All over the wall

I pruned the second tree today while Pam picked the remaining fruit off the third, a Mineola. That's a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit. She found this one in the two dozen she picked. Don't know what caused the abscess on the skin but it shouted out for wiggle eyes from her craft supplies.
If it looked like the Virgin Mary I could make a mint on eBay.


I heard on the news that the National Weather Service has sent a team to Atlanta to determine if that was, in fact, a tornado. Why does it matter? It doesn't change anything.
The pictures of the toppled crane in Manhattan are terrible. The news report said that the construction firm had 16 violations already at that site.

My guess is that you'll laugh out loud.
Kinderwagen

I heard a story on NPR this morning - an interview with Ed Koch, former mayor of NY. They talked to him about the Spitzer mess, but mentioned his new book, "The Koch Papers; My Fight Against Anti-Anti-Semitism." He said that this is the golden age in America for Jews, but that in Britain and France anti-semitism is rampant. I wasn't surprised at the latter, but his mention of Britain surprised me so I Googled his book. Turns out the book is co-authored by Rafael Medoff, and I ended up reading one of his articles, written after the book's release. It's probably unfair to draw too many conclusions from one article but I finished it with several reactions.
The article referenced content in the book, including examples of anti-semitism among individuals within our govt. That didn't square with what Koch said on NPR.
I also got the impression that anything other than complete, unquestioned support for Israel in every circumstance is seen as anti-semitism. No criticism of policies or practices is allowed. Any suggestion that aid to Israel should be scrutinized...more anti-semitism.
I wrote a bit about this topic some months ago, but here's a case where my theology informs my world view, including the area of geo-political issues. If (since) God has set Israel aside and they no longer have preferred standing before him, the nation of Israel has no preferred standing over any other nation.
We're familiar with the expression, "playing the race card." Methinks it's also possible to play the "anti-semitism card."

I rode the bike into town for lunch with the kids. I can tell which cagers look in their rear view mirrors and when. As the pic to the right shows, this bike still looks very much like the CHP patrol bike that it was, especially from the front. I feel a little like Moses parting the Red Sea; cars move to the right hand lanes to get out of my way. Except for those who don't pay any attention to their mirrors. The just get this "ooops" look when they see me pull around them.

This is what we call Palm Sunday. Christ and the disciples left Bethany, east of Jerusalem about mid-morning. As they began their descent down the Kidron Valley he sent a couple of the disciples ahead to bring back a colt, the foal of a donkey. When they did he rode it down the valley and up the other side into Jerusalem. The crowds came out to meet him and put their cloaks and palm branches down on the road. Once he got into the city he was met by the religious leaders who were jealous of the crowd's response to him. After a brief exchange with those leaders Christ and the 12 turned around and returned to Bethany.