The Man Who Is Thursday

Years ago, I was invited to become one of the contributors to a blog called Chesterton and Friends.

The blog is devoted "G.K. Chesterton, his friends, and the writers he influenced: Belloc, Baring, Lewis, Tolkien, Dawson, Barfield, Knox, Muggeridge, and others."

There were several writers involved when I  joined - some quite prominent in Chesterton circles - and each of us was assigned a day. We were free to post on other days, but our day was the one for which each one of us was responsible for providing content.

I was assigned Thursday.

I was delighted at that - having enjoyed Chesterton's novel, The Man Who Was Thursday.

Alas, some of the regular writers drifted away, posting decreased, and the days were neglected. I continued to post, but not as regularly as I should - and certainly with no concern for making sure Thursday had some content each week.

I was thinking about this this morning. I am home - my wife had surgery and I'm out of school for two days to make sure she is doing okay, to make her cups of tea, and to say comforting things as she deals with post-operative pain and queasiness.

I brought school work with me. While she was in surgery yesterday, I was grading a set of student clerihews. As I made suggestions and comments, I thought of my own clerihews. I've been fortunate to have some of them published in Gilbert. One of my back-burner projects was to compile a collection of some of the better ones and to self-publish a chapbook. So this morning I went to a file where I had haphazardly compiled various poems - clerihews, limericks, and haiku mostly. I created a new file just for the clerihews and did some cutting and pasting. I then went through and culled some duplicates, weaker efforts, and those that are more topical in nature (about local elections, for example).

As I did so, I realized I was missing some. Since I'd posted a number of them on that blog, I went searching for them. I also read some old posts by myself and others. There were some good, enjoyable pieces posted there over the last eight years. We had a good set of writers and Chestertonians contributing. I hope those who are no longer active there are doing well.

As I was searching, I thought of Chesterton and the efforts to compile his works. People keep finding essays, reviews, letters, and poems by him - sometimes long forgotten or published in obscure places. He likely forgot about them; he was not noted for his organization when it came to such matters. I share that trait with him.

I now have a file with most of my better clerihews. There may be others I haven't found yet. There's about 40 that I deem worthy of including in my little book. I also found some that I had intended to submit to Gilbert, but never got around to doing so: Watch out Gilbert editors!

In addition, I've resolved to renew my commitment to posting at that blog on Thursdays. I also need to post more regularly here. I've done some cross-posting, and will continue to do so. (This post, for example, is substantially the same as one I posted there.)

I'll work on my clerihew collection for publishing later this year. I'm also going to compile a collection of my slug haiku (they all begin "a slug among weeds") - more on that later.

Maybe I'll talk about this other project next Thursday here and on Chesterton and Friends!

Pax et bonum

Surgery went well (scribbling)

Apparently the surgery went well, and we got out in relatively quick time. We find out today exactly what the doctor did and found, but from the nurses the reports were all positive. Now comes recovery for the Good Looking One.

As I often do when forced to sit still for a long period of time, I began to scribble some drafts of poems - in this case haiku and senryu.

waiting room -
artificial waterfall
numbs the pain

woman reading obits
in hospital waiting room -
I remember

elderly woman
with flaming red hair
winter sunlight

resigned to play
on albums that all sold well
muzak musicians

you tell yourself
at least I'm being heard
muzak musician

waiting room muzak
artificial waterfall -
sounds to silence

Pax et bonum

Surgery today

The Good Looking One has had a wounded wing for quite a while - rotator cuff, plus possibly more damage. Today, she goes in for surgery.

Hopefully they can repair everything quickly and easily, and don't find any more damage.

I'm taking a couple of days off from school to accompany her, and to be with her for the first 24 hours after.

The pain she's been in puts my little aches and pains to shame!

Pax et bonum

Amusing Mass Moment (Santa!)

At our parish, the priests have a tradition of inviting children to come up, circle the altar, and hold hands while saying the "Our Father." (I know, some people object to this practice, but that's not the point of this post.)

Today, a father carried up a very young girl almost to the altar. She then climbed up the steps and took her older sister's had.

As we were saying the "Our Father," she looked over at where the choir and musicians were standing and praying. She looked at me, and her eyes widened. I could read her lips.

"Santa Claus!"

She turned to her sister, who said something. She looked back at me, a questioning look on her face.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Pax et bonum

A Clerihew Toast to Pope Benedict.

Some folks feared Pope Benedict
would be too strict.
But I knew we had nothing to fear
when I saw him quaff a beer.

Pax et bonum

An odd thought (What's stigmata with you?)

A couple of months ago, my right foot began to bother me. It hurt when I walked, or when it was in any one position for long (such as when driving).

I thought at first I may have bruised it - maybe even to the bone - somehow. When the pain lingered, I began to wonder if maybe I had broken a bone, or perhaps it was an early sign of arthritis. I finally went to an urgent care center. The doctor examined the foot, and even took x-rays. Nothing. He gave me some medicine to see if perhaps it was just a matter of a muscle strain. The medicine didn't help.

The foot still hurts. A dull but persistent pain. I'm thinking of going to a specialist at some point.

Two weeks ago the left side of my chest began to hurt just over my heart. I thought maybe it was because I have been coughing so much that maybe I pulled a muscle, or perhaps even cracked a rib.

It hurts when I cough, turn suddenly, turn over on that side in bed, or sometimes even when I take a deep breath.  The pain is not debilitating, just sometimes sharp.  I'm waiting to see if it continues much longer. If it does, then maybe I'll think about seeing a doctor. Maybe.

Yeah, I know. It's a guy thing.

This morning an odd thought hit me. My wife has been watching a movie about St. Padre Pio. And last night we talked about offering up suffering at my Franciscan meeting.

Both St. Padre Pio and St. Francis had the stigmata.

And my foot - in a spot where my Lord was pierced by a nail - and my side - in a place where a spear was thrust into my Lord - were hurting.

It was almost as if I was experiencing a small taste of the stigmata.

Not that I believe I'm really having any such mystical experience. I am not spiritually deep enough, I am not prayerful enough, I am not so lost in love for the Lord for any such miracle to happen to me. And the pain that I'm experiencing is no where near the agony my Lord experienced, or even like that felt by holy stagmatists like Saints Pio or Francis.

But it occurred to me that I can still offer these pains up.

Of course, if my other foot and my hands start to hurt I'll begin to wonder if God is playing a little joke on me!

Pax et bonum

The Thirsting - Universal Youth (Official Music Video)

Okay, I have eclectic tastes. But Catholic punk rock fits right in with the history of the Church being "catholic."