KAREN'S FUNERAL

Karen's wake & funeral are on Sunday & Monday. I'm supposed to leave very early on Sunday morning with Larry & Rose. Today's cousin Gary's birthday, so happy birthday to him. A couple of days ago over at Our Lady of Sorrows I got a really nice pizza coupon from Tom. It's for Old Forge Pizza over in Luzerne at Gerrity's. I got the one for the white pie. I'm used to seeing the Old Forge Pizzeria in Insalaco's shopping center in West Pittston. It had never even occurred to me there was one in Luzerne. It's in the opposite direction. There's no meat allowed on the menu today because it's a Friday. As far as I know there's no rule against dancing. When I first got home from church today it felt as if spring were here. Now it feels colder & I think I've seen people with umbrellas. I really hope the weather holds out so Steve & Michael will have an easy time tonight when they have to come in for Michael's car.

KAREN

We just got the really bad news. Karen, after a long battle with a very painful disease, has died. She died yesterday, Ash Wednesday. She was only three years older than I. We were first cousins & hers is the first death among the cousins in my generation. She was a math teacher, married with one son. I used to visit the relatives in Buffalo in the 1980's for Thanksgiving most years. She was always such a good person & an interesting character.

ASH WEDNESDAY

It's Ash Wednesday. Today's a day of fast & abstinence. From now on there will be no more meat on Friday until after Easter. I lectored at 9:00 Mass this morning & have to be back to cover for Mary at 4:00 too. Life's been going on reasonably consistently lately. Uncle Frankie showed up recently. I just wasn't around at the time. I finished "A Confederacy Of Dunces" yesterday & started Graham Greene's "The Power & the Glory". I've read it a couple of times before. I've been astonished to find yet even more people with my last name on Facebook. Agnes asked me if it's Spanish but it's Italian. I don't know of any specific connection to Spain. Either way it's obscure enough that I never could have expected to track down so many of us. I just can't wait for this winter to end. It's getting boring beyond belief by now. It's Beatle George's sixty sixth birthday.

MARDI GRAS HAIRCUT

Today is Mardi Gras Day, also known as Fat Tuesday. I celebrated by getting a haircut from Rose Chairge this morning. Fortunately there was no crowd there so I got it over with right away. The last time I showed up, a few months ago, I was forced to make a specific appointment. She watches all the current TV shows I never bother with. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the very first day of Lent. I have to lector, as always, at 9:00 a.m. Mass. Then I have to cover for Mary at 4:00 too. She called yesterday to make sure I'd still be available. To my shock & chagrin it snowed yet again last night. At least it didn't amount to anything beyond a really nice light dusting. Oddly I didn't notice any of the neighborhood neurotics out frantically shoveling & sweeping it away. I'm extremely close to the end of that book as of yesterday.

ITALIAN FEAST

On Saturday I filled in for Laura at 5:00 Mass. I was going to go to O.L. Mt. Carmel's Italian feast right after that but I ended up going yesterday. While I was there I got an entire meal & a freshly baked pecan pie. It was kind of crowded & the lines were a little long but it all worked out quite well. Everyone said, on Saturday, that a snowstorm was supposed to start that night. It started at around 7:00 a.m. yesterday but didn't amount to much of anything. Right now I'm trying, on Facebook, to talk to Doriana from Italy. All I know is we have the same last name & a major language barrier since neither of us understands the other's language well. I assume we're cousins. A rousing happy birthday goes to cousin Mark. He's about five months younger than I. Somehow I made a mistake & said on Saturday that yesterday was Beatle George's birthday. It's really on Wednesday. Wednesday is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I've been getting much closer to the end of that book lately. All the small print drives my eyes crazy.

LECTOR LATER

This morning, when I first left for the Carmelite meeting, it was very cold but by the time I got out it was like a spring day. Unfortunately it's supposed to start snowing again late tonight. Only a few other people showed up. Sister Catherine wasn't available because she's recuperating from an asthma attack after a stay in the hospital. After it was over I got yet another ticket for next month's St. Patrick's Day contest. Tomorrow is Beatle George's birthday. He would have been sixty six years old. Monday is my cousin Mark's birthday & Wednesday is my cousin Gary's birthday. I have to lector at 5:00 Mass later today but nothing else is on my schedule this weekend. I read more of "A Confederacy Of Dunces" yesterday. All the excessively small print gets me crazy but I've been learning to get used to it as I keep going along.

COLD

Today is an especially cold day so far. At least it's neither raining nor snowing. Last night, amazingly, I managed to stay up to watch "Burn Notice". It's a pretty good show. I'll eventually be able to get used to staying up that late. Tomorrow morning I'll have to go over to Wilkes_Barre for yet another Carmelite meeting. There's nothing of any especially big significance going on with them this month, as far as I know. Uncle Frankie has been a little ill lately so we haven't seen him in quite a while. I've always gotten the distinct impression that my last name was quite distinctive & rare. Lately, though, on Facebook, I've been finding all sorts of people with the same name. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever who any of them is. So far the ones I've met are all from Italy. Officially I'm supposed to lector on Sunday at 10:00 Mass but Laura always wants me to switch with her so we've traded places. Now I have 5:00 tomorrow & she gets my turn on Sunday.

MORE SNOW

Surprisingly, although I took it for granted that we'd get rain yesterday it turned out to be snow. It didn't amount to much although I'm now back to wearing my boots again. The neighborhood neurotics are all out in full force in this kind of weather. I've never subscribed, unfortunately to the magazine, "Homiletic & Pastoral Review" so I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to have gotten a complimentary copy in the mail. It was an even more interesting jolt when I noticed that Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton, retired pastor of O.L.P.H. over in Lindenhurst, had contributed one of this issue's articles, "Ravenna & The Roman Primacy". This Saturday morning I shall have to go back to Wilkes_Barre for a Carmelite meeting. I most certainly hope we can count on a few people to show up. We always seem to be missing quite a few. Shall I be able to stay up tonight to see "Burn Notice"? Only time will tell but I suppose it's always worth a try.

RAINY DAY

The weather today will most probably turn out quite miserable. When I went out this morning the sky was all one huge rain cloud. It may even end up snowing. Yesterday I saw "The Devil Wears Prada" with Anne Hathaway. It's a really nice comedy. Meryl Streep's character was a real monster. I don't usually bother with recent stuff but sometimes I cheat & break my rule. Today is Yoko Ono's seventy sixth birthday. She was the second Mrs. John Lennon. Michael called last night. He's getting really excited lately about the car he'll be getting very soon. It's not new but it's in really good shape. I've had the same 1992 Saturn since January of 1996. It's really nice to have a car that works that well & can be counted on to last such a long time. Yesterday I read some more of "A Confederacy of Dunces". Because I've already read it at least once before a lot of it comes back to me really easily.

PRESIDENT'S DAY

Yesterday was President's Day. There were a lot of shows on the History Channel & news channels that covered the presidents of the past. Not surprisingly, George W. Bush is way down at number thirty six. William Henry Harrison died a month & James Abram Garfield only lived for six months because of his assassination so they weren't even in the running. As always the people who did the voting ended up voting for the more recent presidents, leaning too heavily toward the ones they can remember. Historical myopia's always been among mankind's greatest afflictions. Yesterday I finished "The Violent Bear It Away" & started re reading John Kennedy Toole's "A Confederacy Of Dunces". It's quite an eccentric book & has become a cult classic.