Oh, my, it is time already for some quick takes to share with you and with Jennifer Futwiler, who hosts this meme over at Conversion Diary. Rather than share the events of my life this week, I thought, given that the events were rather sporadically clustered, that I would introduce the people in my life who were associated with the events of the week. Most of them pop up periodically in my life. So, here goes, in alphabetical (sort of) order:
Anne is my neighbor in San Ignatio. She is a retired high school English teacher with a a master's degree in theology, among other things. She is also a good cook, who knows her way around my kitchen better than I do! When she is part of any group we are entertaining, Donnie typically cooks and Anne serves. (I am spoiled.) I don't remember how Anne and I first met, but it was through Old Mission somehow. We are both members of the Old Mission prayer group, and she, like me, is a candidate in the SFO (Secular Franciscan Order). The SFO was on our minds on Sunday because we had the regular monthly fraternity meeting at our local St. Francis Retreat Center, as well as breakfast at a local cafe with two members of the Council prior to their Council meeting. There are some difficult issues that Anne and I -- and the Council -- are dealing with in recent months. Rather than give full details here, I will refer you to a series of posts I wrote about the events from a spiritual perspective and uploaded to my Modern Mysticism site: Tasked.
Doah has developed an allergy to cats this past year. Or, perhaps more accurately described, we discovered this year that he has an allergy to cats; he may have had it for a long time. Since we have three of that kind of critter, instead of bringing Doah to San Ignatio for the weekend, we have been going to visit him where he lives in Santa Clara. This weekend was no different. Late Saturday afternoon, we drove up to spend some time with Doah at his favorite restaurant: KFC. (He is a cheap date.) Then we took him on a mini-shopping trip at the local CVS (yep, cheap date). Happy to have had at least a few hours with us, he returned to his group home with a smile and a bag of recyclables (we save them for him) in one hand and his just-purchased goodies in the other.
Fr. Daniel is our parish priest. Although he has passed the age of 50, he still loves parties. I remember one time, when he returned from out of town, I told him after Mass that we had missed him the week before, and he asked, "Did I miss a party?" "No, Fr. Daniel," I replied. "You missed Mass." We can always count on him to celebrate with us. This time, though, he was the host. For Saturday mid-day, he put together a BBQ at the former restaurant that belongs to the church. The "casa" has a veranda and a patio area, both quite large, with wonderful views of the valley, as well as four indoor large seating areas. He wanted to bring together some folks who had contributed to an Old Mission project. By chance, Donnie and I were the fortunate ones to end up with Fr. Daniel as our table mate. However, it did put a crimp on our plan to eat and run off to another engagement prior to going to Santa Clara to see Doah. So, we ate. We did not run. The other engagement slipped past while we enjoyed our time with Fr. Daniel at the casa.
Jack is the leader of our Bible Studies group that meets at Old Mission. Somewhere in his 80s, he has been slowed down by all kinds of events in life, but his knowledge is the exercise in patient listening. His wife, Ruby, comes with him. She is wheelchair bound but otherwise an active participant. They have been married 50 years, and we have celebrated three of their anniversaries, leading up to this year's big 5-0, over the past three years that we have been studying together. Jack worked as some sort of scientist; I have long ago forgotten the details. They parented five children, who have seen a fair amount of trauma, including one being shot as a child (he survived) and another losing a child of her own (Jack's granddaughter) in a car accident. Through it all, Jack and Ruby have maintained a sense of peace. Jack, like me, is a former atheist who had a dramatic conversion experience, lasting for two weeks, as did mine. So, he is like a big brother in faith to me, and I like forward to our Wednesday evenings. 
President Karzai and General McChrystal showed up on Friday, unexpected and unannounced, at my Kentucky branch. They wanted to observe the language and culture training that we were providing for people who will be going to Afghanistan. Truly, the US government's emphasis is turning toward the tongue as weapon of first choice, and given my background as a language teacher, this warms the proverbial cockles of my heart. (Anyone know what a cockle is?) The one day I take off, a rather important personage shows up, and I am not even around to hear about it until the end of the day when the email, having crawled through the chain from Kentucky to California, finally reached me. My boss was a bit taken aback, especially since no one, including our local manager, had any idea that this was going to happen. (I imagine that was intentional for security reasons.) The president expressed pleasure in being able to converse with our people in his own language. You know, sometimes it takes very little to make friends and create peace. Caring enough to step across the culture divide and communicate in the language of the other is all that it takes to initiate that process.
Marie I met when I enrolled in the RCIA. She was Fr. Terry's helper at our sessions. She has been the mainstay of all the priests who have led the RCIA. I still learn from her. A retired elementary school teacher, she has taught nearly all the adults in San Ignatio, their children, and grandchildren. She seemed to know more about the members of our RCIA group (except me since I am a new resident) than they knew or remembered about themselves. She read the pre-publication manuscript of my book, Blest Atheist, and continues to be a mentor to me. Although professed as a Third Order Carmelite, she appears at home among the Franciscans, our local community having been founded by the Franciscans and sporting a retreat center, convent, and monastery, all Franciscan. So, having taken Friday off work for some medical tests and attending noon Mass, I was not surprised to have Marie invite me to the rosary that a handful of retired residents who don't have to trot off to work like I do say after Mass 2-3 times a week. As a converted Catholic, there are things I am still learning, and Marie is gentle and instructive in guiding me through them. After the rosary, we relaxed with coffee for her and milk for me at the local bakery. Ah, a totally laid-back day! Not! That was the day that Karzai came to play!
Nathaniel is finishing up his baseball season. His last game will be tomorrow, but at that time I will be on a plane, winging my way to Jordan. So, on Monday, instead of going to prayer group, I watched him play for the penultimate time this year. Surprisingly, given his scientific proclivities and frequent oblivion to his surroundings, he played well at first base and actually hit the ball (well, once the T was brought out). It is progress, though, and more important, he enjoys the sport, which is really all that matters. I also like the side benefit of watching his games: I get to see Shane, Lemony, and always-laughing Nikolina more often. And now I am going to go to bed. If you are already up, have a great day ahead!
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