collection

today we are enjoying a delicious chicken broth, made from the chicken the Donya Jean killed right outside our kitchen just a day or two ago.  There are still feathers floating around in the floor.  This may not be unusual except that we got the chicken from the Sunday collection.  I'm not making this up.  On Sunday, someone brought a box with a live chicken in to donate in the collection at Mass.  This I have never seen before.  Live poultry instead of cash.  Brilliant.
Apparently, however, this is not a new idea. We asked Fr. John, the pastor, if this was the first live animal he had recieved at Mass.
"Nope."  he said.
He didn't go into it any more than that, which of course just piqued my curiosity.  Has anyone donated a lot of chickens? That would be funny to have in the church, a dozen or so hens clucking during the offertory hymn.   Could I donate goat? How about livestock?  Do you have to push a cow in those doors,  or do you just tie it up outside?
Fascinating.

staple

Today Sean found a staple in his food.  It was our typical fair of rice and beans and chicken, which is a pretty sloppy dish, but we didn't think that is was meant to hold the food together.  What was it doing there?  What would have happened if one of us had accidentally swallowed it?   Why did none of us stop eating?  The questions were many. But I think this last one is the kicker.  Fortunately, its also the one I have an answer for.  At some point, I guess we have all accepted the bizarre as an everyday occurrence.  Why question why a man is carrying a life-sized female doll down the street?  Why question that a dog is on our roof?  The man walking down the road completely naked probably couldn't tell you why he was doing it if you asked him. Half of the population only speaks Spanish anyway; we couldn't understand the answer if there was one.
In light of all this, a staple in dinner is a small thing.
But the question I am yet to answer is why none of us, including Sean, stopped eating.  Well, we were hungry, and frankly, it just didn't seem that likely there was another one. 
I think we should've questioned that though.

security

I like to travel, but my recent trip through Cancun reminded my that I dislike security screenings. here's why:

1.  Let's face it, I personally tend to look like a bad guy from a movie.  If you are going to "randomly" pat someone down, who are you going to pick, me or Grandma Lois back there?

2. Speaking of which, there's nothing more ominous than the curt, "step over here please sir."   You know you've done something wrong, you just don't know what.  Your mind races to that pair or scissors you used to cut off a tag of a new shirt.  A new shirt which is definitely in your bag.  Did the scissors end up in there too?

3.  Belts were invented for reason, why are they making me take mine off and then shuffle around?

4.  Searching luggage:  Do you really want to show everyone in the airport that I can't fold clothes and am carrying a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the Kiera Knightly version?  (It was for my sister.)

5.  That Swiss Army Knife was a gift!

But really,  those TSA officials work hard and take a lot of flak, so I feel I should do something for them.  Maybe a gift or something. And there's this sale on cattle prods down at the Ag store;  hey, I won't break the bank.

 Jonathan

racism

I walked to church with a Mayan man about my age yesterday.  He told me that he was an author and a poet.  I asked him if he liked living in Benque.  He said that he did because he was more accepted here than in Belize City.  He went on to explain how the dominantly Creole population of the coastal areas often consider those of Mayan descent non-Belizean, and hence a sort of second-class citizen at best.   The belief is that most Mayans are illegal immigrants from Gautemala, and basically don't belong.  My friend has been mugged and beaten up a few times; he used to visit Belize city to recited his poetry but not anymore.  I was taken aback by all this.  I guess I thought that racism was only something that white people indulged in, but the must be a narrow view.

I'm not going to color this with too much more commentary, but there it is for your consideration.

something a little different

 Hey everybody,  just got back from vacation, so I'm taking the opportunity to offer you all something a little different.

I'm trying to figure out what is with those billboard/curtains that movie stars are always posing in front of.  Ever noticed them? Every movie star spends all this time posing in front of these partitions with the logos of different entertainment companies, magazines, events, and so forth.  Here is my short list of questions.
1) Why don't actors just take a lead from Nascar and wear the logos of their sponsors?  Mariah Carey wearing a dress plastered with mag titles Vogue and Cosmo,  or Taylor Lautner sporting a jersey with the Lionsgate logo.  Then we would not have to spend so much time erecting these temporary walls.
Or if we wanted to leave them up,  2) Why not have the actors still wear the clothing above - as camoflouge?  It would help them hide from the paparazzi. 
3)  Is the reason we have to put up names and logos on the wall so that stars don't confuse them with real walls?  I mean, we wouldn't want Scarlet Johanssen posing and smiling all down her hallway just because she got confused,  "Wait a second, why am standing here if no one is taking my picture and I just wanted to go the linen closet?"
4) Are these things cue cards gone to the extreme? 
Reporter:  Are you excited to be here?
Star:  Oh yeah, Every year I'm pumped to be at the uh.. um...(glance over shoulder ) Grammies!  Yeah, I'm totally stoked to be at the Grammies.