More on 45 million Americans are nuts and other random thoughts...

Virtual insanity...
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I think the 45 mil stat is real BTW. 
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Especially after this past week.  Friends, I hate online fights, okay?  Right or wrong - I hate it when the combox turns into a freak show.  Sorry - it's just me, not you.  Yes I like crazy but sometimes it gets too nuts. 
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Sometimes 'true' stories destroy reputations - forever.
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Several years ago a guy I worked with told me about a priest who once put the make on him - the guy told the bishop but the bishop didn't really do anything except send him away to get a Phd..  The priest has some prominence these days.  It bugged me all of these years - because whenever I heard the priest's name I wanted to say, 'Hey!  Hey!  He's, he's...!'  What?  You see, I can't say anything because "I don't really know, do I?  He never hit on me."  The story stuck with me however, and bothered me.  I never got any relief whatsoever until I began to pray for the priest every day - pray earnestly for him as if he was my favorite priest in the world.  The upshot is, I'm pretty much over my issue with the guy - he is not my responsibility.
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Religious people (we, us, you and me) can be worse than devils.  I worked at a gossipy little religious gift store a few years ago, where the most Catholic people in town worked and shopped.  One day speaking with a priest about a religious group in town, Father told me he didn't trust them because he saw them separating the donations they received for the poor and took the best for themselves.  I never forgot it.  Every time I hear about them the first thought that pops into my head is that they are dishonest - despite the fact they seem to do wonderful work.  I only mention it so that you will get my point about how a negative comment lodges in one's memory.  (I know - I'm as guilty as the priest who told me.)
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Around the same time I heard a story about a bishop and some questionable practices with religious groups he gave his imprimatur to.  I never forgot that story either.  Every time he is in the news - I think of his past mistakes and question his authenticity and authority.  (If you've read this blog for a long time, you have probably come across this stuff before.)
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Truth be told.
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Repeating the same story and defending one's right to do so, over and over, is like beating a dead dog.  We already shot the dog when we first posted the story - we made sure it was dead the second time when we backed it up with outside testimony.  We keep shooting it with every follow-up comment.  That dog has been dead for quite sometime.  We told 'our truth' for whatever reason the first time - so just leave it alone.  The damage is done.  It's out there and some other person will pick it up and tell it again.
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I gotta do something else.
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I have to do something about my participation in all of this however.  I keep trying, but I keep failing.  What motivates me?  Sometimes I don't really know.  People who come from similar backgrounds such as my own frequently battle issues connected with trust and respect for authority.  When authority is misused or abused we tend to get angry about it - we see it as an injustice.  We dislike liars and hypocrites - yet truth be told, upon close examination of conscience, we are not sinless either.  Well, I can't speak for anyone else, so let me be clear and simply affirm, I am not sinless either.
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Every one's life is difficult - unless you're on heavy meds - which apparently 45 million Americans are.  So in reality, this is really what is insane:  Doped up people thinking they are normal.
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Art:  Magritte

45 million Americans mentally ill.

I know!
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More than 45 million Americans, or 20 percent of U.S. adults, had some form of mental illness last year, and 11 million had a serious illness, U.S. government researchers reported on Thursday.  [...]  The survey found that 23.8 percent of women had some form of mental illness, compared with 15.6 percent of men.
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A disproportionate share of these have blogs as well as accounts with other social networks.

Nuns blast bishops.

Talk about bitchy women...
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An organization of American Catholic nuns has denounced the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for reiterating its opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage at its annual meeting in Baltimore this week while remaining silent on anti-gay bullying and gay teen suicide.
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In a statement released Tuesday, the National Coalition of American Nuns accused the bishops of acting like “blinded Pharisees” for waging a fight against marriage equality while failing to speak out on gay teen suicides brought about by school bullying and harassment. - Source
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The holidays are upon us... Again!

"A definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
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Unlike me, I suspect most of you people who read this blog, and comment, and who also write your own blogs, think of yourselves as normal.  LOL! 
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So anyway, what do you normal people do for the holidays?  What do you talk about with family members who don't have a clue about what the Mass is or what constitutes religious practice, or who could care less what the Pope said at the latest Wednesday audience, or what Vatican II was all about?  Do you really watch football and talk about Dancing With the Stars and Oprah and stuff?  Do you discuss politics politely?  Or do you start fights and make everyone as uncomfortable and even less interested in religion than they were before they got to the house and had to endure the holidays with you again this year?
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Little known fact:  I have never liked the holiday we call Thanksgiving.  Neither do I like turkey or candied sweet potatoes.

The very best!

JayKay is the very best.

This post will self destruct in 1, 2, 3, anytime now.

"Don't touch my junk!"

I'm with the guy who said that BTW. 

Anyway...  I just heard that a certain former Republican Congressman is against the intimate pat-downs as well, saying, "It's totally outrageous!  TSA agents are doing exactly the same thing I got arrested for in a bathroom stall... and I didn't even touch anyone!"  I just made that up.
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Personally - I'm worried about the rights of transsexuals who still have their junk.  How embarrassing!

Cosmic Girl...

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For Larry... he's my inspiration too!

And I love this song!

The importunate mothers...

And the dishonest judges.
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Some bloggers, a couple of them women, get criticized online for some of their very frank statements - almost as if they are public sinners, accused of detraction, slander, calumny, and rash judgement.  It's a risk we all take every time we open our mouths or our laptops to comment on a controversial issue.  Everyday everyone of us sins somehow - except of course for those souls living in transforming union I suppose - but even then Our Lord can leave a particular soul with all the human foibles and faults necessary to test the charity of those they encounter.  Consider the Russian fools for Christ, such as St. Xenia and St. Basil.  There are other saints in the Latin Church who annoyed those they lived with as well - the only ones I can think of at this moment are Jerome and Catherine of Genoa.  Like Simei who insulted King David, God sometimes uses the most unlikely persons to call out an important personage - or to call the likes of me out, an insignificant blogger.

That said, I responded to a friend who was put off by some of the commenters on this blog, and perhaps some of the posts I did that may have attracted more negative commentary.  Stuff happens, what can I say?  I'm sorry.  I can't defend myself.  But I do want to defend a couple of people who I think have been mis-characterized as overstepping boundaries or saying things they maybe shouldn't have - in the opinion of other readers I mean.   
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This is pretty much what I said in an email to my friend:

I honestly see your point about some of the negative rhetoric, and can understand it to an extent, since I was once taken aback by what initially struck me as an abrasive manner - but the woman is just being honest and it is 'just her way', so to speak. 
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Perhaps surprisingly to some, I get a few housewives and mothers sending me emails full of frustration because of the confusing, conflicting messages coming out of diocesan chanceries and Catholic parishes, schools, colleges and so on as regards sexual morality and Church teaching. What I came to realize and understand is that these women are first and foremost mothers whose natural instinct is to protect their children at all costs - committed to educating them and training them to live good lives in this world and become saints in the next.  That is their job, and it is God's will:  The will of God is our sanctification, and these are mothers committed to their vocation. One has to understand that dynamic and never dismiss them - they are very much like the importunate widow in the Gospel, oftentimes dealing with dishonest judges, as it were - sometimes for years.
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I have gained a deep respect for these women.  They have a right to speak.  I'm honored they comment on this blog.  I'm always amazed how more liberal-progressive types - often women religious - get the ear and approval of so many in the Church, while others who tend to be more conservative, and more faithful to Catholic teaching,  seem to be ignored and frequently condemned for their candor and perceived lack of charity.   Undeterred, they remain persistent, and as St. Catherine of Siena affirmed:
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"We've had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world has become rotten because of silence."

Illustration:  Importunate widow and dishonest judge.

Bishops seeking missionaries for digital continent.

Somehow I think the concept is getting overstated.

I smell another committee and or department jam-packed with regulations and guidelines soon to be added to the burgeoning bureaucracy of the USCCB.
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"The world of social media might seem like a fad, but it's not going away. In fact, it's a "digital continent," with natives, immigrants -- and in need of missionaries." - Read the rest if you want at Zenit.
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"Bishop Herzog commented:  "One of the greatest challenges of this culture to the Catholic Church is its egalitarianism. Anyone can create a blog; everyone’s opinion is valid. And if a question or contradiction is posted, the digital natives expect a response and something resembling a conversation. We can choose not to enter into that cultural mindset, but we do so at great peril to the Church’s credibility and approachability in the minds of the natives, those who are growing up in this new culture. This is a new form of pastoral ministry. It may not be the platform we were seeking, but it is an opportunity of such magnitude that we should consider carefully the consequences of disregarding it."
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We digital immigrants need lessons on the digital culture, just as we expect missionaries to learn the cultures of the people they are evangelizing," Bishop Herzog affirmed. "We have to be enculturated. It’s more than just learning how to create a Facebook account. It’s learning how to think, live and embrace life on the digital continent." - Zenit
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But hey!  Fr. Z needs a job!

Catholic schools, safe environment, safe sex... saves lives?

They not only teach them but give approval to those who practice them... (adapted from Romans 1:32)..


I think it is fairly obvious that the cultural changes we see today have been facilitated in great measure in and through education.  For decades higher education has been the leader in effecting the cultural revolution, forming the educators who would influence and teach primary and secondary students.  (That is not to deny media has been the other big player in reshaping morality.)
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Up until the last two or three decades or so, Catholic schools have been fairly well protected from the blatant disregard of traditional morality one almost expects to see at universities and colleges.  I think that is all rapidly changing with the 'safe environment' programs and training making its way into primary and high school curriculum today.  Thus it begs the question, are we protecting our kids or hurting them even more?
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Eponymous Flower blog posted some frank reflections on a local situation related to safe environment in Catholic schools, which I will get to later.  First, some background on the controversy he discusses here:
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ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Editorials in a Catholic prep school's student newspaper about same-sex marriage and gay teenagers are sparking debate about free speech in Minnesota.
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Student-written opinion pieces in the newspaper at Benilde-St. Margaret in suburban St. Louis defended gay teenagers and criticized a DVD by Minnesota's Catholic bishops that denounced same-sex marriage.
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The editorials and the nearly 100 comments they generated were deleted from the newspaper's website over the weekend. The principal says they created confusion about church teaching and an intensity that made an unsafe environment for students.
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Some comments praised a gay student's courage for writing about his experience. Others said the editorials shouldn't have been published at a Catholic school. - Source
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And the reason the gay student wrote what he did:
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"There's so many suicides in the news. And I felt very frustrated that my voice couldn't be heard, and that there were all these things that I see as injustices all the time that I didn't feel like anyone else was recognizing," said Simonson.

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The student's essay reads in part:
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"You fear looking the wrong way in the locker room and offending someone," he continued. "Politicians are allowed to debate your right to marry the person you love, or your right to be protected from hate crimes under the law. Your faith preaches your exclusion -- or damnation. And no one does anything to stop it." - Source 
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Eponymous' take on the controversy:
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"The whys and the wherefores of the newsworthiness of this piece are an open question, a sort of cognitive disease of the nation, [...]
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Many of the editorials and coverage are concerned about "free speech", while at the same time condemning the Archbishop for exercising his own free speech.   One editorial asks if a safe environment is being created for homosexuals in Catholic schools.  A better question to ask is, "is a safe environment being created for Catholicism in Catholic schools?"   Archbishop Nienstedt and the school administration of this allegedly Catholic school seem to think that public opposition in defense for moral depravity on the part of its students to the Church's teachings and a safe environment for Catholicism  are mutually exclusive." - Eponymous Flower
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So what is my point with this?  I'm not sure - but I believe safe environment programs have to be based upon Roman Catholic moral teaching and age appropriate - and not a cover for promoting or nurturing immoral lifestyles.  I also believe it is a Catholic schools moral responsibility to censor student newspapers and publications which do not conform to Catholic teaching.  Gratefully, the principal of Benilde-St. Margaret acted appropriately in this situation.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

St. Elizabeth is one of those saints who found herself the victim of a certain amount of abuse or mistreatment at the hands of over-zealous and insensitive churchmen.  Her confessor, the Franciscan Konrad of Marburg was especially severe and brutal in his spiritual direction of the young saint, who died at the tender age of 24 in 1231.
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"Following her husband's death, Elisabeth made solemn vows to Konrad similar to those of a nun. These vows included celibacy, as well as complete obedience to Konrad as her confessor and spiritual adviser. Konrad's treatment of Elisabeth was extremely harsh, and he held her to standards of behavior which were almost impossible to meet. Among the punishments he is alleged to have ordered were physical beatings; he also ordered her to send away her three children. Her pledge to celibacy proved a hindrance to her family's political ambitions. In fact, Elisabeth was more or less held hostage at Pottenstein, Bavaria, the castle of her uncle, Bishop Ekbert of Bamberg, in an effort to force her to remarry. Elisabeth, however, held fast to her vow, even threatening to cut off her own nose so that no man would find her attractive enough to marry." - Source
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Alas, "If indeed there had been anything better and more beneficial to man's salvation than suffering, Christ certainly would have shown it by word and example." - Imitation, Bk II: Chp. 12, 15
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Art:  Calderon Philip Hermogenes: St Elizabeth of Hungary's Great Act of Renunciation.  Such an odd painting - the severe looking friar in the scene has to be Konrad.  Creepy.

Cardinal Biffi - more real clear teaching...

An inconvenient excerpt.
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On the ideology of homosexuality.  I never used that term before, but that is exactly what we see in our day - it is nothing less than an ideology.  In his memoirs the Cardinal seems to identify what has transpired amongst some of those in authority in the Church, citing St. Paul:
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"Finally, Paul takes pains to observe that the greatest abjection takes place when "the authors of these things . . . not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (cf. Romans 1:32).
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It is a page of the inspired book, which no earthly authority can force us to censor. Nor are we permitted, if we want to be faithful to the word of God, the pusillanimity of passing over it in silence out of concern not to appear "politically incorrect."
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We must on the contrary point out the singular interest for our days of this teaching of Revelation: what St. Paul revealed as taking place in the Greco-Roman world is shown to correspond prophetically to what has taken place in Western culture in these last centuries. The exclusion of the Creator – to the point of proclaiming grotesquely, a few decades ago, the "death of God" – has had the result (almost like an intrinsic punishment) of the spread of an aberrant view of sexuality, unknown (in its arrogance) to previous eras." - Cardinal Biffi

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Every wind of doctrine... - Ephesians 4:14

We must no longer let ourselves be tossed about by ideologies and new studies on human sexuality, or sentimental considerations for fleeting happiness in this life - at the expense of our eternal salvation.  The Cardinal writes well about the cultural confrontation we are faced with today:
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"The ideology of homosexuality – as often happens to ideologies when they become aggressive and end up being politically triumphant – becomes a threat to our legitimate autonomy of thought: those who do not share it risk to a kind of cultural and social marginalization.
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The attacks on freedom of thought start with language. Those who do not resign themselves to accept "homophilia" (the theoretical appreciation of homosexual relations) are charged with "homophobia" (etymologically, the "fear of homosexuality"). This must be very clear: those who are made strong by the inspired word and live in the "fear of God" are not afraid of anything, except perhaps the stupidity toward which, Bonhoeffer said, we are defenseless. We are now even charged sometimes with the incredibly arbitrary accusation of "racism": a word that, among other things, has nothing to do with this issue, and in any case is completely extraneous to our doctrine and our history.
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The essential problem that presents itself is this: is it still permitted in our days to be faithful and consistent disciples of the teaching of Christ (which for millennia has inspired and enriched the whole of Western civilization), or must we prepare ourselves for a new form of persecution, promoted by homosexual activists, by their ideological accomplices, and even by those whose task it should be to defend the intellectual freedom of all, including Christians?
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There is one question that we ask in particular of the theologians, biblicists, and pastoralists. Why on earth, in this climate of almost obsessive exaltation of Sacred Scripture, is the Pauline passage of Romans 1:21-32 never cited by anyone? Why on earth is there not a little more concern to make it known to believers and nonbelievers, in spite of its evident timeliness?" - Cardinal Giacomo Biffi
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H/T Tancred for the lead on this story.
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Art: “Snow Storm — Steam Boat Off a Harbor’s Mouth Making Signals in Shallow Water” - Turner

I think now we must be Catholics like this...

And we must pray God will send us priests like this.
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Jerzy Popiełuszko; September 14, 1947 – October 19, 1984) was a Roman Catholic priest from Poland, associated with the Solidarity union. He was murdered by three agents of the Polish communist internal intelligence agency, the Służba Bezpieczeństwa, (English: Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) who were shortly thereafter tried and convicted of the murder. He has been recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, and was beatified on June 6, 2010.  - Wikipedia
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Sexual Fluidity: Blurring the lines of sexual orientation.

Inclusive and equal.
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Kinsey pretty much invented the popular concept that sexuality can be fluid over time as it involves sexual attraction and experience.  (It can be fluid as regards orientation, behavior, identity and desire.)  The concept is big with women's pop-culture, psycho/sexual therapy networks.  The concept is also useful in putting forth an explanation as to why a straight man or woman can leave spouse and kids for a same-sex partner.  In recent years it is claimed it seems to be a variant in the sexual behavior amongst men in black urban culture - otherwise straight black men consenting to homosexual encounters from time to time, and so on.  And yes - the phenomenon is referred to as bisexuality, albeit that identity seems to be in process of being replaced by the concept of sexual fluidity.  In other words - it is hip to believe sexual orientation is no longer fixed - a person can go either way, any time, any how.  It is part of a global movement to exclude traditional concepts of gender identity.  I'm oversimplifying the concept of course - but it makes my point.
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Amongst church-people the concept is subtly being adopted, if not taught - more quietly and secretly these days due to the scandals and "official" Church teaching.  It seems to me some bishops, seminaries, and the ordained appear to have harboured similar understanding long ago.  Not surprisingly I suppose, since the concept developed out of the very corrupt Kinsey research.  American Catholic leaders certainly bought into the psychological studies of the day, frequently even as it 'appeared' to contradict Catholic moral teaching.  At least that is the impression I have formed over the decades.    
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A current example.
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An Irish Capuchin priest has recently been ordered to stop writing/publishing his theory that homosexuality is simply a natural variant of the human condition.  On the surface it sounds as if the priest is simply advocating for homosexuality as a normal sexual orientation, rejecting the notion it is intrinsically disordered as the catechism makes clear.  But a closer read seems to indicate the priest believes the notion of sexual fluidity is the more natural dynamic - and that idea paves the way for rejecting Catholic moral teaching which says homosexual attraction is intrinsically disordered.  The thinking these days is that when dealing with issues of sexual orientation, spiritual counselors, therapists and teachers must keep up with current thought, rejecting out-dated ideas, and accepting a new normal when it comes to sexuality.  From IrishTimes.com:
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“... nature is a loose peg on which to hang a theology of human relationships”.
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AN IRISH Catholic priest has been banned by the Vatican from publishing any more of his writings after he suggested homosexuality is “simply a facet of the human condition”.

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Commenting on teachings that “homosexuality is unnatural”, Fr O’Sullivan wrote that “nature is a loose peg on which to hang a theology of human relationships”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary listed nine meanings for “nature” and 14 for “natural”, he said.
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Throughout history “same-sex attraction and acts have been a consistent feature of human life . . . Same-sex attraction is simply a facet of the human condition,” he said. He recalled church teaching says it is not wrong to be gay, ‘‘but it is wrong to act gay”.
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He suggested: “Imagine someone saying... ‘There’s nothing in itself wrong with being Irish... But that doesn’t mean you may act on it. So, no more Guinness, going to Croke Park, singing rebel songs into the early hours of the morning, waving Tricolours, no more craic.” - Source
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So anyway.  I suspect this thinking is most likely what is going down in some Catholic schools these days, as well as in progressive parishes, and most likely amongst some bishops meetings and priest support groups - why else would groups like Rainbow Sash endorse certain candidates for leadership positions in Church and State, while claiming this is what the people in the pews are asking for? 
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H/T PewsittersNews

Nadine Brown and the Intercessors 'remnant'...

I guess some Lambs just can't remain silent.

I noted on Spirit Daily - one of my favorite news resources BTW - seriously, that Nadine Brown is in the news again today.  Archbishop Lucas doesn't want people reading her statements posted on her site but I doubt many people regard that request as binding - with all due respect to the Archbishop and human nature being what it is, I mean.

I'm kind of 'over' this deal right now - it's a local thing for Omaha and the Intercessors which happens to be nothing but a private association these days.  I'm not into charismatic or Medjugorje spirituality, and the spirituality of the Intercessors is much too novel for my taste - anyway - the habits sort of killed it for me right off the bat.  To each his own however.
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"For 'Suppression' to happen in the Catholic Church, there have to be 'very grave reasons'”.
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That statement, an excerpt from the Lamb- rack.  Nadine then added: "I certainly do not see any “grave reasons” for suppression precipitated by the Board of Directors and, even if there were, does a community, who had been approved in the Catholic Church by two previous Archbishops get suppressed because of a civil corporation? I shall leave this question in the hands of those in authority in the Catholic Church."  Anyway - Nadine Brown is claiming obedience and submission to the Archbishop while attempting to keep things going - business as usual as they say - literally.  (Donations.):
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"Two days later, after the Decree of Suppression was announced, the ten former Hermits and myself returned to Bellwether to resume our mission of contemplative, intercessory and spiritual warfare prayer in union with Jesus the Lamb-Who-was slain. We also continue to respond to prayer requests, as well as our ministry of spiritual direction and private directed retreats. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, priests will once again be permitted to come here to celebrate the liturgy and the sacraments. But in the meantime, we attend Mass daily at different parishes." - Nadine Brown, Companion of the Lamb

In the next paragraph Brown offers thanks to the former Archbishop as well as Cardinal Regali and others who gave imprimaturs to her early writings and publications, as well as approval to her speaking engagements.  Someday I'd like to do a post on how writing doctrinally sound religious literature at one point in your life does not necessarily guarantee orthodoxy in everything else you do or say or write for the rest of your life.  Henry the VIII was declared "Defender of the Faith" at one time by the Pope...  and his non-Catholic successors retain the title.

How the saints act:  Padre Pio.

Diane at Te Deum blog discusses the feeble comparison some souls are making of Nadine Brown's situation to those troubles from Church officials St. Pio experienced at various times in his life.  Pio's conduct is vastly different from that of Nadine Brown's however.    As Diane respectfully points out:

"Can you imagine Padre Pio continuing all that he was doing on the basis that he did not agree with the findings of the Holy See which forced him into his "imprisonment", as he called it? He did the right thing - though innocent, he accepted the decision of Church authorities, and he did so in silence.
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As for her response? It speaks for itself. It seems to me that if she were like St. Pio, she would have gone off quietly, but not before encouraging her followers to cooperate with the Archbishop. She would have encouraged the lay board to cooperate with him. Perhaps she did and we are unaware of it. There is nothing that I am aware of, publicly, which suggests that she did this. In fact, the "message from our foundress" on the corporate website shows that she voluntarily associated herself with the very lay board of directors who balked at working with Archbishop Lucas.


I regret that there is nothing impressive, nor "Pio-like" in this behavior." - Contrasting Nadine Brown and Padre Pio
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Much like the Theology of the Body discussions, I'm backing off from this story for reasons cited earlier, as well as to leave it to those better informed, who like Diane, seem to be much more objective and respectful when dealing with church-people matters than I am.
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Photo:  Source

Bambi and gender confusion in cervine males.

Why was Bambi such an effeminate little buck?

Gaydar! Gaydar! This is only a test!

How the warning functions.
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For instance, I may be writing something about a situation or a statement involving - say a high ranking official or controversial institution, and within the body of the text I will highlight a word or a name in red for the reader to click on and which will immediately direct their browser to the warning sound.  I won't have to say anything directly and sensitive readers will not be offended.  For example:

"Fans of Rip Taylor love to wear prints - prints never go out of style."

FYI:  In the above example, I demonstrate the use of a name as well as another key word to direct readers to the warning sound.  I apologize that my technical skills are rather primitive, I would love to be able to have the sound effect immediately sound upon clicking, without being directed to another site where you have to click again, but I'm consulting with specialists from Big Bang Theory to update the system.  For now, this will have to do.

New Blog Feature: Gaydar Warning!

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In an effort to clean-up this blog a bit, and to be more reader friendly, I've obtained a new Gaydar Warning System which will alert readers sensitive to the subject and will sound like:  Please click on the top image to listen.  Thank you. 

Mass Chat: All the guys in jeans, winter jackets, snow boots and hat hair.

Manly men's Mass.
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Everyone must have been clearing snow and decided to go to Mass after they had finished last evening.  That's what I did - but I went to confession first. 
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So anyway - after a few more apology posts I'm going to switch the focus of this blog and only write about Bambi and other Disney characters so as not to offend people any more.  (Silly smile and cute shoulder hunch.)
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I'll bet I had at least 9" of wet, heavy snow to remove - I was a wild mountain man doing it too.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!