Our friend, Julie Harrison, had a wonderful cat named Ed who purred so loud you had trouble carrying on a conversation around him. After a very long life Ed became sick and she finally had to put him to sleep. As a cat owner I felt her pain and thought of this poem by an author that is unknown: Cats are Wonderful Friends Gentle eyes that see so much,paws that have the quiet touch,Purrs to signal "all is well"and show…
While the economy began to suffer earlier, the great depression became a national reality with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday,"and lasted until the start of World War II in 1941. During the depression in 1930 the average income was about $1,800 a year and you could buy a new Model T Ford for around $520.00. Driving was cheap. A gallon of gas cost ten cents. Houses could be bought new for under $2,000 and the average…
I suspect if I asked a hundred people of the present generation who Billy Sunday or Amiee Semple McPhereson were, few if any would know. Both were once as famous as Billy Graham. William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was born into poverty in 1862 and spent time in an orphanage until he could find odd jobs in small Iowa towns. He became a celebrity as a professional baseball player and was one of fastest and aggressive runners in stealing bases. In 1890, the…
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 have staffed the Newman Center there since. I was a freshman at the University of Washington in 1954 and I got involved in the Newman Club where I first met a charismatic priest, Fr. Bill Dooley, who was Chaplin there. Father William Dean Dooley O.P. served as the…
Last Thursday Lita and I attended a private dinner in Seattle with some twenty other people and Governor Christine Gregoire. Among the sujects Governor Gregoire discussed was our proposed budget. We have a two billion dollar short fall in our state, economic decline and increased costs to contend with. The Governor pointed out that the problem is complicated by the fact a large part of the budget leaves little room for cut back such as education, pensions etc. The economy…
My friend, Dennis Donnelly is an outstanding New Jersey plaintiff’s trial lawyer. Before becoming a lawyer law school he taught school and was a lover of literature. Recently he introduced me to a poet I had not read before, Rainer Maria Rilke. One of Rilke's poems I enjoyed was this one The Panther: His vision, from the constantly passing bars,has grown so weary that it cannot holdanything else. It seems to him there area thousand bars; and behind the bars, no…
Many of us can point to one person or perhaps several people who played significant roles in our life. People who made the difference at a tipping point in our lives. Someone whose words or actions changed our attitude and the direction of our life for the better. For me, after my parents, it is a short list: a third grade teacher, a high school basketball coach, a Catholic priest and two lawyers. Each played an important role in moving me forward…
In January, the Seattle times published an opinion piece by Terrence Carroll and Sam Sperry titled "Church leaders should be careful influencing political campaigns" Http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008601098_opin08sperry.html They were critical of Catholic church leaders attempting to influence voting on legislative issues as well as for political candidates, as religious tax exempt organization. Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett was interviewed on a local Catholic radio station about the piece. He was upset and critical of their views as well as them personally. He insisted his…
January is the month for car auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are four major auctions at about the same time which include the Karuse auction, the Silver Company auction, Gooding and Company auction, the RM Company auction and the Russo Steel Auction. It is also the month for the annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car auction which runs from January 11th through the 18th in Scottsdale. The company also sponsors auctions in Las Vegas and Palm Beach, Florida. The company began in 1971 with its…
I have just finished a book, The Duty of Delight – The diaries of Dorothy Day edited by Robert Ellsberg. Dorothy is my great inspiration in my spiritual growth. I've written about this amazing woman before. Ellsberg, who worked with Dorothy for many years says she attended daily Mass, which usually meant rising at dawn. She prayed the monastic hours from a breviary. She devoted time each day to meditating on scripture, saying the rosary. Dorothy in her diary says:…
