J'EVER BOUNCE A CHECK? HOW HIGH? MISCALCULATE THE "FLOAT?"

Supercheck.  12 protective features to prevent nefarious activities against you and your checking account from the outside.  That's all fine.  Well and good too.  What I need  is a check book that's going to provide an infinite number of protective measures against my screwing up my account all by myself.  Now, listen to my story and you will see just how bad it can really get.
Some of you elder statespeople can perhaps remember the "float."  Some of us had it down to a science.  Write a check on Friday afternoon with the 95% assurance that the process would not affect your account until Tuesday.  Plenty of time to cover it on Monday, and maybe even first thing on Tuesday morning.  Now, be honest, how many times did you do that?
Nowadays, that is totally impossible.  You write a check, the merchant runs it through the bar scanner and BAM!, your money is gone...if you have money.  If not, you're over-drafted and more money will find its way out of your pocket.  Some of us had to be dragged into the ways of the 21st century the hard, and expensive, way.  The school of hard knocks has a very high tuition.
Now hear this true story.  I wrote a check on Friday to pay the rent.  I brought it to the office in the early afternoon.  I remember well that often times the management doesn't go to the bank until Monday.   So I wrote the check, knowing that Monday would be clear.  Now, you have to know that I have  a message connection between the bank and my cell phone, the bank and my computer and of course over the telephone.  So, early Monday my telephone tells me that I have bounced the check.  I run to my computer and my computer tells me that I have bounced the check.  My telephone rings and it tells me that I now have a positive balance.  I run back to my computer and there is no sign of the deposit that should show as happening on Monday.  I am now totally mystified, so I call the bank on the voice line and the sweet thing on the other end of the line tells me that she shows that the deposit that I am seeking as "pending." Pending?  For what?
I run back to my computer and try to find the deposit.  By a fluke, I find it as having been effected on Friday instead of Monday.  Wha??  So now I go back to check the balance, and sure enough it is in positive territory.  I say to myself, "Hmmm, what about the overdraft fee?"  I'm wondering almost out loud if the computer is going to be able to sort out the traffic jam.  Actually, I don't really care about sorting it out, all I'm caring about is that the overdraft gets cancelled, or becomes non-existent.
Well, boys and girls, everything worked out fine.  The electronic traffic jam did not claim me as its victim.  I still  have no idea if it took any human intervention to clear it up, but one thing is for sure, the gamble that I took by writing paper that was only good for kite making, turned out OK.  One thing is for sure, I will not trust my intuition about the management practices of the front office any more.

PERE NORMAN BUTLER

LETTRE A LA FAMILLE SALETTINE

10 septembre 2012

JOURNÉE INTERNATIONALE DE LAICS SALETTINS

Dites à ceux qui sont découragés

"Soyez forts, ne craignez pas! Voici votre Dieu! "

Il s'agit de les sauver.

                      Isaïe

Chers frères et sœurs de la famille, Salettine :

Nous nous apprêtons à célébrer la fête de Notre-Dame de La Salette! Et dans le cadre des célébrations, nous célébrons aujourd'hui la Journée internationale de Laïcs Saletins! Cette initiative a débuté durant la Première Rencontre Internationale de Laïcs Salettins,et a été confirmée par le Chapitre Général des Missionnaires en Avril et maintenant nous faisons un rendez-vous avec la joie. Célébrer l'identité Salettine avec  des activités visant à approfondir notre spiritualité et de faire connaître l'aspect gracieux de la belle Dame. A vous tous, félicitations!

Notre spiritualité est christocentrique. Marie de La Salette veut nous conduire à son Fils Jésus. Elle parle de «mon fils», vêtu d'un grand crucifix sur sa poitrine et elle est entourée par la lumière pascale de son Fils. Marie pleure la séparation entre la foi et la vie, la séparation qui nuit à la personne humaine dans les profondeurs de son être. Elle demande la prière, en particulier l’Eucharistie et la Réconciliation comme des moyens aptes à rétablir le lien entre notre vie quotidienne et la source du bon sens et de la joie: Jésus, le chemin, la vérité et la vie. De Jésus, le seul Sauveur, nous sommes des disciples et des missionnaires, et souligne à nouveau le Document du message

La joie de chaque mère est de voir ses enfants heureux, capable de donner vie à une bonne conduite personnelle, matérielle et spirituelle. C'est donc avec notre mère de La Salette: «S'ils se convertissent, les rochers se transformeront en tas de blé." C’est le blé qui nourrit le corps et le blé qui devient Eucharistie où Jésus est présent comme notre Pain de Vie.

C'est la prière personnelle et célébrations sacramentelles de l'Eucharistie et de la Réconciliation, combinée avec des actions visant à promouvoir la réconciliation qui sont les signes visibles de cette foi Salettine durant ce mois de conversion, de liaison et de vie pour notre bien et par tout le monde.

Je vous embrasse,

P. Norman MS

FATHER NORMAN BUTLER

LETTER TO THE SALETTINIAN FAMILY

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

INTERNATIONAL DAY LAY SALETTINIANS

Tell those who are discouraged

"Be strong, fear not! Here is your God! "

He comes to save them.

                      Isaiah

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Salettinian Family:

We are about to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of La Salette! And as part of the celebrations, we celebrate today the International Lay Salettinian Day! This initiative began in the First International meeting of Lay Salettinians last year, was confirmed by the General Chapter of the Missionaries in April and now we make a date with joy. Celebrate Salettinian identity with activities to deepen our spirituality and to make known the gracious appearance of the Beautiful Lady.  To all of you, Congratulations!

Our spirituality is Christocentric. Mary of La Salette wants to take us to her Son Jesus. She speaks of "my son", wearing a large crucifix on her chest and is surrounded by the Easter light of Her Son. Mary cries over the separation between faith and life, a separation that harms the human person in the depths of his being. She asks for prayer, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation which act as means able to reestablish the link between our daily life and the source of meaning and joy: Jesus, the way, truth and life. This Jesus, the only Savior, we are disciples and missionaries, and stresses again and again in the Document of the Message.

The joy of every mother is to see her children happy, able to bring life to a personal, material and spiritual level of happiness. So it is with our mother of La Salette: "If they are converted, the rocks will turn into heaps of wheat." It is wheat that feeds the body and it is wheat that becomes Eucharist where Jesus is present as our Bread of Life.

That personal prayer and sacramental celebrations of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, combined with actions to promote reconciliation are visible signs this is the month of  Salettinian conversion linking faith and life for our good and that of the world.

Hugs,

Fr. Norman MS

PADRE NORMAN BUTLER

CARTA A LA FAMILIA SALETENSE

10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2012

DÍA INTERNACIONAL DEL LAICO SALETENSE

Digan a los que están desalentados

“¡Sean fuertes, no teman! ¡Ahí está su Dios!”

El mismo viene a salvarlos.

                      Isaías

Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas de la Familia Saletense,

¡Estamos por festejar la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de La Salette! Y como parte de los festejos, ¡celebramos hoy el Día Internacional del Laico Saletense! Esta iniciativa nació en el Primer Encuentro Internacional del año pasado, fue confirmado por el Capítulo General de los Misioneros en abril y ahora marcamos la fecha con alegría. Celebramos la identidad saletense con actividades para profundizar nuestra espiritualidad y hacer conocer la misericordiosa aparición de la Bella Señora. A todos ustedes, ¡Felicitaciones!

Nuestra espiritualidad es cristocentrica. María de La Salette quiere llevarnos a su Hijo Jesús. Habla de “mi Hijo”, lleva un gran crucifijo en su pecho y está rodeada de la luz pascual de su Hijo. María llora la separación entre fe y vida, separación que daña a la persona humana en lo más profundo de su ser. Ella nos pide oración, especialmente la Eucaristía, y actos de reconciliación como medios capaces de reestablecer el vínculo entre nuestra vida cotidiana y la fuente de su sentido y alegría: Jesús, camino, verdad, y vida. De este Jesús, el único salvador, somos discípulos y misioneros, como insiste una y otra vez el Documento de Aparecida.

La alegría de toda Madre es ver a sus hijos felices, con una vida capaz de llevarles a un bienestar personal, material y espiritual. Así es con nuestra madre de La Salette: “Si se convierten, los peñascos se transformarán en montones de trigo”. Es trigo que alimenta el cuerpo; es trigo que se transforma en Eucaristía donde Jesús se hace presente como nuestro Pan de Vida.

Que la oración personal y las celebraciones sacramentales de la Eucaristía y la Reconciliación, combinados con acciones a favor de la reconciliación sean signos visibles en este mes saletense de la conversión que une fe y vida para nuestro bien y el del mundo entero.

Abrazos, P. Norman MS

SO, YOU'RE PRO-LIFE? TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE

Yesterday I saw the pro-life cake get some icing.  In church, during the meditation on  the scriptures that we Catholics call the homily.
Those of you who know me, know that I am anti-abortion, and I don't care what the language police say.  That's what I am and that's what I say.
So, yesterday I was sitting there in church minding my own business.  Yes, I do have moments when I am able to control myself, somewhat, for a little while.  The Scripture readings yesterday were challenging, of course, but they became more so as the priest developed his line of thought.  He injected a reflection about the "pro-life" conviction that so many people say that they have.  He was very frank when he said, "if you are pro-life, then you have to be pro-life all the way.  You aren't pro-life if you are pro-death penalty.  You aren't pro-life if you don't mind sending young people to war to kill and/or be killed." After that is when he stepped off into God's territory.  He told the story of the sixteen year-old boy and his family who were denied access to their first class seats on an American Airlines flight because the boy has Down Syndrome. The priest placed that side by side with the story from scripture that describes a host taking care of the well dressed dude like a prince while he mistreats the poorly dressed indigent.  (James 2; 1 - 4)
This preacher then took pro-life out for a ride over deep, deep waters.  Here, I paraphrase.  If you are pro-life, then you owe it to yourself and to others not only to prevent abortion, but to love, respect and enhance the lives of the humans around you.  This priest deserves some kind of a medal.   How many of us have ever thought about pro-life that way?  How many of you say that you are pro-life and actually believe in the truth contained in  the priest's line of thought?  Even if you are pro-life and you are not Catholic, the words spoken from the altar yesterday, by this one, deep thinking priest are for everyone, even a Catholic anti-abortionist like me.

BIORYTHM, OH NOT THAT AGAIN!

Hey, did you ever mess with this stuff? It is really weird.  It is supposed to tell you what your state of mind, your health, your intellect, your emotions, in short, your entire life status is supposedly contained in the mathematical computation of the various cycles of the chemical systems of your body.  I suppose it could become addictive.  It might be able to snatch someone into its grasp just out of curiosity.  A person could start to measure the truth of the graph against the truth of how the day is going.  It could get interesting to have someone go to bed and wonder what is going to happen tomorrow when the intellectual cycle is going to be in the minus 90 range and the emotional will be in the plus 75 area.  That situation could perhaps keep someone awake all night wondering when the phenomena are going to hit.  What if nothing happens?  That's easy.  It's because the sleepless night due to nervous energy skewed the normal influences of the elements.  So, tomorrow night don't let it get to you.
Well, that's not easy to do.  After all, aren't we all gluttons for future information?  Don't we all thrive on the dream of being able to predict what is going to happen?  How I'm going to feel?  How much energy will I have for "x" activity?  This is what we do.  We would not give a hoot about our rythms if we didn't bet on the possibility that we would then be able to predict tomorrow.  Let's face it.  Here I am doing this at 1:40 AM just because I looked at the biorythm chart that I checked through Google and it told me some very ugly stuff.  Like intellect = -89;  Physical = -65;
Emotional = + 30; Intuition = -41.  Whoa, why wait until tomorrow?  Oh, yeah, it is tomorrow.  Intellect, -89?  If I had a dog, at that level he could do this better than I!  -89?  Sheeesh!  Isn't that close to absolute zero?  It's gotta be.
All I can say is that I am glad that I am not hooked on the biorythm stuff.  Imagine going through all this denial once every single month?  No, wait, five or six times a month.  Every time one of your key elements goes into the dumper your whole life goes with it.  Who wants to live like that?  
You can tell that I am not going to get addicted to this hocus-pocus.  I'm crazy enough as it is.  I don't have to get out of my own back yard to find more crazy stuff.  Besides, I can live comfortably without caring about the future.  I already know what's going to happen anyway.  That's just the way I like it.  No drama.  No suspense.  Just blog away until you go away to stay with no sway and no swing, ding-a-ling, ding!

HUMAN NATURE + TECHONOLOGY + COMPETITION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbVn9cVez08 

I have to confess that I did not watch five minutes of the Olympic Games this past Summer.  My brain was occupied by too many other things.  Still is.  One of the interesting stories to come out of the great international meet is beginning to come home to me and it makes me think about human nature in ways that I have considered before, but with added elements this time.  It is the element of an elite, world class athlete, and others in his class, whose legs have either been amputated or have never developed.  Over the years, prosthetic legs have taken on some much more esthetic tones than the ones shown on the right, but those that you see here are the tools of the world class runner.  This is a marriage between nature and technology, about which, more later.

I think one of the reasons why I did not want to watch the olympic competition this year was mainly because I cannot bring myself to care about the minute difference that separates the winner from the loser at this level.  I cannot get accustomed to the fact that the fellow in the picture lost a race to a rival from Brazil by 0.07 of one second.  The winner ran 200 meters in 21.45 seconds.  (260 yards)  That is rather impressive.  
What is somewhat more impressive is that this fellow, Oscar Pistorius from South Africa qualified for the regular olympics, not just the para-olympics.  He did very well against the athletes in the regular olympics but could not prevail.  
As I was reading about this today, I wondered about the ability of humans to go beyond the threshold of "adapting" in order to reach levels of accomplishment that many fellow human beings cannot begin to imagine as being possible.  We admire it in fully "equipped" humans and we shake our heads in a greater level of awe when we witness it happening in those who are not fully "equipped."  Some of it is technology, but I am convinced that the human spirit goes beyond the technology and conducts us to the upper levels of achievement.  
As I was reading this, I had pictures in my mind of alpine skiers who have been blessed with ever improving technology for many years now.  Imagine, their sport measures winning and losing times in decimals of four places.  I ask myself if these athletes can really sense time that is that thinly sliced?  Every time I think of this, I have Franz Klammer the flamboyant Austrian skier who litterally flew down the mountain in the 1970's to win the gold for his country in the downhill competition.

Franz Klammer dominated the world of downhill skiing during the mid-1970s and over the course of his career, he won an unprecedented 26 World Cup races. But his finest hour indisputably came during the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria when he dramatically responded to the pressure of the home fans and won the Olympic downhill by 0.33 of a second.

See, I remembered.  I cannot forget.  We all thought that he was going to die.  But he didn't, and everyone still remembers.  If you watch the winter olympics in 2014, you stand a chance of seeing this historic run.  No one had ever pushed himself that close to the edge before.  It's a pleasure just thinking about it.  Please note that they were keeping time with only two decimals back then.

Back to the "Blade Runners."  Right now they cannot defeat the "able bodied" humans.  Will they ever reach that point?  Is it a question of technology or a question of human body mechanics?  Right now, we don't know.  Maybe someday we will.  Those of you who are younger than I am stand the chance of finding out.

I now put a human element into this whole thing.  Oscar Pistorius was defeated by the runner Oliveira from Brazil in an upset.  NO ONE in the entire stadium expected it.  Oliveira came from behind and made up a wide gap before nosing out Pistorius.  Now, these runners cannot stick their nose out as far as the guys with two entire working legs, but I did see a little leaning there and it was enough to bring home the bacon for the Brazilian.  Pistorius has been the "unbeatable" one for a long time.  His post race behavior has been somewhat less than galant.  I know how he feels.  I also have felt and observed enough winning and losing in my life to feel the vibes of those who come in second.  Personally, I prefer to come in last, totally outclassed, than to lose by 0.07 of one second.  That would crush me too.  Such is life.
Technology and a bunch of other stuff aside, I have observed something else.  Πάντα Ρει [Nothing stays the same forever.]  Everyone gets over-matched sooner or later.  Every human knows it. I haven't met one or observed one who has ever prepared for it.  Now that it has happened to Oscar, it is the moment for him to start getting used to it.  Now is now the time to mourn.  Now is the time to go on to bigger and better things.  
It's easy for me to say, old man sitting here at my desk pontificating.  I am blessed that there is no one close by who can betray my lack of authority on matters of learning how to lose.   So, I'm quitting while I'm ahead.
  

BLUE MOON -- AUGUST 31, 2012 -- HEAVENLY

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112685242/blue-moon-neil-armstrong-083112/

The night of the "blue moon" came and went.  The Voice from the Kitchen and I were out enjoying it and reveling in it since it was a very clear night.  It was clear because the air had ben scrubbed the day before by the thunderstorm.  Remember?  So I didn't write about the blue moon.  Tonight, browsing around for a picture of blue moons in Google Images, I came across something that made me think of the days when I was younger.  You're looking at it.  Here's what it made me think of.
It was Thanksgiving.  There was a picture on the front page of the newspaper that was intriguing to me at my young age (10 or 12?)  It pictured a turkey standing on an axe handle that was bieng held on the horizontal by a young farm boy.  I was really taken by the picture and I told EFR Dion how impressed I was by the picture.  I was in for a bubble bursting lesson in real life.  He said, "It's not true.  That is a set-up picture, not a real snapshot."  I have to tell you that  I was not very happy to hear that.  I shook my head and then he rubbed it in.  "Can't you see that the turkey's feet are not grabbing the handle like they should.  The photographer took a turkey picture and a little farmboy picture and put them together.  I was enlightened, but not happy that I had somehow been "used."  
So, when I saw the picture above of a "Blue Moon" and a Great Blue Heron I actually controlled myself, shook my head and thought, no big deal, it's a fake.  So Mr. Photog, whoever you are and wherever you may be, in this day of "Photoshop,"  I have to say that the idea is a real good one.  I also have to say that I'm still holding off from being impressed.  I am not counting out the possibility that you did get lucky on August 31, 2012, but there are so many coincidences involved here that I think I'll pass on the Ohhs and Ahhs for this time.

I do not want to pass on the fact that Neil Armstrong was laid to rest on the day of the Blue Moon.  That was contrived too, no doubt, except that when a human celebration is involved, it's more like aligning the tributes rather then creating contrivances.  After all, he did die of natural causes.  Maybe a higher power was involved.  No matter what, all I want to say is "Nice touch."  As Belle and I were exchanging ideas about this, I thought of the other "old guy" who could have made hay out of this, "The Rest of the Story" guy, Paul Harvey.  
That's it for today.  J'ever notice how much nostalgia can attack you with just one little bit of stimulus?  It's crazy, I tell ya.