DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday.  It was my turn to lector at 4:00 Mass on Saturday at O. L. Sorrows.  All went well.  The men's meeting in O. L. Sorrows' rectory on Saturday morning  went well too.   On Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. there was a really nice big book sale at the Methodist church right next door to the Wyoming Free Library on Wyoming Avenue.   The church & library worked together on it.   For only five dollars, I got quite a few very good books & plays.   I used to like the ones I attended at O.L.P.H. too.   I'm so happy to see that the spring weather is really getting started although it's often too  cold in the morning.   The campaign season continues.  Unfortunately Rick Santorum has dropped out of the race.   We can't afford another four years of Obama because our First Amendment rights are literally at stake.   Gas prices are obscenely high too.  By now even a gallon of regular gas, at any station, is already up to more than $4.00.   Lately I've been driving my father, quite frequently, to his doctor's appointments at the Veteran's Hospital in Wilkes~Barre.   It's  not usually too bad a trip but the traffic congestion in the parking lot is often annoying.   The centennial anniversary of the Titanic was yesterday so it's a major topic of conversation these days. 

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.

BAD TIME FOR QUEENS KIDS

Lately it's been such a sad time for us kids from 92 Street & St. Gabriel's. Earl's mother died in October, two weeks before his birthday. He & his brother, Jr., were really good kids. Tommy, Jo Anne & Ruthie were also friends of mine from those days. Their mother died last week too. When Earl's mother died I made sure I talked to him on the phone. It was the very first time we'd spoken since we were twelve years old. We haven't seen each other in person since then. I also spoke to Jo Anne on the phone when her mother died. My father was recently rushed to the hospital a while ago too. First he went to the Veteran's Hospital. Then he went to the General Hospital. They're both in Wilkes_Barre. He gets lots of visitors & phone calls. He's been recovering slowly but it's a seriously strenuous time for all. Mary Anne, Steve & Bridget came in for a couple of days last weekend to see how everything's been working out so far. We've spent a lot of time going back & forth to the hospital but my mother & Uncle Frankie are getting a bit too old for this kind of aggravation.