Memories for Judee's 80th

 Once Judee and I graduated from college. we rented an apartment in Boston.  It was on Beacon Street, no less!  # 344, which was between Exeter and Fairfield Street.  The year was 68-69.  When you walked down Beacon Street or Commonwealth Ave., all you could smell was marijuana.  It was a heady experience, in many ways. 

Out our back window, you could see Back Street, which was really only an alley.  This was our first experience with rats!  Coming from the suburbs, we were appalled.  I parked my car on Back Street, where it was stolen.  My insurance paid for a rental, but the battery was stolen out of that car.  Welcome to the big city, suburban yokel!

However, next to Back Street was Storrow Drive, and next to that was the Charles River.  That was our view, and the Charles is what we focused on.  We thought it was beautiful.  

The weekend we moved in, was ...  dramatic.  We were so excited!  Imagine!  Being 21 and living on Beacon Street, right above the Charles River. 

That night we went clubbing.  We walked to Kenmore Square.  We loved our location.  

Walking home, we probably sang, our hearts were so stimulated.  Arriving home, the first thing we did was snap the light on in the kitchen and...and...and... the wall moved.  It moved.  Like a horror movie, the entire wall moved.  The wall was covered with cockroaches and when we snapped the light on, all...all of the cockroaches, ran down the wall.  I don't think we did or said, or moved, or anything.  We were in shock!  We had never seen a cockroach in our lives, yet we somehow knew what we were experiencing.  

I don't know how we slept that night, but for sure, the first thing we did in the morning was call management.  I think they denied there being any cockroaches, but they did send an exterminated. It didn't work.  We told them and told them, the roaches were still everywhere.  Judee's mother even privately paid for an extermination.  Management kept denying the existence of any coaches.  Then came the day that we found the mother of all cockroaches in our coat closet.  It was the size of a fist.  We dropped the Boston yellow pages phone book on it.  

Then we stepped on it.

CRUNCH.

Judee swept the remains up in a dustpan and dropped it into a lunch bag and brought it to the management office.  Imagine the look on the lady's face, when Judee opened the bag and dropped the humongous cockroach on her desk.

No cockroaches, indeed!

I guess you cannot permanently eradicate cockroaches.  Not in townhouses attached to each other, where new roaches can enter into cracks and reproduce. But cockroaches turned out to be the least of our problems.

One day, we returned home from work to find out that our apartment had been burglarized.  We were pretty sure it was the guys, who used to live in the apartment below us.  One of them had borrowed money from Judee, and as collateral, he gave us his little TV, to be returned when he paid back the money.  They moved out.  They never repaid the borrowed money; no, they didn't get their TV back.  Besides, the TV, they stole Judee's suede jacket, record albums, and I don't remember what else.  The whole experience was, well, disconcerting. 

However, none of the above would have dissuaded us from renewing our lease, were it not for the fact, that the rent went up.  Yes, it went up $ 20.  Imagine the audacity to raise our rent.  And a whole $ 20. at that.  Enough is enough.  We moved back to our parents' home.

Emotional Resonance,

 Sometimes an OK novel is just OK.  That's how I feel about Ann Patchett's novel, Whistler.  It's heartwarming, a nice story.  I prefer thrillers, so I missed the page-turner, fast pace.  In this story, a stepdad reunites with his stepdaughters.  He always loved them, especially the oldest, Daphne.  They reconnect and reminise.  

The dialogue is excellent.  It's nice.  

Never Too Late to Learn

 The dentist is always a trial for me.  Today at the dentist, I learned that I've been under the assumption that my toothbrush is the most valuable tool for avoiding cavities and that is not true.  It seems that the toothbrush is for painting toothpaste, which should contain fluoride, onto your teeth.

That's all.

The most important tool is floss and/or the water pick.  After doing that, then you paint your teeth with your toothbrush using fluoride toothpaste.  And!  You leave it on.  Don't wash it off by rinsing your mouth out with water or mouthwash.

Who knew?

Not for Monkey Brains

 How many times have I attempted to read The Cloud of Unknowing?  Once, Twice?  I guess three times is a Trinity!  I finished it.  Once I got the hang of it, I found it repetitive.  OK!  I get it!  One needs the mental discipline to focus on God and not let the cares of the world into your thoughts.

Human reason cannot comprehend God, or He wouldn't be, Who He is.  I am reminded of what God told Catherine of Siena.  You are you and I am God.  

If one can settle their monkey brain to quiet, one might feel God loving them.  It is an experience to reach.

Not Ship-Shape

 The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is called a psychological thriller.  To me it means that the protagonist, Lauren, will drive you crazy.  Laura is a travel journalist and is assigned to a weeklong trip aboard a new cruise ship.  The owner and friends are aboard.

Everything is fine until Laura needs to borrow mascara.  She gets some from a woman in Cabin 10.  Really, who would use someone else mascara.  Gross.  Conjunctivitis in the making!  Never borrow lipstick or anything to do with eyes. Laura doesn't catch bacteria, she catches trouble!

No one is in Cabin 10.  Not only that, Laura is awaken in the night by someone being thrown overboard, from Cabin 10. But no passengers are missing. There is a mystery and Laura won't leave it alone.

I found her annoying.  First, she is mugged and won't stay home alone and won't leave the house.!!???  Her boyfriend gives up a fantastic job opportunity to be with her, and she doesn't want to marry him.  Yes, she's crazy and admittedly she has been treated for mental health issues.  That means through the entire story you wonder if it's her having a mental episode, or is there really a murder.  The story keeps you guessing. 

My Fruit

 

Lectio:

Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. 
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned. 
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way. 
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times." 
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Studium:

This comes from Isaiah 5: 1-7

Meditatio:

Is my fruit bad?  I Jesus, but do I bear fruit?

Oratio:

Lord, I want to learn your lessons.  I want to produce good fruit.  Help me, Lord.

Contemplatio:

I see how God is always trying to reach us.  He even sent Jesus.  If we ignore Jesus, we are ignoring God, Himself.

Resolutio:

I need to make an Examen every night.

Life Changing

 I'm a believer.  I have finished reading Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe.  My liver doctor, Dr. Viveiros, recommended this book.  I bought it--literally--hook, line, and sinker.  I also bought the author's recipe book. 

It's worked for me.  No more afternoon naps because my glucose level doesn't crash.  I've lost weight. I sleep better.  And I didn't have to diet, rather just re-order what I ate.  Jessie says to eat the vegetables first.  It gets the digestive system moving and although she doesn't say you get fuller quicker, you do.  Usually, I can't finish my meal because I'm full.

Another hack is to drink apple cider vinegar in water.  Yuk!  But I can drink Dennissimo vinegar in water--yum.  

Of course, I keep up my gym membership.  

I found Glucose Revolution life changing.