MonkInTheCellar Discussion

[keith]

53. A God Not to Worry About

Closing the Gap between Psychology and God

A Harvard psychologist is developing evidence-based treatments for the devout

This year has been the worst in recent history for natural disasters in the U.S., with record-level floods, fires, and hurricanes. Such disasters naturally bring up questions about why, and religious beliefs are often part of the answers given. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church claimed that the tornado in Joplin, MO was a direct result of the town’s sins. Michele Bachmann​’s aides scrambled to classify her comments about Hurricane Irene’s “message to Washington” as a joke. With each new tragedy comes a familiar chorus on the retaliatory nature of an avenging God, or the seeming vengeance of a loving God trying to save us from ourselves. Either version depicts the central attachment figure of Judeo-Christian​ culture as shaky and capricious, and this view can have real-life implications for believers.

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=closing-gap-between-psychology-and-god

[Dave]

Interesting. Brother Jesse shares a little about this in Monk In The Cellar in the post named "Tete-a-Tete." God is a great backstop to some.

"She took our order for coffee and a slice of pie for me and without a word of acknowledgment walked away as I wondered how far the tattoo on the small of her back descended down her backside.  I may be a monk, but I’m observant.

The teenager soon returned with our coffee, but no pie.  I let her go without inquiring after my dessert, deciding to leave the situation up to God.  He could decide if I needed to skip sweets.    I could always overrule him and get up and ask for the pie.  Of course, it's entirely possible that God couldn't care less about what I eat, but I like to involve the Almighty so I can blame him later if necessary."

[keith]

57. Ex Libris

Did you know you can buy "Me & Billy" used from Amazon for $3.05?

[Dave]

Confession time. I could not remember the name of the book, but I remember parts of it as if it was yesterday. I think I was in the fourth grade, age 9 or 10. I still remembered the name in high school and did find the book again, then converted that experience to finding it as an adult for the story. It was indeed something like Billy and Me, but that wasn't the name. The book on Amazon looks interesting, but there was no murder in the book I remember.

[Dave]

For those following the new story line on the Monk In The Cellar, the current background photo is courtesy of Keith. We don't know the owner of the equipment or field ... I think on Mucky Run Road in Frankfort, NY ... but we also thank them.

Anyway, Thanks, Keith!

[keith]

While trying to visualize the story, do you have an approximate location in mind for the Far East Bar? I'm picturing something on Old Broad St. between the city line & Frankfort. It's not an area where I have a lot of familiarity with eating & drinking establishments. When I worked in the Charlestown area I had the occasional lunch at the Kitlas (about 2 blocks east of the post office) and once at a small place across from Union Fork & Hoe.

On a different topic, did you run across this?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9102740/Richard-Dawkins-I-cant-be-sure-God-does-not-exist.html

[Dave]

Thanks! Very interesting article and sidebars. If Dawkins is a true scientist, then I would expect nothing less of him than to allow for the possibility of what he does not believe in.

The Far East Club is (or was) a very definite place, with a different name, of course. Jon Hynes would remember the place because it was where once or twice each year a troupe of gypsies (really!) came through and would set up their trailers behind the bar. Jon and I and the band (Bel Aires) practiced there a few times, one night meeting the troupe, and I also remember it as a favorite crummy bar in which one organization or another held those intense beer blasts where the floor soon became slippery with suds. Jon has told me the name, but I keep forgetting it.

In my imagination Bert took it over years ago when it was a working man's bar and tried to make it into a night club. That idea never panned out and we may somehow treat that idea in the future. Today, (still in my head) it's an even less popular working man's bar but with a very stale looking veneer of Far East decorations.

I believe it's on Broad. I thought it was on Bleecker, but google maps and street view convinced me it must have been on Broad. I remember one night in 1962 a friend and myself, both car-less, took a city bus I thought out Broad st and walked through a field and swamp to get to the place. I believe it was the same bus Chicago Pneumatic workers could take, but I can't remember now specifically where CP was. There was an electrical substation near in a swampy field between the bus stop and the bar.

Going out Broad on Steet Veiw, the only place that looked familiar was Kitlas, an old bar that doesn't look any different than fifty years ago. I think it was on that section of Broad St. cut off now by the new east/west arterial from the Broad St. that ran out from the Post Office years ago. I think the place in my mind was behond (east) Kitlas, but street view doesn't go much farther than Kitlas.

[Dave]

Would have been on the same side of the road (south) as Kitlas. and at the the time it stood quite alone not much farther off the road than Kitlas.

I just discovered on Google's satellite view an electrical substation right on Broad St. If it's the same in my memory, I 'm wrong about it being mid way across a field between Bleecker and Broad. And the more I think of it, on the night we set out across the field from where the bus let us off (we were seventeen) we used the lit up power station as a guide as we walked through the tall grass. So one of the buildings near the station may be the place. I'll try Bing BirdsEye.

[Dave]

keith, I thank you for your interest in Monk In The Cellar, but I'm thinking of closing it down. I don't have much of a base of followers since the main story ended and the Google Analytic numbers are quite low. I don't mind only a few audience members and I would continue it for even a small group, but i don't know if the clicks are the same people who might be following the story or if I'm getting a lot of sporadic hits from Bots.

I've joined a few writing roundtables down here and am pretty busy writing full length short stories that I had been planning for some time. When I feel like taking a break, I bring up my Jesse/Bouncer file and if something strikes me, I write it up. I don't have a visualized story arc where I know what will or may or even could happen at the end. That's OK, especially since I often write that way, but without a great story already in mind, I'd rather spend my time on other projects.

So, don't be surprised if see MIC posts each day, as is currently happening, or you don't see them for quite a while. If I knew that Blogspot had some type of alert to let people know when there was a new post, and if I knew how it worked, I'd post instructions so that any people who may be following Monk In The Cellar could be alerted when a new post appears.
Oh, and I have news, but I'll put in a separate post so others won't miss it.

[Dave]

Monk In The Cellar ... the Book, is now available an an epub via Lulu. I cut the price way down, $4.95. Just to see if there would be any action.

You can see it here:

www.lulu.com/spotlight/n2chi

[keith]

Dave,

Sorry about the slow reply, actually many slow replies of late. I spent a very busy weekend in Albany where I accepted a new responsibility. A close friend was elected to be the presiding officer for Royal Arch Masons for the state of NY and he asked me to be his aide-de-camp. There is an official title but I'm considering getting a name tag made that reads "Mike's Flunky."

I have to admit that so far I'm having trouble getting into Bouncer's head. Perhaps it's because we've spent so long with Jesse. I still enjoy reading it but maybe it's time for a rest.

I'll inquire of some people more knowledgeable than I about notification on blogs. I would like to know if it exists & how it works.

[Dave]

I'm also having trouble getting into Bouncer's head, probably because my narrator's voice is still in Jesse's head.

In any event, I'm having more fun lately with longer short stories ... 5,000 word plus. I just put one up on my essays page. "Puzzle" is the fictional story of a paperboy in Utica who gets overly involved in an argument between two of his customers, two adult sisters who share a two family house on Cornhill in the late 1950's. "Jimmy Goode," which I haven't posted yet, is another Cornhill piece based upon the tragic suicide of a young man in 1934. It's based on a true story. I'm running it through my writers' roundtable down here at the moment and expect to post it in a week or two.

And I want to get my annual book of short-shorts out this spring. I usually pick one of the story's titles to use as the book title. This year, I'm thinking of "Big Ideas." It isn't much of a anchor story, but I really like it as a title.


www.windsweptpress.com/images/bi cov1 sm.jpg[/img]

[Dave]

And I meant to mention that if you haven't had the time to read it yet, Kevin Schmitt's U.N.C.L.E story is a darn good read. Kevin's quite a writer and when he retires and spends more time writing we'll all get the benefit.

Your new assignment sounds like fun, but Albany is probably kind of messy at this time. I just got pix in an email from my daughter and it looks like winter finally arrived.

[keith]

People who drove there Wednesday night had a section of the Thruway closed. I left after lunch Thursday, Utica was messy but the Thruway was fine. When we returned everything was melting.

I looked briefly at Kevin Schmitt's piece and made a mental bookmark to return to it. It looks good.

[Dave]

Re Monk In the Cellar ....

I can explain everything!