The World of Grandpa Don  

The games are over. The Seattle Studs went down to Team Canada in an 11 inning 5-6 shootout. In this fray, our Anthony opened the scoring in the first with an RBI single but was left on base. In the third he grounded out to 1st and then in the 6th grounded out to 2nd. In the big 8th inning Anthony doubled scoring 2 RBI and later scored himself. At this point the Studs were ahead by 1. But, they couldn't hold on. The score was tied in the ninth and the rest is history. This eliminated the Seattle team and they headed for the border. Bill Stoors and Anthony were a bit concerned because Stoors had no passport. Going into Canada, the Canadian guards had done a meticulous search of the car using a dog that sniffed every inch of the interior as well as the interior of the trunk. It took 35 minutes. Now, on the way out, the American border guard told him they could hold them there until his identity could be verified but the boys explained that they had just participated in the Grand Forks baseball tournament and they were allowed to re-enter the country without delay. I am sure the baseball equipment in the trunk of the car was verification enough. I guess terrorists do not play baseball. But, They are taking the long way home, stopping first in Seattle to see the sights with some of their new found friends. Then they plan to go south to California where there are more friends. They will head east from there. Anthony's dad figures that their southern rout will take them through Las Vegas. Knowing Anthony, that would be logical. Anthony assures his mom that he has plenty of funds with the travel money and meal money they got and there was a small amount of prize money also. This, my friends, was what was once called "foot loose and fancy free". Aha ... the joys of youth!

My Labor Day afternoon was enjoyed in the gazebo reading about the World of Charlemagne. His father and grandfather set the stage for him but he outdid them both. He pulled together all of Central Europe into one kingdom, got himself crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the first in 300 years, and conquered parts of Spain and Eastern Europe, extending his influence well beyond that. He promoted education for clergy and his court members and was well ahead of his time. He set up his Counts to govern and control sections of his realm and the areas they controlled were referred to as "counties". All in his kingdom were baptized, like it or not. The problem was that at his death there was no one powerful enough to keep it all together and local strong men rivaled each other. The stage was set for Feudalism. .

Monday evening Irene called. Maria was available to do my cleaning the next day. I was trying to put it off until the next Tuesday only because It was easy to remember that the house cleaning, recycle pickup and Mikey's grooming all occurred the same week, every other week. But, Maria was familiar with me and the house and she probably had another client next week so, I gave in. I will just need to think a little to remember my schedule. So, on Tuesday morning I was up early and already finished my breakfast when Maria arrived, all smiles, with a cheery 'mornin and stopped to play with Mikey who was apparently happy to see her. Of course he is happy to see anyone who will make a fuss over him. I am sure that the new cleaning schedule will be no problem. Besides, the house was a week overdue for the task.

Monday night after I was snuggled in bed and all was quiet save the hum of the furnace fan, which runs continuously, summer, winter, night & day, I heard the added hum of the sump pump way down in the basement. Not unusual ... but then it went on again ... and again. Not right! I slipped on my pants and slippers and went down to investigate but never got all the way to the basement. As I passed the down stairs bath room I heard the trickle of water. It was only a sticky flush mechanism in the toilet which feeds into the ejection pump below. Problem solved and an easy fix at that. I had envisioned the need to call a plumber in the morning and was much relieved. Back up stairs with all secure, I was soon in the land of nod.

Alex Kapocius sent a beautiful parable. Short, as most parables are, and to the point. ...

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.   A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind.  Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

 Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling… And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!

Thanks for the story Alex. And thanks to the unknown author. Alex also sent Instructions. It has been claimed that real men don't need instructions but these instructions are in great need for men and women alike. Mary Moskal sent a real oddity. Are you absolutely sure of what you think you see? Your mind can be fooled. At first glance at the graphic below you will see rotating pink dots. Are you sure? Look intently at the + in the middle. What's this? A green dot appears. Keep looking at the + and soon the pink dots are gone! Loose concentration and the pinkies are back.

The mind is a computer and the eyes send signals to it that the mind translates and displays in the mind's virtual display screen. The mind is not always honest and accurate about what it shows you. They say that seeing is believing but it ain't always so. That is why we should never be dead positive about what we think we see. Thanks Mary. And thanks to the unidentified person who conceived this little demonstration. Do you want to see more? Go to About.com

I always did like Samuel Clemens and now I admire him even more. Great quote ... one that I can live with. My book on Chivalry brought me to the chapter on the age of the the Norsemen and their adventures in Europe and elsewhere. They were the scourge of Europe when they went viking (raiding) but they traded as often as they pillaged. They also settled and, as often as not, were assimilated into the culture where they settled. They came as North Men to France and their area of settlement became Normandy. They swept North and became the Rus of Russia. Their family and place names still remain in England and Ireland. They founded Dublin. They went around Spain and into the Mediterranean and by way of the Volga through the Caspian Sea to Bagdad. They went by way of the Dnieper to the Black Sea and  unsuccessfully assaulted Constantinople. They had settlements in Iceland, Greenland and even touched on America before being driven out by the natives here. They were eventually defeated in Europe in the year 1066 by men who were their own decendants.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little sister (well, one of them) Marilyn Copeland. May she have many more and live healthy and prosperious in the Land of Cleve.

I discovered that we have been neglecting one of the important ministries at St Julie. Well, they are all important. Our Choir director had asked to have the choir schedules posted on the web site and the task fell through the cracks for a couple weeks. When I finally woke up I found that the Music Ministry pages of the web site were very out dated. There was not only outdated descriptions but there were broken links. A bit of re-design was required but with a little work on Wednesday we have fixed the broken links and have at least started on an update of the pages. There was a page missing and I had to retrieve it from an archive that was saved on CD a year ago. It is so easy to get caught up in many things and forget that other things need attention. Bob Lewis is helping on this one and will post the schedules in pdf format so they are easily modified if necessary and the choir members can print them for their convenience. . 

That didn't keep me from some reading time in the gazebo after lunch. The book on Chivalry includes a chapter on St Bernard and St Francis of Assisi, contemporaries at the time, both founders of orders of monks but completely different men. I read of St Francis with particular interest and hadn't remembered these chapters being in the book. Of course I had first read it long before my visit to Assisi and subsequent interest in this saintly man. I now know his story quite well and have walked in the places he walked. The photos in the book reminded me of my visit there and put a lump in my throat. He is one of my heroes. But of course that is why we recognize people as saints. They are exceptional. We can admire them and emulate them ... to a point. We do as much as we can to live what they demonstrated but we are different, with different talents, abilities and purposes in life. Some can live saintly lives but most of us will struggle through, doing our best and hope for sainthood in the here-after.

Marilyn Buchler sent something that went right to my heart. After listening to the following link I sent it on to my big brother, Jim Cecora. He was wounded in Europe during WW II and I just wanted him to have my "Thanks". "Thanks" Yes, I was involved in the Korean War but I was a draft dodger. I joined the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. Jim doesn't make a big deal of being wounded, he says he was shot in the hand ... no big deal. Well, excuse me, but when you are close enough to a bunch of bullets flying through the air that one hits you in the hand ... That's a big deal. My service was actually "no big deal". I couldn't find a job anyway so why not. I slept in a warm bed (right next to the boiler room) and got three meals a day (sometimes the bread had bugs in it) and saw the world (Well, the East Coast and the Caribbean Islands). I had all the comforts of home (if you don't mind being sea sick a lot) Seriously, Our ship was involved in training Marines so we did contribute to the war effort and the experience and education was priceless. It was the best thing that I could have done at the time. But, thank God, I wasn't any where near any hostil bullets. Thanks again, Jim and all you other guys and gals.

The local weather forecasters have resorted to using a rubber stamp for their forecasts. They could have recorded their segments of the news and replayed it every day and apparently, for days to come. We are trapped, gloriously trapped, in a stationary air mass that has nights in the low 60's and days just below or at 80° with sunny skies and light breezes.  The morning fog soon burns off in the bright sun and the day is a close to heavenly as it can get. It has been the weather for which Grandpa's Guardian Angel Garden with its gazebo was constructed. Cleveland had some rainy days and tried to send some of it curling back to us but we in Chicagoland refused to accept it, turning it back at our Indiana border. No one remembers and records do not reveal such a long stretch of perfect weather in our area. We accept it in gratitude and enjoy it while we can, not even thinking of anything else. Mayhap it will be this way for ever? I dream on.

I read the instructions that came with my new Byetta prescription and found a surprise. My doctor told me to take the Byetta a 1/2 hour before eating. (the manufaturer says it can be taken up to an hour before eating.)  I had previously been told to take some of my pills 1/2 hour before eating so I was taking them all at the same time. The Byetta instructions however, state that because the Byetta retards digestion, any other meds should be taken 1/2 hour before the Byetta. It makes sense! But as you can see, it does make life difficult. Breakfast should pose little problem. I will keep the "morning" pill dispenser up in the bathroom upstairs and take them as soon as I get up. Then when I get downstairs I can take the Byetta. It may be less than a half hour but ... close enough?  The problem will be at dinner. Maybe I will need to pay attention to the chiming of my grandfather clock. But then, what is the proper time to do my before eating glucose check? Do I do it before or after the pills or the shot? Will it make any difference? In my early days of work as a draftsman at Western Electric I had to punch a clock and I hated it. Now in retirement, I am back on the clock! Well, so what! I only need to do it to stay alive. You do what you need to do.

Bible study resumed Thursday morning with renewed vigor. Most of the previous participants were in attendance along with a few new faces. We are trying something different, at least for us. Each week we will study the three readings for the following Sunday which will usually be one from the Old Testament, an Epistle and a Gospel. Sr. Gael provides the readings on a sheet given to each participant. An additional sheet has further discussions on these same readings which we can read at home. It will prepare us to hear and better appreciate these same readings when proclaimed at Mass on the weekend and I am sure that the homily will provide and even different view in some cases. The discussion was so lively that we went past our usual completion time.  

Thursday's sail mail brought a new card from my supplemental insurance company. It is the forerunner of things to come and I think a step in the right direction. It is a plastic card with a magnetic strip. That magnetic strip identifies me and I hope will eliminate some of the questions I need to answer when going to the blood lab and such places. Also in the mail was a new USB cable and software for my glucose meter. My old software needed updating and the old cable only connected the meter to a serial port, now gone the way of buggy whips. Periodically, I download the readings from my meter to my computer so I have a permanent history of all my tests. It also allows to view graphs and reports, printing them if I wish. In addition it is a more convenient way to adjust the meter setup like changing for daylight and standard time.

My quiet afternoon of reading was disrupted by a sudden scampering and a high squeal. from behind me and an instant later a small squirrel  ran up the inside of one of the corner supports of the gazebo. Mikey ran past, not realizing his prey had ascended. The little furry thing paused near the top and eyed me probably thinking he had gone from the frying pan into the fire while Mikey franticly searched the ground baffled by the disappearance of his foe. In time, the floppy tailed critter decided I was no threat but went up to the ledge just below the roof. His fidgeting around there finally caught Mikey's attention and Mikey began to run in and out of the gazebo trying to figure out a way to get up to him or to be ready to take up the chase if he decided to descend. Of course neither happened and the squirrel settled in and quieted down. Mikey lost interest, for the most part but would occasionally glance up just to check on him. When we went into the house, the squirrel was still in the gazebo and after dinner when I had my coffee on the patio I saw his tail flicking in on out of the same hiding place. If he takes up his abode there maybe I can charge him rent. No?

Friday morning was, weather-wise, a carbon copy of Thursday and Wednesday and Tuesday ... I went through my slightly modified morning routine after getting up at about 7. As I finished my breakfast, the lawn guys came and did their thing after which Mikey and I went out to the patio for our morning reflections. The temperature had just reached 70 and I sat in the sun wearing my straw hat .It was delightful. My morning emails brought a beautiful story from Frank Schober, a story that is inspirational and one that bears a message, a message of life. I invite you to read "The Beach". Thank you Frank. Just to give credit where credit is due, it was actually written by Mary Sherman Hilbert, based on the experience of a friend of hers. In its present form it has been changed slightly but the message it carries is indeed a great one. You can read about the background of the story at Snoops.

This day in 2001 will live forever in my mind. On that day 8 years ago I turned on the morning news to see one tower of the World Trade Center looking like a huge torch, then watched in horror as an airplane flew into the second tower. It was unbelievable but I saw it happen. We do not comprehend the minds of people who can plan and execute such a crime against God and their fellow human beings. Yet they do not differ much, except by degree, from anyone who justifies, somehow, the taking of another's life. There is a Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill". What is it about this that is so hard to understand. It is only four words. There is no, "Except when" or "unless they". But we use killing to solve our problems or to "bring closure", whatever that can mean. We must respect life first in our own hearts in order to have it grow in our culture. But, back to 9-11,  you can read and see more at my Memorial page.

At this point in my Friday morning I usually change the "Prayer of the Week". (top of page) I did not change it this week because it fits this week's thoughts as it is. I think it is a good prayer ... read on ...

It has been a fast moving and eventful week. But, aren't they all. For me, it has been a good week. But, again, most of mine are good. I am blessed. I credit some, or maybe much, or probably all, of my apparent good fortune to the change in attitude that has come to me. Things that disturbed me greatly in the past don't disturb me any more. Back then if you told me that a change in attitude would change my life, I would have either laughed at you an called you an idiot. Well, like the pink dots above, all is not what it seems to be. Many things and many people, I am sure sent by God, the Holy Spirit, have worked their marvels in changing me. I am a "born again" person, reinvented and revitalized. I don't claim that I was all bad before but I did not have that contented feeling that I now enjoy. I now can accept that what was, WAS. And I can accept that what is, IS. What ever is the state of things right now is the reality that must be accepted as "REAL" and that is the reality with which we must contend. I also know that my future depends only on what I chose to do right NOW. "What if" doesn't mean a thing except that it will bog me down in wishful thinking. What happened in the past brought me to where I am and only where I am now is relevant to the future. God was very wise when He made it so that we could not change the past. If he hadn't we would probably all be on a carousel, chasing around getting no place. We move forward from where we are, not from where we have been. I don't know what tomorrow will bring but I do know that it will bring something new. I expect the unexpected and look for it in anticipation of new adventures. I can't wait to see what is around the bend or over the mountain. I will make my choices today based in Hope, Faith, and God's Love, endeavouring to follow the path that He made for me and knowing that ...

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