Tue Aug 26, 2008
Wilbraham
One of the many cool things about my recent weekend travels to Springfield was passing through the town of Wilbraham. I didn't stop, actually, nor did I see anything besides forests on both sides of the pike and a Friendly's sign made out of trimmed bushes on the side of the highway (Wilbraham is home to the corporate headquarters). But I felt like I was stepping back in time to the Massachusetts described by H.P. Lovecraft in many of his old stories. The Dunwich Horror takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town modeled after Wilbraham, according to his letters. It would be fun to do a New England pilgrimmage of sites described in his stories as well as Lovecraft's burial site,
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Mon Aug 25, 2008
Busy Weekend At The Cathedral
...and I was nowhere to be seen! Actually, I was filling in at another cathedral - St. George in Springfield. This was very much a last-minute thing. I got the call on Thursday, and Fr. Dean and I immediately started planning how we were going to handle things - three baptisms here, a mercy meal, two baptism receptions, and of course orthros and liturgy on Sunday. I left the Saturday baptism here early to go do a wedding over in Springfield - check out the church here - it is pretty spectacular. I went via the Mass Pike and was soon stuck in afternoon traffic. After a little while I felt the first twinge of panic creeping up my spine - I wasn't moving and wedding time was creeping up on me. After several minutes of not moving I started thinking about the nuclear option:
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Sun Aug 24, 2008
New Podcast Up
The latest Facing East Podcast - episode 26, I believe - is "in the feed", as Fr. Peter likes to say. Check it out here or on iTunes (much faster). You can also get there from the St. Spyridon home page as well - click on the Facing East button. This latest program is a bit more serious than our usual schtick - we discuss Fr. Peter's recent heart scare - one that seems to hit every priest at some point. The 'cast runs more like an interview as opposed to our usual joshing about, but that is great - we like to vary things up here and there. Enjoy!
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Wed Aug 20, 2008
Genealogy Image
This is a picture I found online of my great-great-great grandfather's gravestone. He passed away 97 years before I was born. I should point out that the relationship is not that far-fetched - my beloved grandmother who passed away almost a year ago was a great-great grandmother - her granddaughter has a grandchild. The grave is in Merrimack, Mass., and I plan to go there to photograph and shade it the next time I go to see my folks (sadly, I don't make it up there often). Note that his name Barzillai (Barzillai was King David's consultant in the Bible) is misspelled - apparently a common misspelling based on pronunciation. How sad for this to have happened.
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Mon Aug 18, 2008
Neil Diamond Playlist
I made Prez a mixed CD of Neil Diamond stuff (with nothing from his two recent comeback albums, although they are very good):
-Kentucky Woman
-Solitary Man
-Shilo
-Desiree
-Soolaimon
-September Morn
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Sat Aug 16, 2008
Latest Stuff
As always it has been a busy week with tons of things going on. Here is the latest:
-First off, happy birthday to the best guy ever, my father. He is currently preparing for his upcoming trip to Greece. It will be his first time in the old country in 20 years, and I am sure he will find it has changed considerably. He will be spending much time with our beloved family there, and will be sending me email updates, which I hope to post. Dad will also be doing some of his own genealogical research - he plans to go to Pyrgos, from whence came my yiayia's family, and Vamvakou, the mountain area from where my papou hailed.
-We had a huge turnout, almost like a regular Sunday, on Friday for the feast of the Dormition. I had C-Fahl count how many people I communed - 81. I imagine Fr. Dean communed a similar amount. Not bad for a weekday liturgy! It is truly a joy when our Cathedral celebrates these special days together.
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Thu Aug 14, 2008
"All In" Tuna Melt
This tuna melt has it all, hence the title, and serves two. It is very hearty - I had one after an intense bike ride and it filled me up as well as met my nutritional needs.
1 tuna packet (6.4 oz)
4 slices of wheat bread
1 tsp sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp grated romano cheese
1/2 tsp horseradish sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
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Tue Aug 12, 2008
In Search Of Grandsire Colby
I used to feel a tinge of longing when I saw people hunkered down in the basement of the courthouse in C-Ville doing genealogical research. I am Greek and Italian - if only it were so easy! My family tree in this country really only goes back to the 1920s, and as for research overseas, who knows where that would go. But....my great-grandfather (my mother's maternal grandfather) was named Wilbur Colby. That is a good Anglo-Saxon name that promises to bear fruit in American genealogy. While in the seminary I did a bit of digging but was stalled by the fact that there were several Wilbur Colbys in the Boxford area during his time. Well, we finally uncovered his middle name - Warren. I really have no idea how to proceed with this, short of going to Salem, Ma and other places to look up records.
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Mon Aug 11, 2008
The Week That Was
Last week was super-busy. We had three Paraklesis services as well as liturgy for the Transfiguration. We also had our first ever Blessing Of The Grapes, which went over really well, and those in attendance got to snack on the fruit afterwards. We also had three funerals (with the attendant wakes and mercy meals) as well as a trisagion service in Clinton. There were also the usual hospital visits and random things that pop up here and there during the week. I also had a disastrous dentist visit where I got lost and ended up twenty minutes late. The people at the office were very understanding, though, and rescheduled me for tomorrow.
So it was that Saturday we were able to have a nice family day. The three of us checked out Art In The Park in Elm Park and then took a ride up to Bancroft Tower, which is really just up the street.
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Thu Aug 07, 2008
Late Summer Soundtrack
Here is my latest playlist:
-Chemtrails by Beck
-Alone Again Or by Calexico. The original by Love is the best, but this is a good version of the song.
-Glad It's Over by Wilco from the Heroes soundtrack
-Love Me Already by Black Kids
-Quiet Houses by Fleet Foxes
-Standing Next To Me by The Last Shadow Puppets
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