Happy Sunday my Friends! Good Morning Digital Neighbors, Triggeratti, Refugees & PHAM! Hello again Early Birds, Dawn Patrol, Later Dayers, Fascinating People and Day Walkers! I hope you find a good place to hang your hat on Locals all of you Conversants, Lurkers and Scrollers. Don't worry I didn't forget your Bigots either. ?
Another Mary Engelbreit print and some more autumn photography provided by the fine search engine that is Duck Duck GO! Momma Peggy loved this print by ME, she was a bit obsessed with pigs and the old time vibe that Mrs. Engelbreit made her own. Bottom line, better to try something and fail at it that never to try it at all. The specter of "can't" prevents us from trying so much in life. There have been too many moments in my younger years where "can't prevent me from doing things things in life. I know it is not as simple as "just do it", I am more of a what do you have to lose if you try it? Have you prepared for it? Have you done your research? Have you try to honestly assess the pro's & con's?
Once all the prep work is complete, roll the dice and hope for the best. Failure is only final when we accept it. No doubt, repeated failure sucks and a string of failures can push even the strongest into dark places. Any failure we recover from probably teaches more about ourselves than most of our successes. Sr. Zoe used to say often that failure is a better measure of character than success, who doesn't find success easy? Who doesn't enjoy success? Handling failure shows you what a person is made of. I liked Sr. Zoe. Again, no on wants or can endure a steady diet of failure, but giving up too early has probably cheated us more than we may ever realize. Thomas Edison is one of my inspirations for relentlessly for the pursuit of one's desires and dreams.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. - Thomas A. Edison
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. - Thomas A. Edison
Well enough rambling, I have to get ready for Mass, a few baptisms and the Gamers are coming over from some table top fun. I have started a parent and child RPG group. Two Dads and their children are venturing into the dorkery of D & D type game. One dad is a seasoned gamer that I have gamed with for the last 15 years, all the rest are noobs. Happy Sunday friends, mine looks to be great one if things go well, and even if they don't it is not going to stop me from enjoying it as much as I can. On to Mother Mary Engelbreit and Mother Nature.
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
Dear ADD Irregulars,
Alan has decided to step away from our community for a while. He may return, but right now he’s in a difficult chapter of life. This past year has been especially rough for him—depression, anxiety, unemployment, and some challenging family situations.
I spoke with him briefly on Telegram. He admitted to feeling worn down, and the recent football meme hit him at exactly the wrong moment and in the wrong state of mind. He didn’t sound like he was blaming Rich, but in his current vulnerability, he experienced the exchange as unnecessarily mean-spirited. I suspect the “whiny-cunt” line cut much deeper than it normally would have.
That’s the funny and frightening thing about emotions: on a good day, that back-and-forth between Alan and Rich would have been hilarious. On a bad day, it was simply too much. No one could have known beforehand.
In Alan’s own words: “I saw it at exactly the wrong moment and it just hit me as unnecessarily mean spirited which was something I just didn't expect and am really not in a place to cope with at the moment.”
This is the danger of this medium. We log on hoping for relief or distraction, and instead we sometimes encounter something that offends, outrages, or wounds us. I feel for Alan—I know from previous conversations that this has not been a good year for him.
Let this be a reminder to all of us: Do not venture onto the internet when you’re in a state of emotional vulnerability. It rarely goes the way we hope. Pressure always seeks an escape valve, and online spaces are full of sharp edges. It is far better to talk with a real person—call someone and hear a human voice with all its nuance—than to stare at static words on a screen that you can reread over and over, each time deepening the wound.
Praying for Alan and so sorry he is at this chapter in his life. I am guessing he might be open to any of us reaching out. I don't really know. I know he is still on telegram, but not sure how esle to contact him.
Rich, if you read this I hope you chalk it under unfortunate shit happens. On most other days that post would have generated the funny back and forth that we have seen many times in the past. I am sure Alan would be open to any conversation with you, that is an invitation never an expectation.
[email protected] For anyone who might want to contact Alan.
