Saturday morning to early afternoon is
when I schedule my weekly attempt to get semi-adequate sleep, so when
the canvassers rang our doorbell two days ago I wasn't dressed. Heeding
my shout and Tuffy's barking, John eventually answered the door. 
When he came back in, I asked, "Were they Democrats?"
"Yes."
"Did you tell them we're voting for Kerry?"
"Yes."
"Did they have anything interesting to say?"
"No, not really."
Fine.
This morning I found brochures by the door for a couple of
non-Presidential candidates. That's fine, too, although I'd probably
have voted for them anyway. (Actually, I may vote for McCain in the
Senate race. I haven't decided yet.)
Today I hear that Linda
Ronstadt and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano were both canvassing
door-to-door in Tucson over the weekend. Heck, I'd have gotten dressed
for either of them.
Sunday morning I picked up one of
those card things that canvassers hang around doorknobs, but which
usually end up on the ground, as this one did. It was for Joel Ireland,
running for another term with the school board. This amused the heck
out of me. See, Joel Ireland, lawyer and TUSD school board honcho, is
also Father Ireland, whose occasional sermons at the St. Michael's 10
AM mass are as funny as anything Father Daniel Richards comes up with,
which is saying a lot. Sure enough, the doorknob card had a picture of
Joel, his sons, and their two dogs. The humans were captioned as being
TUSD graduates; the dogs, obedience school dropouts. Gotta have humor
in a Joel Ireland communique, even if the message is simply, "Vote for
me, because...."
Don't worry; I will. It won't be because of
your dogs or your sons, or a piece of printed cardboard on the ground.
It's because I've been listening to your sermons for eight years, and I
have a fair idea by now what you stand for - love, peace, tolerance and
helping the poor. Stuff like that. It seems to me I remember
another public figure with essentially the same platform, a very long
time ago.
I'm not saying that all priests are trustworthy,
wonderful people in every way. Heck, I live in Tucson, where the Roman
Catholic diocese is in bankruptcy court after multiple lawsuits from
molestation victims. But I am going to vote for this particular guy
who, at 50, is still too idealistic to fit his faith and works into
just one profession.
Karen
You are looking at an archive edition of 
5 years ago
2 comments:
Father Ireland has two sons? What's the back story there?
In the Episcopal Church, priests are allowed to marry, so in many cases they do. I think all of the priests at St. Michael's are married--or have been. I think one of them is divorced. -KFB
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