I last wrote on Wednesday, Aug 28th after I had the 11am Mass but I wanted you to know that I spent most of the rest of the day watching TV as it was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the 50th anniversary of the day my Dad’s body was brought by train back to DC from Mississippi. I was at Union Station and saw the crowds over by capital hill and the Mall. It wasn’t until that evening that I learned about Dr. King’s speech. One of those strange juxtaposition of historical events.
Thursday, August 29th was the 27th anniversary of the death of my dear Godfather, Ed O’Connell. He was 15 when I was baptized and Nellie O’Brien, my Godmother was 47. I was blessed to have them be a part of many important events in my life.
It was my DAY OFF and I didn’t have Mass. I went to Bread and Chocolate, a nice bakery/deli on Connecticut Ave. I met with two Religious Educators to make plans for a retreat at Priestfield, WV in November. I love doing things like that.
Afterwards, I picked up Joan B and we went to see “Elizabeth’s Delight”. It was a farm house that was used by Fr. Jim Grace as a rectory and daily chapel till they built the parish complex off of Avenel. After the parish was established in the Oakview section, the house went through a number of uses and eventually became the home of the Davenport family. There were 10 children living there but now only one and the mother are still there. I’ve known the family since my days at St. Camillus and officiated at the marriage of two of them; so I was glad we were invited to tour the house and grounds with Mrs. Barbara Davenport. It was so neat to see where the chapel was. The confessional had become a laundry closet; also the doors that were the entrance to the chapel looked “churchy” . It is now surrounded by homes built in the late 50’s. The house will probably have to be torn down but there is lots of property. It was a great tour and then Joan took us to Boston Chicken for sandwiches and more talk. It was fun. Then I came home and took a nap.
On Friday, I had the 11am Mass and spent most of the day trying to map out my trip to Wisconsin. I plan to leave on Wednesday or Thursday, September 4th or 5th. I am driving out and will get to Pat Berry’s on Saturday. I am trying to figure out if I have time to stop and see Sister Natalie on the way out or back. It actually is a lot of work to plan a trip but I’m looking forward to seeing some of the guys I started in the seminary with in September, 1963.
On Saturday, I drove over to near Baltimore to celebrate with Gene and Anna Marie Kinerney. It was their 50th wedding anniversary. I was so glad to be able to join them and their children and grandchildren. Also present were some of the Scanlan family and other friends of theirs that I know. The weather was cool and not too humid and the hall, which is part of the complex where they live, was lovely and the food – Italian – was great. I did go to bed early and tired.
Sunday, I had the 12:30pm Mass, so I was able to watch the Sunday Talk shows at my desk and got a lot of cleaning done. After Mass, Rick and Peg Jensen came and we all went to Sheila Reilly’s home for crabs. She lives at the Madeira School where she is a counselor. Kate and Christopher joined us and we sat out on the deck, overlooking the Potomac and had a very enjoyable evening.
Monday was Labor Day and we were closed. I went to St. Angela’s Hall, the senior residence for the Sisters of the Holy Cross, in Kensington and said the 11am Mass. It was so nice to see the sisters, many of whom I know or know of. I hope that my being there is a reminder to them of the affection of so many of their former students, who think of them often. I also got some clarity about my genealogy as one of the sisters, Sharon Mihm is a cousin of mine and we had a nice talk. It was very humid so I decided to stay in my room the rest of the day and watch a Perry Mason marathon. I think I had seen them all before but I also worked on the photos and a review for the Catholic Historical Society. I had soup and it was very good. There was a priests cookout at Little Flower but I just couldn’t go since I would have had to park too far away and walk in that heat. Maybe next year!
Today is Tuesday, the 4th and I came over here early to get some work done. I cleaned up my emails and my phone messages and sent off the review, which Joe Stoutz had kindly (and professionally) edited for me. I worked again on my route to Wisconsin and am getting Paddy up to date as well. I have the 11am Mass and then I am going out to hear a lady’s confession. I may drive down to Maggie’s to see if my photo album is there. I had it for my 40th anniversary. It has lots of pictures from the seminary that I would like to take with me. We’ll see.
I’ll write again tomorrow as I will have time before the 11am Mass.
Thanks for the update! Have a safe trip!!