"When a drunk driver speeds down Kurfürstendamm, the only and most important task of a priest cannot be to bury the madman's victims and comfort their relatives. It is much more important than taking the steering wheel away from drunks."
I
I
V
one of the quotes from him that gave me the most.

Bonhoeffer..

By loving forces...

By loving forces silently surrounded,
I feel quite soothed, secure, and filled with grace.
So I would like to live these days together,
and go with you into another year.

Still matters of the past are pressing our hearts
and evil days are weighing down on us.
Oh Lord, to our souls, so scared and sore,
give rescue, as it's that you made us for.

And when you pass to us the bitter chalice,
filled with suffering to the brim and more,
we take it, full of thanks and trembling not,
from this, your caring and beloved hand.

But if you want to please us, over and again,
with our shining sun and wondrous world,
let us muse on what is past, and then we shall,
with our lives, in all belong to you.

Warm and bright be our candles' flame today,
since into gloom you brought a gleaming light,
and lead again us, if you will, together!
We know it: you are beaming in the night.

When silence now will snow around us ev'rywhere,
so let us hear the all-embracing sound
of greater things than we can see and wider,
your world, and all your children's soaring hail.

By loving forces wonderfully sheltered,
we are awaiting fearlessly what comes.
God is with us at dusk and in the morning
and most assuredly on ev'ry day.

5.30 AM is a truly UNGODLY hour Jim. I could never have done it, fair play to you my friend...fair play. I'm a night owl, usually...but tonight I think I will crash early. Ya gotta cut loose eventually, as we say here..."It has to be done". I'm gonna just stay in with a mate and have a few whiskeys. I think he wants to hit the town, but I don't have the money for it this year after an expensive Christmas. I'll say goodnight to you Jim, talk soon bro.

Yeah, go figure ... up until someone makes your lyrics into musical wine, no one knows your name ... and then your phone is ringing off the hook. Not sure about that the NYC NEW YEAR'S BALL, but no one invited me ... so I couldn't RSVP. But I am told that the temps are supposed to be unusually high and a RAIN could dampen the crowd's spirits. Not sure how the rain might affect those crystal panels (Waterford, of course) that make up that storied DROP-ME-RIGHT-NOW ball.

I am soon OFF for dinner, my Good Friend, but I'm wishing you a FINE NIGHT ahead. ENJOY! Yeah, it's funny that guys like P Diddy have all these friends and - when the shit hits the fan - they scatter. But Diddy's fall (if the allegations are true) is his own undoing. Such is the price of misguided fame and the trappings that come with it.

lmao...very...VERY lucky that was before smartphones my friend. Everything gets uploaded these days. So you said you're working tomorrow night?

True story about MEATLOAF ... aka Marvin Lee Aday and that voice that made us all go WOW, WHO'S THAT? He lived in the same neighborhood (Westlake Village, California) as a friend of mine and she had no idea who he was ... so she chose to always refer to him as Mister Meatloaf. HAHA! But - yeah, as it relates to teenage angst - those lyrical lines that he sung so purely shall forever resonate. Anyway, here's hoping that you are doing good and that Reggie is behaving himself. Perhaps, he might nudge you for a drink at Midnight. Enjoy your afternoon and one of the last evenings of 2024. ;)

I haven't tried Chambord yet, it's next on my list. So ya like Bailey's? I like it too, but I wouldn't order it in a pub over here. I'd drink it in private because here, it's considered a woman's drink. Tis the land of whiskey after all.