DEAR READERS /(reader)

The thrust of my blog has turned from grinding out editorials on the subject of Belorussian politics to simply documenting my own personal life.

Every once in a while, I may elect to publish something related to world events, but basically I am tired of assailing everyone else's articles, (mostly crap that they were) and I am interested in telling my own story.

My attraction to studying Judaism was generated from an unlikely path. If you are a reader of the blog, you will see multiple references to Nazi/Communist/Socialist related topics.

I always wrote my objections to the holocaust from the point of view that the Jewish victims of the Third Reich were Soviet Citizens who happened to be Jewish.

My heart pained over the torment done to Soviets who were Jewish, rather than over Jews who lived in Eastern Europe. Maybe I was wrong to feel this way, but that is what I felt.

Maybe my essays are crap, and maybe some of them have a value, but for every one of them, I spent several/many hours of Internet surfing and reading and sub-collegiate researching.

During all of the above preparation for my Nazi/Soviet/Jewish essays I began to learn the basic tenets of the Jewish religion.

I had also worked in a Jewish health center a while back, and I have had some friends that were Jews also. But I never really had any desire to formally learn and study this religion until about 4-6 months ago.

I am a long way from being finally converted, and I probably make a lot of mistakes along the way, and there are people who are likely offended that I would desire to make this change in my life.

If I ever publish anything which is LEGITIMATELY INJURIOUS to Judaism, and I am aware of it, I would unpublish it and apologize for the same.

However, as I am entering a religion where there are many different groups who often criticize and scrutinize each other, I believe it is likely that I also will receive this same scrutiny.

There will be at any one moment between 1- millions of Jews who disapprove of what I do and say. I endeavor to listen to their complaints and adjust my actions and words if their arguments and complaints seem valid.

However I can't become ruffled and get my feelings hurt every time someone who happens to be Jewish criticizes me or my decision to convert.

Life is too short to let people splatter you with their mud. You have got to move forward and be the best man you can be and keep trying to open your heart to those decent to you and to your G_d.

As Mikes Vacation is not about censorship, those who wish to either compliment or criticize me are free to do so.

Its a little early to be promoting Hanukkah per se, but it is never too early to liven the mood up with Adam Sandler and his Hanukkah song!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5Hmr5YOewww

I wish everyone Peace.

Mike Miller
Indianapolis,
2007