JULY

Today is the very first day of a brand spanking new month. Lately it's been raining extremely violently for a little while at a time several days a week. Yesterday, besides early in the afternoon, it also started pouring after I went to bed last night. Both storms included thunder & lightning. Mary Anne took Bridget to Scranton yesterday to see their coal mine exhibit. Fortunately they beat the bad weather. Bridget told me this morning that she's going to Dorney Park tomorrow. Tonight I have to go to O.L. Mt. Carmel in Pittston for another of those meetings. I've read Pope John Paul II's encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" twice over so I'm as ready as I shall ever be. Steve's big concert was last night. Lately I've been re_reading Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey" & all those other books. I've been reading Keats' poetry too. Today people will started filing into Hilldale for the big Fourth of July bash. A lot of people won't be available until at least Friday. Some will be completely unavailable. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

TOMORROW'S THE BIG DAY

Yesterday I went to DeMauro's for pizza. I've eaten their pizza once before. It's on William Street in Pittston right across the street from St. John's Church. I'm not even the least bit impressed with the parking over there. The kin wanted chicken wings too but they didn't have them. Mary Anne went someplace else to get them. The pizza was quite good. They're one of the very few pizzerias in the area that have round, New York style pizza. Usually we end up getting Sizzle Pie in Kingston but they're always closed on Mondays. Today is Dennis' fiftieth birthday. He's an old friend from St. Gabriel's in Queens. Tomorrow is the first day of our annual trip to Hilldale for the Fourth of July. Most of the kin will be showing up, though many won't be available. My cousin Vinnie is going to get his new Kia Sportage today. He says his Blazer's dying of old age. Yesterday I watched "Becker" again. It's always really interesting. This morning, after Mass I was supposed to get milk but I plum forgot. Fr. Walsh showed up this time. The guy who's in charge of unlocking the church never got there until really late though.

GOT A DVD PLAYER & VCR

Mary Anne & Bridget have been here since last evening. Mary Anne asked me on the phone if it was raining & I told her that it wasn't. It started raining a little while later. Bridget now has braces. The Fourth of July weekend starts this Wednesday. It promises to be quite a nice time. This morning, in the parking lot at O.L. Sorrows, Bob told me that Fr. Walsh is definitely going to be leaving the parish as of maybe this Thursday. He didn't want a party though. He kept quite a low profile about it for a very long time. Rocco's wife was there today. I asked her to tell Rocco I said hello. Uncle Frankie went to a party yesterday & after that went to see Fran at Cape May. Today my father & I went over to Target to get a DVD/VCR player. he got a t shirt too. I used my mother's gift card to defray the cost. When I got home, instead of bothering to wait a couple of days for Steve, Sam & Michael to help, I promptly tried to figure it out on my own. I have to learn these things anyway. Because Dave put the set on wheels it lost its balance when I moved it. It fell crashing to the ground. I learned my lesson the hard way. I should have waited for Steve & the boys.

MAJOR THUNDERSTORM

I've yet to get my DVD player. When Steve, Michael & Sam show up maybe they can help me put it together. Lately everything is about Michael Jackson. Get over it! I could never stand that character anyway. Exactly since when, may I ask, is extreme strangeness any substitute for legitimate talent. I haven't been able to avoid noticing that Farrah Farkle's death never even got so much as the satisfaction of an honorable mention. Uncle Frankie showed up for a while yesterday. I know he had at least one little chocolate candy bar with him. For the past couple of days I've been conscientiously exercising on my chair. That's exceptionally important for me lately because yesterday I ate two Whoppers & a lot of French fries. June is fast dwindling down & the Fourth of July is right around the corner. I just found out from Steve that his band, Spectrum, will be playing at Riverside Boulevard and East Boardwalk in Long Beach, N.Y. on Monday, July 20. It lasts from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Be there or be square. E mail wrongwaywong@gmail.com for details. There was such a violent electrical storm yesterday that we all turned the TV sets off. It only lasted for about a half hour. There was a storm watch for five counties around here.

AN R.I.P. TWOFER

Uncle Frankie showed up yesterday. He & my parents went food shopping for a while. Mary Anne called while they were out. She & Bridget will be coming in on Sunday. I called Borders, Barnes & Noble & F.Y.E. yesterday to see if they sell DVD players. They don't have them at Barnes & Noble although they sell DVDs. Borders has them & they're extremely inexpensive. F.Y.E. has some that are extremely inexpensive & some for $100. The $100 kind include VHS players too so they're worth the extra money. Bob called last night. I'd been wondering for the past few weeks what could possibly have happened to him. At least he's back in circulation. He called as soon as I was starting to watch "Burn Notice" Cousin Vinnie reminded me yesterday that it's on again. Yesterday there were two significant deaths in the world of pop culture. Farrah Farkle(Majors, etc.) & Michael Jackson. I don't understand what's all the hoo.hah about either of them but I should hope they both rest in peace. They were both significant, howsoever deplorable, characters in the pop culture of my youth. There was a nice spring shower this morning. All rainstrms should be like that.

ONE WEEK TO GO

The weather yesterday was especially nice & today's is just as good. Uncle Frankie didn't show up yesterday as far as I could see. The phone didn't even ring all day. I especially like a day without the phone. I've always been hypersensitive to sound but the phone especially tops the list of things I so bitterly despise. Speaking of things I so bitterly despise, there's been a lot of construction work lately around here too. The part of Susquehanna Avenue that goes north from 8th Street is blocked. I just read in the Citizen's Voice this morning that the northbound lanes of Rte. 309 are closed too for a while today. Author Joseph Niezgoda has a new book out that might be of more than a little interest to me. "The Lennon Prophecy, A New Examination of the Death Clues of the Beatles" , discusses whether the mighty Fab Four in general, but most especially Beatle John, may have been in cohoots with the Prince of Darkness. He claims there exists plenty of evidence for the possibility that Beatle John may have made a pact with Satan in exchange for all his fame & fortune. As of today there's exactly one week yet to go until the big Fourth of July weekend kicks off. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

PATRONAL FEAST DAY!

Today's the Solemnity of The Birth of St. John the Baptist, patron saint of my high school

WENT TO THE MALL

The weather has been very nice lately. There were dark clouds yesterday afternoon but someplace else must have gotten all the rain. Dave was around yesterday, in the neighborhood, doing a lot of work in people's yards. My father ended up giving him a ride home. Uncle Frankie came over for a while yesterday. It was just a typical visit. My father spent a while in the morning cutting the grass with the tractor yesterday too. I usually end up getting the hard parts with the lawn mower. Now that summer is officially here that means that the Fourth of July is right around the corner. Mary Anne & Bridget are showing up next weekend. Yesterday I got kicked out of the library early so I went to Barnes & Noble again. The last time I went there one of the local TV/radio networks was there. I think it was WYOU. Yesterday was really uneventful though. Nobody like that showed up. On Mondays the library's always unusually crowded. There are two well dressed guys who come in here each Monday looking as if they're doing some kind of work on the computers. I think they're involved with some kind of artsy.fartsy obscure religion. Ivana, from my Facebook friends list, will be celebrating her birthday on Thursday, so I shall have to wish her a happy birthday on her big day. I've never met her in person. She lives in Italy. All I know is that her last name's the same as mine.

FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND

Yesterday, besides cousin Larry's birthday, was also the very first day of the summer. It was a very nice day but entirely too windy. My father & Uncle Frankie went to the football game but it was cancelled so they got home earlier than expected. The field was rained out because of earlier weather. Mary Anne & family called up yesterday for Father's Day. All has been going well for them these days. It's been pouring in New York. Saturday's big party went quite well. All the usual characters showed up. It was as fattening as ever. It lasted until fairly late at night. Yesterday I watched yet another James Bond movie, "The Spy Who Loved Me". It came out the year I got out of high school. I'm trying to see as many Bond movies as possible. The Fourth of July very fast approaches. I think David, from Michigan, may already be here visiting Gino.

FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND

It's time to wish a very happy birthday to cousin Larry. His big day is tomorrow but I won't be available then so I send the greetings now. The weather is miserable today. All day it's been raining. I went to the Carmelite meeting. Surprisingly our attendance was fairly good. So far we shall be going to Stroudsburg next month for our meeting. Lately we have been having many problems because of new circumstances. I made sure I asked Barbara for Yvonne's phone number. Today we shall be having company for Father's Day. Uncle Frankie, Fran & Lisa will be coming over this afternoon for a big party. It was originally supposed to be outside but the weather's too miserable. Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble. It's a nice environment & I get to exercise by walking around. I watched yet another James Bond movie. This time it was 1965's "Thunderball" with Sean Connery. There were no other familiar names in the cast.