Hold on a moment while I find a flak jacket. I’ll probably need it because I’m tiptoeing into a stream of thought that generally brings on jeers, tomatoes and other instruments of dissent. I’m talking about religion here. Right away, I want to say I’m for it…not for myself necessarily but for anyone wanting it, religion is a great thing.

Me, I’ve got faith, which is more than enough for me. I have faith that I live my life in such a way as to stay positive, try not to offend, take the high road, etc. Plus, I’m careful not to break any of the big 10 rules, just in case. I went to a Big 10 school, so this comes to me naturally! Organizing faith isn’t my cup of tea, but I’m secure in the knowledge that when my breathing days are over, I’ll not be in some eternal fire.

Honestly, thinking about this stuff has prevented me from sleeping for two nights, so I feel compelled to write it down. Generally if I put it down in words, on paper or computer, I solidify my own mental arguments and can then rest easy.

There are some things I simply can’t wrap my mind around and maybe readers can help me to sort it all out. There is a movie out right now called the Da Vinci Code. Lots and lots of letters to the editor of the local paper have decried this film as blasphemous. Before the movie was released, a former nun was firing up faithful Catholics to shun the movie in favor of more family oriented fare.

That is all fine and dandy, but where is the outrage when revelation, after revelation, after sickening revelation is made about abuse by children at the hands of clergy? Why don’t the masses rise up and demand reform within their church? Why continue to support an organization that not only failed to give succor to the abused—both emotionally and physically—but also failed to validate the crime by turning over offenders to law enforcement?

I’d like to be able to believe in that eternal fire because I think there’s an especially hot section for religious leaders who abuse children and then hide under a cloak provided them by mother church. This kind of behavior simply hasn’t stopped and I don’t understand how the faithful can ignore this and continue to support the very organization that failed to address the problem and tried to pretend it did not exist. Support implies tacit approval and a willingness to continue the status quo. We throw abusing teachers in the slammer, get rid of corrupt politicians when we can, yet this particular problem appears never ending. It dies down for a bit, and then another huge surge of cases comes to light. For the most part we only hear about cases in the United States, but worldwide the numbers must be staggering.

These serious problems are ignored, or even worse, not discussed, but people get all worked up about a movie. None of these folks seemed to mind that some 400 million—say it with me—400 million copies of this book were sold before it came out in paperback. It is only a problem when it is transferred to film? Surely more than few God-fearing people read it and they seem to be handling it all right. Perhaps they said to themselves, “This is a work of fiction,” before saying their nightly prayers.

OK, I’m done now. Thanks, I feel better. Now on to a more pleasant topic...

Those of us toiling at The Beachcomber really like candid shots of folks enjoying themselves in our community and photos really do improve the look of the paper, not to mention filling pesky layout holes.

We can’t be everywhere and it occurred to us that just about everybody these days has a digital camera—maybe two if your phone takes photos—and we would like to see what you are shooting. If you’re from Arkansas or Timbuktu and you take a picture of your family dining out, on the beach, playing miniature golf, or whatever, show it to us. All we ask is that photos be submitted via electronic mail in jpg format and are tasteful. We would also prefer that you identify those in the photo. We won’t pay you, but we sure will appreciate the heck out of you.

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