My Pledge

Elizabeth, thanks for using your compositional talent for the good of the family. I have taken the pledge and here is my weekly entry. I do wish that I possessed a portion of the literary vocation so that my entries would stimulate the laughter that inevitably results when I tune in, but alas, I am a reader and not a writer.
Speaking of which, I just read in Zenit a speech given by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminister to the youth in Liverpool. His topic concerned his hopes for the youth. His main points centered around the need for community, dialogue and the spiritual life. On the last theme, he referred to a book that sounds interesting...here is the quote:
"I came across an echo of this in a contemporary modern author recently. In his novel Life After God, the Canadian author, Douglas Coupland writes:“Now -- here is my secret; I tell it to you with an openness of heart that I doubt I shall ever achieve again, so I pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God -- that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me to be kind as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love as I seem beyond being able to love.”
Has anyone heard about this book or read it?
Dad and I had a good time yesterday....Jane had been at our house for a couple of days (we had a wonderful visit during the moments when Dad could take a break from his political rantings...which Jane very much enjoyed and encouraged!)and we took her to the airport early in the morning. Because we were planning to babysit for the Duffy kids that eve, we thought we might stay in town and meet them at Holy Rosary for the 4:30pm mass and then sample the Italian Street Festival. First, we went to the City Market and had coffee (most of our companions at the outdoor tables were homeless) and picked up a newspaper (yes, Nuvo) to see what was going on in the city. There were many options to choose from...but headed for the Talbot Street art fair. We had some trouble traveling north out of downtown because by this time, the GLBT parade had started through the downtown streets and we had to be rerouted several times. We did get an unexpected glimpse of the parade....It was quite colorful. Once out of the downtown proper, we stopped at Crawford's bakery...I had a scone, Dad had a donut, a cherry cheese danish, and a cream cheese iced brownie. We had an unexpectedly good time at the art fair...yes, there was an excess of menopause art, tie dye, yard art, etc.. but some very good art as well. We had several conversations with the artists of the work that we most admired...one from Denmark, one from Russia, one from India, and one from Ireland. We were wondering what to make of it....what does it say about the international art scene and the art training that is received? I also had a wave of nostalgia...remembering another time in our lives when we frequented this particular art fair....oh youth! When we had had our fill, we headed up to mom's and took her out to lunch and visited for a little while. She was good and was pleased with the unexpected visit. Then back downtown to Holy Rosary for a beautiful mass...much incense, beautiful music, bells ringing....I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of our Catholic faith. Out the doors then into the sea of humanity....every Italian food offering, beer guzzeling, wine gulping, every size and shape conceivable of the human body, all drenched with sweat!! I loved it! They had a Marian procession a little later with lots of kids dressed in Italian costumes, lots of little boys in red cassocks, the Knights of Columbus dressed in full regalia with feathers and swords, a beautiful statue of Mary and again, lots of bells from the bell tower. What is not to love???? We feasted on meatball sandwiches, Italian ice,and lots of lemonade. We eventually took our leave with the Duffy children, but had to make one last stop....Frosty Boy!!! Ummmm. Then home to bed, tired but happy.
I am hoping that everyone else is taking the pledge and I am looking forward to the entries!!
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads reading this blog......