WATCH TROUBLES

There was a very nice spring shower when I first went out this morning. Even if it rains all day I won't especially mind if it can stay like that. Yesterday everyone expected a temperature in the sixties & it got into the seventies. Uncle Frankie's back in circulation. Yesterday he showed up with a few bottles of Turkey Hill's iced tea in a bag. All has been going well with him lately. Lately my Fossil watch has been getting me crazy. It's been a few years by now since I last put a battery into it. It only cost eight dollars the last few times I went to get my battery changed. Now there's one disadvantage. At least back then I knew exactly where I could go. Now I have to ask for help trying to track down someplace where I can get it done. I'm still reading that big book about Marxism. Amazingly, I'm quite close to the end by now. I got a post card yesterday from Child Jesus Church in Pittston. They want me to go over tomorrow morning at 10:00 to help them get ready for the Easter season which starts on April 12. I may show up.

WEATHER GETTING BETTER

Uncle Frankie has been feeling a little better lately & should be back on his feet starting today. Maybe we shall even be able to count on a visit from him pretty soon. Spring cleaning is one of the things that have been driving me nuts lately. All sorts of boring little chores keep sneaking up on me these days. Winter clothes have to be put away to make room for the light stuff. All these things have to get done & there now way to do them without getting very seriously annoyed. My Facebook connections have really been getting quite active lately. Amazingly there are all sorts of people from my St. Gabriel's days. Today's Doriana's birthday. She's one of my cousins, I suppose, from Italy. Lately the weather's been very cold in the mornings but today it should go up to around sixty degrees. Unfortunately my watch has been losing quite a lot of time these days. I suppose it is only a matter of time before I shall have to go get another battery.

APRIL FOOL!

It's colder today than I like. By now I've gotten plum sick & tired of seeing people bundled up for winter. All sorts of practical jokes must be making the rounds over the course of today. Uncle Frankie hasn't shown up lately. He's probably still ill. Larry called a couple of days ago. Fran & Mary Anne called yesterday. I just got the weirdest notice on Facebook. The site told me that Barack Obama has just claimed me as a cousin. Though we are both half_Irish, I really don't see any major family resemblance. Beatle George's son, Dhani, has a new band, thenewno2. Maybe I shall have to check them out one of these days. Beatle John's son, Julian came out with a good album, Valotte, in 1984. I just noticed on TV last night that the famous Jennifer Lopez was killed in a car crash on I_495. It was on the news all night. I read more of that big book on Marxism yesterday. Slowly I am getting down to the end of it.

GENERATION JONES

According to an ad I've just noticed on Facebook, I'm now classified as a member of Generation Jones. This group includes those of us Baby Boomers who, born between 1954_1964, are a bit too young to to have been active during the 1960's. Maybe all this nitpicking serves a purpose but I'm not the least bit impressed. Gael's birthday was yesterday. I hope it all worked out well for her. I went over to Price Chopper yesterday for a couple of things. As soon as I first got there I ran into Frank from O.L. Sorrows, who called me a bum. I've been called much worse so I thanked him for toning it down. I'm still reading that big book about Marxism. I can't help being really interested in things like that. The weather's still entirely too cold but at least it's not raining. Easter's only twelve days away so it would be very nice if things could warm up a bit by then.

MIGHTY BUSY WEEKEND

This past weekend was most certainly especially active for me. On Saturday I spent a large part of the day at the Oblates' Seminary in Lafflin at the men's day of recollection. Bishop Martino was there along with several other priests. Men from all over the eastern part of the state showed up. While I was there I got a couple of books. Jerome Gilmartin, the author of one of them, even signed a copy for me. Over the course of the time I was there, I helped with the sign_in cards & went to confession with Fr. Betts. There were even a couple of big heroes/hoagies for us. Robin, from Chicago, was in town for the weekend visiting the kin in Hilldale. They came over for a while during the time I was in Lafflin. I got a chance to say hello to her for a while after I got home. That was especially nice. Last night Fran came over with Dunkin' Donuts. Usually the fattening food is Uncle Frankie's specialty but he hasn't been available lately because he's ill. When it was time for her to go home, it started raining. Fortunately it wasn't all that bad a storm.