frustration reigned supreme this morning as i had to endure a plethora of supplicants. the solicitors barraged me with a single desire - money. not to save a starving baby, but for a basketball, scholarships, weights, and other sundry items. at one point, as i wallowed in near despair, i actually considered holding court like the kings of old to answer the petitioners. thankfully the stream of suppliants dried out and i actually had a meeting regarding something spiritual. thanks the Lord my malaise has now ended.
noah must have struggled in his attempts at community prayer while on the ark: these fine people schooled me on the husbandry of chickens, goats, pigs, doves, guinea hens, and cattle; all of which were present for today's Mass in caujuilito. this beast decided to enter the make-shift sanctuary at the beginning of Mass. the woman in the yellow shirt grabbed a 2 foot long 2x4 and stared him down for a minute. as their eyes locked in a stare down worthy of a john wayne western, with neither relenting, she drew first and started walloping him with the board until he decided to leave. about 4 minutes later two guinea hens decided to rough it up at the edge of the dirt nave. the young lady in the pink shirt reached down to put a stop to the fowline altercation. however, as she picked up one bird, they both rose, united in combat. with their beaks were locked together, she spun them around and around and around and eventually one of them released its grip and the next thing i know there is a punch-drunk guinea hen at the foot of the altar. even i had to laugh...in more important news, congratulations to bob and julie stanton on the birth of avila marie.
today was one of those days that had about five blogable events and i have to pick one, and since i'm feeling mellow tonight i chose this: today at 5:45 am i was in my office enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning, reading the Gospel and preparing to leave for pedro santana to make a holy hour and celebrate the 7:00 am Mass. i heard a faint squeaking from the other side of my desk, so i looked over and saw this little mouse prostrate under the chair. he kept squeaking and it got fainter and fainter until it stopped. the poor little guy just died right there with me watching. he'd been running in and out of my office for a month now. oh well, such is the life of a mouse i guess.
i had to endure yet another all day diocesan talk-a-thon. i forgot to mention that at the last one there were 500 people and we left a little early due to physical issues caused by boredom. unfortunately, the bishop called for me to stand up to introduce me to the whole diocese and i was not there...fortunately, today's was much smaller, but it didn't really matter: we spent 3 hours discussing topics like how many trees might be planted throughout the diocese before the end of the year. well, after 3 hours we broke for lunch and fr jack said, "man, that's it, we gotta get outta here." so we headed for the truck, but the bishop happened to move right up the path. he saw us and said "wait, the meeting's not over" as another priest was driving out." we thought we were doomed to another two hours. however, God was with us, as the nun who accompanied us started talking to the bishop and when she got to the truck she said, "that's it, let's go." who am i to argue with a nun?
since it's Sunday, it must be new poll time: the fact that 66% of our readers could not identify td6 has left me discombobulated. after all that discussion. now i know how my father felt all those years.
nevertheless, it's time for a new poll. since the chosen seating of the men and women at last night's Mass has caused no small stir we will use that as the basis for the new poll. vote wisely.
nevertheless, it's time for a new poll. since the chosen seating of the men and women at last night's Mass has caused no small stir we will use that as the basis for the new poll. vote wisely.
today was father's day down here in the dominican republic. so, since we have a dearth of men attending Mass i wrote an invitation to all the fathers of pedro santanta and personally signed every one. we then had them delivered to all the houses. worked out pretty well. when Mass began the men and the women had segregated themselves to either side of the church. odd. anyway, it was good to see an extra 50 men attending Mass, so pray that they step up and continue coming...
so this guy shows up after the 7 am Mass and asks if i can do a funeral at 10 for a 30 year old who died of complications due to hepatitis. i say sure, why not. about 1005 this group of people with a big truck in the front comes rolling down the street with the coffin on the back of the truck - we crank out a nice Mass with the choir and everything, and before the farewell i tell the people, "okay people, after the farewell we are going to walk to the cemetery - the choir will be singing, so either sing or be quiet out of respect for the dead." amazingly we strolled down the street for about 8 minutes until we reached the cemetery. they do not bury people here; i'm assuming that since they can't bury people on the coast that the tradition just continues up here. instead, they build small concrete sepulchres. when we got to the grave side the people gathered round in complete silence and i said the blessing of the grave and the final prayers and we (i) sung the salve regina - all things being equal a very fine funeral Mass. i'll try to take some pictures of the cemetery and post them later.
today this fellow with a swollen eye comes to the door telling me that he went to the hopsital and they told him that they couldn't do anything and to go to the church and we would take care of it. so i ask him what happened and he tells me that a month ago he got poked with a wire. he then opens the eye and, let me tell you, it is barely recognizable as an eye. it was completely red and black. i asked him what he wanted me to do and he said something about losing the eye. i'm thinking to myself, "you've got to be kidding me, this guy wants me to take his eye out." i told him that i was willing to take it out, but it would probably be better to return to the hospital and get a note saying he needed to go to san juan. fortunately, he got the note and will be going to san juan for the removal...
my finest dental moments:
the first illustrates solid bedside manner as i inform this lucky woman that i am going to pull out 5 of her teeth, followed by the actual pulling. i know, i know, where is my mask?
the first illustrates solid bedside manner as i inform this lucky woman that i am going to pull out 5 of her teeth, followed by the actual pulling. i know, i know, where is my mask?
we got just a glimpse of what would have been erika today, but it was sort-lived. i'm glad to be back home - i'm just not a fan of the big city...
i'm heading to the capital for some errands, i'll be back tomorrow. well, if erika develops i'll be chasing her i guess...
that's it - no more pig discussion until it's time for the feast - one will be feasted upon, the other will breed.
new poll - in light of the fact that the current forcast track of tropical depression 6 has it smashing directly into the south-western end of the country, i'd like to hear what you think of my potential reactions...
new poll - in light of the fact that the current forcast track of tropical depression 6 has it smashing directly into the south-western end of the country, i'd like to hear what you think of my potential reactions...
i have undergone great humiliation before, but this takes the cake: after Mass this morning a woman came up and asked if we could give her a ride back to banica so she could take her sick son to the hospital. i grabbed the backpack and told her to get on the other motorcycle with yohanser since it's a bigger bike. so she gets on and someone handed her her son. i told them to head off. unfortunately, one of the back pegs on her bike had fallen off, so it was difficult for her to keep her feet planted. i noticed this because she was wearing sandals and kept reaching down to fix them. i realized that the sandals kept slipping off, so i rode up behind them and asked if she wanted to borrow my shoes. she smiled gratefully and said yes, so i sped ahead and stopped. i had resigned myself to wearing women's sandals for the remainder of the trip as an act of charity. i was wearing my old black vans slip-ons and when they stopped next to me i slid them off and held them out for her. she took one look at it and said "no thanks. these are fine" i said, "no, go ahead." she looked at them again and said "no, really, it's okay, i don't want them..." as they rode off, i shook the dust from the vans and realized that i have the most pathetic pair of shoes in the country - i may never take them off again...
right during the beginning of my homily at this campo yeasterday, this woman walks into the little chapel and starts looking for a seat and talking. so i say, "take this seat" - the woman sitting next to her gives me the old "whirl the finger around the ear" crazy sign. she does it about ten times to make sure i know that this woman is crazy. then, during the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, while everyone is sitting or standing and basically twiddling their thumbs, crazy woman crawls on all fours up to the foot of the altar and kneels with her head bowed until the end of the consecration. after the memorial acclamation she gets up and leaves. i thought to myself "maybe she's the only one who's not crazy"...
i'm too tired to post today's events, i'll post them tomorrow. we did have an incredible storm, but no data for you. should have that remedied within the next couple of weeks.
happy feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - in honor of the feast day i went to this person's house for a rosary followed by a small procession. when i entered the house it was greeted with this magnificient sight. the whole altar stretches about 12 feet across and 8 feet high. the critical eye will notice the bells - they ring them when they approach the altar and make a request of a saint - i guess they want to make sure the saints are awake. also notice to the left a statue of a man with a beard. you can barely make out his head. i asked someone who it is and they said that it is a newly canonized lay doctor from venezuela.
after about 10 minutes of singing they pulled out these huge drums and started banging them and all the women got up and started dancing with each other. very odd. turning circles. i expected the chickens to come out for a little sacrifice. thankfully they stopped. then we embarked on a nice one hour rosary followed by a mellow procession around town. all told a very nice evening.
after about 10 minutes of singing they pulled out these huge drums and started banging them and all the women got up and started dancing with each other. very odd. turning circles. i expected the chickens to come out for a little sacrifice. thankfully they stopped. then we embarked on a nice one hour rosary followed by a mellow procession around town. all told a very nice evening.
attention benjamin, owen, gus, and noaa (my nephews) et alia: please see this photo. this lizard, which i believe to be a gecko, inhabits my office. i finally talked him into posing for a photo. he eats bugs, for which i am grateful. if you would like to name him, please do so in the comments.
apparently i have disturbed a witch. i've been informed that my thesis that a witch cannot hurt me has been taken to heart and the battle begins. evidently the witch in question got wind of the fact that i said Christ is stronger that any witch and it upset her greatly and thus the witch has declared some sort of something, but she will not prevail. i told her to read ephesians!!! bring on the voodoo dolls.
new poll time - all you wannabe ballot-stuffers can only vote once, unless you go to machines with different ip's...have fun
i was speaking with this girl who lives in the capital today and she was telling me a little more about the strike/riot/protest that is called for from time to time. apparently, when the electricity goes out for more than a couple of hours a group of people calls for a protest. they begin throwing rocks and burning cars until the police arrive and then they all hide. unfortunately, when the police get there and try to find the culprits, they sometimes get confused as to who is whom - she said that they killed a young female college student with a baton the other day. it basically shuts down certain parts of the city until the unrest rests. the government has spent 2 billion pesos on the pan am games, and no one seems to be upset in the least - 2 billion pesos - they could build a nuclear power plant...
so there i am at the 7am Mass in banica, listening to the first reading and this little puppy, about 2 inches tall, comes stumbling down the aisle. i mean, this thing couldn't have been more than 6 weeks old. it sat there on the first step whimpering, so this lady grabs him by the neck and takes him out. by the time the psalm rolled around he was back. after the Alelluia i go over to the pulpit to proclaim the Gospel, and this whisp of an animal sits down right next to my feet. i finish the Gospel and preach a quick homily about St. Benedict, and the little fellow starts to follow me to the altar, so i give him a swift kick with my right shoe, he yelps and smacks the candle stand. (just kidding, i didn't kick him, it is st francis of assisi parish after all...) so anyway, he follows me over to the altar, so i bend down and pick him up and try to get him moving the other direction, off the sanctuary. he refuses to comply, so there i am with a peanut of a dog at my feet. i call over the altar boy, who reaches down to get him, and the runt goes under the altar. now i have an altar boy on his knees chasing this beast around and he finally gets him and carries him out. it took about 2.5 minutes for the people to stop chuckling...please try and keep the "it takes a runt to know a runt" comments to a minumum...
after a chilly 30 minute ride up the road followed by a scorching 30 minute walk from 1700 to 2300 feet, we arrived at la cueva, (which means the cave, of which there is none, but that's neither here nor there) and i celebrated Mass in perhaps the most beautiful outdoor setting imaginable - under the shade of a mango tree on well swept dirt, facing east as the sun climb higher in the sky, overlooking an enormous green valley, set against the backdrop of an undulating mountain range, these people received me as one of their own - the collection totaled 10 ripe juicy mangos...
today, after dealing with a loon at Mass who felt the need to hoot and make comments at 7 am, followed by a bit more dentistry, we bought a goat for the doctors and the rest of the crew. we left it in the yard and then had a solemn slaughtering. i video taped it, but despite any bribes and pleas, it's not fit for general viewing. more fascinating than the actual killing was the reaction of the people around, from the boisterous laughter of the natives to the silent shock of the american teenage girl. tomorrow we will have it for lunch, which will be, needless to say, interesting...
the simple fact of the matter is that i enjoy pulling teeth: yesterday i pulled five out of one woman's mouth. my father taught me a long time ago that you always need the right tool for the job, and the science of dental extraction provides the perfect tool. the only step of the process i have not been granted permission to attempt is the injection phase. however, yesterday i took over as soon as this lady was well numbed until she left the chair, with a bit of coaching from the onsite doctor - it's similar to pulling a nail, but the amount of pressure required to yank some of these teeth is frightening initially, because who really cares if you mar or even crack the wood, but the jawbone is something else entirely. i finally got over my fear of applying adequate pressure and was efficiently extacting by the end of the day...
also, tropical storm claudette looks like she'll pass south of us. we'll have some cloud cover and perhaps some wind and showers, but unless she totally changes track she'll be clear of us in a day or so...
also, tropical storm claudette looks like she'll pass south of us. we'll have some cloud cover and perhaps some wind and showers, but unless she totally changes track she'll be clear of us in a day or so...
in the last 24 hours i have: prayed, eaten, ridden a motorcyle, driven a truck, walked, run, fixed a water system, tested and repaired two dental chairs including the high and low speed drills, water, air, and suction, re-primed the generator, swept, mopped, lugged stuff, picked up trash, celebrated Mass, heard confessions, played cards, blogged, audio chatted over the internet, listened to music, read, played basketball, slept, exposed the Blessed Sacrament, helped the poor, met with presidential candidates, checked invertors, and consumed 4 dr peppers - that's variety.
i really needed some quiet prayer tonight, so i left for the 7 pm Mass early. i got to the church in pedro santana about 615 and there were people moving around and making a racket. i went and sat down in the sanctuary and the din continued. about 630 the deacon came to check the tabernacle and i knelt down. the noise ceased. he closed the tabernacle, i sat back down, the babel resumed. i then decided to kneel and the hubbub dissipated. it appears that as long as i am kneeling the people will remain quiet. they must think that i can only pray on my knees, or perhaps that's where God wants me so He quiets them down only then. either way, the solution appears to have been found.
the saga of the stout-bodied short-legged omnivorous mammals (family Suidae) with thick bristly skin and long flexible snouts, aka these two:
continues. i heard via the grapevine that certain members of the local community were disgruntled with the proximity of the hogs to the rest of the nieghborhood, so in order to avoid any trouble and subsequent legal wrangling that might have ensued, we have moved them to a private, secret location to finish off their growing period. in the end it works out better for them, for they have more room to roam and rut. we'll miss them here at the house though.
continues. i heard via the grapevine that certain members of the local community were disgruntled with the proximity of the hogs to the rest of the nieghborhood, so in order to avoid any trouble and subsequent legal wrangling that might have ensued, we have moved them to a private, secret location to finish off their growing period. in the end it works out better for them, for they have more room to roam and rut. we'll miss them here at the house though.
the world is a great place - i received two, count 'em, two, cases of the nectar of soda - dr pepper - direct from the factory - big thanks to stan10 for pulling it off. the last case he sent was stolen in customs...my sister and brother-in-law also came through with doritos and two decks of cards and a bunch of baseballs. unfortunately, the salt-and-vinegar lays bag was ripped. bummer. you've got to expect some casualties in this business. also received was a fourth of july gift pack with flags, stars, light sticks - i'm preparing the locals for a tremendous feast. thanks to everyone who sent stuff.
after waking up at 0530 and showering in the cold water, i departed for pedro santana (5 kilo's away) to celebrate Mass at 0700. i arrived around 0615 and the church was open and the women were setting up the altar, moving the flowers, and doing whatever it is that women do. i had seated myself up on the altar so as not to be disturbed by anyone, and at 0630 the church became a tomb - deadly silent. i remember looking up briefly to see what had happened and saw 20 people sitting in the pews praying - and yet not a sound resounded. for an entire half-hour i prayed in a quiet, peaceful, silent church. it has made me realize what i took for granted so often. i just hope it happens again...
