Miscellaneous Rambling
Another whirlwind holiday weekend: Black Wednesday, followed by a (mostly) hangover-free Thanksgiving, then a 40-hour trip to Detroit that entailed a lot more driving once I was there, then over to Portage (a Kalamazoo suburb) to get my son to his high school basketball scrimmage, then to the Kalamazoo Cathedral for the start of Advent, then home for my family's Christmas-tree decorating party. * * * * * * * I can't state this too clearly: I hate weekends like that, even when they're spent with people I enjoy (like this one was). Ten parts driving, plus ten parts activity, poured over 48 hours makes a terrible drink. Some people find them exhilarating. Good for them. Such weekends make me want to crawl inside my study and spread a book in front of me and just read and read and read. I would pray, but that presupposes a level of peace, so I opt for its intellectual parallel. * * * * * * * And before I forget: Welcome to the Year of Mercy. I saw my Diocese's door get blessed with holy water Saturday evening, instituting it as the door through which we can walk as the first step toward an indulgence. It was not immediately clear to me, however, which is the "official" door. The priest seemed to be blessing an ordinary-looking side door, which struck me as a odd, but maybe the goal is to distinguish it from the main door that everyone uses anyway. * * * * * * * Interesting piece about the trappings of fame and the crushing of a Catholic man: "1956: Hollywood. Bela is referred to as 'washed up.' Five marriages are too many for any man, let alone a man who is in the throes of a heroin addiction, one that has been a constant companion now for years." * * * * * * * Whenever I hear of Bela Lugosi, I think of this scene from the otherwise-horrible movie, Ed Wood Strong language. * * * * * * * Great stuff ("This ain't Cyber Monday," slayed me):
Speaking of which: don't forget to access Amazon from the links you'll find at TDE (including the "permanent" link in the upper-righthand corner) this holiday season.
