Who Feeds Me?

Yesterday at Fr. Greg Ames' mass celebrating thirty-four years as a priest, he left us with an assignment. Instead of putting unimportant things on Facebook, we were to write about someone who has touched our lives and made us better people. As he put it, "Please comment about someone in your life, stranger or friend, who has enriched your life by their unselfish love."

As I thought about the many persons I could not find one outstanding person because there have been many. Many had helped me grow and many had fed me, but I could not think of a one extra special person. I had driven to Mother Cabrini Shrine and sat and meditated on trying to think of that one person. I mulled the people in my life but no answers came up. There were many I could give credit to and yet, I knew I would have to think more about the subject. Being fed by our Lord by people that transformed me into being a better person and in turn, I would treat others in a way to improve my corner of the world!

Driving down the mountain I decided to stop at Heinie's Market to purchase peaches and freshly roasted green chili. As I parked my car I saw a Spirit of Christ person that I know. She, before the pandemic, was a faithful gambler on the bus to Blackhawk. I had not seen her for five months and it was so nice seeing her. She was struggling with two canes to reach the grocery cart and mentioned she was buying peaches for a friend who no longer drove. I wondered if I would have done that kind of a favor!  As customers went around us we spoke about her being a reader at mass and I told her I saw her on Utube. "You have a very nice voice and I could understand everything you read." I told her. She responded with, "I practiced reading it."

She mentioned how she goes fishing at some reservoir, though she skipped July because of the 90 degree weather. I marvel at how daring she is to take her fishing equipment down to the edge of water, even with the rangers helping her. She said when she is ready to leave they come by to help her again.  To me, that takes a lot of guts because I know how difficult it must be to walk with canes or a walker. I have neither and it is still difficult for me to walk on uneven ground.

I couldn't help but think that in all the years I had known this sweet lady, she always has a pleasant disposition. She never lets her physical ailments get her down and has volunteered at
9 Health Fair plus other functions where I have happened to see her. Knowing myself, I do not believe I could do half of what she does.  I no longer had to think about the one special person who I admire and without knowing it, feeds me and makes me want to be a better person! I also know God put her in my path because he knew she was one of his angels feeding people on earth!

"Angels are like diamonds.

They can't be made,

you have to find them.

Each one is unique."

Jaclyn Smith

A Place To Meditate

Being cooped up in the house is beginning to take a toll. Today I decided to drive to Evergreen but dark clouds were forming and I did not want to be caught in the rain so I opted to visit Mother Cabrini Shrine. I could not believe how crowded it was and even before the pandemic I had never seen so many cars. I decided not to stay where all the people seemed to wandering around; some with masks but many without.  That's when I saw the additions that were not there the last time I visited the Shrine. Red benches were scattered on the side of the mountain side where people could sit and look up at the giant statue that look tiny because of the distance.

What a view! I sat on the metal bench and looked at the green mountain and the white, puffy clouds.
Two clouds looked like two hands and I wondered if  God was saying, "Come to me!"

As I sat looking at the clouds and the Sacred Heart Statue I thought about Fr. Greg's homily today about what we can do to make the world a better place. I will paraphrase part of what he said: "We are fed by our Lord by people that transform our lives and how we treat others." He asked that we write about someone that had touched our life and put it on Facebook.

I thought about people that have been in my life that have made me a better person.  What a wonderful place to sit and meditate. People that are good for goodness sake and do not expect anything in return touch me with their kindness.

I could see the stairway leading to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and prayed that no one would pass the coronavirus. It looked crowded and there did not seem to be any social distancing. When it began to sprinkle, I decided to leave the peaceful area and took one last picture of the pretty yellow wild flowers.

"This mountain, the arched back

of the earth, risen before us,

it makes me feel humble, like

a beggar, just lucky to be here

at all, even briefly."

Bridget Asher

My Cousin is Remembered

Even though my cousin passed away in March, his memorial service took place yesterday, July 27, 2020, at Ft. Logan Cemetery. It was an exciting time for me because I would meet his family, which were also my relatives. I remember him from when we were children and my Mother would visit her brother and drag my brother and me along with her. In my uncle's family there were seven children but the two cousins we hung around with were the ones closer to our age. We would play together and they showed us around their farm. One cousin was my age and the other was slightly older than my brother so we got along well. The Memorial Service today was for the one that was my age.

For the three-fifteen memorial service we met at Ft. Logan and followed the procedure of waiting in our cars until a military vehicle would lead us to the Staging area where the ceremony would take place. We all wore masks, due to the Coronavirus, and we were told to stand six feet apart. A veteran read either a prayer or explanation but I could not hear what he was saying as he had to speak through his mask and I was toward the back. From somewhere came the sad bugle sound of Taps. Four men shot rifles into the air and each loud crack made me jump. Two young female soldiers stood at attention and then slowly and precisely unfolded the large American flag. Then, they proceeded to refold the flag into a neat triangular bundle. One of the soldiers knelt in front of my cousin's daughter and with a few words, which I could not hear, the flag was placed in her hands. The two soldiers then left the area and we all faced a huge, golden bell. A soldier struck the bell around five times making a loud and reverberating sound. I felt as if the sound echoed in my heart!

The family was then led to where my cousin was interred. The identical white tombstone with his name, branch of the service, and his dates from birth to death. I did not know the family members since I had not been around as they grew up and not seeing their father, my cousin, for over thirty some years or longer. It did not take long to meet my cousin's children, an ex-wife, spouses, etc. We took pictures and then left to meet at The Monterey Restaurant in Arvada where along with a meal there would be a slide show and a few eulogies.

One son looked so much like my cousin, his father, I could not stop looking at him. I felt a sadness that I had not been closer to my cousin. It is strange how families tend to drift apart and I wonder why. One thing I do know is that my cousin had some handsome children and they are all friendly and nice. Things I learned were that one daughter has lived in Saudi Arabia for ten years with her husband and three children; one got her degree in architecture, many in the family are artists and creative, one is a tattoo artist, one served in Iraq two different times, and all I could think was how proud my cousin must have been with his children and grandkids! My cousin was a builder of homes and some of the homes, I have been told, are huge with four levels. He would build the homes he lived in and his last home is located somewhere in Northglenn.

I have a feeling that if he was looking down at his family he would have been very happy. His children had stories about his life and there was lots of laughter from those present. I am happy I was there to share in this family's memorial for they are also part of my family!

"A family is a circle of love, not broken by a loss,

but made stronger by the memories.

We are forever blessed that God

connected us to you."

Internet Quote

A Forest of White Tombstones

Anyone that knows me, knows I have problems with directions. It seems that I get lost more times that I find my way! If my instincts tell me to go right I had better go left because I have learned my first inclination will be wrong. Yesterday I attended a memorial service for a cousin at Ft. Logan and almost panicked because there were so many roads that seemed to go on forever. Seeing some workers, I stopped and asked for help in finding Staging C. One of the workers came to my assistance and got into a golf cart and told me to follow him.  I thanked God as he led me over, around, up and down the many roads until we arrived at the place where I should be for my cousin's service.

My heart felt heavy to see all the white tombstones and to know that each one represented a soldier. How many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, children and friends must have cried tears for their beloveds. This was the second time I was attending a service at Ft. Logan, and I was very impressed at how organized the whole service is arranged. Arriving to the area everyone stays in, or near their cars, until we are led to where the service will be. In a covered area, a soldier reads a prayer or history, there is a four gun salute, tap is played and it sounds so mournful, two soldiers unwrap the flag and refold it, to present it to a loved one and a huge, golden bell is struck about five times.  Each time the bell was struck the loud bong reached deep into my heart.

It is an impressive ceremony for any soldier or veteran and I was glad I could be in attendance for my cousin who had been in the Air Force.

"I respect every soldier, 

from every country,

who serves beside us in

the hard work of history.

America is grateful and

America will not forget."

George W.  Bush

Hard Work Pays Off

On Saturday, July 25, 2020, my granddaughter graduated from Erie High School. This is always a big occasion but in this case, it was extra special. She did not enjoy school and tried to quit a few times but luckily her Mother persisted on her daughter attending school. A few years ago, my granddaughter was having such a bad time at school that it was decided to have her take classes via the Internet. When I would see her and ask her about school she would reply with "fine." I hoped that she was doing all right with the computer classes.  When I heard she had not passed the Internet classes, I felt bad for her and prayed that she would not give up on her schooling.

She and her mother moved to Erie, Colorado, where she enrolled in high school. Again, when I would see her and ask her how school was going I got her standard answer of "fine." Sometimes she would tell me her classes were hard. I continued praying that she would not become discouraged. I knew my granddaughter was smart and could not understand why she did not care for school. I know she had problems with reading when she was younger and wondered if that might have had something to do with her not liking school. I also know she was good at math but she told me she did not care to work with numbers.

And then, this year she let me know that she would be graduating, and I gave a sigh of relief.  She had made it and now had her high school diploma. One huge step in her moving forward in her life. Her next decision will be if she continues her education. Whether she does go on with her education or not, I am very proud of my youngest granddaughter because I know she struggled but managed to win out at the end!

"It always seems impossible

until its done."

Nelson Mandela

A Surreal Moment

It appears that in the pandemic era we are in, I need to go grocery shopping about every two and half weeks. Before the Coronavirus I might have gone shopping weekly, if not more often. Yesterday was the day for my outing. Never in all my years did I think I would enjoy going to the grocery store as I do now. I do not wear my mask in the car, but slip it under my chin and when I arrive at the store I pull it up over my mouth and nose.

In the car as I drive to the store, everything seems so normal. No one in their cars is wearing a mask and it seems as if there are as many cars as before the virus hit. At the store, seeing the masked shoppers lets me know that things are different. Other than that, everything else seems normal and the same as before the pandemic. Prices on items also seem to be higher than I remember. It used to be I would buy five grocery bags full and the bill would come to around $80. Now, I have three bags for the same amount of money and basically I am purchasing the same items. I really noticed it yesterday at Heiney's Market in Wheatridge. Last year the peaches were around $2.89 a pound and now they are $3.49 a pound. The green chile bags are also selling for more than last year.

I can understand the rise in prices because of businesses not being able to stay afloat and struggling to stay open. The odd sensation that came over me had nothing to do with the price, but with how normal everything seemed to be. The only thing different was that we were all in masks and there was no chatting between shoppers. Yet, if I did not know about the coronavirus, it would be difficult to think that there was something wrong in my world today!

And then I come home and listen to the news and that is a scary thing because it does not seem possible that so many persons have died of Covid 19. Also every day the number of patients goes up. It is hard to put my observations when I am out and about with the statistics I am hearing on the news. Now that is a surreal moment!

"That which does not kill us.
makes us stronger."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Pandemic Is Making Me Feel Dumb

Knowing myself, I realize that in many cases, I do not like to face reality and prefer to bury my head in the sand. Yet, how could I have gone through my life and not heard of some people. During this pandemic I have watched a lot of Netflix and found that there are some persons that are completely unknown to me! And, depending how long we continue to stay indoors I wonder how many more documentaries of famous people I will watch.

Walter Mercado, an astrologer, happened to be popular among the Latinos/Hispanic groups in Mexico, South America, the United States and Italy. He would let people know their astrology signs and what to expect in life. Yet, I had never heard or seen him on television. He was followed by millions of people and I wondered why I had never known about him or at least heard of him! He was a flamboyant dresser with sequined capes, lots of lace, and difficult to tell if he was a man or a woman.  His outfits reminded me of Liberace. The footage shows how he believed in love and never made a negative statement; everything out of his mouth was positive.

Alejandro Sanz is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. After winning 17 Latin Grammy awards and three Grammy's I would have thought I might have heard of him, but didn't. He is handsome and has a nice voice bordering more on rock than ballads.

Wynn Handman was a teacher, director, and producer leading many to become great actors; Richard Gere, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, plus others. He brought out talent in actors and writers and some of the plays were, in my opinion, weird. I would call him outrageous by some of the  subjects he chose and I am not sure I would have enjoyed his plays. One quote that he mentions was, "We only live when we don't live on in others."  I liked the quote and agree with it   He died on April 11, 2020 due to complications of Covid 19 at 97 years old. Surely when famous people's deaths are listed, I should have known Wynn Handman and something about his life! But I didn't.

John Coltrane was a jazz musician playing different instruments but known for the alto-saxophone and composing music. I find it difficult to understand jazz so this documentary left me outside of the music but people who do understand jazz gave him stunning reviews. One commentator was President Clinton and he, along with fellow musicians remarked on how innovative Coltrane played.
I realize that a musician's ear is so different from mine and felt lost when I heard some of his many arrangements. His life appealed to me because he hated war, wanted his music to spread love and one of his quotes was like a prayer: "Humbly ask to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music."  He died on July 17, 1967  at forty years of age of liver cancer.

Clarence Clemons another sax player and he played with Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr's All Time Band but I had no idea who he was. It surprises me how spiritual some musicians are and how their main motive is to bring happiness to listeners. Clemons, in the documentary said, "My purpose in life is to bring light and joy to the world. "He is described as a big man who was a great saxophone player. Interesting that President Clinton also commented on the talent of Clarence Clemons. He died in 2011 at the age of sixty-nine of complications of a stroke.

Since I have been hooked on watching documentaries I have seen some known persons that I recognized. The five mentioned above I had no clue as to who they were and that made me feel kind of dumb! Why had I never heard of them?  I attended a Bruce Springsteen concert in the early 80's and wonder if Clarence Clemons was on stage with him. I realize I cannot know everyone on this earth yet I feel good that at least the five mentioned above I can now say I know something about them! All five of the men believed in love and treated each other like brothers no matter the color of their skin!

If it had not been for the pandemic of Covid 19 I probably would never have learned about them because my life would have been more involved than watching Netflix!

"Music is the shorthand of  emotion."

Leo Tolstoy