you should read. Wise words in difficult times.

the online source for instructions on how to tie your tie, even a bowtie.

Andrew W., if you read this post please give me a call.

Fr John

put up Christmas lights yesterday. The weather was way better than average. I had the day off and a list of chores and added that little project on.

Oh, by the way, the switch is on “off”. Just cause I didn’t want to put them up in a snowstorm doesn’t mean they’ll be on any time soon. In Minnesota when you have a good day you think ahead.

When I was a child the Packers were our heroes. It was the sixties, we were kids crazy about football, and the Packers were on top of the world. I had a Bart Starr jersey I wore until my body didn’t fit anymore. It was a different world.

We’re all older now and it seems like there’s so much more at stake. We scream, yell, get angry. There’s too much money on the line. We forget it’s a game and life is far more than a game. Enjoy the moment but don’t let the moment overwhelm the rest of you.

I’m glad its not the best of seasons for the Packers. No, I don’t like the losing, the fact that people might get hurt, or that kind of sinking feeling when other people gloat over your team’s hard times. But I hope people learn the lessons of which rough seasons are a reminder. Don’t let your happiness ride on the shoulders of others. Enjoy the game, the moments, but don’t let a group of men with jerseys be your only great cause, life is more than what happens on Sunday afternoon.

All this comes to mind because yesterday I bought a Bart Starr jersey, a reminder of better times, of different people who played the game and different children who listened on the radio. It’s a bigger size, of course, and I’ve learned more then I knew then, for better or worse. Yet there’s still a kid inside and I want that to stay the same, forever.

means that everything you need to do on the outside of the house gets done in the next few days or languishes untill spring. I’m expecting the neighborhood to be whirring with leaf blowers, last minute painting projects, and people covering things up for the season. Seize the day!

PS My snow blower is already gassed up, clean, ready, and pointed out the garage door should the occasion arise.

this morning and again its a welcome relief.

When I was a child there was a charm to all of this, the change of seasons, the adventure of early night and the aura of autumn moving into fall. As I get older that charm has passed and now this time of year is often heavy on me, weighing me down, and making me listless and sleepy.

There is much to love if you live in the upper midwest of the United States. People from the coasts scoff at all of this as “flyover country” but if you have a dose or two of the bumper to bumper chase for the money, living around here is like fresh air. I can’t imagine there would be enough money to get me to move to New York City or LA.

But winter can be hard and confining and as I get older I realize this and why people live in Florida and Arizona from December through March. And the first few weeks of daylight savings time are the worst of all. The sight of a precious glimmer of light in the morning is paid for by a drive home from work in the dark before supper. Summer’s loss is acutely felt. Life and sanity requires that you get out of the house and into the world but sometimes you must force yourself.

The one blessing, perhaps, is that over the years you realize its going to happen and so there’s time to prepare. Time to get the sun on your face when it comes. Time to find the people who can help you through until January. Time to plan on how you’re going to make it through.

This morning, though, the sun is out and so the blinds are pulled and the windows opened so the precious light can come in. I’ll catch as much of it as I can and so will the cats and together we’ll store it up for the night ahead.

dream last night. My wife and I were trying to pack for a trip to Las Vegas for the weekend and suddenly we realized there was no one for services on Sunday. So we decided to make the trip for just one day!

I guess once your a Priest your one in your dreams as well!

that Packer fans were giving the finger to the bus carrying the Vikings to Lambeau field. It’s one thing to root for your team, and I’m not a Vikings fan, but its another to be a jackass.