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

R.I.P. DAVY JONES

Recently we were all saddened to hear of the death, at only 66 years of age, of  Davy Jones, the sole Englishman among the members of the 1960's pop quartet, the Monkees.  The 1960's coincided with the first decade of my lifetime.  Everyone who knows anything about me knows about my lifelong obsessive love affair with the music of that era.  To this day I still enjoy their TV show in reruns.  They were originally intended as a variation on the Beatles but they seemed, right away, to have taken on a life & perosonality of their own.  Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith & Mickey Dolenz were a jovial quartet, at least from the looks of their public persona.   It was nice to see all the outpouring of interest in Jones & sorrow for his death.  Women in my age range have reminisced about how he was their first crush in grammar school.   I was especially happy to hear about his connection to both New York & Pa.   I can still remember the Monkee Halloween costumes my  Jackson Heights friends & I used to wear during the band's heyday.  Over the cours of the several decades since then, the band's members had often gotten back together for reunions, most notably in 1986, & they very recently went on a concert tour to celebrate their forty~fifth anniversary.   Etta James, another famous 1960's singer, & Whitney Houston, also died recently, but as far as I'm concerned there is something especially sad about Jones' death.  He was a part of the world in which I grew up. 

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.

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. 

CELL PHONE

Recently I broke down & got a cell phone. Because of my mother's obsessive~compulsive thing about the home shopping channel I got it that way. It's a little Samsung Tracfone. The deranged thing about it all is that I've never been able to stand the telephone in general. On top of that I have an absolutely insatiable hatred of the way people are always rambling on in public, interrupting others & making complete horse's butts out of themselves on these kinds of phones. I've been enjoying it immensely though. I've developed quite an insanely obsessive~compulsive need to put people's numbers into it, & to do all sorts of other things, all except for using it to call anyone. Predictably I use a few seconds of the Beatle classic "She Loves You" as my dial tone. Lately there's been entirely too much snow & bitter cold weather in general so no one would notice that spring has officially sprung. A couple of weeks ago there was a violent blizzard. We all hope it will be the very last of this year. My cousin Larry's family has been very busy with his new grandson & cousin Maelene & family are anxiously awaiting the birth of her new granddaughter. The last Carmelite meeting, two weekends ago, went quite well. We meet on the third Saturday morning of each month at 9:00 at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes_Barre. Uncle Frankie is gone away to visit Fran for a few days so predictably I've ended up having to get his mail for him each day while he's gone. Lent progresses so far without any major trouble. Easter is very late this year. Finally & at long last the bridge on Eighth Street, after its having been under construction for such an annoyingly long time, will be officially opening to traffic at 4:00 this afternoon. The old one, right next to it, is soon to be torn down. It's like the end of an era around here.

IT'S ONE OF LARRY'S FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR

Larry's cold is as good as over by now although he's been going absolutely crazy with a persistent cough that just won't go away. He doesn't have any of his medicine left but he can still go to the drug store for a refill. The weather has been getting nicer lately now that February is gone. All the raging blizzards & thunderstorms appear to be behind us. Uncle Frankie comes over lately every once in a while. Larry has a seemingly compulsive habit of always locking the door when he comes inside & Uncle Frankie isn't the least bit fond of this so he always whines about it. He has a key anyway though so Larry doesn't care. Cousins Mark's & Gary's birthdays were at the end of last month. Larry wished each of them a happy day. Beatle George would have been sixty eight years old at the end of last month. Larry enjoyed listening to all his good music. One of the big upcoming events in Larry's world is the reunion, this June, at St. Gabriel's. He'd very much like to be able to go. It turns out that Mary Anne's friend Steve, from Lindenhurst, is now married to an alumna of their old school. Larry really enjoys keeping in touch with people from those days. There's a Carmelite day of recollection coming up, in Middletown, N.Y., next month. Larry really wants to go. Last Friday at O.L. Sorrows, St. Monica's held a Night at the Races. Larry really wanted to go. He even made sure he got a ticket. Oddly, though, he plum forgot exactly which night it was supposed to be held. He assumed it was supposed to be on Saturday or Sunday & missed it. Larry's tenth grade theology teacher just sent him a Facebook message explaining that he's on the far left wing. Of the two teacher's of his on his friend list they're both extreme liberals. The reason Larry has written today's entire blog in the third person is because today is National Talk in the Third Person Day. On days like this Larry is reminded of Elaine's boyfriend Jimmy on a certain episode of "Seinfeld".

BEATLE JOHN

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a major Feast day on the Catholic Church's liturgical calendar. It's a holy day of obligation. I shall have to go to 7:00 Mass tonight at O. L. Sorrows. I tried to go to Mass this Morning at St. John's in Pittston. I didn't know that their Mass would be only at 7:00 a.m. & other Masses later in the day. They don't have an 8:00 a.m. Mass today. Sadly, today also marks the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Beatle John Lennon by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota building in Manhattan. It was a Monday night. I can still remember it as if it were only last night. Lennon's music, image & reputation, to this very day, are still a part of our cultural landscape. Even the very young, who hadn't even been born during the lifetime of the famed Swain of Liverpool, are quite smitten with him. Today's Tina's twenty~first birthday. She's cousin Gary's daughter. The weather lately has been very bitter cold but we don't get any snow beyond just the slightest dusting each day. So far there's no fog or icy rain either. Yesterday was especially cold. Buffalo has quite a bit of snow so I suppose we should all feel quite sorry for Maelene & her family.

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.

A VERY SAD WEEK

In September my Aunt Mary died in New Jersey. She was a distant relative. On October 4, Richard died. It was the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Although he wasn't a real uncle, we'd always called him Uncle Richard. He was Uncle Joe's brother & had always been around. I showed up at the wake in Exeter & funeral in Plains. I was supposed to be a pall bearer in case they needed me. They had enough though. I was supposed to drive in the procession but I ended up going with Gino & Michelle. On October 6, Uncle Larry died. It was the Feast of St. Bruno the Carthusian. He was married to Aunt Norma. After Richard's wake & funeral Gino, Michelle & I went out to Long Island for Uncle Larry's wake. Unfortunately we took a bit of a detour through Manhattan. I ended up staying with Mary Anne & her family overnight. She, Michael & I went to Roosevelt Field Mall so he could get his first suit for a job interview. I got a chance to see all the New Yorker relatives & other connections at the wake. My mother spent a few days in the hospital so my parents weren't available. Today's the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila, a favorite Carmelite patron of mine. Among other things, I've been reading David Limbaugh's "Crimes Against Liberty". It's quite an anti_Obama philippic. Beatle John's seventieth birthday was on October 9. Tomorrow I shall have to go to a Carmelite meeting in Wilkes_Barre. They're at the Little Flower Manor on South Meade Street every third Saturday of the month at 9:00 a.m.

MANY BIRTHDAYS

A few days ago a woman called from a political organization. I know those surveys are unavoidably necessary but she drove me crazy for around ten minutes with all sorts of annoying repetetive questions about my opinions about the Pa. politicians & how they stand on things. Mary Anne, Steve, Sam & Bridget came in on Friday night & left last night. Michael's enjoying his big trip to Costa Rica. This month has many birthdays & we had quite a nice party for them all. All the gang from West Wyoming showed up. All their birthdays are this month. Sam did a lot of work over the weekend. He, Steve & Bridget helped my father with the garage too. Steve, Uncle Frankie, the kids & I went, as always, to Jitty Joe's last night. Sam's favorite singer & musician these days is Jack Johnson. Johnson does a really nice version of Beatle John's "Imagine". Recently I got the new schedule for O.L. Sorrows. Now that Rocco's back I'm not on the schedule that frequently anymore. One individual makes quite a difference. My hay fever has been going crazy lately. I've been doing quite a bit more coughing than sneezing. There's a bit of a drought these days besides the excessive heat. After a brief respite the temperature this week will be back up past ninety degrees.

BEATLE ANNIVERSARY

To my chagrin, I was forced to miss this past weekend's big reunion over at St. Gabriel's. It was for Sr. Bernadette's & Sr. Catherine's milestone anniversaries & St. Gabriel's seventieth anniversary. Jo Anne & her mother went. Jo Anne said that of all the people from our class only Mike & Margreen were there. I can't even remember Margreen. Of all the kids in our old crowd I can only remember a few dozen well. Today would have been Aunt Mary Theresa's birthday. Tomorrow Uncle Frankie, Fran, my mother & I shall be going to 8:00 a.m. Mass for her at St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston. After Mass my father will be joining us for breakfast. Every morning for the past to weeks I have getting the Citizen's Voice for Uncle Frankie & taking it over to his house right after 8:00 Mass. This past Sunday I called Kelly Stuart to find out about the details for the Marian day of recollection for the Carmelites in Middletown, N.Y. in May. It will be on the third Saturday of the month so it will have to replace our usual meeting. Last weekend's meeting worked out well. The new people stayed after the meeting for their formation classes. This month marks the fortieth anniversary of the Beatles. Pope Benedict XVI recently released a statement commending their brilliant talent & forgiving them for all their checkered past. Of course Beatle Ringo's not all that impressed.