SHORT CARMELITE MEETING

Today I went over to the meeting in Wilkes_Barre. Sister Catherine gave me the required paperwork. Only one of the others showed up. I assume a few went to Middletown but three, besides me, promised to show up today. We left after only the morning prayer & didn't bother with a meeting. I went on a vocational retreat in Middletown & Tappan exactly thirteen years ago to see if I should become one of their Religious. Father Mike Kissane was their vocation director then. That was when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. As far as I know, Uncle Frankie went to the game last night. They're pretty heavily into sports around here. The Phillies even won the World Series this year. Tomorrow's Cousin Java's birthday. I made sure I sent him his official annual birthday e mail. Tomorrow I have to lector at 10:00 Mass. After that we have to go to the big ziti party that lasts from noon until 5:00.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COUSIN KAREN

A hearty happy birthday to my cousin Karen. Cousin Java's birthday is coming up on Sunday. Scott's birthday (Mary Ellen's son) was on the tenth. Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday. Fran called while he was here. He'll be going to a high school playoff game tonight. This morning I made sure I got the last three tickets I need from Howard for the ziti dinner on Sunday. Fortunately today's weather has been very much nicer than yesterday's. All the confusion of weather has been taking its toll though. Father Walsh appears to have a bit of a cold & I've been hearing many sniffles & snorts among other people lately too. Tomorrow morning I shall be off to yet another monthly Carmelite meeting in Wilkes_Barre. A few people will be spending the day in Middletown, N.Y. so we can't possibly expect perfect attendance. We never have everybody there anyway though.

UGH! I BROKE MY ARM!

Today is the seventeenth anniversary of the day I broke my left (unfortunately my dominant) arm over at St. John's High School while delivering something to Sister Noella. I woke up today to a damp, rainy, bitter cold morning. Yesterday, fairly late in the day, I made sure I put that thing over my windshield to avoid any ice, fog, etc. I shall assume it worked out. It was sort of hard to put it on because it's such a big clumsy kind of thing, so it took a few minutes. Yesterday the Red Cross sent me a notice, in the mail, about their upcoming local blood drives. As always, last night I got a call from them. I made an appointment to give blood on November 25 at 1:15 p.m at the Polish veterans' place on Oak Street in Plains. I always seem to end up over in Plains lately. Mary Anne called last night. There's nothing much going on that I know of. It was just a typical call. I played my guitar yesterday. Soon I shall be really good at it. Tomorrow is Karen's birthday. I shall be most certainly praying quite a whole lot for her.

COLD LATELY

There was ice on my windows this morning. Yesterday I got a cover for them. I shall have to start using it, from now on, on really cold days. Lately I've been forced to wear heavy clothes because the weather is starting to get colder. This morning I made sure I paid Howard for the five ziti tickets for Sunday. Now we shall all be able to show up. Last night I watched some of "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. The liberals have yet to stop continuously attacking McCain & Palin. I've heard a few times that she wants to think of running for the presidency in 2012. I've just noticed that the American Humanist Association is already trying to destroy Christmas this year. Yesterday they started a $40,000 ad campaign in Washington mocking traditional Christian beliefs. If you want to protest this cheap shot, their phone number is: 1 800-837 3792. I recently got started using my Yahoo messenger account & even have a few friends on it now.

VETERAN'S DAY

I'm not a veteran. I never could get into the military. The past two days have been unusually cold considering the recent warm spell. At least there was no ice on my windows so I'm happy about it all. This morning, after 9:00 Mass at St. Joseph's, Fr. Walsh asked what I thought of last week's rather heated Holy Name Society meeting at O.L. Sorrows. In any organization, unfortunately, there will always be major fights. Last night I stayed up until 10:00, which has always been quite an accomplishment for me, to watch a couple of reruns of "ALF". I still have to pay Howard for the big upcoming ziti party. I didn't get a chance to see him this morning but I'm pert near positive I shall be able to see him tomorrow. Mary Anne called again last night. It was mostly about the big plans for Thanksgiving.

NICE WEEKEND

The weekend worked out quite well. I finished most of "Troilus & Cressida". Besides that, I made sure I practiced my guitar. The high school football season is over, so there will be no more Friday night games for a while. On Saturday, I watched Raymond Arroyo's interview with Pat Buchanan, whose seventieth birthday was on November 2. Last night, on Channel 96, it was Retro night. They showed "Coach", "WKRP In Cincinnati", "Alf", "Newhart" & "The Honeymooners". Uncle Frankie showed up for a while this morning. He & Fran are interested in going to the big ziti party next Sunday. Last year's turnout was really nice & we shall be looking forward to a good one this year too. Yesterday Barbara called because she wanted to make sure of whether or not I intend to attend Saturday's Carmelite meeting. A few people won't be available.