Just Stuff

Sometimes I just feel the need to pass along a few thoughts to my blog’s highly selective cadre of readers. Nothing very astonishing, just experiences or ideas that strike me and seem worth sharing. 

To Mask or Not To Mask. For example, earlier this afternoon dear Diane said she would really like a pizza — specifically, a pepper and onion pizza — from one of our local vendors, NYPD Pizza. Now, I eat neither peppers nor onions (Were I ordering for myself, I would choose a sausage and pepperoni pizza), but because I love Diane more than life itself, I called, ordered the pizza, and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. When I arrived the pizza was not quite ready (I was a few minutes early), so I simply stood off to the side and waited. There were perhaps a dozen or so people seated at tables enjoying their meals. Of course, none wore masks, but neither did any of the employees. The cooks in the kitchen weren’t masked and neither was the one waitress. How refreshing! 

But then a man entered and approached the take-out counter. He looked to be in his 50s or 60s, but it was hard to tell since his facial features were disguised by a mask. Standing there, he glanced around the room and then uttered, presumably to himself, but loud enough for me to hear, “How come no one’s wearing a mask in here?” Assuming he wanted an answer, I just said, “Maybe like me they’re all vaccinated and know they’re immune.” It seems I was wrong and he wasn’t looking for an answer, at least from me, because he turned and said, “Vaccination means nothing. And why aren’t you wearing a mask?” At this point, I said something very un-pastoral and certainly un-deaconlike, but it just rolled off my uncontrolled tongue before I could stop it: “Because I’m not an idiot.” Fortunately, two seconds later my pizza was ready. I took it and left before he could respond either verbally or physically. I’m not proud of what I said to this confused man, but I won’t apologize for speaking the truth. Let’s get back to normal... now!

Congressional Masks. Other than the content of the president’s speech, the most obvious absurdity witnessed by the nation last night was the masking of everyone in the House chamber. Every person in the room (just 200 people in a space designed to hold 1,600) had been vaccinated. They were all masked and separated by more than six feet. They were also immune from COVID-19, so why the charade? Do you get the feeling that maybe Nancy Pelosi and her friends want to ensure Americans remain afraid and psychologically dependent on government? What other reason could they have?

Georgia On My Mind. President Biden today made a surprise trip to “racist” Georgia and visited an aging President Jimmy Carter, presumably to pick up a few pointers on how to become one of the least effective presidents in American history. Jimmy certainly wrote the script for how not to deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if you’re old enough you’ll never forget how miserable the economy was on his watch. Remember the “misery index” — the sum of inflation and unemployment — that reached over 20% in 1980? More than anything else, I believe that number put Ronald Reagan in the White House. If the federal government continues to spend the trillions Biden wants to spend, it might well break the Carter record. Assuming he’s still in office in 2024 (and still alive), I think the 2023 economy will make him a one-term president.

Attend Mass, Go To Jail. Did you know (probably not, since you won’t read about this in the mainstream media) that in the Republic of Ireland it’s now against the law to attend Mass. Yes, indeed, on April 16, I suppose in the midst of another lockdown, the Irish Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, signed a “Statutory Instrument” (presumably an official document) that makes attendance at Mass a criminal offense. Now, for all you Irish-Catholic Americans out there, who still believe Ireland is a Catholic country...believe me, it’s not. Like most of Europe, Ireland has devolved into a secular, materialistic, largely agnostic society in which all those formerly Catholic folks and the generations behind them no longer believe in much of anything, leaving the Church with little, if any, influence. Who’s to blame? Sadly, the primary culprit is the Church itself. Like too many of the bishops of our country, the bishops of Ireland slouched into political correctness and ordained a lot of questionable priests, including homosexuals, pedophiles, Marxists, and sadly, even some tacit agnostics, whose subsequent activities destroyed any credibility the Church once had. So now, the few remaining faithful, if they want to participate at Mass, must watch it on TV or prepare for a fine or a stay in the local slammer. Lest you chuckle too much at the expense of the Irish, this has also happened in some states in this country where the First Amendment of our Constitution has been overruled by certain state governors. As my late brother used to say, “Keep your powder dry.”

Whose Racism Is It, Anyway? The president believes we are essentially a racist nation, despite the fact that every conceivable indicator shows tremendous progress since the days when Senator Joe Biden was bosom buddies with the Senate’s old segregationists, especially Senator Robert Byrd (D, WV) the Ku Klux Klan’s “Exalted Cyclops.” Probably the best indicator of who actually are today’s real racists is abortion. The population of African Americans would be double its current level were it not for abortion. Indeed, abortion is the leading cause of death among black Americans. And, of course, Margaret Sanger, the founder of a Planned Parenthood, hoped to decrease birth rates among all those “less desirable” races by means of artificial contraception and abortion. Who supports abortion? Why, the Democrat Party, the party of racism, the party of the KKK, the party that filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 until Republicans forced a cloture vote. And nothing’s changed. This was apparent today when the leftist knives were unsheathed and thrown at Senator Tim Scott who gave the Republican rebuttal to the president’s speech. The racist slurs and other comments by Democrats were despicable, but what else can we expect from those whose intent is to keep African Americans on the Democrat plantation. More and more black Americans are starting to recognize their real enemy.

Catholics and Big Tech. I won’t write about this since someone else has done a far better job than I ever could. But if you’re still enamored of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all the rest, follow this link to the National Catholic Register:

Catholics in the Crosshairs of Big Tech.

That’s enough for today. God’s peace...Pray for our nation.

Everything Is a Gift

"Everything is a gift." I've uttered those words many, many times -- in homilies and during conversations or meetings with parishioners and others, and yet, I still groan and moan when seemingly bad things happen to me. You'd think that by now I'd have learned that God always comes through when we turn it all over to Him. How did St. Paul put it? 

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose [Rom 8:28].

Let me offer a wonderful and very recent example.

Last week Diane and I drove up to McDonough, Georgia to visit her cousin, Carolyn, who was very near death. As usual I decided to take the more scenic route and stay off the interstate.

As we neared the town of Fargo, Georgia we had a blowout in our right, rear tire. I'll admit that, overcome by the moment, I probably uttered a few bad words. But then I asked God to help us handle this unexpected crisis. And I know Diane offered a prayer because that's what she always does, and her prayers are much better than mine.

Interestingly, just the day before I had stopped by the local Firestone dealer, got an oil change, and asked them to check the tires. As I expected, they recommended getting new tires fairly soon. But it was a busy day, so I decided to wait until we returned from our 700-mile round trip to Georgia -- not a good decision.

Hearing that flat tire popping against the blacktop, I pulled over onto the grassy shoulder of the rural two-lane road. After checking the tire, I reached for my cellphone, thinking this might be a good job for AAA. But then I saw those hated words: "No service."

Resigned to my fate, I opened the back of our Kia Sorento, moved all the luggage into the back seat, and retrieved the jack and lug wrench. I then went through the laborious process of lowering the spare tire (one of those useless donuts) to the ground. Whoever last tightened those lug nuts on my right rear tire must have over-torqued them because I couldn't budge them. 

While all this was going on, perhaps one vehicle had passed by. Well, Diane decided to seek help and waved down the next vehicle, a large pickup towing a working trailer. I asked the driver if he had cell service, and of course he didn't. But he pulled over in front of our car, got out, and offered to help.

Between the two of us (he was a few years younger and obviously stronger) we got the lug nuts off and replaced the flat tire with the donut. I was concerned because the donut was obviously in need of air. That little tire requires 60 psi and I suspect it's pressure was no more than 30. Our Good Samaritan -- a man named Bill Stewart -- then led us seven miles down the road to a gas station in Fargo that fortunately had a working air pump.

After I'd ensured all the tires were properly inflated, Bill came out of the station's convenience store and handed me a package of Stewart Candy. "My brother and his wife run the family business," he said before waving good-bye and driving off. It was good candy, too -- those soft peppermint balls that Diane likes so much. Here's a link to their website: Stewart Candy. We'll be buying more from this company in Waycross, Georgia, since I've decided to check out their other products. It's the least I can do.

But the gift isn't over...not yet.

After we arrived in McDonough I knew I had to get four new tires, so I asked Carolyn's sons where I should buy them. Steve is a retired police captain and David is a successful commercial contractor, and they both recommended Carver Tire in McDonough. So I made an appointment for 10:30 Wednesday morning and dropped off the car. It would be ready by noon.

Carver Tire - McDonough, Georgia

Carolyn died that morning, July 31, just before noon. Diane and I joined several of her children and one of the wonderful home health aides who had cared for Carolyn, and we all gathered around her bedside during her last moments. I gave her a blessing and sang the "Song of Farewell" and moments later Carolyn closed her eyes. With that God blessed her with a peaceful death and took her into His loving, merciful embrace.

Diane's cousin, Carolyn Moore

As Carolyn lay dying, I received a call from the tire dealer telling me our car was ready. A while later, not long after Carolyn's death, her son, Steve, drove me there in his huge F-350 diesel pickup and dropped me off. The manager handed me the paperwork and my keys, thanked me for my business, and wished me a safe trip home. I held out my credit card and said, "Thanks, but don't you want to be paid?" He replied, "It's all taken care of...all paid for." When I asked who had paid for it, he just shrugged and said, "Don't know. You owe me nothing."

When I got back to Carolyn's house I discovered that her son, David, had paid for my four, new Cooper tires, all $650 worth. He just laughed and said it was their gift. Nothing I said could change his mind. I had to accept the gift.

So let's see...I had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere (apologies to the folks of Fargo, and trust they'll understand). Normally this would not be a good experience. But then God went to work.

We met a wonderful man who helped us, ensured we were good for the rest of our trip, and then gave us candy. 

David, one of Diane's cousins, gave me four new tires, which is even better than candy.

Steve, another cousin, and his wife Kathy, put us up in their lovely, lakefront home in Jackson, Georgia.

And, most wonderfully, Carolyn, one of the world's sweetest women, went home to the Father peacefully.

Oh, wait...there's more. The gifts keep coming.

After I returned to Carolyn's home with my new tires, the family asked if I would conduct the funeral. It was scheduled for a week later on Wednesday, August 7, in McDonough. Now realize that the entire family are good, faith-filled Southern Baptists and they've just asked this Catholic deacon to conduct their mom's funeral.

Several days later Diane and I drove up to Georgia once again, this time on I-75. As it turned out I ended up conducting the funeral jointly with one of their pastors, a delightful man, Pastor Tom Bergman. He gave the welcome, read a passage from Scripture, gave an opening prayer. Of course there were several hymns. I then preached the homily, based on John 14:1-6.

After lunch we drove 100 miles north to the cemetery in Bowman, Georgia where many in the family are buried. I led a brief committal service, Steve blessed us with a beautiful prayer, and we returend to McDonough.

Diane is the last of her generation on her father's side of the family, so it was a joy to get to know better those in succeeding generations. We're hoping that Steve and Kathy, as well as Carolyn's daighter, Kim, will come and visit us here in The Villages. They all seemed to like the idea.

It all began with a flat tire near Fargo, Georgia -- a minor catastrophe for these two senior citizens -- and brought us blessing after blessing, gift after gift.

And Carolyn? We will miss her terribly, but for 88 years she lived the life Jesus asked her to live by loving God and neighbor. May she rest in God's peace.