Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

I have to ask, again and again:  Are we our brother’s keeper?  You read repeatedly how state after state is slashing their budget for mental health services.  Sure, states can’t afford to continue to pay for upkeep of their mental health hospitals so many of them are closing.  The services in the communities are often not supported; even services that have proved to be cost effective like peer centers.

People will still suffer.  The jails, not hospitals, now contain the largest population of the mentally ill.  Many are in for minor offenses.  Is that right?  As if the politicians don’t know that?  This population is the most vulnerable.  ER’s are increasingly being filled with those in crisis and it is very difficult to find an appropriate place for them to go.

We will be judged by how we treat the weak and vulnerable.  I will ask the politicians, again, are you your brothers’ keeper?  It costs a lot of money to treat the mentally ill in jail.  The money could be better spent in the community.  The mentally ill do not belong in jail.

People are suffering unnecessarily.  The general public is also complicit in this situation.  There was a reason state hospitals were often in the country.  Out of sight, out of mind although it is true decades ago they were called rest homes.  There were none of the medications available and often all some of the people in crisis needed was some peace and quiet and time to regain their equilibrium.

The public and the politicians need to ask themselves are we our brothers’ keeper?  And support the services that are needed to humanely treat the mentally ill.  By all means the states need to spend their money wisely.  But acting as if the problems will vanish and expecting the jails to treat the mentally ill is not right.

It could be your loved one?  After all, one out of four have been diagnosed mentally ill in their lifetime.  And you would want proper and humane treatment for your loved ones.  Or even you?  So we have to keep asking ourselves (and the politicians) are we our brothers’ keeper?

Tags: budget, community, cost effective, country, crisis, equilibrium, ER, general public, God, health, hospitals, humane treatment, jail, lot of money, medications, mental health, money, most vulnerable, one out of four, our brothers' keeper, out of sight out of mind, peace and quiet, peer centers, politicians, rest homes, services, state hospitals, suffer, the public, your loved one
Posted in balance, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, politics, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

The church is not the building it is the community–invisible but real nevertheless.  And there is one body.  There is way too much division between churches.  I am much more comfortable with the idea there is one body.  You can go anywhere and meet another believer and there is that connection.  I attend a Lutheran Church but I consider myself a Christian.  And I am much more comfortable with that.  Too much attention is made out of issues that don’t really matter.  Every Christian is a snow flake.  To God (and Jesus) every person matters.  The church is an organization where members and non-members are both welcome.  Every person is welcome.  We are all sinners.  There is no getting away from that.  The body of believers is always invisible.  It goes far beyond the buildings they meet in.  Some thoughts on the Church.

Tags: believer, body of believers, building, Christian, churches, community, division between churches, every person matters, God, invisible, Jesus, Lutheran, one body, snow flake, the church, we are all sinners
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I love my local diner.  For the first five and a half years I did not even set foot in it.  It is a mere three miles from my house.  Finally I started going there.  I was waking up early and frankly was lonely.  My wife was not up yet.

At first, I would just get a cup of coffee there.  I was learning about the lives of the waitresses (I do not like the word server) in dribs and drabs.  I learned that Sharon had almost worked there for thirty years.  She loved what she did.  And there was Jane and others whose lives I slowly entered.

They were making a living from serving me (and others) but it was more than that.  They had running relationships with most of their customers.  The local diner’s rules were pretty relaxed:  I saw customers going in back of the counters and serving themselves coffee because the waitress was just too busy at the moment.

I would sit at the counter taking in all the conversations around me.  You might say I was eavesdropping without being too obvious about it.  I heard some big tales especially about hunting.  This county shuts down when hunting season for deer starts the Monday after Thanksgiving.  In fact, this state ranks two in the nation for bear hunting.  Some of the tidbits and snatches of conversation I heard were fascinating.

I would not talk to too many people.  I could tell some customers, particularly the men, were curious who I was.  I would take my time, let them take me in.  One waitress asked me if I had just moved here.  It was only last summer when my town had their 200 year anniversary.  I realized I had to do things a little differently if I wanted to meet people in this town.

I started watering the plants in the post office and gradually grew to know the postmaster and the other clerk:  we became friends after a period of months.  I would water the plants six days a week.  And not only that, I would run into other people.

I started going to a local church where I felt very comfortable and met people in my community there.  Going to the local diner was just another step in my involvement into the community.

Going to the diner had other ramifications:  I would occasionally go to the the Susquehanna River which was less than an hundred yards away.  I went there today and mist was rising in swirls from the surface of the water.  It took my breath away.  I have spent more time visiting the River in my town since I started going to the diner the last four weeks than in the first five and half years I have lived here.  All because I am occasionally getting my morning coffee at my local diner.

It is an absolutely magnificent River.  It is another world.  You never know what you are going to see there.  It could be a bald eagle or a great egret or some other exotic bird or creature.  Usually when you least expect it.  I missed having being able to walk to it which had been a five minute walk from my house in Duncannon.  Now I am back.  There are so many reasons visiting the diner has changed my life.  Visiting The River is only one reason.

Tags: 200 year anniversary, bald eagle, bear, birds, church, coffee, community, conversations, customer, deer, Duncannon, great egret, hunting, local diner, meet people in town, morning, my wife, plants, post office, postmaster, Susquehanna River, thanksgiving, waitress
Posted in animals, beauty, birds, knowledge&learning, life, local, nature, relationships, time | No Comments »

Greed is a terrible thing.  And money gives you the illusion you do not need Him.  And you do not need others, that you truly are self sufficient.  Besides the fact, that is truly a lie from satan.  Money insulates you from relying on others.

The  fact is the world is interdependent.  We need one another.  This is never more apparent than when we are in a crisis.  Money can not buy “roots”.  Roots take years, decades to develop.  A lot of people do not take the time to develop roots, relationships with others.

When you reach out to others and help others in need, you are developing roots in the community.  It is a question of keeping your ears and eyes open around you.  Needs are there.  You have to figure, how can I reach out to the persons around me.  Your neighbors will tell you.  You just have to pay attention and figure out what can I do which will help this person I am having contact with.  It is just being alert.

What does this have to do with our failing economy?  Hard times force us to rely on one another more, to be more resourceful.  It destroys the illusion we don’t need Him.  And others.  We need one another.  And that is never more apparent than when we are not sure where the next meal is coming from or when we are struggling to pay our bills.  A failing economy puts most people in the same boat.  And we help one another more readily.  A failing economy is not necessarily a bad thing.

Tags: community, economy, God, greed, help others in need, interdependence, knowledge, learning, money, neighbors, politics, reach out to others, relationships, rely on one another, we need God, we need one another
Posted in God, knowledge&learning, life, love, money, politics, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »