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The Monday Mission

1. Do you have any tattoos? If no, why not and what would you get if you did get one. If you do have one or more, tell us how you came to get it, and why you chose the design you got inked with. I don't have any. If forced (who forces you to get a tattoo?), I would get a tattoo of a potato right under my knee, just like the kid in one of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School books.

2. Has anything ever happened that caused you to believe, or disbelieve, in a Higher Power. Nothing's really happened to cause me to disbelieve, it's more that nothing's caused me to believe. I've known that I didn't believe in Jesus' divinity since a very young age. It just didn't make any sense to me. I remember learning that the Jewish tradition generally accepted him as a prophet but not as the Son of God, so I decided when I was nine or ten that I was Jewish. I liked that better, because Jesus was still a cool guy, just not divine.

I was confirmed into the United Methodist church around age eleven or twelve, but we did it in a group and I just mouthed the parts about Jesus. I'm not sure if I've ever told anyone that before. In terms of the rest of Christianity, I've gone through several stages. I went through a while when I was young where I prayed even though I wasn't sure if I believed in God or not. I figured I might as well hedge my bets. But then I started wondering about that more in late high school and early college. I think that it wasn't until I got to high school or college that I realized that you were supposed to take the stories they taught you in church seriously and accept them as fact. Without being conscious of it, I always took them in like any other myth and thought they were sort of like parables to live by. I didn't know I was actually supposed to believe in the Big Bearded Dude in the Sky. I've never really gotten the concept of faith and that's okay with me.

3. Have you ever seriously considered, or even attempted, suicide? No. When I was younger and my parents were mad at me I would go to my room and think Wouldn't you be upset if I died?! but I think I'm too self-centered for it. I think that the world would greatly suffer if I were lost. ;p

4. Has anyone you have known committed suicide? Not that I can think of. There were some suspicious circumstances revolving around the kid in our class who died in sixth grade, but it probably wasn't suicide and I didn't know him.

5. This weekend you and I are going to the nature park for a picnic. I'll bring the blanket and make all the arrangements. You pack the picnic basket. What's inside? Why is Promoguy always hitting on me? El Patito's going to kick your butt, Promo. Anyway, we're having my mom's tuna salad sandwiches (tuna, mayonnaise, carrots and peas), lots of different kinds of fruit, salt and vinegar potato chips, chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips and peach iced tea.

6. Have you ever been mad at God for something that happened (or didn't happen)? Way back in the day I used to pray at really close hockey games. But I always thought it was my fault if they lost, because I didn't pray hard enough or I hadn't been good enough to get my prayer granted (God was sort of like Santa in that way) or there were more important things for him to do at that moment.

7. Post (or describe) an image of someone that is no longer with us. Tell us about that person.
Third from the left, looking up at my grandpa, is my paternal grandmother, who died last year while I was in France. It was hard for me because I wanted to comfort my dad but I was so far away from home. She had been suffering for a while, but it seemed like she was improving.

My grandma grew up in Andover, England. During World War II, she worked in the Land Army (women who worked to keep up production when the men left to fight in the war), then became a civilian employee of the Royal Air Force, and later was transferred by the RAF (against her wishes) to work for the U.S. Army. She met my grandpa just after the end of the war while he was in France serving in the U.S. Army. What we (including my dad) didn't know until a few years ago was that my grandpa was already married when they met. Oops! Well, he got divorced and they got married in New York when she came over in 1947, then they went to live in Holland, Michigan.

This picture is from the wedding reception in Grand Rapids. They were supposed to go back to England when they retired, but they lived in South Carolina instead. I imagine that was difficult for my grandmother, who was very proud of being English and missed her home. She never became a US citizen and liked to meet with other English "war brides" to share stories.

BONUS: Who are you? I am Alf, destroyer of cats.

srah - Monday, 6 May 2002 - 10:20 AM
Tags: memes, monday mission

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