Idolatrous

my A to Z - every day of the challenge I will find a word by flinging my finger into my American Heritage Dictionary and then riff on it. The posts may be essays or poems or stories or memories. Who knows what will happen when we give Serendipity her wanton way?

Idolatrous  1. Of or pertaining to idolatry. 2. Given to idolatry. 3. Constituting idolatry.  (and because this might be necessary - Idolatry - Blind or excessive adoration or devotion.)

Oh, I wouldn't say I was blind in my adoration. Deaf maybe but not blind. Excessive might fit. I don't want to go overboard but I guess I do. It's easy enough to do in my case. And certainly when I look up the archaic meaning of idol I find something visible but without substance. Whoa! Think on that one. Does that make any sense to you at all? How can it be visible but without substance - doesn't the one cancel out the other? A hollow god I suppose they mean - a representative of an idea with no real meat on its bones. Like love. Love is visible - it is! I saw it yesterday. I was on the bus and this young guy was slumped over texting like mad, probably caught up in some drama or another when a very old woman got on. She was struggling and the driver was pretending not to notice her or he'd have to shift out of his seat and you know- help her. Can't have that. I was just about to jump up and help her to my seat when the young guy looked up. I suppose she moaned a bit - she was really old and bent over a bit and had fifty bags or so on her little stick arms. The young guy jumps up and he was transformed into this ...well knight. He took her arm ever so tenderly and bent down and talked to her in this quiet and sweet voice and took her bags from her and settled her into his seat. He tucked the bags around and then stood in the aisle though there were seats at the back - stood there over her until the bus came to her stop. Then he helped her and her multitude of bags off and when I looked out the window he was helping her across the street. Visible love. Right there in front of my eyes.
And that leads back to me and my idolatrous ways. I idolize humans. I do. In all their foibles - even the lazy bus driver and the other folks who tried not to notice. I love them all - at least I do today. I'm 'given' to it and I surrender to it and I don't care if human nature is ineffable and invisible or visible and painful. I just think its the best. I do.