ST. GABRIEL'S

Father's Day, last weekend, went quite well.  As always my parents & I partied with Uncle Frankie & kin from West Wyoming.  Fran came up for the weekend & invited us over to his house for a nice big supper on Saturday & breakfast on Sunday morning.   Recently my mother sent away to QVC for yet another cell phone so she & my father could have one available for when they go out.  Because they really don't need a video camera or anything like that, I got theirs & they now have mine.  I especially like the one I have because it takes very nice pictures & the video camera is quite an interesting perk.  Recently all my St. Gabriel's friends & I got some extremely bad news.  Our beloved school over in East Elmhurst, Queens, recently re~named the La Salle School at St. Gabriel's Parish, will be soon closing down.   Our last reunion will be this coming Saturday, June 25.  I really wish I could have attended but due to circumstances beyond my control there's no way I could possibly get there.  That parish was always the single biggest, most important landmark of my childhood.  A lot of my old St. Gabriel's friends have been joining Facebook lately.  Last Saturday's Carmelite meeting went well.  Sister Mary Robert was there.  We needed her help with the installation of officers.  We meet every third Saturday morning of the month at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes~Barre at 9:00 a.m. & are always looking for new members.  The weather's been exceptionally nice & warm lately.  It rains quite a lot but we need the rain.  There was an exceptionally violent rainstorm starting at around 4:00 a.m. this morning.   My parents always want me to water their really nice flowers, that they got from Aunt Lauren's farm, but on days like this no extra water will be necessary.  I've been reading a lot lately, especially poetry & Carmelite books.  Two days ago was my cousin Larry's birthday so we all have to say happy birthday to him.   June 18 was also Beatle Sir Paul's birthday.   It's good to see he's still around. 

IT'S DEJA VU' ALL OVER AGAIN

We're very well into spring & the weather is still cold with lots of bitter rain. I was hoping to be able to go to Middletown, New York this morning for a Carmelite day of recollection but I couldn't get in touch with anyone to make the necessary arrangements. No one was available at their office to answer their phone when I called. I spoke to Barbara & explained it all to her. We St. Gabriel's people are still quite saddened over the closing of our school. I was really happy, though, to find out on Facebook that one of the women in our group has tracked down Sr. Rose Eugene, my first grade teacher. She's now Sr. Evyleen Larkin. Mary Anne couldn't scan the picture of Mr. Di Noto & me so I could show it to him on Facebook but I sent it to him in an email. He really liked it. Uncle Frankie's back from his trip to Fran's house. He gave me a coupon to go to A&A to get an oil change for around half the average price. This afternoon I have to lector at 4:00 Mass. Cheryl hasn't called me in quite a while for some reason. A couple of weeks ago I ran into Arlene, from the Catholic radio station, at CVS in the Midway. She told me to call Carol & Ed & ask if they need any help lately. A few days ago Carol called & asked me to put up posters at the local churches. That's really easy. As always I've been continuously reading, watching movies & playing my guitar.

WEATHER CHANGE

The bitter cold weather, at least for now, is over. I find it rather hard to believe that I went out without a coat today. The snow's melting. St. Gabriel's in East Elmhurst is planning a big reunion in June. Jo Anne said she may go. Tim, From California, will even go too. I just found out that Mary Anne's old friend, Steve from Copiague, is married to a woman who went to school there. I'm still reading quite voraciously lately. I try always to finish one book & then virtually immediately pick up another one. I've also been trying very conscientiously to practice my guitar each day. Uncle Frankie is supposed to visit Fran for a couple of days this weekend. I shall have to pick up his mail again. Fr. McKernan won't be available for a few days at St. Monica's so I shall have to go to St. John's in Pittston for a few weekdays. Recently I added a second teacher of mine to my Facebook friend list. Jerry Di Noto was my theology teacher in the tenth grade. I tracked him down a few days ago. Tomorrow I shall have to go to another lay Carmelite meeting in Wilkes_Barre. It's at 9:00 a.m. at the Little Flower on South Meade Street. We meet on the third Saturday morning of each month. There will be another day of recollection in Middletown, N.Y. this spring. I'm hoping to be able to show up. Mary Anne's family has been doing quite well. Michael just got a really nice new job & we're all happy for him.

THANKSGIVING BECKONS

Uncle Frankie's back, as of two days ago, from his trip to Fran's house. I picked up his mail each day when he was gone. Thanksgiving is only five days away. Everyone has been making preparations. Mary Anne & family will be showing up in a few days. In the 1980's I spent several Thanksgivings in North Tonawanda with relatives. It's too bad we can't have those days back now. This morning I went to Wilkes_Barre for our monthly Carmelite meeting. We meet at the Little Flower Manor on South Meade St. every third Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. Only a few people showed up this month. The weather's been very nice lately with occasional very violent thunderstorms including one in the middle of the night this past week. To my chagrin I always get very violent headaches when the weather changes like that. After tomorrow's 11:00 a.m. Mass the two churches in the Wyomings will officially be known as St. Monica's Parish. There will be a reception at St. Joseph's immediately following the Mass. It must be a stressful time for people who grew up with these parishes. Yesterday I called Jim, in California, on his cell phone. We often get to talk on Facebook anyway but he gave me his number so we could at least give it the more personal touch for once. This month we wish very happy birthdays to Steve in California, cousin Maelene's son Scott, & cousin Leonard's granddaughter Sarah(today), Wendy, two Javas & Kim.

R.I.P. MISS WATZEL...THE END OF AN ERA

I just got some very sad news a couple of days ago. Brother Edward Shields, the principal of St. Gabriel's, my old school, in East Elmhurst, recently sent out a Facebook message telling us about the death, last weekend, of Miss Geraldine Watzel. Miss Watzel was my second grade teacher. She was seventy six years old. My old friends & I have always remembered her so fondly. Although I'd never expected to see Miss Watzel again, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a few reunions several years ago at the old parish, where she showed up. Even after so many long decades she was still quite a formidable intimidating character. St. Gabriel's, now the La Salle School at St. Gabriel's Parish, was the most important part of my early days in Queens. My days in that neighborhood & parish have always been a memorable part of my life. Over the course of my educational lifetime I got very many exceptional teachers but Miss Watzel was among the very best & most memorable. I shall have to keep praying for the repose of her soul.