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.

TWO DOLLARS

Uncle Frankie's home from Fran's house. Aunt Lauren is visiting Noreen. Advent yet again beckons. As of today we have only three weeks until Christmas. Besides the slight snowfall on Thanksgiving we got some more last night & this morning. The weather's been very bitter cold but not unbearable. Tomorrow I shall have to lector at 11:00 a.m. Mass at O.L. Sorrows/St. Monica's. I need a haircut. I should suppose I could track down Rose Chairge's new place over on Luzerne Avenue in West Pittston but so far I haven't bothered. There are several other places that are much closer. A few days ago when I went to a neighborhood stationery to get the Citizen's Voice, they guy in the store gave me two two dollar bills for change from a five. Two dollar bills have been around since I was a kid in the eleventh grade & I don't usually get to see them in circulation. Unfortunately four days from now will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the murder of Beatle John Lennon in Manhattan by Mark David Chapman. It still seems as if it were only last night. So far I have yet to see an entire episode of the show "House". I've seen half of each of a few episodes though. It's not so bad so maybe I shall continue watching it. Vinnie & Michael like "Burn Notice". I like it too but it's not on until 10:00 at night. Perhaps I shall watch the reruns. They're on much earlier at a time when civilized human beings can see them.

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.