Fifth Post.

First of all, let me say that I do not plan on throwing away my vote for something as trivial as a "protest" or "statement" vote. I'm not going to vote for anyone but the person that I want to see in office, the candidate that I think will do the best job running this country in a way that will honor God.

And as far as I can tell, neither the Democratic nor the Republican choice qualifies. I was pretty much raised a Republican, but more than that, I am a conservative, and more than that, I am a Christian.

Barack Obama, apart from his horrendous stances on abortion, marriage, and the economy, has stated that he is a Christian, yet has also stated that he doesn't believe what the Bible says about sin, hell, or Jesus as the only way. There is no sense in these things other than that the man is for whatever reason merely masquerading as a Christian. I have no intention whatsoever of supporting this man.

John McCain, who has generally called himself Episcopalian, has apparently attended a Baptist church for 15 years now. Of course, just identifying yourself with one of these denominations doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot. Bill Clinton was a Baptist; Britney Spears was a Baptist; Clay Aiken still is a Baptist.
McCain voted against a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2004. Though he is not very gung ho about it, he supports embryonic stem cell research on supposed excess embryos. He reportedly has a very bad temper and uses foul language often (perhaps not so much right now, given his current position in the limelight). While McCain is generally pro-life, he also seems content to leave things as they are (i.e., not seek the overturning of Rowe vs. Wade), which means that he is content with leaving abortions readily available. Though he has undoubtedly voted for things that don't contradict the Bible, I just don't think this is the man who should be our next president.

I plan on voting for Alan Keyes because he is, in my opinion, the best choice of the candidates. Those of you who are now thinking, "He's got no chance," please rethink your lack of faith and jadedness. Nothing is impossible with God.  No, really. Nothing is impossible with God. Not even difficult.

I am not voting for the candidate who I think can do the least damage while in office, which seems to be what many of my good friends and family members are settling for. I am voting for the person I want as president (who is actually running). I could present you with possible scenarios, such as McCain and Obama being suddenly taken out of the picture, or a sudden leap in Keyes' popularity. But I don't really need to do this. God is not limited by our expectations or our imaginations.

For those who would suggest that if Obama wins, it is the fault of those like me who would not settle for McCain, please, check your logic. A friend recently reminded me of a dramatic scene in a movie where a priest is told by a Nazi that if he doesn't tell pick which of his laymen will die (that is, if he doesn't tell them which of the laymen committed an act against the Nazis), all of the laity will be shot. It might be tempting to suggest that if the priest had picked just one person to die so that the rest could live, it would have been better--and that by not doing so, he was indirectly pulling the trigger that killed so many of his laymen. However, this is not true. The Nazi killed those people, not the priest. The priest was not responsible for the sins that the Nazi chose to commit.

"A vote for anyone but McCain is a vote for Obama" is something I've heard from several people now. The fact is, I am voting for someone other than McCain, but I am not voting for Obama. Just because in retrospect someone might be able to crunch the numbers and say that if the third party voters had voted for the losing candidate of the two "main" parties, then that candidate wouldn't have lost, does not put fault on the third party voters. It puts the "fault" squarely on the shoulders of those who voted for the winning candidate. (Granted, non-voters are another story altogether. People who choose not to vote and then complain about the elected officials should be dragged out into the street and.... given a firm talking-to.)

I am not casting my vote as a statement vote. I am not trying to send a message to Washington, or the Republican party. I am voting for the man I think would do the best job in office. Perhaps you should do the same, rather than vote for someone who you don't really agree with everything on but would rather see in office than that other guy. I mean...what kind of faith in God does that show? The answer is: very little.

While there is pretty much no possibility of me voting for Obama, there is admittedly a small possibility of me altering my stance and voting for McCain. But this would not come about because I was guilt-tripped into voting for him. I would only vote for McCain if someone showed me how my opinions about him were ill-founded or incorrect, or if man himself came out and publicly made it known that he is dedicated to God first, and not "America First."

Fourth Post.

On Saturday, I was working at Cafe Carolina. The mid-day rush was over, I had just taken out the trash and cardboard, and was washing some pans and other dishes in the back sink area. It was nearing the end of my shift, and I was a bit tired. Jonathan, the opening prep cook, was also working in the back, and he was in and out of the walk-in cooler. It was nearing the end of his shift, too, and he was laying out breakfast on cooking sheets for the following morning. The back sinks and the walk-in cooler are right next to each other, so Jon and I were able to converse a bit.

Now, a few things to know. First, Cafe Carolina recently started having brunch on weekends. This is, I think, the best thing about our restaurant now. They now serve, on Saturdays and Sundays until 2pm, waffles (with or without strawberries) powdered with sugar and cinammon, two kinds of french toast (ham and cheese and cranberry walnut), a mexican breakfast flatbread, and some cheesy potato casserole. It's good stuff.

Second, brunch has made weekends a rather stressful time to work. Breakfast and lunch on weekends are now much busier than they used to be. Between 11 and 2, we are serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch. That means a lot of people coming in and ordering food. A very busy couple of hours. The line cooks and the prep cook are all a little tired after the business dies down for the afternoon.

And finally, Jonathan, the prep cook, recently moved up to Greensboro from South Carolina. He's got a very interesting, country-yet-cool way of speaking. He says "man" a lot, and he stretches it out when he says it....hard to describe, but very distinct. It's not difficult to understand him, but it is difficult to ignore his accent (dialect?).

Well, there we were, Jonathan and I, tying up some loose ends before we headed home for the day. Following is part of our most enjoyable conversation:

Me: That brunch is crazy. Lotta work.
Jon: Yeah, maan.
Me: But it's good food.
Jon: Yeah, man. Those waffles....mm!
Me: Oh yeah. And that cheesy potato casserole is awesome.
Jon: Yeah. You know what's the only thing it's missing, though?
Me: What's that?
Jon (leaning over closer with a knowing grin): Red and green peppers.
Me: Oh yeah. Man, I should try that sometime.
Me (reminded of something else): Have you ever had the McSkillet Burrito?
Jon: No, I haven't had that yet.
Me: Oh, you ever go to McDonald's?
Jon: Yeah, man, I ate there yesterday.
Me: Yeah, it's pretty good.
Jon: Yeah, you know what I like the best there? The Big Mac.
Me: Pretty good. I like the double cheeseburgers for a dollar.
Jon: Yeah, you can't beat a dollar.
Me: Nope.
Jon: But I heard they raised the price on fries!
Me: Really?
Jon: Yeah, man. They used to have the medium fries on the dollar menu, now it's the small fries.
Me: That's not cool.
Jon: No, man.
Me: Well, when I want fries, I go to Bojangle's, anyway.
Jon: I hear that!
(A couple of cheers exchanged).
Jon: You ever go to Cook-Out?
Me (enthusastically): Oh yeah!
Jon: You ever get their milkshakes?
Me: Oh yeah. Yeah, I get the Reese's Cup milkshake.
Jon: I get the one with the Snickers. Mm!
Me: Good stuff. You ever get their cheddar style burger?
Jon: Man, that's the only thing I get!
Me: Yeah...with those roasted onions...
Jon: Mm!

And this continued for a bit. I gotta say, I do enjoy talking about food with a fellow appreciator!

I hope this wasn't too dull. Thank you for letting me share.

Third Post (and it's a biggie).

Whoa...soon it won't be just me anymore. Looks like there may be wedding bells come Spring.

Second post.

First post.