BilikFamily.com

I'd mentioned some weeks ago that I'm getting back into studying G.K. Chesterton again. He was an English writer of fiction, poems, and works of Christian apologetics from the early part of the 1900's -- not unlike C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. As times permits I've been listening to the series put out by Dale Ahlquist on EWTN that discusses his works and his philosophies. (the first series and the second series)

I'm currently working on one of his "defense of common sense" works called (modestly enough) “What's Wrong with the World”. While I have it as a book, it's available in electronic form from Project Gutenberg. Chesterton takes a bit of work to read because his works are a) a century old and b) British. I'm enjoying them nonetheless. They don't have the psychobabble of newer age "spirituality". He doesn't write like Dr. Laura or Dr. Phil. He loves to give a fresh perspective on things. Here is an excerpt from his chapter “The Wildness of Domesticity”:

“But of all the modern notions generated by mere wealth the worst is this: the notion that domesticity is dull and tame. Inside the home (they say) is dead decorum and routine; outside is adventure and variety. This is indeed a rich man's opinion. The rich man knows that his own house moves on vast and soundless wheels of wealth, is run by regiments of servants, by a swift and silent ritual. On the other hand, every sort of vagabondage of romance is open to him in the streets outside. He has plenty of money and can afford to be a tramp. His wildest adventure will end in a restaurant, while the yokel's tamest adventure may end in a police-court. If he smashes a window he can pay for it; if he smashes a man he can pension him. He can (like the millionaire in the story) buy a hotel to get a glass of gin. And because he, the luxurious man, dictates the tone of nearly all "advanced" and "progressive" thought, we have almost forgotten what a home really means to the overwhelming millions of mankind.

For the truth is, that to the moderately poor the home is the only place of liberty. Nay, it is the only place of anarchy. It is the only spot on the earth where a man can alter arrangements suddenly, make an experiment or indulge in a whim. Everywhere else he goes he must accept the strict rules of the shop, inn, club, or museum that he happens to enter. He can eat his meals on the floor in his own house if he likes. I often do it myself; it gives a curious, childish, poetic, picnic feeling. There would be considerable trouble if I tried to do it in an A.B.C. tea-shop. A man can wear a dressing gown and slippers in his house; while I am sure that this would not be permitted at the Savoy, though I never actually tested the point. If you go to a restaurant you must drink some of the wines on the wine list, all of them if you insist, but certainly some of them. But if you have a house and garden you can try to make hollyhock tea or convolvulus wine if you like. For a plain, hard-working man the home is not the one tame place in the world of adventure. It is the one wild place in the world of rules and set tasks. The home is the one place where he can put the carpet on the ceiling or the slates on the floor if he wants to. When a man spends every night staggering from bar to bar or from music-hall to music-hall, we say that he is living an irregular life. But he is not; he is living a highly regular life, under the dull, and often oppressive, laws of such places. Some times he is not allowed even to sit down in the bars; and frequently he is not allowed to sing in the music-halls. Hotels may be defined as places where you are forced to dress; and theaters may be defined as places where you are forbidden to smoke. A man can only picnic at home.”

Such is the writing style of Chesterton. In that same chapter he debunks the idea of women being dependent on men and reminds us of the things men depend so much on women within the "domestic" life. I don't doubt it! Michelle gets more done by 9 a.m. than I do by 5 p.m. !! It's summarized well in the Baby Blue comic from two weeks ago. Notice how the morning sunlight is increasing in each successive frame.

Gary returns - I learned tonight that my cousin, Gary, and his wife are moving north to re-settle back in the Chicago area. Congratulations and best wishes! In a small way I'm jealous! There just doesn't seem to be a lot of job opportunities for people to design and debug digital logic around the Chicago area.

Telemarketers - Good news! As of today, telemarketers are required to show their identity if you have caller ID. No longer should you get "out of area" or "unavailable" messages. To me, this is more important than the "Do not call" list (of which we are members).