Next!

OK, celebrations at the recovery of my sweatshirt continue, of course, but they are dampened upon learning two mementos -- one quite precious to both Mom and me -- have been misplaced or Heaven forbid "cleaned up" by an overzealous would-be helper. Somewhat less precious to me but perhaps intrinsically with value is the Arlen Specter yard sign I asked the senator to autograph during a 1998 campaign event at Cedar Crest College during the cycle that saw Pat Toomey first elected to the U.S. House and saw Charlie Dent become a state senator. It holds fond memories, and I hope it's just tucked behind furniture. Of more importance is the fact that Mom can't lay her hand on the last recording we had of Dad's voice, in this case as he was offered the mic at a Gene Belletiere concert and said on cue in a deep croony voice: "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?" Charlie Brown indeed!! Mom would like to hear the tape again, and I sure would, too. This Fall marks 17 years since my family lost its patriarch. Fingers crossed the tape can somehow be recovered, especially since Mom recently pulled out of her ear a little boom box that could play it. Have a great one, everyone: excavations on the second floor of our residence continue. All kinds of things may be unearthed. Who ever knows?

Good Neighbors at Montco

Amazing!!!! A HUGE thank you to the unknown person who put my sweatshirt on a hook in the back of the classroom in Montgomery County Community College's Parkhouse Hall -- and to all those who left it on the hook for more than a week. I'm so glad to have it back, and you are all wonderful!!

(One advantage of no longer having a direct boss is that I can use exclamation points wantonly. Don't try this at home, kids.)

THANK YOU!!

Um, has anybody seen my white zip-up hoodie? It's chilly out this morning, and it's almost time to walk the dog. A little help here?

Images of Freedom

Reuters is reporting that China has reversed its 17-year band on displaying images of the Dalai Lama at a Tibetan monastery: let's hope this means greater religious freedom all around in China!

Arrest in the Slaying of Daniel Pearl

CNN and The New York Times are reporting an arrest in the 2002 slaying of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

What She Said

Enjoy.

Big Thanks for Service

I'm glad to give a shout-out to Adam, a help-desk tech at Comcast who got me back up and running online in fairly short order and to the customer service representative whose name I did not catch who transferred me quickly to him. Both were able, professional and patient. I will consider whether I can justify replacing the Netgear router we purchased through the ISP to set up wireless access here. In the meantime, I just want to offer many thanks for a well-handled call and for the service.

The Want Ads -- Take 294

Nonna Rosa's has a slightly worn sign on its front doors advertizing that it needs front-counter and delivery help. No phone number is listed. Might be best to enquire within, but here's the website for more info on the place: http://nonnarosarestaurant.net/website/

Christmas into February

I was so touched to have been spoiled by my family and by my love this Christmas, and getting snowed in for a few days without t.v. with part of them may have been the biggest gift of all. Mostly it was just nice to be listened to and to be remembered. I felt loved.

But Christmas has extended past its calendar for me, and not just because Mom is still clinging to the decorated tree (and I'm secretly loving it). I feel awful that our little bits of snow, plus the "superstorm" and the usual string of cold and 'flu-like irritations that came this year put me behind the curve for Christmas cards. Believe it or not, I wrote the few that I'm managing to send on SOTU night, and I'm mailing them this week. They were bought for being late, so they don't reference Christmas -- but I wish you and those on my of necessity small Christmas card list the joy, love and peace that comes with that season to light your entire year.

"Santa" also came late as well as right on the day to me, and I hope he stays all year: not only did I find the entirely logical and good place where I had stowed my trusty and rarely-used ceramic heater, but I also noticed that someone (presumably Mom, but who knows?) purchased a little heating fan that we can use to backstop ourselves if we ever have the need to do so! Both those things made me feel relieved and pleased, to say the least. There's one more item I'm going to find or replace, and that's my collection of bylined work, college poems and published editorials. Likely a member of my family is archiving them, although it's possible that they got lost in that last, most chaotic move. I still owe a newspaper librarian $20 (Canadian -- though I guess the two currencies are at near par at the moment) for the work she did photocopying my stuff from Ottawa. Part of me is hoping I actually get to go back and retrace my steps to create my own archive, although that may be a lengthy, lengthy process. I may never do any more work of value, but I'm planning to examine what I've done and see how it measures up, at least in my own eyes.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to strive to better myself -- not in the financial sense, but rather the personal one. I want to live the kind of life that doesn't necessarily need to be recorded but would ring true and good if it were, accurately. If all else fails regarding my former line of employment, I'll refer you to my former boss (and a friend I miss), Bill, who said as countless editors no doubt did: "You'll write it better the second time."

May the rest of winter be kind to you, Northern Hemisphere, and may Spring come soon enough for your liking. Oh, and thank you notes are forthcoming.

An update: One of the three items I recently highlighted as gone missing from my living space was returned to me. Many thanks (and, seriously, no hard feelings). Two to go!

If anyone can even offer the loan of a small, safe ceramic heater for the upcoming season I'd be so grateful. I cannot afford to replace mine and it simply does not make sense to heat three storeys of living space every time bathing is necessary. My health, my hygiene and I thank you in advance.

MCCC Job Seekers Alert

This from Montgomery County (Pa.) Community College via Facebook: "The Annual West Campus Career Expo, featuring up to 50 employers, will be held in the South Hall Community Room, 101, College Drive, Pottstown, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Oct. 17."

Got Qualifications?

Salon Cuts in Fairview Village, Pennsylvania has a sign out seeking a full- or part-time stylist. Want more details? You'll have to inquire yourself, but I thought I'd put out the heads-up. Good luck to all job seekers!

I (Still) Love To Watch 'Em Roll

In honor of a rebel with many causes -- many of which are now, I'd admit, near anathema to me -- who still left us way too soon. Happy birthday in the hereafter, John Lennon.

More Missing Things -- Help!!

I'm not accusing anyone in particular. I'm hoping it is just general clutter and disorganization that is to blame, because I'd hate to think anyone was messing with other people's property around good ol' 216. I do, however, need to express frustration with, among other things, the fact that I no longer have a front door or a lock for the home where I pay every month for the privilege of hanging my hat and backstopping the person who has control of the actual front door.

OK, here goes:

I am supporting the economy this month by paying to replace both the small box heater I use to warm the dressing room area on frosty mornings and my brand new graduation watch. Mercifully, the latter was not expensive, nor did I ask for an expensive one! The first may set me back a few bucks to get one as safe as the one I had.

Irreplaceable is the Henkel paring knife with a custom-made rosewood handle, one of only three cooking knives I brought into this house. It was one of the sweetest things my ex-husband ever made for me, and -- more to the point -- it is sharp and useful for cooking, and I absolutely cannot afford to replace it. Actually, more to the point, it is MINE, and if anyone pitched or pinched it they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Again, no questions asked: If you know where any of these things are, please just affect their return.

This Goose Ain't Getting Fat

Yes, Einstein Montgomery is hiring -- and so is the Einstein Bros. Bagels in Trooper, Pennsylvania. Apply for either online, although it probably wouldn't hurt to stop in the bagel shop if that interests you.

In specifically Bateman news, I bought my first 2012 Christmas gift the other day! If I buy for you and you don't want something stupid, PLEASE give me a list. Mine is the same as last year's, as I used up all of what you guys gave me last year! ;) Seriously, though, if you "need" to buy for me it's a good guide, and I did put a few fresh things on my Amazon list. All I need, though, is your love, friendship and devotion, a roof over my head and some food.

Help Wanted in the 19403

Bob's Auto Parts in Jeffersonville, Eagleville, Norristown, call-it-anything-but-late-for-dinner has a sign out looking for inside help. If you're looking for a job or you know someone good who might be please check it out. They're at 2211 West Main Street. Their telephone number is listed on the web, but somehow I think the right candidate might do better just to stop in and ask.

I would like to take some time to really reflect on the news today regarding the foundation that is apparently to take over management of Catholic high schools and special education schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, per The Philadelphia Inquirer via Philly.com. (http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20120822_Philly_Catholic_high_schools_to_be_managed_by_a_private_foundation.html?nlid=4846955), but I only have a moment to capture my impressions of the proposal as it is described in the piece. I would like to note, notwithstanding my obvious frustration with my inability to get simple factual details straight too often for my liking (see my most immediately recent post in this blog), that I feel compelled to write because my immediate reaction is that while the move would serve to shift future liability, perhaps, for abuses by clergy and staff against students, no details have yet emerged in the press to my knowledge about what, if anything, a foundation would concretely do to solve the seemingly unsolvable problem regarding the vulnerability of children and the precarious whole and entire trust for their souls and their well-being that is placed in the hands of educators and clergy.

If anyone has any information in this regard, I open this post's commentary section for them to disseminate it here, and I hope bells and whistles won't substitute for safety and nurturing when we look to the future of our youth. If not here in this comments section, well, then let's just for Heaven's sake be honest about the problems and as direct as possible in communicating possible strategies now and going forward. It *was* refreshing to hear a tone of optimism reflected in the Inquirer's coverage, but I feel that optimism must be more than a house of mirrors or an attempt to appease anger and fear with what could possibly be academic and cultural "goodies." Music, such as the programs potentially strengthened or offered at post-diocesan "foundation" schools, can be a powerful language in which to teach, but its strength is not always and universally a wholesome one despite the aspirations of humanity to make it so. Here's hoping the archdiocese, which is much older than any individual person and has the potential to be that much wiser than any person, remembers to make the emphasis always on the good as well as the incredibly important enrichment programs -- those potentially very nourishing goodies.

Why I'm No Longer a Reporter

The Bark! Bark! Bark! For Our Park! event at the Norristown Farm Park is tomorrow, Sunday, May 20 -- not today. It runs from nine a.m. to one p.m. at the picnic pavilions. Cost is $10 per car (or take a hike in). The weather looks to be just about as nice tomorrow as it is today: Should be a great day for it. Bring your pups, kids and cash, as books and food will be on sale. I regret the error, but I had fun driving around the East Norriton side of the park today -- good fun. No doubt it'll be even more fun for those who are there tomorrow.

This Just in From the Fam

Check out this new blog from my incomparably wonderful goddaughter Lauren. (OK, I'm biased.)

Ending on a Good Note

I'm delighted to end the night with a rebroadcast of Bonnie Raitt's performance from New Orleans this weekend. Maybe it'll still be available for you to watch when you click through to New Orleans Jazz Fest's youtube channel.