Rome - Atlanta - Jacksonville - Ellicott City - San Antonio

February 4, 2016 Peace and Good, As you can see in the post above, I have been travelling quite a bit lately. After our visit to Assisi, I headed out to Atlanta. I was there for an overnight with our friars at St. Philip Benizi Parish so that I could fly on to a retreat center in Jacksonville. Our US provinces have been celebrating a series of five continuing formation get-togethers (ten days each) on the topic of creating communion. I was able to be present for the last few days of this particular gathering. It was good to see all the friars and sit in on the talks given by fr. David Coutourier, the director of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University. On the 29th I flew up to Ellicott City. I had a couple of dentist appointments, and this trip gave me a chance to visit with some friends. I am also trying to get over a cold that I caught a few weeks ago that has been dragging on and on. Ellicott City is still digging out of the snow if received a couple of weeks ago. This week is supposed to be a bit warmer, so they hope that much of it melts. Yesterday I flew down to San Antonio, Texas. I am visiting the house of formation here (pre and post novitiate). It is nice the see the house fairly full this year. The postulancy will be moving up to Chicago in July of this year, and this will become one of two official post-novitiate houses in the country. The theology students go to Oblate College which is run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, while the other students go to any number of Catholic Colleges in the area (e.g. Incarnate Word). The house is quite multi-cultural, with a number of students of Mexican-American background, a Vietnamese American, a Korean, and a group of Anglos. Sunday I will head out to Mishawaka (South Bend) to give a workshop to our novices. This is an annual project, one that I enjoy because it lets me get to know the friars in formation. I finished some books and stories: The Bunch of Violets by Ernest Bramah This is another of the stories that involves the blind amateur detective Mr. Carrados. This time he is asked to protect a man who will serve as a courier to bring battle plans to Paris. The courier is invited over to meet a judo expert whom he has tried to meet for weeks. It is all a set up to steal the plans, and Carrados is able to foil the plan. The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor by Ernest Bramah This is another of the stories in which Carrados, a blind amateur detective, is able to help his professional detective friend Carlyle, to solve a crime. This is a theft in what appears to be an unbreakable safe deposit center. Several men has lost great sums of money or treasure. It turns out that the criminal is an actor/thief from the States. This man ends up returning all the pillaged goods when he has a conversion experience. Maximum Bombay by Gary Shteyngart This is the story of an author’s ten day trip to Bombay (presently called Mumbai) so that he can experience what one of his friends, Suketi Mehta wrote in his book: Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. This short account is by no means in depth. He marvels at some of the foods that he eats there. He is fascinated by a fortune teller who interprets cards that are picked out for him by a green parrot. He is amazed by the juxtaposition of extreme poverty and extreme wealth. I would not call this a great article, but it does give a certain sense of what one would experience in Bombay. Old Man River by Paul Schneider This is a long treatment of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. It speaks of the various cultures that have lived along its banks. It deals with some of the historic events that took place on the river (e.g. the capture of New Orleans and Vicksburg during the Civil War). It also speaks of the various trips that the author and his son took in canoes along the river. It also deals with some of the dangers that are facing the river now with flood control and polution. It is a good treatment. The Last of Eden by Alex Shoumatoff An author spends time with some of the indigeneous peoples of the Amazon. He speaks of their difficulties, especially with corrupt officials, loggers who illegally harvest their reserves and poor people who are desparate and who settle on those reserves so that they might have land for their families. The question comes up of whether a small number of people who are living in very primitive conditions should be able to occupy large territories that could be used for other things. How much should their unique cultures be preserved? The article provides a good meditation on this topic. The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage by Ernest Bramah A man comes to a blind detective named Carrados worried that his brother in law is preparing to kill his wife. He has good reason to worry for the man is having an affair. The detective manages to go through the clues and deduces that the worries are valid for the man is planning to stage what would seem to be an accident so that he might electrocute his wife. She, upon learning of the plot, gives in to dispair and kills herself. It is a bit maudline and certainly an emotionally detached story (which the detective himself admits). Hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Assisi

January 23, 2016 Peace and Good, These past two weeks can be summarized in the following words: meetings, meetings, meetings. We finished off our definitory a week ago (for the most part for we still had a short session when we arrived in Assisi). Then this past week we were in Assisi with about 50 of the major superiors of the Order (half of them - the other half will come in September). The purpose of the meeting was to let them get to know each other. We in Rome are at the center and all the information eventually filters in to us, but it does not necessarily make it from one end of the world to the other. There were mixed language small groups (which is a challenge, but well worthwhile). We had a pilgrimage to LaVerna, the place where St. Francis received the Stigmata, the wounds Jesus had impressed in the flesh of St. Francis. All throughout this week I was the preacher at the Masses for the group. I have become a type of court preacher for the Minister General. I have a talent of being able to preach short homilies that get the point across, and which tie in both with the readings of the day and also the topics we were discussing in the meetings. I enjoy preaching, and this gives me an opportunity to share with the friars. We came back to Rome by van this morning, and tomorrow morning I will be heading out to the States. I will be there for about a month, travelling here and there for meetings, workshops, etc. The plan is Atlanta, Jacksonville, Baltimore, San Antonio, South Bend and West Palm Beach. Then it will be back to Rome for a couple of weeks. I finished some books: The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem by Ernest Bramah A train crashes into another train, resulting in the death and injury of a number of passengers. The train singleman claims that the signal was red, while the train conductor claims that it was green. A blind investigator is able to determine that, in a sense, both of them were right and the fault of the accident lies with another party who caused the accident for his own personal reasons. Sun King by Bob Shacochis This is the story of a man who travels to Argentina to go fishing for dorado, a famous golden covered ferocious fighting fish. He is led by a legendary guide who gave up a career to take up this work which he loves. The fisherman is not terribly successful, but what little he does succeed in catching creates a dream in his mind that refuses to go away. Touch of the devil by Jack Higgins This book reminds me a bit of the movie where they called out all the retired secret agents for one last round of excitement. Three ex-IRA men are fighting a battle that goes far beyond the war in which they fought so many years ago. One of them has become a murderer for hire while the other two have had (and truthfully always had) a different route. One of the good guys has to be broken out of a maximum security prison on a desolate island to join in the adventure. The bad guy is working for the KGB and also for his own ends for he has no scruples. There is also a French woman who is a war correspondent who is in love with the hero (anti-hero) of the story. It is not one of Higgins’ best, but even his second best is better than most authors. The Coin of Dionysius by Ernest Bramah A detective is trying to find out whether an ancient coin is authentic or simply a copy. He goes to a coin dealer, but that man is not able to help him since this is a specialized skill. He recommends an expert who turns out to be an old acquaintance of the detective. Since they have known each other, the expert, a Mr. Carrados, has lost his sight, but he turns out to be a more effective detective than the one who can see. The Wisdom of the Talmud by Rabbi Ben Zion Bokser The first section of this collection of spiritual writings was simply a collection of segments taken from the Old Testament. This section is quite different. It is a collection of articles on the Talmud: its formation, its content, etc. It is a nice introduction to this collection of Jewish laws and commentaries. Coming from a Christian background, one can see how similar are many of the ideas contained therein, and also how they diverge. Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion by Robert Morgan This is a long and wonderfully written account of many of the people who helped to settle the West of the United States. This includes such well known figures such as President Jefferson, Kit Carson, Davy Crocker and General Fremont, the Pathfinder. It also includes some figures that people, in general, are not familiar with such as Nicholas Trist who negotiated an end to the Mexican-American War. We get to see both their personalities and how they interacted on a larger screen. It is a must read for anyone interested in this period of history. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Mesilla Park, New Mexico - Rome

January 10, 2016 Peace and Good, I spent the last week in Mesilla Park where the friars of the Mid-western province have a retreat house. I preached a retreat to 48 Friars Minor from the six provinces that they have in the United States. They are discussing some type of amalgamation right now, and so while I preached on the story of the two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus, I tried to tie in topics that my own province encountered while we were joining with the other eastern province a year and a half ago. The Friars Minor were a great group of men, very similar in temperament to ourselves. One of them is heading off to Vietnam this week to spend four months teaching English to their postulants and he knows many of the friars that I know from our community. I enjoyed sharing with them and getting to know them. The trip back was a little difficult. The first flight, from El Paso to Houston, was an hour and a half late taking off. Fortunately, I had a long layover in Houston, so there was no problem. The second flight, from Houston to London was over two hours late taking off due to thunder storms in the area. That made me miss my flight from London to Rome, but they were able to rebook me for later in the day, so it all worked out. It was a trip, though, that ended up taking about 24 hours. Fortunately, I have the day off today before we begin our definitory again tomorrow. We have a week of definitory meetings here in Rome, and then a week of meetings with provincials in Assisi in the week after. I finished some books: My New York: A Romance in Eight Parts by Peter Selgin This is a love story of a man with the city of New York. He visits it as a child and falls in love with it. He has various experiences as a young man. He eventually moves out and leaves the area completely. He loved the intrigue and variety of the city, but he at times also felt used and abused by the city (and by himself). The story is well written and interesting. It reminds of that old map of New York for New Yorkers which shows the city up to a certain avenue and then bundles together all the rest of the world. The Farm by Tom Rob Smith I had read a book by Tom Rob Smith a number of years ago, Child 44. It was about a detective in the Soviet Union who is investigating a mass murderer of children in a country that does not to acknowledge its flaws. In this book, an English husband and a Swedish wife retire to a Swedish farm. There the wife thinks she has uncovered a ring of people who abuse adopted children. She runs to England to tell her son who must sort out whether she is telling the truth or whether she is suffering from some form of paranoid dementia. It is a very unusual story, but very well developed. Battlefield Prussia by Prit Buttar This is a thorough treatment of the fall of Prussia to the Soviets during the Second World War. The author speaks of the various battles that were fought and the evacuations of both soldiers and civilians farther west so that they might first of all return to German territory, and then so that they might surrender to the British or Americans and not to the Soviets. He speaks of the atrocities that the Soviets inflicted on the civilians in response to all that they and their countrymen had suffered from the Nazis. The book is a good treatment of the topic. The Kimberly Fugitive by Clifford Ashdown A man has a small accident on his bike with another man on a bike. The other man acts strangely. When the first man returns to his hotel, he notices that there is a diamond smuggler on the loose. He suspects for various reasons that the man with whom he had the accident is actually the criminal. He follows him and manages to take his smuggled diamonds from him, all the while using his skill on a bicycle. Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy and the End of the Edwardian Age by Greg King and Penny Wilson This is the story of the last voyage and the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. This was a tragedy that marked the brutality of undersea warfare. The authors speak about the warnings that both the German government and the British admiralty gave before and during its trip. The captain blatentely ignored many of the safety procedures that he was supposed to take (e.g. life boat drills, zig-zagging his course, etc.). The crew was also negligent in helping the passengers once the boat was hit by one (or possibly two) torpedoes. The book speaks about the luxury of the trip for the first and second class passengers. They also deal with various conspiracy theories on its sinking (e.g. that Churchill, the Lord of the Admiralty, allowed for its sinking in the hope of bringing the US into the war). The book is a good treatment of the topic. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - Ellicott City - Albuquerque

January 3, 2016 Peace and Good, I missed a week on the blog. I was in Ellicott City for the past week for some meetings and dentist appointments. The weather was incredibly warm when I first arrived, but cooled off by the time I left yesterday. I am down in Albuquerque to give a retreat to a group of Friars Minor at our retreat house in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, which is just across the border from El Paso, Texas. The weather in Europe has been quite cold these past weeks. Normally, at this time of year, there is a day or so of cold weather, and then it warms up a bit. That has not been the case this year. It must be one of the effects of El Nino. I will be down here in New Mexico until the end of the week, and then head back to Rome for some more meetings. I have been very relieved that there were no terrorist acts in Europe in these days. I expected the worst from all that I had been hearing. I finished some books: For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond by Ben Macintyre I was first interested in this book because of its author. Ben Macintyre has written a number of good books about spies, especially during World War II. I liked his writing style. In this book he treats the author of so many spy novels about James Bond. It turns out that Bond is what Fleming was and what he would like to be. Macintyre credits the success of his books to the fact that Bond is what English men wish they could be but know that they never could. Fleming actually did work in a spy agency during World War II, and he took those experiences and extensive research into account as he wrote his books. This is a good overview of an author and a project and how they intersected and succeeded. A Warning in Red by Victor Whitechurch A man who consistenly pays his bills once a quarter with cash is found murdered by the side of a train track. The money has been taken. The detective is able to figure out that the man was not actually murdered at that site, but rather when he got off the train at his destined stop. The station manager and an accomplice then arrange to have his body carried down the track so that there might not be any connection between the man’s death and that particular site and the people working there. Meet you in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America by Les Standiford Andrew Carnegie founded and owned Carnegie Steel, which became the foundation of US Steel. Carnegie is famous for his philanthropy by building libraries all over the world. Frick was the manager of the company for Carnegie, and is equally famous for his collection of art which became the Frick Museum. Both of these men, however, were robber barons who exploited the workers who actually built their fortunes. This is especially seen in what they did to crush a strike at the Homestead Works in Pittsburgh. They eventually turned on each other, and hated each other the rest of their lives. When Carnegie, dying, invited a reconciliation with Frick, his response was that they could meet in Hell. Empire of Mud: The Secret History of Washington, D.C. by J.D. Dickey Even though the nation’s capital was established early in its history, for the first 70 years or so it remained a backwater town with incredible hygene and crime and violence. The streets were unpaved. There were vast sections that were open field or, worse, covered in refuse. Animals were raised and butched throughout the city. Marshes bred malarial mosquitoes. It was only after the Civil War that something was done about the mess. Yet, at the same time this was happening, the inhabitants of the city lost the right to elect their own city officials. (It appears that this was at least partly due to the fact that Blacks made up a large portion of the population and Southern whites wanted to disenfrancise them.) The district was governed by the federal government for the next century. This is a good overview of the city from its founding to the time when it was finally well run (even though those running it also were thieves who enriched themselves on the projects they built). The Absence of Mr. Glass by Gilbert Chesterton This is a Fr. Brown mystery. He goes to a scientist to help him with a small problem, but while he is there, it appears that the subject of his concern has been attacked by a mysterious Mr. Glass. When they investigate, the scientist makes brilliant deductions, but Fr. Brown, in his simplicity, is able to solve the great mystery, which turns out not to be as great as everyone had first suspected. Darkfall by Dean Koontz This is a story that Koontz tells that reverts to his horror genre. A group of Mafia drug lords are suddenly and horribly murdered. The detectives investigating this crime discover a connection with a Jamaican voodoo cult. The practitioner of black voodoo has opened the doors of hell to release a series of demons who attack his enemies. The detectives and a practitioner of good voodoo must fight against him and his plans, especially since he intends to murder the children of one of the detectives. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome

December 21, 2015 The First Day of Winter Peace and Good, I have been in Rome all this past week at our General Definitory meeting. This time we have a whole series of reports about the canonical visits of the definitors to provinces that are preparing for their chapters. I gave my report on Kenya which I visited in October and November. It was very upbeat for things are going quite well there. We will continue to meet today and tomorrow (and possibly Wednesday if we don't finish things by then) for eight other reports from various jurisdictions. Then we will discuss whether we need to take any particular action upon the situation in those jurisdictions. The weather this past week has been quite cold, although not especially rainy. We continue to see heightened security everywhere we go. I was told that the major basilicas (St. Mary Major, the Lateran and St. Paul's outside the Walls) have all established metal detectors at their main entrances. I will be heading out of Rome on Christmas Day, first of all heading to London where I will overnight and then on to Ellicott City on Boxing Day. I have to fly this way because it is a frequent flyer ticket and you have to take what they give you. I have been listening to a Great Courses lecture on folk tales. The lecturer gives insight on how to determine whether a story was passed down orally or whether it was written down at a very early stage. This is very helpful for my scripture studies, for many of the stories in the Old and New Testament were probably oral for quite some time because someone actually copied them down. It gives me something to think about. I have finished the following: The Affair of the Corridor Express by Victor Whitechurch A young boy is summoned from his boarding school to meet his father in London. Along the way, he is accompanied by a teacher, but still mysteriously disappears on the train. Even though the train is fully searched and it had not stopped along the way, the boy is not found. A detective must sort out the clues to find out how the boy was taken and where he is being held. Now We Are Fine by David Sedaris This is a story both about a family vacation at the beach (extended family) and the death of one of their siblings by suicide. The suicide victim had always been a troubled soul. She had divorced herself from much of her family, and so her passing left more questions than answers. There is a bitter sweet edge to the story. The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong This is an overview of the production of the Bible and its influence in the centuries since it was first produced. Overall the information given is good, but oddly the author spends a lot of time on the Kabbalah and its various interpretations, more than one would expect in a treatment that is supposed to cover over 3,000 years of material. Likewise, the treatment of Jewish interpretation seems to be much better documented than that of Christian interpretation. The book is worth reading, but it has its weaknesses. Final Analysis by Catherine Crier A psychologist is murdered in the guest house of his residence. His wife, with whom he is on the worst of relations, is the prime suspect. The three sons of the marriage testify at the trail, two against their mother and one in her favor. It turns out that the psychologist all but raped his wife when she came to him for counseling when she was a young woman. She appears to have a borderline personality. This family is the poster child case for dysfunctionality. The wife is tried for the murder and found guilty. Dream Acres by Steven Rinella This is a great short story of a shack that five men buy in Alaska. It is on a beautiful bay, but it really is not much more than a large shack with a large yard filled with tons of junk that had been dumped there for decades. Yet, there was something about the wilderness that surrounded it and the ability to fish in the bay and catch large fish that then became supper that made it all worthwhile. Have a good week and Merry Christmas! Shalom fr. Jude

St. Paul's Bay, Malta - Rome

December 14, 2015 Peace and Good, I spent this past week in Malta staying in one of our friaries on the north part of the island. It is in a place called St. Paul's Bay, and according to tradition, it is the place where St. Paul was shipwrecked while he was on his way to Rome. This past week was intended for a bit a rest, and I wrote a bit, took very long walks, read a lot, and just laid low. Friday I flew back to Rome and this morning, Monday, we begin our meetings again. We will meet all this week and up to and including Tuesday of next week. Our December meeting are always scheduled so that we can receive reports from the various secretaries of the offices which help us run the Order. When I got to Malta, one of the first things that I noticed was that they had passport checks. In the past, when you arrived from another European Community, there were no checks. Now they are checking everyone, coming and going. It is obvious that between the refugee situation and what happened in Paris last month, they are tightening up on security. Then, when I got to Rome, I was shocked at the number of troops on the trains, buses, etc. With the Holy Years just getting off to a start, there is an incredible amount of security. We all feel that something is going to happen in Rome sooner or later. I finished some books: Excuse Us While We Kiss the Sky by Matthew Power This is the story of a new urban movement which seeks to explore areas of the city environment which are normally cut off from the public. They go into sewers to explore them, climb towers and other high buildings, etc. It is an attempt to go beyond what cultured society allows and to feel the freedom of their bold reach. They are often arrested by the police who view that they do as a disruption of polite society, but this tends not to stop them. One part of me sees what they do as foolish and even dangerous for themselves and others, but the other part wants to aplaude them for their freedom of vision and verve. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon This book is part comedy, part detective novel. What is the Jewish people had lost the Israeli war of independence and the US had set up a refuge for Jews in Sitka, Alaska. This novel takes place in the last days of the refuge before the land is reabsorbed by the US. A detective is trying to find out who killed a man in his own hotel and who caused the plane crash of his sister. He finds that the two stories are interconnected. They have to do with a much larger plot that involves radical Jewish groups and the US government. The book is funny, but probably drags on a bit longer than it really had to. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo by Michela Wrong This is an account of the corruption of the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko who was the dictator in Congo (Zaire) for many, many years. The depths of the corruption are mind boggling. Experts talk of billions of dollars, much of it aid money, being wasted. Two major industries, mining for precious minerals and for diamonds, were wrecked by this. Nothing could be done without paying bribes, even bringing ones produce into the city for the farmers were continuously stopped by soldiers at road blocks who demanded their bribe. This is a good book to understand how some of the worst dictatorships can devolve into a kleptocracy. A Promissory Note by Rodrigues Ottolengui A coyboy finds a small baby lying in the grass of the pastures and brings it home to be raised. He falls in love with that child become woman and marries her. A man then allures her away and leaves him an IOU for one wife. He follows them and finds out where they are living. When she dies, he decides to collect on the IOU by promising to take the man’s life within a month. The rest of the story is about the man’s attempt to escape his pronounced fate. Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle This is the story of three sisters who were cousins to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I of England during the Tudor era. The first, Jane, was executed by Mary because she was the hope of a Protestant rebellion during the days when Mary was trying to restore the kingdom to Catholicism. The second, who was in line for the throne, was imprisoned and died in custody because she married without permission of Elizabeth which was required for anyone who could inherit the throne. The third was a wise but physically malformed young woman who was also arrested for the same reason but survived the three. It is a good story, and well demonstrates the terror of much of the Tudor reign. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Rome - St. Paul's Bay

December 7, 2016 Peace and Good, The early part of last week we began our definitory. This one is a bit unusual, for we went three days and then took a break. Most of the definitory went down to Peru for the beatification of two of our friars. I asked the General for permission to skip this trip. I have been travelling a lot this year and I feel a bit worn down. I am spending this week at one of our friaries in Malta. The friars have been very hospitable, and I have plenty of time to pray, sleep, eat and walk. I will be flying back to Rome on this Friday to pick up with the definitory again this coming week. I finished some books: The Rembrant Affair by Daniel Silva A Rembrandt painting is stolen in a violent robbery from a restorer who is working for Gabriel Allon’s friend Julian Isherwood. Allon, a retired member of the Mossad, Israel’s spy network, follows up the leads. It brings him to a Nazi war crime when the painting was first stolen, plus a descendant of the original thief who is now running a highly questionable industrial trust which was built upon the proceeds of plundered Jewish goods taken during the war. As always, Silva’s books are well plotted and written. Who in Hell is Wanda Fuca by GM Ford This is a humorous account of a down and out detective who uses street people to investigate his assignments. There are two crimes being followed: a plot to bury toxic waste on a Native American reservation and the murder of a young Native American. The detective got this assignment from a crime lord who wants the detective to find and protect his granddaughter who is a wild one and who has taken up with a radical environmental terrorist group. The name of the book which takes place in Seattle comes from the Juan de Fuca Islands which are in the Puget Sound and how one of his street people calls them Wanda Fuca instead of Juan de Fuca. The Pearls of Isis by Rodrigues Ottolengui This is another continuation of the stories about precious gems that I had read in these past days. This one involves a very precious set of pearls which the detective’s friend has bought, just as he bought the precious opal that had been stolen and its twin. In this case, the pearls are from Latin America and each pearl represents the ransom paid by a perspective bridegroom so that his very beautiful bride would not become a temple priestess. The pearls were extorted from their owner by blackmail, and then stolen by the owners girlfriend. Like the other stories, it is just a bit hokey. Eiffel’s Tower by Jill Jonnes This is the story of the construction of the Eiffel’s Tower in Paris for the International Exhibition of 1889 by the engineer Alexander Gustav Eiffel. He was already a famous engineer for the many iron bridges he had constructed throughout France. He proposed this 1000 foot tower to be a hallmark of the exhibition. It was a very controversial project, much opposed by many as an eyesore. Yet, it was truly the crowning point of the many building constructed for the exhibition. The author covers the difficulties of constructing it, the importance it acquired, and the reasons why it was never torn down. She also deals with many of the cultural occurrences in those days, especially the painters Van Gogh, Gaugin, Whistler, etc. She also speaks extensively of the tremendous success of the Buffalo Bill Western Show which took place at the same time. Birthplace of the American Vacation by Tony Perrottet In the 19th century, William Murray wrote a guidebook to travelling in the Adirondack area of northern New York State. He presented it as a way of escaping from the poisonous atmosphere of the big city. The book turned out to be a best seller. People flocked to the mountains (often ill prepared) in order to live in nature for just a bit. This is where the word vacation came from – they vacated their normal homes to spend a holiday (the British way of saying vacation which went out of vogue at this time) in the wilds. This short presentation speaks of the Adirondack area then and now in very glowing terms. I hope you have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude