Continued Confessions

as we roll along

Every English major has probably been getting her or his knickers in a twist—at least this one has—over the facilitate versus effectuate kerfuffle. I realize that there are definitely nuances to be explored, but did it really require the Supreme Court to weigh in? And now that there has been a very speedy decision handed down, the waters are even more muddy in my opinion.

Anyway, all of this is to say that it is becoming increasingly difficult to take anything the current administration does seriously. I am attempting to keep up with the news, but every day brings another jaw-dropping pronouncement. Did you see today that Jerome Powell has been threatened with removal? I’d have to do more research to determine the legality of such a move, but quite frankly I have to keep the focus on myself a little more.

And to that end, I went early to the book signing by Maura Casey of her new memoir “Saving Ellen” and was able to meet her and grab my two signed copies and make it home while the cloudy skies still facilitated my driving. I started reading my copy this morning, and it is a page turner. Highly recommended, and I can’t wait for BFF Carol to return from Ireland to receive the other copy. She shares quite a few of the historical characteristics of the Casey family. I was also pleased to see that Carol’s daughter posted a picture from their trip, so I can’t complain about modern technology this morning.

But I want to end by circling back to the choice of words we all have to make, both in conversations and in written communications. [I have to say first that nowadays the references to God in recovery literature have mostly been replaced with the words Higher Power, but you’ll get the message.] I was particularly interested in this passage from the book “A New Pair of Glasses” by Chuck C. in which he is giving a talk to alcoholic men in 1975. He is discussing the twelve steps of recovery (as promulgated by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob from their background with the Oxford Group) and he discusses the different wording of Steps Six and Seven:

I bet you there’ve been a million hours spent in arguing over why Step Six says “. . . were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character” and Step Seven says “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”

Chuck goes on to say that he asked Bill Wilson why there was a difference, and the co-founder of AA replied:

“I don’t know, I think I didn't want to end two lines right next to each other with the same words. They mean the same thing.”

And that, my dear readers, is how I feel about this ridiculous tempest in a teapot. For pity’s sake, we all know that the deportations are dodgy at best and most probably illegal from jump. So there!

RESIST ALWAYS

TTFN