FOURTH OF JULY

This past weekend Sam, the younger of my nephews, had quite an exceptionally nice & busy time.  He went to his Senior prom & his graduation from Long Beach High School, on Long Island.  He's eighteen years old as of earlier this month.  It's a month of major milestones for him.   Following in his brother Michael's footsteps he intends to attend Hofstra University in September.  He recently got his driver's license too.   Michael is also quite busy too with his girlfriend Erin, job & new life.   Bridget, their sister, the youngest of all, has just finished her time at summer camp.   Mary Anne came in on the bus a couple of days ago to help with all the necessary cooking for the Fourth of July.  Very soon we shall have to face the inevitable crowd in Hilldale.   Unfortunately I missed the big final farewell reunion at St. Gabriel's in East Elmhurst, & shall also be forced to miss the big reunion at St. John the Baptist in West Islip.  It's on July 1.   My parents still constantly pester me to water the plants & flowers for them each day.  There's so much rain lately though that many days it's entirely unnecessary.  Last night at around 10:30, there was an absolutely overwhelming electrical storm.  My cell phone works really well.  My parents now have the one I started out using because they don't want to be bothered with all the extra things.  I was forced to spend an absolutely insane amount of time on the phone with the Tracfone people to get theirs re~activated but other than that all goes quite well.

ST. GABRIEL'S

Father's Day, last weekend, went quite well.  As always my parents & I partied with Uncle Frankie & kin from West Wyoming.  Fran came up for the weekend & invited us over to his house for a nice big supper on Saturday & breakfast on Sunday morning.   Recently my mother sent away to QVC for yet another cell phone so she & my father could have one available for when they go out.  Because they really don't need a video camera or anything like that, I got theirs & they now have mine.  I especially like the one I have because it takes very nice pictures & the video camera is quite an interesting perk.  Recently all my St. Gabriel's friends & I got some extremely bad news.  Our beloved school over in East Elmhurst, Queens, recently re~named the La Salle School at St. Gabriel's Parish, will be soon closing down.   Our last reunion will be this coming Saturday, June 25.  I really wish I could have attended but due to circumstances beyond my control there's no way I could possibly get there.  That parish was always the single biggest, most important landmark of my childhood.  A lot of my old St. Gabriel's friends have been joining Facebook lately.  Last Saturday's Carmelite meeting went well.  Sister Mary Robert was there.  We needed her help with the installation of officers.  We meet every third Saturday morning of the month at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes~Barre at 9:00 a.m. & are always looking for new members.  The weather's been exceptionally nice & warm lately.  It rains quite a lot but we need the rain.  There was an exceptionally violent rainstorm starting at around 4:00 a.m. this morning.   My parents always want me to water their really nice flowers, that they got from Aunt Lauren's farm, but on days like this no extra water will be necessary.  I've been reading a lot lately, especially poetry & Carmelite books.  Two days ago was my cousin Larry's birthday so we all have to say happy birthday to him.   June 18 was also Beatle Sir Paul's birthday.   It's good to see he's still around. 

BUSY TIME

The weather's been usually pretty hot & frequently rainy around here lately. It's a busy time of year. Sam will be graduating from high school this month. Michael is really keeping active with his girlfriend Erin. Michael & Sam both have jobs that keep them occupied. Father's Day is this Sunday so we shall be going out to a restaurant as always when Fran comes in. I've been keeping in touch & getting back in touch with people from St. Gabriel's lately. We're all so very sad to have to face up to the fact that our beloved school, over in East Elmhurst, N.Y. will have to close this month. Unfortunately I most probably won't be able to go to the big reunion. The more time I spend in northeastern Pa. the more I see that nobody here has to be fit to drive his way out of a brown paper bag, in order to get a license. I've been reading, & watching a lot of movies lately, as always. I've always been interested in things like that. Recently we just got some very bad news over at St. Monica's. I noticed in the Citizen's Voice yesterday that Laura, who was until recently a parishioner & lector of ours, has died, at only forty years old, of cancer. This coming Saturday morning, I shall be going to our monthly Carmelite meeting. We have a meeting every third Saturday morning of the month at 9:00 a.m. at the Little Flower Manor on South Meade Street in Wilkes_Barre. New members are always welcome. Fr. McKernan isn't going to have Mass or Bible meetings on Thursday nights for the summer but we go to his men's meeting on Saturday mornings twice a month now. The Easter Season ended this past weekend on Pentecost Sunday so I've started my new breviary.

CARMELITE MEETING

A couple of weeks ago the Catholic radio people tracked me down again. This time it was to get me to help with addressing envelopes for them. There were fewer than twenty to write out. I delivered two directly to the people who were supposed to get them. The recent Carmelite meeting worked out well too. As always our attendance was nothing to brag about but it ran rather smoothly. We meet every third Saturday morning of the month at the Little Flower Manor on South Meade Street in Wilkes_Barre. We are always trying to find new members. Lately I only get very mild headaches every once in a while. Now that I no longer seem to have an allergy to caffeine, a change of weather always seems to get me crazy. Three days ago was my brother~in~law Steve's birthday. Yesterday was cousin Gino's. Bridget's is this coming Friday. Fran & Uncle Frankie came over for a visit last Saturday night. It was really nice. She only gets to show up once in a while. Mother's Day & my parents' fifty~fifth wedding anniversary~Cinco de Mayo~both went off without any trouble too. To celebrate we went out to Perkins to get a nice meal & to St. John the Evangelist's graveyard to visit all the deceased kin. Yesterday I went to a local jewelry store on Wyoming Avenue in West Wyoming to get the batteries replaced for my watch & my father's remote control for his car. There seems to be yet no end to the torrential downpour lately. I heard someone say on the radio a little over a week ago that this year had seen, so far, the fifth wettest spring in history.

DIVINIE MERCY SUNDAY

In my last post I mistakenly said my appointment for the blood drive was on Friday. It was on Thursday. Conveniently it was very easy for me to get there because it was at O.L. Mt. Carmel church on William Street in Pittston. Although it wasn't until 4:00 p.m. I, of course, being so compulsively punctual, got there at around 3:00. A few of the phlebotomists who showed up that day were regulars so at least two of them, Marlene & Tina, recognized me quite well by now. The women I spoke to at first, when I told them I was so early, let me get an early start. Marlene, though, came over & reminded me that I was going to have to wait until a double red cell opening was available because that's what I had promised to do. After it was all over I got some apple juice & cookies & a coupon for a contest. My old Knights of Columbus council, 794 in Lindenhurst, N.Y., used to give us a really nice full meal. There's a bitter rainstorm right now ever since last night. It's very common lately for some obscene reason. We always get such bad weather, with intermittent spurts of niceness. Easter & Divine Mercy Sunday are now both over. The English prince's wedding supplied us with a lot of nice hoo~ha, as did the beatification of Pope John Paul II. On the more morbid side we were all relieved to find out about the death of Osama bin Laden a few days ago.

HAPPY EASTER

This month's Carmelite meeting worked out quite well. It was Chris's reception day. Her husband & mother both showed up for the Mass. Yvonne & Judy were there too. The only catch is that whenever they attend a meeting it's always so mind~bogglingly long. Sr. Mary Robert, as always, was especially helpful. Easter was a very nice time too. The kin from West Wyoming showed up. Steve & all the kids were here too. Mary Anne wasn't available though because she wasn't feeling well. We had our big meal on Holy Saturday because it was the best thing to do for the people who had to travel. At around 8:00 that night Steve & I took the kids to Jitty Joe's for our mandatory ice cream jaunt. I ended up getting a cup of teaberry ice cream. There's still entirely too much candy & food left over. Aunt Lauren & Uncle Jim brought Benjamin over on Good Friday night. As always I ended up lectoring in church on Palm Sunday. Fr. McKernan even got me to have my foot washed. My cell phone works quite well though most of the mileage I get from it is from the Facebook app. I made sure I got a haircut from Rose Chairge a few days before Easter. I always have to call for an appointment. She recognizes my voice on the phone whenever I call. Among other birthdays this month, yesterday was KrissyKrissyKrissy's daughter Natalie's big day. She's three. I haven't gotten many headaches lately, just the occasional really slight one. The weather, finally & at last, has been getting very nice. Well it's about time. There's no weekday Mass at O.L. Sorrows this week so I go to St. John's in Pittston every morning. People are still working so hard to keep St. Gabriel's, over in East Elmhurst, from having to close down. I have an appointment to give blood this Friday.

IT'S DEJA VU' ALL OVER AGAIN

We're very well into spring & the weather is still cold with lots of bitter rain. I was hoping to be able to go to Middletown, New York this morning for a Carmelite day of recollection but I couldn't get in touch with anyone to make the necessary arrangements. No one was available at their office to answer their phone when I called. I spoke to Barbara & explained it all to her. We St. Gabriel's people are still quite saddened over the closing of our school. I was really happy, though, to find out on Facebook that one of the women in our group has tracked down Sr. Rose Eugene, my first grade teacher. She's now Sr. Evyleen Larkin. Mary Anne couldn't scan the picture of Mr. Di Noto & me so I could show it to him on Facebook but I sent it to him in an email. He really liked it. Uncle Frankie's back from his trip to Fran's house. He gave me a coupon to go to A&A to get an oil change for around half the average price. This afternoon I have to lector at 4:00 Mass. Cheryl hasn't called me in quite a while for some reason. A couple of weeks ago I ran into Arlene, from the Catholic radio station, at CVS in the Midway. She told me to call Carol & Ed & ask if they need any help lately. A few days ago Carol called & asked me to put up posters at the local churches. That's really easy. As always I've been continuously reading, watching movies & playing my guitar.

ST. GABRIEL'S

It's so hard to believe but St. Gabriel's, my grammar school over in East Elmhurst, New York, will be closing down in June. Br. Edward Shields, F.S.C., who has been the principal for the past quite a few years gave us the bad news a couple of days ago. I spent my first six years of grammar school there. The Vincentian Sisters of Charity & De La Salle Christian Brothers, as well as many good lay teachers, gave me quite an exceptional education there. The priests of the Brooklyn Diocese were in charge of the parish. I left Queens right before my twelfth birthday but I shall always remember those days. That parish was quite a fine environment. Now because of the internet I can always keep in touch with all my old friends from there. It's still so sad, though, to see our school close. All good things must come to an eventual end & I haven't been actively involved with the parish or school in the past few decades but those memories of long~gone days will follow us all throughout our lifetimes. It's especially sad that this news comes so soon after the death of Miss Geraldine Watzel, everyone's very favorite second grade teacher. She was a symbol of how good St. Gabriel's was.

CELL PHONE

Recently I broke down & got a cell phone. Because of my mother's obsessive~compulsive thing about the home shopping channel I got it that way. It's a little Samsung Tracfone. The deranged thing about it all is that I've never been able to stand the telephone in general. On top of that I have an absolutely insatiable hatred of the way people are always rambling on in public, interrupting others & making complete horse's butts out of themselves on these kinds of phones. I've been enjoying it immensely though. I've developed quite an insanely obsessive~compulsive need to put people's numbers into it, & to do all sorts of other things, all except for using it to call anyone. Predictably I use a few seconds of the Beatle classic "She Loves You" as my dial tone. Lately there's been entirely too much snow & bitter cold weather in general so no one would notice that spring has officially sprung. A couple of weeks ago there was a violent blizzard. We all hope it will be the very last of this year. My cousin Larry's family has been very busy with his new grandson & cousin Maelene & family are anxiously awaiting the birth of her new granddaughter. The last Carmelite meeting, two weekends ago, went quite well. We meet on the third Saturday morning of each month at 9:00 at the Little Flower Manor in Wilkes_Barre. Uncle Frankie is gone away to visit Fran for a few days so predictably I've ended up having to get his mail for him each day while he's gone. Lent progresses so far without any major trouble. Easter is very late this year. Finally & at long last the bridge on Eighth Street, after its having been under construction for such an annoyingly long time, will be officially opening to traffic at 4:00 this afternoon. The old one, right next to it, is soon to be torn down. It's like the end of an era around here.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

My parents held their St. Patrick's Day party early this year. It was this past Saturday. Mary Anne came in on the bus on Friday night. Steve & the kids couldn't come. They were too busy. The relatives from West Wyoming showed up, as always. Fran, because she has so far to travel, stayed with Uncle Frankie overnight. I made sure I put some Irish whiskey & whipped cream into my coffee so I could have it Irish style. The parade from Scranton was on. I've never been to that one but I went to the one in Manhattan quite a few times when I was young. I even met Robert F. Kennedy at the last one he attended right before he was assassinated. As always we watched a few movies on cable TV while they were here. Yesterday I saw a DVD of Woody Allen's first movie, "What's Up, Tiger Lily?". A couple of weeks ago I saw a DVD of his "Hannah & Her Sisters". He's always been quite a favorite of mine. I've been playing my guitar quite regularly lately & I read every day too. I'm almost finished with Sir Thomas Mallory's "Le Morte D'Arthur". When I first added Mr. Di Noto, my tenth grade theology teacher, to my friend list on Facebook, he asked if I had any pictures of me from my school days that I could show him. Yesterday I made sure I dug up one of him & me from my last day at school. I asked him if he'd be willing to let me take a picture of him & he nudged me into getting one of both of us. I asked Mary Anne if she'd be willing to scan it onto her computer so I could show it to him. Looking through the old albums gave me all the inevitable nostalgic flashbacks to my days as a young hep cat. To my chagrin my violent cough persists. Although all the other symptoms of my recent bouts with the flu are gone my throat continues to drive me crazy. Linnae asked me to switch with her this weekend. We lectored at each other's Masses. It's especially aggravating when I start coughing in front of a lot of people. Daylight savings time began this Saturday night. It's my favorite time of the year. The weather though is still too cold & it's even been snowing for the past two days. The temperatures are somewhat warmer than recently though.