Judgment Day

While walking around the Sparks Marina a few weeks back a guy coming the counter clockwise direction with his 2 yard apes and 2 little dogs made a point to stop to ask me if I had received one of the cards he had in his hand? I said nope and took it as he held it out. Mostly because I was caught off guard and did not know what the hell he was referring to, I assumed it was a sticker for a clothing line or something, seem to see a lot of those from people lately, but not at the marina. I go to the marina to walk Oggy and get some fresh air, so again, it caught me by surprise. Most small talk revolves around the fuzzy kids when we stop to let them do their sniffing of the rear ends ritual, not owners handing out stickers or cards. I don't want to be bothered with that there.

My focus is on Oggy and the approaching traffic of dogs, walkers, joggers, bikes and roller blade peeps so after telling the guy thanks and to have a good day I stuck the card in my pocket. Once we were past the approaching traffic jam I pulled it out to see what it was. To my surprise it ended up being a fuckin' business size card asking if "I Was Prepared" on one side and then the stuff from the photo in the post on the back. Essentially a check-list of sorts to help me determine how doomed I was or someone like me will be if we don't "do the right thing" sooner.

I will not fully jump up onto my soapbox with regard to those that go to church on Sunday or what ever day they go for that matter only to leave feeling they are a better person than I am and feeling it is now their sole duty to save everyone that does not attend story time with them. What gives them the idea that they are the "chosen ones" and know the answer because of going to church and anyone that does not attend is doomed or needs to be saved. Worry about your destiny and leave mine to me!

From what I have observed, once story time is over the holier-than-thou's can again transform into the assholes most become each and every day up until the following Sunday. Don't get me wrong I don't mean to blanket statement everyone that attends church, that would be unfair. Although for most, I guess I should be compassionate of the fact they are angry at the world because their Starbucks coffee took too long to be served or the extra bacon was forgotten at lunch, those are major issues in the world, dam those sinners <smirk>.

Of course, all of the anger and hatred toward their fellow man is easily forgotten and even forgiven most times, so they think, so long as they lend their ears to story time the following Sunday and of course and possibly more importantly, lighten their wallets the suggested percentage.

Immediately after, they jump back into their cars on Sunday morning they easily become pissed off about traffic or their fellow man they so self-righteously felt the need to save. Of course the problem is not them, it cant be, its the other people that are causing them anger because they must not have opened up to their God and its merely a test to be able to deal with us non God fearing types.

All I can say is fuckin' sheeple! If you find joy going to church on Sunday and it does something for you then that is awesome, amazing and something you need to keep doing. There is nothing wrong with doing something that makes you feel better about yourself or those around you. If you enjoy singing and learning about a subject you believe in then I say go for it and do it to your hearts content. If I choose to sit on the couch and watch racing on Sunday, hang out with friends or family or watch movies all day long then good for me, maybe that is how I come down from a busy week, or have some time to reflect and reset my mental clock for the upcoming week. Don't judge me or others because we don't follow you follow and go to church. It does not make me a bad person just like attending church on Sunday does not make a bad person necessarily good.

How about this. Instead of handing out cards at the marina or posting a passage out of your bible on Facebook you get off your ass and do something for someone else other than "pray for them". Tell you what, put a needle in both of your feet. Pray for the left one to come out for a week and ask me to remove the one out of the right foot at the end of that same week. As crappy as an example as that is I think you will be pleasantly surprised when the pain in your right foot goes away because of my help. My point is, do something for your fellow man. Volunteer at a shelter for animals or people, clean up trash on your highway or in your neighborhood. Pick up a bottle or hold the door for an elderly person, do something when there is no one around, do it because its the right thing to do, not because you want praise and to be known or seen by someone else as a "good person" or are in fear that your God is watching to make sure you are doing the right thing. If that is the case dont forget Santa is watching too.

Honestly if the words on this card are exactly what is required to be considered a "good person" or to be forgiven when the end is here for the world or for us individually I think the majority of us are doomed. Scare tactics are immature and ineffective if you ask me, although maybe I am not the lowest common denominator in this equation.

Apologies for the rant, stuff like this really gets under my skin. Had I confronted the guy about it or tried to give the card back to him, thanking him but explaining its not something I subscribe to I bet I would have been told the usual stuff. Honestly I would have been much more inspired and cared for had he smiled and complimented Oggy, or "hi, isn't it a gorgeous day"? I guess I felt that handing me a card to "save me" was a chicken shxt move to say the least.

Ok new topic now! It's a beautiful, warm Sunday so why waste it bitching. I guess I just needed to get it off my chest. That said, I think its time to get my butt outside and on the treadmill for some cardio. Normally I would watch racing while on the treadmill, its the nice thing about my iPad / TiVo / Slingbox combination but the NASCAR race is over already and I watched it while doing other things around the house.

Today the #48 team of Jimmy Johnson won the race and is now leading the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship again. The driver I follow, #14 Tony Stewart is falling behind sitting in 10th place but at least he made the chase this season, that is a huge accomplishment on its own although his chances for winning the title again are probably out of reach.

It's weird, I have not been watching NASCAR much this season as I have mentioned in the past but I end up on the edge of my seat whenever I do. I guess its just part of my obsession with going fast and watching things that go fast. In past years I watched every race, read all the forums and news, watched Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain to find out extra little tidbits and so on. This year it has been hard to spend the time watching the race. Maybe its a sign that I am trying to put too much on my plate and my subconscious way of clearing a few things off?

The Walking Dead this evening and then capping off the weekend with Dexter. Going to be another great evening in every way, cant wait!

Have an amazing Sunday and remember, do what is right because you want to.

Photo: One get out of hell free card