In which Theresa is a courteous Catholic Charities employee

[terrypurple73]

Yesterday morning as I sat in the playroom with this fun 9-year-old and a lot of Legos, Fr. John (the director of Samaritan House) brought a small tour through. I figured they might be a little important, since it was Fr. John, not Cally or Fr. Michael. Also, Kenny (a coworker) was following, snapping some pictures.
Cute 9-year-old: Is that the judge?
Theresa: (confused look) I don't know; I've never met that man before. (goes back to Legos)
Man who is apparently not a judge: Hi, I'm Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Theresa: (waits desperately for them to leave the room so I can laugh my head off at myself)

After I got home the other night from work, I took off my crabby pants, thank god. Man, they were on tight, those crabby pants! I really don't think Diane knew what to do with me. But I came home and spent time with Nicky, which was much needed.

Also, a request: Those of you who are vegetarians, could you please tell me why you are. I need some encouragement these days in my meatlessness; I know it comes from laziness and convenience, so I need some refreshment about why this is important. Thank you!

Comments

[jylllynn.livejournal.com]

I've been really good the last few days, but today for some reason I have my crabby pants on too. How did you get them off? Right now, I'm thinking a drink or two may have to do it...

Anyway... as a former vegetarian, my reasons for not eating meat centered around the environmental impact of my diet. It takes a ton of enery, grain, water, etc. to raise a pound of meat. I tried to bypass the system of meat, skipping the middle-man (or middle-cow as it were). It was also out of solidarity with people in the world who don't have the money to access meat.

Since I'm no longer a veggie, I don't know how helpful that is. I eat meat again (although not much compared to most Americans) mostly out of laziness and because it became inconvinient. Plus, I really missed chicken fingers and pepperoni.

[katydidsmile.livejournal.com]

I'm reading Wicked, and lets just say that the WWW (wicked witch of the west) is a vegetarian, and she's one sweet villan. You've got to read this book T. It reminds me of you and your love for those ruby red slippers. Are you up for another visit from yours truely?.... and.. ummm... my Pawpaw... :-) When can I call you?

[peachnettie.livejournal.com]

Being a vegetarian is healthier. I was just reading a pamphlet in the doctor's office while I was waiting to have my vagina prodded. It said that you can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by eating a diet high in veggies and low in animal fat. (We vegetarians should never get colorectal cancer.) I'm sure it's better regarding a lot of cancers and high blood pressure and stuff. Plus, animals are cute! You just need to have good veggie food at hand. I luv to have vegetable soup around, for when I get the munchies. It's easy and yummy. Also macaroni and cheese.

[jenstar426.livejournal.com]

Since I was your very first vegetarian "coach," I must offer some words of encouragement. Being a vegetarian is like voting for Nader: you know that what you're fighting for won't change things overnight, but just keeping the option open gives us hope for the future.

Read this:

http://puffin.creighton.edu/phil/Stephens/FiveArgumentsforVegetarianism.htm

I hope it helps to reaffirm why you deny yourself 53 grams of fat and 2,000 calories of Thickburger every day.

[elusiveelegance.livejournal.com]

Teesa, simply take my word for it that if a girl with a degree in animal science with an emphasis on animal production is a vegitarian, you want to be too.
There is so much I have to say about it. Unfortunetly, I don't even know where to begin. Do you want ethical reasons or logical reasons? An easy logical one is food-borne illness. While salmonella and botulism can still effect vegitarians, I don't need to worry about e. coli, anthrax, or mad cow unless I eat poop off the ground. Salmonella isn't a big killer and as long as you stay away from dented or bulging cans, botulism isn't that much of a threat, either. E. coli can come as a result of undercooked meat, anthrax can even come from cooked meat, and mad cow or other TSE's simply don't give a damn, as they're proteins, not viruses.
But, you say, muscle is sterile. How could e. coli possibly be a threat, when it is found in the alamentary tract of an animal, not the blood?
Oh, but it's so easy! I reply. What butcher delicately cuts away the skin of an animal, who has been bathed while he was bled to death, so as not to affect any of the muscle tissue? None. They don't give a damn. Their priority is to get through as many animals in a day as possible-which means that the animals are filthy, having urinated and deficated all over themselves and others out of fear-and then the knife is simply plunged into the animal as it hangs by its hind feet, dying, and most certainly the meat is contaminated with feces. Even if e. coli doesn't get in, feces do. I promise. Gross enough for you?
How about this...once I saw a raccoon bloated and upside down beside the road. Someone had put out a little sign next to it that said "Free!" As tempting as it may have been, nobody picked it up.
So, why is roadkill gross? Alright, so something a little bloated with maggots doesn't really appeal. Fine.
But what if you find something frozen? Like a duck frozen on a pond?
If dead animals don't bother you to eat, neither should something technically bother you about that. What's gross is rigor mortis. The process is prolonged in meat by bleeding the animals to death, but then salts are added to pump the animal with water and then the animals are hung in a cooler at 40 degrees for about 3 weeks.
40 degrees is above freezing.
Which means that the meat is left there to slowly rot. Which makes it more tender and more palatable. Fresh meat, unless you killed the animal yourself, is generally at least 3 weeks old.
Here's an ethical one to throw in, because I can, in defense of chickens...
Chickens can live 7-8 years or more, and can be reproductive life-long. A layer hen, kept in a battery cage, is kept 6 whole months after she arrives, which puts her at not even a year old by the time she's a "spent hen." Spent hens sell to places like McDonalds. At the end of their days, after spending a life cramped in a cage with 5 other chickens, she is worth a whopping 2 cents. That what goes in to chicken nuggest and chicken noodle soup. Don't believe me? I've seen horses go at slaughter auctions for $10. Horses that have devoted their lives to humans, and who weigh substantially more than chickens.
"Free range" means that animals have access to the outside. It also usually means that animals have less space per animal than battery cage hens.
Pigs are one of the smartest domestic animals; supposedly many times smarter than dogs, who can be trained to do just about anything for humans. They are kept in cages where they can take one step forward and one step back, their whole lives. I wrote a paper on it, if you'd like to see it.
Enough, yet?

[eowyn142.livejournal.com]

About the vegetarianism- uric acid and fecil matter- nough said!

[whoiskatie.livejournal.com]

about the vegetarianism -- sort of, anyway...

I thought of you today when I was making Spaghettios, the kind with the meatballs in them. I remembered when we sat on the floor of my room, during Lent, eating Spaghettios together, with you eating around all the meatballs.

I miss doing things like that.

I miss you.