MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Robby came in my room today and handed me a letter from the Admissions office at Delaware. I thought for sure it was a letter of acceptance or declination…

One of my roommates receives “Swords of the Lord: The Soul Winners’ Training Club”, a weekly periodical that describes itself as:

“An independent Christian publication, standing for the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, his blood atonement, salvation by faith, new testament soul winning and the premillennial return of Christ; opposing modernism, worldliness and formalism.”

Ok, first of all, what the fuck?! New testament soul winning?! What does that even mean? Are they aiming to win as many souls as possible? Like collecting coins in a video game? And premillennial return of christ?! Someone should let them know, premillennial is not a word. And it’s 2008. Well into the third millennium.

Anyhow, the articles in this periodical are generally right-wing, religious propaghanda with absolutely no foundation on anything to do with modern society. Most articles are written by Pastors, church-goers and “doctors”.

One article in today’s arrival particularly struck me as completely absurd.

Halloween is Coming

(But We Are Not Going)

By THE EDITOR

“As I drove down a major boulevard in Murfreesboro on Saturday, I saw a fully costumed adult standing on the corner hawking some store’s wares. The costume was black, and the false face had a skeletal look. It was kind of spooky to see it on the street, even in broad daylight.

I thought to myself that if I were in some underdeveloped country and saw such a thing, I would assume it to be satanic or some weird superstition. Of course since it was on Main Street USA, everybody laughs, and we drive on by.

But it reminded me of questions that come every year about this time: is Halloween an event in which Christians should be engaged? Is there anything wrong with it if they do get into it?

Well, here are a few thoughts on the subject, and I hope you will consider them carefully.”

The Editor goes on to list seven bullet points comprised solely of quotes from the Old and New Testaments. These quotes, through some obscure twisted sense, seem to “prove” the author’s conclusion. One of the main issues with the Bible is it’s obscurity; it can be used to prove almost any point, no matter how outlandish. The Editor concludes his article as such:

“It is all the more serious when it is set in a fun-and-games atmosphere. Children should be warned and made wary of whatever has ties to Satan and his domain of darkness.

Halloween is enjoyed innocently by a lot of people. They do not realize the risk they run of paving the way for their family to become even more involved in things related to the Devil.

So, with all things considered, we say “no” to Halloween and urge our friends to do likewise.”

How ridiculous that people with absurd opinions like this exist. Especially ignorant is his ethnocentric view that an “underdeveloped country” may perceive it as “satanic or some weird superstition”, as though Americans are the only ones who would understand it. Most cultures have a process by which they worship their dead, and several other nations throughout the world celebrate Halloween and All Saints Day in their own ways.

Anyways, Happy Halloween everyone! I still haven’t made my costume (Waluigi)!

One of our senior bartenders, Marcus, got in a really bad car accident one week ago today. At 7:08 AM going 55mph he t-boned another sedan at the intersection of 72 & Baltimore Pike. He then veered into a volkswagen beatle. All three vehicles were totaled. If you were to ask Marcus what he remembers of the accident he would say “One minute I was driving, the next I thought I was dead. All I could see was white, from the airbrags being deployed from all angles. And the smell was the most terrible smell I will never forget. Airbag dust, mixed with gas, mixed with the smell of the squealing brakes, mixed with god only knows what else. I really thought I was dead and all I could think about were my kids.”

If that doesn’t put things in perspective enough, the next part will really get you.

“The ironic part is I was actually a mile and a half from my mom’s house, on my way to pick her up for heart surgery that morning. I had just gotten off the phone less than a minute prior. She asked me where I was and jokingly I told her ‘O mom I’m still in bed!’ ‘O dear we’re going to be late Marcus!’ ‘ Just kidding mom, I’ll be there in a few minutes.’

All I know is I sat down the phone in the coaster holder, looked back up, saw the car turning in front of me about 15 feet away and slammed on my brakes”

Fortunately for Marcus, a cop was crossing the intersection at the same time and stopped to help. Marcus told the cop “You have to call my mother, I was supposed to pick her up to take her to the hospital.”

Later, Marcus found out that no sooner had his mother hung up the phone and walked to the kitchen to pick up a pot of coffee did the phone ring again. This time, it was the police officer. “Mrs. Duphily, your son has just been in a really bad car accident.”

Marcus broke 3 ribs, his collarbone, dislocated his right knee, dislocated his right thumb, and lodged his elbow in the drivers side window. The pressure from the impact was so great that his grip on the steering wheel bent it inwards and the lap of his seatbelt broke. His coffee mug in the coffee holder flew forward and wedged itself into his GPS screen.

Marcus was lucky. In most circumstances he would not have lived. He definitely had fate on his side. However, what really strikes me about this story is how he was supposed to pick his mother up for heart surgery that morning. That day was supposed to be about her. Yet, in a split second that day became about Marcus. As surely as he was only thinking about her heart surgery and his children, she was only thinking about whether he was going to come out alive. Something like that really does put things in perspective. That really is love.

There is still no word from the University as to my admittance. I have been checking my e-mail, snail mail, and online account every day. I am feeling anxious. I can’t help but think about how this is such a pivotal time in my life. I’m about to turn 25 and depending upon Delaware’s decision I will either spend the next two years finishing my schooling, or I will spend it on the seat of a bicycle crossing the Americas. On one hand, I want Delaware to accept me. It is a great school and with a degree from there I feel as though I will have accomplished a life-long goal. However, if they don’t accept me I know that I am still young enough to be able to enjoy the next few years on the road. In the future I could always attend a less prestigious school on the west coast. Only time, and patience, will tell.

Interesting story at Kate’s today. Two women sat on the porch around 11AM, right at opening. One woman about fifty years of age, with dark red hair and a smokers voice ordered 3 Beefeater Gin martinis over the course of two hours. Finally her server came to me and expressed his concern.

“I’m a little worried about my guest at table 41. She’s had a bit to drink and she just ordered her 4th martini. And I’m pretty sure she’s sitting by herself now just crying.”

I proceeded to take a closer look at her. Upon inspection I deemed it OK to serve her another martini, but I made it very clear to the server that this would be her last. I made sure the martini we made for her was watered down as well.

Long story short, this woman ended up stumbling out of her chair and joining two young girls at the table adjacent to her. This woman was obviously very lonely and very troubled. Upon realizing that she had left her martini at her table she stumbled back yet again to pick it up. ACTION!

I quickly swooped to the table in an attempt to grab the martini away before she could get to it. Unfortunately our hands got to the martini at the same time. There I stood, grasping the lip of the martini glass as she grasped the stem (being careful not to spill it).

“I’m sorry mam, I can’t allow you to drink anymore. I have to take the martini.”

Woman: “Why? What have I done?”

Hands still at a tug of war for the martini glass I said “Judging from your actions you have had too much to drink.”

Then she really struck it to me. “Please, please, please just let me have this drink. My husband just died.“

It was like a slap to the face. It was an instant moral dilemma that had to be decided in the blink of her tear filled eyes. Do I allow her to finish the martini, despite our liability? Or do I forcefully take it away, possibly sending this distraught woman over the edge?

Being the responsible, seasoned restaurant manager I am, I asked the all important question “Are you driving?”

The woman, very emphatically, responded “Oh heavens no, I’m not driving.”

Her sister was on her way to pick her up. I kept an eye on her the remainder of the time she was there. After she left I apologized profusely to the girls that she had been bothering. They were ok with what had happened. One of the girls said “It’s definitely something I will never forget.”

I will never forget it either. It would have been another case of an absurdly drunken patron if not for the death of her husband. Never before had I had to make a moral choice. Even now I don’t know if there was a right answer to the situation. She could have been lying about her husband’s death. She did seem a little deranged. However, I don’t think I’m the judge of truth and lies in a situation like that. I am a hospitality expert, and I think the choice I made, to allow her to keep drinking, was the best I could do in the moment.

Well, here it is. My first dedicated website. Powered by Wordpress and completely ad-free. Now here’s to hoping people actually read what I have to write!