WELCOME MARCH

Last night, unfortunately, there was a pretty heavy snowstorm. The good news, though, was that all it amounted to was major aggravation. The plows were out right away. There was no ice worth bothering to complain about. Things are just covered with a nice white coat of snow. Yesterday, because of its having been Friday, there was a meat_free menu. I made sure I pigged out on peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, cheese & crackers, pasta & things like that. It's really scary, or at the very least annoying, being constantly sliding around on ice since I found out that's how Fran broke one of her gams. Unfortunately, the latest news about Karen is that she's still very sick. Bridget most certainly seems to be doing quite well these days though. She called last night & was in quite an especially talkative mood. Jo Anne sent me an e mail reminding me that the Mets have been doing well lately. That's always really good news for us Queens kids. I've never liked sports but I have to root for my home team. According to the schedule on their website they most certainly have quite a busy month up ahead of them. That means there'll be traffic congestion by whichever stadiums they're playing in. I just noticed it's snowing again.

SADIE HAWKINS DAY

Today, being the last day of a leap year February, is Sadie Hawkins Day. There's bad news for my cousin Fran. While getting ready to go home from work a couple of nights ago, she broke one of her gams. Mary Anne got a similar break a few years ago. I broke my arm in the early nineties. She's now stranded way down there & can't possibly come over here for a while. At least it happened close to work. Cathleen in California is getting weather in the seventies. That's kind of frustrating for all us poor characters who are stuck over hear in the bitter cold. Today is the last Friday dance of February. We're not allowed to eat meat either. March beckons. I can't wait for the nice weather soon to come. It's especially nice now that the sun goes down a little while later each night. Unfortunately I just got bad news from Mary Ellen. Karen's been feeling awfully ill again. They really have to keep after her. Today I paid my KofC dues. So far, unfortunately, I haven't really bothered with this council anyway but at least now I can still count on qualifying as a legitimate member. It most certainly doesn't make any sense to break a sixteen year streak. I first joined my other council in May of 1992.

FEBRUARY DWINDLES DOWN

The end of the month is very close. Nothing much different has been happening lately. I'm still plowing my way through that book. Last night I watched "Jeopardy". I've always really liked that show. It has, like "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire", a wide variety of questions. I can't stand the kinds of game shows that concentrate too much on current pop culture & trendy things. Let's just hope that March will start bringing us some much nicer weather. I absolutely can't handle winter anymore. Tomorrow, because of the leap year, will be Sadie Hawkins Day. It's based on something that was invented by Al Capp a few decades ago in his "L'il Abner" cartoon. I used to like that cartoon when I was a kid. I've been noticing that I haven't gotten any headaches lately. That's always really good news. In my much younger days, I used to get them constantly from caffeine. They were very violent. Now they're not so bad & only happen occasionally. I have no idea why I get them though. The election, speaking of headaches, is sneaking up on us. I have no idea of whom I should vote for. They all have entirely too many strikes against them as far as I'm concerned. They're just isn't anybody I consider legitimately good enough.

SNOWED AGAIN LAST NIGHT

Happy birthday to my cousins Mark, on Feb. 23 & Gary today. There was lots of rain yesterday followed by a bit of snow last night. I hardly ever bother to waste any time on the likes of Oprah Winfrey but yesterday I just couldn't help it. Rick ("Jessie's Girl") Springfield, Henry "The Fonz" Winkler & William "Captain Kirk" Shatner were all on it. Hey I couldn't help getting that extra dose of retro. They were all reminiscing about their glory days. Unfortunately, I just found out that the prominent conservative commentator, host of TV's "Firing Line", author & founder of the "National Review" William F. Buckley has died at the age of eighty two. Yesterday, I got my much_anticipated copy of "Latin Mass" magazine. You never know when a thorough knowledge of the things they cover will come in quite handy. I always seem to have to deal with people who are quite knowledgeable about obscure things. Hey you can't possibly even begin to imagine how many times I've been hanging around at bowling alleys, Walmarts, etc., when somebody will start rambling on about Kant, Locke or the Golden Age of Catholicism in seventeenth century France. A guy has to make sure he's prepared for things like that.

MORE SNOW

It's snowing again. It started somewhere during the course of the time I was at St. Joseph's. Everybody says, though, that it should dwindle down to only rain after a while. Yesterday I noticed that the Citizen's Voice, believe it or not, is now only a quarter. It used to be a half dollar. I'm still reading that Jules Verne book. Having always known of it, it's kind of odd that until recently, I'd literally never bothered to read it. It's such a cliche by now & a landmark of the Western literary canon. Yesterday I ended up eating a couple of Burger King hamburgers & French fries. It's not that I don't like that kind of food. I just dread getting into the habit of messing with it. It's quite seriously enjoyable but it's very bad for the health & weight. Mary Ellen & I have been in touch lately on e mail. Karen, unfortunately, has been having a very hard time these days. I'm still watchin "I Love Lucy" pretty much ever day these days. Old pop culture has always been much more interesting than the current & recent tripe.

BEATLE GEORGE BIRTHDAY BOY

As February progresses slowly into March, we try quite hard to recuperate from our recent snowstorm. It's getting warmer but mornings are awfully icy. Today, if he could have lived, George Harrison would have been sixty five years old. Uncle Frankie & Fran came over on Saturday night for coffee & a pastry. After he & my parents went to Michelle's grandfather's wake, Uncle Frankie came back last night for coffee & Dunkin' Donuts. Fran went back to work early. I watched "The Diary of A Country Priest". It's a real classic. I've always liked old movies & this one's one of the really good ones. Unfortunately, it's entirely in French, & I don't speak French. I was really forced to give my undivided attention to all the subtitles. I finished "The Thanatos Syndrome" yesterday & have started Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Yesterday there were all sorts of ambulance's, policemen & emergency vehicles at a house across the street. They were there for quite a while. One of the neighbors died. His obituary was in the paper this morning. For the information of all you liberal Democrats: Yesterday I watched something about a new book, just written, that shows the hidden history of the Democratic party. The author of the book makes the point that Woodrow Wilson & FDR were both quie friendly with the KKK.