My Daily Struggle in the COVID-19 Lockdown

I am back from my retreat refreshed and able to tackle the world better. I guess I missed a few things while I was gone. First, I learned that over 80 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, and about a dozen of those died, including a few children. One girl was sitting in her house and a bullet came in from her window. A man killed two teenagers for, wait for it, asking how tall he was. Black Lives Matter, indeed. Let the record show, friends, that those who murdered Black people over the weekend were Black! Not cops, not even rednecks or good old boys, but Black civilians! I read how supposed Black activists are offended when a person, usually White, mentions that there are good cops, show dissent for the looking and rioting, say all lives matter, or mention the deaths and random shootings in African-American neighborhoods. If that is the route they choose, then they should change their name Barbaric Black and Intellectually Stupid White Lives Matter. So, to them, Black L...

Before I begin, I want to correct myself on one thing. I kept calling the subject of the rioters George Lloyd, when his name is George Floyd. My apologies. What started as a protest last Tuesday has turned into a violent national free-for-all. In the middle of all of this, everyone continues to point fingers at everyone else. If it is not the President, it is the entire police force, the prosecutors, or the progressives. There were even acts of violence in downtown Chicago today, forcing Mayor Lightfoot to impose a curfew "until further notice." If I must blame someone, I blame the "progressives" for encouraging people to fight belligerently for their rights but ignore their responsibilities. I blame the Democratic party for making empty promises to ethnic minorities and for caring more about sexual minorities and women who want to kill unborn children than about true understanding and mutual respect. I blame the White supremacists who taught Chauvin that, in th...

An angry world has become angrier. A frightened world just became more frightened. Minneapolis is on fire, and looters follow angry protesters, ruining what could be a noble movement. People express bitterness against the police--those who are sworn to serve and protect. While some officers uphold their oath, others choose to serve their hatred and protect their egos on steroids. As a result, Mayor Frey is demanding the arrest of the villainous swine who lynched George Lloyd. Every single organization with an agenda has expressed outrage. Conservative groups, liberal groups, religious leaders, actors, singers, and politicians finally have something in common: they have seen a gross injustice, and they are outraged. Even with all the sadly ironic division during the pandemic, only now are people starting to hold hands and sing kumbaya. All it took was the murder of a Black man. I'm glad it is finally happening, but how long will it have the right effect? Who will ruin it, like the...

Well, it rained. As much as I hoped for dry weather today, it virtually rained nonstop today. In fact, certain parts of Cook County were flooded. I arrived at the church early this morning to help set up the outdoor service when I saw that most of the other officers were already there. They decided to move services inside the church. For every open pew, two pews before and after were cordoned off. Since we had no organist today, the vicar had organ music pre-recorded. And we had church! Not too many people came, but it was almost like it usually is, with having so much open space for our numbers. I was so glad that we could finally worship together again. Livestream is simply not the same. While you get a glow from the computer screen, there are no warm bodies or smiling faces. Even though we were within the law today, I mentally prepared for there to be a ticket tucked under my windshield wiper. Even though the lockdown is important to keeping the vulnerable safe from the virus, e...