Fighting A Battle

Today I drove north twice; way out north. The first time was looking for Sears Grand for a new garage opener remote control. I had no idea it was half way to Greeley. It was pretty close to Erie! Picked up the remote and came home and rested and then I headed out to 99th and Grant to a Horan & McConaty Mortuary where a lady who had passed away was having a Rosary at 6:30 p.m.

When I drove up the place did not have any cars in the parking lot. I got the feeling of deja vu because last Thursday I attended another Rosary at Our Lady of Visitation and about three people showed up so the Rosary was cancelled. Tonight I felt sad because I thought the same thing had happened. Maybe no one showed up and the Rosary had been cancelled.

An employee of the mortuary came up to me and asked if she could help me. I told her, "I thought there was a Rosary for my friend  at six-thirty tonight." She answered in a soft, sweet voice, "The Rosary was at six." Seeing my disappointed face she continued, "You are welcome  to view the body, watch the video of her life, sign the book and take a remembrance card." I did watch the video but I did not go look at the body. I prefer to remember people that pass away like I saw them in life. I signed the book and left.

The lady that had passed away was an acquaintance of mine because she had traveled with me with groups I had taken to New Mexico. I believe she went twice with me and on the last trip about two years ago she did not feel well and complained of a stomach ache. The day after we returned from that trip she entered the hospital and cancer was found. She fought hard and continued living her life as best as she could. I would see her dancing, at dinners, and out with friends. She was a strong woman.

A mutual friend called me and told me that our friend had gone into hospice on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 and on Wednesday, the following day, she passed away.

Since I missed the Rosary, I plan to attend the mass tomorrow at eleven o'clock. I did not know her well but I knew of her. I feel sad because she, when I would see her, was upbeat and hopeful. She tried hard to feel better and I never heard her complain.  I wish she could have beat the cancer because she loved life. A pair of sparkling dance shoes were on a table which made be think she must have been quite a dancer!

Now resting in the arms of Our Lord!

A Penny Plus Other Memories

Sitting at a table at the Mardi Gras Casino and waiting for lunch to be served, I happened to reach up to my ear and noticed my earring was missing. Oh no, I thought, I just received the copper earrings today, and already I have lost one. Someone said she saw it when I sat down, so we figured it must be somewhere near. I looked down on the floor and there was a penny. Immediately I thought of my son who has been gone for about two and a half years. Every time I find a penny, I feel as if he is around. I thought, he is playing a trick on me because he loved to do things to fool me! Sure enough, underneath the table, not too far from the penny, I found my earring. Funny how he let's me know he is around.

Today is Memorial Day and I am feeling a bit guilty because on Mother's Day, every year, I go and place flowers on my Mom's grave and also on other members of my family.  I take flowers to mom, dad, brother, son and two aunts and chat with their spirits. This year because I was out of town, I did not take any flowers to the cemetery. I thought about going today but today would be a mess with everyone visiting their deceased love ones at their gravesides. This is the first year I missed after many years.

Then, I began remembering other Memorial Days and how my son would barbecue and have the whole family over to eat. I believe he was at his happiest when he had the whole family together and he could cook for us!

On television I saw pictures of the tombstones of the many soldiers who have given their lives to keep the United States safe. What sadness for many. My heart fills with pride when I see our flag flying. In a recent visit to Branson, Missouri, every musical act ended with acknowledgement of veterans, a prayer to God, a tribute to our country and a song like God Bless America or the Star Spangled Banner. Gave me a goosebumps to see the theaters filled with people with great devotion. Someone told me that Missouri is known for God and Country, and I believe it! The other thing I noticed was the family oriented acts.  As the parents grow older, their children take over and eventually the grandkids will take over. Revolving talent!

My emotions are mixed today....a little bit of sadness, a little bit of nostalgia.and a little bit of happiness for many good memories of my life and my family.

Happy Memorial Day

Love your family,

your friends

and those around you,

for we never know how 

long we will be together.

Prom Night

It was May 16, 2019, and the Young At Heart group of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community decided to have a prom. Many came dressed up to celebrate the crowning of the Queen while the King stood beside her like a dummy. Disc jockey in a white blazer was dressed exactly like the dummy but he was full of life. He played songs of the 50's and 60's and got people up to do the Put Your Right Foot In, etc. plus other group dancing.

I was surprised that many couples danced or sang along with the songs they recognized. Everyone seemed to be in a celebratory mood and the dinner of fried chicken was a big hit. The ninety-seven year old Queen is the only charter member of Young at Heart and she enjoyed every minute. She surprised many when she got up and danced and she got to see many people she knew when she lived in Arvada. She came to visit from North Carolina and spent a few days visiting friends, gambling at Blackhawk, and being Queen of the Prom. Below are photos taken of the fun evening!

"There are shortcuts to happiness, 

and dancing is one of them."

Vicki Baum

I Believe In Miracles

Other than panic, what can you do when your cell phone is lost? The feeling of having lost all the information from the phone plus not having a phone to ask for help in finding it is pure hell! St. Anthony, the finder of lost items, was called upon by me. There were two places I may have left the phone; one at a party I had attended or in the car I was in when my friends gave me a ride to the party.

Without a phone the house was silent. I could do nothing but pray. All my contacts and photos were in my phone. There was nothing I could do because without a phone I couldn't call anyone to check their home or their car. All night I had nightmares about phones and losses.

Luckily I was able to send a message to the party house via computer. I was told that a guest had left her phone on a table and maybe she had picked up my phone by mistake. I hoped that was the case. Because it was already late, the party lady told me she would check in the morning. I asked her to call the people who had given me a ride and she said she would call first thing in the morning.

 The next morning I drove to my friend's home to see if maybe the phone had been dropped in her car. We both went out and searched in her car. There was no phone. Now, my only hope was that I left it at the party house. I had an errand to run at my church and as I was leaving, after telling my story of woe to the receptionist, she said, "Pray to St. Anthony."

As I opened the door to leave the church office, my friend who had looked in her car, was coming in. I said, "What are you doing here?" She searched in her bag and pulled out my phone with an explanation: "After you left, something told me to go look in the car again and I found your phone between the passenger seat and the door."  This was odd because we had both looked in the car including where she found the phone. We looked at each other in awe and both said, "St. Anthony must have put it there!"

I have had feelings of happiness in my life, but finding my phone was one big feeling of joy! St. Anthony is the patron saint of finding lost items and he has helped me before to locate items I have lost. I do believe he is working harder than ever now that I am older and my memory isn't what it used to be!

"Tony, Tony, 

come around,

some thing's lost 

and can't be found."

Prayer to St. Anthony

A New Addition

Even though I vowed to stop collecting items for the house, I could not resist buying a walnut cross in Branson to add to the crosses on my wall. This unique cross softly spoke to me..."Buy me, buy me." So I did!

Information with my cross: This product is handmade from black walnut shells. The black walnut tree is native to the Ozarks. It's fine grain and rich dark color make it very desirable for furniture, and the walnuts provided an annual cash crop.  The nut meats are delicious and even the shells have a multitude of uses.  It is prized for wood carving.  Ozark carvers have produced a wide range of excellent wood carvings from native black walnut.  We hope this bit of "Ozark Black Gold" provides you pleasure for a long time.

I an sure I will enjoy my cross because I love looking at it and it looks great on my wall! May it will remind me to eat more walnuts!

"Adding  a healthy amount of walnuts

 to your diet can be extremely beneficial."

From the Internet

A Great Trip is Continued

In my opinion, our bus was the classiest bus among the many other buses! Just saying!

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, after breakfast at the hotel and taking a few pictures, we were ready to go to The Doug Gabriel Show at the Pierce Arrow Theater. We had never heard of Doug Gabriel, yet he is a fantastic singer and by the time the show was over many purchased his music CD. The show is made up of  family members; wife, daughter, sons, etc. One son is a comedian and wears his hear like a Hershey's candy kiss! It is interesting how shows always end by praising God, veterans and country.

 Visiting Branson Landing might have been an interesting shopping mall but it was raining so most every one looked for a place to eat. A few of us ate at Oak Bar Grill and after eating ran (well some of us walked as fast as we could) to the bus!

 In the picture above, all the men went to the bathroom so the picture is just of the women!

The Sight and Sound Theater was our next stop to see Samson. What a show! The sets are huge, horses come up the aisle, llamas follow young shepherd girls, camels come on state and there is lots of action on the panorama and massive stage. Girls on swings pass over the audience and when Samson knocks the pillars down the whole theater seems to shake. The noise of tumbling rocks is realistic and the story of Delilah and Samson is a great story performed to the awe-stricken crowd!

 After the show we went to Pasghetti's Italian Restaurant for dinner and relaxation. Many talked about the amazing Samson show. When we returned to the hotel, I had a few of the women come to my suite to pray the rosary. One lady brought Moscato wine and we snacked on honey roasted almonds. On an other evening I had the Gin and Tonic ladies and my drink was so strong I immediately felt inebriated!

 In the narrow patio at the hotel there was a peaceful mural painted on a wall and we decided it would make a good back ground for us to take pictures. The trouble was that all our bodies covered the mural!

On the road again we headed to the Grand Shanghai Theater where we would see the Amazing Acrobats of Shanghai. I thought the show was sort of like the Cirque du Soleil but instead it was young people from the ages of nine to twenty-four. They were terrific dancers, jugglers, balance artists, and tumblers.

 

 Boarding the bus after the show we went to the Old Downtown Branson where I read that strolling through downtown is like stepping back in time! A trolley named Sparky was ill on the day we were there so we never got to ride it around the town, a 5&10 cent store was crowded with everything or anything, and we saw many restaurants. We did not have time to check out the town or do anything because we waited for about half an hour to get called to eat. We ate a delicious lunch at Farmhouse Family Restaurant.

Around five we entered a golf course complex with beautifully kept lawns and at the club house named Pointe Royal a buffet was waiting for us. Salad, fried chicken, green beans, macaroni and cheese, potatoes and bread were ready for us to eat. Dessert was served and we wandered around and looked at the beautiful, green yard and building.

Before getting on the bus we took pictures of the forty-five persons on the trip and the bus driver.

Our final show was at the Clay Cooper Theatre and it was exciting, fun, energetic and full of talent with five brothers and one sisters. They all played a variety of instruments and the entertainment was perfect! One brother came down a zip line playing his guitar and later he flew above the audience in a self propelled flying machine while he played a banjo. I enjoyed watching Catherine, the sister play different instruments, especially the harp!

Last day in Branson, on Friday, May 10, 2019, we had our bags packed to be picked up and taken to the bus. On our way we stopped a few times and arrived in Kansas City to see the World War I Museum. A huge tower can be seen for miles and a few of the people went to the top. I read that there are forty-nine

steps and that sounded like a lot for me to try going up to the top of the tower. Standing on a glass floor I could see hundreds of poppies below the glass. The poppies represent the many soldiers that were killed during World War I. Leaving the museum we spent the night in Topeka, Kansas at the same motel we had used on our way out. At our last stop, where there was an Arby's, Subway, Wendy's and a McDonald we stopped to eat and I told them to return to McDonald's because I had a treat for them. After eating everyone got a cup of ice cream and we were ready to start home.

My walnut cross purchased in Branson will go up on my wall of crosses.

The beautiful drive home with sun and clouds  seemed as if God was welcoming us home. My thanks go to God for a safe and wonderful trip! The journey was a success because everyone got along and when we arrived at Spirit of Christ there were many hugs and kisses as we parted company.

"The world is a book

and those who do not

travel read only one page."

St. Augustine