The Queen Who Took Emperors as Boyfriends

Meow! I am an adorable, lovable, cute kitten named Myoky in ancient Egypt. People in Egypt love cats so much that they worship them. Some cats even get to wear hoop earrings like me. In this story, my owner Cleopatra falls in love with two emperors, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 69 B.C. She was queen more than 2,000 years ago. But before she was queen, a man named Ptolemy, a general, became king after Alexander the Great died.

Cleopatra is very smart, charming, and kind, and this is how she won back her kingdom from her brother and fell in love with an important Roman General. In 51 B.C. her father died, and that left the throne to Cleopatra and her younger brother. Her younger brother was Ptolemy the 13th, and he was not interested in being king so that left Cleopatra to the throne. But Ptolemy the 13th’s advisors did not want Cleopatra to be queen, so they kicked her and me out of Alexandria. Cleopatra went into Syria. Suddenly, a Roman general named Julius Caesar suspiciously entered into Alexandria. When Cleopatra found out that Caesar was in Alexandria, she returned to Alexandria. At Alexandria, Cleopatra decided to visit Julius Caesar. But how would she get to the castle to talk to Julius Caesar? Then I Myoky, gave her an idea because of course I am the smartest, cutest, and most sneaky cat in all of Egypt. That night a friend that Cleopatra trusted rolled her up into a rug and got into Alexandria as if the rug was a gift to Caesar. Cleopatra and Caesar had a whole night to talk. Caesar understood Cleopatra’s situation and he decided to help her. He wanted to end the fight and make Cleopatra and her brother co rulers again. Caesar and Cleopatra went into war with Ptolemy. After a dreadful, downer, and defective fight, Caesar and Cleopatra defeated Ptolemy’s army and drowned Ptolemy in the Nile River. Sadly, a Roman Senate stabbed Caesar at a meeting on March 15th,44 BC and Cleopatra was heartbroken.

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Learning from Rest

Of the making of books there is no end and much study wearies the body.

Ecclesiastes 12:12

Another calm before the fall storm. My brilliant wife suggests squeezing at least one last trip to the beach in before the crazy fall schedule prohibits us. We go with the three youngest children and our baboushka (“little grandma” in Russian) to Old Silver Beach on Cape Cod, one of the few west facing beaches just over 1.5 hours from Boston. It’s like our back-to-school beach, as it works well to drive here on a mid-afternoon and stay until sundown. A last minute surplus from our local food pantry leaves us well supplied with road food and a picnic supper.

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The Madalorian

The Mandalorian is a TV show about a mysterious bounty hunter that wears a helmet and swore an oath never to take it off in front of anyone. He was born is a small village, and when he was five, the village was attacked by an army of super battle droids that killed his parents. He was saved by a group of Mandalorian that took him in as one of their own. When he started as a bounty hunter, he would hunt robbers and earn money. But then he found something more important in life…

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Tear down that statue

First the death of George Floyd. Then the tearing down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. What will come next? Will we forget all of our not so great history? Like my sister wisely said if we forget history we are doomed to make the same mistakes again.

All human beings are flawed, no matter what we may think. Does this mean we should forget about imperfect humans? Should we fail to remember amazing heroes in American history just because of a flaw?

The writers of our own constitution had many flaws, including owning slaves. Does this mean we should forget everything by focusing only on there bad sides? No, we have to recognize that they did a very important job for our country. This means not to tear down statues but instead we should learn from there mistakes (and remember them) and focus on making our world better!

My take on the BLM movement

Let me start by making a very important statement: every single person’s life matters and therefore everyone deserves to be loved, cared for and cherished. This includes police officers and people of any race, background and ethnicity.

In this day and age we find ourselves in a difficult situation. Many thought racism was completely gone but now we know it is very much alive. I myself think that I used to be racist before starting to attend the beautifully diverse school, Boston Trinity Academy. My point is that many people are blind to our present situation. The easiest way out is to blame the police. We forget that these are the amazing brave individuals who save our lives every day. I am not saying that some are not extremely racist, but I am saying that this statement makes the mistake of overgeneralization. I am not trying to protect racist people but instead give you a way to help them. When I went to Boston Trinity Academy, I became friends with many different diverse students. All police officers need to meet and become wonderful friends with many people no matter what color of skin, religion or ethnicity. These relationships will show all that we are equal and that we should treat everyone we see with the love and respect they deserve.

Taking the Kids to Church

Have an update on this original post. Please see below the photos of the new cathedral being built in the center of Surgut. Glory to God for all things!

Like Mendicant Monks...

May 21, 2015

Feast of the Ascension
Repose of John Eliot,
Apostle to the Native People of Massachusetts

Surgut wakes up to remind us that we are only about 5 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. The warm weather anomaly ceased yesterday as temperatures dropped by over 20 degrees Fahrenheit and we dug out the few sweaters and jackets we brought to make the trek to church for the feast.

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Smoke? Or not?

dreamstime_xs_58648955-399x350Some people might tell you not to smoke, but is there any reason that they tell you that? Yes, there is, and the people who tell you this information might not even know these facts. Smoking can lead to a very bad habit that can lead to death. When you breath in your nose hairs trap large dust, but not all of the bad stuff that can get in your nose. Tiny hairs in your nose passages trap the rest of the dirt and lead it away from your lungs. Most people know that smoking can lead to lung cancer, but what they do not know is that when you smoke regularly for even 2 weeks the tiny hairs start to disappear. Continue reading