Sunday stuff

It's already been an interesting morning. My email "in-box" had a letter from a Tom McCann who wanted to know if the Sister Ricardis I'd mentioned in a posting several weeks ago "Catholic Bonds," might be the same nun he'd known in New York during the early '60s. He acknowledged that we were miles apart but that the name was unusual enough it could possibly be the same person.

I think he's right, especially since the last time I contacted Sr. Ricardus she was living at a retirement home for nuns in Binghamton, New York. I told him I hadn't heard from her for a few years but was not surprised because she was going blind from diabetis. Must be this lady had the same impact on someone clear across the country as she had on us little 6 and 7-year-olds during those Sister School sessions at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. It will be interesting to hear back from Mr. McCann.

I received another well-thought-out note from Dee Biegler in Spokane. Again, she focused on the hurricane aftermath---this time with its news coverage. This woman has such phenomenal powers of observation, and she offers a full plate of items to chew upon. She seems like a rare, refreshing bird in this world which so many people view in total black and white. I'm not using that figuratively either.

Dee sees situations from a 360-degree, non-slanted perspective. Though I concur with most of what she says, I don't agree with her every word, but I love reading what she has to say because her thoughts make me think of situations in different ways. If only we could get the powers-to-be and the big mouths in this country to function as fairly in their assessments of what's happened and what needs to happen.

I spent more than the usual time reading the Sunday papers and was shocked to see yet a third article (in the past couple of weeks---two by the Spokesman) promoting the real estate sale ($675,000 for 4.3 platted acres) of the old Elmira townsite. It appears that one way or the other, the residents of Elmira are gonna experience a population shift because the developer wants to see this so-so plot of land turned into a theme town depicting its "apparent" historical culture.

The article grants that not much information is available about the history angle and that "people say . . . ." He implies that if it doesn't go to a unique buyer who wants to follow this suggestion, he'll go back to the original plan of turning it into a low-income mobile home park. Whatever the outcome, the folks who choose to inhabit the old town can count on good hamburgers and shakes over across the highway. I'm told the breakfasts make it worth the trip north too.

Now that I've got my current events appetite satisfied, I'll probably get back out to the barnyard with my brush and paint bucket. I finally bit the bullet and decided that chewed-up board fence around the barn would look a lot better with a little white chrome. So, it's a major undertaking which will require several days and several gallons of paint.

In between whitewashing the boards, I'll spend some time sitting at the horse show where my sisters Barbara and Laurie ain't doing so bad. Both won championship trophies yesterday. Barbara's Arabian-Quarterhorse mare April took champion halter horse, while Laurie won one of those cool "Painted Ponies" as the Western equitation champion. Today's English classes will be fun cuz Laurie's riding her adorable gelding Rusty.

Happy Sunday to all.