Down by the Seashore

View from Niantic "Boardwalk" looking south.

Today I took a trip to Niantic which is on the Long Island Sound. As you can see from these pictures, the weather was fantastic. Temperature was low 80s, humidity was low, and there was a cool breeze coming off the water. 

Originally I had planned to attend a used book sale in the other direction. But since I have a gift certificate for a used book store in Niantic, I decided to try to use it up and also check out the boardwalk and perhaps get a lobster roll.

The visit to the book store was rather disappointing. Their FB page proclaimed their opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade. I don't know why a store thinks it needs to take a position, especially since what they wrote was mostly emotional and was not factually accurate. So the thought of shopping at such a place left a bad taste in my mouth. However, a gift certificate means the money was already spent, so it was not my money. Unfortunately, I was not able to find enough on my list, so there is a credit balance left. On the plus side, I found a two volume set of the Complete Sherlock Holmes.

After I finished my book browsing, I walked along Main Street. Earlier, I noticed a sign identifying the Boardwalk. When I arrived, it appeared that admission might be charged: a sign indicated $15 for walk-ins. However, I figured no harm asking. Good thing, because the fee was for the beach; the boardwalk was free!

As you can see from the sign below, the "boardwalk" is 1.1 miles long. The "boardwalk" is actually concrete. On one side are railroad tracks and the Niantic Bay is on the other side.

I walked the entire distance and back. There is a beach at each end of the boardwalk.  In between are mostly rocks but at the north end is more sand but no life guard. A group of young men were playing volleyball and a smattering of people were sun bathing. Two people were swimming parallel to the shore in the area w/o lifeguards.

Me.

My feet wet enjoying the surf in the Long Island Sound.

There were several sections of the north beach that were unguarded. So I took off my shoes and walked along the edge of the beach. Very rocky and it looked like the bottom dropped off quickly (with a couple feet). The tide chart shows the tide was rising when I was there but I think there is isn't much difference as far as the beach is concerned.

The railroad tracks are directly adjacent to the boardwalk. I got the impression that the railroad bridge at the north end was typically up unless a train was coming.

Looking North along the "Boardwalk" with Amtrak train heading south.

Railroad bridge over the Gut 

 

between the Niantic River and the Bay.

 

 

After a nice afternoon, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, my appetite reminded me that I had not eaten all day. In the past, a visit to the shore almost always involved a lobster roll from Lenny & Joe's in Madison. But this time I decided to try something different.

My late mother-in-law used to summer in Old Saybrook and I often heard about her trips to the nearby seafood stand, Johnny Ad's. So on the way home, I stopped in Old Saybrook and visited Johnny Ad's and was quite impressed. I kicked myself for waiting so long to visit this place. The buttered lobster roll was delicious and came with a serving of coleslaw. Right now, seafood is not cheap but it was worth it.

Johnny Ad's in Old Saybrook.

Buttered lobster roll with lemon wedge and coleslaw.

All in all, it turned out to be a very fine day down by the seashore.

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Links:

https://johnnyads.com/

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Written Sunday 10 July 2022.

Memorial Day Ride

Reservoir No. 3 looking North from the Red Trail (on the dam).

Today (Memorial Day) I tried something a bit different in order to expand my bicycle riding: I used my new bike rack to take my bike to a nearby park (~7 miles). Now this is not entirely new to me but it is something that I have not done for years, so it was a step forward to regaining my cycling skills. Today's ride, while not long, also involved some "off-road" cycling (sort of).

I rode for about an hour. The weather was wonderful: sunny (as you can see from the above picture) and in the 80s, no breeze (headwinds). Total mileage was an unimpressive 9 miles but I was going for something new rather than distance. I don't remember when was the last time I rode at this park.

Arriving late morning meant the paths had a lot of walkers: singles and couples, families with strollers, scooters, a few other bikes. The paved paths have a marked bicycle lane at the right. Still need to watch out for children wandering into the lane as well as walkers with ear pods or headphones that detach them from the reality of the surroundings.

Turtle at the side of the Red Loop path (apparently
pondering if it was worth trying to cross).

I started out on the Red Loop (~3.4 miles posted). Bike lanes are marked so that travel is clockwise. From the parking lot start, therefore, the first half of the Red Loop is essentially uphill. There were a few challenging steep sections that my gear shifting did not meet well and I was left spinning the pedals furiously in order to inch up the incline. I think I did the Red Loop twice before daring the Yellow Loop (~2 miles posted).

My original plan was to do the Red Loop, then the Yellow, and back to the Red. I assumed the Yellow Loop also had a paved path but that was because I did not look at the map carefully. Although the map shows the Yellow Loop as an unpaved path, it really was generally hard gravel (but not all hard, there was enough loose gravel to make it interesting). 

Perhaps if I had studied the map more closely I might have realized that a substantial portion of the Yellow Loop was uphill. However, I kept pedaling and made it without stopping or getting off the bike. One walker, approaching me from the opposite direction, encouraged me to "keep going." That helped and I did. The climb seemed forever and I could barely breathe by the time I reached the top. I'm not half the man I used to be (but I'm working on improving). After the Yellow Loop, I was basically done for the day. 

Overall, it was a good time on the bike. I will go back so I can work on shifting gears and climbing. I may also do the Yellow Loop again. In looking at the map more closely, I noticed other paved roads that may be suitable for riding longer distances. Something to explore in the future.

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Written Tues 31 May 2022. 🌞

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Helmet hair.

Back to Biking

 

During the summer of 2020 I had resumed biking after years of being off. However, that effort ceased after a flat (rear) tire in early August (that was a tough month). With all the changes that occurred in my life after that, I did not have the oomph to get it fixed (nor did I have the tools to do it myself).

Last spring (2021), most of the bike stores were overwhelmed (and closed) because of COVID-19 restrictions. I called the shop where I originally purchased the bike. They promised to call back when they would be able to handle the repair but I never heard back from them (nor did I follow-up).

This year (2022), with the fading of COVID, things opened up more. I called the bike shop and they called back a few days later as promised. Today, I picked up my bike after it had undergone a tune-up, new (used) tires & tubes, new gear cassette, and new chain; I also purchased a rack to use on the car so it will be easier to transport the bike (otherwise, I would have to take off the front tire, fold down the back seat of the car, and squeeze the bike into the cargo compartment).

As can be seen from the picture above, my cycle is a mountain bike. When I first moved to Connecticut (over 30 years ago), the streets were so lousy that I bought a mountain bike in hopes that it would have the ability to endure the potholes and crap in the street. So now this is the only bike that I have. Alas, as mentioned above, the tires are not immune to glass (which, unfortunately, seems to be prolific on the nearby streets and sidewalks). While the bigger (i.e., wider) tires provide more cushion, they also generate more friction and, hence, slow the riding down. But that's okay for now since my goal is to get the muscles back in shape-I was never a racer.

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Written Tues 31 May 2022.🌞

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The Hubble Space Telescope Planetarium Show

 

Attendance was surprisingly good for this evening's planetarium show on the Hubble Space Telescope. At least 50 people were there including many families with small children, even some pre-schoolers. The beginning of the show was humorous with all the questions that young children ask. The presenter, Carol, did a fine job of responding as well as moving the show along.

After the usual introduction of the night sky, the position of the sun, lineup of planets (she had a great line about looking in the sky for planets and then looking down at your feet you can see another planet-Earth!).

The show mostly consisted of colorful images taken by the telescope. Carol admitted that she had a difficult time trying to weed down the number of images since so many were spectacular. After a while it was a bit tedious. I would've liked to learn more about the history of the mission and its objective at present. Mention was made about an early problem with the lens.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope
https://hubblesite.org
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Written F13May 2022. 🌞

Star Light, Star Bright

 Star light, star bright.
First star I see tonight.
I wish I may
I wish I might
Have the wish
I wish tonight.

Today's show, about stars, is the last afternoon show of the semester. Only about six people attended.

I can walk to the planetarium from my apartment (and I did) in about 15 minutes.

There was a lot to cover in this presentation, which went by in somewhat of a blur for me. One item that struck my curiosity was how colors became associated with temperature, especially the extremely hot ones (that are measured in Kelvin). Turns out it is a complicated subject. Even after a bit of research, I don't think I have the answer. Has to do with stellar classification.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QStar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification
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Written F05/13/2022. 🌞

The Aurora at the Planetarium

 

Prior to COVID, I attended several of these planetarium shows at the nearby university. Today, by chance, I checked the website and found that the campus had reopened to the public so I could now attend today's show.

Roughly about 20 people attended; appears to be a mix of mostly students but some from the public.

Same format as previous: Introduction to night sky with seasonal stars, etc. Followed by the presentation. 

The subject of this afternoon's show was the Aurora, what is commonly known as "the Northern Lights."

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Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora
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Written F05-13-2022.

April Fool

Today, Friday April 1st, is my last work day for TRV ☂. 

I decided to retire due to the inability to reach a mutual consensus regarding Covid-19 shots and testing required by my employer. "My body, my choice" apparently is not an option here for this. My body is my property. Sad.

🌞

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Written F13May2022.

Nancy Solves Larkspur Mystery

PASSWORD TO LARKSPUR LANE
#10 of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.

Scan of the cover of my copy of Nancy Drew #10.

I picked this up at the 2021 Newtown Summer Used Book Sale. I was in the mood for some light reading and it seemed like it had been quite too long since I last read a Nancy Drew book. Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene fulfilled my expectations.

As usual I started on my usual pace of a chapter per day but found my self reading during lunch time and multiple chapters on the weekends. It was a good break and unexpectedly appropriate for July reading. I was unfamiliar with Larkspur flowers and learned that they are a birth flower for July.

The larkspur represents the strong bond of love. In general, it signifies an open heart, ardent attachment to someone and the celebration of positivity. As with many flowers, the symbolism changes with the color of the bloom.

• Blue larkspur symbolizes dignity and grace;
• Pink larkspur symbolizes contrariness; 
• White larkspur symbolizes a happy nature; and,
•  Purple larkspur symbolizes first love.
  

According to Greek mythology, this July flower blossomed where the blood of Ajax was spilled in the battle of Troy. Larkspurs are known as a protective plant to repel venomous snakes and cure scorpion stings. Since it grows wild in the United States, Native Americans picked it for dye.

The story starts with the mysterious appearance of a wounded homing pigeon. And so I learned about the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers. Check out their HOME page.

One of the illustrations in my edition.
"It's a strange message, Nancy," the
housekeeper said.

My copy is the 1966 edition and the 1985 printing. Thus, it only has 20 chapter instead of the 25 chapters in the original 1933 edition.

The summary says "Blue bells will be singing horses! This strange message, attached to the leg of a wounded homing pigeon, involves Nancy Drew in a dangerous mission. Somewhere an elderly  woman is being held prisoner in a mansion. Nancy is determined to find and free, Mrs. Elridge.

While working on the case, the young detective's close friend, Helen Archer, begs her to solve a weird mystery. Helen's grandparents, the Cornings, are frightened by a sinister wheel of blue fire that appears after dark in the woods outside their home at lonely Sylvan Lake. When Nancy discovers the significance of the eerie signal, she also learns that her two mysteries are connected.

How the clever young detective fathoms the meaning of the strange message, how she locates the stronghold of a ruthless ring of swindlers, and how she rescues the gang's victims makes absorbing and exciting reading."

First edition (1933) dust jacket.

This edition includes six (6) illustrations (see sample above). The cover illustration is not a dust jacket but printed right onto the cover. I was amused to learn that a cover for the British edition generated some controversy because it showed part of Nancy's thigh.

"Racey" cover of the British edition.

My edition has 175 pages, not including several for the front section (contents, copyright, title page and frontispiece.

This was a lot of fun, a fast read, and I highly recommend it and all the Nancy Drew books.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Password_to_Larkspur_Lane
https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/july-birth-flower|
http://www.ifpigeon.com/
http://www.series-books.com/nancydrew/nancydrew.html
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Written Sunday 15 August 2021

READY PLAYER ONE - Reading Over

A while back, I announced that I had started reading the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Simultaneously, I listened to the audio version, and read a study guide (online). Now that I have finished (sort of-see below), here is my report.

Cover of the copy I borrowed from the Library.

MY OVERALL OPINION

👍 Thumbs Up (i.e., I liked it). If you are a fan of 1980s culture, dungeons and dragons, and video games, there is a lot in this book that will likely stir your memory. If you like dystopian novels such as 1984, Brave New World, etc., you too will likely feel comfortable in this book. There's also a love story, and some twists and turns with a somewhat contemporary slant.

WHY I READ THIS BOOK

Initially, I was motivated to read it because my friend (ME) had listened to the audio version and really liked it. The concept of virtual reality intrigued me because of the alternate world I had recently read about in A Wrinkle In Time as well as the philosophers George Berkeley, Baruch Spinoza, David Hume, Gottfried Liebniz, and others that were mentioned in The Age of Louis XIV.

While a case could be made that my effort was influenced by the charms of ME, we were coming at it from quite different perspectives. First, ME listened to the book, while I read it AND listened to it. Second, I lived during the 1980s; this was my college period and the beginning of my career. ME, on the other hand, was born in the 80s.  Also, although I've never experience the technical version of virtual reality, ME bought a VR machine and claimed it helped her exercising.

During most of the book, the main characters never meet except in the guise of their avatars. Similarly, I have never met ME in person. We only know each other through Skype calls via work.

Interestingly, the author grew up in SW Ohio; I grew up in NE Ohio. The author now lives in Texas; ME also lives in Texas.

BOOK DETAILS

Published:  2011 by Random House (New York). First Edition, printed in the United States of America.

374 numbered pages, not including Advance Praise blurbs, Title Page, Copyright information, dedication, and "About the author." There are no illustrations or pictures.

The colorful dust jacket covers a black binding with white lettering on the spine.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

There is no Table of Contents.

The book is divided into four (4) parts:

• Chapter 0000
  
• Level One (Chapters 0001 - 0016)
• Level Two (Chapters 0017 - 0027)
• Level Three (Chapters 0028 - 0039).

The book ends with two (2) pages of Acknowledgments.

MY READING APPROACH

When I couldn't find an inexpensive used copy to purchase, I borrowed a volume from the local library. I renewed it something like 4X. I started reading it the moment I got it home: Saturday April 10th and finished it Wednesday July 7th (ME's birthday - a coincidence, honestly!).

When I finished reading a chapter (several pages a day), I listened to the corresponding chapter of the audio book, then read the detailed summary and analysis at Litcharts.

I like to do my reading in the morning with a cup of coffee handy.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I saw some spiritual aspects in this book. The author cites references to one of the primary characters similarly to biblical citations as a way to demonstrate how serious his disciples followed him. Religion can be a sort of alternate reality that helps people cope with the challenges of life and the unknown regarding death. Also, I can see something of a parallel where "Jesus" becomes God's avatar in earthly life.

The virtual world is called OASIS because it helps the user escape the dreariness of the real world. And yet it's a fake work and, thus, limited in what can be accomplished and the level of satisfaction that can be derived. It functions similarly to what kinds of distractions we use today to distract us from the real world: TV, movies, social media, drugs, food, etc.

All of us want to present our best side and hide our flaws, shortcomings, etc.  We are afraid of rejection. And all of us are worthy of being rejected. And so we hide from each other. Young couples like to live together before marriage in order to see what the other person is "really like." We stay the same and yet we change. As human beings we try to pretend that we are god-like so that others will (presumably) like us.

Ready Player One shares several similarities with other books I have recently read. It is a quest similar to The Pilgrims Progress. TPP is striving to reach the Celestial City while the characters in RP1 are hunting to find the "Easter Egg" that will make them the owner of the OASIS as well as fantastic wealth in this world. Like A Wrinkle in Time and TPP, RP1 involves traveling through an alternate reality. RP1 also involves growing up, maturing. It touches similar themes as AWIT and Little Women.

I didn't care for the ending. There is something of a happy ending that seems forced, like the Resurrection in Left Behind. For all the references to VR and geekiness, the ending tries to point us away from the isolation of a digital world and towards the real world. RIGHT. This is from a book that just taught its readers that immersing oneself in arcane trivia can pay off immensely. After being kissed by his pursued love interest, the last sentence of the book suggests a "and they lived happily ever after" future:

"It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS."

NEXT

 Right after I finished, I found a podcast series that is something of a virtual book club, reading a couple of chapters each podcast. I listened to the kickoff episode (00) today and will at least try to listen to a few. Looks they are about a half hour each.

I have no plans to see the movie version of RP1 nor read the sequel, Ready Player Two.

I am planning to read one of the Nancy Drew Mysteries next (really!).

---------------------------------
Links:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2021/04/there-goes-sun-king.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Cline
https://archive.org/details/ReadyPlayerOne-Audiobook-Unabridged
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/ready-player-one
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-wwwrinnnkllle-innn-tttimme.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Berkeley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2021/04/there-goes-sun-king.html
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/ready-player-one
http://372pages.com/about
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Written Sunday 11 July 2021.

New Assignment for Fr. Hattie

 On Monday June 21st, I received a letter from the USA Midwest Province of Jesuits regarding Fr. Hattie. I learned that he was promoted to heaven on Saturday June 12, 2021.

The letter also included a detailed obituary (see below) that "celebrates his wonderful life of service and the gift of his mission." He was just one month shy of his 99th birthday. "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the Lord."

Father Eugene F. Hattie, SJ

June 12, 2021

We pray in thanksgiving for the life of Fr. Eugene Francis Hattie, SJ, who died on Saturday, June 12, 2021. Father “Gene” Hattie, as he was fondly known, died at Karen Hospital in Nairobi. He was 98 years old, a Jesuit for 80 years, and a priest for 67 years when he received his final call.

Father Hattie was born July 18, 1922, in Canton, Ohio. His mother was Mrs. Mary Hattie, his brothers Mr. Donald P. Hattie and Mr. “Bim” Hattie, and his sisters Mrs. Charles J. Michel and Mrs. Robert Bheringer.

Father Hattie attended elementary school at St. Joseph in Canton, Ohio, and grade school and high school at St. John.

He entered the Society of Jesus on August 31, 1940, in Milford, Ohio, and pronounced his first vows in 1942. He did his juniorate at Milford, Ohio (1942-1944), and studied philosophy at West Baden, Indiana (1944-1947). He had joined the former Chicago Province, was put into the former Detroit Province when Chicago was divided, and later joined the Patna Province (India) after his final vows, before coming to the Eastern Africa Province. That profile, already, points to the missionary character of Fr. Hattie’s life as a Jesuit.

The missionary journey for Fr. Hattie began immediately after philosophy. In November 1947, he left the United States for India where he did his regency and theology, was ordained a priest, did his tertianship and much of his active ministry, as follows:

Studies in Hindi Language (1947-1948) at Mokameh Junction, Bihar, India, and passed a matriculation exam in Hindi Language from Patna University in Bihar, India.

Regency (1949-1950) as a teacher and hostel superintendent at Bettiah, in India.

Theology (1951-1954) at St. Mary’s Kurseong, India.

Ordained as a priest (November 21, 1953) at St. Mary’s Kurseong, India.

Tertianship (1955) at St. Stanislaus, Hazaribagh, India

Taught in various schools in India, notably in Bettiah (1956-1959)

Pastor, school principal, and teacher at Bar Bigha, Bihar, India (1959-1961)

Assistant principal at St. Xavier’s in Patna, India (1961-1963)

While in India, he was ordained a priest on November 21, 1953, and he professed his final vows on February 3, 1958, before continuing with his ministry there until the end of 1962.

In December 1962, Fr. Hattie received an assignment that would send him back to the United States as mission procurator in Cleveland, Ohio. He assumed that office at the beginning of 1963 and performed it with great success until the end of 1969. Those six years were to become the only time Fr. Hattie was ever in active ministry in his home county.

After completing his term as Mission Procurator in Cleveland, he returned to India where for six years (1970-1976) he worked in Jamshedpur Province teaching in St. Xavier’s High School, Lupungutu (a Hindi medium school).

Fr. Gene Hattie spent twelve years teaching in Hindi medium high schools in Patna Province, during which he was principal in two schools and hostel superintendent in two other schools. He spent two years at Xavier’s High School (an English medium school) in Delhi, and two other years at yet another St. Xavier’s High School (an English medium school) in Patna, India.

As he continued with his mission in India, the Lord showed Fr. Hattie another field where “the harvest was plentiful, but the laborers were few” (cf. Mt. 9:37). In his own words, “When I read in Jivan of the needs in Sudan, I decided that with 1,000 Jesuits (plus countless other diocesan and religious priests in the State of Bihar alone, I would not be missed. I felt that the need in Sudan was greater, since Patna how has so many Indian Jesuits to carry on. I wrote Fathers Paul Besanceney and Tho Toppo asking them if I could be of help, and they welcomed me with open arms.”

That way, Fr. Hattie left Bombay on May 2, 1984, headed for Juba via Nairobi. At this time, when he volunteered to go to the Sudan, he was already 63 years old, no longer young, although, for sure, still very young at heart. This is because he felt there was a greater need there. While in the Sudan, he taught at the major seminary (1984-1985) and at senior seminary (1985-1986), both in Wau. That was to be only the beginning of his “second missionary journey” after successfully accomplishing the first in India. Henceforth, he was to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19) on Eastern Africa soil for the next and last 37 years of his life as a Jesuit.

Thus, in 1986, Fr. Hattie was transferred from the Sudan to Mwanza, Tanzania, where he taught at Lake Secondary School, before he was sent to Uganda. There he taught at a minor seminary in Moroto (1987-1990) and then at another minor seminary in Tororo (1990-1991). From 1992 to 1993, he taught at St. Peter Secondary School in Kampala, before going for a sabbatical at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (JSTB) in August 1993.

In 1995, Father Hattie returned to Kampala, Uganda where, apart from engaging in Pastoral Ministry, he was the chief correspondent with benefactors for the work of the Society in Uganda. To that responsibility, he added teaching at Nyenga Minor Seminary in Jinja (1997-1998), St. Paul’s Minor Seminary in Kabale (1999), and Moroto Diocesan Minor Seminary in Moroto (2000).

In 2002, he returned to Kampala and worked with street children, notably raising funds for them (2001-2010). This dedication to serve street children in Kampala by establishing a home for them was an anticipated response to the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus, decades ahead of their promulgation. The street children trusted and loved him mainly because he was always “young” like them. They taught him to remain young, and he always advised younger Jesuits never to grow old at heart. No wonder, despite having prayed the Suscipe for more than 80 years, Fr. Hattie’s memory never faded away until his death.

Despite his advanced age, despite living with cancer and despite being handicapped with near deafness and physical impairment for several years, Fr. Hattie wrote and submitted between 40 and 60 letters every month, using a typewriter, to raise funds for street children and orphans aged between two and 16 years old. He did extremely well in transforming the lives of poor, marginalized, and orphaned children in Kampala, and many people who worked with him recognize his commitment and dedication to the cause of those children.

While doing all this, he was also entrusted with vocation promotion to the Society of Jesus in Uganda from 2003 to 2007.

At the end of 2010, having worked for 30 years in India, two years in the Sudan, one year in Tanzania and 25 years in Uganda, Father Hattie was missioned for light ministry and praying for the Society and the Church, as he moved to Pedro Arrupe Community in Nairobi at the age of 88.

As we have noted above, apart from the first years of his Jesuit formation in his home country, and a few more years as Mission Procurator in Cleveland, Fr. Hattie spent the whole of his life as a Jesuit in India and Eastern Africa. A missionary par excellence!

Adverse conditions that afflicted the poor and marginalize were his “portion and cup” by his own choice, for all the years of his life. The letter of Father General, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, to Fr. Hattie on the occasion of his Golden Jubilee in the Society of Jesus, which he celebrated in 1990, states, referring to his mission in the Sudan: “Only you and others who shared the ordeal with you know how much you had to put up with in the hardship post, an area that is still torn apart by civil war and where we can only hope to start anew as circumstance allow.”

Father Hattie had a jovial relationship with fellow Jesuits and spiced up the community in many ways. His great sense of humor was the most precious gift that he always shared with his guests. No one met Fr. Hattie and went away sad. The most difficult thing was to resist laughing at his jokes. He must have attended some training on how to tell great stories and crack hilarious jokes. He knew how to make you laugh even if you had had a very bad day.

He was known for his frank and straightforward conversation with companions. Whenever something needed to be addressed in the community, he would not mince his words, but never lacked in charity.

He had a profound faith to Jesus Christ, and a great sense of justice for the poor, the underprivileged, and the marginalized, for whom he spent his energy, time, creativity and, indeed, emotions, to uplift their life. The choice of mission that he made very early on as a young Jesuit is a proof of his preferential option for the poor.

Father Hattie excelled in obedience as well. Not only would his Superiors attest to this, but also the nurses and doctors who took good care of him. His desire and request to die and be buried in Africa (among the people he loved and served) has been granted. He gifted us, his companions, with the privilege of celebrating his 80 years as a Jesuit, possibly the first companion in the province to do so. At 98, he was still young at heart, and always joyful.

The only thing we failed to teach Fr. Hattie is the use of computers, and the only thing we failed to learn from him is the use of typewriters. We will certainly miss his jokes, great sense of humor, dedication, and diligence. Father Hattie, teach us to remain young, dedicated, diligent, and happy!

Father Hattie has returned to the Lord just after we have celebrated the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday June 11, 2021) and the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Saturday June 12, 2021). This is a confirmation of what many who met him always believed, experienced, and knew about him. He was a companion with a great, beautiful, joyful, and loving heart.

A funeral mass for Fr. Hattie will be offered Saturday, June 18, in his home community in Nairobi.

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Links:
https://www.jesuitsmidwest.org/memoriam/hattie-eugene-f-father/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertianship
https://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/suscipe.html
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2021-06-11
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2021-06-12
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Written Saturday July 2, 2021.

Walnut Hill Rose Garden

 A couple weeks ago my friend (ME) in Texas was telling me how she took her sister (visiting from NYC) to a gigantic rose garden in Tyler, Texas. This inspired me to visit our rose garden here in New Britain yesterday. The weather was fantastic: sunny and hot (90s). Although I went in early evening (~6 pm), the heat was still brutal. Felt like I was in Texas.

The rose garden is located at the top of a hill in a
memorial to World War 1 dead from New Britain.

Aerial view.

 

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Links:

https://txliving.com/tyler-rose-garden-and-museum/
http://www.friendsoftherosegarden.com
https://www.facebook.com/pg/WHRoseGarden/community/?ref=page_internal
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41383
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Written Sunday June 6, 2021.