Finally. A Christian writer who sees past the bullsh*t. Anne's writing inspires me in so many ways. She will never know the impact her writing has had on my life. What a relief. Brilliant Anne. Give the bastard some daisies. Let the Bible beaters try to beat you into legalism. They will never know the joy of giving daisies.

Anne

I would have strangled the little fucker.

Went to confession on saturday and communion on sunday.

But, your approached works too.....

Tom

Thank for writing this essay. I believe it is by grace today that I found it. I just lietened to the the president's state of the union last night and came to work today angry at Bush. I have frequently been consumed with anger over the actions of this administration and its supporters and I live in a red state in the heart of Dixie so I do not have many to commiserate with. But my point is thank you. I'm giving up my anger for today even the anger I have felt ever since Shock and Awe. Part of that anger was directed at myself for not paying attention to what was going on in the world and having the feeling that I should do something about or should have done something before things got this bad. I held the church responsible as well. I'm letting go today and letting God and I'm thinking that Bush and Co. are like that man who gave you a bad check and I am praying for them today and for myself, the self who thinks she has control.

I've long been an Anne Lamott fan but I'm finding both her books and her articles increasingly over-the-top with the Christian thing. She USED to write zany and witty stuff which by no means excluded her faith but left the reader chuckling, usually over life's little encounters; the faith was just a small part. Please bring back the old Anne.

Anne Lamott's piece is absolutely perfect, conveying the struggle of living right one day at a time. I am struck by her ability to demonstrate the struggle of sanctification which takes place in seemingly quotidian tasks and interactions. This is not about the carpet guy; it is about practicing these principles in all our affairs AND shining brightly as stars in the universe.

Anne is clearly trying to follow the teaching of Jesus here, and since she is operating in the Christian tradition, here's a thought or two attributed to him:

You've been taught an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say don't resist evil.

If someone hits you, let him hit you twice.

If someone sues you in court to get your coat, give it to him and your cloak, too.

If someone forces you to go one mile, go two.

If someone asks you for something, give it to him. If he wants to borrow money, don't turn your back.

So all of you disgusted letter-writers who are accusing Anne of being self-aggrandizing, well, maybe--just maybe--she is really trying to live out the example of that nutty, wacky, silly, jokester, Jesus.

Anne Lamott,

That was the silliest thing you have ever written.

Plain and simple, the carpet-store guy is a thief. He took your money and gave you nothing of value in exchange for it. He stole from you.

What you needed to do was not to waste one more minute of your time attempting to placate a total jerk for nothing you had done wrong. You should have called the police the minute you found out from the lady who returned the carpet that she had not picked up the money. You have better things to do with your time than making nice to Mr Moldy Carpet.

If he wants to play the game, show him how much he needs to learn from someone as smart as you. Call him and tell him that the $50 you paid out are generating a lot of publicity for his store because you are going to post ads and distribute flyers with a picture of him and the store letting people know that Mr Dirty Carpet and the Dirty Carpet Store stole your money.

If he offers to give you back the money after he finds out about your publicity stunt, tell him he owes you $75 because he needs to pay you an additional $25 to cover for your time, your friend's time, the gas, and the phone calls made to take care of the matter. Cash only.

You would be doing a good deed by taking this guy out of business and removing one more unethical, insensitive, arrogant individual from having access to the rest of the community that he lives in and is preying on.

Sometimes being spiritual means being unpleasant and hard-edged and serious about confronting unethical behavior.

I do like the rest of your writing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

best,

Nick Barknot

Miami Beach, FL

Dear Anne;

First off, thank God you are back. I visit the site every couple of weeks and forlornly leave when I don't see a new article, ya,... I know, get a life!!! Secondly, well done, you sure do know how to put a stick in a hornets nest.

I do need some help sorting out the characters. Now the carpet guy has to be Bush, and the moldy carpet has to be the bill of goods justifying the illegal, immoral war in Iraq. But the moldy spot is that Cheney? or Rumsfeld ? I'm just a little confused.

Even with this confusion, I am soooo grateful to have you back providing stimulating ideas on how to live in faith. It is pretty obvious after reading some of the letters these ideas are desperately needed.

Let me get this straight - you bought an offcut of carpet from a dodgy-looking dealership, you didn't examine it before paying for it, it turns out to be mouldy, and you had problems persuading the guy to refund your money, and you're all freaked out and so angry you're out of control? You're an adult (at least nominally), you live in the USA, in the 21st century, and you're all surprised? Where the hell have you been? And more importantly, what help are you getting for your obvious inability to cope with modern life? At the very least, stop buying things from people you don't know, you're obviously not equipped to cope with the consequences of doing business in contemporary society.

Oh, and being a Christian doesn't make you any more entitled to fair treatment than anyone else, in fact, your mentioning it just makes you sound whiny and pathetic, and even less of a grown up than you did before.