*GRAPHIC* Long, Disgusting... and Important

Murdered to Order
Opponents of stem cell research see their worst fears realized in the
Ukraine.
by Ryan T. Anderson
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM


The Drudge Report recently highlighted a shocking story from the BBC
that centered on "disturbing video footage" of
"dismembered tiny bodies." "Healthy new-born babies" in the Ukraine,
"the self-styled stem cell capital of the world," have
allegedly been killed "to feed a flourishing international trade in
stem cells."

Apparently this isn't an isolated problem. The Council of Europe
"describes a general culture of trafficking of children snatched
at birth, and a wall of silence from hospital staff upwards over their
fate." Imagine the horror of young mothers who "gave
birth to healthy babies, only to have them taken by maternity staff."
What happened to these newborns was anybody's guess,
but recent footage obtained by the BBC may provide insight into their
fate: "The pictures show organs, including brains, have
been stripped--and some bodies dismembered."

The BBC report comes as a complete shock to most readers. But to those
steeped in biotech news and bioethical literature, the
latest out of the Ukraine is only a partial shock. While no one
expected baby-snatching in maternity wards, it seemed inevitable
that the business of stem cell research would, at some point, produce
an abomination of this kind.

At least publicly, supporters of various embryo-, fetus-, or
infant-killing programs have always argued that these options were
reluctantly chosen, out of dire necessity, and only on the least-human
of subjects--so-called "spare" embryos, "unwanted"
pregnancies, and gravely disabled newborns.

And so at first the abortion lobby argued that fetuses aren't human.
Then, as embryology and developmental biology decisively
demonstrated that an unborn child is most definitely a complete, though
immature, human being, the rhetoric shifted to
discussions of competing rights and interests between the mother and
her unborn child, along with appeals to the right to
privacy. It was conceded that the decision for abortion is tragic, and,
though it entails the ending of a life, sometimes it is an
absolutely necessary result of the conflicting needs between the mother
and child. And it was insisted that it is best if doctors
and women are allowed to adjudicate these situations, in private, for
themselves.

Intellectual defenders of abortion painted a picture of simply ceasing
a pregnancy: The unborn child has no inalienable right to
inhabit the mother's womb. A woman doesn't make a choice to kill,
simply a choice to end pregnancy--to remove the unwanted
baby from her body. Her body, her choice.

Yet this didn't prove to be satisfactory. The further claim was made
that the "right" to an abortion consisted in the right to an
"effective abortion." And an effective abortion entails not the ending
of a pregnancy, but the death of a child. Witness the
phenomena of partial-birth abortion and born-alive abortion.

But the issue of stem cell research can not appeal to any of these
claims of women's welfare, privacy, or "the right to choose."
Though the case of embryonic stem cells doesn't pose a direct
competition of rights or interests--unborn embryos do not pose a
threat to anyone--public arguments were made about competing interests
of patients: "You pro-lifers are favoring embryos over
Parkinson's victims." When these arguments prove ineffective, defenders
of embryo-destructive research turn to a utilitarian
one: embryos can be put to better use as raw material for biomedical
research.

Even here, however, the public arguments are always made that human
embryos merit a certain amount of respect and
dignity--even if killing is still acceptable--and that the choice to
destroy embryonic human beings is always made reluctantly,
with the hope that new technologies will soon be developed that make
their destruction unnecessary.

Now, however, we are seeing more and more clearly that this is all a
hoax. Sure, people like Princeton's Peter Singer have
argued for a long time in defense of infanticide. But no one ever
considered infanticide a real possibility; Singer's arguments
always seemed to be an eccentric intellectual exercise. Recent
developments abroad and at home, however, force us to
reconsider. Sadly, the BBC report out of the Ukraine is just the latest
in a long line of startling developments in this trend.

In July of 2005, the Slate magazine science reporter William Saletan
argued in a five-part series titled "Organ Factory: the
Case for Harvesting Older Human Embryos" that given the current
acceptance of embryo destruction there is no reason to limit
it to the early embryo. He pointed to studies from around the world
arguing that seven-week old embryos are what researchers
really want. And Saletan made the case that they should have them:
"Don't be scared. We don't have to grow a whole new
you. . . . an embryo cloned from one of your cells would need just six
or seven weeks to grow many of the tissues you need.
We already condone harvesting of cells from cloned human embryos for
the first two weeks. Why stop there?"

And in the startling conclusion to part five, Saletan made clear that
nothing should stand in the way of science: "But if all you
want is tissue, who cares? You can tell yourself what we already tell
ourselves about unwanted in vitro embryos: They're
doomed anyway. Patients' lives are at stake. We can't let personal
morality get in the way of science. We can't wait."

The Princeton philosopher Robert P. George, arguing the other side of
the issue, picked up on Saletan's article and noticed a
frightening development right in his own backyard. Under the title
"Fetal Attraction: What the Stem Cell Scientists Really Want"
in the pages of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, George rang the alarm bell warning
that embryonic stem cell research was leading to
the macabre practice of "fetal farming." He noted that blastocyst-stage
embryonic stem cells are therapeutically unusable
because of their tendency to produce tumors when injected into
subjects. Claims that they will cure people are pure hype.
Nature herself, however, stabilizes stem cells in the normal
gestational process, eliminating the tumor-formation problem by
what appears to be an extraordinarily complex system of intercellular
signaling; a complex system scientist were having trouble
replicating.

George warned that this would lead some scientists to demand the right
to create human clones and gestate them in female
volunteers or artificial wombs to the late embryonic or even the fetal
or infant stages before killing them to harvest non-tumor-
forming stem cells:

"My suspicions and sense of urgency have been heightened by the fact
that my home state of New Jersey has passed a bill that
specifically authorizes and encourages human cloning for, among other
purposes, the harvesting of 'cadaveric fetal tissue.' A
'cadaver,' of course, is a dead body. The bodies in question are those
of fetuses created by cloning specifically to be gestated
and killed as sources of tissues and organs. What the bill envisages
and promotes, in other words, is fetus farming."
That was last year in New Jersey. This year in Missouri a provision was
passed that created a constitutional right to human
embryo cloning--provided the cloned embryo isn't transferred into a
woman's womb--while also creating a constitutional
mandate to destroy human embryos. More startling, however, was the
window intentionally left open for fetus farming. If the
technology of artificial wombs is perfected, cloned embryos can be
developed in artificial wombs and then harvested not only
for stem cells, but for developed cells and even organs. This, it
appears, is what the doctors in the Ukraine are after. What
guarantee do we have that they aren't after the same thing here?

Ryan T. Anderson is a junior fellow at First Things. He is also the
assistant director of the Program on Bioethics and Human
Dignity at the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, NJ.

© Copyright 2006, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights
Reserved.

Wednesday's Hero

Every once and awhile I'll do a Wednesday Hero that doesn't profile a single soldier. Sometimes it's been two or three from the same unit, sometimes it's been an entire group of soldiers like the Navajo Code Talkers. I even did an organization once, Operation Iraqi Children. This weeks Wednesday Hero is one of those sometimes. This weeks Wednesday Heroes are the parents of soldiers.

These people sacrifice just as much, if not more, than the soldiers themselves. They, in many cases, are having their babies leave home for the first time in their lives. While most parents only have to adjust to them moving a few miles away or going off to college, these Blue Star Parents have to watch their children go off to a very dangerous situation and can only hope and pray that everything will turn out okay. I don't have children of my own, so I can't even imagine what that is like. We have a few Blue Star Parents in the blogroll, so to them, and every parent of a Hero, I tell you we all stand with and support you and your family.There's a site that everyone should check out if they haven't already. Blue Star Mothers Of America.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by clicking here.

Wednesday's Hero

Sgt. Roy A. Wood
47 years old from Alva, Florida
ODA 2092, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group
(Airborne)
January 26, 2005



Sgt. Roy A. Wood, a Special Forces medical sergeant, was fatally
injured when the vehicle he was riding in was involved in a traffic accident
near Kabul, Afghanistan, during a return convoy from Qalat to Bagram
Air Base.

His 24-year military career with the Army Reserve and Army National
Guard was distinguished and unique. After receiving a commission as a
second lieutenant in 1979, he was first assigned to the Army Reserve’s
421st Quartermaster Company (Light Airdrop Supply).

While assigned to the 421st, he received training as a quartermaster
officer, a parachute rigger, and participated in both basic airborne and
jumpmaster courses.

In January 1982, he left the 421st to begin an association with U.S.
Army Special Forces that would last until, and beyond, his death.

His first SF assignment was to the Army Reserve's 11th Special Forces
Group (Airborne) at Fort Meade, Md., where he served in the 3rd
Battalion’s Company A as the detachment executive officer for Operational
Detachment-A 1175.

In May 1983, he became Detachment Commander for ODA 1175 after
returning from the Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course.

In October 1984, he left ODA 1175 to become the Company Logistics
Officer.

He served in a variety of positions at the 11th SFG over the next 11
years, including operations officer and support company commander.

After four years at USSOCOM, he served a year with the Army Reserve’s
73rd Field Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla., before switching from the
Reserve to the Army National Guard and renewing his association with
Special Forces.

He was assigned to 3rd Bn., 20th SFG in December 2001, where he served
for a year as the Battalion Surgeon, supervising medical coverage of
three Special Forces companies and one support company.

In December 2002, he resigned his commission to become a Special Forces
medical sergeant on Operational Detachment-A 2092, Co. C, 3rd Bn., 20th
SFG.

He, with ODA 2092, was mobilized in July 2003 in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom.

At the time of his death, he was pending appointment as a Special
Forces warrant officer, a position in which he would have served his team as
an assistant detachment commander.

During his service, he received the Army Commendation Medal, the Army
Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Achievement Medal with Silver
Hourglass device, the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service
Ribbon, the Basic Parachutist badge, the Parachute Rigger badge, the Ranger
tab and the Special Forces tab.

Sgt. Roy Wood leaves behind a wife and two children.

These brave men and women have given their lives so that others may
enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call
them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic
Dreams.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just
Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. If you would like
to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great
country, you can find out how by clicking here.

Blogs Partcipating In Wednesday Hero

Right-Wing & Right Minded
Hooah Wife &
Friends
Yankee Mom
Bear Creek
Ledger
Mail Call! Supporting The Troops
Yeah,
Right, Whatever
CrosSwords
Gazing
At The Flag
Gawfer
Ohio
Military Reserve
DeMediacratic Nation
My Point
A Day In The
Life Of.....
Blue Star
Chronicles
Prying1
Pet's Garden
Blog
Pictures From
My World
Freedom,
GUNZ, Glory and EBYJO
Gunz Up
Say No To
Politically Correct B.S.
Did You Ever Get The Feeling
A Rose By
Any Other Name
My
Weekly Thoughts
Rightwing
Guy
Trying My Best
To Support The Troops
American And
Proud
Maryannaville
Not Ready For My
Burqua
Perry Nelson's
Website
A
Fresh Start
Right On!
Echo9er
Befuddled
Potpourri
Conservative
Cowboy
Petrus
Pettifog
Tanker
Brothers
Chicagoray
Gop3
ArmyNGntcfamily
Soldiers' Angels New York
My
Republican Blog

Stripes or Solids???

While I try to take seriously the trials and tribulations of my teenage students, I just had no sympathy today.

The high school students are headed out tomorrow on a field trip. They will go to the state house, a chinese-american-french fusion cheap buffet for lunch, and then to see the movie, The Nativity. Since its a field trip, we're allowing the kids to NOT wear their uniforms, but have set a reasonable standard of no immodest clothing, and no blatant logos or advertising.

"So, what can we wear? Just plain colors?"

"Well, no... you can wear stripes or anything other clothing that doesn't have a picture or a logo on it."

"Stripes? You want me to wear stripes?? Fine, I'll wear stripes."

Okay... I tend to think this child perhaps had a traumatic experience with a prison uniform... but who can say.

I'm taking pictures tomorrow :)

It's Beginning to Look alot Like Christmas

While working on our school's Christmas program, I found this quote from Pope Benedict XVI and thought I should pass it on:

God’s everlasting "today" has come down into the fleeting today of the world and lifted our momentary today into God’s eternal today. God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can make himself vulnerable and come to us as a defenceless child, so that we can love him. God is so good that he can give up his divine splendour and come down to a stable, so that we might find him, so that his goodness might touch us, give itself to us and continue to work through us. This is Christmas: "You are my son, this day I have begotten you". God has become one of us, so that we can be with him and become like him. As a sign, he chose the Child lying in the manger: this is how God is. This is how we come to know him. And on every child shines something of the splendour of that "today", of that closeness of God which we ought to love and to which we must yield – it shines on every child, even on those still unborn.

To read the whole homily, its here.

My Sister's Dog

I'm sitting at the computer, asking for blog post suggestions... in honor of my sister who is just returning from the jungles of Nepal... this post is in honor of her "dog" Bonnie. The reason that "dog" is in quotes is that she's not really a dog. Well, she is in the accident of nature sort of way. However, her intelligence and manner indicate that she is more like a queen.

She disdains the lowly nature that usually indicates the K9 type. Despite the fact that she too, is fuzzy and walks on four legs, she is among that breed that doesn't have a tail - by nature. She hates those furry barking things with tails.

She doesn't bark, she speaks. And if you're not listening, she keep on barking until you do.

She can tell time. I know this to be true because if the four dog dishes that we have are not completely full every night at 8:00pm sharp, she "barks" for lack of a better word until you fill them. And, she adjusts for daylight savings time.

She's an excellent travelling companion. She likes to ride shotgun in order to look out the window and stay on the lookout for any unsavory characters... like a good shotgun should.

Her favorite part of riding in the car is going to the Dunkin Donuts drive-through. She always gets a treat... usually a plain doughnut, but sometimes Boston Creme.

She also loves the ocean, and knows that its near when she about 10 minutes away. She likes to watch dog shows on TV, and gets especially excited when there are Olde English Sheep"dogs" featured.

She hates baths, lightening storms and people who promise walks but don't give them. She also hates packing since she knows that someone will be away for long periods of time.

She's the queen of this house, that's "fer sure".

Silent Crusade

Check out Against All Heresies for an article on the recent sale of a Roman Catholic Church to be used as a mosque... for the handsome sum of $150,000. (Who can buy anything for that these days?) After reading her post, I tried to find a Church in Turkey that Islamist say Mohammed turned around with his thumb to make it into a mosque. I couldn't find any information on that... but I did find the historical precedent for changing churches into mosques. It usually happened right after a battle that the Christian Crusaders lost:

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the first churches converted into mosques
According to the early Muslim historians, the towns that surrendered without resistance and made treaties with the Muslims received permission to retain their churches and synagogues, while in the towns taken by conquest Jewish and Christian places of worship were seized by the Muslims. Modern historians do not consider the process of transformation of churches into mosques to be as regular as the Muslim historians describe it, but in the course of time, the Muslims appropriated many churches to themselves.[1] From the beginning of the Muslim conquests, the Christians had ceded (sounds so innocent, and unbloody) to the Muslims half of their churches, which were turned into mosques.[4] One of the earliest examples of this kind was in Damascus, where in 705 Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik took the church of St. John from the Christians and had it rebuilt as a mosque, which is now known as Umayyad Mosque; overall, Abd al-Malik is said to have transformed ten churches in Damascus into mosques. The process of turning churches into mosques was especially intensive (you mean, like the villagers were whipped and beaten into submission to do it?) in the villages, with the gradual conversion (that's nice) of the people to Islam. During his persecution of the Copts, Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun turned many churches into mosques, both in Cairo and in Egyptian villages, which had no mosques in the earlier generations of Islam. Fatimid caliph al-Hakim converted numerous churches and synagogues into mosques. During the Reconquista christian warriors would just as often appropiate and convert mosques to churches as the Muslims would convert them to their capture.[5] The chief mosque in Palermo was previously a church. After the Crusades, several churches were turned into mosques in Palestine.[1] Ottoman Turks converted into mosques nearly all churches, monasteries, and chapels in Constantinople, including the famous St. Sophia cathedral, immediately after capturing the city in 1453.

Since we are following tradition here, I wonder how they'll ceremonially accomplish the following:

To make the buildings fit for the mosques, the Turks destroyed the icons, plundering their precious plating in the process, and defaced the frescoes.[6] The Ottoman sultan Mehmet II was the first to perform a Muslim prayer in what had previously been the St. Sophia cathedral.[7]

Superbowl Halftime Show

I just read the attached article that indicates Superbowl fans this year will be "treated" to a performance by Prince.

Hasn't the NFL figured out that football fans don't want a rock star - we want a good ol' Country Music performer. Preferably Lee Greenwood singing Proud to be an American. We don't want Prince, Janet Jackson, geriatric Stones or any of the other crazy washed up performers that they've been billing for the last 20 years.

I remember the year that they said it was going to be in 3-D and you had to get special glasses. Of course, we didn't have special glasses and it was basically a guy riding around the field on a motorcycle. Totally lame-O.

I love football. It represents America. Its the perfect symmetry of brute physical strength, intimidating mind games, and clever plays. Its like a ballet with 300 lb. linebackers. Grace, beauty, intelligence.

Why sully it with the likes of Prince??

There's No Place Like Home

So, my parents have moved to the "States" from Ireland and are with us while they buy their new house. So, yesterday we took them on a tour of "small town" America (the names have been changed to protect the innocent).

You can drive through this town, blink twice and you've missed the whole thing. We have one blinking light, a four-way stop and a factory. We have 6 police officers, three cop cars and a cop SUV. We also have a McDonald's and a Dunkin Donuts... but the old-timers prefer the cafe, and the pub. This town is so far from modern America that you almost need a passport to get here.

So, we started the day with a lunch at the local diner. Its a brick building one end, and a stainless steel car on the other. No credit cards are accepted... just cash or a local check. You can see everyone from teenagers to older folks and everyone in between. We even saw Santa Claus come in with his wife and enjoy a nice meal. AND SO CHEAP!! It cost lest than $40 for four of us to have a filling, excellent meal.

At our next stop, we entered a store to be greeted by both owners. They are a husband and wife team who travel around the world, collecting jewelry, clothing and other items to sell in this small town shop. We purchased some Christmas gifts, chatted with the proprietors and viewed items from England, Russia, Poland, Nepal, India and South America.

We then went to German John's bakery where we chatted with the owner who learned all she knows from her own father. We saw traditional German cakes, bread and an 11 foot long bread crocodile!! My sister had an epiphay regarding a Christmas present, and gathered everything she could find in the store. The proprieter welcomed us to the village, and sent us on our merry way to the CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!!

In this little store there are chocolate geese, sports equipment, truffles, chocolate molds, firemen, and every conceivable chocolate object you can imagine. Cherry codials for Mom, sugar-free chocolates for Dad and a giant chocolate Noel for me and Kathy.

The last stop of the day was Gibson's Pewter Shop. Mr. Gibson learned the trade from his father and makes early American replica's of Pewter bowls, goblets, plates and other pewter items. Again, the proprietor meets you in the shop, greets you and chats about the products, the weather and the skills that goes into each product.

There's very few towns like this left in America.

HAPPY ST. NICHOLAS DAY!!!

I hope that there will be candy in my shoes!!!

Here's a great site on St. Nick: origins, relation to Santa Claus, etc.

"For indeed, St. Nicholas, lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of Christmas—the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons."

Flying Muslims

Yeah, but not on a red carpet. This article is entitled "Muslims Seek Prayer Room in Airport."

What bothers me the most about this headline is that anyone who has searched out the chapels in airport knows that they are used by Muslims. How do we know this? There's a huge arrow pointing East in the guestbooks. I have been to the airport chapels in Chicago (O'Hare, not Midway), Philadelphia, Dallas, Newark and others.

To find the chapel is usually a hassle. You have to find a comprehensive map of the entire airport. Its usually in a Mezzanine somewhere that is impossible to drag your thousand pounds of luggage to. Sometimes - notably in Dallas - it's outside security. So, if you have a layover, you might exit to use the chapel, and then wait in the security line for an hour, possibly missing your flight.

I once had to go to Mass in an airport to fulfill my Sunday obligation just before jumping on a plane to go to Ireland. Afterwards, the priest had snacks and drinks laid out for the travellers while he chatted with us. It was very nice, and I got the impression that not too many people attend Mass here.

Oftentimes, the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in these airports as well, so its always a good idea to go pay a visit to a tabernacle that is little-visited.

Back to the Muslims - this story is just another example of a marketing campaign to draw the Muslims in a sympathetic light and painting them as victims.

It hurts when someone that you love lets you down. It hurts even worse when you're in love with an entire football team, and they let you down.

The NY Giants, sporting their fiery red "away" uniforms were tied with Dallas 20-20 with 1 minute left in the game. After the kick, Dallas gained 41 yards with a pass to Terrel Owens. The field kick wasn't much of a challenge to their newly signed Grammatico, Grammatica, whatever the heck his name is - he didn't live up to his poor reputation anyway.

I like the new uniforms... but the defense is disappointing.

I think I'm wearing... Communism!?!?

A recent conversation was related to me that went something like this:

"Women should not wear pants ever. Women who do wear pants are supporting..., they're supporting... Well, supporting communism! Don't you think so?"

"Well, I think I'm wearing communism."

Is it any wonder that I'm too wild for the traditionalist? Yes, I too wear communism.

Take Back the Rainbow

I love color. All color, all shades. I am blessed to live in a part of the country where the lakes look like liquid sapphires in the summer, snow crystals form millions of prisms in the winter, leaves look like crisp fire in the autumn and every sunrise reveals colors only nature can produce. Its no wonder that I love the rainbow. I've seen beautiful rainbows in Rome, Venice, Ireland, and right over my own back yard. It irks me to no end that this has become a symbol to glorify sodomy and licentiousness.

You know those bumper stickers that people put on the back of their cars? I'm tempted to start putting them on my car simply because it's wrong that we allow a group of deviants to use it for their symbol. For them, it has nothing to do with the promise to Noah from God to never destroy the earth by flood again. For them, it has nothing of the hope and the promise of eternal salvation.
Why have we let others take our symbols like the rainbow, the name "Madonna", the unicorn, the peacock, the pelican and desecrate them at the worst, or completely secularize them at the least?

I don't care what people think, I'm heading out to my nearest 'peace and justice' store and taking back the rainbow.

Uh..., well, I would if I wasn't boycotting the 'peace and justice' store. *sigh*

Want Coffee - Will Travel

So, while most of America is up at 5am this morning rushing to buy cheap plastic Chinese-made gifts that will inevitably be returned, regifted, "lost" or broken - I got up intending to go to daily Mass. Denied. I snuck into the church through the basement where a nice lady was preparing for a Meals on Wheels Luncheon, went upstairs and read the bulletin announcing No Mass on Friday. Bummer.

As an aside, why would they be doing Meals on Wheels in a Church Basement? Where's the Wheels part? Anyway, I didn't ask.

So, knowing that our favorite cafe for muffins and Chai's was closed today I decided to head to the next town to try the Sunshine Cafe. Isn't that a lovely name? It gives you the impression that you can actually buy sunshine in a cup. While dreams of espresso beans danced in my head, I headed out. I rolled into town, where the early-risers were walking down the street with their papers tucked under their arms, hunters were coming in from the woods for a break, and policemen patrolled the quiet streets. I park on the street, look over my shoulder, and the sunshine cafe is not shining. Denied. Closed for Thanksgiving. Bummer.

So, then I had to settle. And settle I did for Dunkin Donuts. Ahh... cappucinno, two sugars and an old fashioned for man's best friend.

This is What Happens...

when a Church first defies the authority of Holy Mother Church. After that, nothing is sacred.

The Church of England has come out in favor of infanticide. We're not really surprised.

Accent - Thanks Mom - I Don't Have One!!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
North Central
The Inland North
Boston
The Northeast
The West
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Here's a fun quiz... and just goes to show that homeschoolers have good diction!

We Lost AND We're Losers

So, we lost the House and the Senate today. And yes, I do mean we.

This post is for thsoe who say that we cannot vote if someone, like President Bush, isn't conservative enough.

Remember this Bible Verse "Be wily as serpants and innocent as doves"? No one is saying that anyone on the Hill would ever be up for canonization, but lets look at one important fact.

Right now the Supreme Court, with two new justices on it, are deciding whether or not to uphold the Ban on the Partial-Birth Baby Killing method.

The truth is, that we never would have gotten this law passed without the likes of the not-conservative-enough Senate, House and President. Further, we would never have a chance in Hades of upholding it if Roberts and Alito were not on the bench, confirmed by the not-conservative-enough House and Senate. If this ban is upheld, and babies are saved because of it, then those votes "wasted" on lukewarm conservatives will have been well wasted.

Voice Crying Out

DEEP THOUGHTS

Sometimes when you hear a voice crying out in the wilderness, you think of John the Baptist. And you assume that they have something profound to say.



But most of the time, when men are crying out in the wilderness, they're saying "I'm LOST!!"

Ahhh... Sunday Mornings

So, I meant to go to 8am Mass this morning, but lost my keys, lost my purse, missed my not-being-late-window and now I'm waiting for 10am Mass to roll around.

So, time for a little blogging.

My day today will consist of Mass (of course) and then out to Starbucks and Borders to grade papers, prepare classes, and determine grades for report cards. The funny thing is, 20 or maybe even 10 years ago, the natural impulse would have been to head to the library. But instead, it seems that the coffee shop is the place to go for quiet concentration. At most coffee shops, people talk in hushed voices, students study diligently with their Venti Chai, or Grande Caramel Macchiato. In all appearances, the coffee shop is something akin to a temple for reflection, rather than the billion dollar money-maker that it is. The more serene and focused the setting, the longer people lounge buying coffee after sweet cake, after coffee, after sweetcake. People are willing to pay $5.00 for a $.75 cent coffee as long as it comes with the privilege of sitting in this hallowed space for just few hours, or even minutes.

With the rise of Starbucks, it seems that we have transferred our loyalties from the temple to reading & learning that the library once was, to the shrine of caffeinated drinks and little pastries.

I guess this signals another notch in the belt of consumerism... but I sure do like my Starbucks!

The First Romance

My religion students are reading the Old Testament this year, and they were very intrigued by the story of Isaac and Rebekah. It is as pure and beautiful as any love story, and the customs shown are truly remarkable.

As you may remember from reading the story, Isaac was coming of age to marry (about 4o) when Abraham decided to send his servant back to his kinsfolk to find a suitable wife for his son. The servant, after a long journey and much prayer, decides that he will wait by the well for the women to come and get water. The first with the generosity to give water to him and water his camels is the girl for his master's son, Isaac. So far, its interesting to note that the servant does not first seek out those with good connections, good families or with a hefty dowry. His first test is one of generosity, hospitality and - of course, beauty.

So, the servant waits and along comes Rebekah who readily offers to water the camels after serving the servant. The servant, in exchange, gives her a NOSE-RING (oh yes. Genesis 24:22 maybe he was worried that he couldn't get a ring size correct) and bangles and asks to stay with her family. When the family hears the tale, and the request for Rebekah to marry their kinsman's daughter (Rebekah was actually Sarah's niece) their response is: "This thing that comes from the Lord; we can say nothing to you either for or against it. Here is Rebekah, ready
for you."

This story gets even better. Of course, the servant gives abundant gifts of gold and silver to Rebekah, as well as to her mother and brother (interesting, no dowry from her side...) and they return to Abraham's house.

Here's the best part. Not only has God allowed the servant to find a generous woman for Isaac, but when the camel train approaches, Rebekah sees Isaac from afar - inquires about him, and immediately covers herself with her veil as a show of modesty. Isaac falls in love with her at first sight, and they live happily ever after. Someone pointed out to me once that this is the only marriage of the great patriarchs that is completely monogomous.

Strangely, Rebekah was working outside the home when she met with the servant. She needed to provide no dowry. And these two facts never detracted from her virtue.

Things that make you go "hmmm..."

Remember These?

Remember going to the library, and checking out a book?

First, you'd go to the card catalogue system, and thumb through thousands of index cards that were either handwritten, or typed with the title, author and other pertinent information. Then, you'd wander the stacks of musty smelling books until you found the one you were looking for - or the section that held your favorite author.

My favorite part of the old library system though, was the cards inside the book where you wrote your name and the librarian used a stamp to sternly imprint the date that this book was returned to the library.

I loved getting the older books that contained tons of names and different signatures. I'd try to imagine what the other people who had checked out the book were like. Sometimes I'd study the dates to see if I could tell if someone had NOT returned a book on time... or perhaps they returned it early because they hadn't like it. In this case, "Mamie" liked the book so much that she checked it out twice!

I just finished reading a book that contained an old receipt like this picture. The person I borrowed it from has but their name on the list.

The previous reader had borrowed it 31 years ago.

In Search of...

Catholic Culture.

Don't worry. This isn't a whiney, 'there's no culture anywhere' post. I'm actually looking for interesting Catholic traditions that might include semi-regional customs for Catholic feast days. For instance, see my earlier blog on the invention of croissants, and the introduction of coffee into the Western world.

I recently learned of a custom related to All Souls Day that involves children going from door to door offering to pray for the souls of departed members of the household in exchange for food. They were given pieces of bread made of water and floor that were called "dry bones" because they were baked in the shape of bones, signifying the dead, and because of their "lack" of tasty ingredients.

I'm particularly looking for All Saints Day and Advent customs. The more the merrier!!

No Cussin

Here's a good post about not 'cussing.'

I'd like to add my own thoughts to the matter.

1) Cursing does not make you a better baseball player. I'm sure that there was no cursing on this team!! (I know that this picture doesn't really go with the theme, but it was so neat that I wanted to post it and had to tie it in somehow.

2) There's nothing worse than hearing a woman or a child curse or swear. It totally strips the woman of any dignity and represents her to have an utter lack of decorum and grace. Its like watching a girl try to spit just so that she can 'fit in with the guys'. What I never understood - guys won't date other guys, so acting like one doesn't get you brownie points... or a date.

3) NOT cursing definitely sets you apart, and decreases the amount of swearing that goes on around you. I've never told any of my coworkers NOT to swear, but they try not to around me, and apologize when they do. Ahhh... the power of suggestion.

4) Cursing makes you sound like a broken record... as if there are no original thoughts in your head and you keep playing the same tune over and over again. Give it a break already!!

5) St. James said that if you can control your tongue then you have conquered the man. With that said, control of speech beginning with cursing and ending with gossip and detraction certainly are the basis for living a holy life.

6) People say that if they curse less, people pay more attention to them when they do curse. While that may be true... isn't it true that in times of anger, frustration or pain those words wouldn't even be on the tip of your tongue if you're not already in the habit of cursing???

7) My personal favorite: Do you kiss your mother with that mouth??

Just wondering...

There are Riches, and Then There's Money.

Simply put, I'm wondering if keeping a substantial savings account, with no particular purpose in mind, might be considered harmful as it lead one to rely more on their own power of providing than on God's providence.

Jesus makes it quite clear in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew that this life is fleeting . Further, since this life is simply a preparation for the grand finale, we need to spend our resources on preparing for that, and not spending our time on the dress rehearsal.

It made me think about my savings account. Usually, the number is around zero-ish but despite that fact I've had some great opportunities including travel to 7 European countries and a few areas in the United States. I had stayed at home, and not taken any of those trips, its hard to figure out how much richer I'd be...

On a limited income, these trips certainly made me frugal. When I had to buy my own lunch in Rome during my college semester, most lunches consisted of leftover rolls from dinner the night before (which were from breakfast the morning before), peanut butter brought from the States, and fruit - again, from dinner the night before. On feast days or for a treat, we might purchase cheese and nutella from the local market. There was also a trip in Spain where we ate a roll and coffee for breakfast, skipped lunch, and found an inexpensive dinner. Again, we had bread and peanut butter in case there were any real emergencies.

Of course, I don't think its really a sin to have a savings account, especially if one is saving for their family, future family or future plans. Yet, Jesus does point out that there is a virtue in living as if we may be taken from this world at any moment, and we should spend our resources, time and talent in becoming holier and closer to Our Lord.

I do remember a certain pride as I came home from my semester in Rome with a credit card small balance, and one US dollar in my purse. I had spent three months in Rome, and visited Florence, Subiaco, Venice, Florence, Assisi, Orvieto, Pamplona, Avila, Toledo, Madrid and southwest Ireland. I was able to attend daily Mass at St. Peter's, attend the station churches during Lent and celebrated Easter Week with the Holy Father.

All in all, you might say that I'd be richer if I hadn't spent the semester in Rome - but you could only say that if you were counting richness in dollars.

Why Some Women Don't Sew

There's a funny story about why the women in my family don't sew, and it goes like this:

My grandmother was darning socks one day as she sat in her rocking chair. She dropped the spool of thread, and she leaned over the chair to catch the thread which was rolling out of her reach. As she leaned, she tipped the chair over, catching her foot under the weight of the chair - and her own weight - breaking her ankle. She declared that she would never darn another sock again. Consequently, my mother doesn't sew.

It makes me wonder what other fine arts & family traditions have been lost due to similar tragedies...

BUT THEY DON'T KNO-OW ANY BETTER

Well, normally I attend the Latin Mass, but I have to admit that I've been a bit run-down lately with the new school year starting, and various other runnings around - so, I decided not to do the 1.5 hour trek to the Latin Mass this morning and to attend our local church instead. Its a nice small rural community and the priest loves Our Lady. There are usually lots of families in Church with little kids and the choir reminds me of the choir in our parish where we grew up. Remember that part in Cinderella where the step-sisters are crooning "sing sweet nightingale"? That's pretty much what it sounds like.

Anyway, as we arrive, there's a crowd of people around the front door, obviously waiting for someone, but they don't look like they're dressed for church - especially since one is holding a Dunkin Donuts cup. Anyway, we enter, find our seats and kneel to prepare to Mass.

Well, the entourage finally enters, led by a pair of soon-to-be-baptized twin boys. Proudly in tow is the Dunkin Donuts toting, sweatpant suit wearing woman we saw outside. Horrified at seeing a Donkin Donuts cup in Church, I decide to go and ask this girl if she'd like me to throw it out for her. My sister tells me that I should probably ask Father first.

So, I did. Father was quite confused, and after asking a few questions, tells me that there are some mentally ill people in the parish, and we'll just let it go. Okay...

Then, the two children in front of us are playing with a pocket watch, and other toys while the mother looks on and occasionally smiles at them. Some people come in after the Offertory, but at least they're not toting Donkin Donuts...

Why this list of notably distracted and unprepared parishioners?

Well, it occurred to me that people act this way in Mass because NO ONE TOLD them that this isn't appropriate. We have a whole generation, namely mine, that were told that its okay to show up to Mass late and still receive; that Christ said "let the children come to Me" which means that children can play and cry and eat and color in Mass; that thinks its great to have your friends arrive at your children's baptism carrying their designer coffee; that formal dress isn't necessary for Mass and roll-out-of-bed styles are just as good.

My question is: WHO IS GOING TO TELL THEM????

You can't really blame them. They'd probably say "at least we're going to Church" and that is precisely the problem - it is the least they can do. The very least.

But Catholics, and Americans, have never been about the "least we can do" - we're about giving our best to God, Country, Family.

And its also occurred to me that this is precisely the source of the deep sigh that you sometimes see priests do, especially when they realize that yes, they are the ones who have to TELL THEM. And, since they haven't been doing it for so long, they have a lot of work to do.

God help our priests.

VOTE NOW!!!!

Should the Pope apologize for his words?

!Absolutely NOT! (click here to vote).

Coffee: Nectar of the gods

So, in preparing for a one-minute-or-less meditation for my high school students yesterday, I decided to look up the history of the day's feast - the holy name of Our Lady.

Apparently, Our Lady's intercession was sought when the Turks had occupied Vienna in the 16th century. The Polish King, Sobieski gathered his troops to stop the Muslim invasion into Europe, leaving Poland and first bringing his army to the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestawova. Their prayers were answered on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

In honor of this victory, the people drank the spoils left behind by the Turks, coffee, and the bakers created a crescent shaped pastry (croissants, presumably) in imitation of the crescent moon on the Turkish flag.

I'm seeing that my coffee addiction may actually be a virtue, and not a vice.

What's Really Wrong with Men Today

There has been alot of speculation lately on what ails a healthy Catholic femininity in this contemporary age. I'd like to take a break from this debate to talk about what really irks me about the opposite sex.

1. Why don't men spend their time practicing how to take out the garbage more before marriage? This is clearly a task that has been traditionally relegated to the stronger sex, and I want to know why men so loath this task that they are not properly prepared for it when they enter the married state. I mean, how hard is it to put another bag into the trash can and tie it so that garbage doesn't cause it to slip down the can, hence creating a nasty, stinking garbage can. It wastes time and puts unneeded stress on a marriage that is already wrought with hardships and turmoil.

2. Why can men not gracefully open doors? I was recently crossing the lobby of an office building, when a very gentlemanly looking man noticed my approach to the door. He hastened his step, and stationed himself next to the door to pull it open for me, only to be awkwardly embarrassed to find out that the door opened outward! His embarrasment, and my smirk at trying not to laugh was weird indeed, as he had to push the door open, and plaster his body against the door so that I could go through before he did. Instead of playing sports, getting jobs, saving money and other manly pursuits, men should make themselves apprised at the various ways to open doors for ladies. This would indeed be an imitation of Christ who opened the door to heaven for us.

3. Learn how to shake a hand! My goodness, there's nothing worse than shaking a man's hand, and you feel like you've been given a wet noodle to shake. Enough said on that subject.

4. I am pleased to hear that some men have taken the task of creating the "head of household" and "suggestions welcome" buttons to be used during marriage so that their wife can wordlessly determine whether now is a good time to discuss a major issue with their husband, or if she should passively submit. I am pleased to hear of such creative modes of communication between married persons that cuts out needless words.

5. Learn how to smoke a pipe! For goodness sake, how am I supposed to have your pipe, slippers and smoking jacket prepared when you return home from work if you don't smoke a pipe, or at least a cigar. Seriously, surely your job or other preparations for marriage don't exclude you pursuing some vices that are to be upheld in marriage.

6. While dating, I fully expect that there should be certain obstacle courses, trick questions, and other challenges by which to test my worthiness as a wife. Please, please, please - put some thoughts into these. Some suggestions might include leaving me in the woods overnight with a sewing machine and some knitting needles to see if I can have a sweater knitted and a suit sewn by morning. Asking me how many degrees I have, and how many degrees I wish I didn't have might be another challenge. Since the results will be used to determine whether or not I am able to sacrifice during marriage, these should really be HARD.

These are just a few random thoughts. If there are other suggestions out there, I'm very open to hearing them. If you are a man and responding, be sure to be really harsh so that I can get used to the castigations of my husband should I ever marry.

(Judging from the sarcasm of this post, I think its pretty unlikely)

Pitt Pontificates on Matrimony

Finally, someone who's willing to stand up for his beliefs - and in defense of marriage at that!!

And who is this brave person you may ask? Yes, you guessed it (or maybe you didn't) - Brad Pitt. He has declared that he and Angelina Jolie will not marry until "all Americans are able to wed". And I'm sure that this brave groundbreaker is really suffering for his beliefs. Imagine, being so convinced of the sanctity of marriage that you sacrifice living with your beloved, raising a family together or side by side taking on the challenges of life because you believe that society is not truly valuing the married state.

Oh wait...

But they are living together, and Brad Pitt has adopted Angelina's children, and supposedly they are working side by side handing out food for poor Africans.

So, what are we really getting from the Hollywood crowd? More hot air. No wonder Al Gore is worried about global warming.

Farewell to Pluto

In 1930 an astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh made a discovery, the likes of which would not be replicated for another 70 years. He found a planet which later came to be known as Pluto. This discovery not only added another word to the mnemonic device "Many Visitors Eat Many Jelly Sandwiches Until Night Passes", but it also inspired the name of a dog beloved by Mickey Mouse and his many fans. You can read all about Pluto here.

If you want to read the tragic story of how Clyde's wife is taking the news that her husband's discovery is being demoted, click here.

My question now is - what's going to happen to Disney's Pluto???????

He's done a lot in 76 years. He had quin-puplets, he has a kid-brother, he's been a faithful companion to Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy. He starred in 48 of his own cartoons, and he never broke his contract because he wanted more money. He never jumped up and down on couches declaring his love for some new labradoodle, or spouted strange demonic religions.

He never spattered the headlines because of some midnight drunken accident, never had to apologize for thoughtless words, never sparked any media scandal, never made embarrassing comments about how he hates America, never raised money for baby-killers or crooked politicians.

Now that the planet is being demoted, will he have to change his name? Will he go nameless until they discover another planet to name him after? If you are concerned about the fate of Pluto, I urge you to contact Disney and let them know that you don't want Pluto abandoned despite the fact that the science community is abandoning the planet.

For the moment, we'll be gathering names of people who are willing to adopt Pluto in case Disney is looking to "bring him to a farm."

Let's Be Serious...

So, you're at the airport. You've picked up a newspaper and the headlines read all about the terror plot planned to down 10 planes flying over the Atlantic by Muslim terrorists. Disturbing indeed. The news reports on the monitors show pictures of planes, the World Trade Centers crashing and other forms of hysteria. You think about the stepped up security, how you can't have your Starbucks with you at the moment, and that expensive Clinique lotion you had to discard before going through the security line. And you're okay with that. Life with chapped hands is better than being blown up over the Atlantic.

And then you see these guys come into your gate. You think either, they're Muslim male models who take themselves way too seriously, OR they've just spent all of their suicide bomber money on Western clothes before carrying out their mission. That's what the other passengers thought, and refused to get on the plane until they were removed.

When I first read the story I was a bit sympathetic to these guys. They're just getting on a plane... what if someone sees my innocent Irish face and thinks I'm on some sort of a bomber mission?!?!?! But then again, I don't look like I've just returned from a training camp in Syria.

The other reason that they may have rebelled is the excessive cologne, but to be fair - that was not in the article.

Here's my advice to these guys: If you don't want to kicked off any more planes in the near future - try shaving, and stop dressing like thugs. You might even want to do something about those eyebrows. And buddy, grease goes into your car- not the hair. Just a thought.

We Are The Winners

For all you aficionados of Lithuanian culture out there, you probably already know that Lithuania made quite the splash this year in the Eurovision contest with their home grown band, LT United.

For you Ameri-centrist, we might describe Eurovision as a European knock off of American Idol - except that Eurovision has been around for about 50 years (ah hem). But you get the idea.

LT United, whose website can be found at www.winnersofeurovision.com, operates along the philosophy that subtlety is bad, and if you just say something over and over again, it may just come true.

You have to check out this link, and download the video of the National ESC Selection Final Show:

http://www.winnersofeurovision.com/en/downloads/

Unfortunately, they did not win the Eurovision contest this year, but came in sixth. Which is consistent with my opinions of the taste of our Europeans neighbors - cuz these guys are cool.

GO LT UNITED.

Gates of Dawn

So, even though I'm back, I'll start posting pictures and continue the adventures :)))

The Gates of Dawn, known in Lithuanian as Austro Vartu, is the only city gate from the original wall that still exists around Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania. This Gate has been graced by the presence of an miraculous image of Our Lady.

The Holy Father was invited to visit here in 1986, but the Soviets refused to allow him. So, he sent his hat instead. When he visited in 1993, he left another hat. These are kept in the sacristy.

On my last day in Lithuania, I went there at 6am because I wanted to be among the first there to visit Our Lady. As I waited for the door to open, a delivery boy on a bicycle rode through the gate, stopped his bike, turned around and prayed for about 10 minutes before continuing on his paper route.

People going to work would walk through the gate, turn and bless themselves to show honor to Our Lady.

When the door to the chapel finally opened, there were about three elderly ladies who entered with me, but they walked up the stairs on their knees.

I'm now in the Baltic port town of Klaipeda. It is a major shipping route, and also a resort town for wealthy vacationing Lithuanians.

We visted the town of Nida which was originally a fishing village. It is now a resort town primarily where the residents rent out their flats during the winter. After a few years of such enterprise, they are able to actually buy another summer home, while supporting themselves on their seasonal income from the summer.

There are also giant sand dunes in this lovely peninsula. Apparently, when the Teutonic Knights came to settle here, they cut down all the trees on the strip to build villages. The sand began to erode as a result, and completely covered the villages. The villages now lay 50-60 kilometers beneath the sandy surface.

AND - I saw Russia. We were about two kilometers from the Russian border, but this small area of Russia tucked between Lithuania and the Baltic sea is primarily a military outpost, and visitors are greatly discouraged. We did get pictures, so maybe you can help analyze them, Jim :)

And, of the more cultural experiences of Lithuania, I purchased a We Are the Winners.

I'll try to do a quick post on just the food. Its horrible here - and I just don't understand it. The cafeteria, I'm told does a very good job serving quality food to campers and teachers alike. I'm also told that they serve very traditional food, just like Lithuanian mothers around the country make for their growing boys and girls.

For breakfast this morning they served a version of cream of wheat - except I don't think that wheat had anything to do with it. It looked liquidy - but when one of the teachers made a smiley face in it, it stayed, like a weird jello mold.

For lunch today they served a soup, as they do at every lunch. This soup was made with giant snail shaped pasta, and something that tasted like milk and sugar.

The best is that national food of Lithuania which is called cepelinai. It involves grinding meat, rolling it into a ball, then rolling that into a potato mixture, and then deep frying it. At first, it looks like a giant supplie, but the ingredients are totally foreign to my tastebuds. They cover it in a cheese sauce that doesn't taste like cheese, but could be likened to a thick cream.

We went to a restaurant the other day and I ordered roast chicken with vegetable salad. They served fried chicken fingers with cole slaw.

For all of the griping among the teachers though about the food, which the Lithuanians are happy to gobble up, their beverages are really quite good. For lunch they usually serve something that it like lemonade, but it tastes fruitier and is very tastey. Also, the flavors include lemon, orange, peach, pear, and many more.

Among the adult beverages, cider is very popular but doesn't really taste fruity - more like alcoholic kool aid. They do have a collection of vodkas, and the fad seems to be to add fruit to it. While it sounds like a good idea, there's no disguising vodka for the nasty stuff that it really is. The gentlemen in my group of grown fond of a beer called Svyterus - which they affectionately pronounce, Sweet Tourist.

Rumor has it that Lithuania also has a collection of Mead wine, but when I tried to order it the other day, the restaurant did not have any!!

Hi everyone! I'm at the camp!!! We're in Birstonas on the bank of the Leguna river. The camp is very beautiful, surrounded by a pine forest. There is a wide river that separates the camp from the village, and there is an old ferry boat that takes us across.

I'm in a room with two girls, Jen and Julia and we're all 20-ish ;). We did testing of the kids today to determine what class we should place them in. While the other teachers were doing testing, Julia and I tried to explain Kickball - but it didn't work out too well. The kids could hardly understand the rules, especially because words like "out" and "base" and pitcher, and home run were not in their vocabulary. There were a few boys who understood that it was like baseball without the bat.

Later, ultimate frisbee and mafia - renamed "murder" went much better.

They served the traditional meal of Lithuania for lunch today. Its something like mashed potatoes surrounding ground beef. I heard that the beef was alright, but the meat was good. I stuck with the soup that was like chicken and rice but without any chicken. For breakfast this morning they served a boiled egg cut in half, and a sort of pea salad with a white dressing on it. The salad was actually pretty good. They also served something-like-salami meat with tomatoes on bread, as well as sweet rolls with raisins. The coffee here is so strong that it walks out of the pot into the cup. The Lithuanians do not put milk in their coffee, and there is usually 1/4 ince of grounds left at the bottom. They always serve lemonade with lunch, and there are sweets as a snack. However, the kids didn't like them, so I thought I would pass as well.

The kids are all really nice, but there is not much for them to do when we're not teaching classes. In earlier years they were allowed to go into town by themselves, and here they can't leave the camp because town is so far away, and the ferry only runs between 5pm and 7pm. It runs in the morning but the kids are in classes at that time. The pool also is unavailalbe.

There's been some contraversy lately because the technology situation has been quite grim. We were just taken to the secondary school, and they have a whole computer lab that is great. There has been great speculation in the last 24 hours though that we wouldn't have access. Its been worked out though, and I'm able to update.

I'm also downloading a driver for a copier/printer that we do have at the camp, so everything should work out quite well.

I'm hoping to have pictures the next time I post, and hopefully less rambling.

Hello from Vilnius, Lithuania!! I arrived last night at around 5:30 and was taken too an 11 story building where I'll be staying for two days. Since then, I've learned how to say hello, good morning, see you and thank you so I'm on the fast track to Lithuanian language learning.

The Old City here is very beautiful, and they are making great efforts to restore the medieval churches and city building and rid themselves of the soviet era gray, dark, depressing landscape.

I've seen St. Anna's church which was built I believe in the 13th century. The story goes that Napolean like this church so much that he said he wanted to take it home in the palm of his hand. The inside is rather dark, and simple, but I noticed a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is, which looks more richly adorned.

I'm also hoping to get to the Gates of Dawn this afternoon, and when I get my camera going, then I'll be able to upload some pictures to here.

Most of the streets are cobblestone, done in the shape of a fan - just like in Rome. There are older streets that are paved with round stones, I won't be wearing heels on those streets.

The food has been good. We were served fresh tomoatoes, cucumbers and cold ham this morning, along with some round thick pancakes covered with something like hollandaise sauce. The coffee is quite strong, and there's about a 1/2 inch of dark thick grounds left at the bottom of the cup when you drink it. The tea is very good, but I suspect that its British.

Its about time to go. We'll have lunch at 1pm, and then I'll make a mad rush around the city to see the Cathedral, the Amber museum, and the Gates of Dawn.

I wish my family was here to see all of these great things with me.