Henry pointed out some noteworthy events, political and personal, over the past decade.
1) World Trade Center disaster, 2) Fiasco of the war in Iraq, 3) Banking crisis, 4) the continuing war in Afghanistan, 5) the Sunami storm in the Pacific that killed thousands, 4) Tiger Woods’ career collapse, 5) arrival of Lucian, our baby grandson.
In the circle I grew up in, family feuds were frequent. Was it because we were Italian and hot-tempered? The feud could last for a few days, weeks–sometimes more. At Eastertime one year, my mother and her brother, Uncle Tom, who had been feudin’ loud and clear, decided to call it quits, perhaps in honor of the paschal season. Palm Sunday was chosen for the reunion. A little ceremony was planned, Uncle Tom to arrive at midday and Mamma awaiting him. At the appointed time, they exchanged pieces of palm, kissed and made up. They had no further arguments from that moment.
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Phone calls can become a burden. I personally don’t like talking on a hand-held instrument, especially lengthy dialogues. Friends and family know this and God bless them, keep their calls quick and easy.
Old age has its points when one realizes that people you knew along the way have passed away but you are still alive and kicking. What is saddening is that their passing has made your life less fulfilled.
We don’t know what’s wrong with Aurora Borealis, our cat. She refuses her usual hard food and eats only bits of canned meat slivers. This is the second day of indisposition. If it continues, we’ll take her for a vetting. It may be only the post-Xmas blues.
Father Gerard Walker, a retired priest-in-residence at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Brooklyn Heights, gave a homily this morning saying that the greatest Christmas gift ever was the gift of Christ himself when he was born on earth. Regardless of whether one believes in Jesus as God, one has to admit that such a wise and good person is worthy of respect by all of us.
Patty, Will and baby Lucian are spending Christmas in Vermont with Will’s mother, Adi, who lives in Stowe in the Green Mountains. Adi is a sturdy Dutchwoman who lives alone in a beautiful house in the woods, surrounded by pine trees and other year-round green growth. It being Christmastime with family visiting, she got up early this morning, stepped outside with an axe in her hand, cut down a 10-foot pine tree and hauled it into the living-room. Everyone joined in hanging Christmas trinkets. Unlike us city dwellers who go into a local hardware store to buy a tied-up, somewhat dried-up, tree. But we love it, just the same.
Yesterday, Henry and I and daughter Patty paid our annual visit to the graves of Henry’s parents. Patty had her baby Lucian (10 months) along, resting in a cloth sling on her belly. When we arrived, for a brief respite she placed him briefly on their graves. I could not help but think how delighted their spirits must have felt to have their baby great-grandson grovelling atop their graves.
On and off, Spain has been on the fast track. She sponsored Columbus and provided ships for him to cross the Atlantic, and through the centuries, she financed discovery of new places on earth. Today she’s a forgotten nation, considered of lesser importance. But current news reports that she has Europe’s biggest, high-speed railroad network. Which proves she’s still on the fast track.
Today she provided a remedy for heavy colds,, which I mentioned plague me occasionally. Here it is: a brew of hot mlilk, l or 2 tablwespoons honey, a clove of minced garlic. To take when a heavy cold arrives. This supposedly wipes the cold out, but I hope you survive.
AgeBuster 