Once upon a time, early 1986 actually, I moved from my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, hoping that would reset my clock and my life would change to suit me better. Soon, I met some people around my father’s age, who took a shine to me, why I can’t even now imagine. They told me about a fellow named Hugh Prather, who had written a pretty popular book called “Notes To Myself,” and then he had started in Santa Fe what he called “The Dispensable Church”. Hugh had moved elsewhere, but his church still met every Sunday morning in a rented space in town, and I attended a number of services, during which different members of the congregation got up and spoke a little while. After a few months, one of the members said it was time to dispense the church, which I felt was dispensing some pretty darn good stuff, and that was the last service.
By and by, after some tinkering with me from the great beyond, which got my undivided attention and caused me to think I was super duper important, I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I hoped my clock would be reset to suit me better. Slowly, but surely, what was tinkering with me turned up the tinkering a few notches, which included starnding me before lots of mirrors looking at little old me, and my view of my importance was ruthlessly mangled, stomped and torched, and I was a really slow learner, proven by the mangling, stomping and torching continues until this day, but that gets way ahead of what else I wanted to say about The Dispensable Church, which is everywhere it wants to be, when it wants to be, say, hmmm, in Rulu. Nebraska. But that also gets way ahead.
In Bouldler, something stirred me to write Kundalina, Alabama: A Strange Tale. In one chapter, the alleged hero I pretty much made up to be the man I might have been if I wuz deserving, started his own dispensable church for a while, the idea for which he probably got from his mother who had written a cheeky anonymous column in the Birmingham Post Heralded about goings on in local churches, which did not seem to be able to discern the difference between God and the Devil. His lady love is to die for. There’s a heap more in the not entirely all fiction tale than that, but your dispensable church in Rulo generally, and especially your latest offering, caused me to think back on all of that and tell you about it.
Kundalina, which has some ET lore, is a free read at the free internet library, archive.org, which is run and endowed by various colleges. The library specializes in out of print books and books authors offer for free.
By and by, two more dispensable novels, which had some angel lore, hatched out of me, which had some force majeure lore, were one twisting and winding tale that took a good while to eventually tell itself about a man I might have been if I was deserving. His lady loves are to die for, too.
I love the idea of the "Dispensable Church". Shows up when you need it, moves on when ya don't. Are you sure it was even real? Thinking hard about the tax breaks!
It was very real in Santa Fe, until it dispensed itself. Don’t know if it was IRS qualified charity. I think some paperwork has to be filed to get that going. As for me, I don’t know when I’m ever not in church. Your Substack stuff sure looks like a church to me :-).
"I think they (you and the Church of Dudo) should all be given a plot of land and made to grow their own food. Then they’ll be too busy doing productive things."
and I called her and said the football stadium and the worship center might be bigger than Rulo and it’s sattire and you are a prankster, and sure hope I told her the turth :-)
Now another amiga who read it called and she didn’t understand anything you wrote about your huge church and she said said they don’t have drone operators in Nevada and I had to break the sad news, and I asked both amigas how they got to where they went after reading your radio station operates out of an old Wonder Bread trurck, and I wonder now just much more seriously messed up America is after these startling new revelations today?
Well there is some truth in most of some of the News from Rulo. I think the Drone story is a combo of two "True" stories from "real" classmates of mine! A drone operator and a male prostitute both from my home town, both operating in Vegas. I really can't make up all of this shit.
Daa-yumm, Jim, that looks to be a stinkbug in your hollyhocks! Where do you get those gummies? Amazon?. Maybe the C o D can pass them out at services. How come Rulo can't field a decent basketball squad and give Purdue a real cowboy whupping?
It's going to be pickleball at least 2/3 is my guess, based off of the current trends everywhere else. Hopefully in a few years there will be a holiday devoted to the demolition of stupid extraneous pickleball courts.
I first encountered the ole Wonder Bread Truck working at the Ye Ole Time Pine Patch in Rulo as a kid. Magical time and place. Now I own it and run the station outt there. Just need to fix up the ham radio tower and we will be operational!
There ain’t no museum near big enough to hold and preserve the hilarious shit you bless the deserving with.
You are to kind brother !
Once upon a time, early 1986 actually, I moved from my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, hoping that would reset my clock and my life would change to suit me better. Soon, I met some people around my father’s age, who took a shine to me, why I can’t even now imagine. They told me about a fellow named Hugh Prather, who had written a pretty popular book called “Notes To Myself,” and then he had started in Santa Fe what he called “The Dispensable Church”. Hugh had moved elsewhere, but his church still met every Sunday morning in a rented space in town, and I attended a number of services, during which different members of the congregation got up and spoke a little while. After a few months, one of the members said it was time to dispense the church, which I felt was dispensing some pretty darn good stuff, and that was the last service.
By and by, after some tinkering with me from the great beyond, which got my undivided attention and caused me to think I was super duper important, I moved to Boulder, Colorado, where I hoped my clock would be reset to suit me better. Slowly, but surely, what was tinkering with me turned up the tinkering a few notches, which included starnding me before lots of mirrors looking at little old me, and my view of my importance was ruthlessly mangled, stomped and torched, and I was a really slow learner, proven by the mangling, stomping and torching continues until this day, but that gets way ahead of what else I wanted to say about The Dispensable Church, which is everywhere it wants to be, when it wants to be, say, hmmm, in Rulu. Nebraska. But that also gets way ahead.
In Bouldler, something stirred me to write Kundalina, Alabama: A Strange Tale. In one chapter, the alleged hero I pretty much made up to be the man I might have been if I wuz deserving, started his own dispensable church for a while, the idea for which he probably got from his mother who had written a cheeky anonymous column in the Birmingham Post Heralded about goings on in local churches, which did not seem to be able to discern the difference between God and the Devil. His lady love is to die for. There’s a heap more in the not entirely all fiction tale than that, but your dispensable church in Rulo generally, and especially your latest offering, caused me to think back on all of that and tell you about it.
Kundalina, which has some ET lore, is a free read at the free internet library, archive.org, which is run and endowed by various colleges. The library specializes in out of print books and books authors offer for free.
Here’s the link
KUNDALINA (A Strange Tale)
1992
https://archive.org/details/kundalina
By and by, two more dispensable novels, which had some angel lore, hatched out of me, which had some force majeure lore, were one twisting and winding tale that took a good while to eventually tell itself about a man I might have been if I was deserving. His lady loves are to die for, too.
Heavy Wait: A Strange Tale
(2001)
https://archive.org/details/heavy-wait-a-strange-tale_202212/page/n1/mode/2up
Return Of The Strange
(2023)
https://archive.org/details/retun-of-the-strange-v-20_202306
I love the idea of the "Dispensable Church". Shows up when you need it, moves on when ya don't. Are you sure it was even real? Thinking hard about the tax breaks!
It was very real in Santa Fe, until it dispensed itself. Don’t know if it was IRS qualified charity. I think some paperwork has to be filed to get that going. As for me, I don’t know when I’m ever not in church. Your Substack stuff sure looks like a church to me :-).
I included some of your post here and your and my banter in a post at my grandfossil.blogspot.com blog and a my substack and send it in email blast so some poeple, https://grandfossil.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-dispensable-church-beatings-will.html
and an amiga who got iemailed me,
"I think they (you and the Church of Dudo) should all be given a plot of land and made to grow their own food. Then they’ll be too busy doing productive things."
and I called her and said the football stadium and the worship center might be bigger than Rulo and it’s sattire and you are a prankster, and sure hope I told her the turth :-)
Now another amiga who read it called and she didn’t understand anything you wrote about your huge church and she said said they don’t have drone operators in Nevada and I had to break the sad news, and I asked both amigas how they got to where they went after reading your radio station operates out of an old Wonder Bread trurck, and I wonder now just much more seriously messed up America is after these startling new revelations today?
Well there is some truth in most of some of the News from Rulo. I think the Drone story is a combo of two "True" stories from "real" classmates of mine! A drone operator and a male prostitute both from my home town, both operating in Vegas. I really can't make up all of this shit.
Naw, you are too funny, ought to be a law against it, all those deserving feeilngs you hurt :-).
Chows are universal assholes. I'll die on this hill.
Sublime as always. :)
great reading right here!!
I'm with Doris.
Aunt Marge is so excited she's off baking Banana creme pies !!
Aunt Marge does make a good creme pie.
Daa-yumm, Jim, that looks to be a stinkbug in your hollyhocks! Where do you get those gummies? Amazon?. Maybe the C o D can pass them out at services. How come Rulo can't field a decent basketball squad and give Purdue a real cowboy whupping?
I would hope the new worship center would have a few basketball courts for the youths.
It's going to be pickleball at least 2/3 is my guess, based off of the current trends everywhere else. Hopefully in a few years there will be a holiday devoted to the demolition of stupid extraneous pickleball courts.
Pickle ball is trending! I will run it past the city council! Thanks
Enjoy! It's awful!
Her or could probably get a gig in Ukraine. In between drone shifts he can put on his tie and entertain Elensky.
Are they still having issues with the smoke permeating the library.
Looks like some smoking deals at the sale.
Yes the library is very smoky or plumed? Straight up...........
I was fixated on the Wonder Bread truck. Do you mean that's not true???
I first encountered the ole Wonder Bread Truck working at the Ye Ole Time Pine Patch in Rulo as a kid. Magical time and place. Now I own it and run the station outt there. Just need to fix up the ham radio tower and we will be operational!