I know,
most of you reading this
have seen my username,
for years,
and many of you
are familiar
with at least one or two of my diaries,
at least one or two
of my long,
vertical,
comments.
But I wanted to point out
something about me.
Below the divider doodle:
I'm a non-believer,
but I love the Bible.
(That's not the main point of the diary;
the main point is further down.)
Why do I love the Bible?
Think about it.
If I'm a non-believer,
who do I think
wrote the Bible?
Many ordinary humans,
trying to convey some wisdom,
usually in parable form.
Matthew 6:24 KJV
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
I think it's possible that this verse,
and most of the Bible,
was written by non-believers.
This would mean
that the reference to God,
does not mean,
literally,
God.
What, then,
does it mean?
I feel that this reference,
and most or all references
to a god,
in the Bible,
are references to
your fellow humans,
those you are involved with,
your family,
your neighbors,
and,
in modern times,
since the industrial revolution,
your bosses, customers, and co-workers,
and,
in this car commuting America,
the other drivers on the streets and freeways,
and,
in this modern internet world,
those you interact with,
here on the internet,
all those folks,
those are your gods and goddesses.
So.
Let's go back to that Bible verse:
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Now,
let's fix it:
No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve your fellow humans and your investment portfolio.
Now.
Why did I title this diary,
"Allow me to introduce myself." ?
Because,
it seems to me,
back when I was a small child,
and when I was a teenager,
I got that message,
the message of that Bible verse,
from TV shows,
and popular songs,
in the seventies,
mostly.
So.
As I look back on my life,
who did I get engaged to,
as a teenager,
and marry,
at the age of 22?
Pam,
a woman who was born with
congenital muscular dystrophy.
She couldn't even feed herself.
So,
I took care of her,
feeding her,
putting her to bed,
kissing her,
for 30 years.
And then she died.
After three years
of exploring the single life,
I married Tonia,
one of the nurses
who used to help take care of Pam.
She had already gotten to know me,
over a period of two years,
when Pam was still alive.
Right after Pam died,
and before Tonia and I even started dating,
I gave Tonia Pam's old van,
with a wheelchair lift in it,
so she could transport other folks
she was taking care of.
Then,
as I said,
after I had been single,
with two girlfriends,
for three years,
Tonia and I got married.
Tonia is semi-disabled;
she is heavy,
and has bad knees,
so she asks me to do a lot for her.
She can certainly feed herself,
but she asks me to cook for her.
So,
when I get home from work,
even if I'm very tired,
from unloading trucks
at my Walmart workplace,
I find a little more energy,
to cook a nice meal,
such as
bacon and eggs,
for the two of us;
sometimes I cook enough
to feed her brother, Terrell,
and her other brothers,
Mike and Isaac,
and her nephew,
Shaun.
Shaun calls me
Uncle Betty Crocker.
My point in all this
is that I like myself,
and Tonia confirms this idea,
that I'm a little more dedicated
than the average man or woman,
dedicated to feeding,
and otherwise taking care of,
my family.
I know,
pride goes before a fall;
I need to look for opportunities
for improvement.
As Michael Jackson said,
look at the man in the mirror,
and see what changes we need to make.
And my wife has suggested,
I could take my big message,
my message about the famine,
the famine coming to America,
sometime around the year 2050,
Tonia says I should take that message
to YouTube.
If I get a big enough following,
I could make money that way.
So,
considering our current poverty,
maybe I need to serve
OUR
investment portfolio,
in order to better serve my family.
I am aware that simply writing this diary
seems like a very bad thing to do,
holier than thou,
arrogant.
But I refer you to the judgment
of my current wife, Tonia.
She says I'm her favorite person.
Period.
And she has a very large circle of friends and family.
And she talks a great deal
about what she doesn't like about other folks,
and what she likes about me.
And it's that dedication.
That dedication
to her and our family.
Thanks for reading.