HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

The weather's better than yesterday but still icy. It's a nice quiet Valentine's Day so far. I'm assuming Uncle Frankie's still sick because we haven't seen him in quite a while. Usually he'd be around with bells on because Valentine's Day's always been quite an especially big candy day. Yesterday I read more of "Emma". I made sure I got my virtually inevitable daily dose of "I Love Lucy" too. I usually watch only old shows. Last weekend I even watched the "Three Stooges". Because those days were so much closer to the silent movie era than we are now, they were a lot better at physical comedy. Back then gestures meant a lot. Happy birthday to Anna, my former supervisor, & Benjamin, Michelle's son. Sadie Hawkins' Day is only fifteen days away. That's the day, that only happens on a leap year, when womenfolk get to hit on menfolk for a day. I know all sorts of very colorful stuff.

MISERABLE WEATHER

The snow has stopped. Unfortunately, though, it's turned into an extremely seriously annoying rainstorm. The streets, sidewalks, etc. are all covered with slush from a combination of rain & snow. At least it's nowhere near as bad as last year around this time. The traffic is much more annoying under these circumstances than it usually is. Schools & lots of other places are closed down. The library opened late. They closed at 2:00 yesterday & opened at 11:30 today. I found out from a sign on the front door that as of the eighteenth of the month, they won't let patrons access our Myspace accounts from here anymore. Everybody seems to hate Myspace. Saturday morning, I have to go to another Carmelite meeting. Those meetings always seem to go quite well. Unfortunately, Mary Anne still hasn't come back & the attendance for most of the others isn't usually anything to brag about but other than that things usually work out pretty smoothly. Right now there's a family of trouble makers right next to me. A couple & their junior high school son are talking loud & making fools of themselves. Of course, they come fully equipped with constantly ringing cell phones, like all of today's truly hep ignoramuses.

BLIZZARD EXPECTED

It's snowing & there should be a blizzard starting at noon, with around five inches expected. I'm sick & tired of it all by now. I just hope we can be spared another Valentine's Day like last year. Life these days has been pretty droll so far. I'm still reading "Emma". I've read it a few times before so it's really easy for it all to be able to sink in by now. I went over to O.L.Sorrows' blood drive yesterday for a minute. Since I already gave blood very recently I'm not eligible to give again for a few more weeks. I made sure I asked one of the women over there about how I can become a volunteer. Maybe it will give me access to job openings. She gave me a phone number to call the top bananas over in Wilkes_Barre. I'm always going to blood drives anyway so I might just as well take some kind of advantage of my habit. I have all sorts of anecdotes about my days as a blood donor. By becoming a volunteer, & maybe even working for them, things can only get even weirder. I'd always enjoyed helping at my old KofC council. It should be about the same kind of thing with them.

BITTER COLD

Today's the coldest day of the year so far. At least it's not snowing. Yesterday I went to 2:00 p.m. Mass at St. Rocco's in Pittston. It was my very first time there ever. The Divine Mercy people were there. I messed up on a left turn I should have taken. I know exactly how to get there but one mistake & the trip turned into an absolute nightmare. The area is full of one_way streets so it's not easy to backtrack. There was a big blizzard & winds around thirty m.p.h. on top of that. On top of everything else, this morning I needed more anti_freeze in my car. Nobody from our crowd ended up ended up being able to show up at Benjamin's party either because everybody's entirely too sick. I'm still reading "Emma". Uncle Frankie & Fran came over for a few hours on Saturday night. My cousins' latest adventure is about e mail addresses. There are some new ones on the list. As always with that bunch, confusion reigns supreme. Lately everybody's all abuzz about November's big election. It should be quite an interesting time. The Democrats have gone all controversial on us. This weekend in church, everybody was asked to sign a petition, that will be mailed to our Congressmen, asking that they vote to pass the Pa. Marriage Protection Amendment to protect us from homosexual encroachment upon people's legitimate rights. Of course, I most certainly made sure I signed it. Today's the big blood drive over there but I already gave blood entirely too recently. I got my St. John the Baptist newsletter over the weekend. That's my high school in West Islip, N.Y. They're having a blood drive in April. The last time I gave blood in N.Y. it was there. While there, I ran into my favorite history teacher, Brian Clancy.

SNOWING

This morning, on my car radio, I heard Cheryl Crow's version of Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er" & U2's version of John Lennon's "Instant Karma". None of the new stuff ever turns out to be any good, though I have heard the occasional worthy remake every once in a while. It's snowing. I should hope it doesn't amount to anything. Last February, around Valentine's Day, there was a major blizzard & I'm not ready for another one like that. Gas prices have been going down lately. That's always very good to see. Yesterday, because it was Friday, I ended up having to spend much of the day pigging out on haddock & French fries. I've never been all that crazy about fish but it was cool. I especially enjoyed the potatoes. As soon as I finished "The Possessed" last night, I immediately moved right on to yet another try at Jane Austen's "Emma". I've been trying to find my millions of missing books but they're nowhere in sight so far.

ULTIMATE IRONY

Yesterday I got a haircut at Rose's on Eighth Street In Wyoming. It's by the bridge. The ultimate irony is that it was the Beatles' anniversary. They're the guys who invented long hair on men. Today for the Friday dance we shall do the Wilbury Twist. When I went for gas yesterday, I noticed that I couldn't close my cap. Then I noticed that some loser really did a job on my car with a hit_&_run. As if that weren't quite stupid enough, this morning I got stranded behind another couple of characters who spent at least ten minutes getting lottery tickets at the Unimart. There's no meat on Fridays from now on. That always makes for a need for creative eating habits. I can handle it but it seems quite serioulsy weird after a while. Every time I eat I always start with the meat. Now I won't know what exactly to eat first. It's only once a week so it's not a chore. Sunday is Benjamin's big fourth birthday party. He's Aunt Lauren's grandson, Michelle's son. He's a very active, talkative little guy. It should be quite an interesting time for one & all. Today should mark the end of my latest reading of "The Possessed". Then I can move onto something else.

ALL THOSE YEARS AGO

Today is the forty fourth anniversary of the Beatles' very first ever appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Everyone knows what happened in the aftermath of all that. I literally can't even try to remember a time when they didn't fill the airwaves in my general area. I've never found another singer/band/etc. that's impressed me as much as they. Eberdeen, one of my internet connections, is in labor-excuse me, l-a-b-o-u-r because she's from England. I hope all works out well for her & her family across the pond. Uncle Frankie is back on his feet & even baking again. Yesterday he showed up with home_made cookies. He's still run down but he's getting better. Fran is still sick. It's a good thing she stays in the general area of work because she has to go insanely far away. Just when I thought there were already enough truly ignorant characters, around this morning I found two more at the BP gas station on Wyoming Avenue. I went into their store to get $11.00 worth of gas. There were two absolutely horribly annoying women right in front of me. Each one spent an unconscionably annoying length of time getting lottery tickets & other completely stupid things. Social skills be damned. Yesterday the weather absolutely stunk. It was pouring all day & night. Today's not much better so far. Yesterday I read a lot more of "The Possessed". Pretty soon I'll be finished with it.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Today's the first day of Lent. Predictably when I went to Mass this morning, it was more crowded than usual. I, as usual, ended up being the lector at 9:00 a.m. Mass. Lately the weather at 7:00 a.m. is about forty degrees which is seriously weird around here. I completely forgot to mention that last month was my second anniversary on blogger. I also forgot to say that the end of the month was the fortieth anniversary of the Tet Offensive, a big milestone of the Viet Nam War. I read more of "The Possessed" last night. Soon I shall be finished with it. I ended up watching "The Beverly Hillbillies" yesterday. I'd always liked that show as a kid. I even got a comic book of it once. It's insanely anachronistic but then so am I. There's virtually nothing on TV these days. It really gets me crazy when I talk to people who are ardent followers of all sorts of current shows. All the kinfolk still have the flu so I alone am healthy.

FAT TUESDAY

Today is Mardi Gras day. It's a pretty big deal over in New Orleans. When cousin Java owned Byer's a while ago, we used to have Cajun food on the menu. Days like this, in areas where they go big over it, food like that must make for quite a nice time. I'm really getting very close to the end of "The Possessed". It's still keeping my brain cells hopping. Last night I watched the famous classic silent movie, "Wings". It was Gary Cooper's first movie. I really liked it but it was entirely too long. So was "Sense & Sensibility". I don't usually get a chance to see a silent movie since not many are available in stores & the ones they show on TV only seem to be on after midnight. I can't stand staying up late but I knew I'd never be able to see it any other way. Alas, all the local kinfolk still appear to have the flu. That's part of the reason I'm in no hurry to get a haircut. In this weather, I could be the next one to get sick. People are all getting sick & tired of the winter but spring is fast approaching. Of course, people all still oohing, aahing & drooling over the Super Bowl but I just can't get interested.

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

Congratulations to all you New Yorkers & fans thereof. The Giants beat the Patriots. I didn't bother with the game. Oh for sure, I most certainly ate chicken cutlets & shrimp. According to what I've heard form folks in the know, though, it was a good game. I watched the movie version of Jane Austen's "Sense & Sensibility" with Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet. I've read a lot of Austen by now. Unfortunately, I can't find my copies of "Sense & Sensibility" & "Pride & Prejudice" these days. I finished a lot of "The Possessed" yesterday too. On the kinfolk scene, the latest scoop is on new e mail addresses. We always have liked to keep track of each other that way. Of course, I still haven't bothered to get a haircut. Fran came over yesterday & gave us some really nice hot soup. She & Uncle Frankie, and my parents, are still awfully sick with the flu. I don't have it. On Saturday night, right after I lectored at 5:00 p.m. Mass with Mary, I made sure I took a trip over to Pittston to see the O.L. Mt. Carmel Italian feast for a little while. Fortunately it was inside. One of the church ladies reminded me that the winter weather is entirely too cold around here for an outside feast like the one they have each summer. I made sure I got a cheeseburger & a couple of contest tickets before I left.