Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
(Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
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God was my co-pilot,
but when we crashed in the mountains,
I had to eat him :-))
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John 8:7
"So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He
who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." (i.e. me =
'her' in this case, which should read 'him', referring back to 'me' of course,
and not 'Him' which may in fact be 'Her', but more likely, neither, or both,
or some as yet undefined entity, or some space born energy life force, or the
manifestation of all life and creation. See how complicated this gets, and
then we all go storming off to war and kill off the bloody dissidents).
http://209.66.73.233/cgi-bin/bible.exe

Luke 6:37
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
http://209.66.73.233/cgi-bin/bible.exe

I feel like a 3rd grade boy in Catholic parochial school being slapped on the
wrist with a ruler by those guilt mongering nuns and priests dressed in black.
I had no idea some flame was burning in tweeterland until one tweet posted
privately to me commenting on the Swallow-tailed Gull: "BTW, what do you mean
by your ending byline (re the controversy erupting over slamming the church or
whatever)?"

Huh?!!? Hello?

Even this noon (Monday), no such referenced tweeter mail has arrived in my
inbox. For some evil reason, it can take up to three days for the latest
postings to arrive, all trickling in helter-skelter, out of order, like a jig-
saw puzzle, and I end up having to piece it together in an order flowing with
a thread. --I'm still trying to figure out what this urban Peregrine variant
'side-hill gouger cuckoo' string is all about... back-side & front-side
gouger?! -- very funny BTW! And some of you wonder why some of us are so
warped at this entertaining luncheon forum. LOL! So, I rushed to the Tweeters
E-mail website to see what the fuss was all about, click on "most recent" and
low and behold, a whole parcel of replies to "CALBIRD cool opportunity". Good
heavens! What could forwarding a post offering a golden opportunity to
experience the wonders of spending a few weeks on California's Farallon
Islands for FREE conjure up, me wonders?! Surely the die-hard anti-California
faction of Washingtonians aren't even *that* provincial and protective as to
get all riled up over this!!? Maybe it was the misplaced typo, 'Least Storm
Petrel' which probably should have read Leach's? I had to scroll through the
whole thing (the original CALBIRD post) twice before I figured out what all
the fuss was about -- oh! ..the signature byline! This little objection brings
to mind a comment by Hal Opperman (Xantus thread) about the "thought police".
Of course, reading Tweeters from the "most recent postings" option means
reading an evolving thread backwards, and when the "impudent" reference to me
cropped up leaping off the screen early on, I really was completely miffed by
this all until scrolling back up for a re-read to see that that remark was
made within the context of Michael Price's reply.

I haven't cracked a bible in probably 25 years. But I'm not ignorant nor
insensitive either, having spent all of the first half of my life and
formative years little by little learning bits and pieces here and there and
establishing a firm foundation upon which to build my life, my *eternal
thanks* to my life-long and devoted parents who raised me as they did in the
Protestant (Methodist) faith with all the trimmings in the bread basket
heartland of middle America. I feel like one of the 'lucky' ones and it
saddens me to the point of tears sometimes to see kids and so much of society
today seemingly misguided, lost, and cast adrift. Worsened even more to see
Archdeacon Francis, of all people, seemingly throwing up his hands in
submission to write and post before the entire world, and in not such good
English too I might add (shudder shudder): "But what can we except out of
people these days there minds are warped." Long gone is the nostalgic '50's
era of my boyhood innocence.

The point is, I retained some of the more important philosophical teachings
which are essential for conducting and maintaining a relatively harmonious and
peaceful life coexistent amidst all the pitfalls along the way. But here, and
just to prove once again the *awesome power* of the INTERNET and the WEB, as
if this little technological marvel *is* God, and with already knowing the
gist of the above cited verses to heart, albeit not the exact wording, I
launched a search to see if I could actually find the exact verses I was
thinking of, having no idea really where they were, probably somewhere between
Matthew and John, I figured. Web Search Enter: Bible Verses. The first
potential site was 3rd on the list out of over 'only' 4,000,000 choices
Presto, click on that, and a bible verse search engine appears; I enter the
word "sin" figuring that there would be millions of those so specific to that
word that actually nailing the exact reference would be like looking for a
needle in a haystack, I guessed. *Every* verse in the bible that had the word
"sin" even if it was 'contained' within another word (e.g. single) was listed,
'sin' highlighted in blue, and each reference and verse cited. I didn't even
have to wait for this numbing long list to upload into my machine; they just
all appeared instantly at the click of the mouse! A quick scrolling scan and,
Presto! In less than three minutes flat total from the very start (search:
Bible Verses) to finish, I was right on the exact verse that I had in mind.
Next, Search, Enter: "judge not". Presto, the first bible passage at the top
of that list had this one precisely, all in less than 10 seconds! So impressed
am I, I've bookmarked this web page. This beats running out right now amidst
the Christmas shopping melee to buy a hard copy of the bible.

So if anything good can be said over this little snit, it would have to be
that Archdeacon Francis at least jolted me into action after 25 years and into
actually taking a look at the bible again, albeit on the Web. All the answers,
inspiration, and plain common sense you ever need to know (except stuff about
gull ID) are in there without possessing a required continuous and righteous
lifetime of preparatory knowledge. All of those passages are open to
interpretation and application to current times of course, none-the-less,
after clearing away the clutter, the root meanings applicable to and tailored
to an individual's needs are personal and still valid.

I haven't actively practiced in any organized religion for 25, maybe 30 years.
And I don't necessarily find my faith and my answers within the confines of
simple wooden or brick structures, or splashy glass palaces, or fancy colossus
"Oz"-like towering spires piercing the night sky with Gabriel blaring his
trumpet, or on the radio, or gracing the tube with the likes of Cable TV's
TBN. We each find and follow our paths in accordance with not always societal
accepted standards built upon experiences over a lifetime. What I do accept
and endorse is gleaned from a lifetime of unique travel opportunities, a free
fringe benefit that goes hand in hand with the work I do as a globe trotting
marine wildlife biologist, and absorbing so much just by being in an ever
ready state of awareness and wonderment over even the most minuscule of things
in nature and life. As Don Baccus pointed out, Christianity is NOT the only
religion offered out there, nor the one and only one that our global society
must embrace. These fortuitous and rewarding experiences afforded me over so
many years have yielded deeply enriching opportunities to sample peoples from
all over the world, their differing cultures and walks of life, to observe
their values, beliefs, philosophies, and religions. I relish these
opportunities and experiences with as much enthusiasm as I do the birds in
those and all places. Global travel on such a shoestring grand scale, means
deliberate distancing of myself from the throngs of package tourists and
discarding the attendant comforts of western living as the only path to
connect with the human bonds common to those diverse places. Thus, I've
learned from my travels and experiences and have come to adopt and apply bits
and pieces from all over the spectrum into my own philosophy and being. They
all focus pretty much around a central common sense theme; just over time and
eons of geographical isolation have each vectored out in various directions
and interpretations. Sadly, these remain often times so strange and alien,
hence misunderstood and dismissed by those of us who have never or have seldom
been blessed with similar mind-opening opportunities, or are tied to other
obligations, or are just plain too afraid to try. Traveling and opening one's
self and mind up to the mysteries strips away the pretense, the biases, and
the fears, and we suddenly are graced with an aura of enlightenment that warms
the heart and soul.

To my thinking, in this relatively new and fast-paced electronic medium, the
ideal signature block if one so chooses to use one at all would be something
different, unique, inspiring or humorous for each day of one's cyber life
unless it is one so classic and simple like Michael Price's quote from Buzz
Lightyear (fabulous movie: "Toy Story") that it is so befitting to a birding
forum like Tweeters. However, if I did that, then everyone *really would*
think I have way too much time on my hands and I *really am* spending all of
my life crunching on the keyboard and on the INTERNET.

The little joke about God in my recent past signature block had only been put
up there for the short life span of about two weeks and is not even
'original'. I stole it from somewhere else in cyberspace. I thought it funny
as did a number of others who specifically sent private remarks well before
this little brouhaha erupted. The context from where it comes should be
obvious to most, but if not, then recall the commercial airliner crash high up
in the most remote and frozen South American Andes a few years back where the
survivors had to resort to cannibalism to survive. Very likely there are other
tweets and web surfing lurkers from beyond who have remained silently in
obscurity who may have shared the same views as Archdeacon Francis. There are
all sorts of sordid off color jokes for every event, tragedy, and moment in
human history (witness the tasteless slough with Princess Diana's death, the
space shuttle Challenger tragedy, OJ, ...the list is endless, especially in
the INTERNET). Sick? Maybe, especially if misinterpreted and taken too
literally and out of context. This warped sense of humor is just part of the
strange brew that bonds the insecurities of the human condition and experience
which affects us all, and well... helps us seek our identity as human in a
global community.

I dare say "God" was not offended by my little crack. Otherwise, "He" would
not be standing over my shoulder right now guiding the words in this
composition. It's hard to come up with something unique and/or "original" for
a signature block byline. However, I am withdrawing the 'offending' byline,
NOT because an extreme minority may have found it offensive, disturbing, or
distracting, but because I was already tiring of it even before this incident
and feel that it has run it's course.

And to you, Archdeacon Francis, I am not beholding any resentment towards you
or your comment. You are entitled to your opinion as clearly so stated in the
U.S. Constitution with regards to free speech. However, in this case, and as
per the rather subtle unwritten rules of 'netiquette' it would have been more
appropriate to have addressed your objection to me privately rather than the
whole list and consequently risk facing the wrath, discreditation, and
humiliation, not just from Tweeters, but before the eyes of the whole world,
most of whom will remain silent. Your posting (at least to me) rang with a bit
of newness and naivety to the sometimes shocking world of the INTERNET, and I
can certainly understand and forgive for that. But, if you were offended just
by *my* mere harmless little signature byline "joke", ...well, brace yourself
buster; you ain't seen nuthin' yet! '-)

I hope, Archdeacon Francis, that this response won't dissuade you in
continuing to enjoy Tweeters, maybe even contribute from time to time, and I
invite you to join in in our discussions. All are welcome here as are all
points of view no matter how heated and controversial, or just plain wierd,
they can get sometimes. We're still all friends. Rest assured, there are no
lingering or smoldering hostilities or resentments. Travel through cyberspace
is way to fast to dawdle along burdened with such, and as I've said before,
here and elsewhere, my attention span and memory to just about anything is
about as long as the life expectancy of a gnat in a batswarm. [This btw
*would* make a good signature byline -- and it *is* original, though probably
not; I've just not seen it ever before yet. If someone wants to use it, then
cite me as author ;-)) It might be the only time in my life that I might be
famous for anything '-)]

To all you other tweets who have endured this long, sorry for being so long
(again). 'Nuff said on this I think. Now, le's get back to those side-hill
gouger cuckoos and other wierd Tales from the Crypt. :-)) Your comments are
welcome, but perhaps best done in private rather than further clutter Tweeters
with any further non-birding related matters. Sincerely, --Richard

Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
47.56N, 122.13W
(Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
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STOP! System Failure! Save Your Work!
[signature byline down for maintenance]
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