EXTREMELY COLD

The weather this morning was bitter. There was even ice inside my windshield. After 7:30 Mass at O.L. Mt. Carmel I made sure I got gas next door. It was completely amazing that gas is now down to only $1.87.9 per gallon over there. My parents end up getting a present for one of the people on the church's giving tree each year so this year I made sure I got them yet another tag. I ended up getting them one for a seven year old boy. They got their shopping over with yesterday for him. So far I'm not on the schedule to do any lectoring this weekend. Of course I wasn't on last week's schedule either but I still ended up having to cover for Cheryl anyway. Yesterday I ate a Big Mac & French fries. Maybe it was a Whopper. I can't even remember. All that poisonous crap's pretty much interchangeable to me anyway.

HAPPY FRIDAY

It's time for our weekly very cold Friday dance. I'm still reading Shakespeare's play about Henry VIII. As with all the Bard's works, the language is a little thick & obscure so it's going to take quite a while. Uncle Frankie showed up last night, for the first time in quite a while. He must be feeling better now. It's been a very droll time so far lately with nothing of note happening. Last night I watched an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond". Somehow I've never gotten into the habit of watching that show although it's really good. I just found out from cousin Alan, over in Michigan, that he & Kim went to Ireland recently. They really enjoyed their big trip. Yesterday's weather was an absolute nightmare but it's been much better so far today.

IT'S RAINING AGAIN

The last time I was outside today it was cold & raining. Weather like this is awfully boring & annoying. Having already finished Shakespeare's "As You Like It", I'm now reading his "Henry VIII". It's based on a true story, classified as a historical play. I'm already familiar with it. The only wives of Henry's who appear in the play are Katherine of Aragon & Anne Bullen. I've read two biographies of the Six Wives of Henry VIII. Uncle Frankie hasn't been around for a while. I think he's been ill lately. I absolutely dread having to go shopping. Crowds have always gotten me crazy & traffic only makes it all even so very much worse. Yesterday I saw "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" & "Jeopardy". Shows such as those are really good for keeping the brain cells hopping.

MAN ON THE STREET INTERVIEW

My father & I went to Food Town yesterday & while we were there he was interviewed by a guy from WYOU TV News about the age at which kids should be allowed to start hunting. Somehow he got the impression that he'd be on Channel 6 at 5:00 but he was on Channel 2 at 7:00. I don't know anything about hunting so I backed away. Hunting season around here started on Monday so school was out that day. Fran & my mother talked on the phone last night for a while. Mary Anne called too. Their car troubles didn't turn out to be all that big of a deal. Pretty soon I shall have to get both my annual Christmas cards sent out. I always send & get two each year by way of snail mail. Everything else inevitably comes from e mail. As always it's exceptionally cold today. I just found out on Yahoo that twenty nine years ago today, eleven people were killed at a Who concert in Cincinnati. I remembered it but it's odd that today's the anniversary.

BAD WEATHER YESTERDAY

There was yet another brutal storm yesterday. Last night must have been bitter cold because when I got out to my car this morning everything that wasn't covered with the windshield cover was covered with a very thick layer of ice. Christmas gets closer each day & by now we've been plum saturated beyond the limits of human endurance with all that politically correct (read: nauseating)happy holidays crap. Surprisingly I haven't seen Uncle Frankie in a few days. Perhaps he's been around once in a while & we just keep missing each other. Yesterday I at a couple of Whoppers & large order of French fries from Burger King. Fortunately I most certainly know very much better than to pig out like that on a regular basis but every once in a while is no big deal.

BIG STORM YESTERDAY

Yesterday's weather was an absolute nightmare of snow, sleet & rain. Today's much nicer though. Lately my parents have been going crazy with Christmas decorations. It's one of the much more annoying practical realities which everybody goes through each December. There's a lot of heavy lifting, climbing & general clumsiness involved. When I went to 5:00 Mass on Saturday I ran into Donna, one of our former lectors. She's now Sister Donna, a novice in a religious community. I ended up having to cover for Cheryl because she wasn't available to lector. Although everyone seemed to have gotten through Black Friday in one piece, there was a death over in Valley Stream, N.Y. at a Wal.Mart where an employee was stampeded to death by shoppers. Of course it should be most certainly classified as a murder. Mary Anne, Steve & kids when they went home on Saturday, got stuck when their car broke down over in New Jersey.