OBAMA

When I first left this morning there was a pretty heavy snowfall. I have no idea of exactly when it first started but it came down quite a bit. Today's my mother's birthday so her partying will have to be restricted to the weekend. Michelle called yesterday because it was her birthday too. Uncle Frankie came over for a while last night. I started re_reading Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Obama's State of the Union address was on last night but I didn't bother to watch it because there are so many other ways available to find out about it.

FEAST DAY OF BL. GEORGE, ALWAYS A FAVORITE OF MINE:

Happy Feast Day of Blessed George Matulaitis-Matulewicz, whom some of you may know renovated (or renewed) the Marians of the Immculate Conception in 1909 as the order was only down to one member. If you'd like to find out more about Blessed George, you can read about him at this link:       http://www.padrimariani.org/en/heritage/renovator.php
 

quisque me ad cenam vocarit, valeat.   

Posted via email from redhotrabbit's posterous

BL. TITUS

This morning when I first left St. Joseph's there was a very slight snow flurry. Yesterday was Larry
's wife Rose's birthday. Today is Gino's wife Michelle's birthday. Tomorrow is my mother's birthday. There are a lot of happy birthdays to go around this week. The coffee pot has been on a fairly good streak lately though often it messes up & doesn't work well. I'm practically finished with that book of essays about Bl. Titus Brandsma. When I've finished it I shall have to start something new. Yesterday I needed gas so I went to the Unimart in Exeter to get ten dollars worth.

MUSICIAN

Yesterday's weather was somewhat like a spring shower early in the day. After a while, though, it got bitter cold as the rain continued. There was flooding in Pittston & its general area. Places on Long Island are also flooded. So far today things have gotten much nicer. Maria called my parents a couple of days ago. It was really good to hear from her. There's a really good musician in northeastern Pa. these days. Mark Spencer has been getting a lot of attention lately on Myspace, Facebook & Twitter. I should hope you will all be willing to listen to his eclectic playing. He & I have never met but I know his manager, Rich. It's really nice having a working odometer in my car again. Until recently I had been forced to bluff my way past people who wanted to know about distances between places.

ODOMETER

Yesterday my parents & I went to see Uncle Frankie, Fran & Lisa. It was for my mother's birthday party. All went quite well. Today is Noreen's birthday. She's my cousin. This morning I went to AA in Exeter to get my odometer put into my car. It's been raining since yesterday afternoon but it's only a spring shower today with temperatures over fifty the last time I checked. That's why I didn't mind the trip. It all took only a little under & hour & was very inexpensive. Now I can count on having no more car troubles for quite a while. While I was there I hung around & looked through the store. I should get some of the car cleaners they have. My steering wheel needs a new cover too. I'm still playing my guitar quite regularly & I seem to be getting a little better. Unfortunately I haven't gotten any new magazines or anything lately to be able to play from.

BIG TRIP

Yesterday I went to Washington, D.C. I got up at around 3:10 a.m. My father took me to the Assumpta Council at 5:30. Mass started after 6:00. The bus ride was nightmarishly uncomfortable but it worked out really well. We walked around all day outside when we got there. To my surprise I saw a priest who was a dead ringer for an usher at O.L.P.H. in Lindenhurst. There were people there from the Diocese of Rockiville Centre but I didn't recognize any of them. On the way home we stopped at a really nice restaurant in Maryland. There were a lot of donuts, coffee & water on the buses too. The trip took four and a half hours each way. We got back to my council at around 10:30. I borrowed a cell phone from a guy in the Plymouth council so I could call my father to get me. The trip was extremely painful physically but at least my nerves didn't bother me. Of course I woke up with a bad headache in the middle of the night but it went away when I took an Excedrin. There was a little rain & snow in Maryland & Virginia on the way but Washington's weather was nice. It was so crowded that we couldn't get into the building where the spokesmen were appearing. During the trip we watched pro_life videos & the movie "The Bells Of St. Mary's" with Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman. Today it's time to say happy birthday to Brianne's husband Matt. Tomorrow's Jim's birthday. He & I were in the same homeroom in high school. Now we're back together on Facebook so happy birthday to him.

ODOMETER

Yesterday's slight snow didn't amount to anything. Last night I made sure I got one of my big green bags out of the cellar so I could take it with me on the trip tomorrow. I ended up having to spend quite a lot of time going back & forth downstairs anyway. This will be my first trip to Washington since the 1990's & I've really been looking forward to it. Yesterday the UPS truck came with my odometer, thanks to Steve. I called the AA in Exeter to make an appointment to get it installed. The guy on the phone said I could have an appointment tomorrow but I'm not available. I got one for Monday. As always I shall be there at 8:00 a.m. Today is my cousin Alan's birthday. He lives in Michigan. We wish him a happy birthday. Saturday will be Matt's birthday. He's Brianne's husband in New York.

COFFEE

It started snowing this morning. My parents were saying that an ambulance paid a visit to one of the old couples in the neighborhood during the night. I should hope all goes well for them. Nothing much of any significance has been happening to me lately but that will all change on Friday morning. I shall have to be in Luzerne, at my Knights of Columbus council, bright & early to be on the bus to Washington, D.C. I shall start getting things ready, a little at a time, over the course of today & tomorrow. The bus ride may get me a little crazy since I've never been able to sleep on a moving vehicle. I shall have to take something with me to read. Ever since I got a bag of coffee over at Dunkin' Donuts last week, I have really been noticing how theirs is so much better than the other brands. I'd never even think of getting any from Starbucks. Theirs rivals Sanka for the worst of all possible fates worse than death.

KEYS

The weather has been cold & rainy all morning so far, ever since yesterday. My father got a little sick last night so Uncle Frankie came over to help. I called Ada last night to make sure I explained to her that I can't possibly get to the meeting on Thursday because I have to get up too early on Friday. She wasn't home so I gave her mother a message. I also called Chris Calore to make sure all the details have been taken care of. He has everything he needs. He must have gotten a lot of people to show up. There are two buses & they are both full. I'm still trying to get used to the slight confusion of my new set of car keys. Until recently I only needed one key for the entire car. Now I need one for the door & one for the ignition.

OLD MOVIES

On Friday my key got stuck in my ignition but it's all over now. Steve even found me an odometer so it's just a question of getting it from him. I should most certainly hope my car troubles are over. Originally I wasn't on the schedule to lector this weekend. Cheryl, of course, called though, at slightly after 9:00 on Saturday night. I ended up having to cover for her at 10:30 Mass yesterday. Over the weekend I watched a couple of more Hitchcock movies. I saw "Secret Agent" & "The Thirty Nine Steps" on Saturday. They're among his oldest. I've seen them both before. I also watched "A Man & A Woman" again. It's all in French so I needed subtitles. The them song was a big instrumental hit for Ferrante & Teicher in the 1960's. I recognized it as soon as I heard it. It rained last night & the weather was cold & damp this morning.