Its a sunshine day

Its is December 27th and it is 66 degrees. In Pittsburgh!The sun is shining!Holy Joyfulness!Or, perhaps, holy global warming!

In any event this is a day to celebrate. A day to skip and jump and romp and stomp. I plan on doing all of these at 3:30 when I get off from work.

Stop reading and get outside!

The Visit

Today I visited a nursing home with a group of my co-workers. We do this every year through the Presents for Patients program. You are assigned a patient and given suggestions as to what they might like. My patient wanted snacks, cookies, peppermints, powder and a brush.

One of the patients had recently passed, another refused the gift for reasons that were unclear to us. A few others were only vaguely aware of what we were doing. My patient was an exception. Mardean, that's her name, was so incredibly grateful for those small gifts. Her eyes lit up. She held the pair of socks like they were gold. My voice cracked as I said Merry Christmas. I was so overwhelmed by her gratitude. And embarrassed by the "troubles" that concerned me earlier in the day.

Christmas gifts don't get any better than that.

I am C, I am C-H ....

I consider myself to be a Christian. Maybe not in "religious" sense but am I a follower of Christ -- you bet.

I was raised Catholic and was pretty devout. Now I rarely go to church but when I do I still know every move. I love the ritual of church not because I think it necessarily signifies anything but because I think its a beautiful ceremony. That said, all of this is totally separate from the fact that I consider myself to be a Christian.

At work a group of us have been doing "Presents for Patients" for the past 4 years.Its a program that assigns you to a patient in a nursing home. You get them a present and deliver it. A simple act of kindness.Some of the people have dropped out this year stating that it is too much.In other words , they can't be bothered. Meanwhile they are still running around getting stuff for family and friends. I find this to be astonishing. I told Bill that if it came down to the fact that I could buy a gift for him or the patient, the patient would win hands down. Isn't that what Jesus would do? Aren't we supposed to embrace those who are most unembraceable ? Those who are neglected and pushed aside? Those who are the least like us?

These simple concepts inform my views on a full host of social issues including the death penalty and abortion. I do not include "gay marriage" here because I do not view love between two men or two women as different than the love between myself and Bill. But for those who do, and consider themselves to be Christian, why would they not do as their Christ commanded?

I will get off my soapbox now because I think that's what he would do.

Withdrawl

For the second day in a row I am unable to check my email here at work. We can't figure out why. We don't appear to be blocked by administration. No "access denied" message. I called AOL. No answers there either.

Of course I can check my mail when I go home but I have become so accustomed to checking it here. I feel like a junkie. Now I have to wait 3 more hours to find out all the updates on my friends' lives. This is unacceptable!

My friend, Caroline, and I were talking about this very thing a few weeks ago. How do people get through the day without checking mail (and then checking it again!)?

I could write more but I have to check if I have access yet.

John Lennon

Today marks the 28 anniversary of John Lennon's death. Part of me still holds onto the hope that its not true.

The Beatles, particularly John, Kept me sane during High School. He"got" me or did I "get" him. I, too, was a proud outsider who wanted to fit in. Speaking of peace while feeling rage made total sense. "Jealous Guy"? You bet. "Imagine" and "Working Class Hero" were my ying and yang. He was light hearted despite the weight of the world that rested on his shoulders.He was brilliant, yet tremendously flawed. Wasn't that me?

I often wonder what he would think of the world today. The music, the culture, the politics.His voice is sorely missed.

Damn you John for leaving us. Thank you for never being gone.

A slow day

I am bored silly here at work but, given my state of mind, its better than being frantically busy. In honor of the boredom here are some more random tidbits 'bout me:

I love to walk.

Two of my favorite lines from the movies are:
"Tell 'em the pervert's back" -- Woody Harrelson (as Larry Flint) in "The People v Larry Flint"
"You have no idea" -- Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bulow in "Reversal Of Fortune" (after being told that he was "a very strange man")

I have no children.

I have never smoked -- anything.

I am an Aries -- and it suits me.

I have a very hard time saying "no".

People have told me (and Bill) that I am exotic-looking. Wonder what that's code for?

Perfectly ordinary

Nothing much to say here. Just wanted to report that I had a perfectly ordinary, but nice day.

We went to breakfast/lunch at IHOP. Holy cow that's a lot of food. Oh so yummy! Pancakes (with oats, walnuts and almonds), cheddared-up eggs, home fries and all the coffee I could swallow.

After we (make that I ) did a little grocery shopping, I came home and took a nap. In the middle of the day! Sweet!

And now I am watching Rudolph. Sigh.

Like I said, "perfectly" ordinary.

100 years ago today

Today would have been my maternal grandmother's 100th birthday. For some reason she always celebrated it on the 2nd.

She was a remarkable woman and I miss her 23 years after her passing. I grew up in her house and it helped shape me in ways that I can't count.

She came here from Italy (Calabria, to be precise)when she was 3. Her parents struggled and she had to leave school after the 5th grade to help out at home.

She was married at 15 to a man she barely knew. 3 "dates" and then the wedding. It was arranged. He was 15 years her senior. Their wedding photo is my most prized possession.

She suffered 2 miscarriages and a stillbirth. Her next child, a girl. lived a few hours. Then she had 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls.

My grandfather was killed in an accident while working on the railroad behind their house. She was only 37 years old. Back then social services were not what they are today. She did what she needed to survive and raise her family. She "wrote numbers". It kept the family alive and then some.

She had her share of troubles with some of the children. But she never complained.

She was the best cook and baker in the entire world.

And she loved me unlike anyone else ever has. She thought I hung the moon. And the stars.

I owe her so much and I hope one day to live up to her legacy and to honor her with my life.

Until then, thank you Carmella Vaccaro Vecchio.