Florida Town Finds Satan an Offense Unto It New York Times, 3/14/02 INGLIS, Fla., March 13 Carolyn Risher, the mayor of this little town, never saw Satan riding in the back of a Cadillac down U.S. 19. She never saw him buying grapefruit at the curb market, or ordering up a soft-serve chocolate and vanilla swirl at the convenience store, or trying to trade in a stereo speaker at the pawn shop. She never saw him buying shiners at the bait shop, or clinging to a pole at the firehouse, or sunk down in a pew at the community church. She never saw him. "Never," she said. "But I have felt his works." She felt him every time she saw a molested child, or a burned house. "I can't see the wind blow, really," Mrs. Risher said, "but I have felt its effects. "People call and ask me, `Carolyn, is Satan there?' And I tell them, `Satan is only where we let him.' " So Mrs. Risher, the mayor in this town of 1,400 residents for as long as many people can remember, sent him on down the road. She has made international news by banning Satan, by mayoral proclamation, from the Inglis city limits. (Read full story >>) Remember folks, the country where an elected official can effectively pass legistlature to ban Satan is the same country where it's president refuses to acknowledge that evolution is anything more than "a theory." |
Thursday . March 14 . 2002 . 10:30pm |
sweet television eases the pain We didn't end up going to the drug dinner. In the end, we just didn't feel like it. We thought it could be something where we could just swing by, eat, and run, but it turns out that it was actually this long, drawn-out affair, with cocktail hour, and a lecture, then followed by the actual food portion of the night. Not that I have any objection to cocktail hour and food in general, but we'd have to be socializing with these fossilized Connecticut doctors from times before TV had color, and I just wasn't in the mood. And, to be honest, there's something kind of gross about doctors--who by any standard, make a good living and mostly make up the upper socioeconomic tier--prostrating themselves for free drug company food. Dr. C, who invited us in the first place, kept saying, "The food should be good. The restaurant is really good. You're actually turning down free food?" But it's not like he's so hard up that he can't afford a night out to an Italian restaurant on his own dime, you know? It occurs to me at time that the medical establishment is so easily bought, and the pharmaceutical companies know it. I know I love the sweet, sweet pens, but perhaps there's something gross about that too. So instead of going to the drug dinner, Joe and I went to the gym. Yes, that's right, we actually joined a gym for the five weeks that we're going to be up here, because we're going to live healthy, dammit! I've never joined a commercial gym before (probably because I've been going to school for my entire life, and usually use institutional facilities, if at all), but this one seems pretty cool. Do you know what I like the best about commercial gyms? They have TVs! It never even occurred to me that you could watch TV while exercising, exercise tapes excluded. It's the most brilliant plot ever to take one's mind off the mind-numbing boredom of jogging on the treadmill. TV! How I heart you. Just do your exercise while watching some half-hour news program or sitcom, and when the show is over, so are you. Again: so, so brilliant. Let's see how long this commitment to exercise actually lasts. After the gym, Joe and I went to get Vietnamese food for dinner in a seedy, completely vacant restaurant on Main Street (par for the course in this town), and talked about wedding plans. It's all very exciting. We're going to start scouting out locations for the ceremony and reception this weekend, when we're back in the city. We're also going to try and make a preliminary guest list. The plan is to keep it small. Good thing I don't actually know anyone. xo Michelle |
Bikini Briefs |
Florida Town Finds Satan an Offense Unto It New York Times, 3/14/02 INGLIS, Fla., March 13 Carolyn Risher, the mayor of this little town, never saw Satan riding in the back of a Cadillac down U.S. 19. She never saw him buying grapefruit at the curb market, or ordering up a soft-serve chocolate and vanilla swirl at the convenience store, or trying to trade in a stereo speaker at the pawn shop. She never saw him buying shiners at the bait shop, or clinging to a pole at the firehouse, or sunk down in a pew at the community church. She never saw him. "Never," she said. "But I have felt his works." She felt him every time she saw a molested child, or a burned house. "I can't see the wind blow, really," Mrs. Risher said, "but I have felt its effects. "People call and ask me, `Carolyn, is Satan there?' And I tell them, `Satan is only where we let him.' " So Mrs. Risher, the mayor in this town of 1,400 residents for as long as many people can remember, sent him on down the road. She has made international news by banning Satan, by mayoral proclamation, from the Inglis city limits. (Read full story >>) Remember folks, the country where an elected official can effectively pass legistlature to ban Satan is the same country where it's president refuses to acknowledge that evolution is anything more than "a theory." |
