A Momentary Life...

[Town Heretic]

Floating down a creek on tubes at a reserve run by the Poarch Creek Nation the other day with my son when we passed a bend where a woman sat smoking, within a few feet of her child. As Jack floated by at distance he called out, "You shouldn't smoke or vape!"

I added, "My seven year old, the activist," thinking that would likely draw a chuckle or at least a context for understanding. Instead, the young woman declared my son rude before dropping a bit of language I won't repeat and informing me that her four year old was better behaved.


Surprised for the second time, I offered as evenly as I could, "You're smoking and cursing around that four year old." And then we were well beyond her and whatever else she might have said or considered was lost.

 

[Eeset]

What a snotty little brat!

 

[bybee]

People above reproach often find others remiss.

 

[Town Heretic]

People above reproach often find others remiss.

I told Jack that while his intention was good he should speak to me or his mother before saying anything to an adult in our company. But I can't fault his impulse. He was concerned for both the mother and the son.

 

[Lon]

I told Jack that while his intention was good he should speak to me or his mother before saying anything to an adult in our company. But I can't fault his impulse. He was concerned for both the mother and the son.

Awkward. I'd likely have said "He's remiss, but he has a good heart in the admonishment for both you and your child. I'll have a talk with him."

I'd think the woman must have known or else she'd not have responded negatively but rather "you may be right" or at least "cute kid you've got there."

 

[Town Heretic]

Awkward. I'd likely have said "He's remiss, but he has a good heart in the admonishment for both you and your child. I'll have a talk with him."

We were passing in a strong current, so the whole matter was over in short order and I aimed my "activist" remark in the same general direction. The reasonable way to be done with it would be a nod or a laugh. Advice from a seven year old, sage or not, is easily enough dismissed by an adult. But then, not everyone with a child is equal to the label.

I mostly feel sorry for that four year old.

 

[Lon]

I mostly feel sorry for that four year old.

...for more than one reason!

 

[Town Heretic]

Just watched a TED program by an expert on lying that may or may not have taught me a great deal. lain:

 

[intojoy]

Listening to the smile on a friend's face.

Weird


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[intojoy]

My mother who died of cancer when I was 8 had written letters to my 2 brothers and 1 sister which were sent to me by her hippy widower 4 decades later.


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[Idolater]

Floating down a creek on tubes at a reserve run by the Poarch Creek Nation the other day with my son when we passed a bend where a woman sat smoking, within a few feet of her child. As Jack floated by at distance he called out, "You shouldn't smoke or vape!"

I added, "My seven year old, the activist," thinking that would likely draw a chuckle or at least a context for understanding. Instead, the young woman declared my son rude before dropping a bit of language I won't repeat and informing me that her four year old was better behaved.


Surprised for the second time, I offered as evenly as I could, "You're smoking and cursing around that four year old." And then we were well beyond her and whatever else she might have said or considered was lost.

That's just the sort of thing that occurs when we prosecute light sins as grave ones (e.g., Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, fundamentalist Christians). Smoking and swearing around children are light sins, if they are sins at all. Children scolding adults engaged in light sins is light sin also. There's blame enough to go around here, but all of it's light.

 

[Idolater]

My mother who died of cancer when I was 8 had written letters to my 2 brothers and 1 sister which were sent to me by her hippy widower 4 decades later.


etfo yihn sn aaak

Wow, you must treasure those now.

 

[Lon]

That's just the sort of thing that occurs when we prosecute light sins as grave ones (e.g., Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, fundamentalist Christians). Smoking and swearing around children are light sins, if they are sins at all. Children scolding adults engaged in light sins is light sin also. There's blame enough to go around here, but all of it's light.

:nono: As a victim of secondhand smoke with weak lungs, I beg to differ. It isn't about religion at that point but I'm sure you can recognize this on a health level. Sins against our bodies, might be considered 'light' I guess on a spiritual level though. I'm trying to wrap my head around this from both perspectives....it seems damaging a child's lungs is the important issue. The swearing is negative emoting and lashing out as well?
Could it be it expresses issues of the soul rather than being merely a 'light' sin as well?

 

[Idolater]

:nono: As a victim of secondhand smoke with weak lungs, I beg to differ. It isn't about religion at that point but I'm sure you can recognize this on a health level.

OK, point taken.

Sins against our bodies, might be considered 'light' I guess on a spiritual level though.

There are many grave sins explicitly mentioned in the Bible, and there are some that we know and accept as grave that are not mentioned there (e.g., pornography, masturbation, abortion), but that the Church has always uniformly taught is grave matter. Grave sins deserve severe penalties, such as scolding and exhortation, exclusion from communion, and even up to and including irreversible excommunication for the gravest of sins, such as murder and rape.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this from both perspectives....it seems damaging a child's lungs is the important issue. The swearing is negative emoting and lashing out as well?
Could it be it expresses issues of the soul rather than being merely a 'light' sin as well?

A light sin is light inherently, independent of intent. While grave sins can be counted as light in an eternal sense by the Lord (when they are not done with complete freedom of choice), a light sin cannot rise to the level of a grave sin regardless of intent. Though there are sins like lying, where the resultant damage/harm done determines the gravity of the lie. So maybe that is where the issue of second hand smoke locates.

 

[Town Heretic]

That's just the sort of thing that occurs when we prosecute light sins as grave ones (e.g., Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, fundamentalist Christians). Smoking and swearing around children are light sins, if they are sins at all. Children scolding adults engaged in light sins is light sin also. There's blame enough to go around here, but all of it's light.

Yeah, I don't think we agree on the scolding. If Jack has to float through it then he has a right to speak to it, especially given his motivation is for the welfare of others... What I talked to him about was the point of raising an issue, the efficacy. I said that the problem is that it usually ends with the other party either paying lip service at best or becoming defensive and negative at worst. There's little gain in the effort. He understood.

 

[The Barbarian]

Mrs. Barbarian and I were teaching a class on photographing still lifes. We had brought various things so people could set up interesting arrangements, using a pool table nearby as a place to put the objects not being used.

Mrs. B saw some apparently randomly placed things on the table, pulled a single light over, and...

 

[The Barbarian]

Driving from St. Louis to Hermann, Mo., we saw this. Mrs. B. didn't have her camera ready, but she instructed me on how she wanted the image taken.

Processing was my idea, though.

 

[Town Heretic]

Driving from St. Louis to Hermann, Mo., we saw this. Mrs. B. didn't have her camera ready, but she instructed me on how she wanted the image taken.

Processing was my idea, though.

That works really well. I'm terribly fond of black and white, though I struggle against a fairly poor Nikon to do much with anything. Here's a recent one:

View attachment 26524

 

[The Barbarian]

It's not a bad Nikon (there is no such thing). The problem is the dynamic range of the scene is beyond the capablility of the jpg file to render.

Two ways to handle that:
1. Shoot in raw mode. The raw mode keeps all the data from the shot. You'll need to have some kind of processing program to properly render the raw image.

2. Try a simple HDR software like AutoHDR. That happens to be freeware, but the publisher will take donations.
http://www.autohdr.co.uk/

Trying to recover data from a jpg on a message board is pretty hard, but I just ran your shot through AutoHDR:

You can see that even with that, there's a considerable improvement in rendering the rock walls and the sky. From a raw image it would be much, much better. Worth a try. It's a magnificent shot, BTW.

 

[Idolater]

Yeah, I don't think we agree on the scolding.

It's a light error when a child scolds an adult for a light error. It's also a light error when a child addresses an adult by their first name, even if the adult invites the child to do so. Basically, almost everything erroneous that emerges from our mouths is light.

The trick is to use childhood as the training ground for being successful and profitable as adults, because it's light error to scold adults for light errors too, so once we have become grown, we have 'escaped' the window of opportunity to learn as an apprentice from our parents and caretakers about how to be adults who commit fewer light errors, because light errors are the main difference between success and failure as adults, assuming innocent (non-criminal) living.

The only time we are justified in treating light errors severely is when our children are young. Once they become older, the window has shut on that opportunity to teach them as apprentices in how to live.

If Jack has to float through it then he has a right to speak to it, especially given his motivation is for the welfare of others...

Children don't have rights, they have permission, and I don't grant my kids permission to scold adults for light errors. Not only that, I don't permit them to say anything at all about light errors, to anyone, not even to their peers---that's their peers' parents' job, not my kids.'

What I talked to him about was the point of raising an issue, the efficacy. I said that the problem is that it usually ends with the other party either paying lip service at best or becoming defensive and negative at worst. There's little gain in the effort. He understood.

There's much to gain from teaching your children to avoid light errors though. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." You yourself are testament to this proverb, Town. It's a light error to be sloppy about details, and about thinking, but you were trained up as a child to avoid this light error, and as far as I can tell, with you being an an officer of the court and all, which wouldn't be possible had you been a practitioner of the light error of sloppy and un-detailed thinking, it is serving you very well.

fwiw