Anomalous Data

Charity Golf Tournament

Teresa Lhotka — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:49:20 GMT

Missing Children Minnesota is having their 4th annual Charity Golf Tournament.

It is a great deal of fun, and for a great cause.

If you love golf, and believe in the mission of Missing Children Minnesota, this is the perfect event for you!

You can follow this link to a PDF of the even flier, and print out the registration form. All the information you need is on the flier.

http://www.scribd.com/full/53549656?access_key=key-1t9xbasbqkcdgs04whe8

There's always a bigger fish

Teresa Lhotka — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:07:28 GMT

Just when you thought nobody could have a crazier view of history than David Barton...

Apparently this guy is Alex Jone's answer to Glenn Beck's David Barton. Yow. It's like Dueling banjos but with psychotic pseudo historians instead of banjos.

I've been doing a lot of reading

Teresa Lhotka — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:52:55 GMT

What’s the difference between the theocrats of today and the theocrats of yesterday? Only one thing, as far as I can see. The arguments about the importance of religion are exactly the same. The arguments about the dangers of “atheism” (as is the sliding definition that sometimes actually means “atheism” and sometimes is just a general catch-all that includes Deism, Unitarianism, Skepticism and Freethought) are the same. Their lust to enshrine their religious beliefs in the seat of power at the expense of all other beliefs is the same…the only difference I can see is that the theocrats of today want to make Jefferson a Christian who wanted to establish religion in the government…and the theocrats of Jefferson’s time wanted to make him an atheist who wanted to extinguish religion completely.

I also love how the quote I’m going to show you demonstrates that the FOX news “hedge technique” is not a recent invention. “I’m not saying he’s an atheist, I’m just saying that he sounds like he’s trying to destroy America. Here’s the evidence, you decide.” Lol.

Below is an extended quote from Jefferson contemporary, the Rev. William Linn and his pamphlet “Serious Considerations on the Election of a President” I got it from Christ Rodda’s book _Liars for Jesus_

She is using it because David Barton (Glen Beck’s Yoda of American History, and one of the Christian Nationalists Ms. Rodda calls “liars for Jesus”) has to chop and cut and paste in order to use Linn’s rants against atheism to promote Christianity in government…but has to twist himself into a pretzel of illogic in order to hide the fact that Linn is speaking about Jefferson…Barton refers to Jefferson as one of “two prominent men”…and counts on his ignorant audience to not recognize Jefferson’s famous “it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket” quote. I mean, that would hurt his narrative about Jefferson being intent on establishing religion, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, here is the extended quote from Rev. Linn’s “Serious Considerations”:

“There is another passage in Mr. Jefferson’s Notes [on the state of Virginia] which requires the most serious attention. In showing that civil rulers ought not to interfere with the rights of conscience, and that the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as they are injurious to others, he says, ‘The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.’ The whole passage is written with a great degree of spirit, it is remarkable for that conciseness, perspicuity, and force which characterizes the style of Mr. Jefferson.

Some have ventured from the words I have quoted, to bring even the charge of atheism against him. This is a high charge, and it becomes carefully to examine the ground upon which it rests. Though the words themselves, their connection, and the design for which they are introduced may be insufficient to support it, yet there are concurrent circumstances to be taken into consideration, and which will fix at least a suspicion. These circumstances are, a general disregard of religious things, the associates at home and abroad, and the principles maintained in conversation. with [sic] these things I am not so well acquainted as many. I shall only mention what passed in conversation between Mr. Jefferson and a gentleman of distinguished talents and services, on the necessity of religion to government. The gentleman insisted that some religious faith and institutions of worship, claiming divine origin, were necessary to the order and peace of society. Mr. Jefferson said that he differed widely from him, and that ‘he wished to see a government in which no religious opinions were held, and where the security for property and social order rested entirely upon the force of law.’ Would this not be a nation of atheists? Is it not natural, after the free declaration of such a sentiment, to suspect the man himself of Atheism? Could one who is impressed with the existence of God, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, to whom we are under a law and accountable; and the inseparable connection of this truth with the social order and external happiness of mankind express himself in this manner?

Putting the most favorable construction upon the words in the Notes [on the State of Virginia, by Jefferson], they are extremely reprehensible. Does not the belief influence the practice? How then can it be a matter of indifference what a man believes? The doctrine that a man’s life may be good, let his faith be what it may, is contradictory to reason and the experience of mankind. It is true that a mere opinion of my neighbor will do me no injury. Government cannot regulate or punish it. The right of private opinion is inalienable. But let my neighbor once persuade himself that there is no God, and he will soon pick my pocket, and break not only my leg, but my neck. If there is no God, there is no law; no future account; government then is the ordinance of man only, and we cannot be subject for conscience sake. No colors can paint the horrid effects of such a principle, and the deluge of miseries with which it would overwhelm the human race.

How strongly soever [sic]Mr. Jefferson may reason against the punishments of law of erroneous opinion, even of atheism; they are not the less frightful and dangerous in their consequences…”

According to Ms. Rodda, Linn goes on to accuse Jefferson of denying the factual nature of the Bible, wanting to take the Bible out of the schools, and that even if he didn’t rid the country of religion, he would set a bad example.

Linn even attributes this quote to Jefferson…which I don’t recall appearing exactly as such, but I’ve read a lot of Jefferson, and it may have gotten buried under other things…but anyway the point is that this is what Linn claimed Jefferson said:

‘…high time for this country to get rid of religion and the clergy;”

Linn even goes on to say that it would be better to elect an immoral Christian to the Presidency than an honest “infidel”…because the things the President professed would become fashionable, and so the country would stay Christian with a hypocrite in office, but would go to hell with an Atheist in office, because it would give people a sort of permission to not follow Christian values.

Thus Linn provides evidence of the sentiment expressed by many at the time that a Christian nation will, inevitably, become a nation of hypocrites (for which they had the governments of the old world as ample evidence). AND HE SAYS It LIKE IT IS A GOOD THING...or at least preferable to electing an honest atheist. What matters is the official line…not the truth or reality.

It makes me think of an argument that Gary North (fellow Christian Reconstructionist, Christian Nationalist, and admirer of R.J. Rushdoony along with David Barton and D. James Kennedy) made about the Godly exercise of authority. It shows the thinking that makes it necessary for all law to be Biblical law in the minds of Christian Nationalists, and it explains greatly their need to prove “Christian Nationalism” in the minds of people. The results don’t matter…what matters is that the process be according to Biblical law…only then can society be just, regardless of whether or not individuals follow the law or break it, and regardless of the results and consequences, law has no authority for them unless it comes from God, and then if it does, then its morality is incontrovertible regardless of its results.

http://www.reformed.org/social/index.html?mainframe=http://www.reformed.org/social/let_2_paul_hill.html

This is the same philosophical basis from which Rushdoony argued for the legality of slavery, the execution of gay people, and the disenfranchisement of non-Christians (meaning non-Calvinists, BTW). NONE of these ideas have been renounced by his followers, North, Barton, Kennedy, etc. They have simply not been mentioned, or when queried about them, they have been demurred as “not essential”. Not essential, but certainly Christian…which is how David Barton fan Bradlee Dean is able to say that Muslim countries are more moral than Christians in America, because they execute homosexuals. It’s not essential…but it is following “God’s law”. Obviously, some of Barton’s followers consider it to be desirable. Which is why I find it alarming that Glen Beck (a mormon, and therefore one of the disenfranchised in Barton’s hero’s re-imagined “Christian America”) is on the steps of the Lincoln memorial (immortalizing the “unnatural” act of abolishing slavery) pushing David Barton’s version of history on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech…(which advanced the civil rights this movement wants to roll back). Glen Beck and other useful idiots are actually promoting the groundwork of an ideology that would ultimately rob them of their freedom.

It’s insanity…but back to the past.

Jefferson was a very clear, precise and elegantly simple writer. His thoughts of Christ and Christianity are extremely difficult to mistake, and both Linn and Barton are either tremendous idiots or tremendous liars. When Jefferson described himself as a Christian, he defined it very clearly (and often explicitly)as a “follower of Christ”…specifically, those teachings he found admirable (which makes him as Christian as Ghandi or or my Jewish friends who admires Jesus’ teachings and consider them as valid as any other Rabbi’s teachings, or some Muslims I know who also believe Jesus was a wise prophet. If his approach to the study and understanding of Christianity made Jefferson a Christian, then the fact that he took the same approach and had the same response to the study of Islam would make him a muslim.)

And when Jefferson denounced “Christianity” he was also clear about what that meant…corruptions that he believed he found in the teachings of Christ…including those teachings attributed to Christ in the Bible that he believed to be ridiculous and nonsensical and assumed were corruptions and adaptations by followers and church officials who messed around with them; the trinity, the deity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the miracles, etc.

He was at once relentlessly critical of Christianity, and unreservedly admiring of Jesus…and ultimately believed that anything good about religion would be able to be defended on the field of reason, and that government power used to defend, promote or advance it could only serve to bring out the worst in it.

Even more, he didn’t think that Christianity had a monopoly on truth, and even thought that there were valuable truths that Christianity lacked…and furthermore that the only philosophy that had a chance at being perfect was one that held reason to be supreme over any sort of revelation. Which makes him more than a Christian with non-traditional beliefs, more than a heretic…it makes him something completely different. A Deist. And Deism has to be allowed to follow the developments of knowledge and reason. It’s can’t be rooted in a doctrine…because as soon as it does it becomes “religion”...once faith is enshrined in the power of government it becomes static and unchangeable. When it can no longer grow and seek greater truth, it becomes dead and useless and meaningless, and just another excuse for the government to exercise its power to enforce dead and rotting ideas.

Further, claims that he “promoted religion as beneficial” based on his encouragement to private individuals that they would benefit from studying religion would then have to lend validity to claims that he “promoted atheism as beneficial” when he likewise encouraged private individuals to embrace atheism if that’s where their reason and their conscience led them.

Trying to make him an Atheist or a Christian is just plain silly, and obsession to prove any such point turns people into liars. Anyone who cares about the truth should not rely on David Barton and Glen Beck to tell it to them. There’s no truth there. They should look for themselves.

And don’t just read the founders. Read their contemporary opponents. I’ve gotten great enjoyment out of Timothy Dwight, and now I imagine I will get great enjoyment out of reading William Linn, thanks to Ms. Rodda.

Dwight and Linn are proof that these same-old-same-old theocratic arguments have failed in the past…and there is every reason to believe that they will fail in the future. Turning Jefferson from an “atheist” to a “Christian” does nothing to change their inherent weakness and deficiency.

P.S. I’m finding that “Serious Considerations” is difficult to get hold of. Copies of it seem to cost around $400.00…so I am looking for an online version. I’ll let you know if I find one.

However, I did find this rebuttal to “Serious Considerations” that shows the confusion many people seemed to have between Atheism and Deism at the time. While Linn charges Jefferson with “Atheism”…the author of the tract linked to below does a direct rebuttal of Linn, but defends Jefferson from charges of “Deism”. Many Christians (like Timothy Dwight) saw them as the same thing. For many, “Unitarian”, “Deist”, “Atheist” and “Heretic”, “Skeptic” and “Freethinker” seemed to be synonymous.

Aside from the fact that the guy seems to not really know what a “Deist” is, nor be terribly familiar with Jefferson’s public and private writings, and though he is at times not strictly factual or rational, his apologetics make a tremendous counter to the apologetics of the Christian Nationalist crowd, who take similar liberties, but come to the opposite conclusion.

http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=817&chapter=69460&layout=html&Itemid=27

Ray's Picks 3

Teresa Lhotka — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:42:54 GMT

Crazy Libertarian gas station owner Ray slipped me some sweet info that will help save America from the liberal menace. Enjoy.

For the Lulz.

www.telladf.org

"Ray's Picks" week 2

Teresa Lhotka — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:39:45 GMT

www.aclj.org

Good Old Ray. He sure does know how to keep me entertained.

He had this one on the list twice, so I figured it would be a good pick for #2.

Ray's Place, and "Information you need to know"

Teresa Lhotka — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:51:33 GMT

On the way up to the North Shore, Rocky and I recently stopped for gas at a place (I think it was called "Ray's Place", but don't quote me on that).

The gas was horribly over priced, but we found ourselves on the bottom of the tank, and couldn't risk there not being another stop for a while.

I walked in to use the bathroom, and my ears were assaulted by the screaming rage coming from the radio. Some British guy ranting on and on about the "Obama Agenda".

The bathroom was filthy, so I was grateful for the sanitary wipes that moms seem to always need to carry around in their purses.

Then I went to pick up some water and soda. The radio had gone to ads about how our families were under assault, and men need to know what to do and have the right guns to protect their families...the onimous music in the background made it hard to follow the words, so I don't know what the ads were selling besides fear.

As I gathered together the things we wanted to buy, the two people staffing the store were stocking shelves and one guy (Ray, I assume) was ranting and raving about how hard it was to stay in business with the government taking all his money (I couldn't help think that maybe he'd get more business if he lowered his prices to attract business besides those who just happened to get caught in front of his store with an empty tank.)

While I waited at the counter, he held forth on how "nobody wanted to work for a living anymore"..they just wanted a hand-out from hard-working guys like him who actually do all the work in society.

The riff meandered on to "all the damned Mexicans taking our jobs and living on welfare"...He hopped on that dead horse for quite some time. So long, I was waiting in anticipation, hoping that eventually, a Mexican WOULD come along and take his job so I could pay for my darned merchandise.

Eventually, he came over and said "You're too patient and quiet, why didn't you tell me you were ready?"

Retorts such as "I didn't feel like telling you what to do. I'm a liberal, and we like to let people do things on their own." or "Because I figured you'd shoot me" or "No Comprendo Engles."flashed through my head, but I just shrugged and fished in my purse for my wallet. I didn't want to start something with this guy in the middle of nowhere when I had other places to be. We'd gotten going sort of late, and this trip was supposed to LOWER my husband's blood pressure...something that would not happen if he had to pull me out of a fist-fight with a local merchant.

Anyway, he goes on to ask me "You ever get on the Internet?"

"Occasionally". (lol)

"Well, here's some sites you should look at to find out what's REALLY going on in this country."

"You gotta get over there and see THIS GUY . Do it soon, because he's risking his life to get the truth out."

"Risking his life?"

Oh yeah. "The'll kill him for the things he's saying."

The guy is wearing a tee-shirt that compares Obama to Mugabe (I think. Fringe people - right and left- use so much short-hand it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly what they mean)...so I don't have to ask if he is serious.

I pay and leave.

I was happy to see that Rocky has to go in and use the facilities. Then he would'nt think I'm crazy when I tell him about this guy.

Since Alex Jones is going to be murdered by the Obama administration soon, I guess I better put this up for you to see soon.

www.infowars.com

UPDATE: WE went back again this year for a camping trip on Rainy Lake. We drove past Ray's Place and there was a sign out front that said "Resistance to tyranny is obedience to GOD". There was a nice, polite girl working the cash register, and she had the radio turned to some inoffensivly bland country music. The bathroom was cleaned. I don't think she was Mexican, but hopefully Ray figured out that he should stick with "being a job provider" rather than actually working. The gass was still horribly overpriced, so we didn't buy any of that, but we got some ice. That was also over-priced, but you know...it was ice. There's only so much you can inflate the price on an low-cost item like that, and we only needed a liuttle bit.

Oh, and one thing I forget to mention was still there...a wall fetischizing the local youths serving in the military. Huge pictures of them in their uniforms with maudlin images of 9/11, flowers, and horrible unimaginative and clunky quotes.

I've seen nice, respectful beautiful rememberances of local youth in the military, and I appreciate them. This was not one of those. It looked more like the creepy attic shrines that television stalker/killers build to their victims. No candles, though. Just pictures of candles. Probably the horrible oppressive fire marshal stepped on his rights and wouldn't let him have real ones.

First Cast and crew joke of the Fringe Festival play I am in.

Teresa Lhotka — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:27:41 GMT

"My grandfather's name was Pearly Melvin."

"A Pearly Melvin? That sounds like a euphamism."

"It sounds like a drink."

"No...it sounds like a very expensive specialty service."

"My grandfather, Pearly Melvin, was left handed."

"A left-handed Pearly Melvin costs extra."

Click on the link and pledge! Bring the Klingon Christmas Carol to Chicago!

Teresa Lhotka — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:03:04 GMT

I'm confused...no, I think you're confused...

Teresa Lhotka — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:03:40 GMT

Because of constant admonishment that I don't properly understand the "Tea Party Movement" from one of my conservative friends, I continue to read tea party sites and look at tea party videos, and just get more confused.

Example:

Here is one of the Tea PArty Hero guys, Sheriff Arpaio. If you read the tea party sites that support him, you will learn that he is a Tea Party Hero because he will stop at nothing to rid our country of the communist Mexican invasion conspiracy that wants to give us swine flu, take our jobs, guns, and bibles, and leave us with nothing but piles of brown babies on Welfare. (for my tone-deaf liberal friends, that is sarcasm)

http://www.thewoodlandsteaparty.com/2009/10/22/sheriff-joe-arpaio-im-not-going-to-stop-arresting-illegals/

He won't let the commie pinko liberal nazi atheist Maoist conspiracy that says he abuses his power stop him. Yeay Teabagger power! W007!

OK, so then you have another Tea Party Hero, the Reverand Steven Anderson. Shepherd of the flock at Faithful Word Babtist Church in Tempe AZ. Anderson stands up for "real" men who stand up to pee as God dictates in his holy word, the Bible, and also prays that Barak Obama (who, he mentions will be in town the next day, in case anyone missed it) will die and go to hell soon, as God says he deserves.

But that's not why Anderson has been invited to speak at Tea Parties, and is the focus of numerous Tea Party blogs...no.

Anderson is a Tea Party Hero because he "stood up to" the liberal fascist commie nazi pinko power structure, and he won't let tools of the liberal fascist commie nazi pinko athiests like Arpaio push him around*.

http://sanderson1611.blogspot.com/2009/04/cbs-news-report-on-pastor-andersons.html

Wait...huh?

Yep. Exactly.

But obviously, the reason I don't understand how one upstart movement that represents the sane majority of Americans can be it's own enemy, is because I am a commie liberal nazi fascist pink atheist who wants to take away guns and Bibles and give you the swine flu.

*I have to reiterate here what I have said numerous times on my Face Book page. that what happened to Pastor Anderson should never have happened to anyone. I have compassion for his wounds and for the indignity and violence that he suffered, and nobody should have to suffer that way. I'm glad that he can go to court and get recourse from the same government that he claims denies him freedom and justice.
I also oppose his message that in a biblical nation homosexuals would be "killed like animals", and the same compassion that says he should not have been tased and beaten requires me to oppose him when he preaches that his fellow citizens should be dragged into the street and stoned to death beacuse they violate his religious beliefs.

Play, Pie, and Crazy: Part 2

Teresa Lhotka — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:40:02 GMT

Rocky and I had been to see a play, part of our little tradition of subscribing to the Guthrie Theater every year. This performance had managed to sneak up on me. I had it on the wrong night in my calender, and everything had turned into a sort of train-wreck that day.

Rocky drove from the airport, directly from the play. I drove there from another location. We met, attended the play, and enountered a creepy older couple who desperatly wanted me to eat one of their throat lozenges. (see Play, Pie, and Crazy, Part 1)

Rocky and I decided to go to Perkins for pie and coffee. I normally would never eat pie, and certainly not that late at night, but decided to make an exception. We were going to meet at the Perkins on the way home.

But first, I had to stop for gas. I decided to go to a familiar gas station, first, rather than risk running out of gas on the freeway.

So I got through all the button-punching preliminaries, set the nozzle in my gas tank, and began the long wait. I did what I often do. I put one leg up on the concrete plinth that the gas pump sits on and proceeded to stretch out my hamstring muscles. I was already stretched from earlier that day, so I was able to nearly touch my nose to my knee.

Then, I switched legs, and as I did so, the car on the other side of the island rolled forward. There were a couple of skin-head-looking types glaring at me from the car. The window nearest me was rolled down slightly.

The guy in the passenger side glared at me and said "Bitch". They drove off.

Weird. Shrug.

Rocky got to the Prekins ahead of me, and was sitting at the table playing with his new laptop. It is a very special laptop from a very special source. Not everyone can get them, yet.

As he explained this to me, I thought about pointing out to him how unfair it was that he got to keep his special laptop that not many other people could get, which he got from a very special source...when I had to throw away a lozenge with similar credentials just minutes before.

But I was distracted by the conversation going on behind my back.

There was a young man explaining to another young man how current political powers were massing to bring about Armageddon.

"There are agents of the Beast who are right now working to make everyone in the world equal so that they can bring our country down to the level of other countries and bring about Armagheddon. Do you have any idea who that might be?"

I assume the other young man wrote some names down on a napkin or something, because I really didn't hear a reply, but the other young man seemed delighted with some sort of answer.

I couldn't help but overhear the conversation as the guy went through the _Left Behind_ series, and every single hair-brained conspiracy theory that I have ever even hear rumor of. It was masterful.

Rocky and I had a tremendous conversation about his trip, and some of the stuff he did and the people he talked to, and we talked about the play a little, and I told him about what had happened while he was gone...

Punctuated by dark intimations of the Jewish Monitary Conspiracy that was the Federal Reserve, and the heroics of certain politicians who were determined to preserve as much of the rightous church as possible for the final battle, and the implications of the gay agenda, and the importance os good spiritual hygiene and preperation for spiritual warfare in the conflict to come. They sounded really jazzed at the idea of rives of blood, death, and destruction. The identity of the horsement were discussed. The identity of the Beast was dicussed.

They covered everything.

Rocky and I would occasionally pause in our conversation just to gather our thoughts whenever a particularly noxious bit of craziness wafted over us.

What a weird night.

Play, Pie, and Crazy: Part 1

Teresa Lhotka — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:57:23 GMT

Rocky and I recently went to see "Faith Healer" at the Guthrie. It was pretty good. Not enjoyable, exactly. It was actually sort of bleakly challenging as a play. We were both really impressed by the ability of each of the three actors to dominate the stage. The story is told three times, not unlike the Akira Kurisowa film, Roshamon (sp?)...where different characters tell a story each from their own perspective. Anyway, what makes it difficult to watch is that the story is told as a series of four monologues.

Can you imagine being an actor who has to carry a 1/2 hour monologue all by him or herself? The actors did a very good job.

Anyway, I unfortunately had a coughing fit in the middle of the second monologue. Even though I had a cough lozenge in my mouth at the time. Those of you who have been to the Guthrie theater know that some attendees have an addiction to something called "fragrance layering" Basically, they bath in perfumed soap, put on perfumed lotion, spray themselves down with a perfumed body spray, and then dab a little perfume on their "pulse points". In short, they spend a lot of money to smell like Victorian era French prostitutes.

Often, if there is such a person near us, or if the residue of such a person is still on my seat, I will have a terrible time with coughing, sneezing, eye-watering, etc. This was such a night.

It was terrible, because I was trying desperately to not cough for a long time, and finally, I just couldn't help it.

A lady in front of us handed me a lozenge. Mortifying.

I had my own, but I took it rather than explain why I wasn't taking it. The coughing fit subsided, and I put it in my pocket.

When intermission came, she asked me how I liked the lozenge. I admitted that I had not yet tried it, but thanked her. She insisted that I must try it, that it was a very special lozenge, and that I would absolutely love it.

She was a nice-looking, conservatively dressed lady about the same age and style as my mother-in-law.
Prim, flesh-colored lipstick, sensible sweater of Nordic extraction over a turtleneck. A delicate gold chain with a scattering of little round shiny glass beads. Helmet hair.

Rocky mumbled something about getting me some coffee, and squeezed my shoulder to let me know that he was leaving, and I should try to catch him up when I was done with my conversation.

The lady went on about how great these lozenges were. I couldn't see a brand name on the one she gave me. It was bright yellow, round, and had an indistinguishable green image on the clear cellophane.

Her husband joined, in, singing the praises of the lozenge. They went on and on.

I excused myself as gracefully as possible, and fled. In line for coffee, I tried to explain the deeply creepy nature of the encounter to Rocky. He looked at me bemusedly, as if he were blowing off my perceptions as not quite credible.

We drank our coffee, and returned for the second half of the play. After the final bow, the older couple turned around and looked at me expectantly. "Thank you for the lozenge", I said, self-conscious of the fact that it was still in my pocket, and they obviously wanted to hear how much I liked it.

"Oh, you're welcome. These are VERY SPECIAL lozenges." (heads bobbing up and down in a way that was at the same time enthusiastic and prompting)

"Where did you get them?"

"We have a special source, you can't get them just anywhere. But they're really good." (bobblehead action continues)

"So, what are they?"

Hesitation; "We just love them. Don't you think it's wonderful?"

"Uh, yeah, so , uh, thank you very much...we have to get going, but thanks again."

I turned to Rocky as we exited the theater,

"See what I mean?"
"You threw it away, right?"
"I don't know, they sound pretty good..."
"Please throw it away."
"Roger that", I threw it away.