Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Visions and Dreams



. . . for he hath written many things which he saw in
visions and in dreams . . .
First Nephi. Chapter One. Verse 16.


Some people are driven by visions and dreams;
They’re often derided for such odd extremes.
For most of us think of the world’s status quo
As having no need of prophetic hero.

Messages from beyond this mortal veil
Are better delivered by registered mail.
For why should we heed what a wild man does say,
That follows his fancies and calls them God’s way?

But tidings from worlds beyond this one are real;
Not always just merely a lunatic’s spiel.
Open, my heart, to less formal decrees
From those who might really be heaven’s trustees!

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

beyond white



beyond white and chill
such proud walls are immovable
till the avalanche





Que faire si vos parents meurent insolvable





Près de la moitié de la population âgée décède avec moins de dix mille dollars en actifs corporels. C'est selon une étude vieille de quatre ans par le Bureau national de la recherche économique. Dans le même temps, la dette senior monte en flèche. Il y a dix ans à peine, on pensait qu'il était inhabituel pour une personne âgée de prendre sa retraite tout en ayant une hypothèque ou en payant ses cartes de crédit. Mais aujourd'hui, plus de vingt pour cent de ceux qui ont dépassé l'âge de soixante-quinze ans ont encore des hypothèques qu'ils remboursent, soit quatre fois plus qu'il y a seize ans. La Réserve fédérale dit que la dette de carte de crédit parmi les soixante-dix ans et plus est passée de dix pour cent à plus de vingt-cinq pour cent aujourd'hui. Les enfants doivent être préparés si leurs parents meurent endettés. Voici quelques indications. Si vous êtes menacé par les agents de recouvrement de factures pour les factures d'un parent décédé, ne vous inquiétez pas. Sauf si vous avez cosigné un prêt avec eux, vous n'êtes pas légalement obligé de les payer. Si un parent laisse derrière lui un grand groupe de créanciers, ils peuvent encore vous rendre la vie misérable, même s'ils ne peuvent pas vous en retirer. Si cela se produit, il suffit de les renvoyer au tribunal d'homologation de votre état pour toutes les demandes de renseignements supplémentaires. Selon la loi, ils doivent cesser et s'abstenir de vous harceler et traiter exclusivement avec la cour des successions. Si un parent meurt apparemment insolvable, mais semble également avoir des actifs, n'essayez pas de le gérer vous-même - embaucher un avocat d'homologation pour travailler à travers le désordre. À long terme, vous gagnerez du temps et de l'argent, car ils savent exactement comment gérer les subtilités des lois sur les débiteurs / créanciers et le système d'homologation.

Yet it Pleased the Lord to bruise him



Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him . . .
Mosiah. Chapter 14. Verse 10.

When bruises are as common as blackberries on a shrub,
When life has worn me down to nothing more than just a nub.
When sorrow and rejection hang about me like a mist,
I pray I do not see things like a cold proctologist.

If it pleases God to magnify my sorrowed heart;
If He deems it needful to stab me with one more dart;
If I am denied my tender hopes and dreams again --
Still I’ll praise Almighty God with joyful tongue and pen.

The battle tween my pride and faith continues to this day;
Thy will be done, oh Lord -- but please to try it my own way.
I may be black and blue from chance and fate, yet I suspect

That of my lasting martyrdom I am the architect!

Monday, March 5, 2018

Les prêteurs sur gages trouvent de nouveaux clients dans les riches



Les gens riches qui veulent financer de nouvelles entreprises capitalistes utilisent leurs collections d'art de fantaisie et Rolexes pour des garanties dans les niches de prêteurs sur gages qui acceptent des articles haut de gamme pour des prêts faciles, sans poser de questions.

Ces sociétés de prêt surfent sur la vague des clients aisés qui ne craignent pas de prendre un prêt rapide de mille à un million de dollars en utilisant des héritages de famille ou un yacht à l'ancre pour la garantie. La National Pawnbrokers Association dit que le prêt moyen est d'environ deux cents dollars - donc ces nouveaux clients sont une exception, mais qui augmente à pas de géant alors que les riches investisseurs se lassent de sauter de cerceaux avec les banques ordinaires pour obtenir un prêt sur une astuce qui promet un rapide roulement de profit. Payer l'argenterie familiale pour quelques milliers prend moins d'une heure, et le client a alors l'argent en main pour investir dans leur astuce.

Plusieurs sociétés de prêteurs sur gages ont même lancé des sites en ligne où ils acceptent allègrement les bijoux de famille pour un dixième de leur valeur. L'astuce, comme dans toutes les transactions sur prêteur sur gages, est de rembourser le plus rapidement possible l'objet souscrit. La plupart des prêteurs sur gages donnent généralement à leurs clients un mois pour racheter leurs promesses sans frais - après cela, le taux d'intérêt légal peut atteindre 25%, composé trimestriellement.

Evil is hard work





And he labored diligently that he might lead away
the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead
away many hearts . . .
Jacob. Chapter 7. Verse 3.


The devil knows temptation is hard work most of the time;
It takes a heap of sweat and strain before there is a crime.
Temptations that are easy do not lead to vice supreme;
For that you have to struggle, plan, and ultimately dream.
I submit that virtue is like falling off a log;
It comes to us as natural as hopping to a frog.
So take it easy if you want the angels to rejoice

In a lifetime spent too lazy to make the wrong choice.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Fast & Testimony Meeting



The snow lay heavy on the ground this Sabbath morning, and it was still coming down as if it never meant to stop. As I gazed out my patio window, caressed by warm zephyrs from my heating grate, I congratulated myself on having the foresight to sprinkle lilac and lavender on my mattress pad the night before and changing my pillow cases this morning. Going back to bed would be a delightful pleasure. No need to risk life and limb in this blizzard to get to church at 8:30. God would understand. And even if He didn’t understand, I’d still be blissfully asleep, curled up in my perfumed bed and unaware of His displeasure . . .

But then my accursed Norwegian DNA kicked in.

“So” I heard myself sneering to myself, “you can’t manage to walk four pickin’ blocks to church for Fast and Testimony Meeting cuz you’re a snow wimp, eh?”

“I didn’t sleep well last night -- you know that. I’m just gonna take a little cat nap and then be all bright eyed and bushy tailed for helping with the Sacrament Meeting here in the apartment building at one . . . “

“Bah! You’re a sniveling feiging, that’s all. You grew up playing in the snow up in Minnesota and you took pratfalls all your life as a clown, and now two inches of snow scares you to death. You think you’re gonna slip and break your hip. You don’t deserve that pickled herring you’ve got stashed away in the fridge.”

“Who you calling a feiging, you momser! I’ll show ya . . . I’ll show ya I got crampons to put over my shoes and can walk to church anytime I darn well please -- so go stick that in your pipe and smoke it!”

Having put myself in my place, I hastily shaved, showered, and threw on a white shirt, brown necktie, tan slacks, and a black sweater vest. Then I put on my black Nike runners, and over them I put on the crampons -- rubber and wire contraptions that provide traction on snow and ice. Of course, I had forgotten that pulling them over my shoes was tantamount to pulling a sack of potatoes around the floor for twenty minutes. When I finally got them on I was bathed in sweat and panting like an Airedale. And had to go kneel at my bedside for a brief conversation with The Man Upstairs, re: my unpleasant habit of swearing when involved unexpectedly in any laborious endeavor.   

But I made it in time to shake the snow off my feet and cuffs and find a pew up front in the chapel.

And, because it was Fast Sunday, I was witness to not one, not two, but THREE baby blessings. I live in a very fecund ward. What I noticed as the blessings proceeded was that fathers like to cover all the bases with their newborns at a time like this. One father actually blessed his daughter to find a handsome and industrious young man to marry in the temple. Another one blessed his baby to become a light unto the whole world because of its example and testimony. Those babies were blessed with health, wealth, popularity, advanced education, happy marriages, lots of children, and successful proselytizing missions. In other words, everything but the kitchen sink. When I blessed my own kids, I seem to recall that about the only thing I blessed them with was a sense of humor. With a father like me, they needed it.

After the Sacrament was administered it was time for the members to bear their testimonies. The Bishop went first, of course. As he began to speak half the congregation immediately bowed their heads -- and whipped out their smartphones to begin texting and playing games and reviewing lesson plans.

I went up next, playing my cane as the sympathy card so no one else tried to beat me to the microphone. I don’t wish to boast but I gave a brief yet rousing testimony of The Book of Mormon, calling it a treasure map that if studied every day will make a person feel full and rich -- and even the ramen noodles they have to eat will taste like caviar. That last part was probably not inspired by the Holy Ghost, but pure hyperbole from my fevered imagination. Still, it made an impact; I could see dozens of faces turned up to me, and turned away from the Rules of Survival game on their Android phones. I timed myself -- I only took four minutes.

There were only six testimonies in all. After me was a man that sobbed his daughter had “fallen astray.”



The fifth one up was another man, who began by saying his testimony would be brief -- at which I cringed inwardly, because anytime someone says that in Fast and Testimony Meeting they usually prose on and on until the Crack of Doom. But happily he was brief -- so brief that even though I was taking notes of the proceedings I didn’t have time to jot down what he said before he finished.

The last one up was a middle aged lady (she looked to be about my age, and I’m middle aged -- right?) who took off her glasses so she couldn’t see our individual faces (that made a fine impression on me, I can tell you that) and started things off by saying when she had got to church that morning she had no intention of bearing her testimony. Whenever I hear that line I want to leap to my feet and cry “Well why don’t you sit down then and let someone else who wants to do it have a crack at it?” She droned on about a private revelation she had received while in the temple a few days back -- I won’t repeat it, not because it is sacred but because it is screwy. By the time she finished it was time to sing the closing hymn and move on to Gospel Doctrine class. I often dream of becoming a bishop someday, and then getting an egg timer and setting it to five minutes for each testimony. Then maybe we’d hear more real testimony and less rambling.

But of course I am being judgemental and unfair. If the rest of the meeting after my sterling testimony seemed to go downhill I have only myself and my prideful scorn to blame. If a record were kept of all my solecisms and faux pas in church my cheeks would likely catch fire. I’ll have to go kneel by my bed again to seek forgiveness for this unchristian piece (after I post it . . . )

the snow is hungry




the snow is hungry
for all things that are near it
and not cold enough


The silent Sabbath street




the silent Sabbath street
is whiter than a dove;
it rests the heart and mind
while dropping God's sweet love.

To labor with their hands




And it came to pass that I, Nephi,
did cause my people to be industrious,
and to labor with their hands.  2 Nephi. Chapter 5. Verse 17.

I rarely labor with my hands; they are a clumsy pair.
For carpentry or painting they do not possess much flair.
And in the garden, plucking weeds, quite often I mistake
Young and tender veggies for some weeds with my hard rake.


I’ve hauled around the furniture of friends and fam’ly till
My back is now a fertile field for ev’ry aspirin pill.
I’ve been on the assembly line; and worked the warehouse, too --
Until my feet are blistered and my hands turn black and blue.


I’m sorry, Brother Nephi, but I find it less a strain
To let my hands sit idly by and labor with my brain.
I honor those who toil amain to earn their daily bread,

Since if I had to do it I think by now I would be dead!