Omnipresence

On the Concept of Omnipresence

As a child there was a one-year period when I knew what I would be doing almost every Sunday at three in the afternoon.  My sister and I would be seated on the floor in front of the tiny little black and white TV watching Victory at Sea.  This was a 26-episode history of WWII, mostly from the naval perspective, and my father, seated behind us, provided non-stop commentary.  I was seven when this show started and by the time it ended I came to a sudden realization:  My father was omnipresent!  There was no other explanation.  During one scene my father would get all excited and say, “look kids, that’s my ship,” so we looked and I would notice that the captions said June 1943 Saipan.  Then during another scene he would say, “look kids, that’s me on the deck” and the caption was June 1943 Casablanca. And so it would go, episode after episode. It was so terribly exciting to know that my dad could be in so many places at the same time, singlehandedly winning the war for the USA. (If you have never heard the sound track for Victory at Sea, you should seek it out.  The music is by Richard Rogers and Robert Russell Bennett and it is fantastic. Here is a clip; if you look carefully you’ll see my dad in several locations.)

My next brush with omnipresence involved not my father, but OUR FATHER. In order to get married in the Catholic Church, my father - a devout non-believer - had to promise that all of the children would be raised Catholic until their confirmation, at which time we could decide for ourselves.  So at about age twelve or so, my sister and I were condemned to sit in catechism classes every Saturday morning in preparation for our confirmation.  I really don’t remember much of these classes, but I was amazed that I could confirm that omnipresence was a real possibility since I had been a having a few doubts about my dad’s abilities.

My latest confrontation with omnipresence was in 2012 when it happened to me in Turkey.  Cindy and I were enjoying a warm break from a harsh Moscow winter as we wandered around the bazaars and bars of Antalya. Having spent our entire wad of Turkish lira, I found a nice ATM, well protected from prying eyes, and as Cindy stood guard I took our enough money to get us through the weekend.  You can imagine my surprise when I got an email from my bank telling me that I had just purchased two televisions, two DVDs and assorted other electronics at the Best Buy in Pottstown, Pennsylvania!  Omnipresence, it must be a genetic thing!

Best wishes, William