This is My Blog Attempt

Jacksonville Beach, Florida

2011-06-02T23:41:00.004-04:00

As a surprise for me for our 39th Anniversary and also for Memorial Day, Mike made reservations at the Quality Inn in Jacksonville Beach, Florida for the weekend. We went down on Saturday after he got off work and came home on Tuesday. We really didn't do a lot--just relaxed. But I have to say, as much as I love Jax Beach, somehow this trip made me sad.

Everyone tells me I have such a great memory--I remember things most people don't. It can be great to be able to remember where we put something, or who did something for us that we need done again, or when we did something. But it can also be a curse when your memories take over.

On this trip the first thinkg I thought of was, "the last time we drove down here and stayed in Jax Beach was on our way to and from burying my father in Alabama. That was just last March. I also thought of my dad because we passed the hotel in Richmond Hill where he always stayed on his way to our house. I also thought of my mother. She used to love to read all the road and river signs--the ones that were odd like, for instance, Okefenokie. She was always going to find the place with the strangest name and go live there.

I also thought of the year we traveled this road to go to Pennsacola so we could spend the very first Christmas with our very first grandchild. Now she is 7 years old, and has two younger brothers. She no longer lives in Pensacola, but in Lemoore, California, and I also have another granddaughter in Alaska, and I am scared to death I will never see any of them again.

Our room was on the water and was beautiful. On the east coast I think Florida has some of the most beautiful beaches. They are so white and are kept so clean. I love Jacksonville so much because when Mike was active duty we were stationed in Mayport. At first we lived in Jax Beach, and every day the kids and I used to go down on the beach to walk and look for sharks' teeth. I also felt I grew while we lived in Florida. Mike was gone a lot since he was on a ship, and I had to do everything. I had to be the mother and father and I also proved to myself and others I could do it all. Everywhere else we've been, including here in South Carolina I have Mike to lean on and if there is something needing done that I don't want to do, I know I can ask Mike and he will do it with no problem.

The Quality Inn is next to the Red Cross Building. This building has not changed since we were there. We lived there when Christopher started Kindergarten, and he will now be 37 years old in July. As I looked down the beach I could see Christopher, Victoria, our friends Sue and Amy Rubinstein and myself walking near the water and finding the sharks' teeth. Amy was fantastic at finding them and sometimes she would find one and draw a big circle and tell Christopher or Victoria to find the tooth. Somewhere around the house we still have the teeth in a little margarine cup. The Rubinsteins had tons of them. We never were as good as they were.

While things have changed in Jax Beach and Mayport, there is still enough that is the same that makes it feel comfortable. It is like when I go to Baltimore for a visit. I know I can never go home again, but there are some things that are still there that make it home.

My biggest fear in all of this is that I will always just have my memories. My children are adults and on their own. I am so afraid with them all being so far away I will never see them again. We don't even know where our son is and it kills me a little each day. He may have done things I disagreed with and we butted heads frequently, but he is still my son and I still love him. My daughter has been easier on me and we have gotten along better, although we have had our differences too. I love her very much too. My grandchildren are 7, 4 in July, 2 in July and 2 in August and as I have said I am afraid I will die and never see any of them again. I have more love than I ever thought possible for all my grandchildren.

So I have my memories, and some are good and some are bad. I wish I had a switch in my head that I could turn off to stop remembering so much. Believe me, remembering is not always the greatest thing. I sometimes feel I am like my parents and grandparents and live in the past. I have two brothers that I have very few memories of--they are 6 and 4 years older than I. I don't know if one brother realized it but there were times when my father and mother were living that my feelings were hurt. He would tell me they were going to Alabama and my parents and my sister-in-law's parents and her sister, and my other brother and his wife, and my mother's brother and siser-in-law, who lived about a mile away, were all going to have a family reunion. I was never invited. Mike and I have never been invited to my brothers' homes, nor they to ours. I think when we were going to Florida this time one of the reasons I felt so sad was I don't think I will ever see either of my brothers again either. One lives in California and one in Pennsylvania. Up til now what caused us to all get together once in a while was my father, but now he is gone, and I feel as though my entire family is gone.

Well, maybe someday I will learn how to stop all this and remember only good things and the things I want to remember. Maybe someday we will have a huge family reunion and all of us will be together at least for a while. Maybe. It is something to dream about.

TO MY CHILDREN (AND GRANDCHILDREN)

2011-05-26T21:19:00.005-04:00

TO MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN

THIS IS A PICTURE OF MY DAUGHTER, VICTORIA AND MY SON CHRISTOPHER, TAKEN SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

AND THIS IS A PICTURE OF MY FOUR GRANDCHILDREN--CLARA, MATTHEW, TEAGAN, AND JONATHAN, TAKEN ABOUT A YEAR AGO.

This is my promise to all of you:

I am not your friend... I am your mother (grandmother)

I will stalk you, flip out on you, lecture you, drive you insane be your worst nightmare, and hunt you down like a bloodhound when needed.

When you understand that, I will know you are a responsible adult. You will never find someone who loves, cares and worries about you as much as I do. I love all of you so very much.

First Admendment Rights

2011-03-08T19:10:00.004-05:00

Free to Say What I Want When I Want About Whom I Want

Recently I received some E-Mail from someone I hadn't heard from for awhile. He is someone who is very important to me and also someone I love very much. I had happened on his E-Mail address on line, and since I had not heard from him I wrote a two sentence message to ask him how he was and tell him I love him. He wrote a note back, just as short as mine, to tell me he was fine, busy and to leave him alone. Well, me being me, I could not leave well enough alone, and I wrote back and to this person to tell him I would leave him alone for the rest of his life if he would just do a couple things for me: explain to me what we had done to him to make him hate us so and to be so angry with us; and to at least once in a while let us know he is OK. He doesn't have to tell me what he is doing, who he is with, or where he is, just a short note to let us know he is OK. I don't think this is too much for a mother to ask of her son.

Well, was I wrong. I got a message back telling me he doesn't hate us, he just basically lives in world different from ours and we are not welcome in his. He also assured me he is fine, is being well taken care of by his boss, and is doing nothing illegal. He asked me to stop E-mailing him, to stop searching for him on line, and to stop referring to him on my blog. And then he said "Good bye."

Well, at first I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach, then run over by a train. I cried and asked my husband what I have done. Naturally, my husband tried to console me, but I had to find a way to work this out on my own. I'm already seeing a therapist and feel I have made quite a bit of headway with her. I was NOT going to let this set me back. So then I stopped crying and I got angry (I once had an English instructor who made the class write a theme for punishment, and when she saw mine she told me "People get angry, Monica, not mad--thanks Mrs. Sherbondy).

Well, the more I thought, the more angry I got and this is my answer to my son:

I do not have the ability to just forget someone I love. This is true of people who have died like my mother, father, grandmother, aunts, uncles and so on. I also don' t forget living people I love such as my children, my grandchildren, my brothers, my cousins, etc., even though because of distance and everyone lives far away from everyone else I don't see any of them very often. Therefore, Christopher, I will not just forget you. I will worry and wonder where you are and what you are doing. I will continue to look for you on line whenever the spirit moves me. I love you more than you will ever know, understand or care. You were my first child and when I first looked at you I knew everything I went through was well worth it. I loved you then, I've loved you for the last 36 1/2 years, and I love you right now. I have not always liked or agreed with your actions, but you have had to deal with whatever the consequences were over the years, except the support we gave you and the money it cost us (we nearly went bankrupt), but we have survived.

Oh, and last but not least, I will refer to whomever I care to in my blog, whenever I care to, for whatever I care to as long as it is truthful, does not exploit anyone and does not embarrass anyone. My First Amendment Rights, which your father spent 30 years protecting, give me the right to do so.

Again, I love you very much. Our address and phone number are the same as when you left, as is my and your father's E-Mail addresses. And we love you at least as much, and probably more, as when you left. We will be here for you and love you as long as God allows.

Staying Warm on a Rainy and (almost) Snowy Day

2011-01-10T16:22:00.003-05:00

Since last week we have been getting weather forecasts of a terrible storm that was suppose to hit us from Sunday night into Monday. They were talking about snow and rain and sleet and accumulation and every horrible thing you can think of. Then last night they started putting the schools on 2 and 3 hour delays, cancelling meetings, closing facilities, and it hadn't even started raining yet. Today the schools are closed, the government offices are closed, all the colleges are closed, any meeting that was going to be held today is cancelled, and there is not one snowflake on the ground. We did get some rain and it froze to the tree limbs, but even that is gone and it is just raining now. It is cold--in the low 30's, but we always have crappy weather here in South Carolina in January and February. We are in Charleston so since we are closer to the coast we don't usually get snow, and when we do it is usually gone by the afternoon of the day it snows. On the other side of I-95 and from Columbia up they do have more accumulation and worse weather. But as you can see by this picture my husband and pets know how to keep warm. There is ole' Gunney in the front, next to him is Samurai, who is on top of Thumbs. If you look behind Samurai you can see Meiko's ears, and way in the back is Mike. Hope everyone stays warm and safe.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-01-07T00:35:00.001-05:00

Now that the holidays are over and all the decorations are taken down and stored away for next year, I have been thinking of holidays past. They used to be so different when I was little. We lived in Baltimore until I was about 7, so I still believed. Every year after my brothers Bobby, who is six years older than I, and Pat, who is four years older than I , and I went to bed my father began his magic. First there was a platform put in the corner of the living room. On this he would put the tree--a real tree, not one of the prelit fake things from Lowe's. Of course, real trees didn't cost $150.00 then either. He would decorate the tree with lots of lights and glass balls, and strands of tinsel that had to be just so. Then he would do the garden. Everyone had gardens around their trees. There were salt roads and pebble side walks and people sitting on the bench in the park. There were houses and churches and trees. There was a train circling around and snow everywhere. The train would even have a tunnel to go through my dad made and it whistled when it came to a road crossing. The next morning when I came downstairs I knew there really was a Santa. There was one Christmas I came downstairs before anyone was awake and walked into the living room and NOTHING was there. As I went back to my room Bobby was going to the Bathroom. "Bobby, was Santa supposed to come last night?" "No, silly, he comes tonight. Go back to bed."

When you went to downtown Baltimore during the holidays it was a wonderland. Heckts, The May Company, Hutzler's, Hockschild Kohn's--they all had windows decorated with Santas, and reindeer, and elves and bright, shiny colors and everything was just perfect. It was cold--I always remember Christmas as being cold, and usually snow on the ground--maybe it didn't snow on Christmas, but sometime around then it did.

One year I got a Tiny Tears Doll. I had to be no more than four. She could be washed and she was the first doll whose hair could be washed. When you fed her a bottle of water it went right through her, so you had to change her diaper. Of course I had to give her a bath, wash her hair, feed her a bottle and change her diaper on Christmas Day. I still have that doll, She is made of rubber and is dry rotted now and falling apart. I named her Bonnie, and I just don't have the heart to throw Bonnie away. Someday when I'm gone and my kids are cleanng up after me they can wonder why I saved this piece of junk and then she'll go in the trash. They will never know how much I loved her and how much she meant to me. She slept with me every night and was my best friend.

Christmas Dinner was always a big deal. Mom would start cooking days in advance--pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, apple pie, lemon meringue pie, cookies. On Christmas Day she would get up at 4 am to start the turkey--it was usually a HUGE turkey. She made her own stuffing, and had no choppers like we have now. All the onion and celery had to be cut up by hand. The menu consisted of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, candied sweet potatoes, souerkrout, cranberry sauce, peas and onions, and all the desserts. And Mom also did all the dishes--again by hand, she had no dishwasher. My maternal grandmother lived about three doors up the street from us, and we would usually go to Severna Park to get my grandmother's brother, Uncle George and we would have a wonderful dinner and together time. My mother was a fantastic cook--not fancy, but everything she made was delicious.

New Year's Eve was always an excitement for me and I have never known why. Half the time I was in bed before midnight when I was little, but I was awakened by the Volunteer Fire Department blowing it's whistle, the fire works and people yelling "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!" Of course when I got older I went out for New Year's Eve and it was one year in the week between Christmas and New Year I became engaged. I didn't get my ring on Christmas because I had gone to Florida with a guy who lived next door who was like my brother. He was one of my very best friends ever in my life, 13 years older than I, but a wondeful man. Sadly, he has died several years ago of cancer.

Usually during the holidays we saw my mother's other brother, Uncle Jack, Aunt Vera and their children Joyce (who now goes by Chris, but will always be Joyce to me), Claire, Brian and Michelle. Joyce is the same age as Bobby and Claire and I are the same age and Brian and Michelle (we called her Shelly then) were the two youngest. Uncle Jack's job made them move around a lot--they lived in Catonsville, Maryland when I was small, then moved to Missouri, then to New Mexico and finally when they retired to Alabama just about a mile from my parents.

We also saw my father's sister, Aunt Regina and her husband Uncle Andy. I always thought she was so pretty and wished I could be like her.

Of course before Christmas when you wnet downtown there were "bellringers" on every corner, and every store had a Santa. We sat on all the Santa's laps, but I think we only have one picture with Santa and that is just my brothers, probably before I was born. We would tell Santa what we wanted and it was usually something simple--a doll, a truck, a bicycle, and lo and behold he always remembred who got what even down to the color. Commercialization was probably there then but no where near as bad as it is now.

Now Christmas is way too commercialized and I'm not four anymore. I have no small children and my grandchildren live in California and Alaska. If we're lucky after playing phone tag a couple days we talk to our children and to Mike's mother, but even they don't think it's a big deal, or they have too much to do or they just don't want to talk.

Someday I am going to have a Christmas I enjoy, even if I have to adopt someone's grandchildren. I want to see the wonderment in their eyes and their squeals and laughter, I want to watch them play with the boxes and wrapping instead of the toys and tell you they don't like anything on the dinner table. As my mother would say, "That's OK. You don't have to eat it. What would you like? A balogna sandwhich? I've got that and it will only take a minute to make. Do you want mayonnaise or mustard and what kind of bread do you want it on?"

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, especially to all those who are no longer with us. I know there will come a day when we will all be together again, but Mom, I'll help with the dishes!!

Fourteen Holy Martyrs

2010-12-23T20:30:00.026-05:00

The Holy Helpers, starting from the top, left and moving clockwise: St. Christopher, St. Sionysius [Denis], St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Blaise, St. Vitus, St. George; moving left and counterclockwise: St. Erasmus [Elmo], St. Margaret, St. Barbara, St. Eustachius [Eustace]; center panel, left from top to bottom: St. Achatius, St. Cyriacus, St. Pantaleon; center panel, right: St. Giles [with the deer].

When I was little my family lived in Baltimore, Maryland at 119 South Carey Street. My family has been Catholic for generations and my mother's family went to Fourteen Holy Martyrs Catholic Church on Mount and Lombard Streets. My brothers and I also went to school there--I only went to the first grade, my brother Pat to the fifth grade and my brother Bobby to the seventh grade. At that point we moved out of Baltimore City and into Anne Arundel County. We used to visit my grandmother, who lived at 109 South Carey Street, every Friday night, and during Lent would still attend Stations at Flurteen's. In 1964 Fourteen's closed. I guess the parish had dwindled and like many other Catholic Churches the parish was combined with another. Thw church still stands and so does the Hall on Mount and Pratt Streets, but the school is long gone. The rectory is still there but the convent is gone and the church is now a Baptist Church.

Something reminded me of Fourteens the other day and I got to wondering who the fourteen martyrs were, so I looked it up. The following is what I found out:

FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS

A group of saints invoked with special confidence because they have proven themselves efficacious helpers in adversity and difficulties, known and venerated under the name Fourteen Holy Helpers. Though each has a separate feast or memorial day, the group was collectively venerated on 8 August. However, this feast was dropped and suppressed in the 1969 reform of the calendar.

They are invoked as a group because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349. Among its symptoms were the tongue turning black, a parched throat, violent headache, fever, and boils on the abdomen. It attacked without warning, robbed its victims of reason, and killed within a few hours; many died without the last Sacraments. Brigands roamed the roads, people suspected of contagion were attacked, animals died, people starved, whole villages vanished into the grave, social order and family ties broke down, and the disease appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the saints, praying to be spared or cured. This group devotion began in Germany, and the tradition has remained strong there.

HISTORIES OF THE FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS

Achatius, also known as Acacius; the facts of his life are uncertain. He may have been bishop of Antioch or of Militene and may not have been a bishop at all. He was prominent in Christian circles in Antioch and when summoned to appear the local Roman official, Martian, a dialogue on Christianity and its teachings compared to other religons ensued, which has come down to us. Achatius refused to sacrifice to pagan gods when he would not supply the names of his fellow Christians, was sent to prison. Supposedly when Emperor Decius received Martian's report of the trial he was so impressed by both men that he promoted Martian and pardoned Achiatius. Though listed as a martyr there is no evidence he died for the faith. His feast day is May 8th and he is invoked against headaches. (Catholic Online)

St. Barbara is the patron saint of U. S. Army Field Artillery. She is also invoked against fever and also sudden death. Barbara lived in the 4th century and brought up as a hethen. A tyrannical father, Dioscorus, had kept her jealously secluded in a lonely tower which he had built for that purpose. Here, in her forced solitude, she gave herself to prayer and study, and contrived to receive instruction and Baptism in secret by a Christian priest.

Barbara resisted her father's wish that she marry. Then on one occasion, during her fahter's absence, Barbara had three windows inserted into a bathhouse her father was constructing. Her purpose was thereby to honor the Trinity.

Dioscorus was enraged by her action and by her conversion. He himself denounced her before the civil tribunal. She was horribly tortured, and at last was beheaded. Her own father, merciless to the last, acted as her executioner. God, however, speedily ounsihed her persecutors. While her soul was being borne by angels to Paradise, a flash of lightning struck Dioscorus, and he was hurried before the judgement seat of God.

The life of St. Barbara is a vivd remined that there can be much anger in our world and our lives. Being in touch with God's presence in a very special way can do much toward relieving ourselves of our tendency to allow anger to control us. We should pray often against a sudden and unprovided death; and, above all, that we may be strengthened by the Holy Viaticum (Last Sacraments) against the dangers of our last hour.St. Barbara's Feast Day is December 4th. (Catholic Online)

Many Catholics might remember Saint Blaise's feast day (February 3rd) because of the Blessing of the Throats that took place on this day. Two candles are blessed, held slightly open, and pressed against the throat as the blessing is said. Saint Blaise's protection of those with throat troubles apparently comes from a legend that a boy was brought to him who had a fishbone stuck in his throat. The boy was about to die when St. Blaise healed him.

Very few facts are known about Saint Blaise. We believe he was a bishop of Sebastea in Armenia who was martyred under the reign of Licinius in the early fourth century.

The legend of his life that sprang up in the eighth century tell us that he was born to a rich and noble family who raised him as a Christian. After becoming a bishop, a new persecution of Christians began. He received a message from God to go into the hills to escape perseci=ution. Men hunting in the mountains discovered a cave surrounded by wild animals who were sick. Among them, Blaise walked unafraid, curing them of their illn esses. Recognizing Balise as a bishop, they captured him to take him back for trial. On the way back, he talked a wolf into releasing a pig that belonged to a poor woman. When Blaise was sentenced to starve to death, the woman, in gratitude, sneaked into the prison with food and candles. Finally Blaise was killed by the governor.

Blaise is the patron saint of wild animals because of his care and of those with throat maladies.

Prayer:

Saint Blaise, pray for us that we may not suffer from illnesses of the throat and pray that all who are suffering be healed by God's love. Amen. (Catholic Online)

St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr whose feast day is November 25th is the patroness of philosophers and preachers.

St. Catherine is believed to have been born in Alexandria of a noble family. Converted to Christianity through a vision, she denounced Maxentius for persecuting Christians. Fifty of her converts were then burned to death by Maxentius.

Maxentius offered Catherine a royal marriage if she would deny the Faith. Her refusal landed her in prison. While in prison, and while Maxentius was away, Catherine converted Maxentius' wife and two hundred of his soldiers. He had them all put to death.

Catherine was likewise condemned to death. She was put on a spiked wheel, and when the wheel broke, she was beheaded. She is venerated as the patroness of philosophers and preashers. St. Catherine's was one of the voices heard by St. Joan of Arc.(Catholic Online) St. Catherine is also invoked against sudden death.

Before the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, Christopher was listed as a martyr who died under Decius. Nothing else is known about him. There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbeliveably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ, carrying the weight of the whole world. This was what made Christopher patron saint of travelers and is invoked against storms, plagues, etc. His former feast day is July 25th.

Before the formal canonization process began in the fifteenth century, many saints were proclaimed by popular approval. This was a much faster process but unfortunately many of the saints so named were based on legends, pagan mythology, or even other religions--for example, the story of Buddha traveled west to Europe and he was "converted" into a Catholic Saint! In 1969, the church took a long look at all the saints on its calendar to see if there was historical evidence that that saint existed and lived a life of holiness. In taking that long look, the church discovered that there was little proof that many "saints", including some very popular ones, ever lived. Christopher was one of the names that was determined to have a basis mostly in legend. Therefore Christopher (and others) were dropped from the universal calendar.

Some saints were considered so legendary that their cult was completely repressed (including St. Ursula). Christopher's cult was not suppressed but it is confines to local calendars (those for a diocese, country, or so forth). His name, Christopher, means Christ-bearer. He died a martyr during the reign of Decius in the third century. (Catholic Online). His name is also invoked for bubonic plague and dangers when traveling.

St. Cyriacus was a Bishop of Ancona, Italy, or bishop of Jeruselem, Israel, also called Quiriacus. He is believed to have been the bishop of Ancona. While making a pilgramage to the Holy Land, Cyriacus was caught up in the persecution of the times. Yet another tradition states that he was the bishop of Jerusalem, martyred under Emperor Hadrian. His feast day is May 4. (Catholic Online). He is invoked against temptations, especially when on the death bed.

Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately A.D. 250: after his head was chopped off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked ten kilometeres (six miles), preaching a sermon the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Patron of Paris, France and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius.
Gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, from the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that denis was sent from Italy to Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out under the direction of Pope Fabian. This was after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia. Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the Ile de la Cite in the River Seine. Roman Paris lay on the higher ground of the Left Bank, away from the river.
Denis, having alarmed the pagan priests by his many conversions, was executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris (now Montmartre), which was likely to have been a druidic holy place. The martyrdom of Denis and his companions is popularly believed to ahve given it its current name, derived from the Latin mons martyrium "The Martyr's Mountain", although in fact the name is more likely to derive from mons mercurei et mons martis, Hill of Mercury and Mars. After his head was chopped off, Denis is said to have picked it up and walked ten kilometers (six miles) to the summit of Mont Mars (now Montmarte), preaching a sermon the entire way. Of the many accounts of his martyrdom, this is noted in detail in the Golden Legend and in Butler's Lives of the Saints. The site where he stopped preaching and actually died was marked by a small shrine that developed into the Saint Denis Basilica, which became the burial place for the kings of France. Another account has his corpse being thrown into the Seine, but recovered and buried later that night by his converts.

Veneration of Saint Denis began soon after his death. The bodies of Saints Denis, S+Elutherius, and Rusticus were buried on the spot of their martyrdom, where the construction of the saint's eponymous basilica was begun by St. Genevieve, assisted by the people of Paris. Her Vita Sanctae Genovefae attests the presence of a shrine near the present basilica by the close of the fifth century, though the names of Rusticus and Eleutherius are non-historical. The successor church was erected by Fulrad, who became abbot in 749/50 and was closely linked with the accession of the Carolingians to the Merovingian throne.

In time the "Saint Denis", often combined as "Montjoie! Saint Denis!" became the war cry of the French Armies. The oril=flamme, which became the standard of France, was the banner consecrated on his tomb. His veneration spread beyond France when, in 754, Pope Stephen II, who was French, brought veneration of Saint Denis to Rome. Soon his cultus

was prevalent throughout Europe. Abbot Suger removed the relics of Denis, and those associated with Rustique and Eleuthere, from the crypt to reside under the high altar of the Saint-Denis he rebuilt, 1140-44.

The feast of Saint Denis was added to the Roman Calendar in the year 1568 by Pope Pius V, though it had been celebrated since at least the year 800. St. Denis' feast day is celebrated October 9.

In traditional Catholic practice, Saint Denis is hinired as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Specifically, Denis is invoked against diabolical possession and headaches and with Saint Genevieve is one of the patron saints of Paris.

Since at least the ninth century, the legends of Dionyus the Aeropagite and Denis of Paris have often been confused. Circa 814, Louis the Pious brought certain writings attributed to Dionysus the Areopagite to France, and since then it became common among the French legendary writers to prove that Denis of Paris was the same Dionysus who was a famous convert and desciple of St. Paul. The confusion of the personalities of Saint Denis, Dionysus the Areopagite, and pseudo-Dionysus the Areopagite, the author of the writings ascribed to Dionysus brought to France by Louis, was initiated through an Areopagita written in 836 by Hildiun, Abbot of Saint-Denis, at the request of Louis the Pious. "Hildiun was anxious to promote the dignity of his church, and it is to him that the quite unfounded identification of the patron saint with Dionysus the Areopagite and his consequent connexion with the apostilic age are due." Scholars might still argue for an Eastern origin of the Basicilica of Saint-Denis in the sixteenth century: one was Godefroi Tillman's long preface to a paraphrase of the Letters of the Areopagite, printed in

Paris in 1538 by CHarlotte Guillard. Histogrographers of the present day do not dispute this point.

Denis' headless walk has led to his being depicted in art decapitated and dressed as a Bishop, holding his own mitred head in his hands. Handling the halo in this circumstance poses a unique challenge for the artist. Some put the halo where the head used to be; others have Saint Denis carrying the halo along with the head. Even more problemmatic than the halo was the issue of how much of his head Denis should be shown carrying. Throughout much of the Middle Ages, the Abbey of Saint Denis and the canons of Notre Dame Cathedral were in dispute over ownership of the Saint's head. The Abbey claimed that they ahd the entire body, whilst the Cathedral claimed to possess the top of his head which, they claimed, had been severed by the executioner's first blow. Thus while most depictions of St. Denis show him holding his entire head, in others, the patrons have shown their support for the Cathedral's claim by depicting him carrying just the crown of his skull, as, for example in the mid 13th century window showing the story at Le Mans Cathedral. (Wikipedia)

Saint Erasmus of Formiae is a Christian saint and martyr who died ca. 303 and is also known as Saint Elmo. E]He is vernerated as the patron saint of sailors. Saint Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christian legend who were venerated in Central Europe as intercessors. His feast day is June 2, and along with being the patron saint of sailors he is also the patron saint of Gaeta, Formia, colic in children, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labor, cattle pest, and Fort Saint Elmo (Malta) He is represented by a windlass.

The "Acts of Saint Elmo" were partly compiled from legends that confuse him with a Syrian bishop Erasmus of Antioch. Jacobus de Voragine in teh "Golden Legend" credited him as a bishop of formia over all teh Italian Campania, as a hermit on Mount Lebanon, and martyr in the persecutons under Easter Roman Emperor Diocletian.

According to his legend, when persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian began, "Erasmus was called before a h=judge, beaten around the head, spat upon and 'besprinkles [. . .] with foulness.' He was then beaten with leaden mauls until his veins broke and burst. Erasmus suffered all theses punishments with tremendous willingness. Erasmus was then thrown into a pit of snakes and worms, and boiling oil and sulfur were poured on him but 'he lay therein as he had lain in cold water, thanking and loving God.' Then thunder and lightning came and electrocuted everyone around save Erasmus. Thuys the saint was protected mfrom the lightning. Diocletian had him thrown in another pit, but and angel came and slew all the vipers and worms."

Then came the Western Roman Emperor Maximian who, according to Voragine, was " much worse that was Diocletian" Erasmus would not cease preaching the Gospel, even though he was "put into a pan seething with rosin, pitch, brimstone lead, and oil [which were]pour]. . .into his mouth [from] which he never shrank." A searing hot cloak and metal coat were both tried on him, to no effect, and an angel eventually carried him away to safety."

"And when this holy man came before the false gods" - to which he was to be forced to sacrifice, they "fell down and broke all in pieces, and consumed into ashes or dust." That made the Emperor so angry he had Erasmus enclosed in a barrell full of protruding spikes, and the barrell was rolled down a hill. But an angel healed him. Further tortures ensued:

His teeth were . . .plucked out of his head with iron pinchers. And after that they bound him to a pillar and carded his skin with iron cards, and then they roasted him upon a gridiron. . .and did smite sharp nails of iron in his fingers, and after, they put out his eyes of his head with their fingers, and after that they laid this holy bishop upon the ground naked and stretched him with strong withes bound to horss about his blessed neck, arms, and legs, so that all his veins and sinews that he had in his body burst."

The version of the 'Golden Legend" did not relate how Erasmus fled to Mount Lebanon and survived on what ravens brought him to eat, and interesting pre-Christian mytheme. When he was recaptured, he was brought before the Emperopr and beaten and whipped, then coated with pitch and set alight (as Christians had been in Nero's games). and dtill he survived. Thrown into prison with the intention of letting him die of starvation, St. Erasmus managed to escape

He was recaptured and tortured some more in the Roman province of Illyricum, after boldly preaching and converting numerous pagans to Christianity. Finally, according to the legend, his stomach was slit open and his intestines wound around a windlass. This late legend may ahve developed from interpreting an icon that showed him with a windlass, signifying his patronage of sailors.

Saint Erasmus may have becme the patron saint of sailors becasue he is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted sailors, who were in dange from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships were read as a sign of his protection and came to be called "Saint Elmo's Fire."

Pope Saint Gregory the Great recorded in the sixth century that his relics were preserved in the cathedral of Formia. When the old Formiae was razed by the Saracens in 842, the cult of Erasmus was translated to Gaeta. He is currently the patron of both Gaeta and Formia.

Besides his patronage of mariners, Erasmus is invoked aganist colic in children, intestinal ailments and diseases, cramps and the pain of women in labor, as well as cattle pest. What a combination!

St. Eustachius & Companions Martyrs clelbrate their feast day on September 20. St. Eustachius, called by the Greeks Eustachius, and befor his conversion named Placidus, was a nobleman who suffered martyrdom at Ropme, about the reign of Adrian together with his wife Theopista, called before her baptisim Tatiana, and two sons, Agapius and Theopistus. These Greek names they must have taken after their conversion to the faith. The acient sacramentaries mention in the prayer for the festival of St. Eustachius his profuse charities to the poor on whom he bestowed all his large possessions some time before he laid down his life for his faith. An ancient church in Rome was built in his honor, with the title of Diacony; the same now gives title to a cardinal. His body lay deposited in this church, till, in the twelfth age, it was translated to that of St.Denis near Paris. His shrine was pilliaged in this place, and part of his bones burnt by the Huguenots in 1567; but a potyion of them still remains in the parish church which bears the name of St.Eustachius in Paris. How noble it is to see integrity and virtue triumphing over interest, passion, racks, and death and setting the whole world at defiance! To see a great man preferring the least duty of justice, truth or religion, to the favor or menace of princes; readily quitting estate, friends, country, and life rather then consent to anything against his conscience, and at the same time, meek, humble, and modest in his suffering; forgiving from his heart and tenderly loving his most unjust and treacherous enemies and persecutors! Passion and revenge often make men furious; and lust of power, worldly honor, applause or wealth may prompt them to brave dangers; but these passions leave them weak and dastardly in other cases, and are themselves the basest of slavery, and most grevious crimes and misery to religion is the only basis on which true magnanimity and courage can stand. It so enlightenes the mind as to set a man above all human events, and to preserve him in all changes and trials steadily calm in himself; it secures him against the errors, the injustices, and frowns of the world, by its powerful motives the strongest spur to all generous actions, and under afflictions and sufferings a source of unalterable peace, and overflowing joy which spring from assuredconfidence that God's will is always most just and holy, and that He will be its protector and rewarder. Does religion exert this powerful influences in us? Does it appear in our hearts, in ur actions and conduct? Is it not enough to encounter dangers with resolution; we must with equal courage and constancy vanquist pleasure and the softer passions, or we possess not the virtue of true fortitude. (Catholic Online)

Saint George (ca 275/281-23 April 303) was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier and priest
in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Western and Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalized in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His memorial is celebrated on 23 April, and he is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints.

Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the world, including: Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greecem Iraq, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia and Russia, as well as the cities of Genoa, Amersfoot, Beirut, Fakiha, Bteghrine, Caceres, Ferrara, Freiburg, Ljubljana, Pomorie, Preston, Qormi, Rio de Janeiro, Lod, Barcelona, Moscow, Tamworth and the Maltese island of Gozo as well as a wide range of professions, organizations and disease sufferers.

Historians have debated the exact details of the birth of Saint George for over a century, although the approximate date of his death is subject to little debate. The Catholkic Encyclopedia takes the position that there seems to be no ground for doubting the historical existence of Saint Georgem but that little faith can be placed in some of the fanciful stories about him.

The work of the Bollandists Danile Paperbroch, Jean Bolland and Godfrey Henschen in the 17th century was one of the first pieces of scholarly research to establish the historicity of the saint's existence via their publications in Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca and paved the way for other scholars to dismiss the medieval legends. Pope Gelasius stated that George was among those saints" whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose actions are known only to God."

The traditional legends have offered a historicised narration of Geroge's encounter with a dragon: see "St. George and the Dragon" below. The modern legend that follows below

is synthesized from the early and late hagiographical sources, ommiting the more fantastical episodes, to narrate a purely human military career in closer harmony with modern expections of reality. Chief among the legendary sources about the saint is the Golden Legend, which remains the most familiar version in English owing to William Caxton's 15th-century translation.

It is likely that Saint George was born to a Christian noble family in Lod, Syria Palaestina during the l;ate third century between about 227 AD and 285 AD, and he died in Nicomedia. His father, Gerontius, was a Roman army official from Cappadocia and his mother was from Palestine. They were both Christians from noble families of Anici, so by this the child was raised with Christian beliefs. They decided to call him Georgius (Latin) or Georgios (Greek), meaning "worker of the land'> At the age of 14 George lot his father, a few years later, George's mother, Polychronia, died. Eastern accounts give the names of his parents as Anastasius and Theobaste.

Then George decided to go to Nicomedia, the imperial city of that time, and present himself to Emperor Diocletian to apply for a career as a soldier. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as he had know his father, Gerontius--one of his finest soldiers. By his late 20s, George was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperior at Nicomedia.

In the years AD 302, Diocletian (influenced by Galerius) issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods, But George objected and with the courage of his faith approached the Emperor and ruler. Diocletian was upset, not wanting to lose his best Tribune and the son of his best official, Gerontius. George loudly renounced the Enperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunees he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Pagan gofds. The Emperor made many offers, but George never accepted.

recognizing the futility of his efforts, Diocletian was left with no choice but to have him executed for his refusal. Before the execution George gave his wealth to the poor and prepared himself. After various torture sessions, including laceraton on a wheel of swords in which he was resuscitated three times, George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's city wall, on April 23, 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians as well, and so they joined George in martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydda for burial, where Christians soon came to honor him as a martyr.

Although the above distillation of the legend of George connects him to the conversion of Athansius, who according to Rufinus was brought up by Christian ecclestiastical authorities froma very early age, Edward Gibbon argued that George, or at least the legend from which the above is distilled, is based on George of Cappadocia, a notorious Arian bishop who was Anthanasius' most bitter rival, who in time became Saint George of England. According to Professor Bury, Gibbon's latest editor, "this theory of Gibbon's has nothing to be said for it'. He adds that "the connection of St. George with a dragon-slaying legend does not relegate him to the region of the myth.

The episode of Saint George and the Dragon was a legend brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenancesn belonging to the genre of Romance. The earliest known depiction of the legend is from the early eleventh-century Capadoccia, (in the iconography of the Eastern Orthodoxchurch, George George had been depicted as a soldier since at least the sec=venth-century); the earliest known surviving narrative text is aneleventh-century Georgian text.

In the fully developed Western version, which developed as part of the Golden Legend, a dragon or Crocodile makes its nest at the spring that provides water for the city of "silene" (perhaps modern Cyrene) in Lybia or the city of Lydda, depending on the source. Consequently, the citizens have to dislodge the dragon from its nest for a time, to collect water. To do so, eacgh day they offer the dragon at first a sheep, and if no sheep can be found, then a maiden must go instead of the sheep. The victim is chosen by drawing lots. One day, this happens to be the princess. The monarch begs for her life to be spared, but to no avail. She is offered to the dragon, but there appears Saint George on his travels. He faces the dragon, protects hi,self withe the sign of the cross, slays the dragon, and rescues the princess. The grateful citizens abandon their ancestral paganism and convert to Christianity.

The dragon motif was first combined with the stadardised Passio Georgii in Vincent of Beauvais' encyclopedic Speculum historale and then in Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend , which guaranteed its popularity in the Middle Ages as a literary and pictorial subject.

The parallels with Perseus and Andromedia are inescapable. In the allegorical reading, the dragon embodies a supressed pagan cult. The story has other roots that predate Christianity. Examples such as Sabazios, the sky father, who was usually depicted riding on horseback, and Zeus's defeat of Thphon in Titan in Greek mythology, along with exapmles for Germanic and Vedic traditions, have led a numbers of historians, such as Loomis, to suggest that George is a Christianized version of older deities in Indo-European culture.

In the medieval romances, the lance with whch St, Geroge slew the dragon was called Ascalon, named after the city of Ashkelton in Israel.

A church built in Lydda during the reign of Constatine I (reighned 306-337), was consecrated to "a man of the highest distinction", according to the church history of Eusebius of Caesarea; the name of the patron wa not disclosed, but later he was asserted to have been George. By the time of the Muslim conquest in the seventh century, a basilica dedicated to the saint in Lydda existed. The church was destroyed in 1010 but was later rebuilt and dedicated to Saint George by the Crusaders. in 1191 and during the conflict known as the Third Crusade n(1189-1192) the church was again destroyed by the forces of Saladin, Sultan of the Ayyubid dynesty (reighed 1171-1193). A new church was erected and 1872 and is still standing.

During the fourth century the veneration of George spread from Palestine through Lebanon to the rest of teh Eastern Roman Empire-though the martyr is not mentioned in the syriac Breviarium-and Georgia. In Georgia the feast day on November 23 is cerdited to St,. Nino of Cappadi=ocia, who in Georgian Hagiography is a relative of St. George, credited with bringing christianity to the Georgians in the fourth century. By the fifth century the cult of Saint George had reached the Western Roman Empire as well: in 494, George was cannonized as a saint by Pope Gelasius I, among theose "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to [God].

In England the earliest dedication to George, who was mentioned among the martyrs by Bede, is a church at Fordington, Dorset, that is mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great. "Saint George and his feast day began to gain more widespread fame among all Europeans, however from the time of the Crusades." The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the city of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genoese fleet during the Crusades and the English Monarch paid and annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege. An Apparition of George heartened the Franks at the siege of Antioch, 1098, and made a similar appearance the following year at Jerusalem. Chivalric military Order of George was established in Aragon (1201), Genoa, Hungary, and by Frederick III.

The establishment of George as a popular saint and protective giant in the West that had captured the medieval imagination was codified by the official elevation of his feast to a festum duplex at a church council in 1415, on the date that had become associated with his martyrdom, 23 April. There was wide latitude from community to community in celebration of the day across late and medieval and early modern England, and no uniform "national" celebration elsewhere, a token of the popular and vernacular nature of George's cultus and its local horizions, supported by a local guild or confraternity under George's protection, or dedication of a local church. When the Reformation in England severely curtainled the saints' days in the calandar, St. George's Day was among the holidays that continued to be observed.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the earliest text preserving fragments of George's narrative is an Acta Sanctorium identified by Hippolyte Delehaye of the scholarly Bollandists to be a palimpsest of the fifth century. However, this Acts Sancti Georgii was soon banned as heresy by Pope Gelasius (in 496).

The compiler of this Acta , according to Hippolyte Delehaye "confused the martyr with his namesake, the celebrated George of Cappadocia, the Arian intruder into the see of Alexdandria and enemy of St. Athnasius." A critical edition of a Syriac Acta of Saint George, accompanied by an annotated English translation was published by E. W. Brooks (1863-1955) in 1925. The hagiography was originally written in Greek

In Sweded, the princess rescued by Saint George is held to represent the kingdon=m of Sweden, while the dragon represents an invading army. Several sculptures of Saint George battling the dragon can be found in Stockholm, the earliest inside Storkyrkan ("The Great CHurch") in the Old Town.

The facade of architect Antoni Gaudi's famous Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain depicts this allegory.

St. George is most commonly depicted in early icons, mosaics and frescos wearing armour contempory with the depection, executed in gilding, and silver colour, intended to identify him as a Roman soldier. After the fall of Constantinople and the association of St. George with the Crusades, he is more often portrayed mounted upon a white horse.

At the same time St. George began to be associated with St. Demetrius, another early soldier saint. When the two saints are portrayed together mounted upon horses, they may be lickened to earthly manifestations of the archangles Michael and Gabriel. St George is always depicted in Eastern traditions upon a white horse and St. Demetrius on a red horse. St. George can also be identified in the act of spearing a dragon, unlike St. Demetrius, who is sometimes shown spearing a human figure, understood to represent Maximiam.

A 2003 Vatican Stamp issued on the anniversary of the Saint's death depicts and armored Saint George atop a white horse, killing the dragon.

During the early second millennium, George came to be seen as the model of chivary, and during this time was depicted in works of literature, such as the medieval romances

Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, compiled the Legenda Sanctorium, (Readings of the Saints) also known as Legenda Aurea (the Golden Legend) for its worth am ong readers. Its 177 chapters (182 in other editions) contain the story of Saint George.

Modern Russians interpret the icon as not a killing but as a struggle, aganist ourselves and the evil among us. The dragon never dies but the saint persists with his horse (will and support of the people) and his spear (techinal means).

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity it is possible to find Icons of St. George riding on a black horse, as well, there are various examples in Russian Iconography, like the Icon in British Museum Collection.The"Colours of Saint George", or Saint George's Cross are a white flag with a red cross, frequently borne by entities over which he is patron (e.g. the Republic of Genoa and then Liguria, England, Georgia, Catalonia, Aragon, etc.)

The origin of the St. George's Cross came from the earlier plain white tunics worn by early crusaders.

The same colour scheme was used by Victor Vasnetsov for the facade of teh Tretyakov Gallery, in which sme of the most famous St. George Icons are exhibited and which displays St. George as the coat of arms of Moscow over its entrance.

In the General Calandar of the Roman Rite the feast of Saint George is on April 23. In the Tridentine Calandar it was given the rank of :Semidouble". In Pope Pius XII's 1955 calandar this rank is reduced to "Simple". In Pope John XXIII's 1960 calendar the celebration is just a "commeration". In Pope Paul VI's 1969 it is raised to the level of an optional "Memorial:. In some countries, such as England, the rank is higher.

St. George is very much honored by the Eastern Orthodox Chirch, Wherein he is referred to as a "Great Martyr", and in Oriental Orthodoxy as well. His amjor feast day is on APril 23 )Julian Calendar April 23 currently corresponds to Gregorian Calendar May 6). The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates two additional feasts in honor pf St. George: one on November 3 commemorating the conscecration of a cathedral dedicated to him in Lydda during the reign of Constantine the Great (305-337). WHen the church was consecrated, the relics of the St. George were transferred there. The other feast on November 26 for a chuch dedicated to him in Kiev, ca. 1054.

In egypt the Coptic Orthodox X=Church of Alexandria refers to Saint George as the "Prince of Martyrs" and celebrates his martyrdom on the 23rd of Paremhat of the Coptic Calendar equivalent to May 1. The Copts also celebrate the consecration of the first church dedicated to him on June 10.

As a highly celebrated saint in both the Western and Eastern Christian churches, a large number of Patronages of Saint George exist throughout the world.

The country of Georgia, where devotions to the Saint date back to the fourth century, is not named aftr him, but a large number of towns and cities around the world are. Georgia is the anglicised version of Gurj, derived from the Persian word for the people in that territory. Geographer Vakhushti Bagrationi wrote that there are 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia named after St. George according to the number of days in a year.

St. George is the patron saint of England; his cross forms the national flag of England, and features within the Union Jack of the United Kingdom: Traces of the cult of St. George in England predate the Norman Conquest in the eleventh centry; by the fourteenth century the saint had been declared both the patron saint and the protector of the Royal Family.

Devotions to Saint George in POrtugal date back to the twelth centry, and Saint Constable attributed the victory of the Portuguese in the battle of Aljiubarrota in the fourteenth century to Saint George. During the reigh of King John I (1357-1433) Saint George became the patron saint of Portugal and the King ordered that the saint's image on the horse be carried in the corpus Christi possession.

Saint George is also one of the patron saints of the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo. In a battle between the Maltese and the Moors, Saint George was alleged to have been seen with Saint Paul and Saint Agata, protecting the Maltese. Besides being the matron of Victoria where St. George's basilica, Malta is dedicated to him. St. George is the protector of the island of Gozo.

There is a tradition in the Holy Land of Christians and Muslims going to an Eastern Orthdox shrine of St. George at Beith Jala, Jews also attending the site in the belief that the profit Elijah was buried there. This is testifies to by Elizabeth Finn in 1866, where she wrote, "St. George killed the dragon in this country Palestine; mand the place is shown close to Beirut (Lebonon). Many churches and convents are named after him. The church at Lydda is dedicated to St. George: so is a convent neat Bethlehem, and another small one just opposite the Jaffa gate; and others besides. The Arabs believe that St. George can restore mad people to their senses; and to say a person has be sent to St. George's, is equivalent to saying he has been sent to a madhouse. It is singular that the Moslim Arabs share this veneration for St. George and send their mad people to be cured by him, as well as the Christians. But they commonly call him El Khudder--The Green--according to their favorite manner of using epithets instead of names. Whe he should be called green, however I cannot tell--unless it is from the colour of his horse. Gray horses are called green in Arabic." A possible explanation for this colour reference is Al Khidir, the erstwhile tutor of Moses, gained his name from having sat in a barren desert, turning it to a lush green paradise.

William Darlymple reviewing the literature in 1999 tells us that J. E. Hanauer in his 1907 book Folklore of the Holy Land: Muslim, Christian and Jewsih "mentioned a shrine in the village of Beit Jala, beside Bethlehem, which at the time was frequented by all three of Palestine's religious communities. Christians regarded it as the birthplace of St. George, Jews as the burial place of the Prophet Elias. According to Hanauer, in his day the monastery was "a sort of madhouse. Deranged persons of all the three faiths are thaken thither and chained in the court of the chapel, where they are kept for forty days on bread and water, the Eastern Orthodox priest at the head of the establishment now and then reading the Gospel over them, or administering a whipping as the case demands." In the 1920s according to Taufiq Canaan's Mohammedan Saints and Sancturies in Palestine, nothing seemed to have changed, and all three communities were still visiting the shrine and praying together.

Dalrymple himself visited the place in 1995. "I asked around in the Christian Quarter in Jeruselem, and discovered that the place was very much alive. With all the greatest shrines in the Christian world to choose from, it seemed that when the local Arab Christians had a problem--an illness or something more complicated: a husband detained in an Israeli prison camp, for example-- they preferred to seek the intercession of St. George in his grubby little shrine at Beit Jala rather than praying at the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruselem or the CHurch of the Nativity in Bethlehem." He asked the priest at the shrine, "Do you get many Muslims coming here?" The priest replied, "We get Hundreds! almost as many as the Christian pilgrams. Often when I come in here, I find Muslims all over the floor, in the aisles, up and down."

The Encyclopedia Britannica quotes G. A. Smith in his Historic Geography of the Holy Land p. 164 saying, "The Mahommedans who usually identify St. George witht eh profit Elijah, at Lydda cnfound his legend with one about Christ himself. Their name for Antichrist is Dajjal, and they have a tradition that Jesus will slay Antichrist by the gate of Lydda. The notion sprang form an ancient bas-relief of George and the Dragon on the Lydda Church. But Dajjal may be derived, by a very confusion between n and l, from Dragon, whose name two neighboring villages bear to thei day, while one of the gates of Lydda used to be called the Gate of the Dragon. (Wikipedia).

Saint Giles (c. 650-c.710) was a Greek Christian hermit saint from Athens, whose legend is centered in Provence and Septimania. The tomb in the abbey Giles was said to have founded, in St-Giles-du-Gard, became a place of pilgramage and a stop on the road that led from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, the pilgram Way of St. James. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Giles first lived in retreats near the mouth of the Rhone and by the River Gard, in Septamania, today's Southern France. The story that he was the son of King Theodore and Queen Pelagia of Athens is probably an embellishment of his early hagiographers; it was given wide currency in the Legenda Aurea. The two main incidents in his life were often depicted in art.

His early history, as given in Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend), links him with Arles, but finally he withdrew deep into the forest near Nimes, where in the greatest solitude he spent many years, his sole companion being a deer, or Red Deer, who in some stories sustained him on her milk. This last retreat was finally discovered by the king's hunters, who had pursued the hind to its place of refuge. An arrow shot at the deer wounded the saint instead, who afterwards became a patron of cripples. The king, who by legend was Wamba, an anachronistic Visigoth, but who must have been (at least in the original story) a Frank due to the historical setting, conceived a high esteem for the hermit, whose humility rejected all honors save some disciples, and built him a monastery in his valley, Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, which he placed under the Benedictine rule. Here Giles died in the early part of the eighth century, with the highest repute for sanctity and miracles.

An early source, a tenth-century Vita sancti Aegidii recounts that, as Giles was celebrating Mass to pardon the Emperor Charlemagne's sins, an angel deposites upon the alter a letter outlining a sin so terrible Charlemagne never dared confess it. Several Latin and French texts, including Legenda Aurea refer to this hidden "sin of Charlemagne". This legend, however, would be contradicted by generally accepted later dates for the life of Charlemagne (approximately 742-28 January 814).

A later text, the "Liber miraculorum sancti Aegidii" ("The Book of Miracles of Saint Giles") served to reinforce the flow of pilgrams to the abbey.

Around his tomb in the abbey sprang up the town of St-Gilles-du-Gard. The abbey remained the center of his cult, which was particularly strong in Languedoc, even after a rival body of Saint Giles appeared at Toulouse. His cult spread rapidly far and wide throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, as is witnesses by countless churches and monasteries dedicated to him in France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Great Britain; By the numerous manuscripts in prose and verse commemorating his virtues and miracles; and especially by the vast concourse of pilgrams who from all Europe flocked to his shrine.

In 1562, the relics of the saint were secretly transferred to Toulouse to save them from the anger of the Huguenots and the level of pilgramages declined. With the restoration of a great part of the relics to the abbey of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard in 1862, and the publicized rediscovery of his former tomb there in 1865, the pilgramages recommenced.

Besides Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, nineteen other cities bear his name. Cities that possess relics of St. Giles include Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Toulouse and a multitude of other French cities, Antwerp, Brugge and Tournai in Belgium, Cologne and Bamberg in Germany, Rome and Bologna in Italy, Prague in the Czech Republic, and Esztergom in Hungary. The lay Community of Sant'Egidio is named after his church in Rome, Sant'Egidio. Giles is also the patron saint of Edinburgh, Scotland, where St. Giles' Cathedral is a prominent landmark.

The centuries-long presence of the Crusaders, many of them of French origin, left the name of Saint Giles in some locations in the Middle East. Raymond of St. Gilles lent his name to St. Gilles Castle (Arabic: Qala'at Sanjil) in Tripoli, Lebonon. Sinjil is also a West Bank Palestinian village, which came to promenence in 2005 when several of its inhabitants were killed in a shooting spree by an Israeli settler.

In medieval art, he is depicted with his symbol, the hind. His emblem is also an arrow, and he is the patron saint of cripples. Giles is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and the only non-martyr, initially invoked as protection against the Black Death. His Feast Day is September 1.

The Master of Saint Giles is an anonymous Late Gothic painter. The artist was given the title as the first work attributed to him were two works with Saint Giles as the subject now in the National Gallery, London. (Wikipedia)

St. Margaret of Antioch celebrates her feast day on July 20. Nothng certain is known of her, but according to her untrustworthy legend, she was the daughter of a pagan priest at Antioch in Pisidia. Also known as Marina, she was converted to Christianity, whereupon she was driven from home by her father. She became a shepherdess and when she spurned the advances of Olybrius, the prefect, who was infatuated with her beauty, he charged her with being a CHristian. He had her tortured and then imprisioned, and while she was in prison she had an encounter with the devil in the form of a dragon. According to the legend, he swallowed her, but the cross she carried in her hand so irritated his throat that he was forced to disgorge her (she is the patroness of childbirth). The next day, attempts were made to execute her by fire, and then by drowning, but she was miraculously saved and converted thousands of spectators witnessing her ordeal-all of whom were promptly executed. Finally she was beheaded. That she existed and was martyred are probably true; all else is probably fictitious embroidery and added to her story, which was immensly popular in the Middle Ages, spreading from the East all over Western Europe. She is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and hers was one of the voices heard by Joan of Arc. Her feast day is July 20th. (Catholic Online)

St. Pantaleon came from Nicomedia, near the Black Sea in Asia. He was such a famous doctor the the Emperor himself chose him for his own doctor. Pantaleon was a Christian, but the bad influence from the pagan court caused him to give up his Christian faith entirely.

A holy priest named Hermolaos made him realize what a sin he had committed. Pantaleon listened to him, detested his sin, and joined the Church once more. To make up for what he had done, he greatly desired to suffer and die for Jesus. In the meantime, he imitated our Lord's charity by taking care of poor sick people without any charge for his medical services.

When the Emperor Diocletian began his persecution, Pantaleon at once gave away everything he owned to the poor. Not long afterwards, he was accused of being a Christian. He was given the choice of denying his Faith or being put to death. No torture could force Pantaleon to deny his Faith.

There has been stron devotion in past ages to this Saint. In the East he is called the "Great Martyr and Wonder-worker." Saint Pantaleon's feast day is July 27th. (Catholic Online)

Saint Vitus was a Christian Saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman Catholic Church.

Saint Vitus' Day is celebrated on 15 June. In places where the Julian Calendar is used, this date coincides, in the 20th and 21st centuries, with 28 June on the Gregorian Calendar.

In the late Middle Ages, people in Germany and countries such as Latvia celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. This dancing became popular and the name "Saint Vitus Dance" was given to the neurological disorder chorea. It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers and of entertainers in general.

Vitus is considered the patron saint of actors, comedians, dancers, and epileptics. He is also said to protect aganist lightning strikes, animal attacks and oversleeping, and is the patron saint of Bohemia. Vitus is the patron saint of the city of Rijeka in Croatia, the towns of Ciminna in Sicily, Forio on the Island of Ischia, in Campania, Italy, the contrada of San Vito, in Torella dei Lombardi, in Avellino, Italy, the town of Winschoten in the Netherlands, and the town of St. Vith located in Belgium.

Various places in Austria and Bavaria are named Sankt Veit in his honor.

According to the legend, Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia were martyrs under Diocletian. The earliest testimony for their veneration is offered by the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" (ed. G.B. de Rossi-Louis Duchesne, 78: "In Sicilia, Viti, Modesti et Crescentiae"). The fact that the note is in the three most important manuscripts indicates that it was also in the common exemplar of these, which appeared in the fifth century. The same Martyrologium has under the same day another mention of a Vitus at the head of a list of nine martyrs, with the statement of the place, "In Lucania", that is, in the Roman province of that name in Southern Italy between the Tuscan Sea and the Gulf of Taranto. It is easily possible that it is the same martyr Vitus in both cases.

According to J. P. Kirsch, the arthor of the article in the Catholic Encyclopedia from which the information in this section is drawn, the testimony to the public veneration of the three saints in the fifth century proves positively that they are historical martyrs. There are, m=nevertheless, no historical accounts of them, nor of the time or the details of their martyrdom.

During the sixth and seventh centuries a purely legendary narrative of their martyrdom appeard which appears to be based upon other legends, especially on the legend of Poitus, and ornamented with accounts of fantastic miracles. According to this legend, which has no apparent historical value, Vitus was a 7-year-old son of a senator of Lucania )some versions make him 12 years old). He resisted his father's attempts, which included various forms of torture, to make him apostatize. He fled with his tutor Modestus and Modestus' wife Crescentia, who was Vitus' nanny, to Lucania. He was taken from ther to Rome to drive out a demon which had taken possession of a son of the Emperor Diocletian. This he did, and yet, because he remained steadfast in the Christian Faith, he was tortured together with his tutors. By a miracle an angel brought back the three to Lucania, where they died from the tortures they had endured. Three days later Vitus appeared to a distinguished matron named Florentia, who then found the bodies and buried them in the spot where they were. The author of the legend doubtless connected in his invention three saints who apparently suffered death in Lucania, and were first venerated there.

The veneration of the Martyrs spread rapidly in Southern Italy and Sicily, as is shown by the note in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". Pope Gregory the Great mentions a monastery dedicated to Vitus in Sicily ("Epist", l, xiviii, P. L., LXXXVII, 511).

The veneration of St. Vitus, the chief saint of the group, also appeared very early in Rome. Pope Gelasius l (492-496) mentions a shrine dedicated to him (Jaffe, "Reg. Rom. Pont.", 2nd ed., l, 6 79), and at Rome in the seventh century the chapel of a deaconry was dedicated to him ("Liber Pont.", ed. Duchesnem l, 470 sq.).

In 756 AD it is said that the relics of St. Vitus were brought to the Monastery of St-Denis by Abbot Fulrad. They were later presented to Abbot Warin of Corvey in Germany, who solemnly transferred some of them to his abbey in 836. From Corvey the veneration of St. Vitus spread throughout Westphalia and in the districts of eastern and northern Germany. His cult grew in Prague, Bohemia when, in 925 AD, King Henry l of Germany presented as a gift the bones of one hand of St. Vitus to Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia. The relic is since then a sacred treasure in the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

The cult of St. Vitus became very popular in Slavic lands, where his name (Sveti Vid=St. Vitus) replaced the old cult of the god of light Svantovid. In Croatia alone, 123 churches are dedicated to St. Vitus.

Saint Vitus is invoked primarily aganist chorea, which is called St. Vitus Dance, and he is one of the Fourteen Martyrs who give aid in times of trouble.

He is represented as a young man with a palm-leaf, in a cauldron, sometimes with a raven and a lion, his iconographic attribute because according to the legend he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling tar and molten lead, but miraculously escaped unscathed.

The names of Saints Modestus and Crescentia were added in teh eleventh century to the Roman Calander, so that from then on all three names were celebrated together until 1969, when their feast was removed fromthe calendar of feasts proposed for celebration throughout the Roman Rite. Saint Vitus is still recognized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, being inscribed in the Roman Martyrology under June 15, and Mass may be celebrated in his honor on that day whenever the Roman Rite is celebrated while the Saints Modestus and Crescentia who are associated with St. Vitus in legend have been omitted, because they appear to be merely fictitous personages. However, some traditionalist Catholics continue to observe pre-1970 versions of the General Roman Calendar.

Vidovdan is Vitus' Day in Serbia among the Serb Orthodox Church. (Wikipedia)

INVOCATION OF THE HOLY HELPERS

Fourteen Holy Helpers, who served God in humility and confidence on earth and are now in the enjoyment of his beatific vision in Heaven; because thou perserved till death thou gained the crown of eternal life. Remember the dangers that surround us in this vale of tears, and intercede for us in all our needs and adversities. Amen

Fourteen Holy Helpers, select friends of God, I honor thee as mighty intecessors, and come with filial confidence to thee in my needs, for the relief of which I have undertaken to amke this Novena. Help me by thy intercession to placate God's wrath, which I have provoked by my sins, and aid me in amending my life and doing penance. Obtain for me the grace to serve God with a willing heart, to be resigned to His holy will, to be patient in adversity and to perservere unto the end, so that, having finished myearthly course, I may join thee in Heaven, there to parise for ever God, who is wonderful in His Saints. Amen.

THE LITANY OF THE FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS

Lord have mercy on us.

Christ have mercy on us.

Lord have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of Martyrs,

Pray for us.

Saint Joseph, helper in all needs,

Pray for us.

Fourteen Holy Helpers,

Saint George, valiant Martyr of Christ,

Saint Blaise, zealous bishop and benefactor of the poor,

Saint Erasmus, mighty protector of the oppressed,

Saint Pantaleon, miraculous exemplar of charity,

Saint Vitus, special protector of chastity,

Saint Christorphorus, mighty intercessor in dangers,

Saint Dionysius, shinning mirror of faith and confidence,

Saint Cyriacus, terror of Hell,

Saitn Achatius, Helpful advocate in death,

Saint Eustachius, exemplar of patience in adversity,

Saint Giles, despiser of the world,

Saint Margaret, valiant champion of the Faith,

Saint Catherine, Victorious defender of the Faith and purity

Saint Barbara, mighty patroness of the dying,

All ye Holy Helpers,

Pray for us.

All ye saints of God,

Intemptations aganist faith,

In adversity and trials,

In anxiety and want,

In every combat,

In every temptation,

In sickness,

In all needs,

In fear and terror,

In dangers of salvation,

In dangers of honor,

In dangers of reputation,

In dangers of property,

In dangers by fire and water,

Be merciful, spare us, O Lord!

Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord!

From all sin,

Deliver us, O Lord.

From thy Wrath,

From the scourge of earthquake,

Fram plague, famine and war,

From lightning and storms]From a sudden and unprovided death,

From eternal damnation,

Through the mystery of thy holy incarnation,

ThroughThy birth and Thy life

Through Thy Cross and Passion,

Through Thy death and burial,

Through the merits of Thy Blessed Mother Mary,

Through the Merits of the Fourteen Holy Helpers,

On the Day of Judgement, deliver us, O Lord!

We sinners, beseech thee hear us.

That thou spare us,

We Beseech Thee, hear us,

That thou pardon us,

That thou convert us to true penance,

That thou give and preserve the fruits of the earth,

That thou protect and propogate Thy holy Church,

That Thou preserve peace and concord among nations,

That thou give eternal rest to the souls of the departed,

That Thou come to our aid through the intercession of Saint George Thou preserve us in the Faith,

That through the intercession of Saint Blaise Thou confirm us in hope,

That through the Intercession of Saint Erasmus Thou enkindle in us Thy holy love,

That through the intercession of Saint Pantaleon Thou give us charity for our neighbor,

That through teh intercession of Saint Vitus Thou teach us the value of our soul,

That through the intercession of Saint Christophorus thou preserve us from sin,

That through the intercession of SaintDionysius Thou give us tranquillity of conscience,

That through the intercession of Saint Cyriacus Thou grant us resignation to Thy holy will,

That through the intercession of Saint Eustachius Thou give us patience in advesity,

That through the intercession of Saint Achatius Thou grant us a happy death,

That through the intercession of Saint Giles Thou grant us a merciful judgememt,

That through the intercession of Saint Margaret Thou preserve us from Hell,

That through the intercession of Saint Catherine thou shorten our purgatory,

That through the nintercession of Saint Barbara Thou receive us in Heaven,

That through the intercession of all the Holy Helpers Thou wilt grant our prayers,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,

Spare us O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,

Graciously Hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us m O Lord.

V. Pray for us, Ye Fourteen Holy Helpers

A. That we may be made worthy of the promis of Christ.

Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, who hast bestowed extraordinary gracrs and gifts on Thy Saints George, Blaise, Erasmus, Pantaleon, Vitus, Christophorus, Dionysius, Cyriacus, Eustachius, Achatius, Giles, Margaret, Catherine, and Barbara, and hast illustrated them by miracles; we beseech Thee to graciously hear the petitions of all who invoke their intercession. Through Christ out Lord, Amen.

O God who didst miraculously fortify the Fourteen Holy Helpers in teh confession of teh Faith; grant us, we beseech Thee, to imitate their fortitude in overcoming all temptations aganist it, and protect us through their intercession in all dangers of soul and body, so that we may serve thee in purity of heart and chasity of body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Wikipedia)

Look at Me--I've Got a College Degree!!!

2010-11-22T14:25:00.003-05:00

It finally came today. It is only an Associate's Degree and I have no idea what I will do with Liberal Arts, but at least I finally have a degree.
I guess if you want to read it you have to enlarge it.

This is the student copy of my transcript.
You will have to enlarge this too if you want to read it. I suppose none of it makes for really interesting reading. I didn't realize it until I showed it to my husband, but I graduated with "Honors". Still don't know what I'll do with it!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

2010-11-20T10:00:00.004-05:00

Today would have been the 69th Anniversary of the day my parents were married. They were married November 20, 1941--Thanksgiving Day. Apparently in that year President Roosevelt felt people needed a longer time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to shop and said Thanksgiving could be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month or on the third, and left it up to each state to decide when they wanted to celebrate. In Maryland they celebrated Thanksgiving on the 20th. My parents then went to Florida for their Anniversary and had a second Thanksgiving because Florida elected to celebrate on the traditionl day. I know they are celebrating together now. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

I've Learned Something New

2010-11-17T01:05:00.003-05:00

I was talking to a young man in th Navy Exchange today and told him I tried to work on my blog on my iPad and the iPad would not let me type in this box. He brought up his blog on one of the iPads in the store and showed me how. Now I know how to Blog on the Go.

Newest Member of Our Family

2010-11-15T19:22:00.002-05:00

This is Gunney. He is our English Bulldog and we have had him about six years. His right eye is fine, but Bulldogs are prone to get something called "Cherry Eye" and that is what is in the corner of his eye.

This is Meiko. He is a Red Point Siamese. We have had him about seven years. He is so lovable he can be extremely annoying. He enjoys being warm. As you can see he is wrapped up in a blanket.

This is a terrible picture of Thumbs. She is a Calico and has an extra toe on each paw. On her front paws they look like thumbs, hence her name. She is also camera shy.

This is Trixie. We've had her not quite a year. Actually we had two cats that looked exactly alike and were sisters. The other one's name was Dixie. Certainly I did not pick the names. Both cats are Bengal Mixes. Trixie likes to be up high, so I had to climb on a step stool to get this picture on top of the computer desk. As for Dixie, she has disappeared and we have no idea how, where or why. We never let them out, but apparently she got out. If she was in the house I am sure we would know.

And this is Samurai, our newest family member. He is a Shi-Pom and we have only had him a couple weeks. He terrorizes everyone else. All the cats stay up high where he can't get to them and poor Gunney can't sit or lay down without Samurai biting his toes, ears or dewlaps.

Musings

2010-11-14T19:03:00.004-05:00

How long does one have to pay for mistakes? How can one person lie to another and think it's OK? How can people make promises they have no intention of keeping? I personally would rather someone tell me the truth, no matter how much it may hurt, than to lie to me. The lie hurts much more then the truth ever could or would. Things like you have only a few people you feel you can really depend on no matter what. They see you at your best and worst, and promise to stay right there with you. They ask you to do certain things for them and you may not really want to but you do, but they promise if you do these things they will do certain other things. Then when the time comes for them to keep their end of the deal they spit in your face and refuse to accept what you have done.You can never do enough to satisfy them or to live up to their standards. I can no longer live up to standards some people have set, so therefore I accept I will never be good enough for them to accept me. I am at an age where I am going to protect myself from the pain and disappointment of trusting others. I've learned you can't trust anyone. You go for years thinking people love you, then one day it hits you like a 2 by 4 that you are out there by yourself and your trust in others was wasted. There are just some people you can't do enough for and while you are willing to put your life on the line for them they aren't willing to keep promises they have made to you, regardless of how trivial those promises are. I guess in the end it won't matter. There are also some of us who need more support than others, more reassurance, because we have less self-esteem. There will come a time when we won't know or cared for us or who knew us, or loved us, or didn't love us or who used us to their own good. Someday no one will even remember we were here. Hopefully someday they will have the same thing happen to them so they know how it feels. Hopefully it won't be too late and everyone involved will forgive them and realize no one is perfect. Until then we are all on our own and have to learn to do without anyone to lean on. For some of us that is extremely hard to learn, especially when we feel no one else cares.

Francis Daniel Small

2010-11-11T20:55:00.002-05:00

One year ago today my father passed away. I am probably the only one to remember and care. I do remember and I do care. I miss you dad.

Trip to Baltimore, Maryland, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, October 2010

2010-11-03T00:12:00.094-04:00

We have just returned from a trip to Baltimore. We did some things we do each time we go, but we also did some new things. The weather was beautiful and the trees had turned just enough to make it really seem like fall. We had a really nice time , visited family, did some family research and just enjoyed a wonderful vacation. My pictures are on here backwards, but for the most part it doesn't really matter. I hope you will enjoy my pictures and leave your comments. I hope you can see the fall colors and enjoy them as much as we did.

As I said earlier, my pictures are on here backwards. On the way back we stopped at JR's which is a huge warehouse type store near Selma, North Carolina. They sell everything you could possibly want--cigarettes, perfumes, books, clothing, dolls, the list is endless. This is one of the dolls we bought. This doll was inspired by the following poem by Jenny Joseph:

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickles for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

This is a smaller doll Mike bought in an antique store that matches a much larger one we bought at JRs.

This is the larger doll.

We also bought some things at home to show we are still Baltimore fans.

Although it looks blue in some of the pictures I took of it, the flamingo is actually purple.

I got a Ray Lewis Jersey.

We also went to the Utz Potato Chip Company in Pennsylvania and I got a t-shirt and Utz bear.

And I got a Ravens t-shirt and pants to wear as PJs.

On the way to and from Baltimore we stayed at a new Hilton Garden Inn in Roanoke Rapids. This is the lobby

They even had Halloween decorations in the lobby.

This is the hallway outside our room.

This was the waiting area for the elevator and behind the door was the ice machine and other snack machines.

We had a jacuzzi.

This was the living room area.

This was looking from the bedroom area to the door.

The view from our hotel window.

The front of the hotel.

As I said the hotel was brand new and there was very little around it.

We took a picture of the Marlboro sign on 95

The day we left we went to Annapolis to go to Chick and Ruth's deli.
About 45 minutes after leaving Annapolis we realized were had no idea where we were. We were in a huge traffic jam and we suddenly saw the White House in the distance. We knew we were in trouble.
This is a picture of the Lincoln Memorial.

I have no idea what this is or why I put it in here.

The Lincoln Memorial.

The Potomac River Bridge.

That's the Lincoln Memorial again behind all those trees.

The Washington Monument
Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis, Maryland.

When I worked in the Comptroller's office in Annapolis, one of the other girls in my office and I used to go to Chick and Ruths frequently for lunch

The pictures on the walls are of famous people who have eaten there. The delly has sandwiches named after politicians and big name people. My favorite is the Main Street, but there were also Marvin Mandells and Louis Goldsteins when I worked in Annapolis.

Other than more pictures on the walls, new sandwiches with different names and different people working there, this delly has not changed in 40 years. The original Chick and Ruth have both passed away and now their chiildren run the store. The food is delicious and I still love going there.

The Maryland Inn in Annapolis has been there forever.

It is on the corner of Main Street and Duke of Glouster Street.

At one time, many years ago they used to have a sign in their window that they were off-limits to the Naval Academy Midshipmen.

Going towards Church Circle.

I used to work in the building behind those trees.

Entering Annapolis

Behind the trees is the Naval Academy stadium

As a kid I used to go to Ann's.

They have the best foot long hotdogs I've ever tasted.

Ann's is celebrating their 60th year in busines

A trip to Baltimore would not be complete without a trip to Rheb's canidies.

We went to dinner at an Irish Pub with my cousin Jane and her husband, Tom.

Signs at the Irish

The Irish pub.

Gaelic for Welc
The actual name of the Pub is "An Poitin Stil", but everyone calls it "The Still".

Poitin is an extremely highly alcoholic beverage brewed in Ireland.

The Still

We visited the National Shrine of Mother Elizabeth Seton.

She is the first American Saint, and founded the Sisters of Charity.

Mother Seton Shrine

This is the first statue of Mother Seton erected in the United States. It was blessed on September 27, 1950, by Bishop John M. McNamara, Auxillary Bishop of Washington, and unveiled by Francesca Senese-Santoponte of Leghorn, great-great ggranddaughter of Antonio Filicchi. It was transferred to this site in 1980.

Elizabeth Bayley was born to a wealthy family in New York. Eventually she fell in love with and married William Seton. They had several chidren, but then William's business and health failed. They moved to Italy and stayed with Antono Fillicchi and his family. William eventually died and Elizabeth came back to New York. Her children were grown and she decided to become Catholic and to enter the convent. All of her friends and family abandoned her, but Antonio Fillicchi remained supportive of her .

Statue of Mother Elizabeth Seton.

This is the new Utz building and where they make Utz Potato chips, and other snacks. You can tour the place, but it was getting late and we didn't take the tour.

The Utz Manufacturing Company.

The old Utz Building is only a couple blocks away from the new building. The old building now houses an outlet store for their products.

The old Utz Building.

We went to a small town in Pennsylvania named McSherrystown.

My great grandfather had a sister who became a nun. Family lore had it she was a Sister of Charity and was in Emmetsburg and my great grandfather used to take my grandmother to see her. She was also said to have taught at St. Joseph's Academy in McSherrystown. We found St. Joseph's and went to the convent and told the nuns what we were looking for. They told us she was probably buried in the cemetery on the grounds.

We found the cemetery with no problem. It is a small cemetery with only about 60 graves in it.

The nuns told me they are planning to do some renovations starting in the spring of 2011.

All of the headstones are very old. I was told they used other cemeteries in the area now.

And in the back, the next to last row, second headstone in, we found Sister Mary Peter Farrell.

On the way home we rode up to Sabillasville.

At one time this was known as the Maryland TB Hospital.

My grandfather (my mother's father) had TB and spent a lot of time here.

Most of it is now closed and boarded up.

There is a part still open and it is known as the Victor Cullen Center, named after a former Maryland Medical Examiner.

The part of the buildings that are used is a school for deliquent boys.

As we sat in the car I could imagine my grandfather walking the grounds of the hospital and wanting to come home to his family.

When we went to Pennsylvania we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. Maryland is below the Mason-Dixon Line and is the northern-most southern state.

We also went to Gettysburg Battlefield. This is the monument to the 15th and 50th New York Engineers.

This is an explanation of the Pensylvannia State Memorial.

1. Goddess of Victory and Peace by Philadelphia sculptor Samuel Murray. The Colossal bronze figure holds the sword of victory and the palm branch of peace.

2. Above the triumphal arches are massive granite bas-reliefs by Samuel Murray representing the infantry, artillery, cavalry and the signal corps.

3. The names of the disguinshed Pennsylvania generals who commanded an army, corps, or division at Gettysburg are inscribed in the cornice. Brigade commanders are recorded inside the arches.

4. Between the Ionic columns stand heroic-scale bronze statues of President Abraham Lincoln,

Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, and six Pennsylvania Generals: Meade, Reynolds, Hancock, Pleasanton, Birney, and Gregg.

5. Bronze tablets bear the names and ranks of every Pennsylvania soldier who participated in the Battle of Gettysburg. Each tablet represents a regiment (about 400 officers and men). Names of soldiers who were killed are preceded with a star.

On September 27, 1910, Pennsylvanians who had fought at Gettysburg returned for the dedication of this memorial in their honor. Built of Mt. Airy granite, it stands 110 feet high, weighs 3,840 tons, and can be seen from many parts of the battlefield. It is Gettysburg's largest monument.
Listed on 90 bronze tablets along the base are the names of each of the 34,530 Pennsylvania soldiers who participated in the battle.

Pennsylvania also erected 123 regimental monuments at other locations on the battlefield. The southern states did not provide monuments for each regiment, but honored their sons with statewide memorials, many of which may be seen along West Confederate Avenue.

"Today we dedicate a memorial erected by the commonwealth as an enduring mark of love and appreciation for all the soldiers of Pennsylvania who fought here."

The Pennsylvania State Memorial

The State of New York, in recognition of the service rendered by those Corps, Division, and Brigade Commanders at Gettysburg not elsewhere honored on this field.

Patrick Kelly

Colonel

88th NY Volunteers

Commanding

2nd Brig, 1st Div., 2nd Corps

Daniel Edgar Sickles Major General

U.S. Volunteers

Commanding

Third Corps

Army of the Potomac

Third Corps

Artillery Brigade

New Jersey Light Artillery

Six 10 Pounder Parrotts

Captain A. Judson Clark Commanding

July 2 Engaged in the acgtion in a field near the Peach Orchard. Retired to the rear about 6:30 p.m. for want of support

July 3 In line here with the Artillery Brigade during the heavy cannonading and the charge and repulse of Longstreet's assult but was not engaged

Casualties July 2nd Killed 1 man Wounded 16 men Missing 3 men Total 20

New York Auxillary Monument --created to honor all New Yorkers from the rank of Major to Major-General who commanded units at Gettysburg.

The Trostle House

The Trostle family had to leave their home because of the fighting. When they returned the home was ruined, their belongings gone. When family petitioned the government for compensation, Major George Bell, Depot Quartermaster, Washington D.C. determined that the "losses sustained by the claimant on this case are in the nature of damages and are, therefore, not entitled to consideration under the (Compensation) Law of July 4, 1864. The farm was sold in January 1899 to the U.S. Government for $4500.00.

Ninth Massachusetts Battery

Cannon

Sickles Avenue

116th Pennsylvania Infantry

2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps

The Loop

22nd Massachusetts Infantry

2nd Andrews Sharpshooters (Massachusetts)

Irish Wolfhound on the Irish Brigade Memorial.

Symbols of the 69th New York Infantry and the 88th New York Infantry

Top of the Irish Brigade Memorial.

Symbol of Ireland on the Irish Brigade Memoria

5th Mechanical Infantry

Third Brigade

First Division

Third Corps

Irish Brigade Memorial

Army of the Potomac

Second Corps, First Division

Third Brigade

Brig. General Samuel K. Zook

Lieut. Col. John Frasier

52d, 57th, 66th New York

140th Pennsylvania Infantry

July 2 Arrived early in the morning and formed on right of Second Brigade on line from Cemetery Hill to Round Top. Between 5 and 6 p.m. advanced with division to left and entered the Wheatfield and the woods on its right in line of battle, forcing the Confederates through the field and the woods to the further end. Brig. Gen. Zook fell mortally wounded in this advance, the brigade being on the right of Division, it extended to an open field on the west. The line of Third Corps on the Emmitsburg Road, having been forced back, and the Division being flanked by superior forces on its right and left. The Brigade returned with the Division and resumed position in line with the Corps.

July 3 Constructed entrenchments and held the position until the close of the battle.

Casualties Killed 7 Officers 42 Men Wounded 18 Officers 209 Men Captured or missing 4 Officers 78 Men Total 308

14th New York Ind'pt battery

In memory of Capt. James Mc.K. Rorty and four men who fell at the bloody angle July 3, 1863. The battery was mustered in December 9, 1861 as part of the Irish Brigade. It was detached there from and at Gettysburg was consolodated Battery B 1st NY Artillery.

The Brigade entered the battle under command of Colonel Patrick Kelly, 330 strong, of which this contigent, composing three batallions of two companies each, numbered 240 men. The original strength of these Batallions was 3,000 men. The Brigade participated with great credit to itself and the race it represented in every battle of Army of the Potomac in which the Second Corps was engaged from Fair Oaks, June 1, 1862 to Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865.

This is the Irish Wolfhound on the Irish Brigade Memorial. The handwriting is that of the sculptor and says:

This--in the matter of size and structure truthfully represents the Irish Wolf-hound, a dog which has been extinct for more than a hundred years. William Rudolph O'Donovon

Casualties.
63--5 killed, 10 wounded, 8 missing

69--5 killed, 14 wounded, 6 missing

88--7 killed, 17 wounded, 4 missing

63, 69, 88 New York Infantry--The Irish Brigade

Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps

July 2, 1863, 6 P.M.

Irish Brigade Memorial

The Irish Brigade Memorial

5 New Hampshire 1 Battery 1 Cavalry

On this spot fell mortally wounded Edward E. Cross, Col. 5th New Hampshire Volunteers, Comdr. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps July 2, 1863

148th Pennsylvania Infantry

1st Brig., 1st Div. 2d Corps

Recruted in Centre, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson Counties. Organized September 1, 1862. Mustered out June 1, 1865

Total Enrollment 1370

Killed and died of wounds 13 Officers, 190 men

Died of Disease, etc. 4 Officers 170 Men

Wounded 28 Officers 512 Men

Captured or missing 4 Officers 168 Men

Total 1089

The regiment engaged the enemy on the position on the afternoon of July 2d, 1863

Present at Gettysburg 468 Officers and men

Killed and died of wounds 2 Officers 25 Men

Wounded 5 Officers 88 men

Captured or missing 5 men

Total 125

148th Pennsylvania Infantry

The One Hundred and Twentieth New York Infantry

Held this part of the line on the Second Day of July, 1863

Present for duty:

30 Officers, 397 Men total 427.

Casualties

From the War Departmewnt:

Killed in Battle

6 Officers 25 Men

Wounded

10 Officers 144 Men

Missing 17, Total 204

A Final Tribute

More than 3,000 Marylanders served on both sides of the conflict at the Battle of Gettysburg. They could be found in all branches of the Army from the rank of Private to Major General and on all parts of the battlefield. Brother against brother would be their legacy, particularly on the slopes of Culp's Hill. This memorial symbolizes the aftermath of that battle and the war. Brothers again, Marylanders all.

in defense of the causes they held so dear.

Participating Maryland Commands:

Union

1st Eastern Shore Infantry

1st Potomac Home Brigade Infantry

3rd Infantry

1st Cavalry

Co. A Purnell Legion Cavalry

Battery A 1st Artillery

Confederate

2nd Infantry

1st Cavalry

1st Artillery

2nd Artillery (Baltimore Light)

4th Artillery (Chesapeake)

Maryland State Monument

New York Infantry

3rd Brigade

2nd Division

2nd Corps

Cannon

Phila. Brigade

2nd Division

2d Corps

69. Regt.

Penna. Vols.

July 2, 3

1863

This position was held by the 69th Pa. Vols. July 2nd and 3rd 1863.

Late on the afternoon of the 2nd, the regiment assisted in repulsing a desparate attack made by Wright's Ca. Brigade.

About 10 o'clock P.M. of the 3rd these lines were subjected to an artillery fire from nearly 150 guns, lasting over one hour, after which Pickett's division charged this position, was repulsed and nearly anniliated. The contest on the left and central of this regiment, for a time, being hand to hand of the regimental commanders attached but remained unhurt. Genl. Carnett was killed, Genl. Kemper desperately woounded. Genl. Armestead, after crossing the stone wall above the right of this command--2 companies of which charged front to oppose them, fell mortally wounded. A number of Confederaltes where picked on the front after the battle.

The Angle--A point in the Union Line where it formed a 90-degree angle.

Army of the Potomac

Second Corps

Artillery Brigade

Capt. John G. Hazard

1st NY Battery B Four 10 Pounders

Lieut. Albert S. Sheldon Capt. James M. Rorty

Lieut. Robert E. Rogers

1st Rhode Island Battery B Four 12 Pounders

Lieut. T. Frederick Brown Lieut. Wm. S. Perrin

1st U.S. Battery I Six 12 pounders

Lieut George A. Woodruff Lieut Tully McCrea

4th U.S. Battery A six 3 inch Rifles

Lieut. Alonzo H. Cushing Serct. Frederick Fuger

July 1 Marched from Uniontown, Md. at 2 P.M. Went into position at 11 P.M. on the Taneytown Road, Three miles from Gettysburg

July 2 Moved with the Corps at daylight and went into position on the Corps battle line in the order from right to left as mentioned. The Batteries were engaged towards night with some loss.

July 3 Engaged with the Confederate Artillery in front at 8 A.M. and along the whole line at 1 P.M. and assisted in repulsing Longstreet's assult in the afternoon.

Casualties: Killed 3 Officers, 24 men Wounded 5 Officers 114 Men Captured or Missing 3 Men Total 149

Cannon

42nd New York Infantry

3rd Brigade

2nd Division

2nd Corps

Tammany Regiment

The Tammany Society became involved in recruiting a regiment which fought near the Copse of Trees the afternoon of July 3. Perhaps the most controversial regimental monument, it features a large bronze wigwam and a statue of an Indian Warrior, Chief Tamenend. Tamenend was the leading Chief of the Delaware Indians when the Colony of Pennsylvania was originally settled. His bravery, skills, courage and diplomacy were legendary. Tammany Societies were formed in several areas, the one in New York dating from 1786. Originally a patriotic and charitable organization, it eventually became associated with party politics. When the Society organized the 42nd New York it was quickly known as the "Tammany Regiment", and its members were called braves.

15th Massachusetts Monument

Not sure who this monument is for.

Army of the Potomac

Second Corps

Second Division

Brig. General John Giggon Brig, General William Harrow

First Brigade Brig. Gen. A. S. Webb

Third Brigade Col. N. J. Hall One Co. Mass. Sharpshooters

July 2 Arrived between 6 and 7 A. M. and went into position on line between Cemetery Hill and Rund Top. Third Division on right and First Division on left. Second Brigade constituting the right, third brigade the left and First Brigade in reserve.

Sharp Skirmishing continued through the day and artillery fire at intervals until near sunset when the Third Corps having been driven back.Wright's Georgia Brigade furiously attacked the division and was repulsed with loss including many prisoners. The Twelfth Corps coming to the support of the left.

July 3 Artillery firing until 9 A.M. and sharp skirmishing during the day. At 1 P.M. Confederates concentrated the fire of over 100 guns. On the second and third divisions and after two hours of uninterrupted firing charged with a force of over 15,000 infantry which repulsed with great loss of life, prisoners and flags. The Division remained in position with no further engagements than skirmish firing.

Casulties, including Division Staff and unattached troops--Killed 25 Officers, 319 Men; Wounded 105 Officers, 1097 Men; Captured or missing6 Officers 95 Men; Total 1,647.

Pennsylvania State Memorial

Army of the Potomac

Engineer Brigade
Brig. Gen. Harry W. Benham

15th New York (3 Companies)

Major Walter Casun

50th New York

Col. William H. Peters

United States Batallion

Capt. George H. Mendell

Engaged in arduous duty from June 13 to July 18, 1863

bridging rivers and transporting pontoons to enable the Army to cross the Potomac River and it tributaries into Pennsylvania and to recross into Virginia.

Army of the Potomac

United States Batallion of Engineers

Capt. George H. Mendell Commanding

With the Army of the Potomac in the Gettysburg Campaign from the Rappahannock to the Potomac and Engaged in arduous duties from June 13th to July 18th bridging rivers and transporting pontoons.

No casualties reported

Army of the Potomac

Cavalry Corps Horse Artillery

First Brigade

Capt. James M. Robertson

9th Michigan Battery

Capt. Jahez J. Daniels

July 3rd engaged on Cemetery Ridge south of Pleasonton Avenue

Subject to the orders of Major Gen. J. Newton

6th New York Battery

Capt. Joseph W. Martin

In Reserve

2d U.S. Batteries B and L

Lieut. Edmund Heston

In Reserve

2d U.S. Battery M

Lieut. A. C. M. Pennington, Jr.

July 3d With the cavalry on the right

4th U.S. Battery E

Lieut. Samuel S. Elder

July 3d With First Brigade Third Division on the Left

Casualties Killed 2 Men Wounded 1 Officer, 5 Men Total 8

Gettysburg Address

Nearby, Nov. 19, 1863, in dedicating the National Cemetery, Abraham Lincoln gave the address which he had written in Washington and revised after his arrival at Gettysburg the evening of Nov. 18.

Beginning with this picture,there are several pictures of scenery. There are some from Western Maryland, in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains. Others were taken at the Gettysburg Battlefield and in the area of Pennsylvania around the Battlefield. Some were taken as we drove along the highways between here and Maryland and where ever we went in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The colors were fantastic

Even driving along the highway. Look At that beautiful sky!

Wants and Needs II

2010-10-03T01:02:00.002-04:00

My wants and needs have now been restored. I still do not know where my son is or how he is, and my one granddaughter I seldom hear from, but my daughter and I are friends. But the biggest stesp I went to Palmetto Behavior Med today and they have referred me to a therapist. Now maybe my wants and needs won't be so demanding. Love to all.

Wants and Needs

2010-09-27T21:44:00.005-04:00

Human's need lots of things to survive. Not just things like food, shelter and clothing.We have all heard of babies who suffer of failure to thrive because they get no attention from their mother. So this tell me love is the biggest thing we all need to survive.

Eventually we all expect to loose our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles even good friends. When we do there is pain in our hearts, but over time the hole gets smaller. You never forget the person and the hole never really goes away.But when the lost is a child it is much different. It doesn't matter if the child dies, runs away or just becomes angry with you, it still hurts the same and the hole will never lessen or go away.

I have two children, a son and a daughter. My son has a daughter and my daughter has two sons and a daughter. They are all beautiful, healthy children. They all live far away and I am terrified I will never see them again. I hope they know in my heart I speak to them every day.

Unfortunately my Son decided he did not want to be a father and walked away from his beautiful daughter shortly after she was born. Since they live so far away visiting is difficult and expensive. If not for pictures sent by her mom I'd never know what she looked like.My son is also angry at all of us--why? We really don't know.And so we don't hear from him. I worry and cry. My poor husband will fix anything he can for me, but he just doesn't know how to fix this.

My daughter lives a little closer, but still the travel is long, expensive and difficult.In June and July my granddaughter and her mother were going to be at my daughter's house for several days. I was able to fly tho my daughter house so I could see all four of my grandchildren together. The children are 6,4, 1 & 1.We took them to a professional photographer and had pictures taken. They were all in good moods and wonderful during the shoot. I brought the pictures home, framed them, hung them on the wall. All I can do when I look at the pictures is cry. You see, my daughter and I had a disagreement after I returned home and now we are not speaking.Both of us are stubborn and neither will pick up the phone to call the other.I feel totally alone. My father died nearly a years ago and I knew I would not hear much from my brothers, I feel I have lost all my children and grandchildren, and therefor I feel all the love in my life, except my husband, is gone. As a result I'm missing the biggest thing I need to survive. I can only hope the one who can will come back soon. I love all of them and need them to survive.I also hope each and every one of them know I talk to them in my heart each and every day.

College Graduate

2010-09-18T15:20:00.003-04:00

This is not going to be long, but I am proud of myself for doing it. A few weeks ago I turned 60 and while I know a lot of you have Bacehlor's Master's and pHDd'S I now have an Associate's Degree in Science in Liberal Arts. It isn't much but at least I can say I have a degree. Dad would be so happy to be able to say all three of his kids have college degrees. We'll see what else happens. I still want to go back for Accounting and that will probably be in the fall of 2011.

Introducing Teagan

2010-07-19T19:27:00.010-04:00

In May of 2010 we learned we had a fourth grandchild. her name is Teagan Cathleen and she was born July 20, 2009 weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Apparently, at first, our son was very happy about Teagan. He was at the hospital whane she was born, bought her things, and did what new dads do. But soon after, for reason known only to him, he decided he did not want to be a father and walked away from this beautiful baby. I am amazed at how well Teagan's other grandmother and Teagan's mother speak of our son. I have no idea why he did what he did, and at this poitn he is not even speaking to us nor do we even know where he is. Hopefully one day, before it is too late, he will wake up and realize what he is missing.

Teagan's mother teaches ice skating and they live in Alaska. She was goign to an even in California and Victoria, our daughter, invited her to visit Victoria and her family. Victoia also invited me to come and meet my Granddaughter, and I did. I don;t know when I will see Teagan again, but I cerainly enjoyed this trip and meeting bother Teagan and her mother. They are beautiful people inside and out. And I say the same of Teagan's grandmother, whom I have only talked to a few times on the phone. So without farther delay Meet Teagan Cathleen

I was amazed when I first saw her how much she looks like both my son and me.

She plays well with other children and is a happy baby

This is Crystal, Teagan's mother, Teagan in the back And Matthew Stein, my daughter's son

She knows how to entertain herself well. She does not need everyone's attention all the time. We were surprised she left the 4th of July Ribbons in. She usually took them out immediately

She is a freidnly baby. A t first she was a little overwhelmed at all the stranges but she soon warmed up to us

She loved playing with the other kids too

And has some of the most wonderful facial expressions I've ever seen

Just having a good time

Would you like to play?

Or not...

We tried to talk her mother into gertting her a dog. (Crystal is alleergic to dogs) so Teagan could help feed him just like she did Clemson

Clemson was thrilled. Four kids in teh house and there was always SOMETHING on the floor

Or the tray.....

But Clemson was so thankful he let Teagan take a little rest on him.

Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?

Just look at them--big and blue.

Just wait until she's sixteen and does this!!

A beautiful, beautiful little girl

I don;t know how we got so many of her not smiling. She usually smiled and laughed a lot

But smiling or not she still is a wonderful little girl

She was interested in everything

ANd was always a good girl

I think this is a repeat

I was surprised she did so well with so many strangers around. She even slept well

Well, hello

She loved to pick the clover in the grass

And like most babaies most things went in her mouth

She could spend quite some time taking eveerythng out of the toy box, then when she couldn't reach anything else, she'd put it all back in.

Playing with the toy box

She let me hold her and would even smile when I did

At other times she wasn't too sure

But I did get to hold her

She loves strawberries

And enjoyed the mess they made

She thought it was funny. Oh, and all four of the kids had matching tattoos for the 4th of July

That is really a good strawberry

Another repeat

Now let's get the strawberry juice in our hair

And wash our neck and ears

OHHHHHHHH That was fun!!!

Think I'll eat another

We Even Got A Few More Pictures Of My BFF, Clemson

2010-07-08T03:34:00.001-04:00

Resting in the Shade

Too hot to do anything

Well, maybe I'll walk over here

Here I am

Jonathan

2010-07-08T03:03:00.007-04:00

This is Jonathan. He played T-Ball too.

He loves sun glasses and on this day had to have an ice pack because Clara bumped her head.

Jonathan being Jonathan

Doesn't he have a great smile?

He is using one of the water squirters

He can slip and slide too

Slip and Slide

Big splash

Jonathan was squirting Matthew

Now he's making rain

And more rain

You just don't get enough rain in the dessert

Playing with Matthew

"But Mom, I want to!"

Riding his bike

Just Jonathan

"I think this is a girl's game."

Every now and then we have a breakdown.

Drinking the last of the juice from the pineapple

Good Stuff!

Who's watching me?

He can make faces too

And sometimes he just smiles

And if you're lucky he might give you a wink or two.

And even laugh

Matthew

2010-07-05T20:42:00.001-04:00

Matthew is a very happy baby and only really cries when he's hungry or needs his diaper changed. Clara and Jonathan seem to really love him, at times almost too much. Below are some pictures of Matthew.

I got to feed him (Victoria's least favorite job) and give him his bottle. I had to learn the correct way to hold him to give him the bottle.

These pictures were of Matthew trying to catch the water as it came out of the Silp and Slide. It kept him busy for about 20 minutes. Maybe he was just thirsty.

What are these things. They squirt and they're wet. Need to check them out.

Actually they are rather fun

Either it is hotter today or this water isan't as cold.

If I could just get hold of one of these things.

And you think this is funny, huh?

I'll just ignore her and maybe she'll go away.

Is she still there?

Gee, these thngs just squirt you all over.

Maybe if I do a whole lot of them at once

This is getting to be real work

But actually kind of fun

This is really getting interesting

Maybe it's a fountain and I can get a drink. You know they say "water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink."

That didn;t work well.

They really look kind of pretty. Sure do wish I could catch one

Wow. Almost had it.

Actually I like my pool better. Mom fills it with warm water.

But I gotta check this out.You start here, then you have to makeit to the other end--how silly

That's a long way to go when you're crawling

Well, here goes nothing

So far, so good

Have to take a rest

Look aroound and make sure someone is watching

Oh yeah, there they are. I got them captured.

Maybe I'll just chew on this for a while

Oh, I can pull Clara's hair

I see you!!!!

More of Clara

Finally I'm by myself

Oh, wow! Look at that!

Clara's back.

You can put your hand in but don't you get in my pool!

Oh, Hi. I didn't see you there.

Maybe if I make faces at her she'll stop taking all those stupid pictures.

Not working.

Gimme that

Hey. Take that camera someplace else for a while.

Bear Crawl. This grass is itchy

Continue my bearcrawl

Gets me where I want to go

I also know how to climb out of this pool when I want

Theses things are fun to chew on

LOOK! ANOTHER ONE

Just looking

I'm just the coolest thing you know

I'm beginning to get bored

Really b

Oh, finally, someone's comeing to get me

Maybe I'll float on my belly

Found it again

Wonder what's down here?

There must be smething

Maybe I'll wait for another day.

Teagan and Matthew

2010-07-05T19:35:00.007-04:00

Matthew and Teagan were going to use the microphone to sing.
This was cute. They would take all the toys out of the box and once they couldn't reach any more of them Teagan would start putting them all back in

Once in a while they got a little help

Taking all the toys out

"Wait a minute. I might want that."

Never mind.

Oh, this is really fun.

This is Teagan and her mother

Fun in the pool

Let's play duck, duck, goose.

Ok. You chew on that, I'll chew on this.

Smile for the picture

Just playing

Teagan has a beautiful smile too

Let's get started.

They had no trouble sharing

These two pictures are backwards--they show Teagan walking

She started here.

They did disagree over these two toys--if one had one it was the one the other wanted.

Taking a rest

Just resting

I like this one.

Who gets it first?

Got 'em all out

What's this?

Let's just chew a while

Teagan at the Park

2010-07-05T01:18:00.009-04:00

One evning Crystal and Clara took Teagan to the park. She seemed to like the swings and had a good time.

Having fun

Lets see what this is

Hold my hand

Maybe I'll try it

I like this color blue

See, I can do it.Down the slide.

Maybe I'll try it again

On the blue part

Gee, you can see a lot up here

Mom's aways right there

As long as Mom's here to help

See, she knows ho to do it

I like the swing

The next few are just Teagan

A push from Clara

Crystal, Teagan and Clara

Back Home again

Afew More Pictures of Clara

2010-07-05T00:40:00.000-04:00

Clara took Jazz Dance this year and here are this year's pictures
Look at that pose!

And this on. She did her entire dance for us and I was really amazed at how good she was.

She also played T-Ball

She was taking a rest. She had hit her head and had a huge bump. She had an ice thingy for it. So she was resting with me.

Clara

2010-07-05T00:08:00.001-04:00

Victoria had a new pineapple tool. When you cut the pineapple it makes rings. Clara and Jonathan thought it was cool to get the last little bit of juice out of the bottom.

Clara had gone to the park with Crystal and Teagan

We even had time to snuggle for a few minutes

Clara and Jonathan had eaten all their dinner so they got a lolly pop for a prize.

It was nice to snuggle

Snuggling

snuggling

Snuggling

Clara played with Matthew in the pool

Clara and Matthew

Clara

What a beautiful little girl

For about 20 minutes Clara tried to catch a dragon fly and finally did. Here she is showing it to me.

Clara and her Dragonfly

Right off the end of the slip and slide

Big splash

Get ready

Cool picture of the splash

Clara and Matthew

Clara

This was a squirt gun

Slip and slide and squirt guns on a hot day

Drawing with sidewalk chalk

Jonathan wasn't sure about this

The little Princess

The Little Princess

Christopher Stein's Work

2010-07-04T03:24:00.001-04:00

On July 4th Chris Stein took Chrystal and me to where he works to show us what he does. These first two pictures are of F-18s which he navigates.

The rest of the pictures are of various bombs they use on the planes. He told us which did what but there were too many and I'm just not smalrt enough to remember them and what they do. Here is Chris standing behind one of them.

And this is Chris again with one of the bombs.

Teagan and Matthew in the Wagon

2010-07-04T01:40:00.001-04:00

One evening Crystal and Victoria decided to take Teagan and Matthew for a ride in the wagon. Well, you can see by the first picture how long that lasted.

Teagan seemed OK with it, but apparently as soon as they put Matthew in it he started crying

So Clara and Teagan got a ride around the neighborhood

Clara is a good helpr and she was there to make sure nithing happened to Teagan

But noe Teagan wasn't sure if she liked the wagon either.

Then she thought maybe she did

But Matthew liked the car much better, especially when his daddy turns him real fast

Teagan thought it looked pretty cool too

But Matthew was determined he was going to drive it by himself

So Teagan just watched

And watched somemore

Finally she sais, "Ive had enough. I want to drive the car!" And stood up in the wagon. Good thing Clara was there

Her mom told her to sit down but he was still looking at that car

And was a little sad she couldn't ride in it

But they finally managed to get Matthew to sit in the wagon

And even got him to laugh by tickling him, nearly knocking poor Teagan down.

So off they went for another ride

"Hey, look at that neat road down there!"

Matthew still wasn't completely sure about this wagon

But maybe it wasn't too bad

Then again, maybe it's time to come out

I said I thik it might be time to come out

"Here, watch Matthew. I'll throw these blocks out and someone will have to pick them up. "

"Um, Mom, Dad, it's really time to get out of this wagon."

Teagan didn't mind--she enjoyed the ride and gave a beautiful smile

Matthew, just be patient. They'll take us out when they're ready. Geeeeeezzzzz"

That neat road is still down there

"If they don't take me out, I'll just jump out."

"Oh, Matthew, don't be so dramatic"

"I'm telling you, I'm going to jump!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, ok, whatever"

"See, Matthew, I told you we'd get home safe."

"But I WANT OUT OF THIS THING NOW!!!!!!!!!!

The Zoo

2010-07-01T23:12:00.008-04:00

We went to the Zoo on Wednesday. Jonathan and Clara had to measure to see how big they are compared to the gorilla

These are Tapirs. It was really hot this day and hte animals were not overly active.

This is me walking away from the Giraffe after I had just fed him

Here I am feeding the giraffe

I have no idea what these things were but they sure did have long tails

Jonathan, Clara and Me

Teagan and me

The elephants kept throwing dirt on themselves

And one even made a pile of dirt and weeds and threw it in the little water pond they had. I guess he was making mud to throw??

Look at that beautiful smile

This bird, I think it was some sort of hawk, had been injured many years ago. It has only one wing. The zoo keeps it and while they bring it out to show they are very careful about letting people touch it.

I think this was the tiger.

Not sure what this is.

This camel was just too tired and too hot

Prairie dogs

Giant tortoise

Picture People

2010-06-30T23:25:00.005-04:00

A couple days after we all arrived we took the kids to Picture People so I would ahve pictures of all four of my grandchildren together. They were all in great moods and posed perfectly. Look below and see which one you think is the best. It was hard to decide.

Meeting Teagan for the First Time

2010-06-28T23:15:00.003-04:00

I went to Fresno, California from June 28, 2010 until July 9, 2010 not only to visit my daughter and her family, but to also meet my fourth grandchild, Teagan Kathleen Williams for teh first time. Teagan was born July 20, 2009 and since she lives in Alaska this was the first chance we had to meet her. She is a beautiful child and her mother has done a fantastic job with her.

Poor baby had been sound asleep and all of a sudeen she was awakened to bright lights, people all around and two strangers (my daughter and me) takng her picture and fussing over her.

She was so tired I don't think at the time she even realized someone strange was holding her. It tolk a couple days but she finally warmed up to me and would let me hold her.

Visit to Baltimore

2010-06-05T12:57:00.012-04:00

We just returned from a trip to Baltimore. No matter how long I'm away from there I still consider it "Home". We did a lot of the ususal things: Ann's Hot Dogs, chocolate snowballs with marshmallow cream, steamed crabs, Rheb's candy, Utz Potato Chips, Pastore's, Lexington Market, Faidley's Crabcakes, macaroni salad and slaw, visited Fell's Point and Annapolis, and it was all fantastic. We really enjoyed it. Below are some of the pictures we took.

We visited the NAval academy and this is the Naval Academy mascot--a goat.

The Navy Mascot
"The Naval Academy has had a goat as its mascot since 1890 when, according to legend, on their march from the ferry station at Highland Falls up the steep hill to West Point to play the first Army-Navy football game the Naval Cadets (as they were then known) saw a goat outside the Noncoms' houses at West Point and promptly commandeered "Billy" for their mascot. Sinc ethat time the goat has remained as the recognized mascot of the U. S. Naval Academy."

We kept seeing flags around the campus with a large N* on them. I couldn't figure what the * was for. This plaque explains it: The N* commemorates a Navy Varsity athletic team victory over Army.

The Army-Navy rivalry is the most revered competition in the intercollegiate athletics.

* * *

As each team strives for excellence on the field of competition may a higher degree of appreciation and mutual respect evolve between our nation's future leaders.

Dedicated May 15, 2002

Statue of Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, for whomw Camp Lejeune, North Carolina is named.

There were aslo some sad things. This was at one time my Grandmother's house at 109 South Carey Street. The entire block is like this.

AS you can see by the wooden gates next door, one house has been removed. There also was another house removed at the end of the block where my family lived when I was little.

Apparently there had been a fire at some time and the upper windows are gone. I remember my grnadmother being so happy and proud when the form stone was put on her house.

The house on the right side of my grandmother's is still inhabited.

The hole on the right of the door was the door bell. You pulled a knob to ring bells that were just past the living room.

I had to laugh though. On the corner of South Carey and Pratt Streets are two bars. These businesses have been bars for as long as I can remember. The one on the far corner still has the original sign--The B&O Bar.

We went to Lexington MArket and when we saw this we thought they would have fantastic french fries. Well, actually they have all kinds of firied vegetables, and their french fries were not as good as Five Guys'.

And time must be difficult--Rheb's Candy is no longer in Lexington MArket. Now the only place you can go is Wilkins Avenue.

Just behind St. Agnes Hospital is Knecht Avenue. My grandmother's aunt married John Knecht, and this street is named for him.

John Knecht's business partner was named Benson, and the crossrod of Knecht Avenue is Benson Avenue

The Knechts and the Bensons ran a brick yard where they made their own brick. They were fairly well to do as the city used to use the brick to line the sewers.

Eventually the city stopped using brick and the Knechts lost a lot of their livlihood.

Driving into Baltimore

The Baltimore Skyline

When my father was a child he went to St. Martin's church and school. It is now closed but the building remains.

"This tablet is gratefully erected to those brave men of St. Martin's Parish who fought in the 1914--World War--1918"

"Honor roll of members of St. Martin's Church who served the nation in World War II 1941-1945.

The World War I plaque

The front of St. Martin's Church

St. Martin's Church

This may ha e been the rectory. Over the door it says "St. Martin's House".

The steeple has gargoyles on it as you can see in this and the next several pictures.

Corner Stone of St. Martin's

Gargoyles

My mother's family and mine went to Fourteen Holy Martyrs Church. This is no longer a Catholic church--it is now a Baptist Church.

Corner stone of Fourteen Holy Martyrs Church--1902

In the last picture and this one you can also see the rectory.

We went to dinner at my cousin Winnie's. She lives in Sparks, Maryland and there is a lot of farm land around her. If you look real close there are deer in this picture. They come up every night to feed

Feeding deer

And in the middle f this picture is a rabbit. They were jumping all over the place out there.

PLEASE STOP MAKING ME FEEL USELESS, UNWANTED AND UNNEEDED

2010-05-24T23:22:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I wonder who was the person who thought everyone needed to live with someone else. While at time I hate being by myself, there are other times I love it. The sad part about this is my family doesn't understand this and when I get sarcastic or just want to be left alone they get angry. It is not my intention to piss off anyone, but I seem to do it without trying hard. I've had a lot going on in the last year and it has been difficult to deal with some of it, but thre are those who think I should just get over it. I'm told "You just ain't right", "you need to see someone", and, my favorite, "You need some medication." Losing my father and retiring were two of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. When I try to talk to anyone they just sdon't want to be bothered, so then when I get mad and sarcastic I'm talke dto like I dirt, I just would like to have one day where I'm right about anything, one day where I feel like someone needs me, one day when I feel like I'm important to someone. I have a son who refuses to talk to anyone in the family, a daughter who is pissed off at me, a usband who is pissed off at me. I keep getting forced to doing things I don't want to do and then no one understands whay I don'tt appreciate what they've done for me. I feel like I'm in a prison becsue I never get out of the house, and frankly i wish everyone would understand MY feeling for a chage and just leave me alone for a while until I work things out for myself instead of making me feel like I am the most awful person in the world. Thsnk you everyone for your understanding.

Too Much at Once

2010-05-14T18:45:00.003-04:00

A lot has been happening in my family in the last two weeks or so, and while this entry will not have pictures I just need to talk.

I am a LPN and have been for more than 20 years. In most areas they do not give LPNs the credit they are due. They used to be great when you had a floor that was rather large and you could staff it with one or two RNs and a bunch of LPNs, but now all of a sudden they have decided LPNs over the years, even the ones who have been LPNs for 30 or 40 years have become uneducated and stupid. Now they are trying to get rid of LPNs in hospitals, especially some hospitals that want people to think they are the absolute best so they apply for, and in some cases get, what they call "Magnet Status". This supposedly makes them the absolute greatest. But don't believe it.

I worked in the same hospital where I went to school. Unfortunately, several years ago they closed the LPN school because it cost too much. It is cheaper to let the techical schools run LPN programs. It's a shame too, when a floor gets a manager who rules by threats and write ups. Every new thing she incorporates she tells you will be reflected on your eval. We are not stupid people--we are responsible for what we do. She says incident reports are not punitive, but learning tools, but 95% of the incidents end up in counseling sessions for the nurse. She wrote me up because she threatened to take me to HR to have me dropped down to a PCA if I didn't want to continue the responsilibility of an LPN, but then two weeks later she was going to, and did, leave me on the floor with nine patients and an RN, who whlie she is a very good RN she graduated less than a year aog, is just off orientation and not sure of herself. The manager then told the RN I was not comfortable working with her--actually the RN was uncomfortable being the only RN. The write came because when she called to talk to me she could "hear anger in my voice". Another staff member she wrote up for rolling her eyes.

Well, I've had a lot going on in my family lately and it has been and still is taking its toll on me. My manager and I went to HR to discuss if I needed some time off. I was finished with this, so I took with me a formal written statement in which I retired. This woman is burning people out on nursing and should not be able to continue to do so. She does not have a background in the type of patients that are assigned to her floor and tells her staff, "It's not my job to teach you yours." If this is true, who do you go to when you have a question about something??? Although we did have a question about something once at 0300 and the House Supervisor callled her to ask. Her answer was , "Ask Monica."

So I am now retired. I don't think I will ever work in nursing again. She has burned me out and I saw the same thing happening with other good nurses on her floor. I also saw many good nurses leave and when they left they said it was because of her. I worked that floor over 15 years and have never seen it in such poor shape. I do hope things get better.

The best news is we learned we have a fourth grandchild--a little girl named Teagan. She is my son's child. Unfortunately he is not ready to be a father yet so he did not tell us about her. (They live in another state, far away from us). Teagan is beautiful. My daughter said right away, "Mom, I can't believe how much she looks like you"! Of course I immediately took on the blame that my son was being a deadbeat dad, but Teagan's other grandmother told me not to--he is an adult and makes his own decisions. She said she could tell we did not raise him that way--he has manners and can be very friendly. I hope somewhere in the future he changes his mind and wants to be part of Teagan's life. She will have questions that only he will be able to answer. He will miss so much and someday will regret what he has done. He has also told us we will never hear from him again and that he is better off without a family. Oh, I forgot to say he has been diagnosed with bipolar depression. I have only known about her about a week, but I check my e-mail often for pictures of her and messages from her mom and grandmother. I have accepted this child as my grandchild with no questions and am proud to talk about her. She is beautiful and I would just love to be able to give her a big hug, but for now "virtual" hugs will have to do. Her other grandmother told me about virtual hugs and told me whenever I needed one it was there. I send the same to her.

Also, today would have been my mother's 95th birthday. Oh, how she would have loved Teagan--and her other grandchildren. It's too bad my father died not knowing he had 11 rather than 10 great-grandchildren. And that brings me to another subject. For some reason I am having a really difficult time dealing with his death. I was fine in November, even had no problem picking up his ashes to be buried later. In March we took the ashes to Alabama to bury him next to my mother. There was my two brothers and their wives, my neice and her son and husband, Mike and me. After the ceremony two of my cousins came to the condo my brother had rented. I had not seen the cousins in years and it was great to see them. I don't know why I am having such a difficult time. Do I feel there is more I could have or should have done? Even if I had done more the end would have been the same. I'm not sleeping well at all, and even medicatons are not helping. Maybe it's just everything together. If anyone has suggestions I am open to them.

Well, I guess that's enought for one session. Hope everyone has a great day.