem on this text from Matthew:

Rabbi, we Gadarenes
Are not ascetics;we are fond of wealth and possessions.
Love, as you call it, we obviate by means
Of the planned release of aggressions.

We have deep Faith in prosperity.
Soon, it is hoped, we will reach our full potential.
In the light of our gross national product,
The practice of charity
Is palpably inessential.

It is true that we go insane;
That for no good reason we are possessed
By Devils;
That we suffer, despite the amenities which obtain
At all but the lowest levels.

We shall not, however, resign
Our trust in the high-heaped table
And full trough.
If you cannot cure us without destroying our swine,
We had rather you shoved off.