Snow....finally

The parking lot this morning-first snowfall of the season!

Overnight I could hear the pelting of rain, sleet, and snow. So this morning I looked out the window and saw confirmation that despite many recent days of spring-like temperatures, it really is winter. Fortunately, I did not have to drive to work this morning (as I am using up my paid time off for this year).

I think we got about an inch or two of snow slush. It was after 8 a.m. when management got around to plowing the lot. That really helped those that had to go to work this morning.

Late this afternoon (or early this evening), I finally got around to cleaning off my car and shoveling the snow from between the cars. Since the temperature is forecast to again drop below freezing tonight, I didn't want to face ice skating to my car tomorrow or windshield wipers frozen in place.

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Written Wednesday 30 December 2015.

Second Try

I returned to St. Mary's Church for regular Sunday Mass even though I was just there two days ago for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve/Morning. Another 70-mile drive each way. I attended the 9:30 a.m. mass because it was a High mass and boasted a coffee/social time following mass. A social period after mass can be a huge test for a church on how newcomers are welcomed or ignored.

This mass was a similar but different from the Midnight Mass. Although there was no orchestra this time, the choir (Scola Cantorum) sang beautifully. See the list below. You may notice that the Mass was for the Feast of St. John the Evangelist rather than the Feast of the Holy Family (which was celebrated at the 11 a.m. Mass). Apparently this is due to the liturgical calendar used.  The same priest was the celebrant as for Midnight Mass.

Music for the Feast of St. John the Evangelist

(Missale Romanum of 1962, 9:30 a.m.)
Prelude: Versets on Von himmel hoch (BWV 769) (J. S. Bach, 1685-1750)
Hymn at the Procession: What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
Missa Praeter rerum seriem (Cipriano de Rore, 1515-1565)
Gregorian Mass of St. John the Evangelist: In medio Ecclesiae
Motet at the Offertory: Praeter rerum seriem (Josquin des Prez, c.1450-1521)
Motet at the Communion: Virtus Sancti Spiritus (Praeter rerum seriem, secunda pars) (Josquin)
Postlude: Versets on Von himmel hoch (BWV 769) (Bach)

This time I had a more difficult time following the order of mass even though I had a program (which didn't seem to correlate with the music book). You can't really get too lost, though, because it is the Mass. I sat in a different place than Midnight Mass. I like to take in several views initially in order to find the "sweet spot."

This is not my photo but I like it because it gives a perspective of being there.

The coffee/social "hour" was held in the adjacent school building. In addition to the coffee and table of cookies and cakes, there was also the blessing of wine which is associated with the Feast of St. John (I didn't have any since I had a long drive ahead).

Blessing the food (Photo by Stuart Chessman)

At first, I was alone during the coffee hour but while waiting in line, Joe welcomed me and started to talk. Later, Tom came by and also talked. Before leaving I had a nice chat with Jill Chessman (wife of Stuart Chessman whom I met Christmas Eve). So far, what I have experienced is interesting enough to warrant a return. The main down side is that it is so far away from where I live. The irony is that Norwalk was where I worked when I returned to Connecticut 20 years ago.
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Links:
http://www.stmarynorwalk.net
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/12/midnight-mass-in-latin.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13547b.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Evangelist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Family
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Roman_Calendar_of_1960
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=46
http://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmas4.html
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Written Tuesday 29 December 2015.

Revenge of the Whale - The Book

This is the cover of the juvenile/teen edition of
Phibrick's In the Heart of the Sea.

I just finished this book: "Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex." It is the juvenile/teen version of Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea, which was the basis for the recent movie of the same name. As I mentioned in my post about the movie, I was inspired to look for the book but all copies in my local library were already signed out. So I settled for the "teen" version (the Scholastic Books web page indicates that the reading level is grade 8.5).

This was perfect for me: a little bite that I breezed through in a week. You could probably sit down and get through this in a couple hours if you wanted. This version had two sections of photographs (8 pages each), five illustrations, and two maps. The book had 164 pages (including a 3-page index and a 1 page list for "further reading") plus 12 preface pages.

The last sentence of the book calls the story of the Essex" a tragedy that happens to be one of the greatest true stories ever told." Here is the summary from the front flap of the dust jacket:

"On November 20, 1820, the unthinkable happened: The whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry whale. In minutes, the twenty-man crew (several of whom were only teenagers) found themselves stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in three leaky boats with minimal supplies and little hope."

"Three months later, two of the boats were rescued off the coast of South America. The  castaways had sailed over 4,500 miles from the site of the disaster, an incredible distance. Bot of the twenty men, only eight survived."

Reading the book revealed many discrepancies with the movie. For example, the movie used a framing device of Herman Melville interviewing one of the survivors in preparation for writing Moby-Dick. As far as I can determine, this never happened. The movie also shows one black man survive but the book indicates that none of the blacks made it back.

One of the haunting aspects of the book for me was the deadly ramifications of some the decisions that were made. These decisions were made based on the crew's best information but if the officers were better trained then they might have made different choices that could have resulted in more of the crew surviving. That has got me wondering about what well intentioned decisions I have made throughout my life that have steered me to failures I did not want or intend. Sometime I feel like I am drifting in the ocean hoping to be rescued but knowing that it is unlikely. Just have to keep sailing and trust that God will guide you through.

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Links:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/revenge-whale#cart/cleanup

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/12/revenge-of-whale.html

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Written Sunday 27 December 2015