Long, Long Gone and Doubtless Forgotten

Thursday Oct. 31, 2013

I have not posted on this blog in something like three years.  Before I stopped posting I basically gutted it of anything that I felt had any literary merit, so as to not have said material be technically "published" for purposes of anyone who is in fact a normal publisher.  I used to get stuff published in a number of places (mostly small time small press poetry rags), but I stopped submitting material in the mid 1990's.  Still, I figure there is a chance I could submit something again some day.  I believe my writing is much better than it was in the 1990s when I was frequently a "published author".

So if I am going to write on this blog again I must find something to write about.  For a change I might even try to write something constructive.  Not much - just a little bit.

Today I am going to write briefly about a friend I have who is basically a "new" friend - meaning we have been friends for about a year and a half.  He is the minister at the Church of God in Big Sandy, Montana (population about 800 if a big gust of wind blows a few stragglers inside the city limits).  I will start by saying it is unusual for me to have a friend who is a member of the clergy.  The #1 tenet of my personal religious beliefs is that I think religion is a completely private matter and I generally have no respect for those who attempt to push their own beliefs onto others.  I don't care what anyone else believes; if it works for them then I say more power to them and that's that.

Erik Sietsema is not your typical preacher.  He has high standards personally and he leads by example.  He cares about people to the extent that even the ultimate cynic (i.e., me) believes in him.  He has a good sense of humor, excellent comedic timing, and happily displays his own feet of clay.  I actually read his column in the Big Sandy newspaper - and believe me I do not read Billy Graham, or whoever he shares the page with.  He is simple and he is sincere.  I keep waiting for him to figure out what a diabolical, vicious bastard I am and then put some distance between us.  The thing is, I think he has already figured this out and he likes me anyway.  Aaaand, I understand he makes some pretty good brisket.

So all I'm saying is this - it gives me (the ultimate cynic remember) a sense of faith to find that there are people like Erik out there.  God bless the man, and I say that in the most secular, nondenominational way possible.  And Erik - if you ever find out about this blog entry, kindly just go sit down and shut up and listen to some Grateful Dead LPs.  You will be alright.