Nobody Gonna Break Our Stride.
To kill for? To die for?
Well, here it is. A more private blog. :) One where my face isn't shown and my real name is tucked away in the safe folds of glorious anonymity. Well, almost. I think I have a link in here somewhere that I can be found from.
Anyway. Some time ago. Ages ago, I lived in "La Nouvelle Orleans". Oh, mon Dieu, what a good time.
I want to address 2 questions that my neighbor asked me that have never been answered by myself. She said, "You can tell exactly who you are by knowing what you will kill for and what you will die for." Well, maybe she didn't say it exactly like that, but you get the point.
So, here I am, 3 years later. I now have a beautiful wife (Sugarlumpkin) and 2 wonderful kids, Bug (f), and Judge (m). When I was first exposed to these 2 questions, I had to pause. I think I took the easy b.s. way out and said, "I'd kill and die for my family." Truth is, almost anyone would do that. Hence, that's an easy b.s. answer.
Lets stop and think for a second about what different people have died for. I have a great grandfather who died to get away from shell shock during World War I. He left, went home, and was shot on Easter Sunday with his entire family watching. Hence the reason I now live in the states but still hang on dearly to my french heritage.
Lets take an example I have more details from. Saint Sydney is who my next daughter will be named after. No, Sugarlumpkin isn't pregnant yet, but she will be at some point. Saint Sydney was a woman who decided to hide Catholic priests in Henry VIII's Anglican England. For those of you who don't know the history, this was right after Martin Luther stirred up the hornet's nest of disorganized religion. Well, Henry made it illegal to be Catholic. Freedom of religion as an idea died with the fall of Rome and didn't come back until the United States was colonized. So, Saint Sydney owned a manor and decided to hide priests there. Well, someone apparently ratted her out because the king's men came and busted her and most of her manor celebrating mass. I don't know what happened to the rest of the manor, but she was murdered for it.
She made the decision to do this knowing full well that she may be executed. THAT is conviction. I hate to say it, but with a wife and kids, I don't have that conviction anymore. I know they need me and I want to be there for them. If my faith became illegal and punishable by death, I'd probably not start hiding priests. If I was single... and a priest... or even just single, yes, I'd die for my faith. Because then I would be sacrificing myself and not my entire family.
So, with my faith out, I have my family left to die for. Which is very noble. But I hate to say it... that's the only thing I'm willing to die for. I would not die for America. I would not even die for France. I would never die for any country.
It's disturbing, but my dedication to my wife and kids doesn't permit me to just die for anything. I don't even use aspartame (Equal) anymore b/c it trashes the liver when your liver changes it to Methanol on the way to methanoic acid to be excreted.
So. The second question. What would I be willing to kill for. Oh, yes. I like this one. There's lots I'd be willing to kill for. Sadly, none of it is appropriate for publication on the internet. Even if there's a cloak of anonymity, I'm not insane like St. Sydney and I won't stick my neck out to be chopped off. A corollary of this question is what would I be willing to maim for.
Yes. Maim.
I have more experience with death than most people have. Death is often too kind a treatment for some of the most heinous and unjust acts. Again, sadly, I can't just go around publishing what I'd be willing to seek horribly bitter revenge for. The death of my family would certainly be at the top of that list.
So... to the rest of you thirty somethings.... What would you kill for? What would you die for?
Anyway. Some time ago. Ages ago, I lived in "La Nouvelle Orleans". Oh, mon Dieu, what a good time.
I want to address 2 questions that my neighbor asked me that have never been answered by myself. She said, "You can tell exactly who you are by knowing what you will kill for and what you will die for." Well, maybe she didn't say it exactly like that, but you get the point.
So, here I am, 3 years later. I now have a beautiful wife (Sugarlumpkin) and 2 wonderful kids, Bug (f), and Judge (m). When I was first exposed to these 2 questions, I had to pause. I think I took the easy b.s. way out and said, "I'd kill and die for my family." Truth is, almost anyone would do that. Hence, that's an easy b.s. answer.
Lets stop and think for a second about what different people have died for. I have a great grandfather who died to get away from shell shock during World War I. He left, went home, and was shot on Easter Sunday with his entire family watching. Hence the reason I now live in the states but still hang on dearly to my french heritage.
Lets take an example I have more details from. Saint Sydney is who my next daughter will be named after. No, Sugarlumpkin isn't pregnant yet, but she will be at some point. Saint Sydney was a woman who decided to hide Catholic priests in Henry VIII's Anglican England. For those of you who don't know the history, this was right after Martin Luther stirred up the hornet's nest of disorganized religion. Well, Henry made it illegal to be Catholic. Freedom of religion as an idea died with the fall of Rome and didn't come back until the United States was colonized. So, Saint Sydney owned a manor and decided to hide priests there. Well, someone apparently ratted her out because the king's men came and busted her and most of her manor celebrating mass. I don't know what happened to the rest of the manor, but she was murdered for it.
She made the decision to do this knowing full well that she may be executed. THAT is conviction. I hate to say it, but with a wife and kids, I don't have that conviction anymore. I know they need me and I want to be there for them. If my faith became illegal and punishable by death, I'd probably not start hiding priests. If I was single... and a priest... or even just single, yes, I'd die for my faith. Because then I would be sacrificing myself and not my entire family.
So, with my faith out, I have my family left to die for. Which is very noble. But I hate to say it... that's the only thing I'm willing to die for. I would not die for America. I would not even die for France. I would never die for any country.
It's disturbing, but my dedication to my wife and kids doesn't permit me to just die for anything. I don't even use aspartame (Equal) anymore b/c it trashes the liver when your liver changes it to Methanol on the way to methanoic acid to be excreted.
So. The second question. What would I be willing to kill for. Oh, yes. I like this one. There's lots I'd be willing to kill for. Sadly, none of it is appropriate for publication on the internet. Even if there's a cloak of anonymity, I'm not insane like St. Sydney and I won't stick my neck out to be chopped off. A corollary of this question is what would I be willing to maim for.
Yes. Maim.
I have more experience with death than most people have. Death is often too kind a treatment for some of the most heinous and unjust acts. Again, sadly, I can't just go around publishing what I'd be willing to seek horribly bitter revenge for. The death of my family would certainly be at the top of that list.
So... to the rest of you thirty somethings.... What would you kill for? What would you die for?
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