That Old Time Religion

We'll get to that, but first let's clear up the old business:

Back in the 70s we had to absorb some refugees from the Black takeover of Detroit and other cities. Most of these guys were pretty bitter about being driven from their homes and, for years, it was "Nigger this and Nigger that",  just like it used to be in our old neighborhood. During the time of the riots, there was some paranoia about the possibility of the Blacks surging all the way up here, and people kept their guns loaded for awhile. Of course that was unrealistic, most of the Blacks Down Below probably couldn't have found Cheboygan on a map and, even if they could, they had no interest in taking it over. Our local National Guard Unit was sent down to the Detroit riot for a week or two. I don't know how close they got to the action, the ones I knew didn't seem eager to talk about it after they came home. Then in the 80s we had that Indian fishing controversy, which I have told you about before. I guess that's about all the racial trouble we've ever had around here.

The problem with the tractor involved more than just ordering a new part. I needed an expert consultation, which only took about 15 minutes, but the hour drive up and the hour drive back pretty well shot the day for me. We figured out a quick fix I can try and, if that doesn't work, we are talking major surgery. The hardest part will be getting the tractor to Alanson. I have a trailer that can carry it, but the tractor can't be driven the way it is, so I will have to winch it onto the trailer with a come along. The trailer itself has been parked in the woods for years, so I don't know what kind of shape it's in. Getting that thing road worthy might prove to be a problem in itself. I didn't get to try the quick fix today because of rain, maybe tomorrow. Ah the joys of rural living!

It's too early for deer hunting stories. The archery season is open, but I don't do that one. The regular firearm season is in the last two weeks of November, and the muzzle loader season is in early December. The gun that has the cracked stock is my muzzle loader, and the part has been on order since July, with delivery predicted just in time for muzzle loader season. I could have gotten it sooner if I wanted to pay for it, but they offered to send it free even though the warranty is long expired. The guy wouldn't say it in so many words, but I got the impression that they have had numerous problems with cracked stocks on that model. I fixed it temporary last year with tape, and I suppose I could do that again this year if worse comes to worse.

I think that Christianity is the only religion that tells their members to be nice to everybody. The rest of them say be nice to your own people and fuck everybody else. I think that the reason Christians have been historically lacking in niceness is that loving your enemies is easier said than done. That might have been excused in the early years because it was a new concept and it took some getting used to. I don't know what their excuse is nowadays. Some of the denominations are nicer than others, and a few, like the Catholics, have made considerable improvement in our lifetimes. I have not attended church in decades, but I think the really mean Christians, the ones who give the rest of them a bad name, are the fundamentalists. They say that about the Muslims too, but I can neither confirm nor refute that because I don't know any Muslims. All I know about them is what I have read and seen on television, and we all know how reliable that is.

As far as the books go, most of the niceness is found in the New Testament, and most of the mean stuff is in the Old Testament. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all believe in the Old Testament, but only Christians believe in the New Testament. The Jews and Muslims have their own new testaments (note lower case). The Muslim one is the Koran, and I think the Jewish one is the Talmud, or maybe it's the Torah. If it's the Torah, then the Talmud is what they call the Old Testament, and vice-versa.
The Hindus have developed a reputation for tolerance, but I have read some of their ancient writings, and they sound a lot like our Old Testament. The stories are different, but the message is the same: "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".