"He is not here"

Mt 28, 6; Mk 16, 6; Lk 24, 5

Easter has long been a challenge for me. Perhaps it goes back to my discovery about the truth of the Easter Bunny.  For whatever reason, Easter just doesn't reach the heights of joy that Christmas has. Must be an overdose of chocolate. So I have long struggled to understand the meaning of Easter. Oh, I know the story. But what exactly does it mean for us today, and how do we live our lives differently because of it?

To complicate matters, my father died on a Holy Saturday (i.e., the day before Easter). Therefore, from that point onwards, I always associate Easter weekend (Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday) with my father's passing.

 

He died a few months after Richard was born. On Holy Thursday we drove from Connecticut to Cleveland. I thought that seeing the baby might perk him up and revive him. And when we arrived, he did brighten when he saw baby Richard. Friday morning he sat at the breakfast table with us.

I spent a lot of Good Friday sitting next to him as he was in in bed. The radio was on and I heard the Good Friday service. It was very powerful for me to contemplate the suffering of Jesus on the cross while sitting next to my father as he took a similar journey towards the mystery of holy eternity.

Dad died early in the afternoon on Holy Saturday surrounded by most of his family. I always will regret that we left a few hours before in order to return to Connecticut so we could celebrate Easter with Lynn's family. But how could we have known the hour....

This year, as in the past, I used a vacation day to take off on Good Friday (remember when it was one of the regular holidays?). We met Lynn's aunt, Sister Pat, for a fish supper (she wanted fish 'n chips but we couldn't find an eat-in place and ended up at Burger King having a Big Fish sandwich and fries).

Holy Saturday we were together (see separate post).  In the past, one of the activities of Holy Saturday was the preparation of the food for Easter dinner. This usually included going to church to have the food blessed. We didn't do that yesterday but we did go to Stop & Shop to get Richard ham for a sandwich on Easter. And I received a box in the mail from my mom. It contained some nut and poppyseed rolls, chocolates, and easter eggs. THANKS Mom!!!

And here it is Easter. I am reflecting on its meaning and the blessings I have been graced with. Somehow that seems right.

Holy Saturday

As you may know, my Saturdays are usually quite packed. Typically, I drive to the Hartford area to watch Richard's roller hockey game, stop at the bank, pick up Richard and get some lunch. Not unusual to go to some event or go exploring or watch a game on TV.  This Saturday kept up that pattern.

Richard's roller hockey team finally won after suffering a few losses. Richard has been getting better with his skating: picking up speed and getting more aggressive.

Richard has been in heaven this past week because during his spring break, he has been able to watch major leagure baseball AND the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Yesterday was a perfect day to be inside because it was gray and misty and rather cool.

We walked up/down the street a couple blocks to a local Chinese restaurant, "Black Bamboo".  The owner, Sonny, is a young guy who is friendly; the food is tasty and moderately priced.  Richard likes the brocoli & shrimp. I had sweet & sour pork (with pork fried rice) in honor of Easter weekend.


We brought the food back to Lynn's apartment and ate while watching the Clevo Indians get pounded by the Minnosota Twins 10-3. It was so bad, that we switched the channel to watch hocky. We saw the NY Rangers lose the game 3-1 and the series to the Washington Capitals (Richard was rooting for the Caps for now). Then we saw the Tampa Bay Lightning wipe the Penguins 8-2.

We took a break from the tube, and drove to the local Stop & Shop in West Hartford. We got some Boars Head ham, white American cheese, and bread so that Richard could have a ham & cheese sandwich tomorrow (Easter).

  

When you're at Lynn's place, there are usually several kitties who love to keep you company. During the game, Richard realized that "Double" was not around. We searched everywhere but to no avail. So I went outside and walked around the building calling out for "Double." Fortunately, Richard found him inside. He had accidently got shut in a closet.



Double

Spot

And there is "Spot." He tends to be on the nervous side and often jumps at the slightest noise. He's always been that way. But since being neutered, he is a lot calmer. He is mostly white but has some black spots.

Easter weekend can be a challenge for me (see separate post) but it is always good to spend time with family, especially my son.

Lord of the Flies

  

Richard's 10th grade English class is going to start reading/studying the famous novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding (see book cover above at left). In order to support that study, I have been doing some research and collecting materials (articles); I found the DVD for the 1963 movie version at the library (movie poster is above in center; DVD cover is above at right) and watched it; Richard and I watched part of it last Saturday and finished it yesterday.

Although Richard is not particularly looking forward to HAVING to read the book and analyze it, there are parts of the movie that definitely got his attention. He is starting to memorize the hunting chant as well as humming the "kyrie eleison" (Lord have mercy) hymn that is the theme of Jack's choristers.

I don't remember having to read FLIES in school. I think my first exposure to the book was seeing the 1963 movie at a friend's house during college. I think that prompted me to read the book. When a new movie version came out in 1990, I remember going to see it. Later, I purchased the Cliff notes, intending to do a more serious study later (but never did). I'll have to dig out it and my paperback copy to reread. Meanwhile, I am reading several articles and a book that is a collection of critical essays.

If you have some thoughts about Lord of the Flies, please share them with me via a comment or send an email or ....