The World of Grandpa Don
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Back to grandkid .
A work in progress - complete but not finished |
What's New In the world of Grandpa Don On this page I have recorded what I found significant during the past week as well as my thoughts about those events and other reflections. I started doing this before the practice became popular on the internet This is my diary, written a little each day and published weekly. At times I may seem to pontificate on a subject that comes to mind during the week. I do not intend it as a demand or even a suggestion that everyone should think or act as I do. It is rather, intended to let you know what goes on in my mind ... how I am motivated to live as I do.
If The World of Grandpa Don
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Week Ending
Friday |
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Or to learn more of Grandpa Don and his remarkable family ...
Many of the quotes found on this page are from the daily messages I receive from Covenant House  |
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Last Friday I intended to spend the evening at home but my plans were pleasantly altered by an invitation to join the birthday celebration for my daughter. Dinner was at "Richie's" in Mount Greenwood, a delightful place with great food. In attendance were Anne Marie, of course, Dom, Dominick, Sarah, Marc, Joe and myself. We returned to the Albano home for a sinfully rich cake. They had bought a new swing for the back yard and as I left, Joe was in the midst of assembly. It was a delightful evening. My daughter makes me proud to have been her father. Congratulations again Anne Marie. She and my two boys make me look good.
Saturday morning as I ate a leisurely breakfast I watched the Today Show which was dedicated to the memory of Tim Russert. I had read, on the recommendation of Bob Lewis, his book "Big Russ and Me". and was much impressed by the man. He was a man of integrity who rose from simple roots to be a great reporter and analyst of news all the while not displaying any signs of ego on his part. Those who competed with him on other news networks considered him a friend because his competition was of the kind that raised the bar for all and in doing so made them better. We have lost, not only a giant in the news industry, but a truly worthwhile man, an icon to be emulated by everyone in any state of life. I have little doubt that he has brought his relationship with God to its ultimate reward and is this day in paradise with Him.
His sudden death also remind us of the frailty of life. Russert's death was a complete surprise to all including his doctor. He had recently had a stress test which showed no indication of what was to come. His doctor gave a very good demonstration of how and why a person can have a heart attack after such test results. The fact is that we never know when our life will end, only that it surly will and we best be prepared. By prepared, I do not mean "having our affairs in order" as this applies to earthly things, for regardless of how neat and organized we are, or are not, it certainly makes no difference to the individual who dies and ultimately little difference to those who survive. That stuff will get all sorted out. The only thing of importance is to have a right relationship with God. From my point of view, Tim Russert gives every indication of such a relationship. He worked at his Catholic faith and it showed.
He did not go around preaching at people but his every day actions were a sermon on how to live life as God would want us. That is having a right relationship with God and, by extension, with everyone else. Even an atheist could live this way and would be serving God in doing so, although he, in his ignorance of God, would deny it. The question we are left with in regard to the Atheist is ... Would God welcome, or even invite him, to paradise considering their relationship, or lack thereof. The belief in God, strengthened by the support of a community of believers, helps us to know the way. By the way, did you know that before it was called Christianity, it was called "The Way".
There are sermons all around us if we pay attention. The problem is that there are bad examples as well and they seem to be in the majority. Many are not intentional, but simply people who either just want to "fit in" with the world or want to justify their lack of morals by trying to convince others to join them. We just need to have the wisdom to sort things out for ourselves.
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"We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. |
Saturday, I again intended to spend the evening at home and enjoy the wonderful leftovers from Friday evening. But again my plans were thwarted and the delicious sausage and peppers will wait for some day during the week. Instead, I enjoyed part of the afternoon poolside with Dan, Karen and Kelsey. Ana was at a graduation party and Nick was working. We enjoyed wonderful BBQ ribs with Karen's special potatoes and onions along with a side of corn. It was a delightful day, an early celebration of Father's day with my elder son and his family. I did get to spend a little time with Ana and Nick before the evening was over. And of course I had some ribs to put in the frig for during the week. It was a delightful evening.
I saw Dan again Sunday morning. He had some documents that needed to be scanned and emailed to a friend so he came by before Mass. It always takes me a while to leave church after Mass. Part of the reason is that I avoid the crush of people in the Narthex and I avoid the confusion and waiting in line to get out of the parking lot. But there are other bonuses. Our organist always flows from the recessional hymn into a beautiful but brief organ recital. ... always enjoyable. Then I can unhurriedly depart, meeting and greeting like-minded individuals and families as I go. Last Sunday, as I was strolling out with Bob and Mary, I heard, "Hi cousin!". It was Rich Thayer. I have a Thayer among my ancestors and so we know that somehow we are related. But what the heck, we are all family there. By the time I get to the parking lot it is almost empty and I can take my leave unimpeded. Of course, that is all very nice when you develop the mind-set that Sunday morning is devoted to Mass and NOTHING is more important or takes precedents until after noon.
After a relaxing early afternoon, Mikey and I were on our way to the Albano household. This time it was the Father's Day celebration, almost a continuation of the birthday celebration two day's previous and definitely a continuation of the weekend "Rib Fest". This time they were accompanied by green beans and potato salad. Anne Marie insisted that if she had known that I had ribs at her brother's house the day before, she would have made something else. I am glad she didn't because there is nothing I like better than our family's BBQ ribs. I could eat them every day. Tom was supposed to come by and when he didn't arrive we tried to phone him but there was no answer. I knew that Diane and Kelly had gone to her family gathering at her sister's house and that Caitlin was working at her summer life guard job. I also knew that Tom had planned to repair his fence and gate. So I took a detour over to his place and found him slaving away. The project turned out to be more involved than anticipated, as many projects do, and he was overjoyed that I had visited. I made my stay brief so he could finish before darkness fell.
It was a glorious weekend. Being a father isn't hard to pull off when you have great kids. It is the kids who make the father look good. Of course no small amount of credit goes to the mother of the kids, In my case, I had a great support group. It was a glorious weekend for all and for my part, It was a continuation of my feeling of joy and contentment. It doesn't get any better than this ... not in this life.
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The door of opportunity won’t open unless you do
some pushing. |
There were times during the weekend that I had time to think and reflect. That is partly because, like Mass on Sunday, I reserve tome to reflect every morning. There were other times as well and considering the focus on Fathers, I am again, doubly blessed. It is always good when more than one shares the responsibilities and I have been blessed with two fathers, one to give me life and family genes and another to nurture that life. For my part I feel that both men were well suited for their particular roll in the Fatherhood of me. I am well pleased with the outcome and I am sure that it is reflected in my function as a father.
I am also well pleased in the parenting abilities of our children. As it is said, the proof is in the pudding and you don't get a beater dish of pudding than is seen in our grandchildren. It doesn't get any better than this!.
But ... as they say on the infomercials ... But wait!, there is more! After lunch on Monday, Joe arrived with Sampson and one of my Father's Day presents. Several flats of flowers were soon planted around the two trees that have raised flower beds and in the annual bed in front of the gazebo. Last year Marc planted them and Joe got that task this year. They both could make a living as gardeners and I am a smart enough granddad to stay out of the way and keep my mouth shut as they have at it. I had cut several low hanging braches from both trees before Joe came so before he left he finished packing them into a big yard waste bag and put them out at the curb for pickup on Tuesday. The yard looks beautiful with flowers all over.
After Joe left, I retired to the gazebo and read the first chapter of a Father's day book while I sipped another father's day present from a B&B snifter. Oh yes, I had worn another father's day present to church on Sunday. It just doesn't get any better than this! Hummmm, .... seems to me that I said that before.
That evening I became engrossed in genealogy ... again. The recent information from Jean Dean had made the Packard Family Mysteries page obsolete and so I set about to make some "minor" revisions. It is almost a new page. It was uploaded to the server and both Jean and Peggy notified of the changes, I made ea few additional changes on Tuesday, adding some source information. You can view it at Mysteries. I decided that there would most likely be periodic changes to the page so a "Revisions" section was added. I also decided to keep an archive of past versions of the page which can be accessed through the Revisions section.
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One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller |
Tuesday was the occasion of my semi-annual visit to the urologist. . I got my annual PSA test with good results. I told him that I decided to have him do the laser treatment to shrink my prostate gland and asked when we could schedule it. He then explained that after years of working hard to expel urine past the enlarged prostate, the wall of the bladder, normally muscular, and distensible (or elastic), sometimes becomes scared and does not function well. If that has happened, treating the prostate may have little or no noticeable effect. So, we have scheduled a bladder test in a couple weeks. I will have some homework in the mean time. For three days I must record the volume of liquid I ingest and the volume I expel. Then I bring in those records and will have the test done in his office. I can chose which days I record and they need not be consecutive. I suppose there are worse things ... Oh heck, I know there are worse things to endure in this life.
All I can say is that the days are ideal, great for enjoying the out of doors. I have been doing that a lot this week. But that is part of the secrete of contentment. Be where it is the most pleasant as much as possible and take advantage of whatever presents itself. Of course being retired makes it a lot easier than those still tied to jobs and family responsibilities. The flowers that Joe planted near the gazebo were not doing as well as those around the trees. I was afraid that it was because of the Roundup I had sprayed on the clover in that bed just the day before the planting. A review of the instructions on the Roundup container reassured me that I had not done wrong since the active ingredient enters the plants through the foliage and not the roots and it is specifically stated that it is safe to plant in the sprayed area the next day. So, I applied a little Miracle Grow and will stand back out of the way and see what happens.
We all get email forwarded to us. Some of it is very good, some amusing and some just plain crap. When I see one that came from Mary Moskal I know it is one of the better ones. This is short but I think it conveys the meaning of a (((HUG))) better than anything else. See The Lion.
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Happiness is when what you think, what you say,
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Anne Marie has been sending links to the Chillicothe Gazette this last week. Some excerpts from the game descriptions are notable here for obvious reasons.
Tuesday:
Stephen Spragg entered the game in relief as the Paints' lead was now 8-2, and got off to a bad start, hitting the first batter (Zachary Pace) with a pitch. Troy Ferguson kept things snowballing against Chillicothe as the Sliders' second baseman reached base on an error by Drew Saylor. After a Miguel Magrass single, an Anthony Albano double and a Lombardi infield single, suddenly Midwest's deficit was sliced to 8-6.
Wednesday:
The Paints were in it until the sixth, battling back to make it close after Midwest scored three times in the second on a bases-loaded walk by Rob Vernon and a two-run double by Jonnie Knoble. Another run in the third - on an RBI double by Anthony Albano - made it a 4-2 game, but the Paints came right back in the fifth when Adrian Cantu doubled home Chillicothe's third run. But then came the sixth, when errors on consecutive plays by Cantu at third set the table. The Sliders rattled their final four runs of the game that inning on only two hits - the biggest of which was a three-run double by Albano - then survived the Paints push late in the game for their second win in five games against Chillicothe this year.
For Anthony's stats see
Team Stats. You may
remember that several years ago Anthony played summer ball for the
Quincy Gems. His "summer mom" Ginny Gully, still keeps in touch. She
wrote ... "here are a few pictures from last Sunday that a
friend emailed that she took…..a few of the levees have broken, one of
our Precious Moments club members has been flooded out in Missouri.
Where the office is and our home – we are high and dry. Quincy is on a
bluff; so after 3rd Street – you are high enough. West Quincy is a
different story – it is flat there. Outside of Quincy along the river
banks – a lot of that is flooded also". You can view the
photos at
View Album
and
Play slideshow
It is encouraging to see that, for the most part, the city of Quincy has reserved the flood prone areas as recreational land. That is intelligent land use.
Dom and Anne Marie are going to Kalamazoo on Friday to see Anthony's game and on a mission of mercy. His cell phone broke and he has not communicated in days. Since he is traveling on the team buss there is no way to get it repaired or replaced and Anne Marie will try to solve that problem. They are also bringing him some new bats that were shipped to his home. Marc and Joe are headed in the opposite direction for the tournament in Wichita. The team owner also is the coach at Robert Morris College and with RMC players on the Crestwood Panthers team, rules prohibit him from coaching them in the summer. He relies on local coaches as well as player-coaches for that. Marc is a player-coach and has been put in charge of the team for the tournament. This is in spite of the fact that the owner has a son on the team. That says a great deal about Marc's abilities as a leader as well as his knowledge of the game. See Crestwood Panthers for information about the team. They have been having a great year. . .
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Fear not that thy life shall come to an end,
but rather that it shall never have a beginning. |
I don't know how it can, but it keeps getting better ... the weather, I mean. Thursday was Delicious! There is no other word ... it was so good I could taste it! I spent a good part (but it was all good) of the day in the gazebo reading or just day dreaming. I have finished the first five chapters of Alex Kershaw's Escape From The Deep. It is fascinating, a true story of submarine warfare and more. I suppose it helps to have been a Navy man but the Silent Service is far different from the surface navy I knew. To make it more interesting the book gets into details that you don't find in the Hollywood versions of Submarine life. The first five chapters comprise Part One of the book, a recap of the first four patrols of the Tang and an introduction to the crew as well as details of the last mission to the point just prior to the sub's self inflicted demise. I am about to embark on the sinking itself and the survivor's escape from the the "steel coffin" at the bottom of the Straights of Formosa. The third part covers their captivity and a fourth tells of their return home.
I got a slow start today, Friday. As I had my breakfast, the lawn guys were cutting the grass, edging, trimming and cleaning up. After finishing my morning meal, Mikey and I enjoyed a perfect morning visit with God (and Anne) in a pristine garden. I found it difficult to leave it to sit in front of this computer. Then there was the email and one from The Old Kunnel. I invite you to visit a page that my cyber friend The Old Kunnel maintains. Today in History is always interesting but this morning he has a special treat. Just click on the YouTube control to listen to a great rendition of "Summertime". It is not only appropriate for the day but ... It is Music! That is the music that I grew up on, music with character and depth, something that you can loose your self in.
Grandpa Don Plefka
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Anne wanted everyone to be 'Nice'. This button was in one of her dresser drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004
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