In April I bought a Dell Latitude and since I was writing for Opensource.com I wanted to run Fedora. It’s not required but I thought it would be nice. I tried hard to find ways to run Fedora with the Broadcom wireless card that came installed in the Latitude. Chagrined that I could not find a good driver I decided to go with Ubuntu on the desktop and live with the Unity interface which I didn’t really like. Fast forward a couple of months and I read a blog post on MyLinuxRig where Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst said he too had a Dell and solved the wireless issue with an Intel wireless card. That was great news for me. It’s one of those ideas I just hadn’t thought of. I’m grateful to Jim and that he shared his experience. This week I got an Intel Corporation Wireless 3160 card from Amazon and installed it this afternoon. Then I installed Fedora and now I’ll show up in Raleigh for All Things Open in good shape with my new platform. I’m glad to back on Fedora and Gnome whIch I prefer.
The Road to Raleigh and All Things Open 2015
In a few days I’ll be boarding a flight that will take me to Raleigh-Durham International and eventually to the All Things Open Conference which is next week. As I was driving home tonight I thought of the journey that began nearly twenty years ago that brought me to this point. I thought of my experiences with Linux and open source software and the many servers and desktops I’ve built and rebuilt over the years that foreordained this trip. On Sunday I’ll be attending a meeting of community-moderators of Opensource.com in Red Hat Tower. None of this was on my radar in the days when I used to piece together old computers in storage closets at my place of employment and install a variety of Linux distributions on them. I thought of my efforts to have Red Hat Linux approved as a software standard for use in public schools of Western New York State almost eleven years ago. I’m thrilled at the prospect of meeting others from all over the world who also believe that the present and future hold unlimited potential for those individuals and entities who use open source software. When I retired from public education a couple of years ago I thought I had reached the limit of my endeavors with Linux and open source software.
Emerson once said, every wall is a door,” and my retirement opened a door to unimagined possibilities. One of those possibilities has been my participation in the wonderful enterprise of Opensource.com as a community moderator. In the past ten months I’ve learned a lot about writing, interviewing and participation. I’ve learned about more than software and hardware. I’ve learned about being a part of a wonderful open organization. I’ve been welcomed, empowered and encouraged by a unique team of individuals who have helped me to realize that I still have much to give.
Rest in Peace Father Bob
Yesterday I received word that Fr. Robert Struzynski, OFM had been greeted by Sister Death at 5:00 am. I knew it was a matter of time since Fr. Bob had been taken off life support because he had suffered a brain hemorrhage and was unresponsive. Nonetheless, even when it is expected the departure of a friend is marked by sadness. As I thought of Fr. Bob during the days leading up to his death I remembered our first meeting on the “Peace Path” at Mt. Irenaeus. We were both taking a meditative walk in the woods and though we didn’t speak there was a silent greeting that passed between us. Later at lunch we met more formally and shared a meal together. The next time we met when I was a guest at St. Patrick’s Friary in Buffalo, New York. Then in 2005 Fr. Bob came to Mt. Irenaeus and it was from that point until now that our friendship grew. One of my many memories of him was at a Sunday brunch following one of his homilies. I told him how meaningful his message was to me that day. I don’t remember the exact content nor context but I do remember the quote from Karl Rahner that he shared, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all.” That quote continues to resonate with me.
In 2006 I became minister of the St. Irenaeus Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order and Fr. Bob shared his vision that involved a more active involvement between Secular Franciscans and the students of St. Bonaventure University. We continued our conversation on this topic and we both thought of how this could be effected. In the spring of 2009 when I was on my way up the hill to Mass at Holy Peace Chapel I told Fr. Bob that I was thinking of retiring. He told me, “The provincial said I can’t retire until I’m seventy-five.” That brief statement invited me to rethink my decision. Then in August 2009 I became a St. Bonaventure University graduate student. We continued to discuss many other topics including Fr. Bob’s very active involvement with the Cephas Ministry and how he was sharing that ministry with St. Bonaventure University students.
In May 2011 I graduated from St. Bonaventure University and as I entered and processed through the Reilly Center I was greeted by Fr. Bob and the other professors each in their doctoral robes. That was a very moving experience. We had many occasions to share in the time that followed. After the Easter Vigil service this year while we were sharing coffee and treats at the House of Peace at Mt. Irenaeus Fr. Bob told me how much he enjoyed what I shared and that he was leaving Mt. Irenaeus. He was going to St. Anthony’s Friary in Butler, New Jersey. I thanked him and told him that I would miss him very much. He sent me a card with his address and asked that we remain in touch and then he left in early June. Nearly four months elapsed and finally in mid-October I wrote him. I told him that I had retired but that I was spending my time volunteering at a number of places including the Warming House. He wrote back and I’m very grateful that I saved the letter. It’s priceless now! Rest in peace Fr. Bob! Your spirit lives on within us all.
Warming House provides more than warmth
Since September I have been volunteering at least one day a week at St. Bonaventure University’s Warming House. My friend Br. Kevin Kriso, OFM recommended it as an activity I might like as I transitioned into retirement. Unsure of myself at first in the new surroundings and lacking confidence in my culinary skills I decided that I could best help by washing dishes. Dinner for twenty to thirty people provides along with the cooking pots and utensils to feed them provides enough to keep one busy in the dishwater. The young ladies who serve as Meal Coordinators invited me to make desserts. At first I was hesitant even though I used to bake with my Grandmother when I was a child. No-bake cheesecake, muffins, apple sauce bread, apple crisp and more have made me more confident in the kitchen. Yesterday, Arielle suggested that I could make pumpkin cake and provided me with a list of the ingredients. Two cups of margarine melted, four cups of flour, three and half cups of sugar, four eggs and more along with plenty of stirring resulted in a delicious dessert. Arielle’s delicious turkey soup and fresh chocolate pudding made for an appetizing meal.
The Warming House is the oldest student run soup kitchen in the United States. Meals served there surpass anything I have seen or tasted in other such kitchens. The patrons who come each day bring forth the best in all of us. I am impressed with the cooking skills of the coordinators too. Each day they put together a tasty meal from what they find on the shelves of the storeroom and cooler. But, the Warming House is more than food. It is an community of people, young and old who come together for the common good. It is at its heart very Franciscan and emblematic of the Incarnation itself. It is tangible evidence of the goodness that resides in the hearts of all creation. Those who serve are served by those who come to eat. I am grateful to be a participant in this wonderful experience of love.
No To An Economy of Exclusion
Thank you Pope Francis for the words of your exhortation, Evangelli Gaudium. You have spoken powerfully. In his own way this pope has touched the lives of millions of people around the world who have been praying for a prophetic voice. When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was selected as the successor to St. Peter few people realized the effect this humble man would have on not only the Catholic Church but the world in general. I remember the morning prior to his selection that I prayed that we could have a pope who spoke with a prophetic voice like John XXIII. My prayers have been more than answered. This is only part of his Apostolic Exhortation, but it’s been getting a lot of press because it challenges the status quo. Many times since March 13, 2013 I have thought, “Gaudium Magnum, Habemus Papam.” Thank you for answering our prayers, Holy Father!
53. Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.
Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “disposable” culture which is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”.
54. In this context, some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase; and in the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.
A Grateful Heart
This is a season of thanksgiving and in that spirit I am thinking of the many ways that I have been blessed this year and in my life in general. I’m grateful for my life, my wife and family too. In a few weeks I’ll be sixty-one. Each year everyone seems to be getting younger and my definition of what constitutes an elderly person gets older. I’m grateful to be retired and volunteering at The Warming House and Blount Library. On Friday I was asked to serve on the Blount Library Board. That’s a great honor and I’ll be reunited with some of my former colleagues. I’m grateful for the opportunity to attend daily Mass at St. Philomena’s Church in Franklinville. I’m grateful to have worked with so many wonderful people at Franklinville Central School, who treated me to a wonderful dinner at the VFW and presents from the Franklinville Teachers Association. I’m grateful to be able to renew my passion for reading in general. Today I finished a book I borrowed yesterday from the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System. It was an ebook that I borrowed wirelessly, Dr. J: An Autobiography. I’m grateful for the new opportunities to serve and grow. I’m even grateful for the snow and winter that has arrived.