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July 22, 2007 |
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Altar Boy
FOUND by Dan Dove
in Allegan , Michigan
I found this at the Allegan County Fair in an old paperback book on a free-book table. The name of the book was "By Secret Railway," by Enid La Monte Meadowcroft.
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Social Club Apology February 21, 2007 |
Beach Note December 03, 2007 |
New Plan September 06, 2005 |
Take Me June 18, 2006 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
This find makes me smile it's kind of sweet. I should've written notes like this as a kid maybe Jesus would've helped me to clean my room ?
I thought Jesus only helps people find lost keys.
finally, the book this was found in was made known!
Now that's what I call a find!
thanks dan dove!
The poor kid. He's just hoping Jesus will help him get back to Altair. It's a long trip.
L in Ogden, I think that's St. Christopher. Or is it St. Jude? I dunno. I stopped being Catholic when I was 16.
Does the last line say "I deserve better?"
Ang, I think the last line says "I behave better"
And, maybe this is just the atheist in me talking, but this find really freaks me out. To think someone this young has already been indoctrinated into such a sick, pyscho religion. I hope this poor child, wherever he is now, and however old he is now, has escaped.
Thanks, Kacie - that makes more sense!
Tony Tony turn around
Something's lost and can't be........
No wonder Jesus hasn't answered my prayers. I've been trying to communicate with Him using mental telepathy. Where can I get a copy of "By Secret Railway" (AKA Jesus' Mailbox)?
Not that it matters but it's actually St Anthony (the patron saint of lost and stolen things). I think this is so cute, kids are great.
Call me cynical - but in reading the last line - 'so I behave better' fills my heart with fear. Fear some priest will take advantage of this child's sincere desire to behave better - use that fear to their advantage.
This is to Kacie in Marietta freaking GA.
The Catholic faith is not sick or psycho in any way, thank you.
Eek one more person falls prey to the guilt cult. As to the catholic failth being or not being sick. Look at the the history of enslaving women, the poor and fearful through their religion. I feel that answers any questions on the topic.
Key word: History.
Eh, just as a note, Catholic inaction might not've been the best choice of name, compadre.
agreed kacie -- fucking freaky.. and catholic inaction.. i hope someday you are freed from your blindness..
ps.. just want to let you guys know.. i get a huge amount of joy answering the spam questions right! :-)
Enid La Monte Meadowcroft may be the most pretentious pen name I've ever heard of.
The Catholic Church is a sect of Christianity, it is not a cult. Unfortunately, it has gotten a bad rep because some priests, who by the way are human beings, did some very bad things and are now paying for it. There are many thousands more priests who are also human beings who are not child molesters, but are actually loving, kind, devout people who strive to do what is right and just while at the same time being in their human skin.
Let us not forget that the priests are the minority in a world where child molestation stretches across the many thousands of other human beings throughout the entire world despite their beliefs. The point is, priests are human, just as the rest of us are and are prone to weakness and despicable acts, just as the rest of the world is. The only difference is, you don't hear about the others because they are not in a high profile group.
Whether you are an atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or Christian, or any other religion, then wonderful. But please don't bash an entire group of people or their beliefs, Catholics or otherwise, due to the acts of actual people, despicable or not, within that group.
WHEN I RAISED MY GENIUS, AWESOME KIDS I DIDN'T GIVE THEM ORGANIZED RELIGION. I'M PROBABLY THE BEST PARENTAL UNIT ANY KID COULD EVER HAVE.
jello, the catholic church was corrupt long before priests got the molestation rap. remember the catholics of yore, who charged money to pray loved ones out of purgatory?
fight the real power!
I like this find. It's a child's heart & spirit.
Children - no matter their religious affiliation - at a certain age when they begin to know 'appropriate behavior' from 'inappropriate' by nature want to please their parents and elders.
THAT is why creeps both in/out of the churchs - ALL churchs - take advantage of a child's spirit...
As for cults - I suppose one could view ANY form of religion as a "cult."
Some say atheisism is a cult.
I just feel sorry for people who don't have anything greater than themselves to believe it. Must be grim believing that this is it - and there is nothing after we die.
Kind of depressing.
WHY - pray tell, is this "Creepy?"
When children write to Father Christmas/Santa Claus it isn't considered "creepy?"
That will be all.
I think it sweet.
After all, children know that they can talk to God or Jesus in more ways than just prayer.
It's us adults who forget that or dismiss it...and thus, wonder why our lives aren't better.
It angers me when people think the purity of children is 'creepy.'
It angers me when people think the Catholic church is THE ONLY relgious affilation that has gotten a bad rap.
Ministers, deacons, and Sunday school teachers do bad things too....it's not JUST the priests.
Conversely, it doesn't mean that all/any religions are bad either....it means that the people in them are human...some more troubled and sick than others.
This is so sweet. Great find.
No doubt, this prayer was heard.
catholicism is not the ONLY religious affiliation with a bad rap. not by any means. just happens to be the religious affiliation most applicable to this particular find.
metta in asheville said: "...remember the catholics of yore, who charged money to pray loved ones out of purgatory? "
Metta, those days are long gone. Times change, people change, religions change too. I am talking about what is going on in this age.
I agree with Ruth. The purity of a child is precious and not creepy at all. When we are born, we are sinless, we are pure, and somehow we are lucky enough to hold on to that until the confusion of our parents and those who influence us, whether for good or bad, sink into and cloud our little minds. Once we accept these lies as truth, we are no longer pure.
Fortunately for some, once you become an adult and have been gifted with the ability to see through all the lies that you've been told, and once you go through all the emotions that come along with it, you will be able to see what's really true about yourself and have compassion for those who don't know any better. The best anyone can do is forgive them and love them anyway. To forgive and love is a difficult thing to do at first. However it can be done and once it starts, it is just as difficult to stop.
I meant to include Roger as well as Ruth in my agreement. :)
totally not a creepy find. i agree. just thought i'd point out that people dislike religions for various reasons, some of them valid.
i have a love-hate relationship with organized religion and love studying/discussing it. that's all i'm doing. no need to think i'm hatin'.
I agree--it's not creepy. I think it's sweet.
If someone sees catholicism as sick and psycho, then yes, this note would be creepy.
But even if you do not believe in God and Jesus, there is no reason to think of the Catholic church as creepy. It gets a bad name from a few highly publicized priests and a bad history, but it's not like they preach about evil or force members into submission.
Lighten up, guys, it's not like the Catholic church does its best to make people feel guilty about some of the most natural and human of emotions. It's not like they encourage people to breed like rabbits in an already overpopulated world. It's not like the creepy Nazi in charge of the whole thing is doing his best to push back any progress the church has made in the last century or so. It's not like the church is using its wealth and power to influence governments to pass laws and persecute non-christians based on some perverse definitions of morality.
Oh wait. I guess they DO do all that, and more. Please note that I didn't mention the part about creating, fostering, and defending child molesters, or any of the horrors that they perpetrated in the long ago past.
Jello- Well put :)
I also agree with Roger and Ruth.
Children, I believe have a vision that most adults do not.
They are closer to Heaven and Enlightenment than anyone I think.
Jello, doesn't the Catholic church say that we are born sinners due to original sin and therefore when children are born they are neither innocent nor pure? Isn't that why there is baptism at birth?
In any case, the catholic religion is no creepier than any other christian sect, or any monotheistic religion.
Eek, you people are creepy.
I'm a firm believer in the freedom of religion and judge people more by their acts than their beliefs. I happen not to be Catholic, but I still support those who act in the church's name, as long as the name asks for good things.
I don't care if you're helping that homeless guy on the side of the street in the name of God or because you feel that it's the right thing to do, you're pretty cool in my book.
Conversely, if you start a war in the name of God or money or anything else for that matter, you're not pretty cool in my book.
So, I must say again, you guys are creepy in not judging people by who they are but by how they spend their Sunday mornings.
As for the note, I hope Jesus helps him.
wow. yall took this really far.
its a cute find and thats that.
and...All religions by definition are cults. It’s not a bad thing we just put a negative connotation on the word cult.
Calm down, everyone. Each to his own.
All I can think about is my experience with Catholic school. It wasn't a positive one, and my mother's experience was worse.
I think this note is adorable, no matter if he's asking Jesus, Moses or Muhammad. Personaly, I believe the Catholic Church has good intentions, but can be extremely closed minded. I don't know what it's like to be raised in a religious home, but I chose to be a Unitarian since i was about 13. Since then I've given religion a lot of thought, and I think it can create a sort of safety blanket for some people. But the people who blindly follow the church, without any question of if what they're doing is right, worries me. Sometimes I think religion, especially Christianity, stops people from creating their own opinions and being themselves. Even with these thoughts, I still have true respect for people of all religions, no matter what they believe.
Your silly comments remind me of the South Park episode where the priest goes to the Vatican and tries to change the holy doctrine of Vatican law. It's very funny... so sayith the spider.
"Tristin in AK said:
Jello, doesn't the Catholic church say that we are born sinners due to original sin and therefore when children are born they are neither innocent nor pure? Isn't that why there is baptism at birth?"
Tristin, I don't know. I was not raised in a Catholic church. But it is in my opinion that there is absolutely nothing that a young child could possibly do that would be so wrong that it would be considered a sin in the heart of <insert Divine deity here>.
"Spam protection: Spell the word 'dog' backwards." Divine intervention??? ;)
It's so unfortunate that "Religion" often brings to mind "hypocrisy". The fallibility of humans paints the world the picture of "religion", rather than the infallibility of God. It's saddening to think that love and compassion are the furthest things from many prominent, self-proclaimed "Christians" or "Catholics". Even the Pope himself.
On a lighter note, SALT is back!
To clarify; I am not basing my poor opinion of christain religion solely on recent media coverage of child molestation. Nor am I saying that all Christains are bad people. I am simply stating my opinion that organized religions have a major potential for good, which all too often is squandered on power seeking.
its not just catholics, like other people have said, people with a propensity to abuse children will find their way into positions that put them in contact with children. Roger started a list:
"Ministers, deacons, and Sunday school teachers do bad things too....it's not JUST the priests." I'll continue it.
boy scout leaders, teachers, soccer coaches, pizza delivery guys, neighbours, uncles, fathers, shall i go on?
Jello, I completely agree with you on that point.
Also, good find. Really cute
The note writer is asking Jesus to "help me to hand my work in on time." I can understand why lots of you think that is cute. However, consider that just asking Jesus to help will neither get the work done nor get it handed in. The petitioner actually needs to do the work and hand it in himself/herself or it WILL NOT get done. The problem, of course, is that plenty of people think that just praying for something is enough, when that is not the case at all.
If I had to choose between teaching my children to take competent action, or teaching them to pray, you can bet it would be the former.
May I suggest using your favorite search engine with the keywords prayer and superstition. The top hit is a pretty good one.
To clairfy to everyone:
I didn't mean that the Catholic religion was the only corrupt and disguiting religion. I think that religion in general is a horrible horrible thing, all religions equally. Yes, maybe some good comes out of religion, but I feel the bad outweighs the good 90% of the time.
One day all these people will stop loving made-up fairy tale deities (and that means you too, God) and start loving and caring about each other.
Speaking from the perspective of 12 years of continuous Catholic school, I have a few comments.
Cult
Creepy
Brainwashing
I agree with Rex.
I think I liked this place before the comments section.
Enid La Monte Meadowcroft wrote books about Christopher Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Crazy Horse, Davy Crockett and Benjamin Franklin. Whew! Evidently a force to be reckoned with in her day (1940s/50s). Perhaps reading her book would have made the altar boy a better student, rather than his sad brainwashed prayer.
"...? in ...! said:
I think I liked this place before the comments section."
Don't read them.
"I just feel sorry for people who don't have anything greater than themselves to believe it. Must be grim believing that this is it - and there is nothing after we die.
Kind of depressing. "
- Believe me, it's not. And it's a long way from not believing in God to not believing in anything greater than myself. I believe that we have a duty to make the world better than it was when we got here. I work hard, not on some random collection of "rules" I need to follow to get to a mythical good place, but to make sure that I touch lives for good so the good goes forward.
As far as no afterlife and the feeling "this is it," if by "this" you mean the world, it can be pretty awesome - not all of it, but parts of it. And when I die, I want those left after me to be able to say, "That Elizabeth - she was a great woman." THAT is my definition of an afterlife.
Jello-
Interesting that you say the priests are "paying for" what they have done. I guess these days $660 million dollars (spread out amongst 500 families, it doesn't sound like so much when you phrase it correctly) is the going rate for ruining the lives of so many innocent children, but in my day, it was called molestation, rape, and sodomy and those people who perpetrated such terrible acts would have gone to prison and spent there life being sodomized by other inmates. I don't remember and priests being sent to prison or even registering as sex offenders, all I remember are cover ups and pay offs. I don't know how a man who claims to be godly can think that throwing money at something is the same thing as atoning for it.
Oh, and since when do Catholics consider children to be born without sin? If that is the case, why do unbaptized babies go to Hell?
Salt in the sea - DO YOU THINK THAT BY USING CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE YOU ARE SCREAMING YOUR KIDS ARE GOING TO TURN OUT BETTER
Actually, the patron saint of "lost items" is St. Anthony. I am Catholic but it wasn't the Catholicism that knew that - it was google.
I feel this kid's pain. I was brought up in a fundamentalist christian family. I wrote notes like that to jesus and god all the time as a kid, desperately hoping that someone, ANYone would hear me and help me. The emotional load of "if you don't (insert parental whim here) then that means you aren't honouring your parents, so YOU'RE GOING TO HELL" was nearly unbearable. Then I saw Star Wars and saw a different belief system, that all things are connected and affect each other, and started actively looking for a different belief system. Now I'm happily agnostic, attend a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and believe that life is heaven and hell, and if we really screw up we come back as household appliances.
mONA-
sHAME oN yOU....
i'LL cONTINUE yOUR lIST fOR yOU:
gIRL sCOUT lEADERS, pIZZA dELIVERY gIRLS, aUNTS, mOTHERS
I love how a simple prayer written by some child lit the fire to this argument. It just shows how at arms everyone is about religion. And why?? I will never understand it.
I feel no need to tell anyone what my religious beliefs, but if there is one prayer I would ever pray it would be this:
"May humankind take their clenched fists and bared teeth elsewhere."
And by that I mean, don't we have better things to be fighting for? We need to use our energies to fight against poverty, abuse, AIDS, genocide, etc. If we would all take each other's hands and fight together, we would be a fearsome and unstoppable force. And yet, progress refuses to be made because humans refuse to make it together. Sad.
You got it, kid!