“The Article.”
Notoriety: It ain’t what you might think.
Many of you saw “the article” about us in the local paper a few days back. Notoriety came along with it, and here’s a lesson from it.
When his movies were popular, I was several times mistaken for Woody Allen.
As time went on, the braid grew long and the grey took over. I lost the Woody identity and people – especially little kids – began insisting that I was Willie Nelson.
In our California days, I was a member of ZZ Topp.
Then last week, it became, “Hey. Aren’t you that guy who plays guitar at the Cowboy Church?”
My careen (it wasn’t a career) in the newspaper business showed me this peculiarity of notoriety. I’d have my mug shot, with my column, in the paper once or twice a week anywhere I went.
Folks would then have a vague memory of having seen me, that curiously notorious person that I am, somewhere. So their little pea brains search for a similar icon. Bingo: Woody, Willie, ZZ, or “That Guy” stands right in front of them.
We don’t know yet whether notoriety drives business. We can say that everyone who has been in the store since – every one – has mentioned “the article.’’
And, we are even further behind in our service projects now than we were when we went on hibernation leave last winter.
Hey. If you see me “out there” someplace, say howdy. Call me Willie, Woody, whatever. Just don’t call me late to dinner.
The Article: www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080311/NEWS/623983313.
Overheard on the street
I’m bicycling, coasting downhill, silently. Ahead of me is a young couple, walking in the direction I’m going.
When I get close behind them, I distinctly hear the man say to the woman, “You are so sweet. The only thing that would make you sweeter is a bath.”
Doncha love it?
Overheard at the diner
The Old Club Guy’s Club was breaking up for the day. One old guy was talking about going home to face “the little woman.”
He said, “One thing about it, she does get down on her knees to speak to me.” There was a lot of laughing, then another old guy asked, “What does she say to you?”
“She gets down on her knees and she says, ‘Jim, you come out from under that bed right now.’”
Doncha love it?
Women’s Liberation
Wyoming was the first state in the union to emancipate women. That is, to legalize the vote for females of age.
Once upon a time, back when I was a Wyoming resident, someone explained the real reason for this revolutionary change in the Cowboy State.
“See,” an old-timer explained to me, “She said if we didn’t let her vote, she was gonna leave.”
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Way back in history, when the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was proposed, I was in favor of it. It’s another one of those “sounds good” ideas, like freedom of choice or quality of life.
Yeah. Sure. Women should be “equal” in the workplace. And the bedroom. At the elevator and the car door. I am woman hear me roar. You know, the ERA era.
I went for it in a big way. I even paid my dues and became an active member of the Bingham County League of Women Voters. That’s when I began to see that no change in the law could really make me equal, let alone make women equal.
Turns out, the ERA was a bad idea – any amendment to the constitution is a bad idea. However, it gave a high profile to the Women’s Rights Movement.
(Here’s how it went: Perceived racial inequality in the South and in the big cities spawned the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement spawned the Vietnam War Protest Movement. The anti-war movement vitalized the Feminist Movement. The feminists brought us the lesbian movement and the lesbians brought us the gay power movement. The gays and feminists brought us the vegetarian movement, and the vegetarians brought on the Animal Rights Movement. Did I miss any?)
The Feminist-Vegetarian-Animal-Rightsers began adopting their own ideology, which is to put it mildly, all screwed up. Here’s what Fr. Tom Euteneuer, founder and president of Human Life International, says:
“Feminist ideology, which often counters our message, thinks in term of separateness, not unity. It is an ideology of despair, especially despairing of love; despair issuing from a failure of love - sin - the despair that comes from being sinned against, and taking refuge in more sin.
“It is despair buried under generational layers of abuse, exploitation and sin. Whereas, the Church holds up loving union; with love as its path.”
Well said, Father.
She should know
The nonprofit organization ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) is dedicated to teaching the “new feminism” of Pope John Paul II.
ENDOW’s 2008 Julia Greeley Award winner is Elizabeth Wisniewski, a 27-year-old Michigan transplant who has embraced the Church’s new feminism and is passionate about sharing it with others.
The award is named after a former slave and Catholic convert who became renowned in Denver for her piety and her care for the poor, particularly needy children.
Wisniewski said, “A woman does not need to be like a man to be great. This is misconstrued in our society. The more I read and learn, the more I want women to understand their true dignity—as women.”
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For lots more on women’s true liberation, check out this Catholic Online Featured Article: Alice Von Hildebrand on Feminism and Femininitywww.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=530
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Words of the week: Reticent is from the Latin, reticere, to be silent. In English it means disinclined to speak readily, reserved, taciturn. Recalcitrant, from the Latin recalcitrare to kick or to kick back. In English it means stubbornly defiant, refusing to obey authority, custom or regulation.
Next week’s word: Nigger.
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