What have we come to?

I was out shopping this evening with The Lady Ann and G. We wound up in a "Michael's, The Arts & Crafts Store" - something to do with a 40% off coupon (sometime's I think we're going broke saving money). I wish I would've had my camera. They had these wonderful looking scrapbooks on an end cap. They said, "United States Marines" (others had Army, Navy, and I think Air Force) with a wonderful 6" diameter emblem of the respective branch of the military. A really nice looking scrapbook that would make our military members proud. But on the box it had a sticker that said, "Made In China". What's up with that?

Friday Fun Fest!

At work this afternoon they had a "Friday Fun Fest!". I think that they're working on improving morale. Munchies and beverages during work hours are a great way to improve morale so Yea! for them. One thing that was interesting. The plan was to hold the event at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Picnic Pavillion but due to the weather (snow and coldish) it moved to the company cafeteria. In the hall was a sign that said, "No Alcohol Beyond This Point". The question remains, was it instructional ("Do not bring alcohol beyond this point.") or was it educational ("You can't get your cup refilled beyond this point.")? I guess I'll never know. Dang.

Hans Groepje for Pope!

Hans Groepje was raised in a Catholic school in The Hague, migrated to the US and, as a young man, aspired to become a priest, but was drafted into the Army during WWII and spent two years co-piloting B17s until his aircraft was shot down in 1943 and he lost his left arm. He was awarded the Silver Star.

Captain Groepje spent the rest of the war as a chaplain, giving spiritual aid to soldiers, both Allied and enemy. After the war, he became a priest, serving as a missionary in Africa, piloting his own plane (in spite of his handicap) to villages across the continent while establishing over 200 schools and churches.

In 1987, Father Groepje was elevated to Bishop while serving in Zimbabwe. Shortly afterward, an explosion in a silver mine caused a cave-in. He personally went down into the mine to administer last rites to those too severely injured to move. Another shaft collapsed, and he was buried for three days, suffering multiple injuries, including the loss of his right eye.

The high silver content in the mines air gave him purpura, a life-long condition characterized by purplish skin blotches.

He was elevated to Cardinal by Pope John Paul in 1992.

Although Cardinal Groepje has devoted his life to the service of God as a scholar, mentor, and holy man, church leaders agree: he will never ascend to the Papacy because of his unfortunate handicaps--

No one wants a one-eyed, one-armed, flying purple Papal leader.

Standing Room Only at New Cemetery

Well, that's an interesting thought (see the link under the title). From dust to dust as they say. I'm OK with the concept and it sounds like how I'd like to be buried though I'd like to think that the bags are bio-degradable. If they aren't then I'd prefer to skip the bag. Only thing is, standing up? For eternity? I'm getting tired. I'd rather lay down I think. I know it shouldn't matter, I'm dead, but still...

Thoughts on people who have issues with the new Pope

I keep reading things written by people who say that Pope Benedict is not a good guy because he probably won't alter some traditional Catholic teachings like "condom usage to prevent the spread of AIDS". There are others but I'm not interested in writing about those, perhaps another day.

So let's consider the subject of condoms for a moment. What are the Church's fundamental teachings and beliefs. Not that I'm a theologian but here is how I understand it:

1. Sex of any sort outside of marriage is wrong. This would take into consideration homosexual sex, premarital sex, and adultery be married folks. So the only sex that is licit is sex inside the marital union.
2. Artificial birth control is wrong. Married couples should be open to creating life within their marriage. They should share themselves completely with each other without holding back any part of themselves, including their fertility.

So if we start with those premises, when would be a legitimate time to use a condom? The only sex that should be occurring is between married spouses who are open to new life. If that is the only sex that is occurring then there is no need.

Ah, but there are these other types of sex that are occuring. The Church doesn't condone any of that in the first place. So these folks want to the Church to say that the sin of using a condom is OK when you're committing these other sins. I think there's a problem with that.

Let's consider other facts. A governmental study reports, "Approximately 3% of couples who reported using condoms consistently and correctly (considered "perfect use") are estimated to experience an unintended pregnancy during the first year of use" and continues on later, "In a recent well-controlled randomized clinical trial of monogamous couples using latex male condoms for contraception over six months, the pregnancy rate during “typical use” was reported at 6.3%, with a 1.1% pregnancy rate during “consistent use” (45). Most of these couples had experience using condoms. However, based on estimates from National Surveys of Family Growth (123), 14% of couples are estimated to experience an unintended pregnancy during the first year of “typical” use, a failure rate that includes both inconsistent (non-use) and incorrect use, as well as breakage and slippage. Failure rates in the second year of typical use are about 50% lower". Hmm, if there are that many pregnancies occuring with the use of a condom then just how is it supposed to stop AIDS? Seems to be a problem there.

Coming back to the Church's position, the Church advices abstinence until a monogomous marriage. This seems to me to be 100% effective unless on of the partners uses a dirty needle or some other transmission path. But then, the condom couldn't help with that either.

I believe the Chucrh is correct and I, for one, am happy that Pope Benedict seems to have no plans to change the Church's teaching on condom usage.

Fun day today

Started out cleaning Kensington Park for Longmont's Clean Up & Green Up. We filled two trash bags and called it a day. Went over to Dairy Queen for a snack (lunch?) together. G. and I came home, changed shirts, hopped on the two wheeler and went out to get him a new helmet. Wound up getting him a full face Icon helmet with the Snell M2000 rating. Between two trips to the bike store (forgot my wallet the first time) and the ride afterwards we logged about 85 miles on the bike. Tonight we're going to see a high school play as a family night out. I'm looking forward to it.

So, It's Earth Day Today

So what? I don't buy into the Global Warming myth. There still isn't any scientific evidence to support it. It seems to be a man made crisis to force the world's population into submission to a one world government.

I filled the tank in the Expy at lunch today. The pain doesn't seem to bother me as much this time as last time (Friday, April 01, 2005 - can't figure out how to create a link to that blog entry yet) even thought I think gas was up a penny (can't seem to find the receipt). Three weeks on a tank of gas isn't too bad. Of course, two wheelin' helped stretch that tank full out a bit.

So I was reading an article by David R. Francis (For the Christian Science Monitor) titled "The Age of Oil ends" and subtitled, "Fuel Drought Draws Near". I'd provide a link if I knew where it was on the 'net. Some snippets:

"Goodbye, cheap gasoline. The days of tooling around in automobiles with nary a thought of the cost are probably over.
That's because the world's oil production is rapidly apporaching its peak. At that point, the world will be faced with a steady decline in supply jist as demand for petroleum takes off in places such as China and India...
...In the past year, the number of experts seeing an imminent peak in world oil output has risen sharply. A dozen or so now see it coming by no later than 2012, says Mr. Meyer. If that happens, today's oil proce of $50 a barrel may seem cheap in the years ahead.
At its worst, rising oil prices could cause a world economic recession - not to mention lightening the pocketbooks of millions in the United States and elsewhere who rely on cars for daily transportation"

On the whole I can't argue with Mr. Francis. There is essentially a finite amount of oil in the earth though the peak of 2012 may be pessimistic. Of course I have no data but I hear "the sky is falling" way too often to believe it. But I do believe that when oil prices rise because the demand is up and the supply is down that we will hit a recession if not an outright depression. It is coming though I don't know when. My advice is to recession proof your life. Pay off your debts (including your mortgage) so that you don't owe anyone and you hav

What a lunch!

Interesting day. G. had a 4th grade field trip and I got to go to. His school has an annual trek for the 4th graders to a restaurant in Boulder called Mataam Fez. So, about 10:30 AM we boarded a school bus to be on our way. School buses aren't quite what I remember and yet they are everything as I remember. Being 6' 2" I had to duck or hit my head on the roof as we made our way to seat towards the back. We sat over the rear wheel on the passenger side so over half of the floor for our seat was taken up by wheel well. The seat in front of us seemed closer than the seats on airplanes and there was insufficient knee room (at least for me - might be fine for the kiddos). The bus bounced and so forth just like I remember and the seats had very little padding like I remember. But this bus had speakers in the ceiling for the driver to talk to us and white lights that came on at rail road crossings. The lights probably help find your way through the bus at night. There was also what appeared to be a camera up front watching us. These modern electronics are nothing like what I remember. I think the driver had a two way radio, too. But the windows still stick and go "click, click, click" as they go up and down just like I remember.

Lunch was served Moroccan style - we took our shoes off, sat on the floor, and ate with our fingers using only our right hand and had a big towel draped over our left shoulder. During the meal we heard talks of Morocco and about Islam and how Muslims worship. It was all quite exciting! After we washed our hands with tea we were served two salads, a carrot raisin thing for palette cleaning, patilla, chicken, lamb, and couscous. We saw some amazing tricks with pouring tea and then had a tea service (really sweet minty tea) and baklava for dessert. It was quite a spread that took about 2 and a half hours to serve.

The ride home was uneventful - G. was reading his book and I got asked to think about a DJ gig if the regular guy backs out. We were back at G. school, Twin Peaks Charter Academy, at 2:30 PM and I came back to work.

Here's to good company and good food!

Gassed up the motorcycle last night

Hooray! I finally rode enough miles that I had to put gas in the motorcycle last night. Here are the stats:

Odometer: 41026.1 (701.0)
Volume: 3.43 Gallons
Cost: $7.76

The last time I put gas in the bike was 8/25/04 and that was the only time I put gas in in 2004! I need to ride more. If only the thing would run when it was cold or wet and wouldn't give me grief when I run it for a while and then let it set for about an hour. Here's to a better year of riding!

Quickie - Pope Benedict XVI was selected today

My first reaction is, Yea! Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was a great selection for Pope. I'm busy at the moment but I'll come back to this later.

Quickie - Dykotomy released their CD, Appolyon, yesterday

Just a quick note to mention the new Dykotomy CD, Appolyon, was released yesterday. I need to put up a web site for them and the CD is for sale on CD Baby. I don't have all of the details yet but I do have a copy of the CD and a T-shirt. More later in the comments.

Mike the Headless Chicken

Was having a conversation with a collegue about a customer presentation next week.. These things are commonly referred to as "Dog and Pony Shows". Well I said I could bring the pony as I have a horse named Rosa. He said he bring the duck so that we'd have a "Duck and Pony Show". But then he declined as the foxes had gotten the two ducks that they were raisng this year. Then he mentioned a headless chicken from Fruita, Colorado that lived for 18 months. I didn't buy it but I went ahead and googled it anyway.

Turns out that the story is true, well sort of. The chicken's name is Mike and there is a website devoted to him and a festival that celebrates him. You can find the story of Mike the headless chicken that lived for 18 months here: http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/story.html. You can decide for yourself as to whether it's true or not.

Weekend Events

G. and I spent Friday Night in a tent at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in a tent. About 1 AM G. woke up complaining that he was cold. I told him to spread out a Swiss Army surplus wool blanket over his sleeping bag and that no, I wouldn't do it for him. He did and said, "Hey, it's warm!". I told him to finish covering his sleeping bag and go back to sleep. As he put his head back on his pillow he asked me, "Dad, how did you learn this?" We found frost on the outside of the tent when we got up in the morning.

We had a great day at the District Scout show on Saturday and spent Saturday evening visiting with some greeat friends. A stellar weekend. Course, I was pretty useless on Sunday.

It was a great weekend.

Social Security

Got an e-mail forwarded from a friend this morning on Social Security and I went off on a rant. Follow along if you like.

Here is the note that I received:

"SOCIAL SECURITY:
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security(FICA) Program. He promised:
1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program,
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program,
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to "put away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratically-controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the U.S.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive SSI Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it! Then, after doing all this lying and thieving and violation of the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is, uninformed citizens believe it!
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during this 2004 election year!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve."

And here is the rant that I sent back to him:

"Got your note on Social Security. I'd seen it before but my thoughts are a little bit different - not that I truly disagree but I find myself saying, "so what?"

First, Social Security should be completely abolished. SOCIAL Security is Socialism pure and simple. I am completely anti-socialism. In the Bible it says if you don't work you don't eat. Why do Americans think they have a "right" to retire at age 65 (or any other age)? I don't get it. Some folks are wise and save their money so that they can retire. Others don't. Wisdom in your youth should determine whether you retire or not. We reap what we sow. We should all be accountable for our decisions. If you don't plan for your retirement you don't get to. Simple and easy. Now, as much as I would like them to scrap the program right now, no further payments, nor further collections, that ain't gonna happen. Too many folks have planned on Social Security to be their retirement. So you phase it out. Folks who are 65 now get full benefits as planned. Those folks who are 20 right now don't pay and receive no benefits, ever. Those at age 42 now get their payments cut in half and will get half the benefits when they retire. Etc.

Second, I view FICA as simply another tax that we have to pay. There is no "crisis" and it doesn't "run out of money". The politicians have already monkeyed with it. All of FICA goes into the general fund. All benefits come out of the general fund. When there isn't enough money to pay the benefits they will do one of two things: reduce spending elsewhere or raise taxes to cover it. And you know that as much as they ought to reduce spending they won't. Taxpayers have to sign a blank check every year.

It doesn't matter - Republican or Democrat. Their policies are one and the same. Spend more, tax more, regulate more, control the citizens more - bigger government. The policies that Clinton couldn't get in place because the Republicans fought tooth and nail have been implemented under Bush. I'm referring to Homeland Security, the USA Patriot Act, federal control of voting, campaign finance reform, federal control of schools, etc.

So, while I don't disagree with your note I still have to ask, "So what?""

And that's all I have to say on that subject (at least for now).

Cute Trick - Great Message

Got this in an e-mail from a friend today. It's a cheesey trick but a great message so I thought I'd share it with y'all. Here it is:

Place your mouse on the X below and drag to the O.

XEven though you can't see Him, GOD is there!O

See, cheesey. But still, a great thought (and kudos to whoever thought of doing it in the first place). So try to get closer to the ever present God. Amen.

CAFTA Vote Likely in May!

Got the following e-mail from the John Birch Society. Please help stop CAFTA!

"It will get done," said House leader Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) in reference to his plans for a CAFTA vote in May.

On April 6 House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Thomas said his panel would complete hearings on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) this month, with plans to bring it to a House vote in May. Click here for article.

Meanwhile the Bush administration has been busy buying CAFTA votes from the textile and sugar regions of the nation, telling Hispanic business leaders that they can play a pivotal role in putting CAFTA over the top, and trying to gain Democrat votes by publicizing new vows by the CAFTA nations to strengthen their labor laws and regulations.

However, the outcome is still very much in doubt. As of now, the administration does not have the 218 votes in the House necessary for approval of CAFTA.

We can win this one!

Please help STOP CAFTA by

• Sending copies of the excellent new reprint, CAFTA: Exporting American Jobs & Industry (read reprint; buy reprint) along with an appropriate cover letter to business leaders and other opinion molders in your area.
• Sending online letters opposing CAFTA to your representative and senators.
• Displaying public opposition to CAFTA through letters to the editor, calls to talk shows, billboards, etc.

Visit STOPCAFTA.com for other resources and news updates.

German police baffeled by Bush poo-flags

So I was reading the Colorado Daily at lunch again. I read an article by Leo Griep-Ruiz titled, "A movement movement?" It talks about the fact that folks are sticking Bush flags into dog piles. I don't know if you're a Bush fan or not (how could I?) though I am certainly not a Bush fan. There was no way I could stomach a vote for non-Catholic Kerry and I was afraid that I was going to have to vote for Bush last time around but I found an alternative. In full disclosure mode though, I did vote for Bush the first time because he seemed better than Gore. In all actuality, I don't really believe there is much difference between Bush and Kerry. Enough, I hadn't meant to wander into politics (this time).

Any way, folks are sticking these yellow bush flags in to dog piles. It's kind of amusing. It seems to be a good way of warning folks not to step in 'em. Not sure what they're really trying to say about Bush. Follow the link - sorry I couldn't find a mreo reputable newsource for the information. There are even more pictures here.

klett@ghill.enet.dec.com

Got into a discussion reminiscing about "the good ol' days" with a colleague, a time before the IBM PC back when I had my own uVax under my desk. I got to thinking about my old e-mail address from the very early days of the Internet. I think I was on the 'net not long after it was created.

Anyway, I googled my old self, klett@ghill.enet.dec.com, and the only reference I can find is a beer recipe that I submitted to the Cat's Meow. I remember that beer. It was mighty tasty! I think the kit was a Christmas present from my folks. 'Course, back then, the Cat's Meow was a downloadable file. I had a hard copy of it

Bills & Postal Mail

I hate it! It seems I can only stand going through the snail mail to get out the bills to pay them about once every three weeks. I think I figured it out. The signal to noise ratio is terrible! For every bill I get I get about a pound of junk. So the mail piles up until the pressure of the thought of unpaid bills gets to me and I do the three weeks worth at one sitting. Of course, the problem with that is that by the time I get to them some of them are late and so then there are late fees. I just hate the whole process.

Enough whining. Ciao!

More thoughts on Pope John Paul the Great

While I wait for some code to build I thought I'd say a few things...

Had trouble sleeping last night, again. Woke up in the very early morning and had trouble getting back to sleep so I thought I'd try my usual drug, the telly. It seems like the TV is so mind numbing that it knocks me out again on a regular basis. I usually put something inane and useless on like a sitcom from my youth or one of the late night tv shows that is a rebroadcast. I close my eyes and listen to it and amazingly enough I am usually gone before the first commercial comes on. Or at least I can't remember the first commercial. And this is after a lot of tossing and turning. My conclusion is that television is a powerful narcotic but praise the Lord it really works well.

But last night something like 50% of the channels had the Pope's funeral on. I was impressed by his casket. Understand that this was the most powerful person in that Roman Catholic community with an incredible amount of power and he is in a simple wooden box. Humble to the end. I believe that is why he was so loved by the Church. I've heard about his will. Again, simplicity at it's finest. No material possesions and please burn my personal notes. Amen. I think that if I were him I would have had too many possesions to list. In fact, I have that problem now. So, may God Bless him for showing us all true humility. I thank the Lord for his inspiring example.

On to other thoughts. I have seeing the news and reading articles on line that claim that Americans in general and Catholic Americans want a more liberal Pope, a man that will ordain women and claim that artificial birth control, abortion, and pre-marital sex is OK, and that Priests should be allowed to marry. And I started worrying even though it is beyond my control and Christ himself said that evil will not prevail againt his Church and that I shouldn't worry. You see, I've been an American my whole life and I've watched the press shape the political reality of our wonderful country. And so I worried that the press might actually have the power to change the Church.

Non-Catholic Americans (and non-Catholics every where else) have no business worrying about who the Pope is just like Europeans have no business worrying about who the next President of the USA is. It's not there place to comment, it's not their leader. And so I don't care what "Americans" think about who the next Pope ought to be and I don't think the College of Cardinals care either.

So we're left with American Roman Catholics who think that the Church needs to be more "liberal" and in step with modern times. I argue that these so called Roman Catholics are not informed about their Faith and are not really Catholic. I heard once that someone who agrees with the Church and the Holy See 99% of the time isn't 99% Roman Catholic but that they are 100% Protestant. Amen. If you claim to be Roman Catholic then you need to accept and believe what the Church teaches. And the Church teaches the Truth. The Truth is unchanging and doesn't change for the convenience of people. Sorry folks, but the Truth from 33 AD is the same as the Truth 2005 AD.

And so I pray for a new Shepherd, a Shepherd that will lead us and teach us for the greater Glory of God and not for his own political gain. I've stopped worrying about it, that is for God. And I know that no matter what happens or who is chosen I will follow the new Pontiff as a Catholic gentleman and that somehow it all fits into God's Grand Plan even if I can't figure out how.

Amen, and may God Bless and Keep you.

Zoom!

Got the motorcycle (a 1979 Yamaha XS-1100 Standard) out of the garage last night. No juice in the battery so I had to jump it with my battery charger. Got it going (belching a lot of blue smoke) and found the new stickers for the tags and went to a meeting. The handling felt "mushy". When it was time to leave the meeting there wasn't enough juice in the battery to get it to kick over again so I had to use jumper cables. Got home, parked it, and hooked up the battery charger at 2 amps over night. Plenty of juice this morning! Checked the air pressure this morning - 8 lbs in front and 31 in the rear. No wonder it was mushy. Pumped the front up to about 34 and rode to work. Everything seems "normal" again.

So why does a ride on the two wheeler, even a short one, relieve so much stress and tension? Everything is better on two wheels (except snow and ice).

VACUUMING THE LAWN

Saw this on the front page of the Colorado Daily:

"One Alabama man convinced his wife to rip out their lawn and replace it with artificial turf, claiming he was tired of all the yard work. “People thought it was just crazy,” the wife said. “But, after it was done, people would compliment it and tell us that it made sense.” The couple said the turf saves them on water and lawn care costs – including needing to own a lawn mower. “We use a leaf blower, or sometimes a heavy duty vacuum cleaner,” he said."

I've thought about doing this...

Went jogging at lunch

1 mile, 1 lap around the block, 14:29.02 minutes.

Mourning the loss of Pope John Paul II

In Mass on Sunday I discovered that I was mourning the loss of Pope John Paul II. I had thought that he was distant enough that the emotional impact would not be so great. I was wrong. At Mass Sunday morning they had a picture of him displayed with candles next to the picture and in the middle of the Mass it hit me. My eyes began to water and I was truly grieving. It was difficult to breathe at points and a few tears did actually leak out of my eyes. I miss him.

St. John’s is having a Rosary tonight at 7 PM and a Vigil Mass tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 PM for Pope John Paul II. I will be at one or both of these.

I am encouraged though. I am starting to look forward with eager anticipation as to who the Lord has selected for the next Pope. I am curious as to what the Church needs now and how the change in personality of the Pope will affect things. These are exciting times as we move forward. I am waiting for the white smoke from the Vatican with bated breath.

Daylight Savings Time - Ugh!

We've done our bi-annual change of the clocks. I don't mind "falling back" in the fall but this "springing ahead" in the spring just kills me. Having to get up an hour early doesn't work real well. This morning I was an hour "late" to work - not because I forgot to change the clocks but because of the time change. I simply couldn't roust my lazy self out of bed this morning. The comforter was too heavy and had me pinned to the mattress. I'll try harder tomorrow. I promise!

Curtis & Patricia Are Married

I witnessed Curtis and Patricia get married today. A beautiful Mass. I've never seen Curtis smile so much or speak so loudly when he said, "I Do!" I'm glad I was there!

I was late for the wedding though I did manage to just get into the church before the Bride's mother. I had to set up the sound system at Hunter's Restaurant and then get home and finish getting ready. I had a little more to do than I thought I did and got out of the house at something like 12:47 PM for a 1:00 PM wedding. (I just heard on TV that the Pope died at 12:37 PM local time.) It seems like all of the slow drivers and buses were out (I counted two busses) and I was hitting all of the lights red. I got stopped at one (second in line) and all of a sudden the railroad lights started blinking and the gates started coming down. I think I said a curse word. So I hooked the left and went around and over the via-duct, over to Second, and back on to Main Street on the other side of the train. Fortunatly, there was parking right in front of St. John's. I never even considered that the wedding might've been in the Chapel. I got to the north doors and there were signs up saying "Wedding in progress". I got in, grabbed my chapeau, cape, and gloves and got into a pew with my fellow Knights. As the bride's mother came in (and everyone is taking pictures of the back of the church) Bob is helping me get my cape on.

The wedding went well and the reception was great. Hunter's served a great meal. Thank you Curtis and Patricia for inviting me, The Lady Ann, and G.

Papa John has left the building

Pope John Paul II in the Popemobile at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto
Originally uploaded by xsive_guy.

The Pope, Pope John Paul II, aka Papa John has passed away. I would've really liked to have met him in person and I'm halfway considering trying to get to Rome.

Back in July of 2002 I took my nephew and Godson, Ben, to World Youth Day. Before World Youth Day I like Pope John Paul II. At World Youth Day I fell in love with him. There are many, many memories from that event filled week and many, many people I owe a debt of gratitude to. This picture was taken when the Pope arrived for Vespers Saturday evening. This was the closest that I ever got to Papa John. To see all of my WYD2002 pics go to http://www.peakpeak.com/~mklett/WYD_pics.htm.

So where does the title Papa John come from? For me it's a term of affection and endearment. He was the Pope with all of the authority and respect of the office but he wasn't distant. He was of the people and for the people. While we were in Toronto for World Youth Day I remember one of the headlines in a Toronto newspaper was, "Papa John is in the house!" It seemed appropriate, I think he liked it.

My feelings are mixed. I'm sad that he had to leave us. I loved him. He was a great and Holy man and we are worse off now than when he was with us. I'm also filled with joy to realize that he has run his race and is now home. Home where I hope and pray that we all make it some day.

May God Bless you and keep you. Amen.

$2.249 / Gallon!

I filled the gas tank at lunch:

25.345 gallons @ $2.249 / gallon = $57.00

A new record price for a fill-up. The scary part is that some are saying that this summer I'll be fondly looking back to now and thinking that these are the "good ol' days".

I gotta un-bury and dust off the motorcycle and get it going again to save a few bucks. Imagine G. arriving at school on the back of a motorcycle. Won't that be cool!

PS: Don't forget that Colorado has this "altitude penalty". My truck requires 87 octane (so sayeth the owner's manual from Ford) which in the rest of the country is "Regular". Here in Colorado 87 octane is the mid-grade because "Regular" is 85 octane.

Happy New Year! (April Fool's Day)

I was reading the Colorado Daily today at lunch and the claimed this as the origination of April Fool's Day:

"The beginning of the tradition was 1582 in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25 and culminating on April 1st. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX New Year’s Day was moved to January 1st. Some people had not heard about or didn’t believe the change in date, and were labeled as ‘fools’."

Who knew? I didn't.