Good Morning Digital Neighbors! Hello to all those I appreciate at Padre's, Rubin Report, Phetasy and Triggernometry! You know all of my pet names for you and my daily salutations in these posts. After a week of curmudgeons I think as little fresh air in the postings is needed. Having a curmudgeonie mindset ought to be one aspect of a personality and not its totality, as @Fred_Bourque said of W C Fields, he was something of an asshole in his life and sadly it flowed from his fractured attitude fed by self-pity. We current Curmudgeons and Curmudgeonessas strive to less of an ass and more cantankerous for the quarrels of life. More humor and less bitterness seems to be a more fulfilling version of Curmudgeoning.
After shaking off the dust of that cantankerous attitude one should strive to find the gleam and luster of living. It is a gift. I try to remind myself of that daily. Even on bad days, it is still a gift to be alive. Even with all the evil in the world, there is still goodness. Even with all the indifference, there are caring and interested souls who cross your threshold. Even on days of profound sorrow, there is joy hidden behind the tears or just beyond the moment. I can't always be Tommy-Hopeful, but I strive to keep that perspective because of the Master. A few positive comments for this Saturday morning and more with my normal vibe I try to find with each dawning day. Peace my friends, you are in my daily thoughts and morning prayers. - Padre (Friar to those in the Pham) Thank you @BridgetPhetasy for that nickname, I smile whenever I see it. Thank you @SEPTUAGENARIAN for allowing me to be your Sunshine. I still tear up when I think of your absence in my life and these communities.
THINK BIG
Think big. Big things happen to big-thinking people.
Nothing big happens to little-thinking people.
You can become the person you want to be.
It’s possible. You’ll discover this as you begin to
break free from the tiger cage of impossibility thinking.
Join in a grand adventure of discovering
the beautiful life God has been planning for you.
Join the exciting crowd of energetic, enthusiastic,
youthful possibility thinkers. — Robert H. Schuller
Let others lead small lives, but not you.
Let others argue over small things, but not you.
Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.
Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands,
but not you. —Jim Rohn
Boldly walk into tomorrow with a purpose and a vision for a better world. - Henry Leo Bolduc
July Sunrise Photograph by Fiskr Larsen
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.
Happy Friday, Digital Neighbors!! Slept in a little this morning. Woke up at my ordinary time, hit the hour timer, and wandered back into short, incoherent dreamland. It was a good hour to try and get a little more rest after a long day yesterday. We had a good staff team-building day with personal prayer and then looking at the DISC tool as a way to appreciate our gifts as we work together for the good of our parish family.
Had a meeting in the evening to explore using our auditorium for an Emergency Overnight Shelter in the winter for the homeless and unhoused in our local area. Lots of potential, lots of work if that is to come to fruition. As I mentioned last night, this is where the rubber hits the road on personal charity. People feel comfortable giving money to support charities, but the possibility of hosting and staffing one is way out of the comfort zone for most. Prayer and time will tell.
Off to some “ifferisms” for your Friday cup of Joe.
If you get gloomy, just take an ...
The Beautiful
Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”
