535. Full Moon Makes Life Interesting

The first Friday of each month along Louisville's East Market Street corridor is alive and well with the monthly Trolley Hop, although more people actually walk the hop rather than ride. A cornucopia of art shops and studios, restaurants, wine tasting, knick-knack stores, bluegrass musicians, and circus acts take to the streets each month entertaining and enticing folks from all over town and from all walks of life. You'll find old and young, black and white, Democrats and others, emokids and elderly bluehaired women, and everyone in between each celebrating our city's cultural and demographic diversity. I live in this neighborhood, which has recently been re-christened NuLu. I'm not really sure what that means, although it looks like New Louisville as opposed to Old Louisville, a different neighborhood which is not as old as plain Louisville.

So my friend Chris and I ventured up and down a few blocks of Market, with our six ounce plastic cups of wine in tow - local Pinot Syrah wines from the Felice Vineyards in the 800 block. We stopped in some art shops, watched a belly dancer tango with a snake, and ran into more than a few friends doing the same. As the beautiful evening sun left us, the sky was overtaken by a large orange, almost freaky looking full moon. This early September full moon is called the Corn Moon in some circles, attributable to the early harvest of grain. Full moons which occur later in the month and closer to the Autumnal Equinox are usually called the more well-known Harvest Moon.

Under the light of this Corn Moon we trekked out to the 1700 block of Bardstown Road, seemingly just as crowded if not moreso than East Market Street to an Indian eatery on Chris' list of favorite places to eat. I had never been to Sitar before although it has nothing to do with any worry of foreign foods. Anyone who has seen me knows it is obvious me and food, of whatever ethnicity, are very good friends.

At Sitar , Chris had some sort of very-spicy vegetarian goulash while I had Chicken Tikka Masala, a medium spicy curry gravy with shredded chicken. Both meals were served over steamed rice. They were followed by some sort of honey-dipped fried bread ball, about the size of a doughnut hole. My chicken curry melange was wonderful. I spoke to the owner about how pleased I was indicating I would be back. He said to bring friends. It was really an excellent meal.

From there we visited my friend Lisa's house and she happened to have a mutual friend, Will, over as well. The four of us had a good, if brief, time catching up on where we've all been. We've all worked together and apart in various political campaigns. Of course - or unfortunately, I am the oldest of this group while Chris is the youngest. The only one's age I know for sure (other than my own) is Will who is three days off from being exactly twenty years younger than me.

At that point, I took Chris back to our starting point and I returned here where upon reading the latest news, I find that Kentucky's Attorney General has decided that our state government can not only call upon the Almighty for assistance, but that in fact of law, it is his belief that we are reliant upon the Almighty for our state's security and he is willing to appeal the decision of a Franklin Circuit Court Judge to make his case. That to me is respecting one religion over another, something I believe to be unconstitutional. But, I didn't graduate from law school, nor have I been elected Attorney General. I, in fact, supported the Attorney General in his bid for that office, as I have in his bid for every office he has sought, including the current one.

The Attorney General, who has been known to call himself a "tough SOB," is shown at left with Congressman John Yarmuth. Tonight's announcement to appeal Judge Thomas Wingate's decision is mightily trying my patience on this overt comingling of church and state. I prefer my church and state be kept separate, as far as each other's operations are concerned. After all, it was government officials, acting in collusion with religious officials, that decided Jesus Christ should be hung on a cross to die. You would think someone would learn from that incident - that letting one control the other is wrong. How I worship God or if I worship God is my business.

Those of you who know me know that I do believe and worship God and often request and sometimes rely upon his help and intervention in what is happening in my personal private life. But that is my business. It may even now and then be my fervent prayer that God intervene into the affairs of my city, state, nation, and world. It is in fact a regular part of the Prayers of the People during the church services I regularly attend. But it is quite another thing for a state of 4200000 people, not all of whom believe or worship the same or any god to have their state relying upon a particular god in their name. Again, it is unconstitutional. And I believe that deep in his heart, the Attorney General knows that.

Let's hope this phase of the moon passes soon before someone else decides to do something out there on the lunatic fringe. Maybe President Obama will want to address the nation's schoolchildren, or some woman from the South End might want to get into the mayor's race. Or - well, you get the picture.