Dandelions

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions.  He tried every method he knew to get rid of them.  Still they plagued him.

Finally, he wrote the Department of Agriculture.  He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed with the question: 
“What shall I do now?”

In due course the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.”

“… accept the things we cannot change…”

Subtle Messages

It is interesting to reflect on the Scripture readings which follow after Easter. In these readings, it is noted that those closest to Jesus while he was alive were not able to easily recognize him after the Resurrection. Surely those who knew and walked and talked and ate with Jesus should be able to see him more clearly.

I wonder what this says about the rest of us who sometimes struggle to see God in our daily lives. Perhaps we have to look with different eyes if we are to see God’s hand working in our lives. Perhaps the messages are more subtle than a Hollywood production of Seas parting and trumpets blaring.

Maybe there’s hope for us!!

4th Sunday of Lent

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Lent.  It is significant for two reasons.  First, we have reached the halfway mark of our Lenten Challange.  Second, today is Laetare Sunday.  Laetare means, “rejoice.”  And today we rejoice because God our Father loves us unconditionally, reconciles and heals us completely, forgives us endlessly and welcomes us into His kingdom eternally.  God reveals His love through Jesus Christ, His son who through His Passion, Death and Resurrection reconciles us not only to God the Father but to each other as well.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), today's gospel, is a great story about selfishness, greed, rebellion, jealousy, judgmental behavior and anger.  It demonstrates how easy it is to fall as St. Paul reminded us in our second reading last week.  However, the story also captures the fullness of God's love, mercy and compassion.  And that is really what this story is about.  None of us is perfect.  We are all sinners.  We are all capable of selfishness, greed, rebelliousness, jealousy, judgmental behavior, anger and even worse sins.  The good news is God loves us.  God wants to be reconciled with us.  God wants us to repent, to change our sinful ways and to come back to Him where we will be welcomed with open arms and great rejoicing. 

There is, of course, a catch.  Just because God loves and forgives us does not mean we can hoard His love and forgiveness.  God expects us to be just as loving, compassionate, forgiving and merciful as He is.  In today's second reading, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, St. Paul says that since we are reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus, God has "given us the ministry of reconciliation."   As Christians, we are "ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us."  And so, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and like God our Father we are challenged to be agents of reconciliation in our families, in our community and in our world. 

God of compassion,
you await the sinner’s return
and prepare a feast to welcome home the lost.
Save us from the temptations
that draw us away from you.
Lead us back by the constancy of your love,
that we may take our place in your household
and gladly share our inheritance with others.
Grant this through Christ, our liberator from sin,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
holy and mighty God for ever and ever.

AMEN

The Sign

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1,000 reasons to smile. The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling; and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it!

Still He Walked

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...

He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened... his heart was broken,
But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...his heart broke,
But still He walked.

Was he scared?

You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was. He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting
At him, throwing rocks at him and mocking him and he knew
That because of him, they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through
The crowd. The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet
Were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside his
Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let his son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember his walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
And I walk

3rd Sunday of Lent

For thousands of years people have asked, why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do innocent people suffer?  In today’s gospel, Luke 13:1-9, some people pose similar questions to Jesus.  We could ask Jesus, why did an armed terrorist kill fifty people at prayer in Christchurch, New Zealand?  Did the Muslims of Christchurch suffer this calamity “because they are greater sinners than all other” people?  What about the people in the mid-western USA?  Did they suffer debilitating floods and a bomb cyclone because “they were more guilty than everyone else who live[s]” in the USA?  Jesus’ response is emphatically, “By no means”!  Natural disasters, human disasters, calamities, sickness and death can strike any of us at any time.  And because bad things can and do happen to everyone, we cannot afford to become complacent.

As Christians, we should be prepared for whatever life in this world hurls at us – disaster, tragedy, illness or death.  In the gospel Jesus reminds the people around him and us that we must repent so that we are not caught unaware.   Repentance means changing.  It means turning away from whatever separates us from God.  It means living life in a different way.  It means being prepared to live in the kingdom right now. In today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12, St. Paul says, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”  In reality we are all going to fall at some time or another.  St. Paul goes on to say, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).  The strength St. Paul promises us comes from our repentance and the grace that follows in reconciliation and forgiveness. 

Jesus offers us the parable of the fig tree as a sign of hope.  God our Father does not give up on us.  God is merciful and offers us every opportunity to repent and bear fruit.  Of course, bearing fruit requires cultivation and fertilization.  It requires hard work.  True repentance is something we have to strive for every day.  True repentance increases our capacity to love, to forgive, to be renewed and to accept the gift of salvation offered to us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, out Lord and Savior.

God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

you revealed your name to Moses
in the burning bush;

and you revealed your mercy to
every generation in the life and teaching of Jesus.

Open our minds to the wisdom of his Gospel

that we may grasp the lessons you teach us

in the events of our daily lives.

We ask this through Christ, our deliverance and hope,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

holy and mighty God for ever and ever.

AMEN.

Temptation

“Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.” 
James 1:12

The old word for addiction was temptation. 
“My temptation is quiet.” (William Butler Yeats)

“I can resist everything except temptation.” (Oscar Wilde) 

“Lead us not into temptation.” (Jesus)

I Know

I know God is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end?
I know God is the creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy?
I know God has forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself?
I know God is a healer, so why do I speak of sickness? ...
I know God can do all things, so why do I say I can't?
I know God will protect me, so why do I fear?
I know God will supply all my needs, so why can't I wait?
I know God is my strength and my salvation, so why do I feel weak?
I know that everything and everyone has a season, so why when someone's season is over do I weep instead of rejoicing?
I know God is the right way, so why do I go the wrong way?
I know God is the light, so why do I choose to walk in darkness?
I know that whatever I ask of GOD, GOD will give me, so why am I scared to ask?
I know tomorrow is not promised, so why do I put off for tomorrow what I can do today?
I know that the truth shall make me free, so why do I continue to lie?
I know God gives us revelation, knowledge and understanding, so why do I lean on my own understanding?
I know I should live in the spirit as well as walk in the spirit, so why do I choose to live in the spirit but walk in the flesh?
I know that when praises go up, blessings come down, so why do I refuse to praise God?
I know I am being healed, so why do I refuse the Word He has given me?
I know He has a plan for me, so why am I rushing it because I am eager to do His will, when it is His time not my time?
"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to God can stand up to anything."

What Goes Around Comes Around

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her?  He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.  He knew how she felt.  It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, “I'm here to help you, ma'am.  Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm?  By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire.  But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him.  She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through.  She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.  The lady asked how much she owed him.  Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.  Bryan never thought twice about being paid.  This was not a job to him.  This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past.  He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off.  It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe.  She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home.  It was a dingy looking restaurant.  Outside were two old gas pumps.  The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.  The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair.  She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase.  The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.  The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger.

Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill.  The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door.  She was gone by the time the waitress came back.  The waitress wondered where the lady could be.  Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don't owe me anything.  I have been there too.  Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.  If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.  That night when she got home from work  and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written.  How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it.  With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.  She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

Who Will You be Tomorrow?

One man sat at a stop light. The woman in front of him was going through papers on the seat of her car, and when the light changed to green she didn't go. A green light is not a suggestion, you know, it is more of a commandment. But she didn't notice.

When the light turned red again, she still had not moved. The man in the car behind her now started screaming epithets and beating on his steering wheel.

A policeman tapped on his windshield. "You can't arrest me for hollering in my car," the man said. The cop asked for his license and registration, returned to his car, talked on the radio for awhile, and finally handed the papers back. The driver protested, "I knew you couldn't cite me for yelling in my own car!"

The officer replied, "I didn't want to cite you for shouting in your car. But I was directly behind you at the light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, 'That man is out of control. He's going to hurt someone!' Then I noticed the cross hanging from your rear view mirror, the bright yellow 'Love Is a Choice' license tag, the 'Give Peace a Chance' and 'Prayer Changes Things' bumper stickers, and I was sure you must have stolen the car."

His behavior did not reflect his bumper stickers. But let's not be too critical. Are we always the people we want to be?

We make changes by stretching. Personal transformation can happen when the person we presently are does not yet resemble the person we hope to be. Better to set high ideals and occasionally fall short than to settle for mediocrity and succeed.

The important question is not, "Who are you today?" It is better to ask, "Who will you be tomorrow?"

Remember: if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.

There is More In You Than You Know

Not many people realize that President Calvin Coolidge did not always live in the White House. As Vice-President, he became President upon the death of Warren G. Harding. Mrs. Harding continued to live in the White House for a time, so the Coolidges remained where they had been living - in the third-floor suite of the nearby Willard Hotel.

Once in the middle of the night, the new President awoke to see an intruder going through his clothes. He watched as the thief first removed a wallet, then unhooked a watch chain. Coolidge calmly spoke up from the darkness: "About that watch, I wish you wouldn't take that."

The startled man, gaining his voice, asked, "Why?"

Coolidge answered, "I don't mean the watch and chain, only the charm.  I'm very fond of that charm. It means a great deal to me. Take it near the window and read what is engraved on the back of it."  

The burglar read: "Presented to Calvin Coolidge, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court." And now he was more surprised! 

"Are you President Coolidge?" he asked. He evidently did not think he'd find the President sleeping in a hotel!

"Yes, I am, and I don't want you to take that charm," he said. Then he asked, "Why, Son, are you doing this?"

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington during their college break. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill or pay for train passage back to school.  "If you don't mind," he said, "I'll just take the wallet."  

Coolidge did mind. He knew he had about $80 in his wallet. So he said, "How much will it take to pay your hotel bill and get you and your friend back to the campus? Sit down and let's talk this over."

Coolidge added up the room rate and two rail tickets. It came to $32.  That may not sound like much now, but it was a considerable sum then.  "I'll give you the $32 as a loan," the President said, "and I expect you to pay me back."

The youth thanked him. Coolidge then advised him to leave by the same window he used to enter the room, as secret service agents were sure to be patrolling the hallway. As the young man climbed out, Coolidge left him with this admonition: "Son, you're a nice boy. You are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are."

It wasn't until after the death of Mrs. Coolidge in 1957 that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the "Los Angeles Times." And most interesting of all is that the President's notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound, said this: "There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less."

Slow Down

An American racing enthusiast entered his horse in Britain's famous Epsom Downs Steeple­chase. Just before the race began, he slipped his horse a white pellet. The Duke of Marlboro, who was serving as steward, caught the owner in the act and objected. "I say, old man, really you can't do that sort of thing over here!"

"Just a harmless sugar lump," the Ameri­can assured him. He gulped one down himself. "Here, try one," he said.

The Duke took a pill, swallowed it, and seemed satisfied. As the jockey mounted, the American whispered in his ear, "Son, keep that horse on the outside and stay out of trouble, be­cause once he starts running, there ain't nothing that can catch him...except me and the Duke of Marlboro!"

Do you ever feel that way - running so fast that nothing can catch you? Our busy and full lives are too often like that; we rush here and hurry there. We eat fast food. We run our errands. We use e-mail and put off reading our messages until we have the time. We hurry through meals and can only give friends "just a minute." We live fast-paced and anxious lives. Too often, we run so fast we lose our center.

But, in the end, it's not how fast you lived that matters, but how well you lived. Are you taking time to enjoy? Have you left enough time for you? Is there time to listen to a friend or visit a relative in need? Are you leaving time each day to nurture your faith? Do you need to slow down? After all, the only race that matters goes, not to those who run it quickly, but to those who run it well.

And God Said…

Failure Doesn't Mean

Failure doesn't mean - "You are a failure,"

It means - You have not succeeded yet.

Failure doesn't mean - "You accomplished nothing,"
It means - You have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean - "You have been a fool,"
It means - You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean - "You don't have it,"
It means - You were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean - "You are inferior,"
It means - You are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean - "You've wasted your life,"

It means - You have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean - "You should give up,"
It means - "You must try harder.

Failure doesn't mean - "You'll never make it,"
It means - It will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean - "God has abandoned you,"
It means - God has a better way for you.

R Whitby

St. Joseph

Anything done out of love is important, however small it might appear. God has come to us, even though we are miserable creatures, and he has told us that he loves us: ‘My delight is to be among the sons of men.’ Our Lord tells us that everything is valuable — those actions which from a human point of view we regard as extraordinary and those which seem unimportant. Nothing is wasted. No man is worthless to God. All of us are called to share the kingdom of heaven — each with his own vocation: in his home, his work, his civic duties and the exercise of his rights.

St Joseph's life is a good example of this: it was simple, ordinary and normal, made up of years of the same work, of days — just one day after another — which were monotonous from a human point of view.  I have often thought about this, meditating on St Joseph's life; it is one of the reasons for having a special devotion to him.

St. Josemaria Escriva

A St. Patrick's Day Prayer

May the Strength of God guide us. May the Power of God preserve us. May the Wisdom of God instruct us. May the Hand of God protect us. May the Way of God direct us. May the Shield of God defend us. May the Angels of God guard us. Against the snares of the evil one. May God be with us! May God be before us! May God be in us, God be over all! May Thy Grace, Lord, Always be ours, This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

Prayer of Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

Why Don't We Pray?

The highest privilege ever afforded to humans is the power of prayer.

... then why don't we pray?

The right to talk to the highest power in all the universe...
... then why don't we pray?

The most powerful force accessible to people is the potential of prayer...
... then why don't we pray?

The greatest longing in the heart of God is to talk to His children...
... then why don't we pray?

Nothing is impossible to those who pray...
... then why don't we pray?

No one ever failed or faltered who gave himself to prayer...
... then why don't we pray?

Every sin is forgiven, every stain is washed clean, all guilt diminished to the one who prays...
... then why don't we pray?

Hell moves farther away, Satan flees from the one who prays...

Twin Brothers

The family had two twin boys whose only resemblance to each other were their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume was too low. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on the twins’ birthday, the father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.

That night, the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. “Why are you crying?” the father asked. “Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries and my toys will eventually get broken,” answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin’s room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. “What are you so happy about?” he asked. To which his optimist twin replied, “With all this manure, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Which are you??

He Ain't Heavy

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where...
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother...

Survivor

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, and soon there was nothing left. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember this the next time your "hut" seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

Magic Bank Account

Imagine that you had won the following *PRIZE* in a contest:

Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use.

However, this prize has Rules:

1. Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.
3. You may only spend it.
4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that day.
5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time, it can say, “Game Over!”  It can then close the account and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right?

You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?

Actually, the game is real. Shocked? YES!

Each of us is already a winner of this *PRIZE*.  We just can't seem to see it.

The PRIZE is *TIME*

1. Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.
2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us.
3. What we haven't used up that day is forever lost.
4. Yesterday is forever gone.
5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time without warning.

So, what will you do with your 86,400 seconds?

Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.  So take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply, and enjoy life!

Here's wishing you a wonderful And beautiful day.  Start spending!

Don’t complain about growing old; Some people don’t get the privilege!