10 Feb 2010
An Unlikely Spokesman for God
New York was freezing this weekend. I grew up with those frigid winters. Whenever I have the pleasure of strolling through the Arctic Apple, I am reminded of why I live in California. Here in San Francisco people start to wear gloves when it’s 55 degrees. It was 10 above zero one of the nights I was smart enough to stroll down Times Square. Fortunately, my ears didn’t snap in half.
The reason for my visit was to see my mom and my sister. My mother lives in an assisted living home in Vauxhall, New Jersey. My brother had a big house and she stayed with him for a while. She prefers living on her own so she moved to Mountain View Terrace. It’s a nice place. The staff is attentive and the social director arranges activities ranging from bingo to American Idol competitions. It reminds me of the facility where Tony Soprano put his mother. I think that was during the second season.
When I visit my mother I always feel a pang of guilt. Somewhere in the corner of my mind resides the notion of the stereotypical Italian family. The one where we are all supportive of each other, where all live nearby and our parents were sweet, loving and wise. The kind of family that looks forward to reunions with joyful anticipation. These are the, “what should be,” part of my neurotic thinking. Neither my memory nor my experience corresponds with any of my ‘shoulds’.
My mother’s room is pleasant, warm and well lit. The phone rang and she answered it. It was my brother which meant she’d be on for a time. I took the opportunity to go for a walk down the hall. The doors to most of the rooms were open. It was Sunday, Super Bowl Sunday to be exact. On Sundays a small procession of preachers comes and goes. Most of them are African-American wearing expensive well tailored suits. Their Bibles are beautifully bound in leather, apparently, Jesus was not a vegan. They are always friendly and in a good mood.
As I walked down the hall, I noticed that nearly all the rooms had the TV on. The dominant programs being watched were the televangelists. Listening to these guys either annoys me or gives me the creeps. One of these God shows was an unlikely spokesman for God, Gary Busey. He was wearing a suit a used car salesman would buy after a good month. I heard him say, “I love talking for God.” What a guy. If I was in a nursing home close to the end and heard that Busey was a spokesman for our Heavenly Father I would move heaven and earth to stay alive. Gary inspires no confidence when he talks about the afterlife considering what he’s done with this one.
I went to a strict Catholic School that should have been called Our Lady of Perpetual Pain and Sorrow. If I thought that the televangelist had any credibility, I’d go back on drugs. I have left the notion of a harsh paternalistic and generally pissed off god in the frozen part of the Big Apple. Today I believe in the Great Creative Force that guides the Universe. I see God or the Goddess as the provider of a great park and wonderful toys. It’s up to human beings to maintain the park and to keep the toys in good condition. I don’t believe that God cares who I sleep with or if he kept an account of how many times I examined a particular part of my anatomy. What is important is how I respond to those around me. How much love do I have the courage to show.
well, see the criticism is not exactly about you not staying raw, but about you coming out after the film and letting people assume that your transformation is due to the continuation of the rituals that were started in the film. While you obviously have inner transformations and are more honest to yourself, which you may have initially been inspired by through the 3 film makers, what we mostly note is the physical transformation at the Q&A. And that had obviously nothing to do with raw food, since you wrote that you lost 120 lbs in the past 18 months. So, 18 months ago you were about 280 lbs, almost like the beginning of the film. And you lost the weight by cutting carbs and sugar.
In my opinion it’s misleading the way you guys handle this and I’m deeply disappointed. Yes, the film will have more success this way, but is selling out with this kind of dishonesty really worth it?
Michaela
March 1st, 2010 at 4:12 ampermalink
Aw man I’m really sorry to hear that experience you had. Yknow we shouldn’t necessarily look at people who say they’re Christians as a perfect representation of what Christianity is! It’s the faith for losers anyway! In that I mean it accepts you when you’re at your lowest and you can do nothing more for yourself- that’s when you turn to an awesome God who gives you strength. I grew up as a ‘catholic’ but I became a real I-know-enough-to-choose-what-I-believe-Christian 2 years ago and it still took a long time to break through the old stereotypes and ideas that I’d had of what a Chrisitan is. I used to think it was so embarrassing. But I just had to meet more people and read about it more and really get to the heart of it. There’s a lot of misconceptions out there.
brenda
April 23rd, 2010 at 3:11 pmpermalink