Uncategorized – Page 5 – The Future is Open

May 26, 2019

On the road to Assisi

The day began at 5:30 am as I rose to pack my bags and get ready for the bus. Then Eucharist in the chapel at Casa Tra Nois with Fr. Conrad celebrating. Then a quick colazione (breakfast) and boarding the bus. We left Rome and headed north stopping first at Poggio Bostone. Fr. Conrad shared the story of St. Francis and his journey to self forgiveness which is why he was attracted to Poggio Bustone and the Rieti Valley. Then he explained the significance of the Franciscan Tau Cross and invited each of us to come forward to receive our own crosses and the acceptance of ourselves symbolized by the cross. It was a poignant ceremony. Fr. Conrad and Rev. Bill Reese were available to hear those who needed to speak their truth and claim that forgiveness. There was a lot of healing on thst mountain this morning.

After a 90 minute visit we were on our way to Greccio and the site of the first celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. I love the chapel at Greccio. A sumptuous lunch followed in the nearby village. We ate a rich meal and the conversation flowed. Now we’re on the road to the Spoleto Valley and Assisi.

May 26, 2019

Gratitude for the journey

It’s been only three days since our pilgrimage began and yet so much has happened. Thirty-five people who were only names on a roster have become formed together in a beautiful group with a shared memory. Our common bond as sisters and brothers of a shared experience of soldiers, sailors and marines has been the catalyst. Already there’s a kinship kindled and this unique group have become a band of sisters and brothers. There have been some highlights already for me. Yesterday at St. Peter’s I was overcome with the joy of the journey. Standing near the tomb of St. Peter and gazing as sunlight streamed through the windows I was overcome with a sense of awe and beauty. I knelt at “Peter’s Pence” facing the main altar and remembered our grandson Theo in prayer as well as his parents. I prayed for my brothers and sisters and their families as well as all creation. I wondered in the presence of the Holy Spirit that filled this place whether it would allow the destruction of our world with the climate crisis. I prayed for peace and felt a sense of hope and peace that surpassed my understanding. Perhaps my experience was more poignant having survived a pulmonary embolism last year. That’s certainly been on my mind. I’m grateful we got to share the Eucharist in this holy place. Pilgrimage is much different than a vacation. It’s been a time of restful, peaceful solitude. It’s been a balm for my soul.

Today we begin the day with Eucharist here at Casa Tra Nois in Rome and then we’re off to Assisi wandering through the Rieti Valley with stops in Poggio Bustone and Greccio I’ll have many wonderful memories of Rome among them our shared moments of peace, reflection and laughter. This has been the bona venture, the good journey of peace

May 18, 2019

Next stop Rome

Next week I’ll be in Rome for the second time in my life. Last year I was able to attend a wonderful pilgrimage for veterans that took us to Rome and Assisi. I’d never visited either before and it was incredibly fulfilling to see Pope Francis, tour Rome, get lost in the Roman hills, see the Lateran Basilica and much more. It was the trip of a lifetime. When I looked out over the Spoleto Valley on the morning of May 21, 2019 I took a mental picture and one with my iPhone too. I was grateful to have spent the last week visiting Italy and trekking on this sacred ground once walked on by the apostles in Rome and St. Francis and his early companions in the Assisi and Tuscany.

While I was there last year I called a fellow veteran and long time friend and told him that he should go on this pilgrimage. He told me then. “I’ll go if you go Donald.” I filed that conversation away and it lay dormant for about six months. In late November of last year I survived another pulmonary embolism and atrial fibrillation. That first night in the hospital I said to myself, “I’m going back to Assisi.” I’m fortunate to have survived not one but two pulmonary embolisms in my life. I called my friend while still in the hospital and said, “I’m gong back to Assisi.” He replied, “I’ll join you.’ In the past six months we’ve been planning and anticipating and next week we’ll be there.

I’m filled with anticipation, excitement and gratitude. I’m praying that my friend John will have a blessed time on this pilgrimage. While I’m looking forward to Rome I’m really excited to be returning to Assisi and returning to Casa Papa Giovanni where we stayed last year. I’m longing to walk again the footsteps of St. Francis, St. Clare and the early Franciscans. Last year’s pilgrimage was deeply moving and sparked a spiritual and emotional transformation. I came to understand St. Francis not only as the seraphic father of the Franciscan order of which I am a part, but also as a fellow veteran and person who suffered from post traumatic stress.

I’m looking forward to meeting the many other veterans and their spouses who will be joining us. I’m eager to renew relationships with the leaders of the pilgrimage and with the wonderful hosts and people of Rome and Assisi. I’m eager to greet my companions with Buongiorno buona gente.

January 31, 2019

It’s cold but it’s a different cold

I finally ventured out of the house today to clean our driveway. Yesterday I drove twenty miles for a medical appointment. After my return home I stayed inside for over twenty-four hours which is very atypical for me. I like walking and being out in the neighborhood. Overnight our temperature went down to -10 degrees Fahrenheit which is very cold to be sure. When I was a young boy it was not uncommon for temperatures to dip below -30F so I’m no stranger to cold weather. I can remember a time in the 1980’s when it was subzero for an entire week.

Climate change is a difficult subject in the United States. Some confuse climate with weather. Others, like our president assume that subzero cold weather is an indication that ‘global warming’ is a hoax. I read Inconvenient Truth many years ago and I’ve subsequently read other works about climate change and they all point to more extreme weather. You’re probably thinking about the subzero temperatures of yesteryear as an rebuttal for extreme weather.

Here’s where the difference lies. Years ago, we’d have a month or sometimes two or three where the temperature never got above 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes if we were lucky we’d have a January thaw late in that month. This week, we’re going from subzero yesterday and today to more normal temperatures tomorrow followed by unseasonably warm temperatures rising in to the high forties and possibly fifty degrees on Monday. Prodigious snowfalls to our north will become water and cause ice packed creeks and rivers to overflow. Roadways and streets will be flooded and then just as quickly as it thawed there will be a return to frigid weather. Therein lies the difference and it’s a weather pattern that has been repeated time and time again in the past number of years. I believe it’s going to get worse and eventually it is going to threaten our existence in many ways that we can only imagine now.

January 29, 2019

It’s the climate stupid!

Yesterday I received an email from my brother who lives in Wisconsin with a link to an article and it’s substance was about the subzero polar vortex which is impacting the mid-west and the much of the country this week. The article explained that this phenomenon is being caused because a mass of warm air had recently moved to the arctic and displaced the arctic air to the south. The warm air that arrived in the arctic was 125 degrees above normal if memory serves me correctly.

It’s become popular for the climate change deniers in our country to point to these frigid temperatures and deride those who speak and write of ‘global warming.’ According to these folks the frigid temperatures belie the existence of global warming and climate change. Recently, Alexandria Occasio-Cortez took some heat from the pundits when she proclaimed that the world is going to end in twelve years. While I’m not sure of the exact timing that she proclaimed it is easy to see that our climate is changing rapidly and our weather is becoming more and more severe. We have had so much rain in our area that the ground is saturated. Recently, due to this hyper-saturation and extreme wind one of our neighbors spruce trees was uprooted and toppled into our yard. It will cost several hundred dollars to have it removed and disposed of.

Yesterday, The Intercept proclaimed that the real national emergency is climate change and not border security. I wholeheartedly agree with their premise. Rising sea levels, extreme heat and drought are already wreaking havoc in the United States and around the world. In the meantime the majority of our political leaders deny its existence or cast shade on those of us who see cause for alarm. One has to wonder how much longer we must endure the ravages of this change coupled with the intransigence of our politicians.

January 26, 2019

Here are some great reasons you should use Linux

This video was shared on Twitter and Facebook today by System76. If you’re not familiar they are a company based in Denver, Colorado that builds and sells computer systems that run Linux. These systems feature their own version of Linux which is called Pop!_OS or you can opt for Ubuntu 18.10. I recently visited their facility and was very impressed with their entire operation. This video sums up very nicely a half dozen reasons why you too should consider Linux for your computer operating system.

January 20, 2019

A very good read

Faith: A Journey For All by Jimmy Carter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a good read. I warmed up to it slowly. Jimmy Carter is one of my favorite authors and I have read many of his books. He is a real Christian witness. He makes some great points and shares vignettes from his own life to illustrate them. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in biblical justice and peace.

December 1, 2018

Grateful to be well

Last week at this time I was sitting in the emergency room at Olean General Hospital. My future was uncertain as nurses and staff members examined me. I arrived at the emergency room short of breath. That’s a great way to get quick service at the ER. I’m grateful that one week later I’ve been returned to good health. Tonight I find myself nearly four hundred miles from home at a retreat center near Hartford CT. It was a long ride here and the journey had the feel of a pilgrimage. I’m glad to be here in this peaceful spot surrounded by beauty and care. Peace.

October 15, 2018

GnuCash 3.3 on MacOS Mojave

A week ago as I pondered upgrading to MacOS Mojave I wondered would I be able to use GnuCash on which I’ve grown to depend. Some of the research I had done on support sites indicated that the older 2.xx version of GnuCash that I was using on MacOS High Sierra might not work. I took the necessary steps to back up my files and then set out for the upgrade.

Sure enough when I had completed the upgrade to Mojave, GnuCash would not launch. I had a backup plan to use GnuCash on a Linux laptop. However I did come across a support discussion that indicated that GnuCash 3.2 and 3.3 would work. I downloaded the image files from SourceForge and set to work. When I first launched the program my register fonts were very small. I remembered that in GnuCash 2.6 that I had to edit a configuration file in the home directory ~/’.gtkrc-2.0.gnucash‘. That configuration file let me specify a larger font and different typeface.

Now, however GnuCash 3.3 required a different configuration option which I am going to share. Once I created and edited this file my new installation worked fine and the register appeared more readable. To accomplish this you need to open a terminal on your Mac. In the terminal you need to change directories to the following: Library/Application\Support/Gnucash/config/gtk-3.0/. Once you’re in that directory you will need to create a file named, ‘gtk.css’. I created the file with the ‘touch’ command and then edited it with ‘nano’. The contents of that file gave me the results I was looking for. You can edit the font and point size to your own tastes.
{
font:12pt arial, sans-serif;
}

I hope this helps other GnuCash 3.3 users.