Happy Birthday RayThom

[Burning Petard]

Today, if my data is correct, he would have been 76 years old. I am glad he was born. He left this world a better place because he was here.
snailgate.

[BoSoxGal]

[Joe Guy]

I still have this unanswered PM sitting in my Outbox from July 24/2020:

Hey Ray!

Just checking on you. I haven't read anything from you in a while. I guess you could call this a wellness check. Hope to hear from you either on the board or by PM.

Take care.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[BoSoxGal]

I had to pick up some books from the library today and I saw this homeless guy sitting out front doing a sewing project which I was puzzled by - I took myself to dinner then hit the ATM for cash then went back to the library and met my new homeless friend who was mending his tent it turned out. I gave him some money to keep in his pocket for necessities and we talked about the state of the world and where to get the best soup kitchen meal in town and which laundromat is nicest for getting a warm up. He told me that the time of Jehovah God is shortly upon us - it was a ship on the horizon when he was younger (he's a decade younger than me) but now he's seen evidence that it is coming up to the dock any day now and it will bring with it good things for those who have suffered and an end to the wealth hoarders. He told me he would pray for me and I asked him to pray for more people to have generous hearts because it seems so many folks don't care about each other anymore these days.

I think sometimes we meet the people we have loved and lost in some of the most interesting ways. I do believe they visit us here on earth by compelling us to be better every day - if we are lucky.

Anyway I'm holding RayThom and LJ and Econoline and Miles and Andrew D and all our other departed friends in my heart today, along with my cousin who died this week at 50 from some rotten rare super aggressive C that took her from us in three months' time, and my dear early elder friend who died unexpectedly a few weeks ago. It's been a very fucking awful 2025 apart from the fascism. If there is any silver lining it is that these people I love don't have to see the fascism happening here.

Happy heavenly birthday RT, I hope you are out there helping to bring the kingdom here to destroy the wealth hoarders and end all the suffering.

[Burning Petard]

My particular faith tradition has some clear goals. One of them is to end unneccary suffering. Pease note the philosophical/theological admission: some suffering is necessary. Such as the worry of a parent when their child first takes the family car out for their first solo drive.

But the suffering caused by the end of USAid' efforts to control TB is surely unnecessary or even demonic. But supernatural causes are entirely un=needed when human greed and lust for power can account for most of it.

snailgate.