FROM “Notes of a Pizza Deliveryman:”

I will eat a slice of the stuff every now and then, but when I hear a child or adult say pizza is their favorite food, I cringe. They must have never had my grandmother’s lasagna, my grandfather’s beef roast, my mother’s London Broil, my neighbor’s elk steak, or my pastor’s grilled trout. Have they ever been to real restaurant? I don’t eat out very often, but when I do I prefer to visit an establishment that serves real food, and has a quiet and elegant atmosphere. In Denver I like the Briarwood, Simms Steakhouse (formerly Simms Landing), the Chart House (Genesee), and the Greenbriar Inn up in Boulder, to name a few.

Yes, they cost a bit, but even when my family was of very limited means I recall being taken to these places for special occasions. I would have to wear nice clothes, and could not act like a barbarian. These are some of the most magical memories of my childhood, the wonder of being taken to a special restaurant, getting to taste a special dish from the land of my ancestors or a local delicacy. The tablecloths, the multiple forks and utensils set at my place at the table, the dignified and well-dressed waiters, everything made the atmosphere special. (more…)

THIS isn't the mainstream. It's a small tributary. In the last couple of years, I've added extra security features to this site to keep it from being obliterated by hackers. The drawback is it's expensive to maintain. These fees are small in comparison to the expense of time and energy. Even with just those software expenses, I'm not close to making a profit here and am only seeking help to offset the costs. Please help this independent blog continue by donating. Your support, however small, is vital. Details are here. Thank you for your generosity. I am deeply grateful for those who have supported me in various ways over the years.

"SURRENDER to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything. It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in my care, so that only I act. Saying, You take care of it. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times) From The Surrender Novena of Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo  

    WHO is talking about this? Biden or Trump? The answer of course is, neither!  

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ALAN writes:

FROM Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville:

I think then that the species of oppression by which democratic nations are menaced is unlike anything which ever before existed in the world: our contemporaries will find no prototype of it in their memories. I am trying myself to choose an expression which will accurately convey the whole of the idea I have formed of it, but in vain; the old words “despotism” and “tyranny” are inappropriate: the thing itself is new; and since I cannot name it, I must attempt to define it.

I seek to trace the novel features under which despotism may appear in the world. The first thing that strikes the observation is an innumerable multitude of men all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives. Each of them, living apart, is as a stranger to the fate of all the rest—his children and his private friends constitute to him the whole of mankind; as for the rest of his fellow-citizens, he is close to them, but he sees them not—he touches them, but he feels them not; he exists but in himself and for himself alone; and if his kindred still remain to him, he may be said at any rate to have lost his country. (more…)

A BRITISH father of six children responds to a police officer who arrives at his house to enforce lockdown regulations. This is awesome! A must-watch.  

  IF YOU have found things of value at this site over the past year (and what a ride it's been!) since my last fundraiser in December, 2019, please help this small, independent blog continue by donating. Your support, however small, is vital. Details are here. Thank you for your generosity.  

  .... makes it easier to treat people like animals. Chilling, soulless eyes here.