to approve a new mosque near the site of 9/11 the authorities are dithering about on the reconstruction of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church which was crushed by the falling debris and still has yet to be rebuilt.

to try to get some news of the world before the day begins. It’s a two pronged thing, by nature I’ve always been curious about the world, especially far away places, and my job with seniors requires me to have an arsenal of topics I can talk about on the spur of the moment.

But its a discouraging task, like a first thing in the morning walk in the world’s sewer. Angry people on both sides of an issue competing for seconds of air time. Stories about boobs or blood or the antics of some person they fancy a celebrity. It’s a circus and thinking about it makes me glad that I never took up a career in journalism even with a degree in Mass Communication. I could imagine sitting at a desk competing for air time, column inches, or space on a web page and watching my morals swirl down the drain as I try to make a living.

What a person puts into their mind is actually more important than the food they put in their body and refuge is getting harder to find. The wells are all septic tanks and reading a paper, listening to the radio, watching TV, or going online is like taking a trip to the tenderloin district. Yet where else can one go?

To the discerning Orthodox Christian all I can say is “Bring a prayer rope with you every time you walk into the swamp and use it, it’s dark in there, and take a shower when you’re done.”