A Catholic Citizen in America

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful….”

This morning’s forecast reminded me of “Let It Snow.”

But the weather outside isn’t frightful. Overcast, with a promise of freezing drizzle in the forecast, yes. Frightful, not so much.

On the other hand, freezing drizzle and the snow that’ll likely follow can make driving chancy. Walking, too, at least for folks like me. I’ll be glad to stay inside.

In any case, the Winter Weather Advisory for my part of the world is in effect until midnight. After that, we’ll see. Minnesota weather is — variable.

Now, about “Let It Snow.” I found a brief discussion of the song on Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s Armenian version:

“…The song was written by poet Sammy Kahn and composer Jules Stein on a hot July day in 1945….”
(Let It Snow!…, Վիքիպեդիա (Wikipedia)(Trans. by Google Translate))

I don’t understand the Armenian language, but do have access to Google’s ‘translate’ function. Which works well enough for this sort of thing.

And that’s not what I was going to talk about today.

My Alternatively-Tidy Desk

(My desk, yesterday morning: clutter and all.)

Maybe I’d be a more productive writer if I decluttered my desk. But probably not.

There’s a profusion of helpful how-2 hint articles about decluttering. Many of which aren’t obvious long-form advertisements for desk accessories.

But don’t hold your breath, waiting for me to post an “after” photo, presenting nothing but the basic essentials.

I like my desk the way it is.

Even though it doesn’t resemble a Trappist monk’s workspace.

What looks like clutter to you — and probably most folks — suits me fine. And is more organized than it may seem.

The keyboard and monitor are front and center, since they’re what I’m almost constantly using.

Sitting on the desk’s left corner is a book I plan to do a review for. Eventually. The rosary beads between it and the keyboard are there as a reminder that I do Divine Mercy chaplets daily. Cheat sheets for my morning prayers are in a folder near the photo’s right side.

I wouldn’t claim that it’s the most streamlined workspace in North America. But it’s organized and efficient. For me, by my standards.

One of my daughters is at another end of the desk organization continuum. Her workspace makes that Trappist monk’s desk look like a thrift store’s sorting table.

She’s said that she couldn’t write at a desk like mine. I believe her.

Maybe I could write at a desk like hers, but I wouldn’t want to try. I like having doodads, thingummies, knickknacks and frequently-used objects in sight and ready at hand.

I also like baroque and rococo, and that’s almost another topic.

Personal Preference, Unchanging Principles

So, how come I’m not upset that my daughter’s desk doesn’t look like mine?

And why isn’t she on a crusade to rid the world of insufficiently Spartan desks?

Starting by purging mine.

I figure her reason is pretty much like mine. As long as we’re not both trying to use the same desk, it doesn’t matter.

There are unchanging principles, woven into the very fabric of reality. (September 13, 2018; February 5, 2017)

“Cluttered desks are bad” is not one of those unchanging principles.

Besides, we’re both human. And Catholic. So I’d jolly well better recognize that my kids are not just like me: and accept that.

Humans aren’t cookie-cutter critters. We’re not all alike. That’s okay. We’re not supposed to be. But we each have equal dignity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 361, 369–370, 1929, 1934–1938, 2393)

Desks, Daughters, My Son and Differences

Which reminds me of a story

Back when my wife and her siblings were in high school, someone from the school called their father with a disturbing message.

‘Do you know,’ said the educational official, ‘that your daughter wants to take shop?!’

Putting the school official’s concern in historical and cultural context: this was around 1970 in the Upper Midwest.

Boys took shop. Girls took home economics. And guys like me enjoyed art class, anyway: which is yet again another topic. Topics.

Anyway, presented with a presumably-horrifying pronouncement, my father-in-law-to-be said ‘so? Let her!’ She took shop, one of my brothers-in-law took home ec. And so did a whole lot of other guys, once they twigged that home ec was where girls were.

Which I figure was why my brother-in-law signed up. Other than his interest in cookery.

The point is that responsibilities come with being a parent. (Catechism, 2221–2231)

Those responsibilities do not include telling my kids whether or not they should marry. Or who they should marry. Or what their profession should be. (Catechism, 2230)

Desk preferences aren’t explicitly mentioned, but I figure the ‘your kids are people, not property’ principle applies there, too. (Catechism, 2378)

Next: Coffee Break

Good news: I got some writing for my next “Dr. Faustus” post done yesterday.

Bad, or at any rate frustrating news: I can’t use what I wrote. Not the way it is now. The ideas are okay, but how I expressed them would be a snooze-fest.

At least, I think the ideas are okay. I’ll be taking a look at that, along with deciding whether or not to delete what I did and start over.

Whatever I decide, I’m pretty sure that a coffee break is in order.

Right after I slap together my usual ‘stuff that’s sort of related’ list:

• “Life and Death, Laws and Principles”
  (January 22, 2021)
• “Rereading Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus’”
  (January 6, 2021)
• “Apollo 11, 50 Years Later”
  (July 16, 2019)
• “God, Love and Clouds”
  (February 25, 2018)
• “Natural Law, Our Rules”
  (February 5, 2017)