September  14, 2022

Reflection

BEFORE THE CRUISE

I was about to head to Florida to take a cruise with some people from our parish - and head for Panama and a few other places.

How does one prepare for a trip - any trip?

What does that question tell about a person?

That triggered a memory of Jack Nicholson packing in the movie, "As Good As It Gets."

I think of Tom who had bought several books on how to pack.

I think of Mom and Dad in Ireland - long before I existed - and before they got married here the states - packing.  I never heard any conversation about that experience.

I think of young people going off to college.

I think of men and women going off to war.

For my trip to Panama and the cruise in the Caribbean, I'll have to make a list of "Things to Do!"

Next came the, "What happens next?" question.

Next came the money question.  How much will I need.

The thought of being a little boy again - and not having enough money for our Altar Boy boat ride up the Hudson River.

I'll figure it out. I always do.

Then the thought: bring a book for journaling.

Will I write the stories - the stories of my life.

I said, "Yes!"

Then the  doubt: "Will I?"

 September 14, 2022

Thought for Today

"They had no conversation, properly speaking.  They made use of the spoken word in much the same way as the guard of a train makes use of his flags or lantern."

Samuel Beckett,

Malone Dies,1951

 September 13, 2022

Reflection

A  MARRIAGE OF OPPOSITES

Jack didn't believe in a God or Jesus.

Jill did.

Jack went up a hill to fetch a hose for some water - for their backyard - which needed the trees and plants in it to be watered.

Home Depot is not the usual place for a couple to meet - but that's where Jack met Jill and Jill met Jack.

Jill went there to buy a pail. Honestly.

Jack went there to buy a hose. Honestly.

Time happened.

Conversations continued.

Jack had to make a decision. Do I go to church with Jill?

Jill had to make a decision. Do I go with someone who doestn't go to church - and doesn't believe in God.

He went.

Jill continued to go with Jack.

Jack got nothing out of the hour in church with Jill.

They went to the priest - when they got engaged.

He said to them, "You better get this figured out now -  before you get married - because in 10 or 15 years - if not sooner - this question about Church is going to show up - especially if you're blessed with kids.

Jack and Jill heard that message - comment - warning.

They married.

Jack went to Church.

As he sat there Sunday after Sunday he wondered and wondered: "Is all this real?"

Do all these people really believe in God?  Do they believe Jesus is God? Do they believe bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ?

He kept on getting on the boat every Sunday morning. Jill never said a word. 

What happened.

Faith, grace, slid into Jack - but he didn't know it yet - he slowly made his first act of faith - to an unknown God.

Then came a pail of water - then a hose was turned on....

   

    

 September 13, 2022

Thought for Today

"Uncle Albert made a list of conversational openings.  Among the earliest items was: 'Are you aware that the heaviest eater in the zoo is the gnu?'"

G. W. Lyttelton. 

The Lyttelton Hart Davis Letters, 

November 15, 1955

 September 12, 2022

Reflection

DEATH AND THE DOMINO EFFECT

First it was the phone call: "Dad died yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock."

"Of course," I said, "I'll do the funeral, but first I'll have to make some switches."

I had to get someone to take the 12:10 Mass for me. 

Harry agreed. I'll take the 6:45 on Thursday morning for him.

Next I had to get someone to take the funeral I had on Thursday  at 10 A.M.

At these funerals, we all have to make these switches. We have to re-schedule.

Every time when I'm driving and I see 10 or 15 cars in a funeral procession, I'm looking at a lot of rescheduling.

Then for the family of the person who died, there's the removal of the person's stuff - the tidbits of a person's life - the trinkets and the tokens.

Death certainly has a domino effect.

Then the realization - life has a zillion domino effects.

A word - a compliment - a curse - a complaint - can trigger the tapping against a whole string of dominoes.

Wounds can cause surprise repercussions.

Being late - being early - a smile - changing lanes - not taking care of one's car - can all cause - unforeseen results.

Does the waves from a  boat off Africa - eventually hit the beach at Rio?

I wake up when the guy who lives next to me closes his room loudly.

My words - written or spoken - have implications.

How about my thoughts? 

How about my attitudes?

 September 12, 2022

Thought for Today

"What can you do with it? It's like a lot of yaks jumping about."

Sir Thomas  Beecham, Quoted Harold Atkins 

and Archie Newman, Beecham Stories

Of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony

 September 11,  2022

Reflection

HOT

The faucets handles are marked  H and C - red and blue - hot and cold.

Amazing.

The weather can't be turned on and off. We take what we get - or buy an air conditioner or a heater - or move to Maine or Florida - or Rio or Mount Pocono.

It's hot today - March 27, 2007 and it was very cold - freezing last Tuesday - at this same time.

March.  It's March madness.

Someone is hot and bothered - angry and burnt, furious and steaming.

So and so is cold!

Sometimes hot is negative - as in sweating - as in hot and bothered- as in angry and fuming.

Sometimes someone is cold - and it's a negative comment. Yet it could also be a compliment - as in calm, remaining cool and calculating - but it's usually negative - as in the newspaper description of the murderer - being a cold-blooded killer.

Notch it up a bit and cool is hot.

Hot seems better than cold when taking a shower. 

Plants grow better in warmer temperatures - than they do in the Artic and Siberian Tundra.

Hot is the place where they have more people. Compare India to the North of South Poles.

In the United States people drive south to Florida or Arizona for the winter.

Hot is where the birds are chirping - and eating juicy worms - yet  to present a curve here - there is the desert.

So hot cooks food and burns the meal. It  kills germs - helps form pottery. It also melts plastic and iron.

It's simple - but tricky. We 

And then we freeze our meats as well as  thaw them if we want to cook them .

It's all very interesting.