Word: rituals
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...York to spend the rest of my vacation in Hong Kong. I look forward to the trip not only for the chance to be with my family and to sleep until mid-afternoon; once there, I will also take part in what has become a enjoyable but slightly awkward ritual among me and my Hong Kong friends. Several times a week, I will get together with the dozen or so people who have come for the summer from all over the world as if we were the closest friends ever existed, while at the same time trying my best...
...ceremony is a "moon ritual," and the 20 people who gathered two weeks ago in this meadow in the middle of Texas believe it will change the world, if ever so slightly. That is because they are witches, and what they are doing in this incantatory rite is casting spells, in this case for "tolerance and understanding." And while card-carrying witches might seem remarkable enough, these are more exotic still. They are Army witches: colonels and sergeants and captains and privates. They belong to a group of 50 or so kindred spirits who assemble regularly at Fort Hood...
...people outside the base knew the Army had approved such a group until a couple of months ago, when a photo of a torchlight ritual appeared in a local paper. As word spread, Christian groups and politicians denounced the Wiccans as both satanic and inappropriate in the U.S. Army. Eleven religious organizations called on Christians not to enlist or re-enlist until the Army stops supporting witchcraft. "What's next?" asked Republican Congressman Bob Barr in a letter to Fort Hood's commander. "Will armored divisions be forced to travel with sacrificial animals for satanic rituals?" G.O.P. Senator Strom Thurmond...
...cherished ritual: the front runner hides or glides above the pack, the underdogs issue position papers and attack the leader for dodging tough questions. Vice President Bush did it in the summer of 1987, and George W. is doing much the same thing. The rule doesn't apply to the Democrats this time because Gore, with his welter of proposals, is already fighting the general election, and the gauzy Bill Bradley is, as always, playing by his own rules. Gore's pollster, Mark Penn, notes that when voters are asked about Bush's stands on specific issues such as abortion...
...pleasure of reading the same book at the same time. This spring we discovered Harry Potter together--reading back and forth from our one copy. I hadn't really shared a book with her since those early days, when I was the reluctant performer in our nightly reading ritual. Finally my daughter has discovered the interior joy of reading. And I'm thankful that she's passed...