R.I.P. FR. MCGROARTY

On this day in 1616, literary giants William Shakespeare & Miguel de Cervantes both died.  It was not on exactly the same day though, but it is recorded as such because of the difference in England's & Spain's calendars during their era.   The weather lately has been very bad.  There has been an icy cold rainstorm around here ever since early last evening.   Last week I got my very first ever ticket for a moving violation.  It was on Tenth Street in Wyoming.   The library & Methodist church next door will be having another book sale.  They have some very good prices on some very good books.   Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday to have supper with us.   The Carmelite meeting went well this past Saturday morning in Wilkes~Barre.  We have them every third Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m. at the Little Flower Manor.  While I was there my parents went out for some Chinese food with Fran & Uncle Frankie.  Unfortunately Fr. McGroarty from St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston died last week at about ninety~four years of age.  I went to his wake on Thursday afternoon.  There was also a Mass of Transferral on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. & a funeral Mass on Friday at 11:00 a.m.  I used to see him at St. John's quite frequently for Mass & confession.

OIL CHANGE

Easter went well.  Mary Anne, Steve, Michael & Bridget were here.  Gary & Maria called.  So did Fran & Uncle Frankie  Aunt Lauren came over to say hello.  We ate a nice big supper on Holy Saturday & then again on Easter Sunday.  I went to 8:30 a.m. Mass on Easter.   As always we ate entirely too much.  I shocked Michael a bit.  I told him my vocabulary was exceptionally good so he tried to get me to prove it.  He looked up a word, for me:

floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion. 

   Little did he know that I've heard of it.  Uncle Frankie's home from his having spent Easter with Fran.  Of  course he made sure he showed up with lots of  candy to show for it.   We are now halfway through the Octave of Easter.  I've always been told I have a distinctive voice but yesterday was a true surprise.  Having gotten a little paranoid about the oil in my car, I made sure I called Frank, at the Auto Lodge in Plains, to make an appointment for an oil change.  As soon as I told him what I wanted he said: "Who's this, Larry?"  So far I've only spoken to him very few times so it struck me as quite a shock.   His voice is very distinctive too, a bit on the gritty side.   His intense Pa. accent really stands out too because I'm a New Yorker.  Alas he still can't find an odometer for me.   Fortunately all I needed was an oil change.  Today , besides its being the Feast of  Passionist St. Gemma Galgani, is also the forty~second anniversary of the infamous break~up of the Beatles.   As  we all know they've always been my very favorites.

Source: bit.ly via katherine on Pinterest

PASCHAL TRIDUUM

Uncle Frankie can't show up for Easter because he's visiting Fran.  I shall have to get his mail for the next few days.  This evening's Mass at O. L. Sorrows begins this year's Paschal Triduum.  Fr. McKernan has asked me to get my feet washed.  It's the first time I've ever done that.  His sister is visiting him from Long Island for Easter.   Mary Anne, Steve & the kids will be coming in soon.  Of course all the liberal troublemakers are coming out of everyplace insisting we refer to it as just another holiday, as if any other holiday counts.   There's not such a lot of shopping to do for Easter.   I've always really enjoyed the beauty of all the decorations, nice clothes & flowers.  The only disadvantage is that it's entirely too fattening.  Because of my not having gotten a haircut in quite a while I got one this morning, after morning prayer at O. L. Sorrows, at Rose Chairge's in West Pittston.  Yet again it was a little hard for me to find her place because her husband has changed locations.   He got rid of the Batman logo & that was my only way of finding it.  After a few extra minutes of going crazy I got there.   She knows Michelle & Gino so I found out from her what they've been up to lately.  Spring is here but the weather is often still too cold.   Dave is always going through the neighborhood looking for things to do.  He cuts people's  grass,  trims bushes, etc. in the warm weather.  There's still no word from  Frank about my odometer.   Gas prices are still going up & it's gotten plum out of control.

THANKSGIVING AND ADVENT

Thanksgiving worked out reasonably well. Mary Anne & family couldn't come in but the relatives from West Wyoming were here. Fran got here for a little while. The food, as always, was entirely too fattening. The only disadvantage was that at the end of the night I went to bed with a very bad headache. I took an Excedrin migraine pill, though, & it soon went away. A lot of relatives called to say hello. Gary called. He & I spent quite a long time on the phone. The Ronald & Linda even showed up from Washington State to visit Hilldale. They showed up for a couple of hours a few nights ago. Recently I went to a Lay Carmelite meeting in Wilkes_Barre & a men's group meeting at St. Monica's. Those meetings really keep me busy. Recently I saw Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man" & the famous Humphrey Bogart movie, "The Maltese Falcon". Now that my father's home from the hospital he has to go to the V.A. hospital in Wilkes_Barre frequently. He can't drive for now so I have to drive him there. I also have to do the grocery shopping. That's a major advantage because I always use my Price Chopper card to make sure I get credit for gas for my car. This past Sunday the Church started using the new translation for the Mass. It's a little hard to handle at first because of such an old habit but it should be very easy after a while. It's the same translation as the one they used when I was a kid. I went to a meeting a while ago at St. Monica's where a visiting monsignor explained all about it for us. Advent has begun. Christmas will soon be upon us. Unfortunately today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Beatle George.

BUSY TIME

The night before New Year's Eve I got a very violent attack of the flu. I was at O.L. Sorrows lectoring at 7:00 p.m. Mass when my voice started getting hoarse & I started getting very weak. I spent the next few days in bed with a violent headache & cough, besides all sorts of other aches & pains. Eventually I made an appointment to see Dr. Radzwilka in West Pittston. He prescribed a couple of kinds of medication before I made the appointment. The syrup gave me violent headaches so I gave up on it. When I went to the appointment I got him to do some blood work too. So far I have gotten no results. When I started feeling better I made sure I called Chris Calore, in Wilkes_Barre to see about getting onto a bus for the trip to Washington, D.C. next Monday for the annual pro_life March. He was forced to put me on a waiting list but he eventually called & said I get to go. I went last year & all worked out quite well for me even though it was too strenuous. Nothing gets me so crazy as haveing to be restricted like that all day long. I have to get my car inspected in January each year. This Saturday I noticed at the last minute that I desperately needed an oil change. I went to De Leo's gas station on Wyoming Avenue in Wyoming because it's the closest to me. He also does inspections so I made an appointment, for yesterday, to get my inspection. It was a long boring day for me but ultimately I got my usual expensive repairs done & I'm now set until next March. He says I now get a two~month grace period. This past Saturday was our monthly lay Carmelite meeting on S. Meade Street in Wilkes_Barre. Barbara & Rosemary were the only regulars who couldn't show up. Sr. Mary Robert spent the morning with us though & she was very helpful. The weather lately has been very violently cold with entirely too much snow & ice. There have been so many birthdays this month. We wish a very happy birthday to my mother, several cousins & , among the non~relatives, Tim, Lisa & Laura.

THE YEAR WINDS DOWN

Christmas went quite well. Mary Anne, Steve & all the kids showed up. So did the West Wyoming kin. If Aunt Lauren & her family could have shown up all the northeastern Pa. relatives would have been here. There were all the usual minor irritations. The kids were somewhat ill & the food was entirely too fattening. Mary Anne & family were forced to go home early yesterday because of the big blizzard. Fortunatley it didn't amount to anything of any significance around here, other than slight snow & lots of wind. In New York, though, all the major airports were closed. I went to 8:00 Mass this morning at St. John the Evangelist in Pittston, with only insanely intense winds & somewhat slippery roads to bother me. Mike Aquilina, from EWTN, & his friend were there. Of course I got my annual card from Grace, Daren's mother, a few days ago. I'm still reading Cervantes' "Don Quixote". In only four more days, 2010 will be over. I still have to pay my K of C dues. It's just a matter of getting the money ready & sending it out to Wayne at my council.