ICY COLD RAINY DAY

Nothing much has been happening these days. April has been more bad weather than good so far. Today is very damp & raining. Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday. He & my father have been making plans lately to go see the local yokel version of the Yankees. The famed Bronx Bombers have a stadium somewhere between here & Scranton for their minor league team. Yesterday I made sure I read over fifty more pages of that Jane Austen book. I've always considered myself a reasonably well_read literate sort of guy. Lately, though, I've been going through librarything & shelfari & finding out the hard way that there are all sorts of books, plays, novels, etc. that I just haven't gotten around to so far. There are even very many I've literally never even heard of. I'm trying to get my nephew Michael to check out their philosophy groups. He's been taking a philosophy class this semester. Today's the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember those days. I was at RFK's last St. Patrick's day parade that year. Shortly after King, he ended up dying the same way. Of course, I was only a young un in elementary school way back then.

INTERNET BACK

For the first time this week, Wyoming's internet is back. The Hoyt Library's really a nice place too but this is the one I've gotten used to & I don't like change. It's also just plain closer. Yesterday I took a ride over to the Wyoming Valley Mall. It's a good place to walk around in for the sake of exercise. As always I found a nice easy space in the parking lot. The weather was really nice. On the way home I ended up taking Rte 81. That road's quite an absolute panic. I'm not used to it so it still gets my nerves a bit frazzled but it seems to get a bit easier each time with practice. I really have to floor it because even though the official speed limit is 65 m.p.h. the reality of it all is much faster. Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday. He ate with us. I started reading "Pride & Prejudice" yesterday. I read it quite a while ago & decided I wanted to check it out again. I found out that Barack Obama, of the Democratic Party's ultra pro abortion presidential candidates, doesn't want either of his daughters to be punished with a baby. This remark goes to show, as far as I'm concerned, the Left Wing's true face & colors. Since the weather's been getting nice lately, I've been hoping to get started on walking again over by the Midway. I most certainly need exercise.

APRIL, FOOL

Once again, I'm stranded over at Kingston's library. The Wyoming librarian told me that the internet is still down over there. It's annoying & frustrating but not all that bad a deal. Amazingly, there were snow flurries this morning, April or no April. I'm absolutely sick & tired of it all. Lately I've been reading the poetry of Auden, Yeats & Blake. I've also been reading "The Iliad" & a few books about the Catholic Church. Each one only gets a little at a time, of course, or I'll end up way over my head. Mary Anne called yesterday. All most certainly appears to be going well so far over there. Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday. Because there was an electrical storm that started a little after 7:00 p.m., though, he ended up having to rush right back on home to take care of the dog. April Fool's Day went quite well with all the predictably obnoxious behavior. It's sort of a miniature Halloween. I think there's even a bit of a traditional connection between them, folklore_wise, too. Yesterday Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama were both in Wilkes_Barre. I don't like either of them. John McCain, to my chagrin, is no peach either. I'm most certainly not looking forward to the big day in November because there's just no right answer.

PORK CHOPS & APPLE SAUCE....& MAYONNAISE

It's an especially nice spring day. The weekend was nice. Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday. I went, after the Latin Mass, to Mass at the Oblates' seminary. It was crowded but all went well. Yesterday was icy bitter cold & pouring. I gave blood at the ambulance place on Maffett St. in Plains. Nicole was the phlebotomist who took it from me. There was no crowd & I had a 4:00 appointment so unlike most times, I was in & out surprisingly fast. Instead of my N.Y. KofC council's full meal, all I got here were cupcakes & cherry Kool.Aid & Egg McMuffin coupon. I couldn't give a double red cell donation because my iron count was too low. That's happened before. They gave me my druthers among different colors of bandages & I took red. The internet's been down in Wyoming's library ever since yesterday. I'm at the Hoyt Library in Kingston today. For the past couple of nights, I've had weird dreams. Last night I dreamed I got into an accident in a truck, which is weird because I've never driven a truck. It happened in a NY City like place which is weird because I don't go there much. It was because I put a cover over the windshield which is weird because I wouldn't dare even think of doing that. Two nights ago, I dreamed I was in a public place, trying to play a nice twelve.string acoustic guitar. I noticed that the two lowest strings were missing. Before I knew what hit me, some woman came by & took it from me, claiming that it was hers. Uncle Frankie came over yesterday for a while. We ate pork chops & latkes. I put apple sauce & mayonnaise on mine. On Saturday night, I finished watching "Lost Horizon". My mother went to the doctor for tests today. The last time I heard, Bridget's tests were taking a while.

COLD MORNING

It's been very cold but very nice so far this morning. I haven't been able to help noticing that spring or no spring, the trees don't have any leaves yet. I heard the Bangles' version of Simon & Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter" on my car radio this morning. In a way, it's still appropriate. We haven't seen Uncle Frankie lately. He seems to go on streaks. Last night I went to St. Anthony of Padua for the Divine Mercy novena. I heard from Step by Step about a job. The woman I spoke to said exactly was I expected anyway. She wanted me to fill out my application & take it to their place on Kidder St. in Wilkes_Barre. She says it's by the mall & Toys R'Us. I made sure I checked out their official website. Bridget's big doctor appointment was a couple of days ago. All seems to be going quite well with her so far, especially considering how she felt on Christmas. Yesterday I read in the paper that Johnny Crawford, who played Chuck Connors' son on "The Rifleman", is now a really big name in big_band era music. He's also engaged to Kim Darby, the nerd girl from "True Grit". That's our official trivia thingy for this weekend.

VERY COLD & RAINY

Today, it's a miserable day so far, though it may get better later on. The rain is very cold & anything but spring_like. So far the weekend doesn't seem to have anything distinctive in store for us, though I have to lector tomorrow, with Laura, at 5:00 p.m. Mass. So far, I've gotten only two answers from my resumes at the job fair. They're both for places that help the handicapped. Today's the day for our legendary Friday dance. Limber up the gams & let's get hoofing. I'm still reading "The Iliad". It's more than a little thick & tough on my brain cells. The references are obscure. I try to read at least thirty pages a day but it's hard because it's not an easy style to handle. I'm still putting as many of my books as possible on Shelfari & Librarything. The high school football season has started up again. I overheard my father & Uncle Frankie say recently that they'll be back to their Friday night jaunts pretty soon. I've never liked sports so I'm always exempt from things like that. Fran is still recuperating from her broken gam. All is still about the same as ever.

NICE DAY SO FAR

The weather today is nice but fairly cold. Last night I read more of "The Iliad". Uncle Frankie came over for a while. I went to 7:00 Mass at St. Anthony of Padua. It was just a typical night. After Mass, I stopped at CVS on Wyoming Ave. for 2% milk & bread. I only ended up being able to get a gallon of milk. It cost around $3.50. On top of that the lady at the counter insisted that because it was Gerrity's brand & they don't sell Gerrity's_well then why in Sam Hill did they have it there, duh!_I'd have to put it back & take another. I did. There was no bread. That forced me to go to Turkey Hill down the road apiece. I spent around another $3.50 for rye bread. It was either that or twelve.grain. Their selection absolutely stunk. I just noticed, on Netpotion, that Rainee & I both live in the same general area. She was quite stunned to find out that one of her connections could possibly live in the same area as she. Unlike the past few days, there was 9:00 Mass at St. Joseph's this morning. I went to confession right before Mass.

JUNK FOOD

This morning I took advantage of my McDonald's coupon from the last blood drive I attended. I went over to the McDonald's on Wyoming Avenue in Wyoming & got a coffee with milk & sugar, & an egg mcmuffin. It was really nice for a change of pace but I could never get into the habit of eating in a place like that. I still have one for a Wendy's milk shake. When I pulled into the parking lot some complete buffoon of an old woman was pulling out from her space & never bothered to stop to avoid hitting me. It was lucky I came up with the presence of mind, ahead of time, to stop so I could avoid an accident. She came too close to me & barely missed my car. The weather's very nice & springy today but to my chagrin, I heard on the classical radio station this morning that we're expecting snow again soon. There should be an inch, followed by rain. This morning, right after I got the Citizen's Voice at the local Wyoming Avenue Unimart, I took a ride down Eighth Street toward O.L. Sorrows & got a reminder of exactly how paranoid I've always been around policemen. As I got into the left_turn lane & got ready to turn from Wyoming Avenue to Eighth Street, it occurred to me that there was a Wyoming police car right behind me. He didn't have his lights or sirens on. He was just there. I started getting suspicious thinking I was in trouble for having done something stupid even though I knew perfectly well I couldn't have. That's typical of me.

ANOTHER COLD MORNING

This morning was another icy cold day. My windows were covered with ice. I tried filling out a job application this morning for one of the local rehabilitation centers. They ask all sorts of questions I've never even heard of before. They wanted to know about whether or not I have a criminal record. That's always been standard up to a point but these characters go way beyond overboard. They ask about all sorts of specific federal offenses, including the most grossly graphic. Since they deal with people whose circumstances are ultra.hypersensitive, though, I guess they have to be supremely careful about whom they get mixed up with. Filling out forms like that gets me crazy but it has to be done. I woke up with a headache in the middle of the night but I took a couple of pills & it's gone. My nephew Michael just sent me some of his philosophy homework. He's been studying David Hume. I've always been an especially big fan of philosophy & could use a bit of a refresher course in it all. Last night, a little while after Uncle Frankie showed up, I went to 7:00 Mass at St. Anthony's in Exeter because I wasn't available in the morning. After that I watched over half of Frank Capra's classic "Lost Horizon". Yesterday, in the latest issue of one of the Carmelite periodicals I like to read, I found out that the Carmelites' NGO is trying to lobby for a carbon tax to limit the amount of CO2 in the environment.

EASTER SEASON

It is now the Easter season. This morning we left slightly before 10:00. Mary Anne went to work at around 9:30. Steve's doctor appointment was a little while after that. Because of a couple of stops, at a Wantagh gas station & the Wawa on Rte. 115, the trip took us around three & a half hours. The weather today has been quite exceptionally nice so far. I'm most certainly hoping that spring can be counted on to stay this way permanently. Uncle Frankie showed up a minute after we got home. The computer I got from Mary Anne & Steve was very heavy & hard to carry but I could handle it fairly well. Surprisingly, gas has been going down a little lately. Last night I finished "Mrs. Dalloway". While there, I managed to figure out where at least a few of my missing books have ended up. They have them. At least now they're accounted for. I was beginning to get paranoid. I've really been trying to get involved in the site, Librarything, lately. It's a good way to organize all the books I've been reading. Amazingly I've managed to track down people whose interests are quite similar to mine.