October 2, 2002 journal, the show on overcoming addictions opens in Baltimore with our collaboration painting called idolatry, the drugging of the nation's on display for one year. I am guest at the fabulous Gramercy bed and breakfast on Green Spring Valley Road in Stevenson Md. and I drove down I-83 to the American Visionary Art Museum for the 10:00 a.m. press conference and show tour on Key Highway facing the Inner Harbor.

This is I believe the only Museum that features art effecting our daily lives in the present.

The presentation was by the founder and director Rebecca Hoffberger and this is truly a visionary Art Museum showing the works of great self-taught artist and many are spiritual.

Tom Patterson spoke as curator of this show, he is from Winston-Salem North Carolina.

This museum is rated fourth in the nation and this show I believe is the best yet since their beginning. I'm happy that this collaboration is a part of the show because I do feel deeply that the modern church must be confronted with these questions in time to change. This painting addresses hopefully all the ills of the church of today. I was asked why it did not include Judaism and I replied that we painted about what we knew best and in our case it is the Catholic and Protestant faith. May this painting awaken the church as to its idolatry. Idolatry is the worst of the idols (instead of God) and the practice is an ancient custom of the pagans. We are suffering today from paganism coming to us repackaged in modern religion. We have taken many practices through the ages from the pagans and converted them to Christian celebrations such as Easter and Christmas with our Christianity applied. Martin Luther may of been right in forbidding all imagery in the Protestant church from its inception beginning in 1517 when he was bold and brave enough to pin the 95 complaints to the church door in Wittenberg Germany including the selling of forgiveness known as indulgences. No man or priest can forgive your sin. Let us overcome this doctrine now.

From the tiniest woven works by Ray Madison to our 9 and a half feet tall collaboration, this show is amazing in my honest opinion with art from the heart and from artist visions.

The works of Alex Gray a trained artist was again in the show with Adam-and-Eve as one of the highlights. I like Alex's art very much but I not understand his New Age art mission.

America itself is recovering from its own addiction and much of it is evidenced here in art. America is addicted to war for one thing and we are about to go do it all over again. I

see a suppression of the protest against the war by legitimate citizens in this country as being ignored. Let us not take world matters into our own hands and play God. Let us let God avenge our enemies and he will. We've seen the protests against the World Bank this last weekend in Washington with people dragged off to jail. Rebecca mentioned in her speech this morning that we have more people in jail per capita than any nation on earth. We are seeing and hearing strange things going on in our country with shootings and a rage of evil in all the "free world" today. The show that opened here May 30, 1997 was appropriately named “End is near" and it had my 300 ft painting hanging in the barn where the news conference began today. The subject was about the end of the last millennium, but it was perceived by many as the end of time and I think that was more appropriate.

A report on PBS today mentioned the Red Cross dumping most of the 911 blood because it only last 43 days, also the problems with the Red Cross not giving the money donated to the 911 victims. "Workers are unimportant to the press unless they get in the way of the rank-and-file or the important people". This is quoted from a news reporter in the public. California has passed a more liberal law to allow for the practice of alternative health care.

Give us grace Dear Lord I pray to be able to stand the tribulation we face in these times.