Reply #6: Sorry, I've been a little busy lately

[gratuitous]

Maybe you heard about it. Four of my friends from Christian Peacemaker Teams have been taken hostage in the Middle East and threatened with death. This is also kind of a busy time of year for me and my congregation. There's only a few dozen of us, and most of us are over 50. We had the homeless meal to prepare the other night. The ongoing project of gathering food and warm clothing for the "neighbors helping neighbors" agency. Not to mention planning and preparing for our Souper Bowl party to put together a few hundred soup packets that are given out for free.

Let's see, there was the protest against Colin Powell's appearance 50 miles down the road at Willamette University, and the daily vigil protesting the war. I've got a stack of letters to write to my congressman and Senators. And there's that pesky full-time job, which eats up so much of my time.

But you say I've got more things to do and that all of this is my fault? Well, okay. It'd be nice to get a little help, but I understand bitching at me and my friends takes a lot of your time. Can this wait a day or two, or do you need my attention on this right away?