Confession

Our parish had one of those days of Penance for Lent.Two priests were hearing Confessions from noon to 6 p.m. That day was on top of the regular Penance times, and, of course, the bulletin announced that if anyone wants to get  to confession at another time all they have to do is call the parish office to set up a time.

I took advantage of the day.

I had the usual sins for me. Gluttony, laziness, being critical of others, and holding resentments.

The last two have really been on my mind. I get too snarky and critical on social media, in my poetry, and in conversations. And I tend to cling to resentments, sometimes over things that happened decades ago. I find those resentments interfering with my prayer time

I felt better - as I always do after Confession.

And I resolved to be positive on social media, in my poetry and writing, and in my conversations.

Lord, give me strength.

Pax et bonum

Tithing Time

One of the Christian ideals is tithing. The idea is to give back 10% of one's income to Chruch or charity..

Last year, I did that. In fact, I donated nearly 12% of my income.

That's fine, but this morning I thought about the fact that we are called to give more of our money back. Father,at mass, talked about what we spend our time on. Do we spend more time at work or on watching television that we do on Church or on prayer?

That's more challenging.

So I started thinking about how time I spend in serving  God or praying each day.

My daily prayer routine includes Morning Prayer and Night Prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours, a Rosary, a Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Twelve Year Prayer of St. Bridget, the Seven Sorrows of Mary as given to St. Bridget, 10 minutes of reading the Bible, at least 15 minutes of other spiritual reading, daily Mass four days a week, and Sunday Mass. I also have weekly volunteering at the St. Padre Pio Chapel and at the Mt. Carmel House (hospice), working on the Franciscan weekly newsletter, and preparing for and leading our monthly Fraternity gathering. There are also the regular prayers outside Planned parenthood, involvement with 40 Days for Life, the Good Friday Stations for life, and monthly holy hours.

The exact amount of time varies depending on the day. but I can estimate an average. 

It works out to about 13% of each day! 

So I'm tithing my time as well.

That's all to the good, but I can do more and do it better.

God deserves it. 

Pax et bonum

Dad Jokes, II

Mulling over the whole "Dad Jokes" notion.

A comedy routine?

Shorts. Tee shirt or jersey, tucked in,. Sneakers with white socks. Holding a coffee cup.

Then I thought of one tee shirt I have.

Dog Dad.

I have a couple of those college "Dad" shirts from when the girls were in school - "Wellesley Dad" for example.

But Dog Dad. 

Hmmm. A character for the routine.

Dog Dad. 

Worth considering!

Pax et bonum

Dad Jokes

I'm a dad.

I admit it.

And I like "bad" jokes.

Dad jokes.

I used to inflict them on my daughters and my students. Oh, and on my friends as well.

Lots of groaning

But today there was an article about how Dad Jokes are actually healthy!

Fox News reports:

A recent study says that despite the embarrassment that "dad jokes" can cause, it might do some kids good in the future.

Humor researcher Marc Hye-Knudsen published a study in British Psychological Society‘s journal this week arguing that "dad jokes" actually have a positive effect on development.

"When considered properly, dad jokes are an intricately multi-layered and fascinating phenomenon that reveals a lot not just about how humour and joke-telling work but also about fathers’ psychology and their relationships with their children," Hye-Knudsen wrote.

Dad jokes are typically inoffensive, corny puns. They are wholesome and age-appropriate, making it suitable for fathers to tell their children.

"It’s also what makes dad jokes so susceptible to accusations of being stupid, lame, and unfunny," the study observed.

Hye-Knudsen suggests that when fathers embarrass their children with unfunny jokes, it teaches them how to overcome awkwardness.

"By continually telling their children jokes that are so bad that they’re embarrassing, fathers may push their children’s limits for how much embarrassment they can handle," the article said. "They show their children that embarrassment isn’t fatal."

The study ends by encouraging fathers to continue aiding their children's development by telling embarrassing jokes.

"You’re partaking in a long and proud tradition, and your embarrassingly awful jokes may even do them some good," the paper concludes. "Keep repeating the same old stale puns, year-in and year-out."

So there you go: Dad Jokes are good for you.

Then I wondered if there are any comics making a living from telling Dad Jokes. Jim Gaffigan does make jokes about fatherhood, but does he tell Dad Jokes? Certainly he does not base his act just on Dad Jokes.

Is there anyone who does that? Hmm.

I've already started compiling some jokes - and considering what kind of costume to wear! 

Pax et bonum

Irish Ancestors

Back in August 2022, Ancestry updated by DNA results (yet again). Among those results: Ireland 42% Scotland 16%

The percentages of these two regions have varied over the years, but most of the time Ireland has been the top result. 

My mother was from Scotland, but I knew there were Irish in her background.

My father's side of the family has been predominantly English - and we were able to trace the male line there back to Normandy, so some Norman/French is in there. I haven't checked into the female line for that part of my family, but indications are that some Scottish came through Dad's family, but no Irish.

Thus, my Irish roots apparently go through Mom. 

My friend Chris, who does genealogy, did some digging into Mom's ancestry. Here's what he found.

Mom was born Jean Baxter in Greenock, Scotland (11/9/1933 - 10/9/2005) . Her father was John Baxter, and her mother was Jeannie McGarry.

John Baxter was born in Greenock in 1912 and I believe he died in the 1990's, but I have no other details about him, and his line as far as Chris got ends there 

Jeannie McGarry was born in Greenock (12/14/1914 - 11/28/2006). Her father was Francis McGarry, her mother was Elizabeth Hill.

I'll do Great Grandpa's line first. 

Francis McGarry was born in Dumbarton, Scotland (9/30/1884 - 12/4/1959). He was the son of James McGarry and Annie Canning. 

James McGarry was born in Milton, Scotland (1862 - 11/8/1917). His  line extends no further at this point.

Annie Canning was born in Cardross, Scotland, (4/1/1864 - ?). Her parents were Festus Canning and Catherine Haney.

Festus Canning was born in Ireland in 1840. At last, Ireland! There is no death date for him, but we do have the date of his marriage to Catherine - 10/29/1860 in Bonhill, Scotland. So he came over from Ireland at some time before he turned 20. His parents were Thomas Canning and Marry Kean.

I have no details about Thomas Canning other than the name of his wife and the birth of his son. Ditto for Mary Kean. So they both may be Irish - given that their son was born there, but it's also possible they came over to Ireland from Scotland, or perhaps England.

Meanwhile, Annie Canning's mother, Catherine Haney, was born in Ireland in 1844 (1844 - 2/5/1915) to Thomas (Tom) Haney and Ann Haney (no maiden name discovered yet).

Thomas Haney was born in Ireland in 1806. Other than the birth of Annie I have no other details about him.

Ann Haney was born in Liverpool, England (9/3/1811 - 7/24/1882). She died in Monaghan, Ireland. Born in Liverpool?  Hey, maybe I have ties to the Beatles!  Ann's line ends with her at this point.

Now, following Great Grandma.Elizabeth Hill back, she was born in Greenock (7/29/1883 - 3/9/1957). Her parents were Robert Hill and Elizabeth Marshall. 

Robert Hill was born in Ireland in 1848. Ireland again! He died in Greenock 8/25/1926). We know that by 1861 (age 13) he was living in Largs, Scotland. 

Elizabeth Marshall was born in Ireland in 1852. She moved to Springburn, Scotland in 1861 at age 9. I have no other details; her line ends with her at this point.  

Okay, so among my ancestors that we know of, those born in Ireland include Thomas Haney (1806), Festus Canning (1840), Catherine Haney (1844), Robert Hill (1848), and Elizabeth Marshall (1852). Meanwhile, Ann Haney was born in Liverpool (1811), but met Irish-born Thomas Haney (while he was working England? He did live there for a while), married him, and lived in Ireland. She's buried there.

There are some of my Irish roots!

 Pax et bonum

A Confession

For years I've been saying I should read Don Quixote. It's on so many classics lists, on so many list of must reads.

I finally started it a few weeks back. 

131 pages of densely-packed small type in, I gave up - for now.

When I read a book of that length - this particular edition is 891 pages long - I need either a character or characters in whom I am really interested, or a really gripping plot.

I have not warmed up to either Don Quixote or Sancho. I just don't care what happens to them at this point.

As for the plot, this book just rambles, sort of like Don Quixote himself.

Oh, I understand it's a significant book because it's one of the first (if not the first) novel. And I understand Cervantes is making all sort of comic digs at courtly romance literature and Spanish society.

But I'm not a fan of courtly romances, and I'm not Spanish. Having to constantly check footnotes because of his allusions to Spanish history and individuals, tropes of courtly romances, and citations of "famous" titles and epics of his time does not help.

So I'm putting it back on the bookshelf for now. I will likely tilt at its windmills again at some point, but I've turned to other works already. For example, I just reread Out of the Silent.Planet by C.S. Lewis, a book I read 40 plus years ago, and I completely enjoyed it. And finished it.

Pax et bonum

A list of published poems

I compiled a list of published poems so that I can keep track of them. There were a few that I forgot had even been published.

I think there might be a few more - so as I stumble across them I will update this list.

As of March 2023, I've had 118 different poems published. In addition, a few of them were published in a couple of places - a magazine first, then perhaps in an anthology, and so on. That occurred 20 times.

I've actually written more than a thousand poems, but not all were publishable, some were topical (such as some of my political ones), and for many I simply could not find an outlet. I also made the mistake of posting them online when I wrote them, and found out when I contacted likely magazine outlets they would not accept anything already published online.

Haiku and Senryu 41/14

“abbey chapel” Raven’s Bread May 2016

“a break in the clouds,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006

“a late summer rain,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

“a lone hawk circles,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

“animal carcass,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006

     animal carcass,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

“April morning –,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006

     “April morning,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

at Hiroshima - Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology

at the abbey  --- Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology  

“August sun,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006

autumn evening - Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology

beneath the bleachers -  Baseball Bard – fall of 2022   

bottom of the ninth -  Baseball Bard – fall of 2022 

“cat prints in the snow,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

“Clear summer night” Five Seasons (anthology) 2013

     clear summer night,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

“Crescent moon,” Modern Haiku 45:2 2014  

     “Crescent moon” Brass Bell, October 2014

days after Christmas” A Moment’s Longing (HSA Anthology) 2019

     days after Christmas - Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology  

drifting clouds -  Baseball Bard – fall of 2022 

Falling leaves” Raven’s Bread May 2016

“Father’s Day,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

first hunt – Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology

“foggy morning,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006

going going -  Baseball Bard – fall of 2022 

hospital window” Brass Bell, July 2014

“in a magazine,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006

“in the window seat,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995 

“Just before dawn” frogpond, 37:1 Winter 2014

      “just before dawn,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

“lawn mower” Four Hundred and Two Snails (HSA Anthology) 2018

“leaving the vet’s,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006

“Mother’s rosary,” Frogpond Autumn 2014

     mother’s rosary last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

     mother’s rosary Raven’s Bread May 2016

     Mother’s rosary” in the anthology They Gave us Life – 2017

 “my old cat sleeps,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

“on the thirteenth green” in Frogpond 41:2 – Spring/Summer 2018

     on the thirteenth green – Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology  

replaying her voice - Failed Haiku, February 2023, Volume 8, Issue 8 

spring cleaning - Failed Haiku, February 2023, Volume 8, Issue 8 

“summer funeral,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

the night before - Visiting the Wind (Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2021)

the slide -  Baseball Bard – fall of 2022 

“thrushes gather grapes,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995

time – Failed Haiku, February 2023

when father deals – Failed Haiku August 2022 

“winter moonlight,” Modern Haiku 45:2 2014

     winter moonlight,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

     winter moonlight” on down the road (HSA Anthology) 2017

     winter moonlight - Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology  

“your coffee cup," bottle rockets, Volume 8 Number 1, 2006

     “your coffee cup,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015

Clerihews 50/4

Achilles - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

After that day in Moriah, young Isaac - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

Albert Einstein - Gilbert Magazine, September 2009

Alexa - Gilbert May/June 2020

Anne Rice - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

As a director, Ed Wood - Gilbert May/June 2020

A somber Marquis de Sade - Gilbert May/June 2017

At Nicaea, St. Nicholas - Gilbert! May/June 2019

Ayn Rand - Gilbert May/June 2020

Charles Bukowski - Gilbert January/February 2017

Condoleeza Rice - Gilbert Magazine, June/July 2007

Dr. Mary Gatter - Gilbert May/June 2017

e (cummings) e - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

Elizabeth Warren - Gilbert May/June 2020

Evangelista Torricelli - Gilbert January/February 2019

Fidel Castro - Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

Fred Rogers - Gilbert November/December 2018

Geoffrey Chaucer - Gilbert May/June 2020

G. K. Chesterton - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

Herman Melville -  Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

I don’t know if Rudyard Kipling - Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

In his early life Thomas Merton - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

In those woods, Robert Frost- Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2009

Irascible St. Jerome - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

Jackson Pollock - Gilbert! May/June 2019

Jean Paul Sartre - Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

Lot's wife - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

Methuselah - Gilbert! July/August 2018

Napoleon Bonaparte - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

One of the aims of ISIS - Gilbert May/June 2017

     One of the aims of ISIS - Gilbert May/June 2020

Paolo Uccello - Gilbert November/December 2018

President James Polk - Gilbert Magazine, May/June 2011

Prolific Stephen King - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

Robert Burns – Gilbert May/June 2022

Saintly King Henry - Gilbert November/December 2018

Steven Wright - Gilbert May/June 2017

     Steven Wright - Gilbert! May/June 2019

St. Dominic - Gilbert November/December 2018

St. Francis of Assisi - Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

St. Thomas Aquinas - Gilbert November/December 2018

There was a side of J. R. R. Tolkien - Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

Titus Oates - Gilbert! May/June 2019

Tron - Gilbert November/December 2018

TV’s Dr. House - Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007

Vladimir Kosma Zworykin - Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

Vladimir Putin - Gilbert (March/April) 2017

When Alexander Pope - Gilbert May/June 2017

     When Alexander Pope - Gilbert! May/June 2019

When he was young St. Polycarp - Gilbert May/June 2017

     When he was young St. Polycarp - Gilbert! May/June 2019

When talking with Socrates - Gilbert Magazine, January/February 2007

When Siddhartha Gautama - Gilbert Magazine, July/August 2009

Yvonne De Carlo - Gilbert! March/April 2021 

Science Fiction (20/2)

alien banquet (horrorku) - Random Planets 2019

apocalypse comes – Scifaikuest  AUG 2021 PRINT

Clouds shrouding (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023

Halloween costume (werewolf) – Scifaikuest online, February 2023

Last words (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023

“life form” (cinquain) in Scifaikuest May 2018

mining rights sold  Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology

     mining rights sold” Random Planets 2019

mirror with a painting (vampire teen) – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022)

New colonist (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023 

on the asteroid - Scifaikuest February 2019

Robot’s valentine - Scifaikuest, February 2017

snow on snow on snow – Scifaikuest AUG 2021 ONLINE

Supernova - Scifaikuest – online – February 2017

the calculations Scifaikuest AUG 2021 ONLINE

The thirsting (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023 

through the rubble - Scifaikuest  AUG 2021 PRINT

time travel mishap – Scifaikuest online, February 2023

trying to recall - Skifaikuest February 2019 

     trying to recall – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022) 

two moons (cinquain) – Random Planets 2019

watching as the clone – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022) 

Free Verse - 4

“Duke,” Logos, Winter 1982, and City Newspaper, 12/11/1986

“On Listening to Allen Ginsberg,” The Quill, May 1984

“The Widow’s Walk,” Democrat and Chronicle, 10/13/80

“Una One, Una Two,” Hazmat Review 2004

Limericks - 3

“Creative Solution,” Weird Tales, August/September 2006

“Demanding, driven, sure to vex,” Washington Post, June 11, 2004

The girl with the softest brown eyes - Saturday Evening Post  Sept./Oct. Limerick Contest (runner up)

Pax et bonum