Catholic Team Falls to the Devils

Saturday October 26th was another home game for Richard's college. And they played another Catholic school....and WON!  For the season, the Blue Devils are 2-2 versus Catholic Schools.

This week's opponent was the Salve Regina Seahawks. "Salve Regina"" is a Latin term which translates as "Hail (Holy) Queen." It strikes me as somewhat blasphemous (or at least vulgar) to hear fans shouting 'holy' words while cheering at these games (e.g., "Go Salve", "Go Sacred Heart", etc.). To me, it shows the ignorance of their fans toward their own religion (and just think how much tuition costs at these private schools).

The weather was cool but sunny (I felt sunburned by the end). Richard and I again sat in the Student section stands, towards the top, about mid-field. The Blue Devils Dance Team was on our side of the field, along with the Marching Band, while the Cheerleaders were on the opposite side of the field (by the Reserved seats).  For some reason, there weren't too many fans; the official attendance was only 3312 (Hardly OSU or Georgia or Tennessee).

Having played in my high school marching band, I have to say that I am very impressed with the Blue Devils Marching Band. While it is small in numbers, it is very professional and polished. They do a nice medley of Rhapsody in BLUE, Behind BLUE eyes

So far, for each game, they have distributed "goodies" at the gate when we entered.  This time we received little NEC backpacks which included a pen (blue ink, of course) and some sun screen (which I didn't realize until after the game-see above).  We found out later, they were also giving away single servings of flavored pretzels. Ended up getting a "bunch" of those too.

The Blue Devils dominate the game. At half-time the score was 35-0. The Devils third TD was an exciting 94-yard run.  The final score was 47-13.

I was looking forward to a tasty cheeseburger from Ted's food truck but it wasn't there this time. So instead, we each had a "Frito pie".  This is a tasty small dish (only $3) of black and red beans in a chili sauce, poured over Fritos with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. Yumm.

After the game we walked around the campus; had hoped to go to the bookstore but it was closed. Had to get home in order to get ready for this evening's final performance of the play, "Hedda Gabler."

Links:

http://www.salve.edu/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salve_Regina

https://www.facebook.com/CcsuMarchingBandFans

http://www.northeastconference.org/

http://www.ccsubluedevils.com/sports/fball/2013-14/boxscores/20131026_inbm.xml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frito_pie

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2013/10/hedda-gabler.html

Double Dead!

Double-our beloved friend.

Lynn's long-time orange cat, Double, went to the Big Sky on Wednesday October 16, 2013. Lynn's other cat, Cutie, was by his side at the end.  Double was something like 10-12 years old. Kidney failure.

Double was the king of the cats in Lynn's house, the alpha male. When I came by, he was always at the door to greet me and lead me into the apartment. Same when I left. He was the first cat to get petted when I arrived, and last when I left.

He would watch TV with Richard and me. When Lynn joined us and sat in the rocker, he would jump into her lap where she would scratch his head and pet him; he would only do that with her.  He liked to drink from the large plastic "Double Gulp" cup that Lynn got from 7-11. That was HIS cup-he knew.

Double arrived after Trouble. Hence, at one time, Lynn had "Double" (and) "Trouble." After Trouble met his match with a car, Double became an indoor cat.

I remember a time playing roller hockey in the driveway at Lynn's place against Double. Perhaps that was the start of Double's connection with hockey. In subsequent times, it was not unusual to look for Double and find him curled up in Richard's hockey bag (do cats have a sense of smell?).

Double must have remembered his time outside because he periodically would try to slip out of the apartment and run down the stairs. Then we would have to scoot him back up the stairs.

Double liked to sleep on the edge of Richard's bed (on the orange comforter).

Slightly blurry picture of Double in the fridge.

Double was a "cool" cat in more ways than one would think. One day, Lynn noticed that Double wasn't around. She looked everywhere for him but to no avail. Thinking he might have slipped outside, her search extended outdoors. No luck. Where was Double?

When Lynn opened the refrigerator to get a drink, there on the bottom shelf sat Double. He looked up at her with a blase look as if to say, 'where did you think I was?' Apparently, he was hot and wanted to cool off. At first, we thought he slipped in when someone left the door ajar too long. However, after we found him in there several more times, we realized he was able to open the door himself and climb in. I learned that this type of behavior is not as unusual as one might think.

After Lynn took him to the vet and found out that Double's kidneys were failing, she made a valiant effort to prolong his days. This included special food, and almost daily fluids via IV. Sometimes I would help: I sat on the floor and held Double, while Richard inserted the needle and monitored the flow, while Lynn stood on a chair to hang the bag of fluid from the chandelier in order to hasten the flow.

During his last few weeks, Double took to curling up in a shoe box on the window sill in the sun.  Often, the other orange cat, Cutie, was nearby.

Cutie (L) & Double (R).

Initially, Lynn wasn't keen on cremation. But after Richard requested it, there really wasn't any other option. She found a good deal where she got a swatch of his fur, paw print in plaster, and a very handsome wooden box with "Double" engraved (wood burned) on the top. So now Double is still with us, still nearby as we sit in the living room. Thank you Almighty One for Double, our beloved friend.

Links:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/cute-cat-photos_n_2088407.html
See also: http://www.ourcatspictures.com/cat-loves-the-refrigerator-322.html

Updated T10/29/2013 for refrigerator.
Updated Sun11/03/2013 for hockey bag & fridge pic, window sill pics, IV text.

St. Margaret Shrine

After the football game at Sacred Heart University,  we drove down the street a short bit until we came to Saint Margaret Shrine. I hadn't been there for several years and the last time I was there, I was sad to see it in a state of noticeable disrepair.

We were pleasantly surprised to find it in significantly better condition.  It was apparent that serious effort had been taken to repair and even upgrade the shrine.  It essentially is a hillside with about a dozen little stations devoted to saints and events (e.g. Fatima).

There was a new Padre Pio statue as well as a large area for Our Lady of Guadalupe.  We would've stayed longer but there was a wedding party taking pictures. Also since Saturday Mass was just letting out, we didn't get a chance to peek into the little church. Maybe next time.

Links:
http://www.parishesonline.com/stmargaretshrine
http://www.stpadrepiosociety.com