ActingUpAgain

Married by a ULC minister in Indiana, and then I became one myself (first Indiana, now Kentucky). Congrats to you both!

The only two meanings the number holds for me: 1. I was in a musical play last year where a preacher asked us in his spirit-moving voice, "Turn your hymnals to #667 - that's one-better than the Devil!" I wish I had that line... 2. $6.66 is the price of a chocolate-covered strawberry waffle bowl (the wife's choice) and any flavor small Blizzard (my choice) at the local Dairy Queen, including tax (which incidently is 6%). Considering I'm trying to lose weight, and I'm lactose intolerant, I can see a Devil arguement made here...

Were I in your position, if he'd expressed "what Paul said", I probably would have replied, "McCartney?" One of my favorite plays I've starred in and directed, "Mass Appeal" (made into a movie starring Jack Lemmon) deals with the question of women in the Catholic priesthood in the very first scene. An older priest explains that the vocation of priesthood should be in the image of Jesus. But the young upstart seminarian expresses that women were there for Jesus at crucial and trying times in his life (pushing past the angry mob wipe his face of blood and spit, first to arrive at his tob upon resurection, etc.), and in doing so proved many times they were "in His image".

Ha, I had to go look up "collywobbles". I like it, and I'm gonna keep it! Your story, and a few others I've heard before, has often made me wonder if the true purpose behind the story of the Forbidden Fruit in the Garden of Eden was to prevent the members of the church from questioning church authority & doctrine.

I agree - vent the spleen. It's a healthy choice!

Any of those qualify - I'm interested in hearing about any experiences. My wife (long before becoming my wife) had some difficulties. One man she was dating had devout Christian parents that were very kind and loving towards her. Then they stumbled across her personal website where they discovered some links she'd posted about being pagan. While they never admitted that they'd even seen it (mentioned in passing by the boyfriend), their attitude toward her changed quickly to unacceptance and hostility. It ultimately led to the end of that relationship, and her biggest regret was that they never gave her a chance to explain her beliefs. Conversely, when I told my devout Catholic parents about her beliefs (and explained how similar they actually were in many ways), they grew to accept her. Sure, they'd love for her to convert to some form of Christianity, but they understand where she's coming from and appreciate that she doesn't try to pull me away from the church. My wife has cried tears of joy on more than one occaision over being accepted and loved "just as she is".

Religious persecution - one of the many reasons the pilgrims left England for the New World all those years ago. And yet it continues to this day in every corner of the world, to people of virtually every faith. Personally I've never experienced it, at least to a tangible degree. Most likely because I keep my beliefs private in the real world (and all the good and bad that comes with that). Still working on opening up that part of me. I'm curious to hear of stories you might have dealt with in regards to you living/teaching your faith. What kind of persecution have you experienced? How have you overcome? Or have you been unable to and need advice from others?

One of my best friends (Best Man at my wedding, in fact) is a proud pervert. His main thing is porn. He is not ashamed to tell anyone of his desires (but only if asked - he doesn't push it on people). In fact, on a local web community, he is known for his specific tastes, and has a well thought out opinion on any porn type. He is the most open person I've ever met. He tells women interested in him that they should expect to be blogged about if they choose to date him. He is a firm believer that since because of the way the internet puts everything out there for the world to see, one should fully embrace the lack of privacy and own their perversions for all to see. A little backstory on why he is this way: he lost both parents early in life (actually found his mother drowned in the bath), and due to a genetic disorder had a kidney transplant about a decade ago. Consequently he believes he's not going to live to see 40 (he's 32), so he lives every day like it's going to be his last. This way of life has cost him in many ways. He has filed for bankruptcy and has no car. The longest job he's ever held (running video equipment for a church) pays virtually nothing. And he's very dependent on friends for just about anything. However, he has made a ton of friends along the way that truly love being a source of support without expectation of repayment. He was my roommate for over two years when I was single, and only paid me rent if he had cask to spare (heck, I had the space anyway - he just got his own food). He repaid me by pulling me out of my shell to meet people - including the woman that eventually became my wife. As far I'm concerned, I still owe HIM!

I've enjoyed some tequila with very little actual "taste", but plenty of wasabi-like burn to the sinuses. I rarely drink, but when I do it's specifically to get drunk (very special occaisions). Almost every other kind of alcohol makes me ill. I threw up the sacramental wine at my first communion!

In our area, there is a "polar bear plunge" into the Ohio River at the end of February, with people and companies raising money for Special Olympics. I've led a team three of the last four times I've jumped - once or twice coming close to the top three fundraising teams. The minimum to jump is $50, and I'm horrible at fundraising, so I typically pay the $50 for myself - I've turned in as much as $100 once. That's the only big thing I do. Otherwise it's a few dollars here and there, and some items to Goodwill.

My cats seem to think so. You can't get the "those look TASTY" expression off their faces!

I have this exact early memory as well! Not as coherant as my Star Wars memory, but it's pressed in my head nonetheless.

I've got answers for everything. Correct answers - well, that'll cost extra.

I judge every movie by what I want to spend to see it. There are about 3-4 movies average per year I want to spend $30 for me and the wife (with popcorn & drinks) to actually see in the theater. Another 3-4 we'll rent (and one of those gets bought if it's a favorite). Anything else I'll wait to see on TV a couple of years down the road - we're pretty patient. But a direct answer to the question: rarely, and only if it's on free TV and there isn't anything on. Then I'll DVR it and watch it sometime when the wife is sleeping. I've been pleasently surprised more than once - last one that surprised me was "The Butterfly Effect".

My political beliefs, unless it's someone that's genuinely curious and I feel comfortable they aren't looking for a debate.

Chocolate & peanut butter pie

I'll take the homemade peanut brittle too. I can always buy good chocolate bars.

I'll only mention them if it's friendly conversation or the need-to-know is there (such as possible allergies to cats). Otherwise, rarely. I love the little buggers for their companionship and entertainment value, but I'm not comfortable putting them on the same level as me and my wife. Despite what they think!

I'll try to add a few not mentioned yet... The Myth series by Robert Aspirin (but just the first ten books - after that it kinda loses what made it special) Anything "Star Wars" written by Timothy Zahn, and anything "Star Trek" written by Peter David and while autobiographies don't really belong here, Bruce Campbell's "If Chins Could Kill" is a worthy read for any fan of his screen work Edit to add a series I forgot: Fred Saberhagen's "Sword" series

I'm good for about a month on most things. Beyond that, it's kinda like the weatherman telling you on Tuesday that snow is likely on Saturday - it's just an educated guess.

1st coherent memory - 1977 Six years old, hanging from a tree. My mom leans out the door to tell me to come in and get cleaned up, because we're going to the movies. I tell her in no uncertain terms that I'm perfectly happy hanging out in a tree all evening (probably not quite as eloquently as how you just read that), but she was firm in her desire to ruin my good time. I pouted all the way to the movie theater, up until the movie started. BOOM goes the chord right after reading on the screen "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...", and it immediately has my full attention. From what I understand, I was leaning forward with my mouth open the entire time. I was completely quiet, even after the movie was over. When I finally found my voice again, I appearently wouldn't shut up about it. Probably still don't.

Many steps in my life brought me here. Born and raised Catholic, I married at the age of 20 thinking it would be forever. Like many before me, it didn't go as planned, and we divorced six years later. We tried once more, getting remarried by a Circuit Court Clerk (still married in the eyes of the Lord, we decided), but it only took us another couple of years to realize how far apart we'd grown. In that time I drifted away from Catholicism in general. I found someone new whom I love dearly, and marrying within the Catholic church again was impossible, so that was the final nail in that coffin. Combine that with the bride-to-be being pagan and church-phobic, and we had to come up with a new answer. I found out that a mutual friend was ordained thru ULC, and he agreed to perform our ceremony. We were his first marriage. He was incredibily thorough in covering every base with us, helping us plan a ceremony that incorporated scripture, a unity candle and handfasting. Even the most staunch Christians in our families admitted that it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies they've ever witnessed. Inspired by our friend, I decided to research ULC for myself. While I can't truly say I "felt a calling", I did see many aspects of being a minister that I already do in my life, and the thought of being there for people like our friend was for us definitely inspired me to give it a try. So here I am, at the beginning of my own journey, just seeing where it takes me.