Words still don't come...the heart just doesn't want to go there right now. This seems a good time to share some of Dad's perspective with you all. This was first posted in '99. I post it, along with Lonesome EJ's response. They seem to go together...

I believe the Earth was created simply because God abhors a vacumm and there is need of some sort of proving ground for us before better things. I think people must work and fight simply because it is the inherent struggle for truth in all things and God does not ride near as tight a rein as most religions teach; these teachings are a result of the priesthood's desire to control and prohibit the thoughts and pleasures of the population.

- "Sparky" Hudson - (my dad)

Someone once told me this.

In the beginning there was only God. But He grew tired of being all-knowing, omnipresent and all-encompassing. And so, to pass the time He played a hiding game: He hid himself in intricate disguises of his own devising. He hid himself in rocks, trees and animals. As He grew in His skills, He grew more adept at His hiding, so that by the time He had hidden Himself in the creatures known as human beings, He had a very hard time finding Himself again. And it is in this state that man lives: In constant seeking for the Divinity within himself and others.

And so Kat, I believe that little parable has a lot in common with the wise words of your Father, and I believe that he may be a little more successful in his seeking than many of us.

LEJ