Ramblin' RET: November 2018

Monday, November 26, 2018

The Message in the Hollow Oak

Front cover of my copy

At the end of November, I finished this book, The Message in the Hollow Oak, by Carolyn Keene, one (#12) of the Nancy Drew mystery series. I recently purchased my copy at a used book sale for a couple dollars. It has an inscription at the front: "To Dorothy, from Margaret S. Xmas 12/25/47." On the front endpaper, Dorothy's name is scratched out and underneath it is another name, also scratched out but appears to be "Elizabeth."

The volume I have is copyright 1935 by Grosset & Dunlap Publishers of New York. One guide I found indicates that my copy was likely printed in 1946 on war-time (WWII) paper. Indeed, the paper is now yellow and fragile. My copy has only one illustration (by R.H. Tandy) at the frontispiece. Alas, my copy did not have its original dust jacket.

The sole illustration in my volume.
Frontispiece

The story involves Nancy traveling to Canada to investigate a piece of property she won in a contest. Supposedly worthless, things begin to heat up when rumors of gold start to fly. I was surprised to encounter some violence in this book when a man is shot; a spectacular train crash also figures in the mystery.

The book has 218 pages, divided into XXV (25) chapters. Most of the chapters are structured to have a cliffhanger at the end.

Like all the Nancy Drew books I've read, these are fun to read and difficult to put down.

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Message_in_the_Hollow_Oak

http://www.series-books.com/nancydrew/nancydrew.html

http://nancydrew.info/nd0.htm#formats
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Written Wednesday 26 December 2018.

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Navy Chaplain from Waterbury

Earlier this week, I received a note from my sister Carol with a clipping from the National Catholic Register about a priest from Waterbury who was the last chaplain to die in World War 2. He survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of the war but drowned before he could be rescued.

Reverse Side of the Prayer for Fr Thomas Conway.

Because the memorial in the article looked pretty cool (see above,), this Saturday, on the spur of the moment, my son Richard and I drove to Waterbury to see if we could find it and check it out for ourselves.

Waterbury CT Memorial (courtesy R.Dorr) from the news article.

Having been to Waterbury previously, i did't have much trouble finding it: it is located at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Turns out that the memorial is smaller in real life than we expected based on the news photo. Sadly, its about as big as a trash container and located at the sidewalk too. It really deserves a better setting: either in the church or with a pavilion or structure around it.

The Basilica (church) is pretty impressive. There was a wedding just finishing up so Richard was reluctant to go in but curiosity is a weakness of mine.Besides, they were only taking pictures at the other end of the church and confessions were starting anyway.

The interior of the Basilica. More photos at their web site.
If you look closely at this photo, you might spot the
wedding party near the altar.

Later, I learned that there is another "memorial" to Fr. Conway in Buffalo, NY since he was a parish priest there before joining the Navy.

Bust of Father Conway at the
Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park.

It was a pretty interesting afternoon and a nice time with my son.

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Links:
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-memory-of-the-last-chaplain-to-die-in-world-war-ii-remains-alive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Indianapolis_(CA-35)
https://wtbybasilica.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_Immaculate_Conception_(Waterbury,_Connecticut)
https://brianjosephporter.com/new-page-2/
https://buffalonavalpark.org/
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Written Sunday 18 November 2018.

Saturday, November 17, 2018

First Snow of the Season

It started on Thursday evening, just in time for the evening commute. The panic over the impending storm had begun in early afternoon when people started bailing out early. By 4 pm there was almost no one left. At 5 pm I may have been the last one to leave (and I'm not the captain).

The walk to the parking garage was so slippery that my steps were like a tight rope walker. There was about an inch or two of slush and the rain earlier was frozen underneath.

The drive home was about 10 mph. I didn't know my car could actually go that slow and still move. I hardly had to put my foot on the gas pedal. The news reported that snow fell at the rate of about 1-2 inches per hour; and when it was over, we about about 7-inches of snow.

Since the forecast was for the snow to turn to rain during the night, I hoped that when I awoke Friday morning it would be all gone. It was not to be.

The view at 4:48 a.m. on Friday morning.

When I awoke on Friday morning, the snow was still there but it was more like heavy slush. Due to the weight f the snow, I didn't do my usual snow job. Instead, I just cleaned off my car and my neighbor's. It took me about an hour and by then I was definitely ready for a cup of strong hot coffee.

The best part was the commute to work Friday morning. The roads were clear and almost no one was on them (i.e., Friday, school delayed start).

The local paper claimed the amount of snow was a record for the day:7.6 inches of snow at the airport vs 5.2 in 1906. Remember: it's "climate change" now, not "global warming."

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Links:
https://we-ha.com/first-snowfall-of-season-blankets-west-hartford/
https://www.courant.com/weather/hc-news-first-winter-snow-storm-prep-20181114-story.html
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Written Sunday 18 November 2018.

Divine Tech Support

Our Lady of Charity prayer card.

Last Saturday evening, I installed a MS Windows "Important" Update on my computer (in an attempt to be diligent and responsible).

On Sunday, I was annoyed but not shocked when my computer failed to boot up properly. It stalled while installing Windows. This has happened previously. In the past I was able to start in "Safe" mode and use a restore point in order to return to "normal."

This time my usual techniques were not successful. I tried in vain throughout Sunday and then again Monday evening. The possibility that I might not be able to restore my computer began to sink in. There was a bit of solace in that since my computer is so old (at least 8 years), it is probably time for a new computer. Still, I am reluctant to be forced to accept Windows 10 or go to Apple. Both are evil organizations in my opinion. But what can you do?

Recently, I have been praying to Our Lady of Charity using a prayer card identical to the one pictured above. The prayer written on the back is:

Prayer To

"Our Lady Of Charity"

Oh, Holy Virgin and

Lady of Charity,

with happiness and humility

I come to your feet!

⩫

Virgin of Miracles!

You cure the sick,

you give hope where there is despair,

you give strength to the afflicted, preserve

from disgrace our families, protect the youth,

guard our children.

⩫

No one can explain

all the miracles and fortitude

you give to the souls that come to you.

We, your children,

thank you for all your graces.

Amen.

So, Tuesday morning I prayed the prayer and asked that Our Lady intercede to restore my computer or, if that was not possible, to grant me peace and confidence to get a new one. Then I placed the prayer card at the computer.

After letting the computer sit idle all day Tuesday, on Wednesday evening, I said another prayer and turned on the power to the computer. To my amazement, something different happened and I was able to get to "Safe" mode and eventually restore things to (almost) normal (i.e., workable condition). WOW!

It had to be a miracle. Nothing had changed since my unsuccessful attempts except for the prayer for the intercession of Our Lady of Charity.. I heartily recommend clicking on the links to learn more about Our Lady of Charity. Thank you Dear Lady!

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