A Memorial Bus

When a dear friend of mine passed away in December, many memories swirled around in my head. One memory was how he and his wife had traveled with me on a pilgrimages to the Santuario de Chimayo. Every year, for ten years, this devoted couple joined others to enjoy the three day trip.

After I stopped doing the pilgrimages, my friend would call me and ask me if I would consider doing another trip. I regret to say that I told him I wasn't planning any trips for the near future. And now he is gone. At his funeral reception I spoke to members of his family and suggested having a memorial trip for him to the place he so loved. Many agreed and asked if I would plan a trip.

In January, I began calling and e-mailing priests, the bus company, restaurants, hotels, and tours to get tentative prices of what a three day trip would cost. I could see that the prices had gone up from when I had arranged a trip in the past. I also figured a two day trip instead of a three day one and will discuss with both the widow and the priest to see which they prefer doing. To put the finishing touches on the journey, I need to know how many persons plan to go because this determines how much each person will need to pay. Once I come up with a price, I will call the places where we will be visiting to firm up the prices. For a trip in August, payment would have to be completed by mid-June.

The Itinerary is that we would travel to San Luis, Colorado to see the almost life size stations of the cross, to Taos, New Mexico for Native American dancing, to Chimayo to see and gather the dirt that for some is considered miraculous, to Santa Fe, New Mexico to see the Spiral Staircase, San Miguel Church one of the oldest churches in the United States, the Cathedral and the many outfits of La Conquistadora, and a trolley ride through Santa Fe.

The bus would be filled with my friend's family and those who knew him as we travel to those places he loved so much. Either a three day or a two day pilgrimage would be a nice remembrance for a wonderful, generous, kind and full of fun man.

Disappointment after Disappointment

How long does it take a collision repair shop to fix a car?  My car was hit by a Mazda pickup truck striking my rear left tire, smashing the left door, fender and bumper.  An estimator came out to check my car and sent his estimates to my insurance company.  My car was towed to the Honda Collision repair shop and I began driving a rental car. The collision shop would call me every three days to let me know how the repairs were progressing. Marcus and then Leah gave me favorable reports. All the calls sounded to me quite positive and as if the repairs were moving along. At one point, after my car had been at the shop for a couple of weeks, Marcus told me that further repairs would be needed. He told me not to worry, they would contact the insurance company and I did not have to do anything. When I asked about a completion date, it was hinted, because nobody could say for sure, that I might have my car fixed by the first week in March.

Today, the second of March, I called to find out when I might be getting my car back this week. I was told: "When they went to work on the body we found out the all the car was welded on to one piece of metal so now we have to put on a new roof to complete the repairs."  My first question was why did they wait until now to let me know something so drastic needed to be done? The response was: "We found out when we got to this part of the repairs. We will contact the insurance company to let them know."

I remembered when the estimator had looked over the car he had mentioned that it might be totaled, yet when he gave the report to the insurance company there was nothing about my car being totaled. He did mention that once the car was pulled apart, at that time they would know if further damage had been done because he was unable to see all the repairs at the initial estimate.

A feeling of helplessness has come over me. I am at the mercy of the repair shop. There is nothing I can do other than call my insurance to find out what will happen from this point forward. The person I was speaking to at the Collision place did say that the car might be totaled but it was up to the insurance company as whether or not they decided to total it. I placed two calls to the insurance company and left messages.

Six weeks later and I am about at where I was right after the accident. Makes me wonder why I was called every three days with updates on how the work was progressing. Now I wonder if any work was being done and the calls were a bunch of bull-shit!

This morning I spoke with the insurance company and was informed me that the estimator had been contacted on March 2 by the collision shop to come out to do another estimate. After the estimator sends in his report, the insurance company will know how to proceed. The insurance person  also said he did not know why it was taking so long to repair my car when it was supposed to be an eleven day repair.

The hardest thing for me is to sit and wait. Something like this makes it very difficult to trust and have faith that people work in a spirit of honesty and integrity. I certainly believe that the Honda Collision shop does not.

On March 4, 2015, I received a letter from the insurance company along with another estimate. The good news is that the car is reparable and the bad news is that no one seems to know how much longer it will take!

A Feel Good Movie

On February 25, 2015, I saw McFarland, USA. I debated on seeing Still Alice or Whiplash but decided to see the movie about a coach who does wonders with young men who work in the fields. It was the best decision I could have made because the movie, to me, was an excellent one. I guess what I liked that it wasn't just a movie about a miracle performing coach with downtrodden kids, but instead it was an eye-opener for how people react to stereotyping.

The football coach, with a temper, has been let go from various schools and gets a job in McFarland, California. As the coach's family drives into McFarland, one of his daughters says, "Are we in Mexico?" Not sure if they want to stay they decide that there is no place to go, so they stay.

The story centers around six high school students who help support their families by getting up at dawn, working in the fields and then running off to school. In the process, the coach who wasn't sure if he wanted to be in McFarland because he saw many Mexicans as trouble makers. Seeing the boys run, he did see potential in the boys and decided to train the boys for cross country running. It wasn't easy but the coach got to know the boys, their families, shop keepers and soon the family settled down in the town of McFarland.

I cried and I laughed and when my emotions become involved in a movie, I know it is a good movie.  Slowly the stereo types were erased and people began to see each other with open eyes. Remarks made to the boys from the "white" runners made me wince. "The only way they run, is if a policeman is chasing them,"
and "Or if there is a Taco Bell is in front of them!" Then when a Mexican man kept waving the Mexican flag in front of an Anglo-Saxon, that bothered me too. The Quincienera brought tears to my eyes and the chicken scene made me laugh. In my seat I rooted for the boys to run faster and when they lost I felt sad.

Seeing the coach get up at dawn to work with the students in the fields and for him to see how hard it was for them to even go to school makes one realize how hard it must be for the young men. Seeing the warm kitchen of a Mexican mother as she fed her family enchiladas and seeing how important family is to a Mexican family was beautiful. Hearing the Mexican father explain why his boys had to work in the fields to help feed the family, made me realize how difficult it must be for parents and knowing that their children will follow in their footsteps.

Somehow, after many detours, the boys end up running in California's State cross-country race.  I cried knowing how difficult it must have been but with determination of both coach and runners, they were the State Champions!

The end of the movie while the credits are rolling, real photos of Coach White can be seen and his first year cross country team who all went on to college and are now successful teachers or business men. Those first six runners return to run and practice with new teams being formed. The coach and his runners took nine state championships and the town of McFarland enjoyed every minute of watching their boys win!

Similar Faces

I turned off my Kindle, feeling a bit sad that the story had ended. Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan had kept me busy for the past week. When I began reading I thought the story was about a woman fleeing an abusive husband. She is running away with her three children but it also became the story of the life of Robert Louis Stevenson, the author. Robinson Crusoe and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are a couple of his better known stories.

The more I read, the more interesting the lives of Stevenson and his wife, Fannie Van de Grift Osbourne became as they loved, argued and traveled. I was not aware that he was an ill man or that she suffered from mental illness. In fact, I did not know much about either one of them. After reading the book and becoming intrenched in their lives, I wanted to know more. Each character is easy to picture by Horan's descriptions and the mood of the times is very evident. Friendships come and go and jealousy seemed to reign among the many artists. Fannie was also an artist, but the time she lived in seems to have kept her from writing.
Stevenson and his artistic friends also kept her from developing her own writing skill. After Stevenson's death she did publish a few things.

 It seems that they were ahead of their times, doing things that could be objectionable to others, yet they seem to move from love to anger to despair and back to love. Words are very important in how they speak to each other and the wrong word could send one or both into fits of depression. The world traveling, due to Stevenson's health, is like a travel log. Where they end up in Samoa, a tropical paradise, sounds both beautiful as well as awful and disgusting!

Though the book's main characters are Stevenson and Fannie, I got glimpses of their family and friends by Horan's descriptions. Stevenson was forty-four when he died and is buried at Vailima in the South Pacific.
From knowing nothing about Stevenson and his wife, I now feel as if I understand their relationship, his struggles in writing, her hurts and anger, and the love they had for each other. The book is considered a historical novel and Horan made the story interesting interspersed with facts!

When I saw a picture of Stevenson, he reminded me of some of my relatives with the mustache and the clothing.

Ideas for Future Blogs

Friday Feb 18, 2015
1)     At a Small Church Community meeting ISIS was being put down, anger at how cruel the group acts,
and how God would never forgive members of ISIS. Playing the Devil's Advocate I said, "At the time of death, if the ISIS member was truly sorry for sins committed, God would forgive him."
Someone said, "But these people are killing Christians, I don't believe they would be forgiven."
I brought up the Spanish Inquisition and said that those were Christians killing and torturing other Christians. Someone asked, "Why were they jailing and torturing them?" I responded that some Christians in the Spanish Inquisition believed those being killed to be against the teachings of the church, but in some cases, it was to get land and properties. Another SCC member said, "God for some, is the dollar." I agreed.

Thursday, Feb 19, 2015
2)     Spending most of the day trying to figure out my Verizon bill. Even though I got a free iPhone my bills since mid-January have totaled around $248. I called and spoke to one man and he convinced me that the charges were for getting the new phone hooked up. When I got my Visa bill and noticed that I had already paid for the hook up, a case, a protective cover which came to $109.00. I called Verizon again and the man went over each amount on the bill. I asked if I was being double charged. He went over each item and again convinced me that the bill was correct. No matter what I asked, he had an answer that made sense. These were one time charges, he told me, and my future bills would be right around $73 a month. My final thought is that having a smart phone is expensive!

Friday, Feb 20, 2015

3)  Had a birthday lunch for my son who turned fifty-two years old. We went to Billy's Inn in North Denver and even though the place is noisy we enjoyed the food and recalling past memories.

4)     Weather forecaster predicted over a foot of snow for this weekend. I stopped at the grocery store for a few things and what a shock when I saw the lines of people stocking up. Buggies were all gone and people had to wait for some to be brought in. There must have been about 15 persons in each line waiting to be checked out. Every counter was busy with checkers busy ringing up every bodies groceries. My clerk grinned and said, "Won't it be funny if the forecast is wrong?" I said, "After seeing the storm on the east coast, I can understand why people want to stock up in case they are unable to leave their homes because of deep snow."


Feb 21, 2015
5)  Once again my tree is covered in snow. One photo was taken in October of 2014 and one taken this morning. The snow is continuing to fall and Arvada has eight inches with more expected throughout the night and Sunday. On February 25, I took another picture. The winter views are so similar it's like having a deja vu moment!

Litany of Thanks

This morning when I opened my eyes, I thanked God for who I am and for what I have. Usually it is a quick thank you for letting me wake up, but this morning my thanks continued and before I knew it, I had a litany of thanks. I reminded myself of Jimmy Fallon and his thank you notes!

Thank you for letting me wake up this morning.
Thank you for a good night's sleep.
Thank you for my health.
Thank you for the sun shining.
Thank you for my family.
Thank you for letting me be born a Catholic.
Thank you for my friends.
Thank you for my computer.
Thank you for helping me with my blog.
Thank you for doctors who keep us healthy.
Thank you for hugs and smiles.
Thank you for Facebook.
Thank you for my life.
Thank you for letting me see beauty in things.
Thank you for allowing me to drive.
Thank you for my guardian angel.
Thank you for my ankle healing.
Thank you for good weather.
Thank you for my eyes.
Thank you for good books to read.
Thank you for my ears to hear.
Thank you for my nose to smell.
Thank you for my tongue to taste.
Thank you for my appetite.
Thank you for my beating heart.
Thank you for electricity.
Thank you for nice neighbors.
Thank you for my legs and feet for walking.
Thank you for my hands and arms.
Thank you for making me in your image.
Thank you for Lent.
Thank you for our priests and deacons.
Thank you for those that volunteer.
Thank you for the food I eat.
Thank you for the mountains beautiful.
Thank you for the water I drink.
Thank you for movies.
Thank you for my camera.
Thank you for farmers.
Thank you for dying for me.

I realized that I am thankful for so many things that I could probably come up with many more reasons for feeling appreciative. Yes, I feel thankful for so many things, yet sometimes I fail to thank God for what I have and dwell more on negative things!

First Day of Lent

Today, those ashes from the burned palms will be placed on my forehead. Every year, Ash Wednesday is filled with good intentions of what I will sacrifice. Fasting, doing more good, being more helpful and daily mass are a few of the things that I would like to do. Maybe this year I will accomplish my eager intentions.

Growing up, I would give up chocolate and Easter Sunday was a chocolate gorging day! As I think about what I love that I could give up, one thought comes to mind. I do love to blog. I wonder if I can go forty days without blogging?  If my blog is silent for awhile, it is because I have decided to leave my blogging until Easter Sunday!

At mass this morning, the ashes were ready to be placed, in the shape of a cross, on everyone's forehead.

Father in Heaven,

protect us in our 

struggle against evil.

As we begin the

discipline of Lent,

make this season

holy by our self-denial.

Grant through our

Lord, Jesus Christ 

who reigns with you 

and the Holy Spirit,

one God forever and ever.

Amen.