Old St Patrick's Cathedral Nov 2008

This was the main Catholic cathedral until a much more opulent St Patrick's was built further uptown on 5th Ave. It is not nearly as impressive as the newer facility but I walked in during an organ recital and was captivated by the beautiful music as I was taking pictures. Then I came upon a picture of the hag, "Mother" Theresa and the spell was broken. I remembered an interview with her in which accusations of the callousness with which she treated the sick in her hospice in India were pointed out. Her response was that she did not want to ease human suffering. That, in her view, human suffering was a positive good in the world. The thought of her made me want to puke and i left.

This brings to mind the subject of blind belief and I would like to quote the words of a very wise cockroach, Archy (of Archy and Mehitabel fame).

i once heard the survivors
of a colony of ants
that had been partially
obliterated by a cow s foot
seriously debating
the intention of the gods
towards their civilization

and further

warty bliggens the toad

i met a toad
the other day by the name
of warty bliggens
he was sitting under
a toadstool
feeling contented
he explained that when the cosmos
was created
the toadstool was especially
planned for his personal
shelter from sun and rain
thought out and prepared
for him

do not tell me
said warty bliggens
that there is not a purpose
in the universe
the thought is blasphemy

a little more
conversation revealed
that warty bliggens
considers himself to be
the center of the said
universe
the earth exists
to grow toadstools for him
to sit under
the sun to give him light
by day and the moon
and wheeling constellations
to make beautiful
the night for the sake of
warty bliggens

to what act of yours
do you impute
this interest on the part
of the creator
of the universe
i asked him
why is it that you
are so greatly favored

Ask rather
said warty bliggens
what the universe
has done to deserve me
if i were a
human being i would
not laugh
too complacently
at poor warty bliggens
for similar
absurdities
have only too often
lodged in the crinkles
of the human cerebrum

archy

Old St Patricks Cathedral Nov 2008