Punch a Priest, go to jail:

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Okay, here’s the deal.... I’m about half in the bag. Today’s my birthday and I’ve just come back from the pub where the head of the course here at Oxford plied me with single malt. What I have decided is that I will not correct this when I’m sober. Lots of artist claimed to work better when drunk, we’ll see if that applies to me.

As I said today, that was Wednesday, was my birthday. This is the second birthday that I’ve celebrated at Oxford. Each year I’ve been at high table for the special day. Last year they sang “happy birthday”, but not this year. This year they took me to the bar and filled me with single malt, they didn’t do that last year. I need to look at this from both sides and try to decide which I prefer. I’m leaning toward the malt.

The great hall is the same hall that was used for the “Harry Potter” movies. Both years, at the high table, I sat what would have been just to the right of Dumbledore. I would be lying if I didn’t say that was special. It was special. But, I would also be lying if I didn’t say that I missed the signing of Happy Birthday by the hall. Last year, everyone stood up and serenaded me. It was nice.

However, there was something else that may be even more like Kenn and that it happened on my Birthday somehow seems right. I almost punched out a Priest. Okay, that is sort of an exaggeration, but not by much.

Tonight before dinner I went to Evensong at the Christ Church Cathedral. There are two things here that are part of the equation. First, I thought that going to Evensong on my birthday was pretty special. Second. I like Evensong in the first place. I went four times last year and it was more than nice, it was calming. True I’m not what you would call a practicing Christian, but I can still see the splendor of this kind of service.

This really gets to the point. God got lost when we build organized religions. Man got between God and me, and God just went away. Why wouldn’t he? It’s all man’s joke on both him and me. I don’t want to get into that much of a rant, but the end of the story is that only the fact that I might have cost the college points kept me from punching this jerk out.

At Evensong tonight the priest stood up and read from Nathanial, a chapter in the Old Testament. The part that he read had to do with Nathanial berating his Jewish brothers as to their working on the Sabbath. Okay, no problem. The next section, however, said, that we needed to keep the race pure. That sons that married foreign women, or women that married foreign men were an abomination unto God.

You hear that? In today’s society, with today’s problems this bozo was telling people that foreign women were an abomination unto God. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I though that he must be sitting things up for an explanation, but no...each reading after didn’t refer back, the subject just sit there. It would have been bad enough had he delivered this in October when his audience might all be Anglo. But today the Cathedral was full and half with foreign students. The two girls directly in front of me were Oriental.

I almost walked out at that point, but I stayed thinking that there was at least 30 minutes and things would clear up. I couldn’t believe that he was going to let this stand. But, nothing...

By the end of the service I was just about apoplectic. The Priest left the service and stood by the door to watch the people leave. He looked to me, proud, as though he had given us the “word.”

I started to walk past, but I couldn’t...I said to him...”In today’s world if you meant us to take the reading of Nathanial at face value, then all I can say is that it is a shame that such a wonderful building as this has an asshole like you shoveling out such a load of crap to people who come here to find comfort and to find words that will help them get through life. Should God exist I hope he can forgive you because I can’t. I’ll be outside if you want to take this any further.” I suppose I don’t need to tell you he never came out, and I waited until everyone had left the building.

For those who know me, you will know that I would have confronted a Priest, and I think it would have been a glorious birthday had I punched him out.

Excuse me for now...I have to go to bed and scream myself to sleep.