Celebrate The Day

We call this event "West Hartford Days" (but it's official name is "Celebrate! West Hartford"). It is held on Saturday and Sunday in June but since Lynn and Richard moved to West Hartford, we have attended on Saturday. It is a combination of arts & crafts, community service booths, local food & entertainment, carnival rides, and the library book sale.

This year the weather was threatening: it rained in the morning and was cold. But things settled down, the rain stopped, and it warmed up for the afternoon.

Our day started with the usual roller hockey game. Unfortunately, Richard's team lost 9-2.  Perhaps the rain got the team into a funk.

But by the time we went to the bank, and Richard showered and changed clothes, the sky was no longering leaking. So onward to West Hartford Days.

Always interesting food at these kind of events. Richard's favorite is Thai (garlic) chicken on a stick (with a side of rice and veggies) from a New Haven-based restaurant. The line for this was always long. He also enjoyed a bottle of Stewart Key Lime soda and a fancy cup cake. I tried an order of Greek stuffed grape leaves. Lynn and I sampled some free yogurt (coincidentally, I had Greek-style).

Friends of the Library BIG BOOK SALE (Sat. 10 - 4)

A favorite event for us is the annual book sale. Richard didn't have much interest but Lynn and I found a few things. Just as I was getting ready to pay, they announced the $5/bag deal. That worked out good for us. Lynn and I were able to stuff a few more books into a bag and got a good deal. She got several mysteries novels and a hockey book for Richard. I found a few Bible-related books including The Dartmouth Bible (2nd Edition) and the Reader's Digest Bible, Illustrated Edition. I also tossed in a decent copy of Treasure Island.

After the book sale we took another walk around the booths and rides. We ran into a long-time colleague of mine, GaryP and his wife. I used to work with Gary at HSB in Clevo and Hartford; and ran into him a few years ago when we both worked in NYC.  Lynn was kind of amused that although she has lived in West Hartford for 4 years that we run into a friend of mine.

Earlier, Richard had run into a school chum who was passing out helium balloons. Keep Richard in your prayers because he has final exams this coming week.

When we got back from West Hartford Days, we watched the Clevo Indians on the tube. They lost to the NY Yankees. Thankfully, we did not spring the big bucks to travel to NYC to Yankee Stadium. It takes a small fortune in order to attend a major league event.

Finally, June 11th is my brother Kurt's birthday (Happy Birthday Kurt!). He celebrated by running a 5K race with his daughter, Ellie, and my brother David and my sister Tina. Ellie finished ahead of them (41:21); then came Tina (43:15); and Kurt and David were only a whisker behind (43:17).

The joy of victory!

After the race (L to R): Tina, Ellie, David, Kurt.

Miracle of the Surfing Madonna

Surfing Madonna mural in San Diego, CA.

This story caught my eye today and I couldn't resist sharing it with ALL of my friends and beloved family members who follow my blog (HAHAHA). It combines a sense of humor, art, beauty, and subversion.

If you google "Surfing Madonna San Diego" (either the web, news, or images) you can probably find a number of articles and pictures. Basically, the story is: in April, just before Easter, a group of artists disguised as hard hatted construction workers installed a mural under a railroad bridge in San Diego. 

The mural depicts a Madonna-like figure riding a surf board with the words "Save the Ocean" at the left side. The problem is that according to city regulations it is considered graffiti and needs to be removed. However, due to its high artistic quality and its mysterious appearance, it has become something of a tourist attraction.

And today, it has been reported that the mural is quite secured to the wall and it will take a miracle to remove it. This is really upsetting those who think that if the city leaves it up, all kinds of graffiti will propagate. On the religious side are those that think the city is promoting religion if it leaves the mural in place and then there are the conservatives who see it as blasphemous.

As you can see from the above picture and detail, the artwork is exquisite. The LA Times has a nice article dated May 9, 2011 titled "A Surfing Madonna appears in San Diego." Click on the pictures there to see high def details.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Out in Africa

"When I was younger, so much younger than today..." one of the attractions of visiting my grandma was the unusual air mail letters (aerogrammes) that she often received from a Jesuit missionary priest in Uganda. What a thrill it was to hear about the "adventures" of Fr. Gene Hattie.

I got to meet him once when I was in college. He used to return to the USA during summers to visit his patrons. My grandma was involved in mission Circle 7 at her church. That particular summer, grandman hosted a visit from Fr. Hattie. We had cake and coffee and, of course, said a rosary.

By the time I moved to Connecticut, my grandma's health was fading. She was dying for 40-some years (but she finally was right). Anyway, during that time, I lost track of Fr. Hattie.

Then, about 4 years ago, something of a miracle occurred. I received one of those junk mail letters from the Jesuits soliciting donations for their holy work and the letter specifically mentioned Fr. Hattie! What was even more significant was that just a few days before receiving the solicitation, I got to wondering about "what ever happened to ol' Fr. Hattie."

So I started to send a few bucks to Fr. Hattie every month and, sure enough, I received one of his famous aerogrammes, written by an old fashioned manual typewriter (see picture above and extract below).

About a year ago, Fr. Hattie was sort of forced to retire due to health reasons. So now he is in a Jesuit Retreat Home in Kenya. You can write to him at:
     Fr. Eugene F. Hattie, S.J.
     Pedro Arrupe Community
     P.O. Box 978
     Karen, Nairobi 00502
     KENYA

If you are interested in supporting Fr. Hattie's most recent project: the orphans of Nsumba Uganda, he recommends that donations be sent to the nuns who are now running the orphanage (do not send any money to Detroit or Chicago):
     IHMR
     Sr. Christine Nantaba
     5244 Manning Road
     Indianapolis, IN 46228
Clearly mark on the check: Fr. Hattie's orphans in Nsumba Uganda.

Of course, the Jesuits have missions all over the world and you are free to donate $ to whatever mission and wherever. But Fr. Hattie has a special place in my heart. I hope that you will pray for his health and his orphans.