The Problem With Indulgences: Part 2

The news media, and the medical community, continually say that if you experience chest and arm pain simultaneously, you should go to see your doctor immediately. So when I experienced these, along with the other symptoms I described in the previous post, I went to see a doctor. Based on the symptoms I described, he didn't think I was in danger of having a heart attack. But he ran a few tests, just to make sure.

One of the questions he asked was: Had I felt bloated with gas? Another was: Had I noticed any acid reflux? While I had noticed a little gas, I had not suffered from the acid reflux. But then, in the weeks that followed the doctor's visit, acid started backing up into my throat, bringing with it a bad taste, but even making it difficult to talk.

Researching the causes of acid reflux can be worrying. Many of the foods and drinks I enjoy can provoke the condition. But two lifestyle factors can also contribute: eating large meals, and lying down soon after eating. If you think about it, the one can lead to the other. Eating large meals leaves me feeling weighed down and lethargic, which makes me want to lay down and rest until the food digests. How about you? Do you ever feel like you need to take a nap after a meal? 

Thankfully, I've found I haven't needed to cut down on any of the food or drinks I enjoy. Instead, I've concentrated on portion sizes. So in the last few weeks, while I've eaten smaller meals, the gas and acid have, in large part, gone away. 

A Moco Loco (Rice, Beef, Egg, & Gravy)
from the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Kauai.

Tasty, but BIG ENOUGH TO SHARE!!

I imagine that everyone should periodically assess what they eat, as well as how much they eat at any particular time. As for myself, I'm trying to cut back on the situations that will encourage me to consume a large amount of calories at one sitting. I need to remember that not-filling-my-plate led to a slimmer figure, and never left me bloated or regurgitating acid. 

Also, when I got full, such as in the cases I've mentioned previously, those big meals left me feeling lethargic. Meals should recharge our batteries, and leave us ready to pursue out next adventure. Not leave us feeling like we need to crawl into a cave and hibernate for a few hours.

Great dining experiences should help us lead better lives, not bog us down and limit our activity.

Dragon Dave

The Problem with Indulgences: Part 1

When we travel to England, the hotels we stay in usually offer a free breakfast. So we fill up on breakfast, eat a decent lunch, and then go light for dinner. Here I am in Thirsk back in 2012, having breakfast before venturing off to explore the adopted town of James Herriot, which he calls Darrowby in his books. 

As you can see, I had a plate of eggs, bacon, and mushrooms, along with toast and tea. 

My wife opted for yogurt and oatmeal (which they call porridge), along with fruit, tea and toast. When it arrived, she helped remove all the bones from my kippers. The bones are just so tiny, so hair-thin, that she could see the fish bones better than I could.

All this good food left us feeling stuffed in the morning, and a little lethargic. But it didn't stop us from exploring "The World of James Herriot," (a museum housed in the building in which he lived and worked), and other notable Herriot sites. 

This year in Hawaii, I noticed that my sinuses felt plugged, and I had to breath through my mouth more. This made my voice hoarse. I also felt a little pressure in my chest, which worried me. When we returned home, these problems persisted. Catching a cold shortly after returning home didn't help matters. Finally my arm started hurting. My upper arm ached, as if I had pulled a muscle. Pins and needles descended into my lower arm, making my hand constantly want to fall asleep.

At this point, I finally gave in, and went to go see a doctor.

Dragon Dave

On Indulgences: Part 4

Back in April, my wife and I vacationed in Hawaii. We stayed on the west coast of Maui. One of the places we dined was the Hula Grill. It's located in a shopping center next to a hotel, and the open air dining area looks out over the ocean. In fact, a boat dropped off a large number of snorkelers while we ate.

As we've been there before, we opted for some old favorites. In my case, it was a chicken sandwich, with thick pieces of focaccia bread, and seasoned fries. I only ate half my sandwich, and gave some to my wife (and took a few back to the hotel to enjoy later with my other half-sandwich). Then we selected a dessert to share.

Our choice was another old favorite. It's called the Ice Cream Sandwich. They take a layer of chocolate cake, place a thick slice of dense, rich vanilla ice cream on top, then cap it with another slice of cake. They drizzle caramel sauce on top of that, and surround it with some raspberry sauce. A dollop of whip cream finishes off the dessert.

Had we left after eating only half our meals, we would have been satisfied. But after sharing the Ice Cream Sandwich, we were stuffed. We wandered around the shopping mall for awhile, then headed back to our hotel. I don't think we did much the rest of the day. But then, I suppose one of the reasons one goes to Maui is to do nothing much, at least part of the time.

Dragon Dave

On Indulgences: Part 3

As I mentioned in an earlier piece, I recently attended the regional assembly for the denomination of my youth. This was held on the campus of a university associated with the church denomination. The promised coffee cake and pastries didn't arrive in the morning. Instead, servers were setting out pieces of cake from the previous night's gathering, along with coffee and tea. Regardless of how much I enjoy the sheet cakes they sell in the stores (with all the buttercream frosting), I resisted the impulse to eat a second piece. But I was still hungry after my "breakfast," so I had a few candies and chocolates from the various presentation tables outside the sanctuary.

After the morning service/meeting, we headed over to the cafeteria. While the kitchen offered a wide variety of entries, they were arrayed at various, separate, stations. The kitchen was only open for an hour, and suddenly they had hundreds of people pouring in. So we had to make selections quickly, getting into the right line, etc, and grab what seemed most appealing. I opted for a plate of salad, a hamburger, and a couple big cookies. As it turned out, I couldn't eat the cookies. I was too full.

After the afternoon session, we had more of a break before dinner. But again, we had to wait until the kitchen opened. By the time it did, a long line had formed. So it was more crowded than before, and what we wanted was substituted for what we could get without waiting in too long a line. So I ended up with a gyro, and another salad. 

I had selected a brownie with cream cheese frosting. While we ate, my wife, who had selected a piece of chocolate cake, suggested that I save the brownie for later, and have the cake with ice cream. Well, ice cream always sounds good to me.

There's something about eating in such one-price-for-everything places that induces an "I've got to get my money's worth," mentality. That's the only way I can explain my madness. I mean, two plates full of food, and then a full bowl of cake and ice cream. And then, because I hadn't yet tried the chocolate ice cream, I went back for a bowl of that.

I had a great time in the dining hall at the denomination gallery, but man, was I stuffed afterward!

Dragon Dave

On Indulgences: Part 2

Recently, my mother and a friend treated us to dinner in the recently remodeled Chicken Dinner Restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm. The meal, which my wife and I split, started with salad (we largely skipped the dressing), and rhubarb in a cherry sauce.

For a vegetable, we chose the steamed cabbage, the lowest calorie option. Along with this, we also helped ourselves to a plate of biscuits, along with butter and boysenberry jam.

(Oh, they also brought us a side of garlic butter. We didn't touch that).

For our main course, we chose the grilled chicken breast, and the mashed potatoes and gravy. Then, to finish off the meal, we requested a slice of boysenberry pie.

Oops! Too slow!

The food was great, and given the options, I think my wife and I made the sensible choices. Afterward, we walked around Knott's Berry Farm, I felt no desire to ride anything else, or even do anything. We had pleasant memories of our dinner in the Chicken Dinner Restaurant. But man, did I feel stuffed.

Did I mention that we split the meal!?!

Dragon Dave

On Indulgences: Part 1

How can I choose just one?
I want them all!
(The Candy Parlor at Knott's Berry Farm).

A while ago, my wife and I spent a weekend at a woman's house. Knowing we liked Panera Bread, she suggested that we go there the following morning for breakfast. She mentioned she especially liked the little quiches they served. Her offer of a breakfast at Panera Bread tantalized us, as we usually went there for lunch, and we awaited the following morning's breakfast with great anticipation.

We awoke the following morning to the smell of muffins baking. By the time we had dressed, the muffins were sitting on a cooling rack, and the woman was cooking eggs on the stove. My wife and I looked at each other in surprise. "I guess we're not going to Panera Bread," I whispered to her. 

"I guess not," my wife responded.

Soon we were seated at a table, with a bowl filled with of scrambled eggs, a plate of freshly baked muffins, a selection of marmalade, jams, jellies and honey, and a bowl of sliced fruit. Accompanying all this was milk, juice, and hot tea to drink. Despite the heaping portions arrayed before us, I was still uncertain as to the woman's intentions regarding her suggested morning stop at Panera Bread. My wife and I took small, measured portions of the food she had prepared for us. She continually encouraged us to eat more, until we relented, and filled our stomaches with the delicious breakfast she had prepared.

A short while later, we got into the car, to accompany her on her errands. As she drove, she announced that we visit Panera Bread after her first stop. What? Now? Um...right. Much as we would have enjoyed trying the promised quiche, or indulging in a tasty pastry, we had no room in our stomaches for more food then. So we told her politely that she had satisfied us with wonderful breakfast, and suggested that, if it was okay with her, we stop there for lunch instead.

After a number of errands, which involved much more driving than she had represented to us, we arrived at Panera Bread for lunch. We were tired out by the drive, and I felt a little car sick. So we were glad to enter the cool restaurant, and enjoy at one of our favorite places. But the woman we had opted to spend the weekend with glared and frowned at me throughout the meal, as if I were to blame for spoiling her day. She spoke little, and acted as if we had dragged her into her least favorite restaurant, even though we bought her what she claimed was her favorite sandwich. 

Apparently, I had ruined her day. Somehow...

Dragon Dave

Henry Kingsley on Important Distinctions: Part 2

The denomination leader addresses
the regional assembly.

When I was growing up, regional assemblies of my local church's denomination where held in city convention centers. Regional leaders rented such large facilities because, by and large, none of their local churches were big enough to hold all the pastors, lay representatives, and other parishioners who wished to attend. These events bustled with energy, the anticipation of learning what the denomination was doing in their region and around the world, and the welcome camaraderie from touching bases with people who attended different churches. These days, regional assemblies are held in large churches, which are never filled. The denomination's publishing house sends no representatives or books that could help local pastors and lay leaders. Those attendees who do come, by and large, leave disappointed that these conventions don't accomplish more. That they don't sizzle with energy, excitement, and enthusiasm.

How do you make people think that the denomination is important, when sermons and worship services are conducted along generic interdenominational lines? Why should a parishioner really sacrifice and give a large portion of their income, such as ten percent, or the Biblical tithe, when they aren't taught to believe in the distinctive importance of their own denomination? Why should people sacrifice their time, and work hard in their local church, when representatives of the denomination do not regularly visit, tell them about all the great things that are happening in the larger Church, and help them see how their local efforts impact the distinctive work of the Church worldwide?

The answer is that, sadly, you can't. Nearly all the churches I attended in my life have closed up. Only the big ones still exist, and of those two, one had to sell the big sanctuary it built because the congregation shrank and could no longer afford it. Congregants seem uninterested in paying tithe, or playing a lay ministerial role on a weekly basis. And even those who do become leaders find reasons not to pay their tithe, which helps support the local church, the church at the regional level, and supports the denomination's ministries across the globe.

It seems odd to me that in a time of so much worldwide religious intolerance, and violence being perpetrated by religious fundamentalists, that believers and leaders would willing strip their denomination of all its distinctiveness and unique importance. In his novel Ravenshoe, Henry Kingsley demonstrated how such people can use the distinctiveness and unique importance of their faith to hurt others. While I've seen plenty of examples of that in a number of denominations (and sadly, plenty of examples of that in my denomination in my adolescent years), I still wish the denomination of my youth were an institution that actually stood for something. That it offered today's believers something positive and distinctly beneficial. That it offered people like me something I could not receive from any other local, unaffiliated, protestant churches.

But then, I suppose I purchase my share of no-name, generic-label products when I go to the market. They save me money, and are just as good as the name-brands, right?

Dragon Dave

Henry Kingsley on Important Distinctions: Part 1

Whimsical carving in an English church.

Recently, I attended the church regional gathering with my mother and friend. The leader, one of a handful of men at the top of the denomination, preached on the ministry of his church in other countries. He had spent most of his adult life in other countries working as a local pastor and regional leader. During his message, he spoke a little about those instances when his wife dragged him along on a trip to the market. He mentioned how she always sought out the no-label or generic-label products, because they saved her money, and, she insisted, were just as good as those that carried a brand name.

In my childhood and adolescence, being a member of this denomination really meant something. Or at least, that was how it seemed. Unfortunately, in recent years, the denomination leaders refused to address the changing needs of its members. The denomination's publishing company lost sight of what local congregations really needed. Regional leaders opted for phone calls to pastors, rather than regular visits to every church in their territories. 

Every organization occasionally loses its way. What has surprised me is how the denomination has not yet recaptured its distinctiveness. What does it mean to be a member of this institution today? Contemporary leaders seem incapable of addressing this question.

Henry Kingsley believed that the distinctions between Catholicism and Protestantism in 19th Century England were important and worth fighting for. In his novel Ravenshoe, Father Mackworth, Charles Ravenshoe, and other family members make important stands for their faith. They believed those distinctions not only affected themselves, but everyone else whom they oversaw or interacted with. 

Today, what I hear repeatedly from pastors of this denomination is that their parishioners don't want to hear about what it means to be a member of the larger organization. These pastors claim that members of their local churches cannot see how the distinct theology that formed the denomination plays a useful role in their life of faith. Instead, they claim that their congregants just want to be as interdenominational as possible. You know: just like everyone else.

So pastors ignore such distinctions in their sermons, and organize their worship services, and all other church functions, according to what seems most popular. Some even remove the denomination's name from the sign outside the door, and bestow upon the church some generic title that could apply to any Christian church, such as New Hope, New Life, or (Place Your Own Made-up Title Here).

It seems an odd approach for a denomination, doesn't it?

Dragon Dave

Henry Kingsley on the Seeds of War

Cricket St Thomas,
a manor house in Somerset, England

In Henry Kingsley's novel Ravenshoe, Densil Ravenshoe, the heir to his family's land and fortune, returns from a trip to Europe with a Protestant wife. With his little act of rebellion, Densil Ravenshoe inadvertently starts a war that will be waged for decades. Shortly after giving birth to a boy, his wife extracts a promise from him: that Densil will have the boy raised in the Protestant faith. This tears at the heart of Father Mackworth, the Catholic priest who presides over the church on the family's land. He had hoped to raise the boy as a Catholic. If the new heir of the Ravenshoe family is to be raised Protestant, all the land and fortune of the family be devoted to Protestant causes. As if this weren't enough, all the workers on the estate, and the people living in the local village, whose livelihoods are dependent upon the lord of the manor, will also fall under Protestant control.

As the boy grows up, young Charles Ravenshoe is taught why he should believe and affirm Protestant ways. He is never taught to respect Father Mackworth's beliefs or practices. While in many ways Charles is kind and loving, he cannot help but tease and make fun of Father Mackworth. The priest, who believes he represents something precious and important, views such acts as attacks on his authority, and the teachings and beliefs he holds dear. Thus, years of ceaseless warfare ensue, in which the combatants, Charles Ravenshoe and Father Mackworth, sling emotional darts at one another. 

We often convince ourselves we are right when we tease others, when we do little things to confound others, when we tell ourselves that it's just harmless fun, that the other person should take it. We tell ourselves that he or she needs to be a bigger person, that he or she needs to take things less seriously, and we're doing this for their own good. We insist that our way is the right way, and that they need to respect "our ways," instead of quietly doing things our way, and in a way that would not offend them. 

Hey, it's the other person's problem right? No lasting harm can come from it, right?

Dragon Dave

Henry Kingsley on Hope For Tomorrow

Thurnham Hall, a manor house in northern England

In Henry Kingsley's novel Ravenshoe, after the death of his first wife, Densil Ravenshoe travels through Europe. When he returns home, he brings back home a Protestant wife. This, as you would imagine, greatly offends Father Mackworth, the Catholic priest who resides on the manor estate. 

Instead of respecting the priest's practices and beliefs, Densil's new wife insists on pointing out all the deficiencies in Catholic teaching. This compounds Father Mackworth's sense of injury. He sees life as a holy battle, and himself as a soldier for his Lord. He wishes to do all he can to help England discard its experiment with protestantism, and return to Catholicism. Instead, he finds himself continually reeling from the assaults of Densil's new, strong willed wife. The priest grows so depressed that he considers returning to Rome, and requesting a reassignment from the Pope. 

Then one day, Father Mackworth overhears a conversation between Densil and his new wife. She is with child! This firms his resolve to stay. If he can instruct the next generation of Ravenshoes in the true faith, perhaps he can overcome the protestant woman's influence. By raising up Densil's heir, he hopes to ensure that this great family, which controls wealth, a great stretch of land, and the people in the nearby village, will remain Catholic. In so doing, he will do his part to help poor, errant England, a country that broke away from his denomination during the reign of Henry VIII three hundred years previously, to return to the Catholic fold.

It's a noble goal, at least as he sees it. There's no reason for him to believe that such an obstinate woman will allow her child to be raised as a Catholic. But such is Father Mackworth's belief in the importance of his mission in England that he resolves to stay. I suspect we're all a little like Father Mackworth. We live by faith, we grasp at hope, and we live not for what we have, but what we might possibly just accomplish if given half a chance. But then, even the most depressed, disillusioned person must believe that tomorrow might possibly be better than today. Otherwise, life wouldn't be worth living, would it?

Dragon Dave