Today was a Sunday off.
I didn't sleep in. I usually get up at 8 a.m.
I didn't do much, though.
Went to the wine store, played hearts and solitaire, read a David Rosenfelt novel, looked at email, stuff like that.
People think priests should go to church every Sunday.
I don't.
I love a Sunday off!
Lazy Sunday and no regrets.
White Dog is dead.
He belonged to our next door neighbor and Brigit adored him.
She's been looking for him every day and David told Bern today he died a couple of weeks ago.
His real name was Westie and he was 14 years old--blind and deaf for several years but could still smell Brigit.
They would meet at the fence and wag and sniff and pee.
He got into our yard a couple of times and Brigit was in White Dog heaven.
And now he is gone.
Bern was crying when she came back from talking with David.
He hadn't told us, he told her, because it was so painful to him.
My contention is that when dogs die the pain is acute for us--but it fades quicker than when people die.
Farewell, White Dog!
We will miss you.
Especially Brigit.
The January 6 committee ended their 3 hour presentation today (all of which was about what the former President knew and what he did) by issuing (by unanimous vote) a summons for him to appear before them and answer questions.
There is almost no chance he would obey the summons--none, not any, nada.
But it was a great way to end their hearing.
He wouldn't dare, given all they have told me, submit to that, unless he's even more unbalanced and crazy than I think he is (which is a lot on both counts).
But it would be interesting, to say the least.
I'd pay to watch that.
A Jury in Waterbury, CT today required Alex Jones to pay nearly a billion dollars in damages to the Sandy Hook families whose relatives died in a school shooting he called a hoax.
I served St. John's in Waterbury for 21 years as their rector.
When I drive through, as I did today, I always look for the church tower on the Green and have fond memories of my time there and all who touched me deeply.
Good for that jury.
Not enough Bad could happen to Alex Jones.
(Jones, by the way, was my mother's family name, but that doesn't let him off the hook with me!)
To lie about dead children.
How much more despicable could you be?
Not much.
Not much at all.
No one wants to get old...it just happens.
Time passes.
Just like that.
I see a lot more doctors than I did when I was 40.
Many of my health care providers have retired!
So, I'm breaking in new ones.
I wear hearing aids, for goodness sake, and today I asked my PC doctor to get me a (gasp!) handicapped parking sticker.
I filled out my part of the form and should get it soon.
Easy parking!
Not a bad trade for getting older.
But by no means a good one....
Just wait.
It will happen to you.
I got a post card last week from a Credo conference in Roslyn, Virginia from 3 priest friends--Chris, George and Nancy.
I knew the first two when I was a young priest in West Virginia. They were on the Jr. High Camp team with me and became life-long buddies. (They called me 'Bomber', though I don't remember why.)
The last was a seminarian in CT years later. An upper middle class woman who would serve upper-middle class parishes after she was through with me in the urban church.
I've been retired so long I don't really know what Credo stands for anymore--or most Episcopal Church logos.
They wrote to let me know they were sharing stories about me--Lord help me!
I wish I could have been there with them.
Old friends, bookends...whatever that means.
I love them all.
I'm still on so many drugs from the hospital that I feel a little strange.
At the peace, I had to race to the bathroom to keep from pooping on my alb.
Trying to let down my pants and pull up my floor length alb with a rope around my waist made me feel truly sorry for women in long dresses trying to go to the bathroom.
I was back before announcements were over but my alb wasn't straight by any means and I coasted through the Eucharist.
I see my GP tomorrow and hope she can straighten me out some.
I'm on a drug to rid my body of fluids and it seems like I have to pee every 20 minutes!
(I know it's not true, but it seems that way.)
I just want to feel normal--if I even know what 'normal' feels like.
(Sorry about all the pee and poop stuff in this post--just that kind of day....)
