Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given.
~~~~~~~~~~~ A little sign on the desk of Kinky Friedman's mother, at their summer camp, Echo Hills Ranch
On hearing the news that the Kinkster had "stepped on a rainbow," his own euphemism for dying, I thought it not only appropriate but necessary to drag out my Kinky books (that is, books authored by Kinky, and not a reference to the contents thereof; well, not entirely anyway), to see what leaped off the pages at me. A short little thread on OB won't do him justice, but I'm obliged to try.
Make no mistake, Kinky was smart. His wry humor was intellectual slapstick. Who else referred to the people of Kerrville as "Kerrverts"? He also was deeply religious (wink), which became obvious when he pointed out the parallels between his own life and that of Jesus Christ:
"Both of us were skinny little boogers. Both of us belonged to the Jewish persuasion. Neither of us was ever married. Neither of us had a home to speak of. Hell, neither of us ever held a job in our lives. We both just traveled around the countryside irritating people."
Of the little sign on his mama's desk, Kinky said "That may be as close to Texas Etiquette as any of us will ever get." Maybe so, Kinky, but one thing's for sure, that's a damn fine place to start. I think even Jesus might agree. Paul's variation on that theme was "Faith, Hope, and Love, these three. But the greatest of these is Love." 1 Cor 13:13.
Blessings on this Friday.
NT
~~~~~~~~~~~ A little sign on the desk of Kinky Friedman's mother, at their summer camp, Echo Hills Ranch
On hearing the news that the Kinkster had "stepped on a rainbow," his own euphemism for dying, I thought it not only appropriate but necessary to drag out my Kinky books (that is, books authored by Kinky, and not a reference to the contents thereof; well, not entirely anyway), to see what leaped off the pages at me. A short little thread on OB won't do him justice, but I'm obliged to try.
Make no mistake, Kinky was smart. His wry humor was intellectual slapstick. Who else referred to the people of Kerrville as "Kerrverts"? He also was deeply religious (wink), which became obvious when he pointed out the parallels between his own life and that of Jesus Christ:
"Both of us were skinny little boogers. Both of us belonged to the Jewish persuasion. Neither of us was ever married. Neither of us had a home to speak of. Hell, neither of us ever held a job in our lives. We both just traveled around the countryside irritating people."
Of the little sign on his mama's desk, Kinky said "That may be as close to Texas Etiquette as any of us will ever get." Maybe so, Kinky, but one thing's for sure, that's a damn fine place to start. I think even Jesus might agree. Paul's variation on that theme was "Faith, Hope, and Love, these three. But the greatest of these is Love." 1 Cor 13:13.
Blessings on this Friday.
NT
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