Category: Miscellaneous

My niece, Allison, has a new heart, as of last Tuesday! Many thanks to all for your prayers. Just for grins, I have posted a picture of her, pre-transplant, with Ace Young, from last season’s American Idol show. He came by Denver Children’s Hospital just to see her. Nice guy.

Since I posted a link to Allison’s Web Page previously, I have refrained from posting on her progress for a couple of reasons;

1) The news of her recovery changes daily, and I only want to hit highlights as they come. I am by nature optimistic, and didn’t want to post about every little bump in the road.

2) I didn’t want events in my personal life to even BEGIN to dominate Jimmy’s blog, even in the short term.

In short, Allison is doing well. The surgery itself went as well as could be expected. Such procedures now take between 6-8 hours, and her’s was typical. there was scar tissue to deal with, and for that reason there was some increased post-operative bleeding that was not unexpected. One significant fact; Allison’s blood oxygen levels, post-op, have been normal for the first time in her life! So her new heart is doing it’s thing.

There have been some additional issues, but overall, Allison is recovering nicely. If you would like to keep up with her day-to-day progress, her webpage is updated fairly often by my brother, the radio genius. He’s not only a great husband and father, but he can build a radio station for you from the ground up, and in addition is the best DJ and sports announcer I have ever heard.

Praise God for his healing mercy.

Tim Jones, here. My niece, Allison, about whom I posted recently, has just headed into surgery to receive a heart transplant.

Your prayers are coveted by her family.

This news will not be reflected on her web page for some time, probably, but here it is for those who might like to find out a little more about her.

ALLISON’S PAGE

Humble thanks to all in advance.

Hey, Tim Jones, here.

I had the pleasure, lately, of spending a little time with some family who came to visit us from Germany, including a young nephew. I was looking after him for a few hours, and in my increasingly desperate quest to keep his active mind occupied, I discovered that he was interested in model building.

In paroxysms of geeky rapture, I dug out from our junk room a collection of dusty model projects, in various stages of completion. I had begun them with my son, and had worked on them mostly during holiday breaks, but found that he was not such a big fan of model building… at least not the patient assembling, painting, and following directions part. His participation in the actual building process quickly settled into a routine of checking in every half-hour or so to see how things were progressing.

Because I was partly motivated by dreams of bonding with my son over the smell of model cement and enamel paint, I put the projects aside, time being at something of a premium for me.

Now, in my five-year-old nephew, I saw another potential victim model-building buddy on whom I could hang my pathetic hopes with whom I could share my enthusiasm.

In the end, he did help me glue a couple of pieces, but the most fun was just watching his obvious fascination with the idea of models, and with the finished products.

While he was here, I managed to complete one project (the X-1) and get started on another that had been in mothballs for years (the U.S. Moon Shot series). I hope to complete a model of every aircraft or spacecraft featured in the movie The Right Stuff, which is one of our family’s favorite films. Both my son and I are aviation buffs. His childhood hero was Chuck Yeager. We have a lot of happy memories tied up in these particular models.

Getting back into my model building was a great deal of fun, brought back some memories for my son and me, and made me feel like a kid again. It also got me to wondering what exactly was the appeal of spending so many precious hours, so much money and frustration on some plastic reproductions that could much more simply be bought on E-bay, or some such.

It occurred to me that in the act of building the models, one gets to know the subject much more thoroughly than before, and becomes more appreciative of the aspects of the project that the builder found attractive to begin with. It also struck me that my admiration for the people involved in the history of these machines – Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, all the the Mercury Seven and the Apollo astronauts – was analogous to the way Catholics take the saints as role models… with love and respect for the attributes that made them saints (and that helped them shape history) while remembering that they are human beings. We don’t need to approve of every aspect of a saint’s (or a hero’s) personality in order to give proper recognition to those traits that made them superlative examples from whom we can take inspiration.

Having these models around brings to mind the courage, tenacity and brilliance of the men associated with them, just as having images of the saints around helps us to remember the heroes of the faith who came before us. Of course, for Catholics, the Communion of Saints carries the additional dimension of family affection. The saints are our kin. We can call on them for prayers and help, in addition to finding inspiration from their example. Sort of a big spiritual two-fer. In addition, we will one day get to meet the saints in heaven, if we persevere.

I certainly hope to meet these astronauts and pilots in heaven, too. It would be a shame, after spending so much time exploring the heavens, for any of them to miss out on the real thing.

I don’t normally use JA.O as a bulletin board for prayer requests. There are other avenues for that, and Jimmy’s blog is really about apologetics more than personal issues and devotions.

But this is one instance where I feel a direct appeal for prayer is justified, and so I have a special, urgent prayer intention that I would like to pass on to Jimmy’s readers.

My niece, Allison (16), is in the hospital right now awaiting a heart transplant. We had prayed that her heart could be repaired, but it is not keeping up with the demands of her body. She has been growing weaker and now weighs less than my 11-year-old daughter.

Please pray that she and her parents will be comforted by the Holy Spirit, that they will find an appropriate donor heart at the right time, that God will guide the hands of the surgeons, and that she will make a complete recovery soon after the surgery. Pray also that they will have the financial help they need, not only for the medical bills, but to help make up for a great deal of missed work.

Please pray also for the soul of the heart donor, whoever that may be.

I think it would be especially appropriate to offer your prayers through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In addition, given that this is St. Valentine’s Day, and hearts are everywhere, you might also ask his help for Allison’s heart. And, okay, since this is a big day for flowers, you might put in a prayer to St. Therese!

For those of you who would like more information or who might like to contribute financially, I will be happy to pass on your messages to the parents. For the sake of their privacy, I don’t want to publish names and locations here.

In addition, I thought it would be appropriate as a fund raiser for Allison to offer reproductions of my painting "Immaculate Heart" (above, 11"x14") on stretched canvas for $100(US), with all profits going to Allison’s parents to help pay for her medical care. If you would like to purchase one of these reproductions, you can e-mail me at timjonesart@yahoo.com. Just include the name "Allison" in the subject line so I can tell it from the SPAM. I’ll then e-mail you a PayPal invoice. Your print will be shipped within ten days.

Thanks everyone! Your prayers mean more to me and my family today than any chocolate or flowers.

UPDATE: Allison’s family have given the OK to publish her name and contact information. Cards with good wishes can be sent to Allison Jones, Room 309B, The Children’s Hospital, 1056 E. 19th, Denver, CO, 80218

Thanks again, and God bless you all.

A reader writes:

I live in Philadelphia, where I left the presbyterate a few years ago….

I am currently employed but am not making enough money to survive.  I feel like I am at a dead end.

Is their a former priest’s network support group that can help find former priest’s find employment?  Or would you happen to know someone who could help me?

Please advise.

I don’t know of such an organization–or one that is faithful to the Church, anyway–but my knowledge on such matters is very limited, but perhaps readers can help with suggestsions in the combox. I’ll make sure that the person who wrote gets the suggestions that come up.

The reader who wrote is to be commended for trying to find help without resorting to some of the illegitimate ways that former priests can try to make money (e.g., serving as a "rent-a-priest" and selling sacraments–or claimed sacraments [several would be invalid without proper faculties]–for money).

Incidentally, I know that I’ve got some cantankerous readers who are concerned about the number of departures from the priesthood, but this combox is not the place for finding fault or discussing those issues. We don’t know what may have led to the gentleman’s departure from the priesthood, and there can be perfectly legitimate reasons for doing so, just as there can be perfectly legitimate reasons for ending a marriage.

As it is, the reader is in a tough spot, and he’s sincerely reaching out for help and asking for ideas. Let’s do the Christian think and try to help, following the example that St. James tells us is set by God himself:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men
generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him" (James 1:5).

If that’s how God gives information to those who need it, let’s make sure we follow his example.

20

You’ve gotta admire ’em!

The picture to the left depicts the skeletons of a pair of lovers who died 5,000 years ago (3,000 B.C.) in Mantua, Italy.

Their tenderness is obvious.

This couple wasn’t buried in a volcanic explosion like that of Pompeii (which happend in the 1st century A.D.). It seems that the man (left) was killed or mortally wounded first and the woman (right) lay down beside him, knowing that she would be killed as well.

Sad!

But a tribute to human love.

I find archaeologists saying how "excited" they are by this find a little morbid.

I’d suggest, instead, praying for their souls.

Lovers like that deserve that much.

GET THE STORY.

Square dancing is a very social and sociable activity that has lots of politeness rituals associated with it.

For example, at the beginning of the evening, it’s customary for all the dancers to greet each other with handshakes and hugs. Then, at the beginning of a tip (that’s a pair of two individual dances; typically a hoedown or "patter" call, followed by a singing call–and BTW, square dancing is where we get the word "hoedown") it’s customary for all the men in a square to greet everyone in the square. Then at the end of a tip everyone applauds. Then, after applauding, everyone in the square individually thanks everyone else in the square for dancing with them. And at the end of the evening everyone gives the caller a big round of synchronized applause and a "Thank you!" and then shakes his hand.

All this greeting and thanking means that it’s very useful for square dancers to wear name tags–particularly when you have dances where people from more than one club are present.

And so clubs typically have name badges. They usually have the dancer’s name, the club’s name and logo, and they are often given to a dancer at the time he graduates from a mainstream square dance class and is formally invited to join the club. (Till then, student dancers are typically given informal stick-on or pin-on name tags that have their name written in magic marker.)

Over time, name tags tend to get embellished in various ways. For example, it’s common for dancers to drill holes in the bottom of their name tags and then attach small, little dangly things to them. These dangly things are known, appropriately, as "dangles."

Some dangles are given on particular occasions. For example, if you attend a particular club’s anniversary dance, you might be given a dangle that commemorates the event. Or, if you visit a distant square dance club while travelling, you might be given a travel badge commemorating your visit (not all of these are dangles, though; some are pin-ons).

Some dangles don’t commemorate anything special and are just for fun. These are appropriately known as "fun dangles," and you can typically buy them at big square dance events. They often have cute sayings or pictures on them.

Some dangles take the form of bars that stretch across the width of the dancer’s name tag. These are often used to indicate what office a dancer holds or used to hold.

I keep my name tag pinned to the front of my vest, so I don’t forget to wear it when I go dancing (transferring it from one shirt to another would be a sure recipe for me to forget), but I haven’t had any dangles up to now (in part because I don’t have a drill with which to attach anything to my name tag). I haven’t even received travel badges when I’ve visited other clubs travelling.

But at last Friday’s dance I was given my first one.

A reader writes:

Before I came to Christ (and the Church) I was thirteen years old.  One time, I played a fortune-telling game, and the dark side made some dire predictions about my life.  Only bad things:  Never getting married, never graduating college, dying at age 27, etc…

I heard of other people quija boards, and all the predictions always come true.  I’m am very scared.  Do you know of any cases when occultic predictions failed to come true? 

Yes. False occultic predictions aren’t just a dime a dozen, they’re a dim a billion. The failure rates for psychics and such are staggeringly high, at least when their predictions have any degree of specificity to them, like the ones allegedly made about you.

Back when I was a teenager, before I was a Christian, I also had an interest in the occult. I didn’t get into ouija boards, but I read a lot of books about psychics like Edgar Cayce and Jeanne Dixon, both of whom made numerous predictions that failed to come true.

An example would be a series of cataclysmic "earth changes" that Cayce and other psychics said would occur between 1958 and 1998, including the earth’s poles flipping, California and most of Japan sliding into the sea, the rising of the continent of Atlantis, and it was all building ujp to the second coming of Christ and the dawning of the Millennium.

Well, as time rolled along, these things started not happening, and the psychics started to get nervous as we got closer to 1998. Some predicted that the things would happen in 1999, 2000, or 2001 instead.

Needless to say, they didn’t, and today this body of predictions–which was hot stuff in prior decades and the subject of numerous books–has been embarassedly swept under the collective rug of the psychic community, with very little being said about it today.

I don’t know who’s been telling you that predictions of ouija boards are never wrong, but they’re just telling you a scare story. They’re most likely remembering a few predictions that happened–due to pure random chance–to come true and they’re forgetting all the false ones (a phenomenon known as the "file-drawer effect," where things that tend to confirm a theory get remembered and things that tend to disconfirm it get overlooked).

The bottom line is that if ouija boards were infallible then no force on earth would stop people from using them constantly to corner the market and make tons of money. They’d also put all the other psychics out of business, and ouijaboardology would be a respected science being studied and taught at countless universities, with massive funding by private foundations.

That ain’t the world we live in, so ouija boards ain’t infallible. FAR from it.

So set your mind at rest about that.

Also, since you’ve now come to Christ and the Church, you have their protection in a way that you didn’t before, so draw confidence from that as well.

And know that this is a problem that will dissipate with time. As soon as you get married, graduate college, or turn 28, you’ll have your own personal disconfirmation of the predictions.

NOTE: To further help our friend out, I invite readers to mention psychic/occult predictions (particularly ones involving ouija boards) that they are aware of that have proven false!

20

While I was doing my Monday blog posts on Saturday morning, I got a message on my voicemail that started like this:

Hello, this is <NAME> with H & R Block. We did your taxes last year at our <LOCATION> office, and I was calling to set up an appointment.

Now, not everyone may see it this way, but this kind of thing really rubs me the wrong way. It’s a sales technique that involves a dehumanizing form of upselling. Upselling is a sales technique whereby the salesman offers the customer goods, services, or options that the customer hasn’t requested but might want (e.g., "Do you want fries with that?").

When done in a humane manner, this technique can actually provide the customer with things that they wanted or would have wanted to know about (many people do want fries with their burger), but upselling can also be done in a dehumanizing manner that treats the customer like an object to be exploited (e.g., making your first question to the customer "Do you want our Bacon Cheddar Jack Number One Extra Special Value Meal?"–which is just trying to push something on the customer before he can tell you what he really does want).

H & R Block’s phone message to me is a dehumanizing form of upselling. It’s upselling because it’s offering me a service that I haven’t requested (they called me; I didn’t call them), and it’s dehumanizing because of the assumption that I’m even going to use them again this year.

Maybe I had such a bad experience with them last year that I want to go somewhere else. Maybe one of their competitors is offering a service that I find more attractive. Maybe I recently noted a tax preparer whose office is more conveniently located for me. Maybe I’m one of the millions who’s bought TurboTax. Or maybe I’ve simply decided to do my taxes the old fashioned way with pen and paper.

There are a lot of options out there for people to get their taxes done.

Yet because I happened to use H & R Block as my tax preparer last year, they feel entitled to phone me up out of the blue on a Saturday morning and tell me that they’re calling to schedule an appointment.

I, apparently, have no choice in the matter. It’s a given that they will do my taxes, and they have determined that the time has come for me to make an appointment.

That’s why this is dehumanizing.

It doesn’t respect the free will of the customer. It treats him as an object to be exploited.

The way to respect the customer would be to say

Hello, I’m <NAME> with H & R Block, and we did your taxes last year at our <LOCATION> office. We’d really like to do your taxes again this year, and I was wondering if you’d like to set up an appointment.

How hard would it be to say that?

GET THE (SAD, SAD) STORY.

Let’s pray for her, and for all in similar conditions (I know it’s an unusual situation, but we’re on a big planet, and with six billion people, some are in situations similar enough to need our prayers.).