The Church of Pete

[I'm going to attempt to explain this as best I can.. I'm sure some of you are curious about this particular thing-I-say, and I'm a people-pleaser.. it all adds up to me telling you why I substitute Pete for Jesus/God/HolyPowerICan'tName. Good luck! If it's fuzzy, feel free to ask for clarification, as always.]

About a year ago, Lisa and myself started saying, "For the love of Pete!" and we started thinking about that. That and, "For Pete's sake!" Pretty much just wondering why it's ok to substitute "Pete", and wondering who "Pete" actually was.

A few weeks of pondering go by. We start to use Pete in exchange for Jesus/God whenever possible. Peter Christ popped out one night, at the bar, and was met with mad enthusiasm from the Lisa. Good shit, that. There are many examples, none of which I can think of, at this moment in time. It's ok, you get the point. We decided we wanted to be a part of this church, the Church of Pete.

One night, we were at the post-bar dining-out experience, and discussing how the "normal" people around us were home in bed, resting up for some of this, and that it was funny.. comparitively speaking. It occured to us, at that moment in time, that Flamingos is our church.

Recently, it turned into something more. Both of our fathers used to live in St. Petersburg, which is cool for many many reasons. Mostly, because they might know each other, and not remember. Very cool. Lisa and I were driving to bingo, last week, when she turned to me and said, "Well, you know what's cool? You know what this means, right? How it's all connected? Of course we belong to the Church of Pete. That's where our roots are!"

Everything is so much better when you think about it. That's something that makes me feel at ease, every single day. It occurs to me briefly, every day, and I wish I could pass that feeling around to the people I love. It's important to understand, and to realize. It's important to know. Something that's equally important, and even harder to understand is this.. the people who make it look effortless to know this, often times forget, themselves. I hope that makes everyone's Sunday a little better.. I want to hug everyone (well, maybe not everyone, lol).. because I can't, I will try and e-hug you like this: Everything is how it is supposed to be. Everything is there for a reason, if not to make you happy instantly, to teach you how to be happy in the future. Or to show you, vicariously, that things aren't as bad as they could be. Be grateful for who you are, and be grateful for the people around you. Know that no one, (no matter how much you think they do), no one hears it enough. Sometimes, it's the ones that you think have no need for that sort of encouragement, are the one's that need it the most.

This turned into some sort of philosophical rant.. and I'm everso pleased. This is my Church of Pete. We're currently accepting new members, so feel free to send in an application. Donations accepted. Application fee: $25.00.

[that place you were at is called that same name as the place my dad and lisa's lived at for a while? why didn't you tell me?! you're totally already a member, B. this is great. although.. the things that churches are useful for (eg: funerals) aren't on the menu at flamin' hos, so we'll have to find a different church for anything useful.]