BUSY & COLD

Tomorrow is the big Super Bowl. Until recently it had always been at the end of January on the weekend closest to my mother's birthday. The weather lately is still an absolute nightmare. I got my car stuck in the ice in front of the house one day after a particularly bad storm. I spoke to Bob, at O.L. Sorrows, on Thursday night. He said he couldn't go to Washington, D.C. because some woman's pipes had burst because of the weather. He was forced to help her. Phil, the groundhog, saw his shadow on Groundhog Day though so supposedly we shall be seeing an end to it all very soon. Uncle Frankie, after a brief spell with some kind of sickness, is back on his feet again. Fran was supposed to stay at his house this weekend for the big game but she was forced to go home yesterday because of the weather. Aunt Lauren finally & at last showed up yesterday to get Benjamin's Christmas present. If she would have left it for another week & a half it could have been his birthday present. Today she's coming over with some pizza from her church. Donna, the ex~nun, called last night. She wants me to lector for her later today at 4:00 Mass & she can take my turn tomorrow at 11:00 Mass. My flu is gone but it lasted throughout all of January with all sorts of aches & pains to the very end. I still have a slight cough.

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.