HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HENRY

Today is Henry's birthday. He's exactly ten days younger than I. He & I first met when we worked together in S.U.N.Y. Farmingdale's mail room & print shop in 1980. Then we worked together at the Melville postal service in 2004. Yesterday I tried to give blood in Plains. I showed up very early, but wasn't allowed to give them anything because my iron count was too low. Technicalities like that happen every once in a while. As soon as I got kicked out, I made sure I went over to the Little Flower novena. Of course, I was more than a little early. Fr. Bill opened the church at 2:30. I talked to him for a couple of minutes. The weather is very damp & dreary today. It's been raining since at least very early this morning. That makes for a somewhat more than slightly annoying Friday dance. Mary Anne & family will be showing up tonight if the weather's not too bad. If it really stinks, they'll be here tomorrow.

BLOOD DRIVE

Later today I have to go to the American Legion Post at 101 E. Carey St. in Plains for a blood drive. That street is on a seriously steep hill. So far the novena to the Little Flower has been working out quite well. I especially like the fact that by now, I'm used to going there so it's no trouble for me anymore. Mary Anne & family will be showing up tomorrow night for the birthday party. My back still hurts but the pain is sort of dwindling down to a minimum by now. My latest excursion into junk food has been popcorn. Recently I have been eating at least a little bit each night from out of a huge bag . Every day lately I get more & more e mail from the Ronald, Mark & Brian. It's all about the story of stuff. It's a never ending political, economic & social tirade. I, of course, occasionally like to make sure I butt in. Besides my father, today's also Mary's birthday. She lives way over in the State of Washington.

ST. THERESE NOVENA

Yesterday I went to the first day of the annual novena to St. Therese of Lisieux. It's their eighty first year. It's at St. Anthony/St. George's Maronite church on 79 Loomis St. in Wilkes_Barre. They have a novena to her every Monday too. Unfortunately, Fr. Bill, who's in charge of the novena, is being transferred to Salt Lake City, Utah. Fr. Walsh, our pastor, was invited yesterday & last night to be the guest homilist. He & Fr. Bill, who's a monsignor, have been very good friends ever since they were kids. Unlike last year, when I was still entirely unfamiliar with the area, yesterday I did quite a good job of getting there & back. I made sure I stopped at the Sunoco on River Road in Plains for ten dollars worth of gas in case the prices go up again. Uncle Frankie showed up yesterday & hung around for a while. While he was here, Fran called. Mary Anne called last night too. Tomorrow is my father's birthday. We shall be partying over the weekend. I still haven't bothered to get my desperately needed haircut. It's a good way to get people crazy.

AUTUMN

Alas, fall has arrived. It's really nice up to a point. I just can't handle all the extremes when things really get rolling. It appears that this was one church fund raiser where I, unfortunately, didn't end up winning anything. Unfortunately, because I put myself through all sorts of extra strain on Sunday, I spent all day yesterday entirely wiped out with an extremely annoying headache. Lately my back hurts a little less each day. Yesterday I got a birthday card from Red Lobster(I think). It struck me as quite a surprise until I opened it & noticed that it was an invitation from Marriott Hotels, to some kind of a time share presentation. Those companies are always trying to sucker people into things like that. Lately I've been occasionally watching "Seinfeld" again. It's an extremely seriously odd show, with characters & circumstances that just aren't to be believed. That must be why I've turned out to be such a fan. I like to think I may be perhaps classified as somewhat on the eccentric side.

ST JOSEPH'S HARVEST FESTIVAL

The big day for St. Joseph's was yesterday. Their annual harvest festival started immediately after 12:30 Mass. I dressed for the miserable weather at the beginning of the day. I wore my heavy Strawberry Fields sweater. It was cold, damp & foggy. It got very nice later on though. My parents, Uncle Frankie & Fran all showed up. I ran into John, an old friend of Fran's & Fran introduced me to her old friend Linda's mother. The same couple as last year, John & Millie, were in charge of everything. The got me working at the food stand, which was quite an absolute nightmare for one & all. It was hectic & confusing & the take out orders were an absolute nightmare. They also made me sell Wii's & take charge of a children's game. I pigged out quite a whole lot. Unlike the other churches' fundraisers, I don't think I won anything at this one. Unfortunately when we were going food shopping on Saturday at Food Town, my father tripped over the curb & fell. He didn't get too badly hurt but it was very annoying.