BLOOD DRIVE

The weather's been quite cloudy today so far but it's still fairly nice. After I got out of Mass at O.L. Mt.Carmel this morning, I tried to go to the stationery next door to get a Citizen's Voice. The gas station attendant told me that they'd recently gone out of business though. Our coffee trouble continue. I accidentally said that the coffee last week was from Price Chopper but it was Choc Full o' Nuts. The pot is always freaking out. Today we have to wish a very happy birthday to Jim, an old Lindenhurst friend now living in California, & Earl, an old Jackson Heights friend, now living in Puerto Rico. A couple of days ago I got a call from the Red Cross people asking me to show up in a few days for a blood drive way over in Wilkes_Barre but yesterday I got a card from them advertising for one right over in O.L. Mt. Carmel church in Pittston on Nov. 15. I should rather go there.

NEW LECTOR BOOK

The weather's still very nice, unseasonably warm. Today is Tony, Jr's. birthday. He's my cousin Karen's son so we say happy birthday to him. We shall have to do a major Friday dance in his honor. At O.L. Sorrows this morning in the sacristy, Fr. Marchetti left a bunch of new workbooks out for the lectors. The new book starts at the end of this month. Yet another Election Day is coming up on Tuesday. It's hard for anybody to keep track of all the things he has to know for a given election.

END OF MONTH

Happy birthdays go out to John from my class in high school, & to Gary's son Java. Because I've never liked sports I didn't bother to stay up for last night's big game. I noticed this morning that the Phillies beat the Yankees. Last night was the end of the St. Jude novena. It all worked out really well with reasonably good attendance each night. The weather was miserable for a few days but started getting better late yesterday. The month is dwindling down now. It was the month of Lindenhurst's Oktoberfest on Wellwood Avenue & St. John's homecoming game in West Islip.

YANKEE GAME

The weather has been very bad since yesterday. It's extremely cold, damp & raining. Today's the Feast of Sts. Simon & Jude, the last day of the novena at St. Mary Help of Christians. I managed to show up there each day, usually at 7:00 p.m. Tonight's the last night. They always get the same people each year. The World Series also starts tonight. I don't happen to enjoy sports but most people do. Around here there are a lot of Yankee fans. Frank, an old friend from 92 Street, is going to the game. I thought he'd be too much of a Met fan for that. Maybe he's like Java & the Ronald. I still haven't gotten a haircut. One of these days I shall most certainly have to get it over with. Halloween is only three days away. Then we shall have to face up to the dreaded November.

ELECTION DAY NEX TUESDAY

The St. Jude novena continues. I showed up again last night. Tomorrow, the feast day, is the last of it. Halloween very fast approaches. Decorations & candy are everywhere by now. So far the coffee pot seems to be working fairly well each day. It only appears to flip out when I use the Maxwell House in the big blue container instead of the Price Chopper brand in the brown can. I still have that annoying cough but at least it's manageable. My father's cold is way out of control. The weather today is much colder than yesterday & I've heard threats of rain. Next Tuesday is Election Day around here. The Pa. Pro_Life Federation has a lot of flyers to pass out explaining exactly whom we can count on to fight all the dangerous characters on the left.

NICE PARTY

Today we wish an especially happy birthday to Cathy. She & her family are old friends from Lindenhurst. They now live in California. The weather lately has been unusually nice. Halloween, when I was a kid, was bitter cold compared to this. I lectored at Mass on Saturday at 5:00. Yesterday was the big ham party at St. Joseph's. Somehow I made the mistake of thinking it was time for the ziti party at O.L. Sorrows. That's in another two weeks. My mother went but my father wasn't available to she got him a take_out meal. Uncle Frankie & Fran were both there too. They served ham with pineapples, potatoes, green beans, coffee, dessert among other things. There were a lot of people there. The St. Jude novena is still in progress. It will last until his feast day.