My Daily Struggle in the COVID-19 Lockdown

Today is so far the best of the week. First, my congregation is preparing for a drive-in worship service this Sunday. Halleluyah! We can finally return to church, even if it is outside. I am even going to sing my hymn about being brave and having hope in the Lord even during the pandemic. If uses the tune of the Dutch National Anthem. I'll post the lyrics below. Second, I spoke to one of the organizers of the GoFundMe campaign for my alma mater. As it turns out, they did not know anything about my campaign. In fact, one of them was once burned by the "leadership" committee too. Again, some things never change. She agreed with me that the way I was treated was not only wrong, but un-Christian. They have invited me to join their campaign and other plans they have (Top secret, friends!), and I have accepted.  I just want to reflect a little more on how I was treated. It is like certain people were like a mad dog that was starving to death. I hold out a biscuit for them, ...

We had the funeral. It was just as emotional as I anticipated. We more or less observed social distancing, and we had a down-home funeral service for my aunt. I almost forgot I was Lutheran! haha I was glad to have the wife there to support me, and of course my mother was there, and Jayla, my cousin Putty's teen daughter, sat with us. She took it very roughly, losing her grandmother, Putty was hanging on, but at the finally viewing, she broke down. Then Jayla. Then, yes, me. Not only was I responding to everyone else's pain, but losing so many people around me, especially Ms. Sommese, was just too overwhelming. I know that Aunt Hattie, Ms. Sommese, the Holstein's, and my clients are in better places, but it still hurts. Even now do I feel as if I still have rain and thunder left. I say it a million times, I AM BLOODY WELL SICK OF DEATH! Can I get an Amen? All I can say is, if ever the time came that I lost my mother and wife at the same time (God forbid), someone may need...

Another rough day. I received yet another example of how stupid and reckless people, even professionals, can be. Since Chase Bank decided to change their policy and tack on a monthly fee to my account, I asked them to close my liquid card. What did they do? They closed my checking account! Because of how I have things set up, I would have to be high on glue to cancel my checking account. So, I called customer service, and after 30 minutes of waiting, I get this woman who said that there is nothing they could do! Seriously? They cancel a checking account via messaging, but they cannot stop my account from closing by telephone? For one of the world's biggest banks, they certainly are incompetent, and this is just one of many examples. What if the government tried to send my stimulus check? What if I had a bill payment being processed? So, I went down to the local branch to talk to a banker on my lunch break. I had to sign in at the front desk and then wait outside because social di...