The list of questions I have for God at the pearly gates continues to grow.    I must constantly remember to temper my curiosity by referencing Isaiah 55: 8-9 which says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts.  Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”   In other words, Tim, you’re not supposed to figure everything out !   Yet  my sinful self keeps trying, much to my frustration and confusion.

Two weeks ago in the local fish wrapping, a local Tampa rabbi justified his temple’s acceptance and encouragement of gay marriage by suggesting that, “at the time of the Bible the accepted practice was that men married women to have children and then went out in the fields at night and had sex for pleasure with men.” Wow, let’s try to find that in the Torah.   So, let’s just pull some fiction out of thin air (accepted practice) and use it to justify a rite not at all condoned , rather condemned by the Torah.   Glad I didn’t wake up and read these words from my rabbi.

And then this week we have Pope Francis touring the East Coast, ravishing our form of capitalism, and preaching wealth redistribution via climate control reform.   Yes, he forgot to mention the long record of the USA in meeting God’s commission to us to love God, and to love one another.  Did he forget that the USA  steps up every time disaster strikes around the world at levels not reached by all other countries combined ?   Maybe he favors the more dictatorial style of his native Argentina, which has repressed its people socially and financially (over-spending – currency devaluations) for two centuries.

The message of peace and hope spread by an optimistic, smiling Pope is wonderful to see, whether Catholic or not, but I certainly wish he would stick to the book of Matthew .    WHAT THE HECK !

Robbin and I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Manhattan , and we decided to head downtown to check out the revitalization of the World Trade Center area.  Unlike my last visit 5-7 years ago, which was rather discouraging given the politicians’ inability to decide how to proceed, all the New Yorkers have gotten their collective acts together.  Two of the three new towers are complete. The bustle of loud, brash, construction workers fill the air.  All in all, this is a very optimistic environment as opposed to the discouraging scene from a few years ago.  You get the impression finally that America is bouncing back.   Highlighting our visit was the official 9/11 memorial, built directly over the top of one of the tragically razed buildings.  It is just the perfect memorial.  Not American gaudy, just the right tone of dignity and remembrance.    All who perished that day have their names etched in the granite encircling the memorial.   Congrats to the New Yorkers, as they all got it just right.

But oops, we are in New York City, and of course someone came along to ruin it.  Just as Robbin and I were gazing into the memorial, some Muslim dude approached and tried to sell us a beautiful, four-color booklet of 9/11 photographs.   Definition of irony ?             WHAT THE HECK !

Somehow, with all the clutter of politics and crazy world events, the press from time to time misses a really big story right under their collective noses. The same holds true for the entourage of wannabee athletes who write and report about the world of sports.  Today’s posting is a sports story, one that is so remarkable and unbelievable, yet remains under the radar

of the sports press.    I’m willing to bet that most of you have no clue as to the identity of the baseball player pictured above.  Well, let me fill you in.  His name is Ichiro Suzuki, age 41, who is fast closing in on one of the most coveted records in the sport of baseball, a statistic that normally yields a free pass to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.     Ichiro, who has played for the Seattle Mariners, the stinkin’ Yankees, and the Miami Marlins,  is fast closing in on his 3000th career major league hit.  He currently has 2,932 hits.  Yes , that’s a nice story you may say, but what’s the big deal ?  The big deal is that Ichiro only came to the USA in 2001 at age 28, after playing nine professional seasons for the Orix Blue Wave in the Japanese Professional League.   During those nine seasons, at a level of baseball rivaling our own MLB, Ichiro amassed 1278 hits. Now do you get it?   Add the two hit totals together, and you reach Pete Rose-like numbers.   One could make the case that Ichiro is the best hitter ever to play the game.    Oh, I forgot to mention that he is a ten-time All-Star, a ten-time Gold Glove winner, and remarkably the leading career active base stealer in the Major Leagues with 498 stolen bases.    Cooperstown will be getting a lot more Japanese tourists in coming years I believe.     WHAT THE HECK !