KAREN'S FUNERAL

Karen's wake & funeral are on Sunday & Monday. I'm supposed to leave very early on Sunday morning with Larry & Rose. Today's cousin Gary's birthday, so happy birthday to him. A couple of days ago over at Our Lady of Sorrows I got a really nice pizza coupon from Tom. It's for Old Forge Pizza over in Luzerne at Gerrity's. I got the one for the white pie. I'm used to seeing the Old Forge Pizzeria in Insalaco's shopping center in West Pittston. It had never even occurred to me there was one in Luzerne. It's in the opposite direction. There's no meat allowed on the menu today because it's a Friday. As far as I know there's no rule against dancing. When I first got home from church today it felt as if spring were here. Now it feels colder & I think I've seen people with umbrellas. I really hope the weather holds out so Steve & Michael will have an easy time tonight when they have to come in for Michael's car.

KAREN

We just got the really bad news. Karen, after a long battle with a very painful disease, has died. She died yesterday, Ash Wednesday. She was only three years older than I. We were first cousins & hers is the first death among the cousins in my generation. She was a math teacher, married with one son. I used to visit the relatives in Buffalo in the 1980's for Thanksgiving most years. She was always such a good person & an interesting character.

ASH WEDNESDAY

It's Ash Wednesday. Today's a day of fast & abstinence. From now on there will be no more meat on Friday until after Easter. I lectored at 9:00 Mass this morning & have to be back to cover for Mary at 4:00 too. Life's been going on reasonably consistently lately. Uncle Frankie showed up recently. I just wasn't around at the time. I finished "A Confederacy Of Dunces" yesterday & started Graham Greene's "The Power & the Glory". I've read it a couple of times before. I've been astonished to find yet even more people with my last name on Facebook. Agnes asked me if it's Spanish but it's Italian. I don't know of any specific connection to Spain. Either way it's obscure enough that I never could have expected to track down so many of us. I just can't wait for this winter to end. It's getting boring beyond belief by now. It's Beatle George's sixty sixth birthday.

MARDI GRAS HAIRCUT

Today is Mardi Gras Day, also known as Fat Tuesday. I celebrated by getting a haircut from Rose Chairge this morning. Fortunately there was no crowd there so I got it over with right away. The last time I showed up, a few months ago, I was forced to make a specific appointment. She watches all the current TV shows I never bother with. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the very first day of Lent. I have to lector, as always, at 9:00 a.m. Mass. Then I have to cover for Mary at 4:00 too. She called yesterday to make sure I'd still be available. To my shock & chagrin it snowed yet again last night. At least it didn't amount to anything beyond a really nice light dusting. Oddly I didn't notice any of the neighborhood neurotics out frantically shoveling & sweeping it away. I'm extremely close to the end of that book as of yesterday.

ITALIAN FEAST

On Saturday I filled in for Laura at 5:00 Mass. I was going to go to O.L. Mt. Carmel's Italian feast right after that but I ended up going yesterday. While I was there I got an entire meal & a freshly baked pecan pie. It was kind of crowded & the lines were a little long but it all worked out quite well. Everyone said, on Saturday, that a snowstorm was supposed to start that night. It started at around 7:00 a.m. yesterday but didn't amount to much of anything. Right now I'm trying, on Facebook, to talk to Doriana from Italy. All I know is we have the same last name & a major language barrier since neither of us understands the other's language well. I assume we're cousins. A rousing happy birthday goes to cousin Mark. He's about five months younger than I. Somehow I made a mistake & said on Saturday that yesterday was Beatle George's birthday. It's really on Wednesday. Wednesday is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I've been getting much closer to the end of that book lately. All the small print drives my eyes crazy.