From c725afe69ce98e12daa8398e6773922e4afd0611 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Stephen Donahue Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2026 03:58:37 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] [coluns][wip] happy idiots --- columns/2026-04-19-happy-idiots.md | 13 +++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+) create mode 100644 columns/2026-04-19-happy-idiots.md diff --git a/columns/2026-04-19-happy-idiots.md b/columns/2026-04-19-happy-idiots.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ab30ce --- /dev/null +++ b/columns/2026-04-19-happy-idiots.md @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +--- +title: [WiP] Happy Idiots +date: 2026-04-19 +layout: column.njk +tags: column +permalink: /columns/2026/happy-idiots/ +--- + +I grew up near a strip of state highway, known locally as our "auto mile." It was so named for its most obvious feature: a pair of enormous parking lots, anchored by dealerships for all the major American car brands, running down along either side. Each time you drove through, it would add a click or so to your odomoter. A Local landmark. + +Not so many clicks away, along another 'bout-a-mile-long slice of municipal asphalt, some other major American brands (and even a few European ones) were dealing out Christ (and Mary). There was the Catholic church, the Methodist church, the First Baptist church, the (other) Baptist church, the (other) Catholic church, the Episcopal church, the Catholic convent (Sisters of Jesus and Mary), and Sacred Heart (the other, other Catholic Church.) There was also an American Legion (with Sunday Services), and something I initially mistook for a boxing gym, called Victory Bible. Reviewers online praise it for its "ample parking lot." + +Situated at the literal cross-roads of these two ways was a sprawling outdoor shopping village. So as I saw it, me, not being raised Catholic but Catholic-adjacent, this was the Holy Trinity.