Goldfish

having the memory of a goldfish with A.D.D. or whatever the label is these days, is a distinct disadvantage. That coupled with an innate laziness and inability to organise myself means that I have a tendency to repeat myself. I have been told about this and i do try hard to be original but alas, there are memories that come and go like Jehova's Witnesses.

I have to admit a certain admiration for these people. They have the balls to turn up on the doorstep, usually at the most inconvenient time, they hand out the most badly produced and ridiculous literature and have nothing with which to back up the silly notions that they try to feed people. They must take a lot of abuse, which they probably deserve, and yet they come back over and over again, thinking that this time it may be different. Rather like the way that spiders rebuild their webs again and again, regardless of the frequency with which they get destroyed.

I have taught a number of witnesses over the years and those that I had dealings with were highly intelligent and lovely people, who could easily have continued their education to university and beyond. The family that I am thinking of were among the smartest kids I ever met, and yet they left school at 16, as far as I know, in order to continue the work of trying to convert others.

I often wonder what their success rate is or if they even care. I see the same faces, treading the same paths and you can watch local residents vanish into their houses as they progress up the street. I always give them the time of day and would never dream of abusing them and yet I cringe when I open the door to them. What drives them to believe in a book with such a blinkered and literal faith is beyond me. We often hear of children dying because their parents do not believe in blood transfusion, and that is due to one person's understanding of probably a single biblical statement.

I didn't set out to talk about religious issues today, i have probably done that before. What i write is usually just a stream of consciousness and for that I make no apology. One of the only advantages of getting older is that once ceases to care what other people think.