Years of reading

Dan Pelzer, who died in 2025 at age 92, left behind a 109‑page handwritten record of 3,599 books he read between 1962 and 2023.

Wow.

I started keeping count in 2013, but I also had a blog before that, and some journals. Digging though all that, I came up with 861 books. I'm currently averaging 60-70 books a year. He averaged about 60 a year.

If I'd kept a tally for 61 years like him and read at the rate that I am currently, I might have been able to come close to his total. Alas, late start. And while I was working, I read fewer books - in part because as a teacher I was reading the same books over and over each year. How many times did I reread To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, The Scarlet Letter, Romeo and Juliet, and so on as I was teaching them? If I counted each rereading that could easily add 40-50 to my tally. But I don't count them, and even if I did, it would not be enough. 

If I keep up my current rate I'll have more than 2,000 books read by the time I reach his age.

Not even close to his remarkable total.

Pax et bonum

And Ancestry Again

I just got the latest DNA update from Ancestry:

Celtic and Gaelic

Ulster 24%
Donegal – 14%
Scottish Lowlands and Central Belt – 6%
Connacht, Ireland – 3%
Isle of Man – 2%
Leinster, Ireland 2%

England

Southeastern England – 15%
East Midlands and Yorkshire – 10 %
West Midlands – 8%
Devon and Somerset – 8%
Northern England – 2 %

Western Europe

Belgium – 4%

Italy

Southern Italy – 1

French Canada

Quebec – 1%

These were the results from 2025:

Celtic and Gaelic

Donegal – 29%
Central Scotland and Northern Ireland – 23%
Northern Wales and Northwest England – 3%
Munster, Ireland - 2%

England

Southeaster England and Northwestern Europe – 28%
West Midlands – 9%

Nordic

Iceland – 3 %

Western Europe.

The Netherlands – 3%s

As they refine at Ancestry based on more people taking part they create new regional breakdowns, so it's hard to compare results exactly. But the pattern that has existed for a while remains true - I'm more Irish/Scottish (i.e. Celtic/Gaelic) than anything else. This year, 51% combined. That comes from both sides of the family, but with a mother who was a Scottish immigrant it comes more from her.

Meanwhile, the second largest grouping is English. That adds up to 43% this time, compared with 37% last year. But again, that change may be due to grouping. That part of me that comes from my Dad, who traces his ancestry to an English Puritan immigrant, Elder John Strong, who came over about 1635.

I seem to have lost the Nordic and Iceland. I thought that ties to Vikings and Iceland was cool, so I'm disappointed. And there's a shift from The Netherlands to Belgium. Hmm, neighbors, so maybe shifting borders over the years?

But Italy? How did that sneak in? Maybe the Vikings visited there?

And Quebec? "Que diable?? I have no knowledge of anyone in my family who even visited there. Maybe from earlier results someone related to one of my Norman ancestors settled there?

I wonder what the next results will show! 

Pax et bonum

Following Last Week's Run-In with the Police

20-664-cv

Decided: August 04, 2023

Havens v. James In the United States Court of Appeals FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT AUGUST TERM 2020 No. 20-664-cv JIM HAVENS, INDIVIDUALLY AND O/B/O ROC LOVE WILL END ABORTION, AN UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. LETITIA A. JAMES, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, CITY OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, Defendants-Appellees.

…

CONCLUSION A person who is not a named party to an injunction is bound by the injunction only when legally identified with an enjoined party or when aiding and abetting an enjoined party’s violation of the injunction. The allegations in Havens’s complaint do not establish that he meets this standard. For that reason, the complaint states a claim for declaratory relief that the defendants’ threatened enforcement of the Arcara Injunction against Havens and ROC lacked a legal basis. We reverse the judgment of the district court insofar as it dismissed Havens’s complaint and vacate the judgment insofar as it denied Havens’s motion for a preliminary injunction. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

 

 

 

 

Havens v. James (Thomas More Society Summary)

In 2017, Jim Havens began sidewalk counseling near the Planned Parenthood facility in Rochester, New York and formed the organization ROC Love Will End Abortion (“ROC”). Between 2017 and 2018, security guards at the Rochester Planned Parenthood told Jim he was required to observe a 15-foot buffer zone on the public sidewalk outside the facility. This buffer zone was created in 2005 by the “Arcara Injunction,” a court order only pertaining to a completely separate and unrelated group of pro-life advocates. 

Jim rightly believed this injunction did not apply to him or ROC. So, too, did Rochester Police— initially—but soon reversed and verbally informed Jim and ROC that they must comply with the buffer zone while sidewalk counseling. Thomas More Society came to Jim’s defense and communicated to the City of Rochester that the “Arcara Injunction” buffer zone did not apply to Jim and ROC—and the City of Rochester agreed. 

But soon after, the New York State Attorney General entered the fray—targeting Jim and ROC to unjustly enforce the buffer zone against them. In April 2019, Rochester Police circulated a letter to Jim and his group of sidewalk counselors, threatening arrest if they were to violate the buffer zone. To protect Jim’s rights from unjust threats of prosecution by the NY Attorney General and the City of Rochester, Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit in July 2019 on Jim and ROC’s behalf. The lawsuit sought an injunction against the NY Attorney General and Rochester’s threats, and to clarify that Jim and ROC were not, in fact, bound by the “Arcara Injunction.”

It is long-standing precedent—and common sense—that a court cannot make a decree which will bind any person even when they are not a party to it. Yet, the district court sided with the NY Attorney General and Rochester by erroneously determining that Jim was bound by the terms of the “Arcara Injunction.” The district court then denied Jim’s request for an injunction and dismissed the case with prejudice. 

Jim was not a party to the “Arcara Injunction” or legally identified with any of the parties named on the court order—nor were any of his fellow ROC Love Will End Abortion sidewalk advocates. NY Attorney General Letitia James attempted to stretch and reinterpret the law beyond any semblance of reason in order to shut down pro-life speech—violating the constitutional rights of pro-life sidewalk counselors in the process. 

Thomas More Society appealed the district court’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After years of waiting for a decision, the 2nd Circuit vindicated Jim’s rights in August 2023. The Court reversed the district court and stated: “We hold that a person who is not a named party to an injunction and who is not legally identified with a named party is bound by the injunction only from acting for the benefit of, or to assist, a named party in violating the injunction.” Jim did not act for the benefit or assist any of those named parties, and the Court agreed—finding that, “[a]ccording to the allegations in his complaint, Havens did not so act.” The case has now been sent back to the district court, to be reconsidered in light of the 2nd Circuit’s opinion

Pax et bonum

A Run-In With the Police

Saturday, October 3, at 9 a.m. I arrived outside Rochester's Planned Parenthood headquarters for a 40 Days for Life shift. Since other people would not be coming for half an hour to pray for our regular weekly Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, I went over directly in front of Planned Parenthood holding a sign declaring: Love Will End Abortion.

Note that I was standing there quietly praying. I didn't yell at anyone. I didn't block entrance into Planned Parenthood. My only interaction with people when I am there is to smile and wave as they drive past me, or to say "Good morning" if they walked past me.

Rev. Mike Warren came over and warned me that the two police officers there were enforcing a 15-foot buffer zone on the public sidewalk outside the facility. This buffer zone was created in 2005 by the “Arcara Injunction,” a court order only pertaining to a completely separate and unrelated group of pro-life advocates.

Sure enough, the police came over and told me I had to obey the buffer zone. I pointed out that in a subsequent appeals court ruling - Havens vs. James (2023) - the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the Acura ruling did not apply to individuals and members of groups not specifically named. (Alas, I did not have the text of the ruling with me, but it says: “A person who is not a named party to an injunction is bound by the injunction only when legally identified with an enjoined party or when aiding and abetting an enjoined party’s violation of the injunction. The allegations in Havens’s complaint do not establish that he meets this standard. For that reason, the complaint states a claim for declaratory relief that the defendants’ threatened enforcement of the Arcara Injunction against Havens and ROC lacked a legal basis.") 

I noted that I was not named in the original ruling, nor was I a member of any of the groups named (I could have added, I was helping no one named in the injunction to violate it as no one named in it was violating it.). I was there just to pray and witness totally separate from that case. One officer checked and saw that indeed I was not named.

BUT THEN they said I was there in support of the named individuals and groups. I asked how. They said because of my sign: Love Will End Abortion.

I asked how that message was supporting them, and one officer said I was "aiding and abetting." He said to look up what that entails. (I did later, plus dug up the Appeals Court Ruling. The ruling said that the injunction applies only to the named individuals, and to those helping them to violate the injunction. I was standing there alone; none of the named individuals were violating the injunction, therefore I was not aiding and abetting. You can't aid and abet something that is not happening.)

I said as they were police officers I would obey them and stand outside the buffer zone, but noted that they were violating what the appeals court had ruled.

I later asked one officer as the sign seemed to be the offending item if I simply stood inside the buffer zone praying without the sign would that be okay. He said yes.

Now I had stood in the same spot carrying that same sign for years, and when officers did approach in the past, they relented when apprised of the appeals court ruling. These two did not.

I believe the officers clearly were misinterpreting the ruling, and this was a case of harassment, and infringed on my First Amendment rights.

Pax et bonum

St. Francis poems

Assisi sunset

Assisi sunset -
an exaltation of larks
welcome Francis home


San Damiano

"'One day in the church of St.
Damian, he (St. Francis) hears
words spoken from the Crucifix:
'Go, Francis, and repair my
house; as you can see, it is
falling into ruin.'''

Fr. Stanislaus Majarelli, OFM

The roses are in bloom at San Damiano.
Their scent bleeds into the air,
flows down from the hills,
floods the streets of Assisi
like the beggars who cry,
``Bread and stones,
bread and stones.''

In the shadowy cafe,
men sit
hearing to the calls.
One man spits and mutters a curse.
Another man begins a bawdy song
that pours out
into the darkening air.

At midnight: silence.
Fog shrouds the streets
and snakes into the hills.

The hills rise above the fog
like islands in a dead sea.
And taller still
rises
San Damiano's half-built steeple
reaching toward
heaven.

Pax et bonum

A Face for Radio

I like to joke that I have a face for radio.

Really, it's not that bad a face. It doesn't scare the horses or small children

Usually.

But there is something about that radio part. I've been told a number of times that I have a good radio voice.

And I've even made use of it.

My first foray into radio was when I was in high school. The local radio station was putting together a panel discussion about the life of teens. They were looking for know-it-all teens who could speak in reasonably complete and coherent sentences. 

I fit the bill.

It was a one-time thing, and it went well. And I didn't get called into the guidance office afterwards for some counseling, so no harm done.

My next adventure came in college. I was visiting a friend at another college, and he was involved with the campus radio station. He was going to be taking part in an unscripted radio play and asked me to join him. I did. It was, well, what you expect from a group of college students. Some good moments. A lot of nonsense. 

I hope there are no recordings of the show still around.

The following year I decided to get involved with my own college's radio station, which was located in the basement of one of the dorms. I got an evening slot and started making it my own. We didn't have formal playlists, so I chose only music I liked or could stand. For example, although it was popular at the time, no disco. And I hated The Rolling Stones, so if I played them at all - after the station manager said we had to play requests - I would play the songs at 45 rpm. (Older folks will understand what that means.)

By the way, I still don't like The Rolling Stones.

My college had recently gone coed, but had strict rules about visitation, and each floor had resident advisors who were required to enforce the rules. Men were only allowed in the lounges of the women's dorm until midnight, so that's where couples hung out. From 11-Midnight, I created the Lounge Lovers Special. I'd play all sorts of romantic music and love songs. But I'd mix in public service announcements about STDs. 

My sense of humor.

That sense of humor actually had an effect on student government elections.

I had started doing a fake newscast for each show - it was when Saturday Night Live with its "Weekend Update" had just become popular. I'd include topical items but add silly or satirical spins to the reports.

At one point, my college was holding elections for student government offices, including president of the student council. The current president was running for re-election against two other guys and a woman. As I mentioned, my college had only recently gone co-ed, so her running was a first. But this was a less enlightened time, and people started spreading rumors that she was a lesbian. She was a friend of mine, I knew that rumor wasn't true, and I thought the claims were dirty politics. So, I included a report that the president of the student council had cancelled the elections because they had descended to the level of mudslinging, and besides, he "didn't want to run against two queers and a lesbian."

It just so happened that one of the candidates was near the station and heard the report. He ran into the broadcast booth and began yelling at me, using some colorful language. Then a friend of mine who happened to be in the booth at the time pointed out that the microphone was still on. I looked at the candidate, smiled, and said, "I know."

The candidate dropped out the next day.

By the way, woman friend did not win, but she did graduate with honors, married, had several children, and became a highly respect local lawyer.

The next year I switched to a morning shift. The station broadcast was piped into the school dining hall, and I got tired to trying to down my oatmeal while disco or The Rolling Stones were playing. For my shift I played lighter music, folk music, even some classical. Indeed, I would often put on one longer classical piece, and while it was playing run from the station to the dining hall, get some coffee and food, then race back to the station. And at 9 a.m. when the dining hall was about to end serving breakfast I would play "Barracuda" by Heart to end the gentler music and kick off a rock set.

After graduation, I was not involved with radio for seven years. In between, I'd graduated from grad school and started teaching at a Catholic high school where the pay was so poor I need to supplement my income. At first, I coached, but that made for a long day. Then a friend said I had a good voice for radio, and that the local public radio station was always looking for board operators and announcers. I went to the station, and though I had no tapes, they liked what they heard in the interview. I was hired to work on weekends. I was to remain with the station for 22 years.

But that's another story.

Pax et bonum

My Not-So Brilliant Sports Career

In high school, I received two letters for sports. That qualified me for the “Varsity Club,” and to buy one of those Varsity Jackets with a letter on it.

Sound impressive?

It’s not.

First of all, other folks received multiple letters in their sports careers. In my family alone my father, who was an incredible athlete and started on varsity teams when he was in middle school, earned 17 letters total. Yes, 17. He was even offered a football scholarship to Cornell, but had to turn it down when grandpa, a drinker, deserted the family and dad, as the oldest, went to work to support his mother and siblings. And my kid brother, who was taller and more muscular than I was, won awards in every sport he played, set school records in track, and was the best basketball player in our school, though he refused to play for our high school team because he didn’t like the coach.

There’s more to the story in my case.

As a child I was, um, husky. That was the polite way for stores to label clothes for fat kids.

Add to that that I was a slow runner, had no vertical jump per se, and had breathing issues.

I preferred reading to playing sports.

Then I got to middle school. All the boys my age seemed to be playing sports. And there was the embarrassment of gym class.

So I started playing. Sort of.

I signed up for what was called back then “junior football.” As a husky (i.e. fat) fellow I was made a lineman. I spent most of my time on the bench but did get in at the end of games because the coach was required to play everyone.

In one game, I was on defense and got knocked down, as usual. But the running back decided to go through the hole created when I got knocked to the ground. I instinctively reached up, my arm got tangled with his legs, and he fell. I was credited with a tackle. In another game, again on defense, the running back tried to change direction, slipped on the turf and fell to the ground. I was standing next to where he fell, and reached down, touched him, and was credited with another tackle.

My season total: Two tackles.

Over the next year I lost a lot of weight, and grew several inches, so I no longer had lineman bulk. I was a bean pole. No more football.

Then I started playing baseball. My coaches and I quickly discovered I had a good eye for hitting, but no power. A contact singles hitter who was occasionally able to hit a double. My batting average was over .400!

But I was still slow of foot, and had a tendency to trip when I tried running. If I’d been able to run faster to first without tripping I would have had more hits. And once I got on first, the coaches often put in a pinch runner in my place.

As for fielding, well, if I got to the ball, and didn’t trip, I was likely to drop it or fumble it. I also had a tendency to close my eyes if the ball was flying toward me. Even if I did manage to hold on to the ball, I had a weak throwing arm. Opponents could run - heck, jog - on me. This was in the days before designated hitters, so for the sake of the team I spent most of the time on the bench, getting in as a pinch hitter or again at the end of games because the coach had to play everyone.

I later wrote a haiku about my fielding adventures:

drifting clouds
he notices too late
ground ball passing him

Then there was basketball.

My brother was a talented player. He was so good that even as a high school freshman and sophomore he’d go over to the college near our home and play with the college students in pick-up games. We started scrimmaging against each other, and I knew I was outclassed, but I enjoyed playing, and even developed into a decent shooter (when I was open).

Our school had an intramural basketball league. I recruited a team of people who had been rejected by other teams, and a couple of good players. I was the player/manager. One of my rules was that everyone, no matter how bad, got to play. And we had some really bad players. One game, our center grabbed a rebound and went back up and put it in the basket, scoring for the other team. We had one fellow who missed almost every shot even if he was standing below the basket unguarded.

Yet we managed to win games.

In one game where we were way ahead, I told one of our best players to come out so I could put in one of our worst payers. He refused. I again told him to come out. He refused once more. I was about to demand again, when he suddenly quit the team. In the middle of the game.

We would have been in trouble, except my brother joined the team. We proceeded to win every remaining regular season game, and our first two playoff games, making it to the championship game. But then the team we faced had recruited some really good players, including the fellow who had quit our team, and we lost.

At that point, I decided to try out for the varsity team. My shooting was fine, but my lack of speed or jumping ability left me as the last man cut. The coach asked me to become the manager.

At practices when I wasn’t doing manager duties - rolling out the ball rack, collecting the balls at the end of practices, making sure there was water available, providing the players with clean towels, running to the math office to get the whistle the coach forgot - I took part in all the player drills. For games, though, I did not suit up. I just did all those manager duties I mentioned, and keeping shooting and rebounding statistics. But as the season wore on, players got injured or suspended, and in order to have enough players for scrimmages during practices the coach allowed me to play, but just in the practices. I was not very good, but I was a warm body. Then, finally, after some of the players pestered him, he permitted me to suit up for one game, but it was just an exhibition one. I got in late in the game, my teammates fed me the ball one time when I was open and I hit the shot.

At the end of the year sports banquet, I was awarded a letter for basketball not because of my stellar play, but because I was a senior.

At that banquet I was awarded a second letter, one I actually earned, for bowling.

I’m the fellow in the upper right.

I had discovered bowling in middle school. A couple of friends had a team, and they needed one more bowler. I joined and did well. We even won the junior league championship, as we would do for several years in a row. I got better, getting my average up to around 170, and my senior year qualified for the school’s bowling team. Every week we would have a practice session, and the top five bowlers would then bowl in the league game the next day. I was not the best bowler on the team, but I was usually 4th or 5th in qualifying, so I bowled regularly in the league meets. We didn’t win the league, but we did win the city championship.

The only other sport I tried was track. I was not fast, I couldn’t throw or jump, but I was a steady distance runner. I had managed to build leg strength and endurance because I rode a bicycle everywhere. It was not unusual for me to ride 10-20 miles at a time, even peddling to other towns. Early in practices I ran a mile in a time that would have been the school record. But then I developed a problem that would eventually need surgery, so I had to quit and never got to officially compete.

My brother, by the way, set the school records in the broad jump, the high jump, the triple jump, and even got drafted in one meet to run the hurdles, winning, of course.

At the end of the year our school had a sports banquet. My brother and I only had one suit that we had to share - my family had financial issues - so my brother said as a senior I should go, even though he was up for MVP for track. We reasoned that he could attend the next year to pick up letters or awards.

I got my two letters, and as I noted, qualified for the Varsity Club and for a Varsity Jacket. But since I was going off to college, I didn’t want to wear such a jacket on campus and look like an idiot. Besides, I didn’t have the money for the jacket anyway.

As for my brother, he never got to go to the banquet the following year. He had some issues and did not play on any teams.

In college I played (poorly) some intramural basketball, but nothing serious. I had to give up bowling because I couldn’t afford to bowl as much as would have been necessary to really improve. My last “competitive” track event was an unofficial two-mile race when I was 21. I finished a distant 3rd.

As a teacher, I later played in some exhibition games and gym class with students, and coached track and bowling. Even in my 60’s I sometimes played some basketball shooting games like “around the world,” and would impress students by hitting shots.

After all, no one was guarding me.

Now, I just enjoy watching sports, and remembering my own poor attempts to play, with occasional highlights and with some humbling moments.

I think G. K. Chesterton prophetically described my athletic career when he observed, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”

 
Pax et bonum

Jimmy Stewart

I just saw that they have made and plan to release November 6 a movie about Jimmy Stewart called Jimmy. From the promos, it seems to be dealing with his service in World War II, culminating in his return to acting with It's a Wonderful Life.

Stewart is my favorite actor, and It's a Wonderful Life one of my favorite movies. We own a copy of it and watch it every year around Christmas.

Just as It's a Wonderful Life is a regular view, so are several of his other movies: Harvey, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Little Shop Around the Corner, Anatomy of a Murder, and Rear Window. Whenever they come on, I watch. And while they are not favorites, I have watched multiple times: The Philadelphia Story, (not a fan of Hepburn, but since Stewart is in it I will watch it), Destry Rides Again, The Flight of the Phoenix, and You Can't Take It With You. I also like The Shootist (with the added bonus of it being John Wayne's final film and Wayne is another actor I like), Winchester '73, The Spirit of St. Louis, and Shenandoah.  

And whenever a movie comes on with Stewart in it I will give it a watch. Though I do admit I have a hard time with the ending of his character in After the Thin Man. Oh, and with the singing in Born to Dance. 

I know Vertigo makes a lot of lists of best movies by Stewart, but I never got into it.  

Stewart was a war hero, and I honor him for that. Thus, it makes sense to make a movie focusing on that part of his life. 

Will I see the new Stewart bio film? Maybe not at the theaters; I don't go to the movies much. But eventually, probably. 

 Pax et bonum

Talking Points Memo

Pax et bonum

Word Choices

A religious organization to which I belong publishes a quarterly magazine dealing with a variety of religious issues. One of the articles is always about JPIC - Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation. 

The latest issue's JPIC article contains a paragraph that begins, "When our neighbors hear themselves demeaned as 'illegals,' and are unjustly detained and separated from family, ...." 

I have some concerns about the wording.

I completely agree that we should not demean people as "illegals." All people should be treated with respect, including in the language we use.

But in current discussions of the immigration issue other people are all too often subjected to demeaning language: Members of law enforcement and ICE. They are frequently labeled "Nazis," "storm troopers," "thugs," and so on. Even when this aspect is not directly mentioned, the implication is still there that they are acting like such people, and that they lack compassion and care when dealing with the people they are arresting. And these legal authorities have increasingly been physically attacked, and they and their families subjected to threats. 

The majority of the people who are being arrested by immigration authorities did break our immigration laws - they committed a criminal act. In a number of cases, they allegedly committed other criminal acts in their home countries or in the United States. Thus, while we might debate our immigration laws, technically these people did break the law and have been justly detained. 

The phrase "separated from families" is emotionally loaded. Yes, they are being separated from their families, as are all people who are arrested, but this is not done because the legal authorities are acting maliciously, as this wording suggests. The separation is due to choices the arrested individuals made; it is a consequence of their actions.

We need to accompany these arrested individuals and show them the love of God. But we also need to be careful with our language when we are discussing the immigration issue.

Pax et bonum

A Prayer

Dear Lord,
every morning I pray,
"Thank You, Lord, for this day.
I offer up my aches and pains
for the souls in Purgatory."
But lately
there seem to be
so many more
aches and pains.
I accept them.
I offer them up.
But I wouldn't complain, Lord,
if You removed a few.
Thy will be done
Amen.

Pax et bonum

More G. K. Chesterton Quotations

“Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision, instead we are always changing the vision.”

“Men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back.”

“This is the age in which thin and theoretic minorities can cover and conquer unconscious and untheoretic majorities.”

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

“The only defensible war is a war of defense.”

“There are some desires that are not desirable.”

“Modern broad-mindedness benefits the rich; and benefits nobody else.”

“Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

“When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.”

“Men are ruled, at this minute by the clock, by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern.”

“For fear of the newspapers politicians are dull, and at last they are too dull even for the newspapers.”

“The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.”

“There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.”

“Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.”

“The whole truth is generally the ally of virtue; a half-truth is always the ally of some vice.”

“When a politician is in opposition he is an expert on the means to some end; and when he is in office he is an expert on the obstacles to it.”

“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.”

“I think the oddest thing about the advanced people is that, while they are always talking about things as problems, they have hardly any notion of what a real problem is.”

Pax et bonum

Chesterton Quotations

"If there were no God, there would be no atheists."

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

“Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”

“Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe in anything.”

“To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.”

“Take away the supernatural and what remains is the unnatural.”

“Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”

“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”

“Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.”

“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”

“The unpardonable sin is being bored.”

“These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own.”

“You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion.”

Pax et bonum

Reading Romances - Male Authors

As I continue my research into Christian Romance Novels with the thought of trying my hand at one, I checked my local library to see if it carried any of the books by a Christians Romance Novelist who happens to be a member of my parish, Ruth Logan Herne. The name, by the way is her pen name.

I had actually read ac couple of her books before. She had given away free copies at our parish, and my wife had taken some.

The library had only two books by her - even though she has written some 45 books.

I took the two out. They were for a series about a ranch. There are only two books in the series - and I don't know if she planned to write more. As far as I can tell, she stopped publishing back in 2022. I need to ask her if she has stopped writing romances.

Anyway, I read the first book, Back in the Saddle.

I don't mean this as an insult, but it is a typical romance novel. It is set on a ranch. A young man returns home from his corporate job in the big city and gradually rediscovers family and faith. On the ranch there is a young woman who made a mistake in her past, but has found faith, and fled her big city job for the small-town life. There are all sorts of complications; the ranch and the small town are threatened. She is tempted to return to her city life, he is tempted to return to his big city life - both have offers to do so - but, of course, they choose to remain with each other. 

Given that the book is a romance, I won't review it as if it is great literature. 

But I had problems in that it is clearly written from a female point-of-view. I can see that it would appeal to women, but as a guy, I found it difficult. Oh, I finished it and could appreciate it as a decent example of light literature, with romantic and Christian underpinnings, but I didn't feel compelled to read the second book.

At that point I wondered if there are any men who write Christians Romance Novels. I was curious to find out if I would find them easier to read as they write from a male perspective. Hopefully they would not be like the Jack Nicholson character in As Good As It Gets. 

(Receptionist: How do you write women so well?
Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.)

I discovered there were several. They tended to write historical novels with romantic elements. I checked our local library; it carries the books of only one of them, Gilbert Morris.

I went to the library and found a whole shelf of his books, many of them part of a series about "The House of Winslow", tracing the Winslow family through the centuries. I took out three of the books set in the Civil War, - Books 8-10. The Civil War is a period that interests me. Two of my plays are set during the war, and one of them, The Beau Ideal, I had performed as a one-man-show, and was later performed by our local professional theater. And I was thinking of setting a book during the war - perhaps as a mystery, or maybe as a romance.

I am not done with the first book, The Last Confederate, but I am enjoying it. The male perspective is easier for me to relate to, and the historical elements appeal to me as a Civil War buff and former history teacher.

I'll finish the book and likely go on to the second. For pleasure - and for research for my own writing.

Pax et bonum

A Follow-up to the Romance Movies

I've been enjoying the Christian romance movies - especially the Christmas ones. They are light, fluff, but with an underlying moral and positive message. 

Which got me to wondering about Christian romance books.

The modern ones are a little too contemporary for me, but there is a whole subgenre of Christian historical romances. I might check some of them out. And there are some male authors who tend to specialize in historical Christian novels and romance novels. I need to check them out as well.

Might I try my hand at writing come? Hmmm. We have a Christian romance novelist at our parish. I just might have a chat with her at some point.

Meanwhile, I did a little work on my Santa book. 

Pax et bonum

Great American Christmas: Small Town Values

In my previous post I talked about the Great American Family Channel's Christmas Romance movies.

One aspect of those movies is that they are almost always set in small towns. These movies - and some other romances I've read (one of our parishioners writes Christian romance books) - celebrate small-town values, often putting them in direct contrast with big-city values (or lack thereof).

In the movies, the central character is either from a small town and returns there or never left, or is sent to a small town for some reason.  

Among the typical plot elements: The family farm/inn/business/store is in trouble, or someone dies, and the main character is struggling to keep it going, or eventually decides to keep it going; or the main character is sent to the small town to help buy up/shut down the involved venue to make way for development, such as building condos or a resort.

That's where the small-town values come into play.

The people know each other. They rally to help each other. They are concerned with family and faith, not profits or supposed progress. Community and church are important. They cherish small, family-owned businesses/operations/farms, etc. The natural world is respected.

In contrast, the big-city values focus on profits, development, merchandising, large-scale operations, and so on. Family and faith are downplayed, even mocked. Nature is to be exploited.

Although it is not a Great American movie, John Denver's The Christmas Gift, provides an example.

Denver plays an architect working for a corporation. He is a widower with a small daughter. He is ordered at Christmas time to visit a small mountain community to scope it out for development.

The town features a quirky cabbie who loves Christmas, a young postmistress (the romantic interest), a struggling family farm, and a day dedicated to mailing letters to Santa. Indeed, one of the initial conflicts is when Denver wants to mail a letter to his boss, but because it is Santa letter day the postmistress refuses.

After they arrive, the daughter becomes involved in a Christmas pageant at the church and befriends the son of the farmer who is in danger of losing his farm to Denver's boss, who, of course wants to build a big development on it, promising jobs and profits for the community.

Meanwhile, in getting to know the people of the town, Denver begins to have doubts about his boss's plans, and finally openly opposes them. He is fired. But the town rallies around the farm family, the pageant is a success, and Denver finds love and a new home in the town.

The movie would be perfect for the Great American Family channel!

Small-town values are appealing. And being a Chestertonian, I find they fit in with Chesterton's ideas. Small, family-owned businesses. Faith. A sense of community. People supporting each other. 

We need more of this.

Pax et bonum

Great American Family Christmas Romances

I'm a big fan of Christmas - that's a given what with my seasonal job. (Ho. Ho. Ho.)

I'm also a fan of Christmas movies. The classics, that is; most modern Christmas movies have issues, and I can't endorse them and rarely enjoy them.

But there is a subgenre of contemporary Christmas movies that I have to admit I sometimes enjoy.

The Great American Family Channel's Christmas romance movies.

Romances? Well, with a Christmas spin, sure.

Given the fare on most other channels, these are often the most tolerable offerings. I get sick of the morally questionable programming of those other channels, and the endless talking heads, so unless there's a good classic movie on, I either turn off the television and listen to music, or I switch to Great American for their Christmas movies.

Since it's July, the channel has been offering Christmas in July - back-to-back Christmas movies.

Like most romances, the movies tend to have similar premises, tropes, and characters.

Most often there is a young woman, in her 20's or 30's.

The movies frequently involve a small town. Either the woman is from there, or is thinking of living there, or has been sent there on some mission. One of the variations is the woman has to travel to another land - Scotland is quite popular, involving a castle or family estate.

In the small town there is a manly man - sometimes an ex-romantic interest.

In the small town there is also often some business or institution that is in some kind of danger - a farm, an inn, a bakery, a restaurant, the annual Christmas fair or pageant. The woman is frequently called upon to help save the situation, especially as it often involves family members.

Another common plot element is that some outside developer or corporation is threatening to buy up or tear down some beloved institution. Sometimes the woman is a representative of that outside interest sent to scope out the situation, but then, after discovering the nature of the small town or meeting the manly man, begins to have doubts.

In terms of doubts, the young woman sometimes has a romantic relationship which she is seeking to escape or about which she it trying to discover her true feelings. 

And a number of them involve a prince or princess, sometimes keeping his/her true identity a secret.

By the end, the young woman ends up with the manly man and decides to move to. return to, remain in the small town.

A few other common elements I observe. If the manly man is a prince, he will almost always have to wear the standard prince costume at some point. Indeed, they seem to recycle the costume in movie after movie.

The manly man sometimes has a slightly scruffy look, as if he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. Or even has a neat beard. Maybe the facial hair is proof of testosterone? 

All the homes and towns sport elaborate Christmas decorations. Even the bachelor pads are decorated. 

I've also noticed that while the movies are set at Christmas, the snow is almost always fake, and the actors, while supposedly outside in the cold, breathe without their breaths showing. I recently saw one of the movies where the snow was real, and you could see the breaths of the actors. it was a surprise.

Oh, there are variations. Occasionally it's a man who left town returning to find his old flame still there. Some of the movies involve a quest of some sort. or brings in a fantasy element, such as time travel.

The movies are not great art. And there are some silliness to them. But they are better than many of the alternatives. They are entertaining.

They also remind me of an old John Denver Christmas movie - The Christmas Gift. Many of the plot elements are the same. It's a fun movie we watch every year.

The network is Christian and family-oriented one. The characters are all basically moral. There is no sex or suggestion of sex. No one smokes cigarettes. No one reveals visible tattoos. There is no swearing. Many of the movies involve prayers or set some of the action in a church. 

There's a reason the very-Christian Candace Cameron Bure quit Hallmark - which was starting to stray into less moral and decidedly unchristian waters Great American and become not only an actor there, but to become the chief content officer there.

I am glad the channel exists, and I enjoy many of their movies. It's nice that there is moral fare on television. 

Their movies make me feel like saying, "Merry Christmas"

Pax et bonum

I want to be in that number

I recently attended a funeral for a 92-year-old woman. I did not know her personally; she was the mother of one of the members of our Secular Franciscan Fraternity. The only time I ever met her was last year when I attended the funeral of her husband.

As I listened to people talking about her I got a clearer picture of who she was. She had been a nurse, but when she married she devoted herself to her family, which eventually included four children. She was noted for her humor and her faith.

Over the years, she sadly saw two of her children die before her, and last year, her husband. She also battled cancer. Yet apparently, she remained cheerful and a source of strength to others.

Sound like a saint.

The thing is, she may indeed be in Heaven either now or soon and thus would be a saint. But she will not be recognized "officially" as a saint.

There are several people who may be canonized soon, Blessed Solanus Casey. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I've heard a cause has begun for Sigrid Undset.

But they have orders or fans or governments backing their causes. I'm not saying they don't deserve to be canonized, but the 92-year-old mother has no such backers.

Nor is she alone. 

There are so many good and holy people I've met in my life. They may now be saints in Heaven, but they don't have the fame or the backing on earth to promote their canonization causes.

I'm glad we have generic mention of the saints in Heaven, asking them to pray for us.

As for all those uncanonized saints, they are enjoying the Beatific Vision and likely don't care about official recognition here on earth.

I pray some day i might be worthy to join them.

Pax et bonum

Some Outsider Art of Mine

Pax et bonum

Googling

Someone suggested Googling one's name to see what we are known for. I Googled my name. The initial entry cites me for being active in the community, especially politically, and cites a community blog I used to do for the Democrat and Chronicle 20 years ago, but nothing about my pro-life involvement, my poetry, or my religious activities. Interesting. Very outdated!

Here's that first entry:

Lee F. Strong is a prominent local figure and political candidate in Gates, New York. He is best known for his community involvement, which includes serving as a long-time commentator on local Gates-area issues and running for the Gates Town Council as an independent or community-focused candidate. Over the years, he has also maintained a popular local blog discussing town governance, infrastructure, and community happenings.

I then typed in just Lee Strong and my town I got:

Parish Council Member: Lee Strong serves on the Parish Council at The Parish of the Holy Family, which is located at 4100 Lyell Road in Gates, NY.

Local Musician: Lee Strong is also known in the regional arts and music scene, occasionally participating in local artist showcases and community events in the Greater Rochester area.

Hey - my religious involvement and my folk singing showed up. But it left out politics and my wider community involvement.

Lee F. Strong and Gates produced:

Lee Strong is ... best known in the Gates community for his active involvement at The Parish of the Holy Family (4100 Lyell Rd, Gates, NY). He serves on the Parish Council and is listed as an active member of the parish staff.

I'm not on the staff, by the way. I just volunteer with the food pantry and serve as a lector, in addition to being on the Parish Council.

I then typed in my full name and Rochester, my mailing address:

Lee F. Strong is a Rochester, N.Y. area political figure affiliated with the American Solidarity Party. He is known for running as a write-in candidate for the Gates Town Board. 

During his campaign, he positioned himself as a pro-life, environmental candidate who actively opposed the uses of the Dolomite donated land. The American Solidarity Party platform he aligns with is broadly characterized as socially conservative (favoring strong nuclear families and the right to life) and economically progressive or distributist.

Now my political party shows up, and my environmental and pro-life concerns get finally mentioned.

Finally, I just typed in my name without my middle initial, and Rochester, and I got:

In the Rochester, N.Y. area, "Lee Strong" is primarily known as a long-time educator, community leader, and local folk musician.

Lee Strong’s prominent roles and affiliations in the region include:

Educator: He is a teacher at St. John Bosco Schools / Chesterton Academy in East Rochester, teaching English. Prior to this, he taught English and Social Studies at Our Lady of Mercy High School and was an acting principal and teacher at Lakeside Learning Center. He has over two decades of experience as an educator and a background in print and radio media.


Parish Council Member: Lee Strong is a member of the Parish Council at The Parish of the Holy Family in Gates, NY (part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester). He also actively assists with parish communications, faith formation, and event registration.

Folk Musician: He is an active performer in the local folk music scene. He performs at regional showcases, such as those hosted by the Golden Link Folk Singing Society at the Greece Baptist Church.

Once again, the parish information inflates what I actually do. The entire last sentence of that part of the post is wrong.

At least that one alludes to my more than a decade as a print reporter/editor, and my more than 20 yeas on radio.

Curious, I then typed in my name and the city where I grew up, Geneva N.Y.: 

Public records and historical archives show multiple connections to the name Lee Strong in and around Geneva, New York:

Journalism: Lee Strong was a senior staff writer for the Catholic Courier (the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester) who covered the Geneva, N.Y. region in the 1990s.

Community & Faith: A Lee Strong served as the Minister (OFS, Order of Franciscans Secular) for a local fraternity based in Geneva, N.Y.

Historical Records: Historical newspaper archives from 1963 list a "Lee Strong" residing at 71 Lyceum St. in Geneva, N.Y.

Finally, the reporter/editor portion of my life gets mentioned, as does my involvement with the Secular Franciscan Order. As for my street address, I did live there, but only for a couple of years. I lived in a house on the outskirts of the city for most of my time in Geneva.

Bottom line: You need all of the entries to get a fuller picture of who I am, and even then there are inaccuracies and things left out - like my years as an actor/ director/playwright, and my many pro-life activities.

Pax et bonum

St. Bonaventure and Friends

Today is the Feast Day of St. Bonaventure. 

St. Bonaventure was a brilliant scholar, a mystic, a biographer of St. Francis of Assisi, and is a Doctor of the Church.

And he was a Franciscan.

The Franciscan family includes three orders - a Frist Order with priests like St. Bonaventure, a Second Order for women religious, and a Third Order (now called Secular Franciscan) for lay people. (The Seculars can also include diocesan priests and deacons.)

Like St. Bonaventure, Franciscan family has across the three orders produced many saints.

St. Francis and St. Clare are well known. So is another early Franciscan, St. Anthony of Padua.

The roll of Franciscan Saints over the centuries includes:

St. Joseph of Cupertino (noted for levitation!)

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (a queen noted for her service to the poor and sick)

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (another Doctor of the Church)

St. Benedict the Moor (a son of slaves)

St. Bernadine of Siena (a great preacher and reformer)

St. Thomas More (who remained faithful to the Church against King Henry VIII)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (a princess who was devoted to works of charity and who is a patroness of the Secular Franciscan Order)

St. Margaret of Cortona (a penitent who inspired us to name our home for pregnant women chose life, The Margaret Home)  

St. Junipero Serra (who founded missions in California and defended Native Americans against the Spanish colonists) 

St. Marianne Cope (who served the lepers of Molokai)

St. Maximilian Kolbe (who lost his life at Auschwitz)

Pope St. John XIII (who called for Vatican II)

 

St. Padre Pio (noted as a miracle worker and, like St. Francis, a Stigmatist) 

And so many more!

Pax et bonum

The Clearwater Banner Flap

I am a long-time fan of Pete Seeger. I applauded his environmental efforts to clean up the Hudson River, including the sloop Clearwater that he and his fellow activists used to promote cleaning up that river and fostering environmental awareness.

The Clearwater was in the news again July 4 when it was not allowed to take part in the tall ships procession in New York.

Procession organizers made the right decision.

The tall ships event was intended to be celebratory and non-political. Organizers had made it clear beforehand that the ships were not to include anything that might be political in nature. Despite that requirement, the Clearwater folks decided to include banners with messages.

Now while I agree with the messages on the banners, the rules were clear, and the Clearwater folks were violating them.

They were asked to remove the banners and were told if they did so they could participate in the procession. They refused. So, they were then informed they could not participate.

Note: They chose to violate the rules, and then they chose to refuse a reasonable request. They were "booted" - but more properly and accurately, they by their actions chose not to participate. 

When I heard about the flap, I thought of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. 

MERCUTIO
Thou art like one of those fellows that when he
enters the confines of a tavern claps me his sword
upon the table and says 'God send me no need of
thee!' and by the operation of the second cup draws
it on the drawer, when indeed there is no need.

By their actions they created a controversy that could have been avoided. 

I hope none of their supporters try to play the victim card or start screaming "free speech>" Courts have consistently ruled even protected speech can be limited in time, place, or manner in some circumstances.

As I said, I agree with the messages on the banners. But there is a time and a place for such a display. 

This was not that time or place.

Pax et bonum

General Strong Vincent, a Hero of Gettysburg

The pivotal Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1-3, 1863. On July 2, the Confederates tried to take Little Round Top, and one of my distant relatives was a hero who helped to repulse their attack, suffering a mortal wound in the process.

Strong Vincent was the son of B.B. Vincent and Sarah Ann (Strong) Vincent. It is through her that he is related to me.  

At the start of the Civil War he enlisted with the Pennsylvania militia, rising to the rank of Colonel. At Gettysburg on July 2, he and the brigade he commanded were ordered to the top of Little Round Top to repulse a Confederate attack.  While urging his troops on, he was shot in the thigh. He died five days later. Before he died, in recognition of his heroism, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. 

Pax et bonum

Recent Pro-life Haiku

Some observations outside Planned Parenthood.


Yes, one pro-lifer did pick up broken glass from the clinic's driveway out of concern that people driving in or out might get a flat.


leaving the clinic
girl in the front seat
avoids making eye contact


clinic escort
answers pro-lifer's greeting
with an expletive


clinic driveway
pro-lifer stoops to pick up
some broken glass


passing cars' gestures
pro-lifers relabel them
as saying "One way"



healing Mass 

a woman weeps for the child 

that she never held

Pax et bonum

Reading Tally At Mid Year

As I have done for several years now, I set reading goals for 2026. The goals include total number of works, total number of pages, and some specific goals related to particular writers, books, and genres. At midpoint in the year, and not likely to finish another work before the end of June, it's time to see how I'm doing.

I wanted to read 60-70 works, and 15,000 pages. I'm up to 35 works and 7,800 pages so far, so I'm on target to meet those two goals.

As for other goals, I've met the vast majority of them already. Here's the list from the beginning of the year, with the ones I have not done yet bolded:

A biography/autobiography of a saint

A book about a saint

A secular biography

At least two documents of Vatican II

Several spiritual works

A book by G. K. Chesterton I have not yet read

A book about G. K. Chesterton

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J. R. R. Tolkien

A book by C. S. Lewis, possibly a reread.

A book by Charles Dickens I have not yet read (Our Mutual Friend?)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A book by Michael O'Brien

A book by Dostoevsky (The Possessed?)

 At least one history book

 Several mysteries

 Several poetry collections

 Several plays

I'm currently reading Dostoevsky's The Possessed, so that goal will be completed in the coming weeks.

I'm still trying to decide which Chesterton book to read. though I'm leaning toward Tales of the Long Bow. I have read a couple of his short plays, but when I set this goal I was thinking one of his longer works.

In looking ahead, there are some books I want to read because they've been gathering dust, and some of which will end up being donated as I work on downsizing.

Here's what I have read so far:

Satan and the Saint (St. Jean Vianney) by Alex LaPerchi

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Vatican II)

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Vatican II)

A Man of Faith (Father Patrick Peyton) by Jeanne Gosselin Arnold

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Mission of Grace: The Story of Saint Marianne Cope by Fran Gangloff, OFS  

American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and the Plan to Heal the Church by Paul Kengor

The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church by Joseph Pearce

The Gift of Wonder: The Many Sides of G. K. Chesterton edited by Dale Ahlquist

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien

Letter to the Future by Michael D. O’Brien

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace by H. W. Brands

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

The Point of It All by Charles Krauthammer

Missing, Presumed Lost by Fiorella De Maria

May Day!  by Fiorella De Maria

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

Death of a Cad by M. C. Beaton

Absolution by Murder by Peter Tremayne

The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde

Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill

The Turkey and the Turk by G. K. Chesterton

What You Won’t by G. K. Chesterton

Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

The Frog Prince and Other Poems by Stevie Smith

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake

My Heart’s in the Highlands: An Anthology of Verse by Robert Burns

Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Selected by Babette Deutsch)

Highlights of the year so far?

The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace by H. W. Brands, The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman, Missing, Presumed Lost by Fiorella De Maria, May Day!  by Fiorella De Maria, and Letter to the Future by Michael D. O’Brien.

As I mentioned, I am currently reading The Possessed, so I will meet that goal in July. I'm also reading a collection of talks by Pope Benedict, The Apostles, and will finish that fairly soon.

I'm saving Our Mutual Friend for August and our summer vacation at the cottage.

I have in the queue as possibilities: The Little Flowers of St. Francis, Dear and Glorious Physician: A Novel about Saint Luke by Taylor Caldwell, In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden, Citadel of God by Louis de Wohl, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and The Big Fisherman by Lloyd. C. Douglas. I don't know if I will read them all this year, though. There will also likely be a few mysteries just for fun, of course, and maybe something by Mark Twain, perhaps A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, or a collection of his short stories?

Who knows what else will draw my attention?

Pax et bonum