Something about getting my teeth cleaned today made me crave a chocolate candy bar, so within about 15 minutes, my pearly whites were in need of another serious cleaning. Once again, I had to resist a sales pitch for expensive cosmetic procedures that I don't want unless my dentist will settle for the amount my insurance will pay, and on cosmetic dentistry it's zero. Of course, I'd love to have a perfect Hollywood smile, but not if it's costing thousands of dollars. If I were twenty years younger, maybe, but I'm not, so I won't! They ought to know by now that they're wasting their breath with these "plans." I wish they would just do what's necessary for basic dental hygiene and forget the rest.

I heard a story sad enough to make me cry last night on C-Span's Book TV. Frank Schaeffer was reading from his latest book, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. It concerned his mother who was not allowed in her younger years to dance. The whole program can be viewed here, but if you want to hear only the story about his mom, slide the timer to about Minute 22.

The whole segment is worth a listen, however. At Minute 46, he so succinctly describes what I've said about contemporary worship in mega churches and why I prefer the traditional litany we observe in the Episcopal Church. Even though he's talking about the Greek Orthodox Church, the sentiment is the same. The book has been added to my lengthening list of "Must Reads."