re: #342 Odie Hugh Manatee

After what my Mom went through with the church after my father left her with six kids and my experiences in what I saw as an altar boy (no father/boy stuff, just hypocrisy), I quit the church as I entered adulthood and have never looked back in regret.

What I have seen in the 40+ years since has only confirmed that I made the right choice.

It’s hard to think of a single moment that did it for me but I remember learning about the Scopes Trial and it horrified me that Scopes was put on trial for teaching Darwin’s theories and I knew a lot of devout Catholics who were honest to God bigots to anyone not a devout Catholic. I know their parents looked down on mine for not raising my brothers and I in a strict Catholic fashion. My Dad’s own parents sort of started the exodus if you will. They had six children and did not like being told they could not use birth control. So as a result, my dad the youngest became the only sibling not to graduate a Catholic high school.