Suddenly Socializing On New Years Day

NW YEARS DAY, I was happily ensconced at home, doing precisely what I had planned to do on this important holiday; sit at home, avoid all human contact, and enjoy the heck out of the day, with a combination of productive activities and pleasant recreational ones.I tried this formula on Cristmas Day, it worked like a charm, so I decided to do it again. Suddenly, at about ten o'clock in the morning, my door bell rang, and it was my good neighbor and friend, Jose, hard working family man from Guatemala. I greeted him, and warmly he invited me to come to his church, which is two blocks from my house, for a lunch time chili cook off, an event in which people sample various chile recipes from various crok pots, and voted on their favorite. I've been to a couple of those before. They're fun, so I told him I would be there. Every true American should attend a chili cook off, with or without an entry. I suspect that every true American already has. It was great timing. The previous day,New Year's Eve, I had undergone, quite successfully, my first ever and last ever colonoscopy, and was primed to return to my normal eating habits following a couple of days of miserable fasting and gut cleansing. Throughout my life I have generally been willing to accept invitations to church related events, but had never been a regular church goer until a few months ago, when I found a little church I like. I stil attend, but only a handful of other people attend my church, so, I am beginning to wonder what I would or will do if and when my little church ceases to function, and goes "out of business". Would I find another church? Or would I reert to my non church going ways? At the moment, I have no idea. For this reason, I am also inclined these days to visit other churches, churches which seem to have enough of a congregation to exist into the forseeable future, just to check them out, to see what's going on, and what the people are like. As we like to say, you never know. I believe, if I am not mistaken, that the "First Assembly of God" church, a nice big, brightly painted white building which seems to include a dormitory, is a Pentecostal church. If so, then there is a good or at least a decent chance that its members speak in tongues, handle snakes, and all that. All that is not for me, that is certain. But the people I met were very pleasant to me, and I am glad I had the chance to meet them. Pentecostals also ten to be, if I am not mistaken, politically, socially, and economically conservative, which is not for me either. Then too, if I am not mistaken, a high percentage of them, nationally, support Trump, insist that the Bible is the perfect, innerant Word of God, believe that the United States was extablishedtobe a Christian country and should be a Christian country now. They are often "Christian dominionists", and, as you might suppose, I have a hard time with that. In truth, I staunchly oppose it. I not only find many of their basic religious beliefs appalling, I find many if not all of their political beliefs even more so. I met and got into a conversation with a very attractive lady a couple of years older than I, whom I would like to see again. We talked about several things, including Social Security. At oen point she suggested that we change the subject, since everybody has their own opinions. I acceded to her request, but made it perfectly clear, that Social Security is socialism, pure socialism, and that any American, right wing or left wing, who receives Social Security is participating in and benefitting from socialism, no matter whether and how strongly the social securitiy recipient hates "socialism" and wants to "keep it out of America", as most conservatives indeed claim that they do. As if socialism weren't already here, everywhere, deeply imbedded, indispensible to all of us... I'm glad I made that point, and I hope to have a chance to make it again... and...again.