I got the first call from a friend with the statement I have been dreading:
“I don’t like the name of your blog. I think it will turn people off.”
It was only a matter of time before anyone said anything. Fortunately, my friend made sure to be as nice and tactful as possible. Plus, he’s a mega-smart guy, a fellow blogger, and someone whom I respect greatly.
He was also smart enough to shower me with compliments before he dropped the bomb. I’m a sucker for a compliment: if you tell me that I look thin or that I’m having a good hair day, I’m your slave.
I told him I would take his good counsel into consideration. And I have. A lot.
My conclusion: The name stays.
I have spent my career as an advocate “pushing the envelope” of people’s thinking in order to help get justice for victims and protect kids. Because of who I am and what I stand for, I force people to (sometimes unwillingly) look very, very closely at the abuses of the religious institution in which they have invested their lives, their marriages and their children. What I have to tell them is not pretty, but I have always been honest, always been sincere, and always tried to maintain a somewhat healthy attitude. Because of hundreds of people like me around the world, things are changing – for the better.
Honestly, I don’t think I have ever used the word “puke” in a sentence more than two or three times in my life. But in this case, it works. Hopefully, it will make people think. I already know it makes some people laugh.
And really, that’s why I’m doing this. With anger, we get nowhere. But if we have smiles on our faces, we can change the world (or at least stop crying for a while).
Puke is not pretty. But it can be funny. Just like parenting.
The Pope? Well, I think that we are seeing that “making Joelle puke” is the least of his crimes.
Even the NYT is picking it up (a little late, as Kathy Shaw and I know ….). You can read my response/statement here.
The first line of the title may turn some away, the second line is very catchy, and your tag line is a perfect description. What really matters is the writing, which is lyrical and spot-on. Plus, it is a clean and classy looking website (even if I am related to the designers).
You’re amazing! Keep pushing that envelope!!!!
I don’t know about the Pope’s wardrobe, but I am a sucker for red shoes….
Melanie
PS I think you look thin too.
Joelle: It is great that you are able to bring some humor into the serious situation that the Vatican has created for itself. You see they are stupidly serious. That means that they are serious about all the wrong things. What they need to get serious about are the teachings of Jesus Christ. They are serious about robes, cathedrals, big money, ritual, palaces, the best wines and whiskeys, popemobiles, the stock markets, offshore accounts, more expensive chasubles and miters that glitter in the spotlights of cathedrals, incense, new big expensive prayers books, keeping women in their place, big crowds at canonizations, granting indulgences, apparitions,..ad infinitum. Instead of poverty, chastity and obedience they are into money, sex and power. “First go sell what you have, and then come follow me” says Jesus Christ to the rich young ruler. “The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head……come follow me”. “Beware of those who who desire to walk in long robes”(Luke 20:46). To find out what the Church ought to be up to, read the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. How can one billion people not notice that their cherished church has moved so far from basic Christianity? Perhaps it was brainwashing between the ages of 4 and 14. Please think on these things. Keep the satire going. we need it. Have you seen a recent picture of the pope laughing? Where has his joy gone?
Joelle, (the really neat woman who lives her life with integrity)……………….. can’t say that for anyone who works within the confines of the Vatican… and his employees all over the world.. !!
OMG…you look so thin today! I can’t believe my eyes!
Recommendation: The Pope Makes Me CaCa…forgive me?