Podcasts about st lucy

Homily from the Mass offered on Friday, December 13th. To support the podcast financially, click here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://stpiuscda.org/online-giving⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

It's that time of year again: frantic last minute shopping, swearing at rolls of Sellotape, covering fir trees with bling....and the dragons emerge with a festive folkloric offering that adds a bit of shadow to the season.   This year Jules and Madeleine take a look at the strange relationship between Christmas and witchcraft. If that sounds implausible, stick around - there is a bizarre logic behind it. As with many folkloric traditions, the Christmas witch goes back centuries but some of the modern iterations bring a new level of horror to the tradition. We remember Father Christmas but forget Perchta. We tell stories about St Nicholas but forget St Lucy and her alter Ego, Bloody Lucy. And just who led the wild hunts during Saturnalia and later the twelve days of Christmas? Find out in a special festive episode.   Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic

Lucia of Syracuse (c. 283 – 304 AD), also called Saint Lucia (Latin: Sancta Lucia) and better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution.

Readings here

Friends of the Rosary, Today, December 13, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Lucy (283-304), the famous Sicilian martyr venerated since ancient times. Born and died in Syracuse, Sicily, Lucy (or Lucia) made a vow of virginity and distributed her wealth to the poor. With the help of the Holy Spirit, she stood immovable in her virginity. After torture, which included taking out her eyes, a fire was then built around her, but again, God protected her. She was finally put to death by the sword.Today's feast can easily be harmonized with Advent themes, as this saint is a living symbol of light amid darkness and typifies the Church and the soul now preparing their bridal robes for a Christmas marriage. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!St. Lucy, Pray for Us! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • December 13, 2024, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Another offer of mercy from Our Lord --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/william-wannall/support

After five decades of brutal dictatorship, Syrians in Sweden have rejoiced over the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule. And: Luciadagen's being celebrated around Sweden with musical processions, saffron buns and glögg. We hear about the folklore behind St Lucy's Day as it's sometimes called in English.Also: Musikhjälpen, the Swedish public broadcasters' annual marathon charity broadcast, is currently underway in Sundsvall.Plus: Nobel Week has wrapped up in Stockholm. We hear from schoolkids in the city's north who were preparing to meet this year's literature laureate, Han Kang.Presenters: Michael Walsh and Dave RussellProducer: Kris Boswell

December 13th, 2024 St Lucy - Light for the Eyes of Faith Advent Patience vs. Revolutionary Impatience The Mysterious Flying House of Loreto The Blindness of Sin St Lucy Stood Her Ground for Love of Christ

Adam is back after a brief break from the show. Cory Grizzle joins Adam for an Advent conversation about asking for help. We go back to the archives to learn about St. Lucy with Fr. Jeffrey Kirby. For more information on Covenant Network, please visit OurCatholicRadio.org

44 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.Simile est regnum caelorum thesauro abscondito in agro : quem qui invenit homo, abscondit, et prae gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa quae habet, et emit agrum illum.  45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls.Iterum simile est regnum caelorum homini negotiatori, quaerenti bonas margaritas.  46 Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.Inventa autem una pretiosa margarita, abiit, et vendidit omnia quae habuit, et emit eam.  47 Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kind of fishes.Iterum simile est regnum caelorum sagenae missae in mare, et ex omni genere piscium congreganti.  48 Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth.Quam, cum impleta esset, educentes, et secus littus sedentes, elegerunt bonis in vasa, malos autem foras miserunt.  49 So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just.Sic erit in consummatione saeculi : exibunt angeli, et separabunt malos de medio justorum,  50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.et mittent eos in caminum ignis : ibi erit fletus, et stridor dentium.  51 Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes.Intellexistis haec omnia? Dicunt ei : Etiam.  52 He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.Ait illis : Ideo omnis scriba doctus in regno caelorum, similis est homini patrifamilias, qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. Born at Syracuse at Sicily of noble parents, St Lucy gave herself to Jesus and chose death rather than lose the incorruptible treasure of her virginity, A.D. 303. Her name occurs in the canon of the Mass.

13 December 2024

On December 13th, the Church commemorates and celebrates St. Lucy of Syracuse. While St. Lucy is not as well known in America as she is in Europe, still hers is a story about the martyrdom of a girl at a young age. Over the centuries, her story is filled with as much legend as it is historical fact, and led to many Christian European celebrations and traditions that may have be wrapped up in our own Christmas celebrations here.   Bulletin: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rRF0ZgdIwZj4ZwihWy7SHqsoOG2UYNa3/view?usp=sharing  

The Community of St Gregory the Great sing the Gregorian Chant Mass for the Memoria of St Lucy. Recorded live at Southgate House on 13 December 2024.

Today on Lessons from the Martyrs we have the amazing story of St. Lucy and our listeners share testimonies of the wonderful women in their lives.

Isaiah 48:17-19 (‘Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!') 2 Corinthians 10:17-11:2 (‘I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ')

Welcome to our Festive Calendar, a special series of The Reader Podcast. Every day this December we will share with you a seasonal poem or a short extract from a novel or story, read by one of our staff or volunteer Reader Leaders. Today's reading is the poem 'Nocturnal Upon St Lucy's Day' by John Donne. It's read by Kristin Hutchinson, who works for The Reader. Support our Christmas Appeal and make a difference to the lives of people living with dementia. Please give what you can at www.thereader.org.uk   Production by Chris Lynn. Music by Chris Lynn & Frank Johnson

Order of Divine Service, p.7   The Augustana Service Book and Hymnal Gloria in Excelsis Deo is omitted Readings:  Ecclesiasticus 51:1-7, 2 Corinthians 10:17-18, 11:1-2; Matthew 13:44-52 Hymn of the Day: “Rejoice, All Ye Believers” (The Augustana Service Book and Hymnal #67, HS98 #801 --Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL). Service Bulletin: December-13-St-Lucy-Martyr-Insert-2024.pdf https://vimeo.com/1037221314?share=copy

Join Paola as she shares family friendly and delightful resources for St. Lucy's day

December is packed with pagan holidays & there is truly so much magick this time of year! I talk about some of my favorite December festivals including Saturnalia, The Feast of St Lucy, the Solstice and Yule. I also give tips on what type of magick is helpful this time of year and spell ideas for December.  Shop the course bundle sale until Dec 6th! CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE COURSE BUNDLES Join me on Patreon & support the show! I am going to be sharing some spell recipes & ritual write ups throughout the month of December for some of the ideas I mentioned in this episode. I am also holding our Solstice ritual on December 18th at 7pm ET in the Coven tier for a night of festive magick.  Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/angelicacresci Follow me on Instagram @angelicascresci

Sharads Bar & Grill Benthams St Lucy by Mastermind Master Studio

Armando Contreras is the National president and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy Inc. The organization has 55 affiliates, 53 of which are here in the United States and two are in Canada. Armando grew up in East Los Angeles and then attended college at the University of Southern California where he obtained a degree in Business Administration. Later he secured a Master's degree in Divinity from the University of San Francisco.   Armando has worked both in the for profit world as well as for and with several nonprofit organizations. He tells us about all his life adventures including being a cancer survivor now for ten years.   Mr. Contreras and I have a great discussion about his vision for UCP which this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Along the way, UCP expanded services beyond just working with persons with Cerebral Palsy. As he explains, the same kinds of services required by people with CP also apply to persons with Downs and Autism.   I hope what Armando discusses with me inspires you as much as it did me. Please let me know what you think.     About the Guest:   Armando A. Contreras is the President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Virginia-based United Cerebral Palsy Inc., one of the nation's leading health associations providing vital services and advocating for the inclusion of people living with neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome via its 55 affiliates (53 in the U.S. and two in Canada).   A native of Los Angeles, Armando's professional career includes having served as CEO of UCP of Central Arizona, President and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC), Director of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, and Executive Director of the Council on Small Business under former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.   He was featured in Activator Magazine's March 2021 issue (“A Servant Leader's Faithful Journey”). In November 2016, Arizona Business Magazine recognized him as a top CEO in the nonprofit health sector. In 2015, Armando was named one of the most Influential Minority Business Leaders in Arizona. He was also the featured CEO in the December 2013 issue of Arizona Business Magazine, and the Phoenix Business Journal awarded him a Champions in Diversity award in 2012. Armando was a special guest on The Hill newspaper's virtual Disability Summit, featuring policymakers, business and nonprofit leaders discussing ways to increase employment across the disability community.   Armando attended the Harvard School of Business Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. In May 2001, he was honored to meet with President George W. Bush to discuss faith-based and community initiatives during a White House gathering on the topic.   Today, Armando serves on the Board of SourceAmerica. He is a former member of the Bishop's Finance Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, and he recently completed a term serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Kino Border Initiative, a binational organization that promotes U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policies that affirm the dignity of the human person.   Armando earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in theology from the University of San Francisco. He also received certificates from the Indiana University School of Philanthropy and Harvard University.   He and his wife, Norma Contreras, live in Phoenix, where they are active in the community, particularly contributing their time and talents to faith-based social justice issues. The couple has three adult children and a grandson with another grandson on the way.       About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and I won't go through all that again, it's inclusion because that means we include disabilities. Diversity typically doesn't, but the unexpected is what we get to deal with a lot as well. It's all fun, and we're glad that you're able to be here with us, wherever you happen to be. Our guest today is Armando Contreras, who is the president of United Cerebral Palsy, Inc, and I'm really anxious to hear more about that keeps keeps him, and I think a lot of us busy, and there's a lot of good stories and very relevant things to talk about regarding that. So let's get to it, Armando, I want to thank you and really appreciate you being here. Michael,   Armando Contreras ** 02:06 it's such a pleasure, and really it's an honor that I can be here on your show. So thank you for the kind invitation. Well, you   Michael Hingson ** 02:15 are. You're certainly most welcome, and Armando is one of those people who came to us again because of Sheldon Lewis here at accessibe, and he's he's keeping us busy, which is a good thing, and he's probably working on getting Armando to use accessibe, unless you already are with UCP. I haven't checked the website lately. Well, we   Armando Contreras ** 02:33 have. So we've already put in that, I believe, a plugin, and some of our affiliates are actually using accessibe as well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:43 which is cool, and it does a lot to help, which is, of course, what it's all about. Because accessibe, using AI, is able to do a lot of the work with the AI widget, not all, but a lot that needs to be done. So it's really great that you guys are using it, and I appreciate that and thank you for it, or on behalf of all of us at accessibe, yeah,   Armando Contreras ** 03:04 you're welcome. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 03:06 why don't we start as I love to do at the beginning? Why don't tell us a little bit about kind of the early Armando growing up and all that sort of stuff? Yes, so might as well,   Armando Contreras ** 03:18 yeah, the early Armando, growing up, was in East Los Angeles, in East LA so my father had a disability for most of his life. He had a he was in a car accident, and the doctors had said he would never work again. And right about that time when he had that car accident. I was born. I was the first, the oldest of three and my brother Louis and my sister Elizabeth. So life really changed for him, because he was middle class entrepreneur in Mexico, while he was American citizen. Then when he married my mom, then they moved over to Los Angeles, and eventually East Los Angeles, and that's where I grew up. I grew up pretty much in, you can say, in poverty. And while we were in a neighborhood called in Barrio, it's just a neighborhood of of, really, for the most part, a lot of good people. Our neighbors were fantastic, and we knew each other. So that was kind of like the beginning of many years of really, you know, experiencing disabilities with my dad and seeing what he had gone through. And it was a it was a tough, really. It was a tough. It was tough growing up, let me put it to you that way, for for many reasons. So then later, I got involved with the Catholic Church, Saint Lucy. Catholic Church in Los Angeles or a small town called City terrace, and that kind of that really changed a lot for me, as far as getting involved with community issues, getting involved in helping people, getting involved in connecting with the kind of the local issues that were happening in the city of Los Angeles, because those priests, those Catholic priests, were very involved in that, in ministries, and they went outside of the ministries to help community members, regardless if they were Catholic or not, what. And prior to that, I got involved as a musician. So I was a trumpet player, and I played trumpet at St Lucy's church for about 23 years. But then that that did something, something of sort of a miracle for me, because when I applied after going to a junior college in Los Angeles College, and then I applied to a dream university, USC, so the University of Southern California, and I think one of the big reasons that I got in was because of my community involvement, so that that led to a full scholarship, and that was quite the blessing for me, because there was no way that that we can afford me going to a private university. So, you know, that's kind of like, in the nutshell, my my upbringing, otherwise I would be here three days, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 06:30 yeah, what year? What years were you at USC,   Armando Contreras ** 06:34 I was there. I was there in 8085 through 87 ish, around that time? Yeah, around that that time? Yeah, I graduated in 87   Michael Hingson ** 06:46 that's that's much beyond my favorite USC football game, which was, how was it? I think Notre Dame was leading SC 24 to nothing at the end of the first half. You know, the game, I can tell by the end, it was 55 to 24 USC, which is the way it should be.   Armando Contreras ** 07:07 You know, SC had his great moments, and sc has had their challenging moments. Has Yeah. So, you know, last year, it could have been a better year for us. But, you know, we look to the future. And like I always say, don't fight on. So fight on   Michael Hingson ** 07:23 is right. My wife did her graduate work at SC I've never been to a football game there or anywhere, and one of these days, I'd love to go, but she just passed away in November of 2022 we were married for 40 years, but I've already been an SC fan before I married her, and one of my favorite SC stories is that the day we got married, we arrived at the church, and it was supposed to be a wedding that would pack the church. A lot of people wanted to come and see us get together, but the wedding was supposed to start at four o'clock, and like the church was less than half full on about 412 suddenly the doors opened, and this whole crowd came in, and the wedding went forward, only about 15 minutes late. Later, we tried to find out what it was that kept people away for so long. And what we heard was everyone was in their cars waiting for the end of the USC Notre Dame game. And since SC one, it was that God clearly was on our side.   Armando Contreras ** 08:25 I love that. Yeah, it's a great story. And my my sister, condolences for loss.   Michael Hingson ** 08:31 Well, thank you. You know she her body was just slowing down. She was in a wheelchair her whole life, and just in 2022, things were kind of catching up. And as I say, the spirit tends to move ahead of the body sometimes, and that's what happened. But she's watching somewhere, and if I misbehave, I'll hear about it. I'm not at all worried I'm going to try to be a good kid. But that's great that she did go to USC, and you said something else. I think that's really interesting to me, and that is that where you grew up, people were very nice and very friendly. And I think that is so often true, and a lot of times people stray into some of these areas and they think it's going to be horrible, and they they look for the worst, and they find it because they're not looking for the best. They're not looking to try to find friendly people and and it's so unfortunate that too many, too many times, we don't really look for the best in people. And unfortunately, then it comes out.   Armando Contreras ** 09:34 Well, you know, I I could only say great things about East LA and the barrio that I, that I grew up in, were there elements in there? Of course, sure you were, we were about a block away from from the gang activity, and you just had a choice, right? And thanks to my parents that were super strict, they didn't, they didn't allow me to make those kind of choices when I was younger. You know. To join the gangs, but that element was in front of you, you know, and some of them, some of the folks I still know today, some of them that were in gangs and stuff, now they've settled down. They have families, but I just have to say that there was a sense of community there where I grew up, even, even, or despite the elements that were around us. So yes, do I hear the negativity when they somebody mentions East Los Angeles? Yes, but I could, I have to say that even though we grew up in poverty and even though there was a lot of challenges for us as a family, I I really cherish the neighbors that were there. When I remember that the kind of those gatherings, we had nothing. So there was no we played, you know, with just a regular basketball or something. There was no communication via a cell phone or anything like that. Yeah. So, you know, I have only good things to say. And part of my upbringing there today, I realized that wow, I was I was working on a strategic plan without even knowing what a strategic plan was back in the day. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 11:17 Do you think that today it's harder, or there's more of that kind of activity, or is it just that people are now having their attention drawn more to it, and again, still, I think all too often deal with it in such a negative way. But do you think it's worse than it was?   Armando Contreras ** 11:36 I mean, if we're talking about, if we're talking about gang activity. I mean that still, I think, is just as prominent that today, unfortunately, than what it was this as it was back. You know, when I grew up in the night, in the 60s, I believe that leaders, community leaders, our representatives, really have to invest into communities, invest in education, invest in in jobs, right? Because people, naturally, some of them, will start looking for a way of making a living, and they may choose a different route. In addition to that, gangs and they become a family. So, you know, parents do need to, you know, also be aware of what their kids are doing, and support them and and nurture them and show them love, right? And because, if you really get to the bottom of it, and you start speaking to a gang member, she or he, there's underlining problems, and maybe comes from family. You know, there could be so many things that are happening, but I truly have a vision that that someday there's going to be more funds invested into communities like East Los Angeles, because a lot of great people come out of there, and I'm not talking about myself, but there's just a lot of good people, good hearted people, that really like to help their neighbor and others. When   Michael Hingson ** 13:10 I was selling in New York, when still living in California, and would go back and spend days at a time, I stayed at a particular hotel in midtown Manhattan, Near Time Square, and if I went out at night, every so often, somebody would come up and he would say, I'm one of the guardian angels. You're familiar with them? Yes. And he said, I'm with guardian angels. I want to walk with you. And I said, you know, you don't need to. And he said, I want to. And I didn't mind, but what I always felt and and experienced was if I treated people right, if I treated people like people, if I was I was treated like someone, and I didn't really need to fear any of the other kinds of things. Now, I'm sure there were crazies around, but in general, I really do think that if we would be a little bit more open to just accepting and not fear so much those things that we don't understand, or those kinds of communities that we're not as knowledgeable about, and I'm not so much thinking of the gangs, but just all the other communities, like East LA and watts and so on, we would be a whole lot better off, and we would learn to get along with people better.   Armando Contreras ** 14:31 I totally agree with that. I think it's building relationships, right, and getting to help and getting to know, you know, folks from different ethnicities, people with different abilities, right? It all comes together. Here is that, knowing them, respecting them, listening for understanding, and then building a friendship, right? And collaborating together. Um. For the betterment of humanity. That's what I believe, where it's at, and everybody has an opportunity to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 15:08 Yeah, and I just think that we, we, we somehow also need to get the politics out of providing the funds. And I don't know, it's just people have locked themselves into some very hard political decisions sometimes that that don't help the process at all.   Armando Contreras ** 15:26 Yeah? Michael, so yes, yes. Part of it is yes, taking out the politics, but the other part of it is bringing in the politics right? Is letting our our representatives, our public officials, and on the local level, on the municipality level, state level, on the federal level, to bring them in and know what the issues are, because we're all part of the fabric of society. Yeah, all somehow we do give, and we do contribute, and I don't, I don't care what ethnicity, what religion you are, if you if you have a disability, if you don't have a disability, we're all part of the society, and I believe that our representatives really need to know that and how we contribute in a very big way.   Michael Hingson ** 16:16 I think the biggest part is they need to be open to listening to hear that some do, some don't. And I am a firm believer in the fact that over time, all the issues that we need to deal with will get dealt with.   Armando Contreras ** 16:30 I believe so too, and I think those that those that don't listen to communities, for whatever reason it is that eventually somebody in their family or them may end up in that situation themselves, and then, you know, they'll begin to have that lived experience. But while they've had a chance to make a difference, and if they ignore it, then there was a window of opportunity for them to do something.   Michael Hingson ** 17:01 Yeah, well, and, and if they choose to ignore that again, I believe that things will will happen to deal with that, whatever it is, and hopefully it it doesn't a negative, horrible thing that has to happen to make them realize it. But I think in some cases, that has been what has occurred. But I have a lot of faith in the human race. Yes, so do I. Well, so you, what was your degree in from USC?   Armando Contreras ** 17:29 It was in business administration.   Michael Hingson ** 17:32 Ah. And did you go to any football games?   Armando Contreras ** 17:35 I did, yeah, good   Michael Hingson ** 17:36 for you. My wife did too. Yeah.   Armando Contreras ** 17:38 And, and most recently, most recently, I've gone to the last two USC UCLA games. So last year, it was great. It was fantastic. We were at the Rose Bowl at, you know, in UCLA territory this year, not so good. We were so good, not so good. We were at home at the Coliseum. And, you know, it didn't, it didn't work at a while, but it was a fun game. I   Michael Hingson ** 18:04 don't know, what do you think of the coach?   Armando Contreras ** 18:07 Um, I think that he's good, and I think that he will continue to be successful this year, this next year. I think it will be better this year. Yeah, I think so. And they got this young, this young man that showed up at the at the bowl game. I'm trying to remember Miller. I think it was Miller, and it was his name, and he showed up. He was a he, he did a fantastic job. And I do see a great future for him at USC and perhaps in in the in the NFL.   Michael Hingson ** 18:40 Well, it'll be fun. I know they got a new defensive coordinator and that they needed, so we'll, we'll see how it goes. But we won't bore everyone with football and our likes, but it's nevertheless, it's part of the world. So there you go, but then you went on to the University of San Francisco, right?   Armando Contreras ** 19:01 I did. So that was a few years later, and I graduated, I believe, in 2004 and I it was, it was something that drew me, and it was an opportunity for me to get a degree in Theology at a Jesuit university. So at that time, I was working for a faith based Catholic organization, a national organization called the National Catholic council for Hispanic ministry. And what we looked at overall in the United States were the issues of upper mobility for Hispanic Catholics for immigrants, or for our sisters and brothers that are immigrants, the issues that are happening with Hispanic families, education was a huge thing. You know, how do we how do we move, you know, our children that from, you know, grammar school to. Catholic high schools and perhaps Catholic universities were, yeah, unfortunate. Unfortunately, I have to say, is that there's not a whole lot of access, and we're the backbone of the Catholic Church, right? Because it's so expensive. So those were the things that that we were part of, and one of the opportunities that came about was attending the University of San Francisco and and I received, you know, I earned a degree in theology, master's degree, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 20:32 well, let's go back a little bit. So you graduated from SC then what did you do?   Armando Contreras ** 20:37 Well, then I had several jobs after that. I worked for a nonprofit in Los Angeles that helped people get jobs. And then after that, I believe, I went into a construction company as a contract administrator. I was here for maybe a year and a half or so, and then I went on for whatever reason I was interested in real estate. So then I worked for a corporation that did mortgage loans. And in that I met a gentleman who had his own real estate company, and then we decided to start our own real estate company. So I did that for about seven, seven years, and then I I got hired to work with this nonprofit, the National Catholic council that I just mentioned a little bit ago. I was there for about 10 and a half years. So I had I had a chance to travel around the nation and to meet with Hispanic Catholic leaders, lay leaders. I got to meet with religious orders of men and women from Jesuits, Franciscans, many other different orders. So it was, it was really a insightful time for me in those 10 and a half years about our church. And then after that, we moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix. And shortly after that, I got hired. Let's see here. I'm trying to remember the I got hired by governor Janet Napolitano, but I was her small business advocate, and in about 11 months, I moved into being a deputy director of a one of her departments, the Arizona register of contractors, and soon after that, I was on her cabinet. So I was honored to serve under Janet Napolitano when she moved to Washington, DC, because President Barack Obama appointed her as Secretary of Homeland Security. Then I moved on to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, here Arizona, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And then about a year later, then that's where I had folks come to me and said, there's an organization here that is the United Cerebral Palsy association of central Arizona. And I said, Well, I'm going to maybe put the word out and see who might be interested in that position, which was a CEO position. And then they said, No, we're looking for somebody like you. So to make a long story short, I got hired. And that was really a beginning of of a lot of things. I got hired not because I had the clinical background, or the researcher background, or that I had been involved with disabilities. I got hired so then I can take take that organization to another level, where they wanted to increase the revenues, they wanted to increase their brand awareness. They wanted to make sure that we had stronger collaborations in the community in Arizona, in in Phoenix, and that's why I got hired, to make sure that we enhance that to benefit the children and adults that we were serving.   Michael Hingson ** 24:05 Well. So what do you think about the differences since you've been in a position to have done both working in the for profit corporate kind of world, as opposed to working in the the nonprofit sector? That's,   Armando Contreras ** 24:21 that's Michael. That's a really interesting question, because there are similarities,   Michael Hingson ** 24:27 I know, and I've done the same thing. I've worked for both as well. Well,   Armando Contreras ** 24:31 look, you know, I'm working for a nonprofit, and those that are going to be listening to this, that are CEOs are working in development for both for profits and nonprofits. There's not a whole there's not a big difference there. Because we strive to be sustainable, like a for profit. We strive to look at years to come, because we want to be around and help people in the next 1015, 75, Years which we we're celebrating this year, our 75th anniversary. So part of our responsibility as a leader, as a president and CEO, is really looking beyond the years that you're going to be there. You can, you can serve for one year, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. But really the i i truly believe that the test is, once you leave, will that organization continue to survive because of what you put together? So to answer your question, a lot of similarities between a for profit and a non profit. However, at the end of the day, the mission for us is to not make a profit, but to be sustainable so we can continue our life saving work   Michael Hingson ** 25:49 and for not, not for profits. Nonprofits generally tend to work more in an arena where they're trying to make a social difference. And although they're they're still selling products. The products are different. They're oftentimes less tangible, although a lot of the services that that they provide, like UCB, UCP provides and so on, end up being very tangible, but still there's there's an intangibility, but still, I agree with you that the reality is that they're very similar. Development is extremely similar to what a for profit company does. And in reality, when you're in development, you're in sales, and when you're in sales, you're in development, it's just that people have come up with two words for the same thing, but they're so similar in what you ultimately are trying to get from them, and ultimately, how you present to people who you want to be your customers or your donors, is so much the same as well.   Armando Contreras ** 27:00 Yeah, I agree with you, Michael, so in development, because I also have a background in fundraising, it's aligning with the folks that have the same vision and that would want to contribute for an impact that's happening in society. So with United Cerebral Palsy and our affiliates are providing direct services to children and adults with cerebral palsy and many other conditions. So there are people that are very, very generous, but I have to say that in the world of philanthropy now, donors are becoming a lot more informed, and they want to make sure that the dollar that they're going to donate, that it's going to go a long way. Yeah, so obviously they're looking at at administrative costs versus your program program costs, right? And that's a good thing. I encourage the philanthropic community to do that, to do their research and to pick those nonprofits in the United States or maybe around the world that are really making a huge impact. Michael, we we serve 100 and approximately 155,000 children and adults on an annual basis, and this is our affiliates that are working day in and day out to provide those services, vital services, life saving services, and services that maybe other organizations don't or people don't want to do. So those are the things that that people that are going to invest their return is really what's happening in the lives of 1000s and hundreds of 1000s of people. Many,   Michael Hingson ** 28:45 many years ago, I remember watching a little bit of a telethon. It was actually on Channel 13 out here, kcop, and it was back in what had to be the early to mid 80s, I think, and it was a telethon put on by the Society for the Prevention of blindness, which I don't even know whether they're around anymore, but at the end of the telethon, they had raised, I think, like $200,000 it was a local, Just independent television station doing it. But what we learned was that 95% of the cost of the telethon went to pay for it, and that the organization only ended up with about 5% of that $200,000 which is, of course, a real problem.   Armando Contreras ** 29:39 It is so like I mentioned before, is that today you're having more informed donors, right, that are looking at that ratio, right? Yeah, how much of their dollar is going to go to actual services, right? Versus cost for putting on a. For putting like you mentioned, a telethon today, there's not a whole lot of telethons going on. Have a million channels, but back in the day, I remember the channels 13, 574, and maybe 11 nine. Yeah, 11 nine. So there was a few more today. What do you have? 234, 100, and then more and all of that. There's other ways that I certainly believe that that can be as impactful and less expensive than the telethons. But sure, you bring up a really good point, is that if you're going to, if you're a donor, if you're a philanthropist, if you really want to have your money change people's lives, they have to do some homework. Yeah, they have to look at that nonprofit and to make sure that 90% of your dollars not going into it, and 90% is not going into it, administrative expenses. It   Michael Hingson ** 30:55 may well be that that 90% works or maybe a little bit less. You're spending a little bit more money on administration, if you can justify it, to say, but look out of that we are able to reach more people and thus get more money. But I do think it's, it's a it's a tight rope.   Armando Contreras ** 31:20 Yeah, I definitely agree with that, that you have to be strategic when you're out fundraising and your your case statement really has to be where it's so compelling that and then showing the data and and and bringing children and adults to tell their story, right of how their lives have been changed. Those are the storytelling is really part, one part, or a major part, of development and fundraising.   Michael Hingson ** 31:56 Well, tell us a little bit about UCP, the history and so on, if you would to inform more people about it.   Armando Contreras ** 32:02 Well, one, you know, I'm, I'm so excited to share with everybody that we're celebrating our 75th anniversary, right? Uh, 75 years of providing vital services, right? 75 years of having our direct service professionals, the folks that are working at home, under the home community based services. We have we have pre Ks, the different therapies that are out there. We have group homes, we have transportation, we have employment. There's so many things that we're bringing to the community. But it started in 1949 right? It started with concerned citizens and concerned parents, that they felt that in that time, which was a totally different world for people with disabilities, that they felt that something more had to happen, that no more can society or the doctors or people in authority can say, would your kids have to go to an institution no matter if they had Down syndrome? Well, maybe autism wasn't. Were so prevalent back then, maybe not as prevalent, but cerebral palsy, spinal bifid, all of that that their kids suddenly were taken away from their home.   Michael Hingson ** 33:22 Well, my parents were told by our doctors that they should send me to a home when it was discovered I was blind, and my parents rejected that, which was very fortunate, but   Armando Contreras ** 33:32 yeah, and good for your parents. And that's how it started, right? I think, I think a lot of nonprofits started in that way, but back in 1949 that's when a group of parents got together and said, we have to do something more right. Then today, we've evolved where we're in the disability world, there's greater access than there was before, there's more inclusion than there was before, right? We're trying at least that used because UCP national and our affiliates, we're trying to help people be more independent, if it's through legislation, research, therapies, everything that we're trying to do. And we're very we're very centric to those issues that are out there, and we're trying to make a huge difference. So what I'm looking at is, I'm looking at another 75 years and that United Cerebral Palsy. One we're trying to in here. Four goals. One is brand awareness. Also let folks know about our 75th year anniversary. But one of the bigger things Michael that is the challenge for us is that United Cerebral Palsy serves children and adults with cerebral palsy and other conditions, so we're trying to bring that message out. And figuring out, how can we let the community know that if your child has Down syndrome autism, that we are there providing vital services for for them as well. The next goal is development, or what we just spoke about, connecting with the philanthropic community, because we, while a lot of our affiliates rely on government funding and reimbursement, I believe that there's another level that we have to engage with, and that's the philanthropic community right. There are millions and millions of dollars. Michael, I go to this to a an event called the heckling event in Orlando, I've been going there for now five years, and those professionals that are working with Planned Giving, some of them will come to me and say that their clients don't know where to give their money to. That's why we're present there, and that's why other profits are there too, as well. Is that we need to educate the community that that you can actually invest in something that's going to bring back this return of investment, but more of a humanity return, and something that's going to be great for society. The other goal that we have is advocacy. So we're known throughout the federal government, the Biden administration, as well as the Trump administration community, communicated with us, especially during COVID So we had communications with the White House. We still do. We're engaged at the Congress and Senate level with various representatives and senators to make sure that they create legislation that's going to be beneficial for our for the for the disability community, and that we don't ever go back to the institutions that that would be their only option. Unfortunately, Michael, today, there's still institutions that exist, not as many as before, but there's still institution the last goal we have is to grow our footprint, not only nationally, but but internationally. So we're having discussions locally, in places that were not present, to grow our footprint, to see how we can collaborate. We're also having, I'm having conversations with people on the global level, like the International cerebral palsy society, like aacpdm, the Academy for cerebral palsy. I've been invited twice, once, well, I got invited last year to the International Congress on cerebral palsy in Mexico City, I got invited again. I was their president, and I gave a speech. And I got invited again this year, in March, I'll be in medida Yucatan at an international congress again, and that brings a lot of awareness for us, brand awareness, and the main thing is really collaboration. So I kind of touched upon some of the some of the goals, Michael, and some of the things that important things and vital things that our affiliates are doing. So if there's, if there's something else that you want me to elaborate, I'd be glad, more than glad to do. So how are   Michael Hingson ** 38:19 you working toward creating more and better brand awareness to the general population?   Armando Contreras ** 38:27 Well, one of the things that we're doing, given that we have this window of opportunity that we're celebrating our 75th year, and that begins in that started in February, and we'll go all the way through January 31 is that one, we have a lot of partners out there that are doing things like you're doing access to be right, that invited me on this program. And that's one of the beautiful things that in social media, it's not it's not very expensive for us to be out there. So we're using the media vehicles such as LinkedIn, Facebook and the others that are out there. And we're also using YouTube to spread the message out there. So we're we're also sharing the stories of our affiliates and their accomplishments and the people that are being served, the parents and their children, so they can share those great stories that sometimes are miracle stories because of the people that are serving them and providing quality services, care and love. So that's one vehicle. The other one is that I I was on 26 I traveled to 26 locations last year, so I'm also providing that message out there. And then within our affiliate network, they're also doing marketing, and they're doing. Brand awareness as well. So it's a whole it's really this whole core nation that we want, not only the nation, no, but globally. Let the people know who is you at UCP and United Cerebral Palsy,   Michael Hingson ** 40:16 what caused UCP to add in as part of the services that are provided, services for people with downs and autism, as opposed to just UCP   Armando Contreras ** 40:32 or UCP. Yeah, so if I go back to when I was at the local United Cerebral Palsy the UC central Arizona. It just happened to be that the programs, the same programs that were provided for children and adults with cerebral palsy, also were beneficial to other conditions. I'm not a researcher, but when there's a breakthrough in cerebral palsy or in autism or in a different condition, they try to see if that same breakthrough will help people with different conditions. What we do know is that the therapies that are being offered to children and adults with cerebral palsy, those same types of therapies are also impactful to other conditions. So what was happening is that, then parents started to to, I guess, the word went out, and what we have across the board in the United States is that we have a high percentage of non cerebral palsy clients, or we'll call them family members, that are are getting services because that's much needed. One Michael is like respite, like respite care. You know any, any family can use that rest, that respite care, no matter what the condition is. So if you're offering that, then you can offer it to the disability community, a broad range of of people that have various conditions,   Michael Hingson ** 42:13 which makes perfect sense, because a lot of the care that needs to be provided is very similar. Well, or is the same? Yes, well, you know, you, I understand, had a an involvement with cancer, and you survived that. How has that affected you and in your attitude? Because, clearly, you're a very sensitive person and very much involved in community and family and helping people. But what, what was the whole situation with you in cancer?   Armando Contreras ** 42:42 You know, I think it's that. I think that's, it's the experience that all people go through when they first hear that you have cancer, right? First thought is, are you going to survive? You know, the first, first thing that comes to you is that it's, it's terminal, right? You're not going to get through it. You know this when you hear news like that, and you know, maybe it's the same as parents hearing that their child has cerebral palsy or disability, you know, you just, you just, it's a scary moment. It's a scary time. So what? Yeah, it was a difficult time for me and for my family, especially, I think my family knowing that I had transitional carcinoma, high grade, and it was a it was a tumor in my bladder that was nine and a half centimeters. I haven't really talked about it a lot, but it's been 10 years. So February, when I had seen that as a suggestion, like you want to talk about that, my first thought was, No, I think I'm going to skip it. But a few seconds later, I said, maybe it's time for me to share with the community, because it's been 10 years since I was diagnosed so and I'll try to make this short, I got diagnosed huge tumor. They had asked me if I wanted that tumor to be taken out, otherwise I could die. And I said, of course. So they took out the tumor. I had a brilliant surgeon that did that. And then after that, they basically said to me that if I don't, if I don't do radical surgery, taking out my bladder, taking out some lymph nodes, my prostate, that I wouldn't live very long, that I had really, like a 35% chance or less to live. So I had said that I wanted to put a pause on this rush, and that perhaps there's an option out there, perhaps there was another way, because I knew that billions of dollars have been raised for cancer. And maybe because this is a whole new journey for me, that the cure was somewhere out there. Well, after going to five different doctors for second opinions, they all said the same to me, that I only had one choice, and that choice radical surgery. And even after that, even after that, I was still I was confused, I was scared, but I was still. There was a pause that I felt that maybe there was something out there. So thanks to my sister, she really saved my life. She connected me with the scientists that she was researching, and that scientist said, you know, I only, I've only done lab studies on this particular oil called frankincense oil. I haven't done any clinical studies, and today, Michael, there's still no clinical studies on frankincense oil. So I started doing that three months after they they took the tumor out. I had 20 more tumors come back in my bladder. But they were small. They were lesions. So I just asked them to scrape, scrape them. The doctors were furious with me. I get it. I mean, that was, that was a protocol. I totally get it, you know. But something, people say that I had a lot of courage. I'm not sure if it was, like just something, it could have been something was telling you. I mean, I definitely there was a lot of prayer during that time. Yeah, a lot of prayer happening at that time. I just couldn't see myself dying, and I didn't want that to happen. So just to kind of, like, kind of close on this is that when those 20 tumors came back, they scraped them. They were supposed to be a lot more coming back, or it was going to invade my body. Three months later, I had nothing, absolutely nothing. Three months after that, I had six lesions come back, and that was March of 2015, so it's been nine years since the last reoccurrence. It's been 10 years since I was diagnosed, and I get checked very often. Once a year in the beginning, I would go in and get checked every three months. So it's been quite the miracle. But I have to say, this is that one I changed. I had changed my diet at the time for about four and a half years, I was strictly doing a lot of juicing, no sugar, a lot of prayer, a lot of family love, a lot of support. I did the frankincense oil. So I think in a comprehensive way, that helped me, and that gave me another option. And I'm very grateful for that, and I'm very grateful that every day I wake up and I say to God, thank you for sparing me. But on the advocacy side, Michael, I just didn't leave it there. I've had conversations with with the with the University of Arizona, with the Arizona State University, with Cancer Centers of America, with St Joseph's Hospital, with my alma mater, USC, and the last conversation I had was with Georgetown University, and these were top CEOs. And I was sharing my documentation, because I have it all there. But sadly, I have to say that they're not interested. They're not interested in a cure, and I'll continue to pursue it when the opportunity continues on, but it's only my story, and I didn't want to leave it where. Well, Lord, thank you so much. You know it never came back, so thank you. No, I have a responsibility to figure out some ways, somehow, that my my story, can turn into a clinical study, and that someday, and maybe not in my my time, that there's going to be an option for millions of people that will contract cancers. So that's my story in a nutshell. Thank you for asking.   Michael Hingson ** 49:04 So what did the frankincense oil actually do? I assume that you feel it was a very significant part of your ability to deal with it.   Armando Contreras ** 49:12 Yeah, it's a good question, because medically, I can't tell you, because we haven't done right? Yeah, we haven't done clinical studies. And I've been, I've been asking these universities and these hospitals and these cancer firms, you know that are out there, and said, Why don't we do the clinical studies so you can so you can see exactly what it did. I can't tell you that what it did. The only thing I can tell you is that is that as they, as they as they took samples of the cancerous tumors. So you had the big tumor, and then the 20 small tumors, and then you had the six lesions that, according to the scientists, dr, dr Lynn, HK Lynn, what he did see is that the cancer cells were becoming less aggressive. And at the end, some of the cancer cells actually turn into good cells. Now, you know, people can believe that or not. I'm I'm okay with that. Sure, only thing I'm saying, Michael is that there should be, there should be clinical studies on this, because I believe it would save hundreds of 1000s of lives. What was it? We don't know. Was it the combination? Is it the combination of me juicing on a daily basis for four and a half years? Was it that, as a Catholic, you know, I was going through all the different sacraments, prayers and healing masses? So I believe there was a holistic healing process. And then my family that was supporting me during a very difficult time,   Michael Hingson ** 50:49 sounds to me like it's time to write a book.   Armando Contreras ** 50:54 I've I've been asked many times, and I think when I think, when, when I feel that, that when I'm ready for that, that, yeah, that's that will happen.   Michael Hingson ** 51:03 Yes, you've got to, you've got to feel ready and feel that it's the right time. But that might be one way to bring visibility to it. Yes, well, you know, you you value family a lot. I understand that there are music connections in your family, has music always been a part of your life or   Armando Contreras ** 51:24 or, yeah, I think I think so. I think that. Well, I know so, because when I was the trumpet player, young trumpet player at St Lucy's Catholic Church, a few years later, my lovely wife, Norma, joined the choir. I didn't know she was married, but she joined the choir. And you know, we have this thing that she doesn't agree with me, but I say, hey, when I when I met you, when I seen you, was love at first sight. And and I said, but not for you. It took a while. And she says, no, no, but so So music, I was playing trumpet, normal was singing. And then later we got married, and then we had our first child. Was Andrea, Andrea Michelle, our daughter, our beautiful daughter, who's with child today, her and her husband, Fabian. So she knew that in our home there was a lot of music happening, and if it was church or at home. And then our second child, Armando, Michael, he started catching on a little bit, but we started to notice that he started to sing and sing right in tune. And then we said, hey, maybe there's something here. So his first recital in Los Angeles, he's saying pop by the Sailor Man and over the rainbow. And he did pretty good. So later he joined as a as a young child, you know, five years old, he joined the choir at St Lucy's. And then we moved. We moved from, we moved from Los Angeles over to Phoenix, Arizona, which was a great blessing being here. And we then were exploring how we can continue to support his talent. And he joined the Grammy Award winning Phoenix boys choir, and that's where he began to sing. Got to meet some wonderful people. They had wonderful directors there, and had a great experience. That experience led him to fall in love with the classics. Oh, there he began to be part of some of the local, local opera performances. So to make a long story short, Norma, my wife and I supported him. He went to the Cleveland Institute of Music, from there in vocals, and then from there, he went to the University of Missouri in Kansas City for his masters. And today he's a professional opera singer. He's a baritone. So it's it's been amazing. All our kids are amazing. I also have to mention that our youngest Andrew, Matthew. He went to Gonzaga University and then graduated from Lewis and Clark in clinical psychology. He's worked with a lot of kids with disabilities. He's a drummer and he's a guitar player. So yes, music is a big part of our family.   Michael Hingson ** 54:28 Well, it is getting to be that time of the year that Gonzaga will become visible again as we get back down to march madness. I actually, I actually had the pleasure of going up there once to speak and and I hadn't really known a lot about Gonzaga at the time, and they were the ones who told me, however, one always said, Where is Gonzaga? You know what? What kind of a place is it? And so I've kept up with it ever since, but it is kind of funny that their basketball team is good. Yeah.   Armando Contreras ** 54:59 Yeah, it's a, it's a beautiful place. It's a great Jesuit university. We, I, you know, he had a great experience. This is Andrew. He had a great experience out there. So, yes, I totally agree. Yeah, we had a chance to go out to Bob, trying to remember the city here. Spokane, yeah, yeah, yeah. Spokane, various times with him,   Michael Hingson ** 55:25 that's pretty cool. Well, so is he professionally doing music now? No, so,   Armando Contreras ** 55:30 So Andrew, our youngest, he's professionally now a clinical psychologist. Ah, yeah, now and now. Armando, Michael, he is a professional opera singer, right? And that's what he does. So, you know, his, his, one of his dreams, is going to be singing at the Metropolitan Ooh, we do see that perhaps happening within a year or two, because they he'll be, right? He'll be auditioning for that, probably very soon, and he's very young. He's just 34 years old.   Michael Hingson ** 56:03 So that'd be super What would you like people to know about the disability community in general, when we think about disabilities, you know, when there's so many prejudices, what would you like people to know and in terms of disabilities and how to maybe change attitudes, yeah,   Armando Contreras ** 56:23 well, they're definitely part of the fabric of society, and we, nobody, not me, or anybody else in in any organization, can speak for them. We need to allow for them and give them that opportunity and space to voice their concerns, to voice whatever joy they have, to voice things that we need to hear in our community. We have to provide while we're here in the United States, and there's been laws that have been enacted, enacted that laws now have to be updated. We have antiquated laws that do not even pay people with disabilities even minimum wage, right? So, so that we really have to be conscious of a community that is part of our society. We need to engage. Furthermore, we have to collaborate. We need them as public, public officials. They need to run for office, right? Some of them do. They have to be part of the decision making, decisions that are being made from all levels of government, all levels of corporation, all levels of nonprofits. And that's the way, that's the way I really see it. Is that, and we also have to have breakthroughs in research, right? What are some of the things that that we can do so we can those lives can be more that they would have more of a more access, right? That even if you go to certain states in the United States that I've been, there's not even accessibility for wheelchairs. And just speak about the airlines, right? How, how and why are people thinking in those corporations that a person that has a disability can easily go into their bathrooms. There's no way, right flying, especially if it's a long flight. So no, there's, there's been some great things Michael that have, that have evolved and happened through a collaboration of a lot of advocates, and a lot of them are self advocates, but we still have a long way to go.   Michael Hingson ** 59:08 Yeah, and I think that's absolutely true. So what is UCP Inc doing to celebrate its 75th anniversary? What kinds of plans do you have and where do you go from here?   Armando Contreras ** 59:19 Well, we do have a an annual conference coming up in Orlando, and this year in April. So that's a good thing for us, you know. But the bigger thing for us is to celebrate is really bringing that education, bringing that awareness of what we're doing, not only in here in the United States, but we also have affiliates in Canada. So as we celebrate, part of our celebration is educating the society about exactly what we do and please, you know, knock on our door for for help. So that's that's really part of it. The other part of it is acknowledge. Gene, the folks that started UCP back in 1949 right? Like the, like the golden sins, and also the housemans and many others that that have helped us get through the 75 years.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:18 Yeah, well, it's, a great milestone to be able to celebrate 75 years, and I am sure that you, with your background, is very concerned about making sure that there is great sustainability for the future, which is really important and cool that you're thinking about that, because it's something that always needs to be with us in whatever we're doing. That's a good thing. Any kind of last thoughts that you have that you want to convey to people who are listening or watching us.   Armando Contreras ** 1:00:51 Yes, one is first, I want to share my gratitude for inviting me, Michael. And then second, please reach out to us the disability community. Please find us@ucp.org we may be in your backyard. If there are organizations out there that want to become an affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy, please reach out to us as well. We are here. We want to continue to be here for the next 75 years, so that our community can be part and be an inclusive part of our society. That we can bring that help, bring that independence, but we can continue to see those miracles, that children that we're told, and families that were told that they would never walk. I've seen them walk, and were physicians that said to a mom and dad that their child would never move or never speak, and I've seen them hug their parents and tell them that they love them, right? And we want to continue to make those miracles happen through therapies, through early detection, through early intervention, all these forms of of of a reach that we have through United Cerebral Palsy in the United States and Canada and and watched for us in the near future as we begin to go global, and that's really a vision that that I have. But and also, again, is that it's important to know that we know that I know that, Michael, you know that is that everybody is a fabric at society, some way, somehow, no matter their abilities. And that's really important, important message for people to know.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:43 I agree. Well, I want to thank you for being here with us and conveying all this information, and I hope people will take it to heart and that they'll support UCP and and reach out and learn more about the organization and that you are doing, and will continue to do a lot to just help people in general, with disabilities, which is cool. I appreciate that, and I want to thank Go ahead. No, no.   Armando Contreras ** 1:03:10 I just wanted to thank and I also want to thank accessibe, right? That's how we got here. So I really thank them for what they're doing and providing. I love their model that they have. They have a for profit, a for profit model. However, the services that they, that they provide for nonprofits, are free, and that's that's amazing. So we're really happy with the services, the access services for websites, the accessibility that they're providing for people in the disability community to have that access. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:48 thank you, and we're excited about the time ahead and and I think that's that's a good thing, and we'll all work to make it happen. Well, I want to thank everyone who was listening and watching today. We really appreciate it. I hope that you'll give us a five star rating wherever you're observing our podcast. We value that. Love it. If you'd reach out to me, give me your thoughts, your opinions and Armando for you and for all of our guests, our listeners and so on today, if you know of anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, please let us know. Provide introductions. We're always looking for guests. You can reach out to me directly at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www dot Michael hinkson.com/podcast, and Michael Hinkson is spelled M, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S o, n.com/podcast, so we really do value all the thoughts and and information and suggestions that people provide. Yeah, as I think I've mentioned to many of you before, I also do travel and speak, especially after September 11, 2001 if anyone needs a speaker, please reach out. You can get me easiest at speaker at Michael hingson.com but however you do it, you've got all sorts of ways to reach out to me. Love to hear from you. And you know, once again, Armando, I want to thank you very much for being here, and thank you for all of your time today.   Armando Contreras ** 1:05:24 Michael, thank you many blessings to you and your family, and many blessings to everybody out there who is going to listen to this podcast interview.   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:39 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Send us a Text Message.How can one family's compassion and resolve shape the destiny of an entire community? Join us as we sit down with Vincent Magano to uncover the awe-inspiring tale of Solomon and Esther Ueberall, whose extraordinary acts of kindness not only saved St. Lucy's Church but also saved lives during the darkest days of World War II. Through Vincent's vivid recollections and his compelling book, "The Third Attic," we journey back to mid-20th century Brooklyn and explore how the Uberalls' generosity in 1913 paved the way for the rescue of 24 relatives from Austria, with the indispensable help of Father Caruana.This episode is more than a historical account; it's a moving chronicle of faith, community, and the enduring power of human goodness. We delve into the lasting legacy of the Uberall family's acts of kindness, immortalized by the symbolic Star of David grates in St. Lucy's ceiling. These poignant gestures by the Italian community serve as timeless reminders of unity and compassion. Tune in for a conversation that bridges history and heartfelt memories, and discover how acts of kindness can transcend time and continue to inspire.The Third AtticVincent Manago reminisces on a boyhood in 1950s and 1960s Brooklyn.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the Show.Purchase my book "Farmers and Nobles" here or at Amazon.

After his daring escape from the island of Malta, Caravaggio went to Siracusa, Siscily. There he painted one of his most haunting works – the “Burial of St. Lucy.” An oppressive yellowish light illuminates the macabre burial of the early Christian martyr whose head almost looks detached from its body.

his week we are continuing our 40 days with the Martyr's Lenten Series! Join us in saying this prayer each day: ST PETER'S CHAINS PRAYER: O God, Who caused St. Peter, the apostle, to depart, loosed from his chains and unhurt, loose, we beg You, the chains of our sins, and graciously keep all evils far from us. Bless us this Lent and give us the faith of the martyrs. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. AMEN   + MONDAY: St. Jose Sanchez de Rio, Mexico 1900s + TUESDAY: St. Justin Martyr, 100s, Rome + WEDNESDAY: St. Lambert, 600's, France + THURSDAY: St. Lawrence, 200s, Rome + FRIDAY: St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Philippines, 1600s + SATURDAY: St.Lucy, 300s, Rome   We will be doing something special for Lent on the Catholic Sprouts Podcast. Join us for Lent with the Martyrs. Purchase this fun PDF guide and create a chain that will count down to Easter and remind you to strive to let God break the chains of sin and death this Lent. It's just $7--and your purchase is a GREAT way to support the Catholic Sprouts Podcast! https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/lent-with-the-martyrs-digital-download   Also, this Saturday we will be gathering inside the Clubhouse for our monthly Crafting Club! Join us for a simple but BEAUTIFUL watercolor crucifix craft.  Head here to log into the Clubhouse or join if you aren't already a member: https://catholicsprouts.com/join-the-clubhouse/        Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

BEST OF: St. Lucy is one of the earliest Christian Saints, known as a virgin and martyr to history, and a female version of Prince Siddhartha when she gave up her wealth and influences to become nun-like. Her immovable convictions have been portrayed as a divine influence which protected her against Roman persecution, from her punishment in a brothel to being burned alive. As a result of her divinely protected body, the Romans had her stabbed in the neck, severing the head symbolically, and her eyes plucked out, severing the connection between the eyes and the soul. She thus became the patron of virgins, or those who are purified, and the blind. In the new Nun II movie, the demon is hunting down Lucy's descendants and searching for her eyes, which have become a religious relic, because they have the power to turn whomever possesses them into an angelic being. This is a psychological process, too, occurring in the body with our passions and emotions. When they get too close to the head temple and gateway of the soul, our eyes, they can use the body and brain to cause havoc. Interestingly, the Nun II is the number one grossing movie. Parallel to this movie is what was the top music video in the country, but as of now sits at number three, and that is Doja Cat's ‘Paint The Town Red'. In the song she removes her eye to visit the underworld and perform an abortion as a sacrament to the Devil. She also encourages feral behaviors in general. The removal of an eye to reach the underworld is directly out of ancient Egypt, a theme Katy Perry also used in ‘Dark Horse'. It is further found in Japanese and Scandinavian mythology with Izanagi and Odin respectively. Some people choose to pluck out their own eyes to these facts, and in not looking become ignorant. However, they also try to force other people, like Birdbox, to look away from the divine and see the demonic. FREE ARCHIVE & RSS: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-secret-teachingsTwitter: https://twitter.com/TST___RadioWEBSITE, BOOKS, RESUBSCRIBE YEARLY: http://thesecretteachings.infoPaypal: rdgable@yahoo.comCashApp: $rdgableBuy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tstradioSUBSCRIBE TO NETWORK: http://aftermath.mediaEMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / TSTRadio@protonmail.com

Our conversation today with Vince Cannava, Program Manager for St. Lucy Food Project, and Tina Bearden, Pantry Manager for Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in Front Royal included a discussion about the operations and services of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington and the St. Lucy Food Project. They provide a wide range of services including food assistance, rental and utility help, medical and mental health counseling, child adoption services, transitional housing for the homeless, education, and refugee services. Vince discussed the scope of Catholic charities' food distribution network, mentioning their warehouse located in Manassas and their collaboration with 55 pantries across 21 counties and 7 cities. He also mentioned their distribution to places such as homeless shelters, medical clinics, and pregnancy centers, while Tina provided a more detailed overview of the food distribution in Warren County. Tina explained that the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Front Royal, which is open three days a week, serves everyone in need. The pantry provides a variety of food options with fresh produce and proteins being most sought after. She talked about the growing demand for their services due to the decrease in SNAP benefits and highlighted the need for essential items like toilet paper, laundry detergent, and other personal hygiene items. Tina outlined the process a first-time visitor might experience, highlighting the personalized approach that allows clients to choose their own items. Tina also talked about the urgent need for volunteers to help with various tasks, so the pantry can extend its hours to help those who are working and still need assistance. Learn more about Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry by clicking here.

Episode Summary This week on Live Like the World is Dying, we have a short story about prepping called "Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners" by Matthew Dougal. It's a parody about two right-wing preppers who are faced with a collapse in society. After the story, there's an interview with the author about prepping mentalities and writing. This episode was reposted from the Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness podcast. The story can be read at tangledwilderness.org. Host Info Inmn can be found on Instagram @shadowtail.artificery Reader The Reader is Bea Flowers. If you would like to hear Bea narrate other things, or would like to get them to read things for you check them out at https://voicebea.wixsite.com/website Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Theme music The theme song was written and performed by Margaret Killjoy. You can find her at http://birdsbeforethestorm.net or on twitter @magpiekilljoy Transcript Live Like the World is Dying: “Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners” with Matthew Dougal **Inmn ** 00:16  Hello, and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. I'm your host today, Inmn Neruin, and today we have something a little different. I host another podcast called Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness where every month we take a zine that Strangers puts out and turn it into an audio feature and do an interview with the author. We had a two-part feature called Blood, Soil, and Frozen TV Dinners by Matthew Dougal, and it is a short story about prepping from a very strange perspective, that of two right-wing preppers facing a mysterious collapse of society. This short story is a parody and I promise that the two main pov characters are not the heroes of the tale. It's a fun story and I do an interview with Matthew afterward about prepping mentalities, fiction, and other neat stuff. If you like this episode, check out my other podcast that this is featured from. I did not re-record the outro, so you'll get a little taste of Margaret playing the piano, because she wrote the theme music for the Strangers podcast. You'll also get to hear our wonderful reader, Bea Flowers narrate the story. Follow along with the transcript or at Tangledwilderness.org where you can read all of our featured zines for free. But before all of that, we are a member of the Channel Zero Network of anarchist podcasts and here's a jingle from another show on that network.  [sings a simple melody] **Bea ** 02:49 “Blood, Soil, & Frozen TV Dinners” by Matthew Dougal. Read by Bea Flowers. Published by Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness.  Katie sat, wide-eyed, beneath the kitchen table and hugged her knees to her chest. She was shaking, vibrating visibly. Tanner put his finger to his lips and prayed that her silent tears would remain just that. There was no time to stop and calm her down. Not again. He moved slowly around the kitchen, fumbling through cupboards and pulling out pre-wrapped packages of food. Always be prepared. Tanner had practiced this before things went dark, but it was different doing it for real. His hands hadn't been so shaky, back then.  A noise, on the porch. His body froze before his mind registered the sound. Tanner dropped into a crouch and crossed the room to the window, willing every cell in his body to radiate confidence toward his baby girl. His hand found the Glock 17 at his belt and he brought it up in front of him, the familiar feel of the grip reassuring. He took a breath, steadied himself, and raised his eyes to the level of the windowsill. The muscles in his thighs steeled and he remained, unblinking, utterly still, staring out into the darkness.  After thirty or forty nerve-twanging seconds, Tanner drew breath and relaxed. His quads were burning, and they thanked him as he straightened. He could hear the specter of his ex-wife in his head, telling him to lose some weight, exercise more… Well she'd left, and that was 135 pounds gone right there. She'd probably say that was a good start.   An unbearably loud ringing pierced the silence and sent him diving to the floor, landing awkwardly on his gun and sounding a crash through the kitchen. A keening whine came from under the table, Katie shaken from her silence.  The doorbell.  Feeling foolish, Tanner twisted over his shoulder and hissed at his daughter to be quiet. Still prone, he crawled toward the hallway in the most reassuring manner he could manage and pointed his Glock at the front door.  Footsteps outside, then a shadow appeared at the window. Tanner's heart pounded in his ears—more violent pulses of silence than sound—and his vision blurred as panic flooded his body. He'd heard the early reports of armed groups in the streets, some sort of fighting downtown, but he hadn't really believed they would come here. His legs were weak, and he silently thanked God that he was already on the floor. The shape at the window didn't move, frozen in the gloom, silhouetted by flickering light coming from the street. As Tanner's head cleared he tried to take stock of what was happening.  The apparition was vaguely man-shaped but shorter and slighter, an ethereal grace evident even in its stillness. A voice called out, muffled through the door, the guttural singsong completely at odds with the sleek form at the window. Tanner couldn't understand everything, but he thought he caught the words “little girl.” A second shape mounted the porch alongside the first, similarly short but squat and stocky, and grunted something to its companion in an alien tongue. Fluorescent light flooded the yard and the voices momentarily disappeared beneath the growl of an angry engine. Tanner's breath caught. His trembling finger hovered over the trigger and he willed the barrel to still its swaying dance. Two shots exploded outside—loud shots, from a much bigger gun than his. The creatures spun to face this new threat, their chatter rising in pitch and speed. They sounded panicked.  “yalla! hawula' alnaas majnoon.” Tanner sensed his opportunity. He was forgotten. All those hours of training kicked in and muscle memory took over as he rose to one knee, took a two-handed grip, and unleashed a furious hail of fire at his front door.  “Keep your filthy hands off my daughter!” He fired until he felt the Glock stop kicking, the magazine spent. As the cacophony faded he realized he was screaming.  “Tanner! It's me, Blake. Stop shooting goddammit, they're gone.”  “Blake?” Tanner mechanically reloaded his gun. “Why…” His throat was raw, his voice barely audible even to him. He swallowed, fighting to control his breath, and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?”  “Come to see if you were okay. Figured you and the kid might need a hand.”  A stocky, heavily muscled figure wearing fatigues and a plate carrier stepped up to the porch, visible through the splintered ruins that had been the front door. A halogen glow lanced through the holes, like the brilliant aura of some kind of avenging eagle.  “When this shit spread across the river from the city we locked down. It was touch-and-go for a while, but things quieted down eventually. When they did, I came straight over. Good thing I got here when I did. The quick little fuckers ran for it, but I think you hit one of ‘em.”  The figure stopped, pulled down the red, white and blue bandana covering its mouth, and spat. Tanner had never been more relieved to see his buddy's foul-mouthed face. Or his M1A SOCOM 16 rifle.  “We're alright.” Tanner's voice was exhausted, his body shivering as the adrenaline fled. “Thank God I was prepared. Still, it's good to see you.”  “Prepared, shit.” His buddy grinned. “I been telling you for years to get something heavy duty.” Blake kicked the splintered remains of the door and his grin faded. “You can't stay here. Those things'll be back. Grab your girl and jump in the truck. Let's head to mine, she'll be safe there.” The grin returned.“Prepared, shit.”  An hour later they were sitting in “the Hole,” as Blake affectionately called it. The Hole was both name and description, although it perhaps undersold the amount of effort that had gone into its construction. Attached to the garage by a short, downward-sloping corridor, The Hole was a full-blown bunker that spread underneath almost the entirety of Blake's backyard. Tanner was sitting in the main chamber eating Top Ramen, chicken flavor.  They had made the half-mile journey in silence—lights down on the Tacoma, Tanner jumpy, Blake grim, Katie in a state of shock. The streets had looked completely foreign, the usual calming glow of LEDs replaced by the orange flicker of scattered flames. The familiar hum of traffic had been gone. Instead, gunfire had cracked in the distance.  Blake's wife Lauren had buzzed them inside after Blake confirmed his identity via video feed—three times: at the gate, the door, and the entrance to the Hole. The security was impressive. Lauren had ushered them inside, AR-15 at the ready. “This is prepared,” Blake was saying, as Katie stared blankly at her untouched ramen. “Old owners, they had this backyard full of fruit trees, vegetables, fuckin' kale and kohlrabi. What good is that gonna do, I said, you gonna hide in the pumpkin patch with a slingshot? Idiots.  “Anyhow me and Lauren, we wanted to be ready, so I been building this the last two years. Ain't no one knows about it, not even the contractors…” Blake sliced a finger across his throat, then laughed, “I'm joking, but they were from one of them Mexican countries. Had no idea what they were building. Good workers, though, came here the right way. And I did the security all myself.”  Tanner laughed too, but at what he didn't quite know. “You took this all real serious.”  “Yessir. You never really believed, but we did. Earl Swanson was right, this here's been a long time coming. It's just like he said, and we listened. And here we are, while you was laying on the floor waving round that little waterpistol of yours.”  Tanner had listened too, but apparently not well enough. There was only so much time he could watch an angry man on TV shouting about the state of the nation, no matter how prophetic he was turning out to be. Tanner tried to put up a strong front and flex his knowledge. He had listened, dammit.  “Is this it, then? The invasion? Earl said they've been preparing it for years, brainwashing people. Recruiting sympathizers and traitors…”  “It's worse than that. The invasion started way back, we just didn't notice. Well, most of us didn't. Earl did. He tried to warn us, that the aliens'd started infiltrating, landing in remote parts of the country, blending in, looking just like us…” Blake spat. “Well, not quite like us. But close e-fucking-nough, hiding out and biding their time.” “And now it's out in the open…” Tanner looked from his friend's face to his daughter's, scared and staring, and trailed off. He may have been listening, but he sure as hell didn't understand.  “What's happening?” Tanner asked. “We've been laying low at home, locked down and trying to wait out whatever this is. We haven't heard a thing since the power cut out three days back.”  He could feel a surge of emotion building, pent-up adrenaline and stress and fear and loneliness rolling over him in a wave as they were released. His stoicism wobbled.  “We're… Katie's scared and confused, and tired and sick of hiding and we're all alone! What is all this? What's happening?” Tanner realized he was shouting and stopped, taking a deep breath and lowering his voice. “Blake, man, what the hell is going on?” Blake never flinched, just ran his tongue over his teeth in thought while he watched Tanner's outburst through hooded eyes. “Naw, we don't know nothing for sure. Swanson's been off-air for two days, since just after shit started going down. Said he was right, that it sure as shit seemed like those aliens he'd been warning us about were making a move, and the whole fuckin' lot of us did nothing. Well, seems like it blew up in our face. Last thing he said was he's heading somewhere safe to keep broadcasting, and he'd let us know when he found out more,” Blake paused, sucked his teeth, “We've had the TV and radio on non-stop since then, since we fired the generator up. Nothing.”  Lauren lent forward. “There was something, couple days back…”  “Nothing useful,” Blake cut in. He spat. “Same old fuckin' commie stations, same old crap. They took over the channels, emergency broadcasting. Said there was a ‘protest.' Stay inside, all under control, daddy government's here, blah blah,” he laughed “Hell of a protest. More like an insurrection. Doublespeak bullshit.”  “So what's the plan? We hide out? Lay low? Wait for the military?”  “The troops ain't coming, chief.” Blake grimaced, “Alien tentacles go deep. Probably strolling around in general's stars by now, the politicians just handing over the keys. This President'll have us kissing their feet before dinner.  “Nah, if we wanna fight back we can't rely on that fuckin' bunch of secretaries and scribes. We hole up here, wait for instructions.” He laughed again, “Huh, hole up in the Hole. That's funny.”  That grin was starting to get on Tanner's nerves. “Instructions from who? How long is that gonna take? Who's gonna fight back against… this?” “I know some people, from back in the old days. Good people. There's still patriots out there who won't give up this country without a fight.”   Tanner still bristled with questions, but he was starting to feel relieved. There were people in charge, and they had a plan. That was something he could work with. “What if it takes weeks? Months? Do we have food for that long?” Blake settled further into his chair, grinned that cocky grin. “I do, don't know about you.” Before the words were even out of his mouth he was already raising his palms, “Chill out, I'm joking. I'll put it on your tab. You're a lawyer, I know you're good for it. Show him, babe.”  Lauren got up and went over to a large yellow flag hanging on the concrete wall, pulling it aside to reveal a long, narrow room that ended abruptly at a large steel door. She flicked on the light.  “Dry storage,” she said, gesturing at the shelves lining both walls. Packets of ramen, boxes of cereal, rows of whiskey, and gleaming stacks of cans stared down at Tanner. “And cold storage,” Lauren continued as she stepped over to the door, kicking aside two enormous tubs of supplements and pulling it open to reveal a walk-in freezer. Tanner followed her inside as she happily chatted away, showing everything off like a house-proud hen.  “We've got everything we need. Steaks, hotdogs, chili, hamburgers, mac and cheese, chicken parmesan, mashed potatoes--whatever you want. There's a well, too, over the other side, we had that dug last summer. Tastes a bit funny, but it won't hurt you.” Tanner was hardly listening. He had never seen anything like it, never imagined anything on this scale. Blake really had taken preparing for the end of the world seriously. The freezer room was filled, wall to wall, with a treasure trove of gourmet excess; thousands upon thousands of frozen TV dinners.  Tanner stared at his microwaved salmon filet, fries drooping from his fork. Out of habit he was eating in front of the TV with Katie, though the display hadn't changed in… however many days it had been. Just the red, white and blue logo, a tile flipping between ads for pillows, brain pills, and frozen food, and the same scrolling red banner:  Breaking: The United States of America is under attack. Stand by for updates.  Katie was poking at her food silently, barely eating. Still no appetite. Tanner had told her they were safe, told her he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, told her a hundred times in different ways that she was his precious little girl and he would make sure she was okay. It had made no difference. She had just looked up at him with big, frightened eyes that pulled at Tanner's heart. The only time she had spoken in the past 24 hours was to ask why he had tried to shoot people. Of course she didn't understand. Maybe he should ask Lauren to talk to her.  The TV display glitched, blipped, flicked to static and then to black. Tanner shoveled the fries into his mouth and rubbed his eyes. He'd been staring at a blank TV for too long. He chewed and stretched, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to straighten out his aching back.  Earl Swanson was on TV. Tanner blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing straight. Swanson's shirt was wrinkled, his hair a mess and his signature bowtie slightly crooked, but his face wore that familiar expression of righteously indignant bewilderment. It was him.  “Blake. Blake, get in here!”  Swanson was in what looked like a large living room rather than his usual studio. Bookshelves and a TV cabinet were visible behind him. There were shadows under his eyes and his wrinkles were clearly visible without his usual TV makeup, but his eyes were as sharp as ever. There was a strength to them, piercing the screen, full of faith and fire. It felt like he was in the room. He looked like he'd been in a fight, and won. He was back.  “Good evening America, and welcome to Earl Swanson Tonight.” “Blake!” Blake stuck his head through the door.  “What? I'm working out, give me a…. No shit.” Blake stepped into the room. He was topless, breathing heavily. His stomach was shiny with sweat, pooling and running down the chiseled channels between his well-defined muscles before disappearing behind the low-riding waistband of his camo pants. Tanner realized he was staring and felt his cheeks flush as he snapped his eyes back to his friend's.  “Blake, it's--” “Shut up, I'm trying to listen.” The rebuke slapped Tanner back to the present and back to the TV. He surreptitiously sat a little straighter and sucked in his gut, trying to ignore the heat rising in his face. “...cities up and down the west coast. From Seattle to San Diego, the alien invaders and the traitors from among our own citizens have taken control, sowing chaos and destruction. Order has broken down, and anarchy rules in the streets. Yet we hear nothing but silence from the White House. The elites in Washington won't do anything about this -- they encouraged it. They caused it! “No, it is up to patriotic Americans to stop this existential threat. It is up to us, to you and me and the other patriots out there. If you value the American way of life, if you respect the principles that built the greatest nation ever imagined, if you care about your family and the future of your children, then the time has come to stand up. Your country needs you.  “I have been warning about this day on this very program for years. If you have been listening, you will be prepared for this betrayal. You know what to do. Find other true Americans who are ready to fight for our civilization and our culture. Defend our Western values against this attack by anarchists and aliens who wish to destroy us. They tried to take our guns from us, to disarm us, and failed -- now is the time to use them. Seek out the prepared, the militias, the heroes. Fight back. Show them that we will not allow it. “I will be moving to an undisclosed safe location so I can keep you informed. You know your job. I am doing my part, will you do yours?” Swanson sat erect and defiant, no less commanding for his disheveled appearance. His willpower flowed from the screen in waves, washing over the watchers. It was compelling. It was urgent. It was the only option.  The screen went black.  Swanson's gaze bored into Tanner long after the TV went dark, burning with righteous fire, lip curling with fury. The heat in Tanner's cheeks sharpened, focused, began to spread into his chest and throughout his body. There was only one thought in his mind. “We gotta go.” It took him a second to realize that Blake had spoken the words out loud.  “We do. But where? I don't know anyone like that.” “You know me, and I know people. Don't worry about that. We gotta go to Baker City. I talked to one of my buddies from the marines this morning, he's headed to join one of the militias out east. They might not be big, but they're hard. They're something.” Tanner looked at Blake blankly, unable to quite comprehend what he was being told. Days of no news, no action, now everything all at once.  “But what's in Baker City? Don't you know anyone here? This is where we live, where we have the Hole, where we have a safe base.”  Blake was clearly agitated, shifting from foot to foot.  “It's not safe. Weren't you listening? It's fallen. The military ain't doing jack, like I fuckin' told you they wouldn't.” Blake stopped bouncing and steadied himself. “But my buddy said the boys in Baker held out. It was bloody, but they held strong. If we can get there in a hurry, we can join a caravan heading for Boise.”  “Baker… Boise? What the… Boise?! Surely it's safer in Texas, or… or…”  “Texas? And how far away is that? Look, I don't know nothing about nothing, but I know I ain't looking for safer. All I know is I got buddies in Baker, and they say Boise, and they are the fuckin' resistance. We got our orders, soldier. “The west had been invaded. Destroyed. Gone. You heard Swanson, same as me. Grids are down, water's down, TV's down--mostly, anyway. Sky's half full of fire and smoke, gangs roaming the streets, traitors and aliens taking or breaking whatever they can get their thieving hands on.” Tears came to Blake's eyes.  “It's a fucking mess out there, buddy. Anarchy. They've burned the lot.” It was a lot to chew on. Tanner put a piece of salmon in his mouth.  “I'm not gonna let some filthy aliens take my home, fuck my wife, invade my country, and steal the god damn US of A! The fight is right there, and I'm gonna fight it. Are you?”  Tanner's brain was spinning, but his blood was still hot from Swanson's speech. Blake's fire, delivered standing there half-naked like a Steven Seagal action figure, was rousing something inside him. His country needed him, and he felt the call in his bones. He put down his fork. He swallowed. He rose.  “Of course I'll fight. I'll put a bullet in every alien who steps foot on American soil. I'll put every collaborator in the dirt.” He saw himself, next to Blake, riding shotgun as they made a fighting escape through the streets. He saw a heroic journey to Baker City, filled with danger and righteous violence. He saw a triumphant return, at the head of an army, cleansing his city with purifying flame. And he saw Katie, small and fragile and beautiful. Perfect, and terrified. The flame wavered.  “But I'm fighting for her,” Tanner gestured, “I got my little girl, and I'm not so red-hot on riding out guns blazing to meet these savages with her hanging off my arm. She's the future of this country, and that's a future we have to protect.”  To Tanner's surprise, Blake took a half step back.  “Shit. I know, man. Katie and Lauren, the innocent and the pure. I'm thinking of them, too.” He dropped his shoulders, but held Tanner's gaze. “But it's not safe for them here neither. We're on our own, and all hell has broken loose up top. We fight for them, and they are the reason we have to fight.” Tanner paused, then nodded. He reached out and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, fingers gripping the sweaty skin.  “Let's go pack the truck.”  As the sun set and twilight brought a low fog creeping across the city, they piled into the Tacoma with as many frozen dinners as they could carry.  Tanner rode in back. Lauren was up front, AR at the ready, while Blake drove, M1A by his side and his Glock taped to the dash. Katie was at Tanner's side, curled up below the window and hidden from view, and Tanner watched over her with his own Glock and a borrowed Remington 870. They were all a little jumpy. He and Lauren had wanted to maintain a shoot-on-sight policy. Blake had been more cautious. According to Swanson, there would be plenty of people collaborating with the aliens. Lights out, engine low, and hopefully they could slip right on by.  No one knew what to expect—Tanner suspected they were all terrified. He certainly was. Even Blake had swapped out his flag bandana for a more understated camo print. He had stashed the red, white and blue fabric in the bed of the truck with the rest of their gear.     They pulled out into streets Tanner knew, but didn't. He had driven them every day, on the way to work, to Katie's school, to church, to the mall. The streets were as familiar as a cold Coke, yet now, in some important way, they were… different. As they left the Hole and drove through the suburb he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but once Blake reached the main street and turned past the bars and shops and take-out joints, it hit him.  The streets were dead. The cars were gone. The steady flow of traffic, of people living their lives, had stopped. The parking lot in front of the drug store was empty; so was the one behind the bar. The convenience store, normally ticking over with a steady stream of customers buying cigarettes and beer, was dark behind its windows. Unintelligible graffiti in some alien script covered the ads for energy drinks, an expression of mindless violence across someone's hard work.  A light rain had started, misting around them and adding to the dreariness. A billboard loomed overhead, the lights that illuminated the Colgate-bright smiles of the models now permanently dark. Tanner was glad—the gloom obscured the flame-scarred destruction streaking the toothpaste company's perfect white message. “Disgusting,” Blake spat. He looked like he wanted to say more but pulled up short, shocked at the sudden sound of his own voice. His eyes focused back on the road and he fell into uneasy silence. The truck continued its crawl down the deserted street, barely clocking 20 miles an hour. Even at that speed, the low growl of the engine seemed unbearably loud as it reverberated among the carcasses of commerce and ricocheted down abandoned side streets.  They kept driving, and nothing kept happening. It was torturous. Every minute of unbroken inactivity twisted the crank on the tension in the car, until the unceasing hum of the engine began to seep into Tanner's brain. Every muscle in his arms and legs, primed and waiting and ready to spring, began to tremble, and his eyes focused and unfocused on nothing at all.  His frantic heartbeat messed with his breathing, a powerful panicked thud that matched the rumble of the pistons.  Overall, he was relieved when the road curved and they entered a strip of restaurants to see signs of life among the debris littered across the street in the distance.  It wasn't immediately clear through the gloom what was happening. Blake slowed the truck, now rolling along at barely more than walking pace, and they crept closer. The scene was illuminated by the flickering light of small fires and backlit by a pair of enormous floodlights, creating a glowing aura in the surrounding mist. Images began to resolve, ghostly figures flitting in and out of view and the harsh geometric shapes—not of debris, but of hastily manufactured barricades—throwing long shadows that lanced through the air around them as they approached.  All eyes were fixed on the barricades as they pulled within shouting distance, and Tanner nearly pissed himself when someone knocked on his window. He yelped, Blake swore, and Lauren's weapon x-rayed Tanner's head and pointed at the intruder. Tanner followed her lead and jerked his gun up to aim in the general direction of the window and for ten, twenty heartbeats nothing moved. Then another knock, and Blake hissed at them: “Put those things away you idiots, we're the good guys here. Whatever side that guy is on, so are we.”  Tanner slowly lowered the gun, then the window.  “Hey folks, no cars through here.” The man was clad head to toe in black—black jeans, black hoodie, black gloves, black bandana covering his face, black curly hair running with rainwater. No wonder they hadn't seen him. The stranger spotted their guns.  “Oh, nothing like that,” he added, catching the nervous energy in the truck, “You're a bit late to the party. No trouble ‘round here, this area's been cleaned out for days.” He chuckled, sending a shiver through Tanner.  “Some folks messed up the cop shop a while back, it was a bit of a fight. Streets were all blocked up anyway, so we set up a little kitchen here. Been feeding some folks. Symbolic, like, new world in the ruin of the old and all that.” The smile fell from his face as he took in the scene in the truck.  “Everything alright? Is she okay?”  He gestured at Katie, curled up and quivering silently beside Tanner. Tanner opened his mouth to respond, but Blake was quicker. “Sure, probably just spooked by that fucking mask. Look, we don't mean to bother you people. Just heading east, trying to cross the river. We'll go around you and your little kitchen.”  If the man took issue with Blake's tone, it didn't show.  “Bridge is a no-go, I'm afraid. Pigs blew the cables as they pulled out, some of it collapsed. It's way too unstable to cross.” He scratched at his temple. “What d'you want out that way, anyway? There's dangerous people out there, not exactly safe for… families.”  “We're heading for, uh, Hood River,” Tanner spoke up, “Taking supplies out to the girl's grandparents.”  “Indians,” Blake chimed in, “they need the help.” He winked at Tanner.  The stranger turned to Blake and met his eyes, holding his gaze for an unnerving moment. Then he seemed to resolve some internal discussion, relaxing his shoulders. “Well, you might be able to get across up St. Johns, last I heard the bridge was still intact. There's some folks in the park up there, you can ask them.”  “St. Johns? That's the wrong fucking way!”  “A bridge is a bridge. It's that or swim, champ.” “Can you at least call the, uh, your boss? Tell him you checked us out, ask if we can get across?”  The man smiled, but something hardened behind his eyes.  “My boss? Sure, sure. Look, I think it's time you moved on. Head on up there and tell ‘em what you told me, they'll let you out. There's a bunch of poor Indians waiting for their dinner.”  There was something strange about the way the man said “Indians,” but he patted the hood of the truck and turned away, waving them down a side street away from the barricade. As Blake slowly drove off, Tanner collapsed back into his seat and quickly rolled up the window. His underarms were cold with sweat, and he relaxed muscles he hadn't known were clenched.  Blake took the turn the stranger indicated, muttering that if he heard anyone say “folks” again he would hit them. Tanner stared out the window at the “little kitchen” as they passed. There must have been a couple hundred people, milling around a dozen or so small fires. They were all loosely centered around a large tent directly in front of the scorched skeleton of the precinct. Laughter and music drifted through the open window, and Tanner closed it. He didn't think he could see any aliens, but it was difficult to tell in the dark.  “Collaborators. Must be a ration station or something,” he muttered, mostly to himself.  Lauren heard him. “No, this has been going on much longer than that, it just wasn't so out in the open. Swanson warned us about it. He said they lure hungry people in with food.”  “Yeah,” cut in Blake, “this is how they recruit ‘em. Set up a kitchen, give ‘em food, homeless and crackheads and queers, mostly. Drugs too, probably, and spewing their propaganda. That guy was probably one of the junkies. Sure as shit looked like it, you see the way he stared at me?”  Tanner shuddered. A junkie. He had an overwhelming urge to wash his hands. He remembered the way the man had talked about the police station, his manic laugh in the face of such violence, and glanced back at the quickly fading light. And saw a small figure, tottering at the edge of the firelight. A child.  “Disgusting,” he said out loud.  “Yeah, disgusting. It's like Earl said,” Blake continued, “they been feeding people right under our fucking noses.”  They drove on toward the bridge. The streets were more cluttered here, both with people and the remnants of the riots, and they could only manage a slow pace as they picked their way through the destruction. Blake had to swerve to the wrong side of the road to avoid a group of people carrying trash bags, picking through the rubble.  “Looking for something to eat,” he grunted, and locked the doors.  Signs of violence were everywhere. Tanner's chest tightened as they drove past the law firm where he had started his career—the job that had brought him to the city after he finished college, working for his father's best friend and learning his profession. Inside the shattered windows it was nothing but a shell, the desks overturned and the computers gone. No one would be working there any more.  The destruction was completely random. Violence for its own sake. Beside the firm was a pawn shop, covered in graffiti and looted. Next to that, a Vietnamese restaurant, completely unharmed except for ‘Delicious, 5 stars' sprayed on the pavement outside. Across the road was an untouched convenience store and a bookshop with its doors wide open, light flooding out and people crowding the entrance. A donut shop and an Apple store destroyed, a mechanic and a bar looking like they had simply closed for the night. There was absolutely no pattern or reason to it.  They saw a Fred Meyers with every window broken, the front door jammed open with a twisted shopping cart. A movement caught Tanner's eye and he saw someone leaving from a side door, carrying a huge bag of stolen food. He hoped Blake didn't see—he might do something stupid, and Tanner didn't want to stop. It wasn't safe.  They made it a few more blocks when Lauren gasped and grabbed Blake's arm, making him brake. She gestured across the intersection to a KFC. Half the building had collapsed in what must have been an enormous fire; the half that still stood had been savagely attacked. She pointed to the entrance with a shaking finger. Someone—or something—had toppled the giant bucket sign and sent it crashing through the ceiling of the kitchen. Above the door, someone had scrawled a message in red spray paint:  FUCK YOU SANDERS OUR SECRET SPICES NOW There were more barricades set up near the bridge. Where the others had been makeshift, marking a boundary, these were more serious. They were to stop people getting through. Blake slowed before they got too close to the blockade, which they could now see was lined by shapes that very much suggested people. On both sides of the road the land fell away into darkness, sloping down to become a park that ran beneath the bridge.  The park itself, a rare green space normally dotted with dog walkers and children, was transformed. The once-quiet lawns were a mass of tents and makeshift structures, stages and bars and sound systems, the proud trees now decked out with effigies and lights. Fires burned everywhere, and the distant space was carpeted with a swarming mass of humanity, undulating to a throbbing cacophony of noise.  “This doesn't look good,” said Blake. He pulled over, a hundred yards or so short of the bridge.  “That guy said they would let us through,” said Tanner, “if we stick to our story.”  “He was a junkie,” scoffed Lauren.  “But he thought we were working with them,” said Tanner, “he had no reason to lie to us.”  “I guess it's worth a try. Anyway, they ain't gonna try anything against this much firepower.” Blake grunted. “Too late to change our minds now. They've seen us.”  He nodded at the barricade, where two shapes had detached from the mass. They moved toward the Tacoma, and Blake responded by flicking the lights to high beam and heading to meet them. As Blake swung back out into the road the beams cut through the darkness to illuminate the figures, throwing wild shadows from the two shapes until the truck steadied course and they coalesced into recognisable forms. One was a large man, white, with a nose ring and a loosely-tied blond ponytail. He was wearing a plaid shirt and carrying a large rifle. The other—Tanner's throat caught—the other looked like one of the aliens.  “Shit,” said Blake, as the headlights picked out at least half a dozen more shapes along the barricade, several with big guns visible. “Fuck.” He stopped the truck and rolled down the window, then cursed again and threw open the door.  “I'll be fucked if I'm gonna sit here and be pulled over like some criminal. Tanner, you're with me—let's go meet them man to man.” Tanner scrabbled for the door handle and chased after Blake, half-skipping to catch up. They pulled up a few paces before colliding with the approaching party. The blond man stepped forward.  “How's it going, dude?” he said.  “We need to get to Hood River,” said Blake, “we're trying—” “Yeah, we heard.” The man cut him off. “Bridge is closed to traffic, unfortunately. You wanna cross, you'll have to walk.”  Blake bristled. “Are you joking? We need to bring all this stuff. It's… important,” he objected. “You can't just keep people here!”  “We could,” said the blond man, calmly. He sounded confident in his assertion. Looking at the line of men—and women, Tanner realized—standing along the barricade, he agreed.  “But we're not,” the man continued. “You can go wherever you want. Take your shit, cross the bridge. Some folks have organized buses up the river, they'll take you. But the truck stays.”  “But that's my fucking truck!” Blake squealed. The man's eyebrows shot up and Tanner laid a hand on Blake's shoulder, squeezing it and hoping he got the message. The stranger paused, then sighed.  “Look, I'm sorry dude. I love my truck, too. But there was an attack at another camp last night by these so-called freedom fighters,” he grimaced. “Militia wackjobs, really. Word is they are gathering across the river, and we can't risk weapons and vehicles falling into the wrong hands. Especially not an arsenal like you folks got here.”  The alien stepped forward and, much to Tanner's surprise, spoke in perfect American English.  “Don't worry, it'll be here when you get back. We'll take real good care of it for you. They will appreciate the help guarding the buses and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you move these… important supplies.”  They signaled to the group at the barricade and two more figures made their way into the light of the truck's high beams. The first was a slim Black man in fatigues, wearing a red beret at a jaunty angle and carrying a AR-style rifle in one hand. The other was a woman, tall and imposing. She wore a leather jacket over a long black dress, which was slit to the thigh to reveal hints of slim, bare legs that stretched from the pavement to the heavens. Tanner blinked rapidly and swallowed. He had always had a soft spot for long legs in thigh-slit dresses.  As they came closer the man nodded at Tanner and Blake, but he was not what held their attention. The woman with the legs from God was also rocking a luxurious mustache that would have put Teddy Roosevelt to shame. As Tanner's eyes bulged, she caught his gaze and winked.  “Hello, boys. I'm Sunshine, they/them. I'll be with you on the bus.”  Tanner didn't know how to react. A fuzzy memory bounced around in the back of his head. “An investigation on college campuses found that increasing numbers of American citizens are using pronouns.” Earl's bewildered face frowned, then puckered. “These ‘theys' and ‘thems' are making a mockery of the American tradition, seeking to spread their insidious ideology among good, hard-working citizens, brainwashing young Americans into adopting these ‘pronouns.' What's next, people identifying a different age? A different race? We need to speak out against this perverse trend and most importantly, keep them away from our children.” _ That was it. These were the pronouns Swanson had warned them about. He gripped his gun and glanced at Blake, trying to get his mental footing.  Blake looked shocked, too, but quickly pulled himself together. He threw Tanner a sly look, one that hinted at an idea. “Give us a minute,” he snapped, and pulled away from Tanner, back to the truck. When they were both inside he turned on the occupants with a spark in his eyes.  “They must be talking about my boys, alive and kicking,” the old grin was back, his excitement barely contained. “Must have set up in the woods. We'll head over and find ‘em. Maybe they got word from Earl. If they're here, and they're fighting, maybe we don't have to go all the way to Boise after all.” “What's going on?” Lauren looked confused.  “We're leaving the truck. Grab the shit, cross the bridge, hijack their fucking commie-wagon and strike out east. Either we find them in Baker, or our boys find us first.”  Tanner was still coming to grips with the situation. “What about… them?” he said.  “Who?” “They… them. In the dress, with the pronouns!”  “And what are they going to do, stop us? You ever tried to fight wearing something like that? No. The four of us, across the bridge, grab the bus, easy.” “Katie's not hijacking any bus. She's eight, for God's sake. Maybe she and Lauren should stay here…”  “You stay here with Katie,” Lauren snapped, cutting Tanner off. “If you think it's safer, if you're looking for safer, you take her for a nice walk in the park down there. I'll be with my husband, taking my country back from these freaks.”  “I know you want to keep Katie safe,” Blake added, almost apologetically, “but you saw what it's like out there. You heard Swanson's warnings. These aren't people, they're animals, aliens. She's your baby fuckin' girl, man. You do what you're at peace with, but my wife sure as shit ain't staying here to get felt up by some dick in a dress.”  Tanner looked at Lauren. “But she's just a kid! What if she gets hurt.”  “What if she gets hurt _here? So you look after her. Be a man,” Lauren spat back.    Blake clapped Tanner on the shoulder and held his gaze. “It's do or die time, soldier. Let's get the fuck outta here, hook up with the resistance, then bring back the fury of God and freedom and the USA to take back this city and liberate my God damn truck!” Tanner looked at Katie, curled up in the footwell, and wanted to object. He wanted to take her somewhere safe, back to the Hole, where it was warm and they could hide from the aliens and the bad people and they had all the food they could need and they could wait for this all to be over.  But the fire in his belly wouldn't let him. He knew Blake was right, he knew that he should be ashamed of his moments of weakness. He saw Lauren gripping her rifle and staring at Blake with faith and devotion in her eyes and he knew that was the kind of man he wanted to be. Tanner breathed a silent promise to keep Katie safe, no matter the cost.  “Let's do it.” Blake pulled the truck up to the group of guards and they all piled out, Tanner standing straight and feeling tall, Blake's words ringing in his ears. It's do or die time. _ Two of the barricade guards came over to help them unload while the others stood around and watched, their mustachioed escort who made Tanner's skin crawl and the large blond man. Traitor. They stripped off the tray covering and began shifting gear, Blake and blondie up above handing packages down to everyone else. Tanner heard the guards muttering to each other.  “Holy shit, that's a lot of firepower.” The blond man snorted. “And a lot of nasty-ass TV dinners. Important supplies, my ass.”  Sunshine shrugged. “Folks eat what they eat. Not everyone lives in a Whole Foods and learned to make Tom Yum on their gap year,” they rebuked him. The man grimaced and scratched his jaw. “Yeah, right. That was unfair of me. Well, Thai cooking workshop tomorrow and I'll make a big pot, so at least folks here don't have to eat that frozen stuff… unless they want to.” They busied themselves unloading, bundling food and weapons into bags or tying them together for ease of carrying. Tanner was tying the straps of his backpack and settling it on his back when he heard a curse from the back of the truck. He glanced up, and, frozen in time, watched the next few seconds helplessly.  The blond man had pulled out one of the last few satchels, the one containing all their spare clothes. He was standing upright, arms held out, nose ring quivering in silent outrage. In his left hand he had Blake's flag bandana; in his right, Blake's spare jacket, rebel flag patch sitting proudly on the shoulder.  Blake reacted fastest. He dropped the food he was holding, raised his Glock, and with a vengeful crack the blond ponytail exploded in a spray of red.  The man in the beret raised his rifle and fired two shots into Blake's chest, sending him flying from the tray. A scream burst from Lauren as she reached for her gun, but the alien matched the sound and met her with a powerful tackle, sending both of them crashing into a pile of frozen hamburgers. Sunshine reached out and grabbed Tanner's arm. Time snapped back into motion for Tanner. He instinctively pulled away and shook his arm free of the grasping fingers. Stepping back, he spun and swung his fist in a wild roundhouse. It connected with Sunshine's jaw as they overbalanced toward him. Tanner watched them collapse in a heap. His gaze danced over the chaos unfolding around him, frantically searching for Katie. _There. Tanner picked her up and ran.  They plunged off the road and into the darkness. There was only one thought in his mind: get Katie across that bridge. She was sobbing, shaking in his grasp, and Tanner made what he hoped were comforting shushing noises as he ran. He knew this park—there was a staircase inside one of the support towers that rose from the park to the bridge overhead. That was his way out. Holding Katie tightly, breath ragged, he ran toward the orgy of light and noise pulsating below.  The two escapees burst into the mass of people. Tanner looked around, eyes darting, taking in the madness and trying to get his bearings. The sensory assault was overwhelming, but he slowly made out patterns in the polyrhythmic press. What had looked from above like a continuous swell of humanity was actually a hundred, a thousand separate groups and camps and parties. People flowed freely between them, groups forming and merging and coming apart in a chaotic, everchanging anarchy. A makeshift stage to his left throbbed with bass, colliding with the bone-jarring screams and guitars of a group of punks. Tanner found himself surrounded by ecstatic dancers, while a group almost under his feet sat staring into a campfire, oblivious to the rest of the world. He crashed through their doped-out reverie and bounced off two men, locked in a hungry embrace.  Tanner recoiled and turned away, shielding Katie with his body, searching desperately for the tower that would lead him out of this nightmare. Lights flashed, blinding, creating a sort of slideshow of horror as Tanner scanned the crowd. There. He found it. His escape from this festival of the damned. He soldiered on, caught up in a whirl of half-naked dancers, men, women, and everyone else, mindless of the frigid air as they span and writhed in rapture.  Tanner spotted an exit, an island of calm, and dove for it. He exploded from the throng, gasping for air, and breathed in the relative silence. Collecting himself, he was faced with rows of bodies, still, staring at something unseen up ahead, the very air trembling with collective anticipation.  A voice shattered his uneasy reprieve, loud and bombastic and dripping with drama.  “And now, my darlings, it is time for these fuckers to do what I do best—go down!” Tanner dashed through the crowd as they roared and surged into motion, and caught a glimpse of the scene ahead: two lines of people, straining on thick ropes, as a woman in lingerie and feathers pranced like a princess of hell before them. The ropes led upwards, where they were tied around the necks of two enormous metal figures. Lewis and Clark.  Tanner broke into a full sprint, shouldering bodies aside. He was almost there. Up ahead, rising from the chaos, was his stairway to the heavens. His legs trembled and his breath came in ragged sobs, but he couldn't slow down. Not when he was so close. He tore out of the crowd and into the comforting darkness of the spaces in between. His hysterical panic began to subside. One foot in front of the other. Keep running. They were going to make it. As he neared the tower a figure came into view at the base, looming from the shadows of the doorway, staring into the blackness beyond. A stocky, muscled figure wearing fatigues and a plate carrier. It couldn't be… “Blake! Blake, thank God.” Tears welled in Tanner's eyes as he reached his friend. Lauren was nowhere to be seen, but right now Tanner couldn't think about her. He had survived, and he had brought Katie through. His heartbeat was still frantic, but from exertion rather than fear. They were here. He, Katie, and Blake. Emotionally exhausted, physically spent, battered and terrified, but alive. They were going to be okay. He reached out to his friend. Blake turned—No, not Blake. A thick black beard engulfed the shadowy face, momentarily lit by the glowing ember of a huge cigar. The eyes were deep-set and dark, the skin weathered, wrinkled, brown. The face of an illegal alien.  Tanner's throat betrayed him. He squeaked, and nothing more would come out. His knees wobbled and threatened to give way, his feet froze in place. He wavered. He whimpered.  Puffing on the cigar, the alien took in his terrified face and the little girl slung over his shoulder. He gestured toward the doorway and blew out an enormous plume of smoke.  “Go, gringo.”  It was well past midnight when Katie ran into the side of a tent, fell on her bottom, and started crying. They had crossed the bridge, left the highway, and headed for the safety of the forest. Since then they had been wandering among the trees for hours, directionless, driven by fear, then by hope, then exhausted aimlessness. Tanner wasn't going anywhere except away from that park. He had briefly entertained the image of finding a group of militia, sitting around a fire, eating and laughing and, maybe, swapping stories with their old friend Blake. That was hours ago. Visions were fleeting in the fever dream of the forest. Since then, they had walked because they didn't know what else to do. Tanner stumbled over to Katie and collapsed beside her, holding her close and hushing her. He felt like crying too.  A flashlight clicked on inside the tent and a dreadlocked head poked out of the flap.  “Hey, there's someone here!” Rustling erupted from all around and more faces appeared. “Wasn't someone keeping watch?” “I thought you were.” “Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Someone's crying.” “You folks okay?” Tanner and Katie were soon surrounded by a small group of people. He looked up at them. “Are you the militia?” “No, don't worry. You're safe here. We're friends.” “Although I guess we are a militia if you think about it. Sort of.”  “Shh, don't confuse the poor people. They're terrified.”  “Sorry. No, no militia. Someone get them a blanket and something to drink.” Minutes later, Tanner and Katie were wrapped in sleeping bags, sipping on hot cocoa. It was scalding and familiar and Tanner felt the tension of the past day fading, leaving bone-deep exhaustion in its place.  “Are you okay? What happened?” “Thank you. We were… we just need to sleep.”  “And you? What's your name? Are you alright?” Katie looked at her dad, then stared up from her tin mug. “I'm Katie. I'm scared.” “You're safe now. We'll help you. Look, we'll get you somewhere to sleep.” The first face they had seen rummaged around in a tent and brought out a bag. “Lucky we have a spare tent. I'll just put it up, won't be a second.” The tent was almost up by the time Tanner and Katie finished their drinks, and they got up and walked over, sleeping bags over their shoulders, holding hands. “Hey, thanks,” Tanner said. “I would have helped but I don't really know how. Never had much call for camping. I am, uh, was a lawyer,” he glanced around, “not criminal, uh… intellectual property. Copyright.”  “No problem, of course. Here, it's not hard. I'm just clipping the…” “This isn't the time for camping lessons, Jacob. Anyway, you'll scare the man, sharing information for free like that. They've been through enough already.”  “Sorry, yeah. Look, slide in. Take these sleeping mats. It'll do for tonight, I'll teach you tomorrow.”  Tanner and Katie squeezed into the tent, sleeping bags huddled together on the cold, hard ground, and slept. THE END **Inmn ** 1:03:01 Hello, and welcome to the show. Thank you so much for coming on today. Could you introduce yourself with your name, pronouns, and just a little bit about what you do in the world? **Matt ** 1:03:15 Yeah, hi, I'm Matt. He/him pronouns. And I'm a student again, after a really long time, actually, which is why I've just moved to where I'm living now. But I like to write, you know, mostly for me, and this is the first first thing I've published but I enjoy it. And yeah, I'm really grateful that you've taken an interest in it. **Inmn ** 1:03:37 Yeah, totally. I love the story. So we just listened to the second half of your story, Blood, Soil and Frozen TV Dinners and even though listeners just heard...just heard the whole story, I'm wondering if you could just kind of like walk us through the story in your--you know, from the mouth of the author--what is this story about? **Matt ** 1:04:01 So the story, for me, was about, to some extent, seeing yourself in some ways or, you know, people like you, through the eyes of...through the eyes of someone else, I guess, someone who's very different and might see things in a different way. So I always find it interesting to play with different perspectives or different characters instead of telling the story from a heroic perspective or something. And I wondered what a pathway to a better world might look like from someone who didn't necessarily want that to happen. So we have these, you know, preppers who--call them you want, right-wing conservatives, something like this--and what they might think, given the knowledge that they receive about the world, what they might think is happening when something happens that a lot of the rest of us might want. **Inmn ** 1:05:00 Yeah, totally. I really like how you put that. What was it, like, "a better world that they don't necessarily want?" [both laugh] Okay, well, how did this, how did this story kind of...like how did it come to be? What inspiration did you kind of draw from to craft this situation or these like personalities from Tanner and Blake or Earl Swanson? 1:05:35 Yeah, the story itself, there was a discussion last Halloween, I believe it was, on Coffee With Comrades, there was a interview with Pearson and Margaret Killjoy, talking about the discussion of the monster in literature, which is where I first took the idea that they were talking about seeing yourself as the monster in this idea and sometimes reveling in that or perhaps enjoying it. And that was where the first idea came from. And then the most specific layout of the story or main theme, I guess, was, I was doing something on the US Tax Office website. And there's this whole section for aliens, right, if you're an alien in the U.S., these are the tax rules you need to follow. And I just thought it was a funny word. You know, I'd seen it on Fox News or something before but it just struck me as really weird in such an official position. Yeah, and I just was playing with the ideas of this and, you know, I like thinking about utopias and things. And this is where the like the main shape of the story had come from, just the idea of seeing the monster, seeing the alien from there. And then specific characters, I mean, some of them are just kind of people that I've met, you know, Tanner and Blake, specifically, and I think Earl Swanson's character, I mean--I don't know it's possibly libelous--but we can probably figure out who that's meant to be, right? I think it's reasonably obvious. **Inmn ** 1:07:09 Totally, totally. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's super interesting. Yeah, it's funny, I was rereading the story today to prepare for this interview and I realized that the first time that I was reading it, because of this perspective of the.... I'm like, okay, I know, these are some, you know, at least center-right, far-right preppers and they're using the word "alien" and I don't actually know what they mean by this, which was, you know, maybe a purposeful being vague about it, but I was like, I don't know if they think that it's, you know, illegal aliens or undocumented  migrants or whatever or if they mean, like, literal from outer space aliens. And, yeah, I was like, I don't know what they mean by what they're talking about. And maybe they don't either.   1:08:20 This was part of the conceit, right, was setting it up like it's a pretend big reveal, I think, that it's a twist in the story that at some point gets revealed, but that's not really the point. It's not really meant to be a big trick or something like this, you know? I think in discussions in the editing, we talked about in the first page or so when they speaking Arabic, and it's reasonably obvious to anyone that knows Arabic who these people are, you know, it's not hidden, but this was the idea, that they may have meant illegal alien all along, was, you know, the way they we're using the term, but that they weren't necessarily drawing so much of a distinction between the two uses of the word alien, that in their minds a, sort of, invasion by one was the same as the invasion by the other to some extent. **Inmn ** 1:09:10 Yeah, which, you know, I actually really love that from the perspective of.... It's like maybe an interesting twist. I didn't listen to that interview with Pearson and Margaret, so I'm not sure what they talked about, but there's this kind of idea in a lot of spaces that I've been part of,you know, when people talk about things like assimilation or something, especially in queer spaces, of like, "We have to seem harmless to them. We have to seem innocent. We have to seem like we just want to be part of the group," you know, and then this other side that's like, "No, we want to be unknowable. We are claiming the monstrosity that they are putting on us," and I'm like, yeah, we're fucking.... I don't know, anarchists are kind of aliens, like, in an entirely other way of thinking, you know? 1:10:09 Yeah, and just considering some social norms is completely irrelevant or harmful or repressive and other things that other people would consider, perhaps, violent or something seem completely okay to other people. There is a complete sort of alienation of perspective from broader society, I think. And yeah, it is, there's a tension between sometimes wanting to go unnoticed, or, as you say, like assimilate, and even, for me, walking around, you know, sometimes you want to look like an anarchist and sometimes you don't. It's an interesting dynamic, I guess, that you can switch sometimes day-to-day. **Inmn ** 1:10:54 Yeah, yeah. Have you read much of--you know, love talking about this person on the show--have you read much of Ursula Le Guin's Hainish Cycle? 1:11:08 I've read only "The Dispossessed" and "The Left Hand of Darkness".  **Inmn ** 1:11:16 Great examples. I think "The Left Hand of Darkness," kind of brings out this idea of where the reader is going to maybe most identify with the alien, or whatever, in "The Left Hand of Darkness" being not the not the Gethens--or I don't remember what they're called. But then it's like, the more that we're reading the book... or there's some times where I'm this alien or, you know, our perspective person just doesn't understand this culture. And that's really painful. And then there are other times when I'm like, I don't know, maybe the alien's perspectives on the world are far more dissimilar to what a normal person on like our planet Earth would think, because they're advocating for a better world that is very alien to people on this planet. Does that make sense? **Matt ** 1:12:24 Yeah, I mean, in "The Dispossessed," I think it's the same dynamic with Shevak coming back to Earth and presenting the perspective, both ways that it seems incredibly alien to him and then the other way around to everyone else that's there, to the general culture there. Yeah. I think it's an interesting literary device to present the outsider point of view, I think, which I mean, is quite the opposite of what I did in this story, I presented the more mainstream point of view, I guess, but from the circles that we're in, it's funny to see from the outside what that looks like. **Inmn ** 1:13:02 Yeah, yeah, I had this very silly idea once for...I don't know if it was gonna be a short story or what but kind of, using that "alien" trope or like "Stranger in a Strange Land" trope as a way to talk to my parents about anarchism or about radical queer spheres. **Matt ** 1:13:27 Yeah, I mean, that's about as alien as it can get for a lot of people's parents, right. **Inmn ** 1:13:31 Totally. But just as some funny little zine that's like an introduction to the punk house, you know? **Matt ** 1:13:44 Yeah, viewed as some sort of interesting zoo creatures. **Inmn ** 1:13:46 Yeah. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the kind of political renderings of Tanner and Blake or ,rather, their differences in how they perceive or interact with either preparedness or this new world that they're encountering? **Matt ** 1:14:14 Yeah, I think that Blake's character is a lot.... He knows what he's doing, right? It's a lot more intentional and more--I guess educated is maybe not quite the right word--but a lot more of an actually constructed ideology, whereas for Tanner it's very much received. He's not so keen, not so entirely sold on the idea or doesn't necessarily know the idea. It feels like it's like lost and failing a lot of the time and I think that's why I found him a much more interesting character because that's how I feel a lot of people that I know and talk to and family members and friends and things or friends of people I know get pulled into a lot of these, you know, reactionary ideologies is kind of by accident a lot of the time, right? Because it's what's presented and what they're drawn into by someone who has a lot more investment in it than they do. And they just kind of bumble into it almost by accident. Yeah. **Inmn ** 1:15:20 Because it's what they're seeing on TV. People who are deeper into that philosophy are like.... It's like the people that they're around who are their own little echo chambers of, "Oh, okay, there's this thing happening. Not sure how I feel about it. But I'm being like, fed this perspective on it." **Matt ** 1:15:46 Yeah, and a lot of the social or interpersonal issues that draw people in as well, I think. I tried to make it seem relatively obvious that Tanner is envious of Blake in a lot of ways, right? He is, you know, hotter than him and he is cooler than him and he knows more than him and he's always trying to, like, live up to this ideal that he has just completely interpersonally with no politics or anything in it. And he just wants to live up to what he thinks Blake wants him to be, which it turns out, is a bad thing. I mean, I'm not trying to excuse Tanner's character too much here. But yeah, I think this is what's really dangerous a lot of the time actually, for people who don't necessarily have a fully formed belief in all of these philosophical systems or something that then puts them on the wrong side not by...not necessarily out of evil intention. **Inmn ** 1:16:54 Yeah. No, that's very true. And it's interesting talking about not excusing Tanner's character too much, but as I was reading the story I found myself like, not necessarily rooting for Tanner and Bl

Msgr. John Myler and Adam continue their advent pilgrimage through the Holy Land. On this segment, we are focusing on the location where Mary visited Elizabeth for three months. The location of Elizabeth's house is now a The Church of the Visitation. Adam plays an encore interview with Fr. Zach Edgar about St. Lucy. For more information about Covenant Network, please visit our website at www.OurCatholicRadio.org.

The Rorate Caeli Mass is an ancient Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is offered in the Darkness with only Candles to light the Altar--symbolizing the Light of Christ who is to come.   The story of St. Lucy and God's providence for us

Hour 1 of The Drew Mariani Show on 12-13-23 Drew takes us through a number of headlines in our News Roundup Eric Patterson takes a hard look at the newest stunt pulled by the Satanic Temple -- this time in the Ohio State Capitol Jill Metz tells us an incredible story of a saint choosing her -- and that saint's powerful healing intercession in her life

December 13 is St. Lucy's day, traditionally a day celebrating light in the midst of the darkest, coldest time of the year. Today's poems–from Elaine Feinstein, John Donne, and Thomas Merton–all meditate on that contrast in some way. Enjoy, stay warm, and happy reading! Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Memorial of St. Lucy by Dr. John Bergsma. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr Obligatory Memorial First Reading: Isaiah 40: 25-31 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10 Gospel: Matthew 11: 28-30 Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

Lord, lighten our load! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/william-wannall/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/william-wannall/support

Dr. Tom Curran talks about how to teach kids the “hard-easy,” to foster character and discipleship. Tom talks about the life of St. Lucy and shares quotes from St. John of the Cross.

Trust in the Lord forever!

You redeemed us by your blood.

St Lucy, Light for the Eyes of Faith *Advent Patience vs. Revolutionary Impatience *The Mysterious Flying House of Loreto *The Blindness of Sin *St Lucy Stood Her Ground for Love of Christ Subscribe and Rate on Apple Podcasts

12/13/236am CT Hour - Ashley Noronha/ Heather Johnson John, Glen and Sarah chat about the UN asking or ceasefire in Gaza, House starting impeachment process for President Biden and Hot Cocoa. Ashley brings the news from Rome to he listeners and talk about the Pope's plans for his future burial, bagpipe playing shepherds and how the celebrate Christmas in India. Heather shares some great traditions that all families can do to celebrate St. Lucy on her feast day today. https://acatholicmomslife.com/our-st-lucy-feast-day-family-traditions/

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Memorial of St. Lucy by Dr. John Bergsma. Lucy, Virgin, Martyr Obligatory Memorial First Reading: Isaiah 40: 25-31 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10 Gospel: Matthew 11: 28-30 Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.Simile est regnum caelorum thesauro abscondito in agro : quem qui invenit homo, abscondit, et prae gaudio illius vadit, et vendit universa quae habet, et emit agrum illum.  45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls.Iterum simile est regnum caelorum homini negotiatori, quaerenti bonas margaritas.  46 Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.Inventa autem una pretiosa margarita, abiit, et vendidit omnia quae habuit, et emit eam.  47 Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kind of fishes.Iterum simile est regnum caelorum sagenae missae in mare, et ex omni genere piscium congreganti.  48 Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth.Quam, cum impleta esset, educentes, et secus littus sedentes, elegerunt bonis in vasa, malos autem foras miserunt.  49 So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just.Sic erit in consummatione saeculi : exibunt angeli, et separabunt malos de medio justorum,  50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.et mittent eos in caminum ignis : ibi erit fletus, et stridor dentium.  51 Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes.Intellexistis haec omnia? Dicunt ei : Etiam.  52 He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.Ait illis : Ideo omnis scriba doctus in regno caelorum, similis est homini patrifamilias, qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. Born at Syracuse in Sicily of noble parents, St Lucy gave herself to Jesus and chose death rather than to lose the incorruptible treasure of her virginity, A.D. 303, Her name occurs in the canon of the mass.

13 December 2023

Bulletin: http://tinyurl.com/MWAdvent2-2023

St. Lucy, pray for us! Please send me an e-mail with your questions or ideas to thecatholickidspodcast@gmail.com. If you would like to support the podcast, please visit https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/catholickidstriviapodcast/support to see how you can help. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/catholickidstriviapodcast/support

Summary This month we have St. Lucy: An Anti-Hagiography by Wren Awry. It's coming out a little early because St. Lucy's day is on December 13th. Inmn and Wren talk a lot about folklore, history, and why saints are kinda cool sometimes. The word of the month is about the unsurprising synchronicity of names. Read along at TangledWilderness.org Guest Info Wren Awry can be found on IG @wrenawry Publisher This podcast is published by Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org or on Twitter @tangledwild. You can support this show by subscribing to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness Host The host is Inmn Neruin. You can find them on instagram @shadowtail.artificery Reader The Reader is Bea Flowers. If you would like to hear Bea narrate other things, or would like to get them to read things for you check them out at https://voicebea.wixsite.com/website Theme music The theme song was written and performed by Margaret Killjoy. You can find her at http://birdsbeforethestorm.net or on twitter @magpiekilljoy

On today's Winds of Change, Lauretta and Mary have an extensive discussion on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and the Unborn. The Sanctuary of the Guadalupana in Des Plaines (1170 N. River Road) will also host a variety of prayer vigils and Masses on December 11 and 12. http://www.solg.org   The following day, December 13, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Lucy, also known as Santa Lucia. Famous tenor Andrea Bocelli commemorates this beautiful saint with his rendition of "Santa Lucia."  Andrea Bocelli - Santa Lucia luntana https://ststanschurch.org/

In this week's episode, I discuss some background information on my journey with the Rosary and give examples of how I use the Rosary as a devotional tool and a tool to aid in spellcasting and manifestation. Here are some previous episodes with relevant background information that I reccomend listening to before this episode if you have not already done so: Perdita Finn (@perditafinn on Instagram) and Clark Strand, authors of Way of the Rose, and I discuss a non-Catholic Rosary devotion and more: https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-57-Way-of-the-Rose-with-Perdita-and-Clark-e1esl7l Michael Thérèse McQueen (@saintlytarotmystic on Instagram) and I discuss Mary, the Saints and more: https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-58-Folk-Catholic-Witchcraft-with-Michael-Thrse-McQueen-e1etn4a https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-73-Saint-Work-for-Beginners-with-Michael-Thrse-McQueen-e1nfp7s Voga (@vogailumicente on Instagram), co-host of the Red Text Podcast (theredtextpodcast on Instagram) and I, discuss Folk Catholicism and queer identity: https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-74-Lost-in-the-Sauce---Navigating-The-Sacred--Profane-with-Witch-Ilumicente-e1ng3jb My episodes on Mary as Lady of the Moon, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Saint Lucy of Syracuse, respectively: https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-70-Devoted-to-Mary-Lady-of-the-Moon-e1lkrhr https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-77-Guadalupe-Coatlicue--the-Enduring-Mother-e1scbde https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-78-St--Lucy-the-Light-bearer-e1scd19 Dr. Strangefellow (@dr.strangefellow on Instagram) and I discuss magical Christianity and his initiatory tradition - the Church of Light and Shadow: https://anchor.fm/magickandthemoon/episodes/Episode-55-Dr--Strangefellow-e1egkph

St. Lucy is one of the earliest Christian Saints, known as a virgin and martyr to history, and a female version of Prince Siddhartha when she gave up her wealth and influences to become nun-like. Her immovable convictions have been portrayed as a divine influence which protected her against Roman persecution, from her punishment in a brothel to being burned alive. As a result of her divinely protected body, the Romans had her stabbed in the neck, severing the head symbolically, and her eyes plucked out, severing the connection between the eyes and the soul. She thus became the patron of virgins, or those who are purified, and the blind. In the new Nun II movie, the demon is hunting down Lucy's descendants and searching for her eyes, which have become a religious relic, because they have the power to turn whomever possesses them into an angelic being. This is a psychological process, too, occurring in the body with our passions and emotions. When they get too close to the head temple and gateway of the soul, our eyes, they can use the body and brain to cause havoc. Interestingly, the Nun II is the number one grossing movie. Parallel to this movie is what was the top music video in the country, but as of now sits at number three, and that is Doja Cat's ‘Paint The Town Red'. In the song she removes her eye to visit the underworld and perform an abortion as a sacrament to the Devil. She also encourages feral behaviors in general. The removal of an eye to reach the underworld is directly out of ancient Egypt, a theme Katy Perry also used in ‘Dark Horse'. It is further found in Japanese and Scandinavian mythology with Izanagi and Odin respectively. St. Lucy is one of the earliest Christian Saints, known as a virgin and martyr to history, and a female version of Prince Siddhartha when she gave up her wealth and influences to become nun-like. Her immovable convictions have been portrayed as a divine influence which protected her against Roman persecution, from her punishment in a brothel to being burned alive. As a result of her divinely protected body, the Romans had her stabbed in the neck, severing the head symbolically, and her eyes plucked out, severing the connection between the eyes and the soul. She thus became the patron of virgins, or those who are purified, and the blind. In the new Nun II movie, the demon is hunting down Lucy's descendants and searching for her eyes, which have become a religious relic, because they have the power to turn whomever possesses them into an angelic being. This is a psychological process, too, occurring in the body with our passions and emotions. When they get too close to the head temple and gateway of the soul, our eyes, they can use the body and brain to cause havoc. Interestingly, the Nun II is the number one grossing movie. Parallel to this movie is what was the top music video in the country, but as of now sits at number three, and that is Doja Cat's ‘Paint The Town Red'. In the song she removes her eye to visit the underworld and perform an abortion as a sacrament to the Devil. She also encourages feral behaviors in general. The removal of an eye to reach the underworld is directly out of ancient Egypt, a theme Katy Perry also used in ‘Dark Horse'. It is further found in Japanese and Scandinavian mythology with Izanagi and Odin respectively. Some people choose to pluck out their own eyes to these facts, and in not looking become ignorant. However, they also try to force other people, like Birdbox, to look away from the divine and see the demonic.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5328407/advertisement