Friday

 So, I went to the library--took back 5 books and checked out 5 more. I do this once a week and almost always read them all.

Bern reads as much as I do.

We are two voracious readers of Cheshire Public Library.

It's a great place. There to serve voracious readers like Bern and me.

Then I went to Big Y to get stuff for dinner. Lots of seafood for tonight.

Then I read some and sat on the back porch.

I played Hearts on line and read some stories on line and looked at some on line videos.

Now I'm writing this....

Not an exciting Friday, I'll admit.

But fine with me.

Just fine.

Doctors today

 Bern and I both went to doctors today.

I saw Dr. A., she is my cancer doctor though the cancer was over a decade ago. She's wonderful! I tell her stuff I don't even tell Bern.

Bern went to our new Primary Care doctor today. She loved him--though she was less than happy with the doctor before him.

She told him everything and admitted that she told him stuff she never told me....

I don't feel so bad about not telling her stuff after hearing that.

Doctors are those who want us to keep on living and be healthy.

Thank God for them.

I go see the doctor Bern saw today in a few weeks.

I actually look forward to it after her experience.

Until now, Dr. A. is the only M.D. I looked forward to seeing.

If you feel the least bit bad, go to your doctor.

They're there for us....

I'm surrounded by plants

 There are 17 potted plants on our back deck.

They are on the floor, sitting on the banisters, in waist high metal holders--all over.

I probably only know the names of 5 or 6.

Check that. I only know the name of one--a curly cactus. 

If you saw it you could name it--it's obviously a kind of cactus--though not painful to touch--and it curls around.

Pretty neat!

But Autumn is here and at some point most of the plants will come inside for the winter.

They'll all be downstairs and all over the place.

Bern and her plants.

They surround me....

That many? Really???

 I checked the number of views "Under the Castor Oil Tree" has.

I do that every few weeks.

Today I realized that I have had one million, 500 thousand views in total.

I know a few people who check in from time to time, but I have no idea how my blog has gotten so many views.

But thank you, whoever you are....

"AS"

 My sermon tomorrow is about 'forgiveness', which Jesus tell Peter to do 'seventy times seven times' when a member of the church sins against him.

The title of the sermon is "Don't Forget to Forgive".

I named it that because of the Lord's Prayer.

Jesus tells us to pray, "forgive us out trespasses ('sins') as we forgive those who trespass ('sin') against us."

AS is the big word there.

In the prayer it means "in the same way that".

So, if we don't forgive, God will not forgive us.

Check out Matthew 18.21-25 to read all about it....

And don't forget to forgive....

9/11

 TV and radio won't let you get away from it--9/11 is everywhere--as it should be today.

The question people are asked is 'where were you on 9/11?'

I've tried and tried and can't remember.

I was living in the house I'm in now--that is certain. 

Beyond that, I have no idea.

Have I blocked it out of my memory because it was so painful?

I don't know....

Where were you?

education

I read an article on line today about the most educated and least educated states.

Connecticut, where I've lived for most of my life, is the 4th most educated state in the union. The ones who are ahead are 3. Maryland, 2. Vermont and 1. Mass.

Not bad, considering the three above CT all have great colleges and universities.

The state that is least educated is (hold on...) West Virginia.

That's where I was born and spent all my life until I went off to Harvard at 22.

Bern and I lived there again and both our children were born in Charleston while I was the priest at St. James there.

But then we moved to CT and have been here ever since.

So, moving from the least educated state to most of my life in CT. seems a good move.

(I just told Bern and she agreed!)