DIVINIE MERCY SUNDAY

In my last post I mistakenly said my appointment for the blood drive was on Friday. It was on Thursday. Conveniently it was very easy for me to get there because it was at O.L. Mt. Carmel church on William Street in Pittston. Although it wasn't until 4:00 p.m. I, of course, being so compulsively punctual, got there at around 3:00. A few of the phlebotomists who showed up that day were regulars so at least two of them, Marlene & Tina, recognized me quite well by now. The women I spoke to at first, when I told them I was so early, let me get an early start. Marlene, though, came over & reminded me that I was going to have to wait until a double red cell opening was available because that's what I had promised to do. After it was all over I got some apple juice & cookies & a coupon for a contest. My old Knights of Columbus council, 794 in Lindenhurst, N.Y., used to give us a really nice full meal. There's a bitter rainstorm right now ever since last night. It's very common lately for some obscene reason. We always get such bad weather, with intermittent spurts of niceness. Easter & Divine Mercy Sunday are now both over. The English prince's wedding supplied us with a lot of nice hoo~ha, as did the beatification of Pope John Paul II. On the more morbid side we were all relieved to find out about the death of Osama bin Laden a few days ago.

BLOOD DRIVE

Yesterday Barbara called to see if I really intended to attend Saturday's Carmelite day of recollection in Middletown, N.Y. Later last evening Rosemary called to confirm our driving plans. Rosemary & I shall have to meet at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes_Barre at around 6:00 a.m. From there we shall join Barbara in Scranton. We just went to Middletown very recently. Judy & Yvonne will be at the meeting & they also have to come visit us next month. They show up once a year. On Tuesday I started re_reading Jane Austen's "Sense & Sensibility". Since I've already read it quite a few times, & seen the movie with Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet a few times, it gets a lot easier to figure out each successive time. The heat wave continues although today, so far, seems a bit cooler than yesterday. My car still doesn't have air conditioning although I tried a while ago to get it fixed. Some things are simply entirely hopeless. Yesterday I gave blood in Plains. My appointment for a double red cell donation was for 4:00. I got there around 3:00. Unlike the last time I went to the Waterfront Banquet Facility for a blood drive, it was exceptionally crowded. Yesterday hardly anyone showed up so I got finished slightly before 4:00. My New York K of C council gave each donor a full meal. Here we just get water, juice & muffins or cookies or something. They also gave out a free coupon, as usual, for three pints of Friendly's ice cream. One of the volunteers said she recognized me because she lives on Tenth Street & goes to St. Cecelia's. Fr. Leo McKernan is now the pastor at St. Joseph's & O.L. Sorrows. He showed up for 8:00 Mass at St. Joseph's this morning. He's our fourth in the past two years.