Its the end of the route, as we know it
Fine, fooled you, everyone thinks they know the song, and you’re wrong! Right group mind, just wrong song!
Yesterday morning, as per normal on 4 days of the week nowadays, I set out for work. In terms of distance from home, the furthest I got was about 200 yards! The sad story of why, follows:
I got to the bus stop about my normal time, and waited for the bus to arrive. It didnt, but in all truth, given we’re talking about First buses, no great surprise there. The one thing I quickly realized was that no buses were going by, in either direction. About 30 minutes later, I was getting cold, damp, and sore, when someone checked on their phone, and discovered there’d been an accident between my home, and town, and no traffic was getting through. I did briefly consider just walking the 2 miles into town, getting the bus to work once there, and taking things from there. However, having stood around in said cold, damp weather for 30 minutes, my back objected to the idea, even wearing a brace.
So I went for Plan B, probably a wise starting point anyway, as I would have been pretty late for work, I came home and rung in. Thankfully, a combination of my bosses not thinking it was a wise idea for me to walk 2 miles with my back, in such weather, and the fact there was sufficient staff that day not to need me, I just took the day off, and stayed home. It did finally start to clear about 12.30 (over 3 hours later, 4 hours after accident), but by then, I was going nowhere.
Due to the wonders of the internet, I was able to track down what had happened, and where the accident was. Lets be honest, a horrible sight, as a BMW had crashed into a bus shelter that I’ve used many times when heading for the health center where I get my massages done, and when heading for Wakefield too. A link?
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/wakefield-road-closes-due-serious-14134546
Sadly, late last night, its been announced that one young lady who was standing at the bus stop has died, the other woman there has had major surgery, and quite possibly wont be able to get around easily for about a year, possibly more. Yes, it makes you think, doesnt it? Just because the bus stop I use here has got ‘road bumps’ just before it, doesnt mean it couldnt happen to me. Other stops I use, no such thing, and then…?
I’m sure that at some point that more details of what caused it will come out, but nothing said as of yet. Was he speeding? Was he, heaven forbid, but possible, on his phone, and lost control? I know it shouldnt happen, but lets face it, it does!
Thankfully, all I lost was one day of work, or in a sense, one day of my holiday allowance, which I used to cover it. One poor family has lost a young lady, and another has got an older lady, whose life is going to be ruined for a year or so. Fact is, the next time, well, who knows?
Yes, you’ve worked out its an REM video, I’m sure. I’m only surprised I havent used it before, but seemingly not. I’ve no idea if the traffic in Huddersfield yesterday was as bad as this, but…?
Choosing My Religion
Well, if anyone was expecting something Halloween related today, you’re going to be disappointed. Thats because today, thanks to a friend telling me, its the 500th anniversary of the day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Well supposedly is, there is some feeling that it didnt actually happen, but 500 years on, proving it, or disproving it is nigh impossible, so lets just accept it for now. But yes, regardless of how it was done, it happened, and the Roman Catholic Church, which had reigned supreme in Europe until then, got a nasty surprise! Yes, the Reformation era had begun.
I’m not going to go through the whole history of everything, my knowledge isnt all that great, and Wikipedia can tell you all you need to know in truth, far better than I can. Equally, lets just say he wasnt perfect. He was anti Semitic, no fans of Muslim people either, but of course, 500 years on, trying to define on what led to those feelings, who knows?
My religious upbringing was a complex one. My Father was of Irish, Roman Catholic ancestry, my Mother came from Irish, Protestant ancestry! How they got together, who knows? All I know is that my Mother had to become Catholic to allow them to be married, but whether matters have changed in the 70 years (nearly) since then, I have no idea. All it meant was that for the first 10 years of my life, I went to a Catholic Church, and indeed, as I was trying to be a boy back then, I even served as an altar boy. Then my father left my mother, and I stopped going to a Catholic Church, and ‘changed teams’ lol. Then somewhere around 16, I left school, and slowly, but steadily, I stopped going to church every week. For a few years, I still went from time to time, but by the time I moved to Somerset in 1983, I’d stopped altogether. I was still Christian, you understand, just not a church going one!
And in truth, thats pretty much where I’ve stayed from that day, until then. I went a few times at Christmas in the past, but other than that, no. And yes, they were all definitely Church of England, not Roman Catholic. The last time I went to church, for a service, was at a Reformed Church, in Albany, to hear said friend preach, and to enjoy the whole service. Since then…
No, I have no time for those ‘fire and brimstone’, so called Christian Preachers in the US. Not that they would have any time for a bi, trans woman anyway, but thats beside the point. I did actually, when in Seattle in 2003, get invited to a service, not realizing it was going to be one of that type of preacher. I had to stifle several giggles, as he proceeded to say terrible things about Gay people during his sermon, I must say. No, the person who invited me didnt know at the time, nor did I tell him afterwards. The amusing thing was, that this preacher was quite keen to help me find a job over there, and that as far as he was concerned, the immigration issues could soon be got around, by his friends. No, I never did take up that offer, never saw him again. In fact I was offered other jobs while out there, but I said no, thinking I wanted to come back to the UK. What would have happened if I’d accepted, I will now never know.
But yes, October 31st may be famous for being Halloween, but its also Reformation Day, and this year, even more so, its 500 years since that incredible moment, for Luther, and history.
The video, yes, I spent at least 15 seconds choosing this one lol. Though my blog title might be more apt today?
Last Man On the moon
It was announced this week that the last man to walk on the moon had died. Fine, he was 82, which is a pretty fine age to reach, and we still have 6 people living who have walked there, but even so, its a sad landmark to make. Even more so when you realize that the last time we visited the moon was just over 44 years ago! Since, then, no one! Maybe because for the US, it was all about beating the Soviets to the moon, and once that was achieved, ambition over! The funny thing, of those that flew to the moon (15), but never landed, only 4 are dead! And one of those is the same man who was the last to put foot on the moon, Eugene Cernan. Yes, 3 people have flown there twice, but only Jim Lovell never landed, though he was meant to, but he was part of the crew of Apollo 13, so never got there.
I’m sure at some point in the future, some more names will be added to the list of people who have flown to, or landed on the moon, but when, at present, who knows? It surely makes sense to go back before they head off to Mars in a decade or so, but when did sense come into matters like this?
But yes, sadly, the last man to leave a footprint on the moon is no longer with us, RIP, Eugene Cernan.
Fine, the video. Well, I’ve been talking about a man on the moon, so…though fine, its safe to say Andy Kaufman never went there! REM, and Springsteen!
Just on that basis of a one in a billion chance.
Before tomorrow, I’d like to say thanks to all who read the blog, and enjoy it.
The video, of course it is, a live version from Toronto
On a more realistic, and less silly note, a more serious blog will follow on Sunday
stevielounicks 
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