Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Judge Alex, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Marigolds

Judge Alex, who stands for truth, justice, and the American way, will be leaving us soon.


My dad brought flowers to me today when he came home from work. It was a cheap bouquet, of course. He's not going to spring for two dozen long-stemmed roses for me unless I die or do something similarly grave. for that matter, they looked a bit old. He probably either took them off the hands of some patient exiting the hospital who had too many flowers to carry, or perhaps he got them really cheap from the hospital gift shop because they were getting almost too old to sell. In any event, I could speculate for the rest of the night and possibly never arrive at the actual means by which he came in possession of the flowers.

The bouquet contained carnations, a single rose, and, I think, a few marigolds. The marigolds were timely in light of a recent sermon at the LDS general Conference in which Elder Jeffrey R. Holland made some reference to the masses preferring a god who patted them on the head, made them giggle, and then sent them on their merry way to pick marigolds. It was possibly a literary reference. Then again, it may have been merely a jab at those who do not see God as the vengeful and wrath-filled he-man as portrayed in Mormon doctrine.

I'm told I should like Elder Jeffrey R. Holland because he did a big favor for a close member of my family -- a member of the family whom I actually like. I, on the other hand, do not blindly follow instructions of anyone. For me, the verdict is still out regarding Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  While he's less overtly hostile than some of the LDS general authorities, I found that remark condescending and unnecessary. Why can he not speak his own truths quietly and clearly without denigrating the beliefs of others?

I digress. Allow me to return to my original topic, which is the flowers that my father brought home to me today, and the reason for those flowers. My dad just heard the news from God knows how long ago that "Judge Alex" will end as soon as the last season that has been filmed is aired.  He thought I might be in deep mourning. While I'm sorry to see the program end, "deep mourning" is just a bit extreme in description of how I'm feeling about the situation. My life will go on, as will Judge Alex's.  judge Alex will probably have continued life on TV, for that matter. Perhaps he'll become a Fox News pundit. Then my dad and I can watch and shoot the TV with foam darts together.  I can hit Megyn Kelly's forehead from a distance of twenty-five feet.  Judge Alex's forehead is even bigger.

It seems to me that the floral arrangement should have at least a token marigold.

4 comments:

  1. I recently saw Judge Alex on a documentary about a killer from Miami. I think it was on one of the many true crime channels out there. Seems like marigolds wouldn't be tall enough for a bouquet!

    Your dad is a hoot!

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  2. I just read Elder Holland's remarks this morning. Yes, the Brethren are unpopular -- for good reason. And I like my marigolds. :)

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  3. Did I ever tell you that I have several seasons of Judge Alex saved on VHS? I think I have seasons 3-5, with sporadic episodes from 1 & 2. I have the majority of season 2 on cassette tape. To make a long story short, I first started recording him on a tape recorder, creating Judge Alex mix tapes to take with me to the hospital. I pretty much used my allowance to buy cassette tapes. I would put the microphone next to the TV speakers and tape the episode. I would also use that method with interviews he did on the internet. Eventually, my cable changed and I was unable to watch the show at my house, so my grandfather would tape it on VHS (in the days before we had DVR). So, I literally have a box of Judge Alex shows in the back of my closet. It's pathetic, but, sort of cool now that the show is over.

    I'm sad that his show is ending. It's like the end of an era, or whatever. But, he's still going to be around, so, it's not exactly as final as it would be if twitter and facebook didn't exist. I'm glad that he's lasted as long as he has and he's moving on to newer, hopefully better, opportunities.

    I agree with Knotty, your dad's a hoot.

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  4. I just lost a comment to the ether.

    Jeffrey R.'s either a turd sandwich or a giant douche, Donna. I'm not sure which.

    knotty, my dad is very funny to anyone who doesn't live with him.

    Becca, that's a great library of material you have. I had maybe 20 cases on our dVR at my previous home -- that was my allotted DVR space -- but I lost itin the move. I have moybe twelve cases on my current DVR. i'm going to have pseudoaunt's brother transfer them to DVD eventually. Cable and satellite carriers try to make it difficult, but it's supposedly a fairly straightforward process. I just don't happen to know how to do it.

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