Of Logic and Chowder

Hey, People!

Just a short post to throw a few thoughts out.

In the future, I thought I'd introduce something I'm gonna call "Snapshots". "Snapshots" will just be short posts on a random thought or two that cross my mind, or a recipe, or something like that. Point being, they will be shorter. Reason being, of course, I'm too busy with life to mess with long entries, and you're too busy to read them. And I'm thinkin' if I keep it short and sweet, I'll be touching base more frequently, and so will you. So...

Last night, I was listening to Coast to Coast with George Noory. For the uninitiated, C2C is a lively mish-mash of the unexplained, unusual, paranormal, and socio-political world we live in. That might be putting it mildly. Anyway, at one point, George and his guest, Brother Guy Consolmagno, and various listeners were discussing whether our furry friends go to heaven, whether they have souls, and just exactly what constitutes a soul. After some discussion, Brother Guy summed up his opinion (heavily influenced by Thomas Aquinas): If a creature is capable of recognizing others as separate entities from itself, and is capable of loving them, then it has a soul. The prevailing opinion, then, of course -- if it has a soul, it has the opportunity, if judged righteous, to go to heaven. Let it be added that this gentleman is a Jesuit and an astronomer at the Vatican observatory.

My mother and I have housed (I refuse to say "owned") four dogs and five cats in our 42+ years together, dating back to stepfascist days. When I was about twelve, stepfascist took my dog into the woods and shot him. All because Rex tore a hole in the couch when he was left alone for a weekend, and we forgot to put him in the basement. (I guess banishing him to the garage for a year, throughout one of the coldest winters in Pittsburgh history, where his food and water repeatedly froze, and my mother and I weren't permitted to play with him, or even pet him, wasn't quite enough punishment.) Many times over the years, I have wondered aloud to my mother and others exactly what the caller did -- will our beloved pets be waiting for us in heaven? Especially I want my dog. I was heinously deprived of his full earthly lifespan by the wantonly cruel act of a very sick man. I want eternity with my dog. And if he's not there, I certainly hope (and choose to trust) that God will have some suitable consolation to offer me.

So I was telling my mother all about last night's C2C show. And we've discussed this topic many times before, with my mother echoing my hope about Rex, and equally wanting eternity with her favorite of our cats, Rama. Today my mother walked past merely hoping by offering her very sensible and logical opinion on this matter. She said, "Well, when God made the Garden of Eden, didn't He have animals in it? It just seems to me that if He would make an earthly Paradise with animals in it, wouldn't He have animals in the heavenly paradise that He intends us to occupy forever? And besides, when He told Noah to build the ark, who did He tell Noah to take aboard with him besides the other seven people?"

Of course, I replied, "All the animals, two by two."

My mother smiled triumphantly and said, "Well, there you go."

My mother's proudest accomplishment: she graduated from nursing school in 1959 and was a Registered Nurse for 34 years, and rightfully so. Getting a nursing license old-school was no day at the beach; neither is a nursing career. My mother has no degrees in philosophy, theology or any other "y", but she's no dummy; no old-school nurse could be. She reads a lot. She's a student of life -- intuitive, very astute about human nature. And owing to all her years of reading true crime and watching Court TV, my mother can watch true crime stories on "48 Hours Mystery" and its ilk and tell you whodunit, how and why, and how they screwed up and got caught. And as far as I'm concerned, today she blew off the map entirely one Brother Guy Consolmagno; Thomas Aquinas; and for good measure, my former Logic 101 instructor; who might have had his class's textbook dedicated to him by its author, might know that All S are P, Some S are not P, Some S are non-P, and some S are not non-P, as well as which of these statements are contrary, and which are contradictory, but, believing that God is a sexist, racist mass-murderer, might never know that God has an Eden in Heaven waiting for him, full of real Bambies (as opposed to brain-mushing tests named "Bambi".) Hallelujah, and God bless my mother.

Claudia's Clam Chowder Recipe

1/2 lb. bacon

2 bunches leeks, each containing 3-4 leeks, thoroughly washed and sliced

4-7 oz. cans chopped clams

5-6 medium potatoes, peeled if desired, and coarsely diced

1 quart half and half

1 cup each cornstarch and water, whisked together

Spray 5 quart soup pot with non-stick spray. On medium heat, fry bacon till crisp; crumble bacon and set aside; leave bacon drippings in pan. Put in sliced leeks, cook till almost tender -- do not brown. Put in diced potatoes, followed by liquid from chopped clams. Reserve clams. Turn heat to high till the potatoes are boiling.  At this point turn heat down and let the soup simmer. When the potatoes are almost tender, pour in half and half. Turn heat up till it's all simmering again, then pour in cornstarch/water mixture slowly, pausing to stir frequently and check the soup's thickness is as desired (I like my soup thick; you can always put more milk in it when you re-heat it if it winds up too thick). Stir in clams and reserved bacon and heat through. YUM! Enjoy!

Good vibes to all of you!

Claudia