Sunday D&D and Church

A few typos from Grammarly are being fixed…they are crazy today.

Sunday is often another day of me squeezing in a whole weekend in a single day. While I am retired now, this habit is hard to break, and many working folks are doing the same thing, and I just follow that. It was Veterans Day weekend, but I celebrated it by remembering my Grandfather’s brother, “Billy” Wild, who was in France when the war ended in 1918 under “Blackjack” Pershing and fought, according to some records I have seen, in many significant battles for the American forces. It was then the “Great War” and was the death knell of the old European system and the end of royal control of Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungry. It was unsuccessfully known as “the War to End All Wars,” sadly, countries would have to call up their young people for more wars. It is good to remember all those who served.

An aside: The Wilds were the children of the immigrant Willhelm “William” Wild, a farmer in Cannonsburg’s Michigan. They were William “Billy” Wild, George, Edward (my great-grandfather), and Lilly. A young daughter, Alice, died young, likely from the Spanish Flu. Only “Billy” was a soldier.

Returning to our story for Sunday, I rose and finished the block in time to dress and still be early for church. The liberal coffee pumped me up with joy and caffeine. Nothing like fair-traded coffee to make you feel you are helping the world while getting your jolt. The words and events of Saturday spilled on the virtual page in WordPress, and with help from Grammarly and my re-reading (often of the ‘fixed’ text), they were assembled into readable work. I published it and headed to the next step on Sunday.

I washed up, shaved, and brushed my hair (which looked like I had been electrocuted while sleeping) into something that would not draw comment. I found a white dress shirt, blue sweater vest, and pride tie. To finish the church look, I added grey-blue LL Bean pants, black shoes, and dark grey socks. My brown wool hat (forgotten at Richard’s) is missing. I wore the black Humburg hat this time.

I arrived soon for church, First United Methodist Church in Beaverton, and was twenty minutes early. Coffee was ready and most welcomed. Soon, the church service started, and the music was easy to sing today. The choir was reduced by some folks traveling, and we even sang with them. I kept hearing this excellent singing, but I looked right and could not find the singer. I sat next to Eric, but he was on my left side. My loss of hearing on the left side means I misidentify the direction of sound. I was hearing Eric on my left through my only working right ear. Somedays,  after a brain tumor, this new life of mine is fascinating!

Pastor Ken started a new series of sermons on a minor prophet book, Micah. Ken repeatedly pointed out that Micah is about terrible things happening to believers. Tragedy is part of life, and the “prosperity gospel” often taught in the USA is false. Just because you were lucky or successful does not mean you are blessed and righteous. Micah argues that the prosperity of Jerusalem in his time was what was wrong. Instead of focusing on justice, compassion, and community (my words here translate from Ken), their leaders built glory in the capital and a monument to their righteousness. Nothing would survive from this temple (though a few dubious claims exist). Falling into Doctor Who’s words (my words again):

Never be cruel, never be cowardly….hate is always foolish…and love, is always wise. 12th Doctor

Ken also talked about prophetic words and prophecy and how they must be included in our experiences to have a complete experience—something I had not heard before. Looking back, I see that it was built into some of the Sci-Fi I watch with the 12th Doctor, which often falls into prophetic speech styles. I also find Martin Luther King’s speeches, especially his last one, powerful. Ken identified them as prophetic.

Ken has me now looking for prophetic words and language. He offers that these words are not said by the elite but by the minority and those working for justice. This is a new way for me to think and consider prophetic speech and what it means to me and the world.

After church, I stayed until they locked the doors, catching up with people before heading home. Air Volvo stopped, on a whim, to get a tuna fish sub at Subways. They offered to cut it in half and wrap each so I could have the second half on Monday, which is perfect. I paid the 20% tip and thanked them.

Which reminds me of Susie’s worst joke:

What is the main difference between a carp and a piano? You can tune a piano, but you can never tune a fish.

I always say the punchline when I have tuna fish. Reaching the Volvo Cave, I removed the tie but kept the rest of the outfit. I ate and watched more videos on YouTube: ShipHappens, Battleship New Jersey, and the always-impressive Drachinifel. I rested and read some more vegan cooking suggestions. Their meat replacements have my attention, and I will try to get the ingredients and make some of them. While not vegan in my choices for food, it is an exciting idea to produce food that anyone can eat, and less meat is likely good for me. The piccata recipe with a non-meat focus was exciting. I also like their stuffed peppers and may make them soon.

Next, I did the dishes and left early. I headed to the former Rainy Day Games, now Guardian Games (Aloha), and checked if they had Enigma: Beyond Code for sale. No. Mike, a long-term employee and expert gamer, checked and agreed with me that the game’s rating was low, and it was only available now through Amazon (assuming the original publisher actually has copies). I checked for a friend to see if the game was worthy of exploration. No. They do have Duel Middle Earth on display. After playing Richard’s copy, I told Mike I liked the game better than the original version. I also described that I enjoyed Unconcious Mind. I commented that some of the older games are still for sale, and Mike told me that many folks are still playing them, which surprised me. I understand now with Richard’s and my jumping to new games, we are not playing old favorites. Hmmm.

I have canceled my Kickstarters and will resist purchasing games, role-playing, and models as I got my insurance quote of $782.34 monthly for COBRA coverage. I will try to reduce my et cetera expenses and focus on being retired. I plan to travel and enjoy many places next year but must live more frugally between trips!

I managed to escape the local gaming store with no losses.

(my figure has the blue shield raised in the air)

I boarded Air Volvo and soon arrived at M@’s place, where we played more Dungeons and Dragons with our group of five. We are 17th level and powerful, and the traps and monsters we faced in play were also deadly and powerful. Within a few moments of the game, my character was blasted and failed every roll. A process that would continue most of the night. We have a simple goal, recover an item.  We reuse a few traps to eliminate some risk and ignore more of the tomb we are raiding. M@ announces that we succeeded and will rise to another level. Also, due to M@’s and my travel, we will meet again on 19 Jan 2025!

(Scott and Matt, with the beard, in the back. Mackers and Karyn in the front with me holding the iPhone)

It was fun, but the details cannot be covered here. I headed home, read for a bit more vegan recipes, and prepared for bed. I soon slept and did not wake until the morning at 4 to prove hydration.

Thanks for reading.