This Thursday, May 14, we leave at 7 o'clock at night from Seattle to London. Fortunately, however, thanks to upgrades, we have the privilege of flying first class on British. It makes the nine hour flight a lot more comfortable. After a layover at Heathrow Airport in London, we fly British at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to Lyon France arriving at about 6:30 PM. We are driven from the airport to the Villa Florentine in Lyon. The hotel is…
My father was a great believer in motivational ideas. He read motivational books, had motivational slogans and was a believer in goal setting. He was also a very positive minded person which stood in stark contrast to my mother who tended to worry. I'm afraid I took more after my mother's viewpoint in spite of every effort of my father to influence me with a positive outlook. As a young man I worked on developing a goal oriented and positive outlook through reading and…
We are at our home in Scottsdale where the weather couldn't be more perfect. We've been here a week and have done little more than enjoy ourselves in this relaxed setting and extraordinary weather. Lita's progress from her knee joint replacement surgery has gone really well and she is getting around better every day. Last Sunday friends, whom we have known for many years and who live in desert highlands where our home is located, invited us to attend Mass at…
I realize this is difficult to read due to the small print and quality of the copy. However, it is an interesting family history of my father in law Hollis Barnett. His family traveled across the country all the way to Mount Rainier where they pioneered the area. It is a story of survival which has lessons for all of us. Hollis Barnett died March 22, 1990. See this blog for his story.
My father in law, Hollis Barnett died on March 22nd 1990. He was a unique and wonderful man. You can read about his extraordinary wife Betty Barnett and more about this couple whoI grew to love. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/03/i-write-this-in-memory-of-my-wifes-father-hollis-hall-barnett-whodied-in-puyallup-washington-on-march-22-1990-at-the-a.html Hollis Hall Barnett died in Puyallup, Washington on March 22, 1990 at the age of 83. Hollis was born in Buckley, Washington on May 3, 1907 and spent his younger years at Mt. Rainier National Park where his father, Herman "Herm" Burke Barnett, was a…
My grandsons were born twins and one twin was given the challenge of autism. Perhaps it is more accurate to say my daughter and her husband were provided an opportunity to test their parental love and parental devotion with one of their children and my grandchild. So far, over a decade of time, they have succeeded in every way in spite of all the obstacles that accompanies a special child like this one. So, when my daughter shared Emily Kingsley essay "Welcome to…
My maternal grandfather Peter (Petar) Babarovich was born April 12, 1861 in the village of Splitska on the island of Brac in the Adriatic Sea. He died in Anacortes, Washington March 5, 1935 see: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2012/03/peter-babarovich-1861-1935.htm He died on March 5th 1935 and I was born 12 days later. It must have have been a very difficult time for my mother, to lose her father and then give birth to me. He and my grandmother had seven children all of whom, except my mother,…
Newman Clubs serve as a center for Catholic students attending non-Catholic colleges and Universities. In Washington Bishop O’Dea, in 1908, invited the Dominicans to serve the students at the University of Washington, Seattle, and they established a Newman Club for the students, where they still serve. I was a freshman at the University of Washington in 1953 and I got involved in the Newman Club where I first met a charismatic priest, Fr. Bill Dooley, who was the chaplain of the Club while serving…
Eighty years ago, in 1935, Adolph Hitler announced German rearmament in violation of the 1919 treaty of Versailles. The following year Nazi Germany reoccupied the Rhineland in further violation of the treaty. Ultimately, his provocations led the world into World war II. The economy of 1935 was still in a depression. The Wall Street crash of 1929, known as Black Tuesday, had devastated the stock market and brought the economy to its knees. Unemployment was 25% that year and many were working on a part-time. Industrial production…
President Obama has asked Congress on Wednesday to authorize the use of military force against ISIS. It made me reflect on how much armed conflict involving the United States that has taken place since my birth 80 years ago in 1935. It is a staggering list for a nation dedicated to peaceful co-existence. To start with, our military is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with over 160,000 of our active-duty personnel serving outside the United…
