The World of Grandpa Don  

  

Sunday my usual routine was modified a bit. First of all, it was a gorgeous morning and my usual retreat on the patio was extended in time and coffee. It was just heavenly. I also slid past my usual 10:30 mass time. That was intentional. Deacon Ed Pluchar had asked permission to use something I said on this page last week in his homily for the weekend of the 12th.. See 07/03/09. He was referring to Ana's comments about the teen mission trip to Pennsylvania. Ed always does a good job with his homilies and I wanted to hear this one so I went to the noon mass. He spoke of the teen trip in the context of Jesus sending the disciples out to preach the word and mentioned several comments made by the teens and from my "What's New" page of last week, ... Ana's thoughts as quoted by Ed ...

"It definitely gave me a new-found appreciation for everything I have. I think that all of the people I met brought out the best in me, especially the kids. I got to see God work in wonderful ways while I was there and I am never going to forget it. I think I am definitely closer to God than I was before the trip."

I expected him to go on to other things at this point (what more needs to be said?) but he continued his quote from my thoughts in The World of Grandpa Don (even giving me credit) ...

"My granddaughter got to see how "the other half" lives. It can be an eye opening experience and a part of education that many miss. ... These teen groups are a big help to the communities they visit. ... But the participants always seem to gain a lot more than they give. Material things are not plentiful in the places they visit. They are exposed to a different world and find that these are people and their children are lovable and loving.  Of course this is a different world from the one I remember. This Catholic Youth Group, went to ... and participated in ... a Baptist church service. When I was growing up it was forbidden to go into a non-Catholic church. ... All we were asked to do was "keep the faith". Now we know that we must, not keep it, but spread it by helping others and showing, by our example, that we actually are disciples of Christ. And oh yes ... As Ana found, you can have fun while doing God's work. ..."

As I remember Ed's words, he quoted directly from the web page omitting just small parts, not relevant to his message. It was a new experience for me, never having contributed to a homily before. It was an honor I shall not forget. After Mass I spoke with Ed and he explained that when he read it on the internet he knew that it was exactly the message he wanted to deliver. Thank you Ed I am gratified to know that I am on the right track in my thoughts, at least some of them.  And thank you too Ana for giving me something about which to write.

I came home and had a light lunch. It had become cloudy but still a delightful day and a good part of the afternoon was enjoyed in the Gazebo catching up on a back issue of the National Geographic. This one had a fascinating article on the rapid disappearance of Arab Christians in the Holy Land. They had thrived when the area was under Arab control. but were shunned by Western Christians and even slaughtered by crusaders in earlier times. Now rejected as Arabs by the Jewish government the younger generation is leaving to find acceptance in other parts of the world but wherever they go are lumped in with Arab terrorists and persecuted.  Those that do remain in the Holy Land are overwhelmed by Christian pilgrims on the holiest feast days and treated as if they don't belong in their own churches. The article also mentions that when Islam first appeared, some mistook it for another Christian heresy, one which did not recognizing the Divinity of Christ. Our more modern, C. S. Lewis has also said that of Muslims. The article also mentions the great devotion Muslims have to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The Ill, especially children, are often taken to Christian churches dedicated to Mary for healing by Arab Muslims. Religious differences, especially when combined with cultural differences are very complex. But we would all benefit by looking at the things which are similar and the ways in which we are the same before we judge others ... if we must judge at all.

 

 

Kahlil Gibran, one of my favorite authors and poets was a Lebanese Christian and, in my opinion, one of the wisest men who graced this earth. His writings contributed to my finding and understanding spirituality. In the early 30's he wrote an article directed to the people of the newly formed state of Syria freed from the Ottoman Turks, a plea which roughly translates to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather, what you can do for your country." Now where did I here that more recently? My favorite work of Gibran's is, "The Prophet" which packs more wisdom in it than any dozen or so books by other authors. The above link takes you to a web site which has the complete text of the book. I find only one fault with that portion of the site and that it a reference by the compiler of the web site to "Reincarnation". Some of Gibran's words speak of the return of the Prophet, a re-birth. I doubt that he was speaking of reincarnation, but rather the fact that this world is often visited by prophets. Unfortunately, we very often refuse to hear their message. The rest of the web site includes thoughts and beliefs which I find both strange and dubious. However, they have done a great job in presenting "The Prophet". And, if you wish to get a feel for how Jesus' contemporaries must have felt about Him, read Gibran's "Jesus, the Son of Man".  Both these books are available in your local library and in any good book store.

I have hired A1 Concrete Leveling to restore my approach to the front stoop, my driveway and part of my sidewalk. The concrete has sunk at the front porch to the point where it is a 10 - 12" step and is difficult for both myself and visitors to navigate. The driveway is uneven creating as much as 1" trip points at some of the joints and the walk to the back of the house has several trip points of lesser extent. Bud, the owner of the local A1 franchise told me that the 25 year old concrete was in remarkably good condition. They will drill 1" diameter holes at strategic spots and pump in a limestone slurry under the slabs which will lift them to the proper level. It is termed "mud jacking". There is also a void under my front stoop, a potential haven for "critters" and they will fill that void as well. The limestone slurry will become rock hard and "should" prevent further settling. He recommended that after the work is done, the joints should be caulked and will recommend products for the job. He said that they could do it but if I had some young helpers, the materials are not expensive, it is not difficult to do but takes some time. It will be much less costly if not done by them. The work should be done in a week or so. He reports that in these hard business times, his business is thriving. People are repairing rather than replacing concrete.

 

 

The above quote translates into a popular song title of a few years back. "You got to know when to hold them and when to fold them". In cards as well as life you sometimes are dealt an impossible hand. (Bluffing doesn't always work.) Its a matter of wisdom and when to stop banging against a brick wall. Persistence is great when confronting normal obstacles but we must recognize impossibility when we see it and redirect our efforts. It is not "giving up" but recognizing futility. This applies to career, relationships or any other activity. Beating a dead horse only serves to deepen frustration, it will not rise no matter what you do. The wise thing to do is to always remain open to better opportunities and when one arrives, be ready.

 I really get a lot from those "Three Minute Retreats" provided by the Loyola Press and once in a while one really strikes me as important. I saved the one from June 20 and share it with you here:

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
(Matthew 7:24)

It is not enough to hear the words of Jesus, action is required. To live firmly rooted in our faith, we need to make decisions that reflect the teachings of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We have a moral obligation to form our consciences so that our choices reflect the values and teachings of Jesus. As resources for this task we have the Word of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the council of friends, and the teaching authority of the Church. Along with faith, all of these things provide a solid foundation upon which we set our lives."

We are to "form our consciences" and this is one of the reasons it is imperative to attend church regularly if we want to claim the title of Christian. It is there that we hear the Word from the Bible and then hear the application of that Word in the homily. OK, ... it requires listening. After that it requires action on our part. We are to make this the foundation of our lives ... that which supports and guides us. It is a two step process ... Listen ... Act. One without the other is like building your house on sand. Omit both of them and you have a house built on marsh or a swamp.

Wednesday morning my lawn guys arrive but this visit was to do the evergreen and bush trimming. My son Dan had mentioned that they weren't doing a very good job but they only do this twice a year and a plant had invaded the area in front of the house nestled among the evergreens. It sent up woody shoots which grew fast and tall amongst the evergreens. In any case, they are now gone and the bushes and evergreens are now trimmed to perfection. The trimming was also done on the evergreens near the gazebo and also the new shrubs we had planted this spring. They also did a cleanup and removal of weeds that had invaded that area. I was having my coffee on the patio as they worked the men tried to teach me a few more words in Espanola. These guys are artists in their work and treat my plantings as if they were indeed art-work. The owner of the company has promised to stop by so we can discuss a problem in the front. Some shrubs are dying and others are about 25 years old and are showing their age. We will discuss their replacement.

 

 

My endocrinologist had given me a date by which my  average glucose should have reached 130 mg/dl. That date was Tuesday. My glucose test meter stores the readings and will display actual readings or the averages over 7, 14, or 30 days. This will show a trend and my trend is very good, but not good enough. And so, Tuesday night I increased my insulin dosage by another 5 units. The insulin that I am taking is so formulated that it reacts with natural body fluids and is released slowly into the system over a 24 hour period. Amazing! Individual readings taken before meals have been very good, actually in the "normal" range. (Between 70 & 130 mg/dl) I also take readings 2 hours after meals and it is these that are abnormally high and drive the average up. (normal should be below 180 mg/dl and I am above 200) I will see her again in August after going to the lab for blood tests. One of these tests is called A1C and tells them my average sugar level over a long period of time. An A1C level of 6 or less is considered normal. My last test, befor starting insulin, was at 10 ... much, much too high.

I am still taking some medications to treat this problem. As a matter of fact my new doctor increased the dosage of one of them because my problem was greater after meals. I am instructed to take these pills before meals. That always meant, for me, to take the pills, then eat. However, in reading the instructions ... who ever reads all that fine print? ... they advise to take the medication 15 to 30 minutes before eating. That is more difficult. Stop whatever I am doing, take the pills, then do something for at least 15 minutes before eating. That would be easier if I cooked my meals but 3 minutes or less in the microwave doesn't cut it! Well, it is something I will need to work on.

The usual email came from Bob Lewis on Wednesday announcing that the weekly bulletin for next weekend had been uploaded to the parish web site. What is unusual was that he did his part of the weekly update from a motel in Erie, Pennsylvania. You never know where Bob will be doing his part in maintaining the parish web site. I can only assume that he and Mary are on their way to visit family in up-state New York. He lives in Florida during the Winter and calls it the Southern HQ of the St Julie Web Ministry. Bob also maintains the web site for St. Terrence parish in Alsip, Illinois. I have two others who also do a stellar job in maintaining the St Julie web pages. Liz Frankenbach updates the "Spotlight" items on the home page, creating new temporary pages or linking to existing pages as necessary. She scans the bulletin for new events or responds to special requests for her source materials. Karen Peterson is our editor of the On-Line parish calendar. She also scans the parish bulletin for new or changed events and enters them into the calendar through a service of Bravenet. This requires no programming skills and she works with little input from anyone. There are a few other people who have helped from time to time but these three stalwarts make my job very easy. Thanks guys. After getting Bob's email, I send out the weekly newsletter to "Include Me" members to let them know the next weekend's parish bulletin is available on the web. Oh yes, although Rita Beaupre is not on our web team, we could do little without her. She is the editor of the printed parish bulletin and sends us an electronic copy when it is ready for the printer. Thanks to everyone involved.

 

 

Some of the originators of the quotations that I come across are totally unknown to me and I often wonder just who this person is. That is especially true of people with names like "Og Mandino". Is this some ancient sage are some modern nut? I often look them up and you can bet I looked up "Og" The first mystery is that his nickname is pronounced "Aug" because his name is Augustine. He was also a failure with a lot of hard times. He became an alcoholic and attempted suicide in his early life, a life which spanned from 1923 to.1996. But he didn't give up and turned adversity to success. He became a famous author and motivational speaker. His most famous work, The Greatest Salesman in the World was written to help people succeed in life. He wrote many other books and the worldwide sales of his works have exceeded 50 million. Mandino was also the president of Success Unlimited magazine and a member of the National Speakers Association's Hall of Fame. It would seem that he knows what he is talking about and is eminently qualified to give us advise. The question becomes, "Are we qualified to take it?"

Most of Wednesday afternoon was enjoyed in the gazebo with the National Geographic. (always something of interest there.) The fragrance of the freshly cut evergreens was delicious and my manicured garden was delightful. Biscus had two blossoms open with many to follow. There are now several varieties of daylilies in bloom, the yellow, the orange, and the reds with yellow throats. The newly planted Hostas are starting to blossom, giving me delicate blue flowers where there were never any flowers before. One of the decorative grasses that we put in this year is absolutely gorgeous with long delicate seed heads that start out red and gradually fade to tan and look more like feathers than anything else, gracefully waving with the slightest breeze. The original angel was a gift from Dan & Karen before there was a garden. She inspired the name of the garden and stands at its highest point. Am I in Heaven? No, just Grandpa's Guardian Angel Garden and Gazebo, ... but it is close to heaven.

	The original angel is in the background  at the high point of the garden
	Enter the garden
Click to enlarge			Hostas in bloom
		"Biscus" in his glory		Say "Hi Biscus"
	Are they feathers?		St Francis & the lillies
		The Angel & the Lillies		Glorious Red Daylillies
	St Francis		Flowers at the patio

 

 

I think that Lady Bird has it only partially correct. Children respond to what their parents tell them. Children become what they believe they are and so what we tell them is of utmost importance. Positive reinforcement is essential to their positive development. A child who has been told that they are inferior in any way will grow up believing it. Og Mandino turned himself around by reading books that told him he could. One of them was "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. My dad gave a copy of that book to me. It is one of many that stress the power of positive thinking and one that got me thinking in that vein. My dad was a wise man and a great parent as well as a role model.

My MacAfee security software updates automatically, or I should say, attempts to do so. I recently receive an error message that said the update failed due to an "error". (Not very helpful) It went on to say that I should replace the program. Here again, when you go to do that, it pays to read the fine print. There are several things you must do including disabling some tool bars and other features as well as removing the old version of the security program before doing the re-install. Fail to do any part of that will result in the failure of the program to install properly. I will only say that I know that from experience. It is a time consuming process but it has now been restored and is working. MacAffe is provided free with my Comcast internet service and overall seems to be a very good product. The sad part is that the existence of malicious people with twisted minds make it and others like it necessary. If they would only turn their talents to something positive and good this would be a better world.

Jean Dean, one of my distant cousins (we think ...Packard side), sent photos of her new grand niece, born early today (Friday July 17). Her name is Amara Ahmed. Her mother, holding her, is  Nichole (Nikie) daughter of Don Sprague, Jean's brother. Congratulations go to the entire family. A prayer for a wondrous and fruitful future is offered for Amara. A beautiful new life is born into this world with the potential of doing great things or just ordinary things to touch people in so many ways ... to be loved and to love. I can not believe that just a few hours before, the beautiful child we see here was not a person with all the potential that life can give. Today is also the anniversary of the day when a beautiful life was transformed from mortal to eternal. I miss Anne. I miss her always but there are brief times when, in my selfishness, I grieve deeply and even feel a bit of depression. But it doesn't last because reality returns and I know that her presence in my life was a joy and a blessing. I would not have been the person I am now without her.

It has been nine years. We had reservations at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island the following weekend to celebrate 45 years of marriage. I had bought a new sport coat for the occasion. Anne had a new dress. Suddenly, Anne was gone, born to Eternal Life. I miss her. There was no warning, not a hint. Just a few weeks before she had a thorough exam by the cardiologist who proclaimed that her bypass's of 14 years before were as clear as if they had just been done. But when a heart has been damaged it can fail at any time. Her greatest fear had been a long illness at the end. She did not want to be a useless burden to her family. Some would say that God took her before that could happen. I don't believe that God "takes" people. Life takes people. Death is part of life, the inevitable end of life in this world. It is the normal result of the mortal body failing due to age and/or damage to its vital organs, sometimes hastened by disease, by accident, carelessness, or whatever. I am sure that God welcomed her, and in doing so, He took her into His arms and told her that she lived life well. We talked about it and I was a prepared as I could be ... but I was not ready for it. When it happened I had no idea how I would survive but I knew I would. I have survived ...even thrived ... for nine years. I have been able to do that, much because of the faith and wisdom that came from Anne. Amazingly, I plan to live for years to come. If I died tonight, it would be OK. I am satisfied and content with my life. But that is not the plan, at least not my plan, whatever that is worth. Life may have another plan, or more probably not a plan at all but a result, none the less.

I came across a poem several years ago. At the time I thought it must have been written for me. I still do: 

I Hurt

I said "God, I hurt." 
And God said "I know." 
I said "God, I cry a lot." 
And God said "That is why I gave you tears." 
I said "God, I am so depressed." 
And God said "That is why I gave you sunshine." 
I said "God, life is so hard." 
And God said "That is why I gave you loved ones." 
I said "God, my loved one died." 
And God said "So did mine." 
I said "God, it is such a loss." 
And God said "I saw my son nailed to a cross." 
I said "God, but your loved one lives." 
And God said "So does yours." 
I said "God, where are they now?" 
And God said "Mine is on my right, and yours is in the light." 
I said "God, it hurts." 
And God said "I know." 

by K. C. and Myke Kuzmic Stockton, CA

It has been nine years but sometimes it seems like a day.

But because Anne was part of my life ...

  
 

Grandpa Don Plefka

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Free JavaScripts provided by The JavaScript Source	Anne wanted everyone to be 'Nice'. This button was in one of her dresser  drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004