I used to get a kick out of when an audience member would ask Carl Sagan if he believed in god? He would ask them to define "god." The response was almost always, "You know. God." And Sagan would mention the god of Einstein and Spinoza. The questioner was most likely confused by that!
For the past thirty years, I've inhabited a house that was a stagecoach station, located just west of what had been the Fort Stanwix Treaty Line until the Revolution. It was built in the 1790s, and luckily for me, some of the former inhabitants were talented carpenters and gardners. The large flower beds a lady made seventy-odd years ago are still here. The stone walls from way back still stand. I admire these things -- for three of the four seasons, when they aren't covered in snow -- when I take the dog for a walk through the woods and swamp, to feed the fish and birds out at my pond.
Today, I have "face-timed" with my daughter and one year old granddaughter who live in Europe. And watched film of the Beatles concert on an English rooftop. I do have to pay a couple bills today, which requires my driveway, which is part of the first turnpike post-Revolutionary War. It is pretty long in the best of weather, and much longer in the winter when I have to shovel snow. When I go to the nearest store, sometimes people greet me as "our hermit friend." Thus, quite often in the winter, I only have to pretend to start shoveling the driveway from where it meets the road, and someone driving by will plow it for me.
When local family farms ended business, "barn cats" started holding cat conventions here. Despite my children's warnings that they would move in my garage, I have continued to serve them a meal when they gather. And I enjoy putting food out for wild life when needed. (That has included my need to watch a pair of gray fox feeding their offspring.)
I'll stop bending your ear soon .... but I like discussing "religion" with some people. Years ago, a good friend was here to watch a boxing match. The winner had thanked god for his victory. My buddy made a joke about god betting Jesus on the fight as I walked him out to his car. It was a beautiful night, and so I asked him to look up at the stars, and asked how it was that he could not accept the fact that we are the exact center of the Universe, and the lord's greatest creation? He said, "You can be such an asshole," shook my hand, and left. I compare that to when I communmicated with an old school mate in 2020, a science teacher in public schools who believes the Earth is 6,000 years old. He assured me that god wanted the felon to be re-elected, and would not allow Biden to win. He said he would explain this in greater detail after the election. I haven't heard back from him.
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