Nairobi, Kenya - Rome - Roman, Romania - Rome - Castro Valley, CA

October 9, 2019 Peace and Good, This has been a very busy week with travel here and there. My last Sunday in Nairobi was the celebration of the solemn profession of five of the Kenyan friars. The Mass lasted three hours and twenty minutes. It was a beautiful celebration, especially with all the singing and dancing. My trip back from Nairobi was unfortunately a bit eventful. After I had arrived at the airport, the flight to London was "postponed." What astounds me is that the posponement was for 24 hours. There was not a lot I could do, for even to go to a hotel for the night would have meant that I would have to pay for another visa. I kept searching for a member of the British Air personnel at the gate, but after 10 minutes, the only representative did not reappear for well over an hour. I called traveler services in London, but they claimed they could do nothing. Finally, after two hours, a representative appeared and rebooked me on a Qatar Airline flight that got me back to Rome. I arrived in Rome on Monday afternoon, and then headed over to Romania on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday morning I had a presentation at a symposium celebrating the opening of the school year at the school of theology where I taught for a number of years. Thursday I flew back to Rome and celebrted the Feast of St. Francis (with the celebration of the solemn profession of two of our Indian friars who are studying in Rome). On Sunday I flew out to San Francisco for a meeting of our federation in Castro Valley, a friary just outside of Oakland. We will be meeting here until Thursday evening, and then I will drive down to Pismo Beach where I will be preaching a parish mission in one of our parishes. I have finished some reading: African Kaiser by Robert Gaudi This is a well written account of the leader of the German forces in German East Africa (Tanganyika), General von Lettow-Vorbeck. He was a brilliant leader of men (both German and African), and he was a tremendous thorn in the side to the British, not surrendering until after the armistice of 1918. He was also a man of honor, and was respected even by his adversaries. As he fought alongside the Africans, he came to realize the absurdity of much of the basis for colonialism. Hissing Cousins by Marc Peyser This is an account of the lives and careers of two cousins, Alice Longworth Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. The former was the daughter of TR, while the later his niece and the wife of FDR. Both were famous in their own right, and they did not especially like each other all that much. Alice is famous for having a pillow which said that if you did not have anything nice to say about others, you should sit right down next to her. Eleanor was a liberal do-gooder, who actually did an incredibly large amount of good. Abuse of Power by Stanley Kutler This is a series of transcripts of the Nixon office tapes that led to the Watergate scandal and the eventual resignation of the president. It proves that Nixon was an incredible liar, possibly even eventually deceiving himself with his lies. His office discussion was also petty and profane and conspiratorial, caring only about his presidency and willing to sacrifice anyone who got in the way of that goal. Francisco Franco by Charles River Editors This is a short but thorough study of the career of Francisco Franco, the dictator who ran Spain for decades following the Spanish Civil War. We see how he changed from a ruthless character to one who was more willing to compromise (at least in economic questions). The book also presents a good picture of why the Spanish Civil War began, begin honest about the part that each of the parties played in this disaster. The Punjab: the History of the Punjabis and the Contested Region on the Border Between India and Pakistan by Charles River Editors This is an historic picture of the Punjab, the region of the five rivers, in India. This is a territory which has a mixed population of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. It was thus a place of terrible suffering in the division of India at its independence leading to the nations of India and Pakistan. The book presents a bit about the Sikhs, a religion which has bred into its followers a martial spirit (which is why so many of them served in the army of the Raj under British occupation, and even today so many serve in the British army. Havana by Stephen Hunter This book is about the CIA and the mobs attempt to assassinate Castro at the beginning of his career. The two main protagonists are an honest State Trooper who served well in World War II and is expected to assassinate Castro, and a KGB agent who is sent to Cuba to mentor him. In spite of the topic, it is actually quite humorous, but the language at times is a bit rough (for a good part of the story takes place in the area of Havana where the prostitutes ply their business. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude Winkler