Showing posts with label Cross purposes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cross purposes. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Cross Purposes

At Least It’s Not A Mass Exodus

A German priest's flock grew threefold after he offered them money to attend Mass. Father Burkhard Westphal handed out envelopes containing five euros (about $7.50) to people who came to Mass at his Collinghorst church. The usual attendance is about 60, but 189 turned up on Sunday when word spread. Westphal said most people had put the money back during the collection.

FOOTNOTE: Altar buoy.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Roads Scholar

It's All About Cross Purposes


Like George Washington telling his father about the cherry tree, I simply have to confess to you, my gentle readers, that I flunked the ultimate test yesterday. I almost failed to cross an Indian road. It's a veritable art form, as I know so well. It can be a foxtrot without a partner, because you have to be fleet of foot, you have to be nimble and you have to occasionally sidestep and pirouette. Like dancing, you can sometimes fall flat on your backside.


Yesterday I airily tried to cross a narrow street here in Dehra Dun - and almost landed in ungainly fashion on my butt. I negotiated the first side of the street, with traffic coming from my right. Then I was almost ninety per cent across the second side of the street, with traffic coming from my left. And at that precise point of time, a motorcyclist roared past me, forcing me to retreat like a quickstep from Torvill and Dean.


How did I make such a basic error? I didn't. The motorcyclist was ignoring all rule of road decency and going the wrong way, at high speed. It was such a close shave I guess I can put my razor away for tomorrow.