About the pic: On March 1, 2021, RINO Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was spotted with a black eye and stitches in Washington D.C. He said he had fallen down and lost consciousness while visiting his son and grandchildren in Boston. (boston.com)
You know the drill:
Enter the contest by submitting your caption as a comment on this thread (scroll down until you see the “LEAVE A REPLY” box).
Body and Soul‘s writers will vote for the winner.
Any captions proffered by our writers, no matter how brilliant (ha ha), will not be considered.
This contest will be closed in two weeks, at the end of Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
To get the contest going, here’s my caption:
Hey, Romney! Did you get your black eye from hitting your exercise machine like former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)?
For the winner of our last Caption Contest, go here.
Our writers have voted for their respective #1 (best) and #2 (next best) captions. Each #1 vote is worth 4 points; each #2 vote is worth 2 points.
And the winner of our 238th Caption Contest, with four #1 votes and a whopping 16 points is . . .
Vett!
Here is the winning caption:
Introducing the new cabinet of the Biden Administration.
Julie Mullen is in second place, with one #1 vote and 4 points. Here is her caption:
Members of the Press Corps are caught breaking Covid restrictions while waiting for the WH press secretary to ‘circle back’ to anything relevant to their questions.
Calgirl, Jackie Puppet, James Stepp (aka truckjunkie), Leon, and Steve are in third place, each with one #2 vote and 2 points. Here are their captions:
Calgirl: “News Flash: ‘Nancy Pelosi calls the House to consider new charges after the Senate acquits Trump, for 2nd time, of unsupported Impeachment charges. She gambles that the 3rd time will be the charm.'”
Jackie Puppet: “Every kid’s worst nightmare!”
James Stepp: “One clown to another clown, ‘Hahaha-look at that weirdo with the tiny shoes!!'”
Leon: “So this is what $15.00 an hour looks like!”
Steve: “Joe Biden has decided a new wardrobe is in order for the Secret Service. After all they are supposed to blend in/appear natural with their surroundings. I think Joe outdid himself for where else but DC would a bunch of Clowns not stand out?”
The other day I read that 52 US submarines and over 3,500 of their crew were lost during WWII. I then found out that those who perished are considered “still on patrol” or “on eternal patrol.”
Pearl Harbor Submarine Memorial
According to the Pearl Harbor Memorial web page, upwards of 55% of Japan’s merchant marine losses were due to American submarines. This came with a high price: The U.S. Navy’s submarine service suffered the highest casualty percentage of all the American armed forces, losing one in five submariners. Some 16,000 submariners served during the war, of whom 375 officers and 3,131 enlisted men were killed.
Here’s a complete list of lost US submarines that are “still on patrol.”
A man by the name of Tim Taylor founded the Lost 52 Project in order to research and locate the US Navy subs that were lost during WWII. From their web site:
“The Lost 52 Project is a long term exploration and underwater archeological project that is documenting and preserving the story of the Lost 52 WWII Submarines, leaving a foundation of knowledge for future generations. Building on our current discoveries, ocean exploration and underwater robotics expertise, our team is organizing, executing and managing expeditions with the goal to discover and survey as many of the lost 52 US WWII submarines as possible.”
Here’s a video of Lost 52 Project’s discovery of the USS Grayback:
Watch family members who lost relatives on the Grayback react to the submarine’s discovery:
Great job Tim Taylor and the Lost 52 Project! You bring great comfort to those whose loved ones are “on eternal patrol.”
I came upon this video over the weekend…goats hanging out in a tree! This actually isn’t surprising given their rock climbing abilities.
According to Treehugger.com, many goats climb trees to seek food. This is apparently common in Morocco, where food can be scarce and argan trees produce a fruit that is particularly appealing to goats. The video below is from Morocco.
This climbing ability is great for goats to find food, evade predators and move quickly. Their unique sense of balance and design of their hooves help them maneuver the most precarious spots. Watch:
Read more about goats and their climbing abilities here or here.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
In law, there’s an important concept critical to the determination of truth.
The concept is “percipient witness”. According to Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary, a percipient witness is “A witness who testifies about things she or he actually perceived. For example, an eyewitness.”
Today, the universal Church celebrates and remembers a particular event about which the Apostles were percipient witnesses — the Transfiguration.
2 Peter 1:16-18
Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Do you doubt these percipient witnesses?
This is how the Apostles — percipient witnesses of the transfigured and later resurrected Christ — died, testifying to the truth they’d witnessed until their last breath:
St. Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity, was stoned to death in Jerusalem, c. AD 34.
St. James, son of Zebedee and brother of St. John the Apostle, was the first Apostle to be martyred. King Herod had St. James beheaded in 44 AD.
St. James, son of Alpheus, was reported by the Jewish historian Josephus to have been stoned and then clubbed to death in 62 AD.
St. Jude Thaddaeus was crucified in Syria, c. 65 AD.
St. Simon the Zealot ministered in Persia and was sawn in half, c. 65 AD after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.
St. Peterand St. Paul were both martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. St. Paul was beheaded. St. Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, because he did not feel he was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.
St. Mark, a rope around his neck, was dragged to death in Alexandria, Egypt, in AD 68.
St. Thomas was pierced to death in India, 72 AD, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder.
St. Matthias, who was chosen to replace Judas, was burned to death in Syria, c. 80 AD.
St. Bartholomew (identified as Nathaniel in the Gospel of John) is believed to have been skinned alive and crucified. He ministered in India with St. Thomas, in Armenia, Ethiopia and Southern Arabia.
St. Philip was crucified in Hierapolis, Asia Minor, 80 AD, for converting the wife of a Roman proconsul. He also ministered in North Africa.
St. Andrew was crucified in Patras, Greece. He also preached in Asia Minor and modern-day Turkey. Christians in the former Soviet Union say he was the first to bring the Gospel to their land.
St. Matthew was beheaded in Ethiopia. He had also ministered in Persia.
St. John was the only Apostle who died a natural death from old age, after surviving an ordeal of being thrown into boiling oil. He was the leader of the church in Ephesus and is said to have taken care of Mary the mother of Jesus in his home. In mid-90s AD, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the last book of the New Testament–the Revelation.
Below is an account of the Apostles’ martyrdom by Dean Jones in the stunning one-man play St. John in Exile. Though filmed in 1986, I had never heard of or seen it until I discovered it three years ago.
I urge you to watch St John in Exile, which reduced me to weeping, in its entirety.
May the love and peace of Jesus Christ our Lord be with you,
Now that winter is over (hopefully) and spring weather is knocking on our door, it’s time to get out and visit nature and all of God’s creations!
Here in Oklahoma we have a wild refuge that is home to many creatures: American bison, deer, Texas longhorns, otter(that surprised me!), and of course prairie dogs. Here’s some photos from our last visit:
American bison: Big, furry creatures!
Some people exited their vehicles to take pictures of the bison. We did not!
Watching the Texas longhorn cross the road.
Prairie dogs coming up real close to us!
The prairie dogs were not shy around humans at all and were so cute! Did you know that the largest-ever prairie colony in the US covered over 25,000 square miles in the Texas Panhandle? It was home to more than 400 million prairie dogs in the early 1900s! Read about that “dog town” here.
Here’s a video from the American Prairie Reserve that highlights how prairie dogs are an important part of the ecosystem:
Rachel Levine is a man suffering from extreme gender dysphoria. He is also a pediatrician, meaning that parents are expected to trust him with the care of their children.
This is not a way to promote the health of the American people,
An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.
He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.
The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.
Curious I pinned a note to his collar: “I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.”
The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: “He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3. He’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?”
Watching the Texas longhorn cross the road.
