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Orion St James's avatar

When you published Dating Advice for the Modern Serial Killer (my first exposure to your writing), I went back through your Medium archive and read everything. Of all the pieces you’ve written, before and since, this one remains my favorite.

It’s very difficult to not become jaded in a world where appearances and posturing matter more than loving your neighbor. They tell us that wearing the right shoes to the funeral is very important, but what’s even more important is pointing out how the deceased’s views didn’t line up with modern sensibilities, and doing it in the most dishonoring, self-righteous manner possible, and being seen doing it.

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person. Matthew 15:11

The paragraph about your brother and his wife having fun with their dog is one of the most heartwrenching things I’ve ever read. There’s a total disconnect between what people are pursuing in their lives and what would truly bring them meaning, were they to pursue it. And we’re so focused on getting through the day, making that gap wider and wider, that we don’t stop and wonder why we feel so depressed. I, too, am guilty of this. Since you wrote this, you’ve written that they’ve been trying for a child — I hope they succeed.

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