Reason to fly the (Italian) flag.

I went knocking on a door today. In a quaint neighborhood. In St. Paul, Minnesota. Two Italian flags were hanging from the front porch. Yes, I am curious. About everything Italian. Ever since hooking up nine years ago. With my Italian amore Cristina. She will be with me in a few days. That’s our custom. She comes to me.  In Minnesota. In the summer. And I go to her. In Italy. In the winter. Anyway, back to the place with the two Italian flags. Turns out. That a guy named Pat Devito lives there. A likeable fellow. An American. Of Italian descent. He’s never been to Italy. His grandparents came from Bari, a port city on the Adriatic Sea. My aim. Is to encourage Devito.  To go to Italy. Long before he dies. To walk the same hallowed ground that his grandparents once tread. And to swim in the Adriatic. Meanwhile, I keep flying my own Italian flag. In appreciation of the blessed day that Cristina entered my life. --Jim Broede

Unhinged perfection.

Look at it this way. I’m as powerful as god. In that I don’t allow loved ones to die. I take it upon myself. To relegate everyone – not only loved ones but everyone – to a spiritual realm. There’s no discrimination. Everyone goes there. Even Hitler. Everyone has a chance for redemption. And forgiveness. And to live out their spiritual life. In a state of grace. Forever. In a spiritual dimension existing outside of time. This is god’s ultimate  act. Total redemption. Total forgiveness.  An utter state of blessed bliss.  Pure, pure love. Sure, you’ll tell me this is preposterous. A fairy tale. The work of an unhinged imagination. But hey, if I were god. I’d settle for nothing less than unhinged perfection. --Jim Broede

Answers to everything.

Seems to me that religion should be a soothing subject. To talk about. I certainly find it soothing. And engrossing. A way to relax. And to stimulate my spiritual mind. I’m fascinated by religions. I’d like to visit other inhabited planets in other faraway  galaxies. So that I could study the religious practices. I wonder if religions sprout naturally. For all forms of intelligent life. How many have a firm belief in gods? And an afterlife? Are we to believe that one god prevails over all forms of life in the cosmos? These are pertinent questions. In an attempt to make sense of life. I want answers to everything. --Jim Broede

To find living souls.

I’ve told this story before. Right here. Let me tell it again. It’s funny. Makes me laugh. Every time I think about it. The woman. In the dementia wing of a nursing home. Would greet me with the refrain, ‘Hi, asshole.’ So one day I responded, ‘Hey, I’m flattered. That you know my name. So nice of you to remember. I don’t mind if you call me by my first name. Ass. But if you want to be more formal, I’ll accept Mr. Hole. Anything. Even Asshole. ’ That startled the woman. Who was in the mid-stages of dementia. I had reached her. By giving her something to think about. An opportunity to make a choice. A way to stimulate her mind.  Maybe even her imagination. I never found a totally blank and lost soul. Everyone still had a living soul. And I was out to find it. One way or another. --Jim Broede

Superior beings.

I wonder. If advanced civilizations.  On other planets in the vast cosmos. Have a cure for our maladies. Mental and physical. I imagine they do. Oh, if only we had the means of communicating with them. They could teach us so much.  About their politics. And  their religions, too. Wouldn’t it be nice if they no longer had a need for politics and religions? Indeed, that would qualify them as superior beings. Maybe they are observing us now. But we are too blind and too dumb. To know it. --Jim Broede 

Lovers...of fruitful thought.

I wonder why some things don't end well. I'm in the pursuit of happiness. Believing firmly. That in terms of eternity. Everything will end well. So let's keep trying to make everything better. By addressing the issues. Of life. Without fear and trembling. Without castigating each other. Let's be lovers. Of fruitful thought. --Jim Broede

What will be, will be.

In some ways, I like to be frustrated and annoyed. With people. With events. With life for that matter. I would have it no other way.  Because that’s what turns me on. Swings me into action. To do something about it. If I can. And if I can’t, it compels me to practice acceptance. Often by ignoring the problem. And getting on with life. By dealing with the things I can effect and control. Yes, I have learned to live with stuff that frustrates me. Such as the Chicago Cubs losing games that they should have won. I keep telling myself. It’s only a baseball game. Not a life or death situation. Yes, I try to separate the little and insignificant stuff from the matters that might put my life or other lives in peril. If I have to worry about something significant. I worry about a friend. With dementia. I wish for magic for her. Maybe a miracle. To make her well again. Knowing full well, that what will be, will be. --Jim Broede