Life - simple but, always complicated!!

An opinion piece that should be read by all. The Nazis also managed their encaptured people  by violence. No similarity ? Both the US slaves & the Jews were denied freedom , forced to do labor , and members of both were murdered. The reasons were simple, they were of the wrong race, ethinicy, or religion. There is no justification to deny people their personal freedom.  A few years ago my daughter and I saw the movie,  Twelve Years A Slave,  it won the 2013 Oscar for Best Motion Picture. I highly recommend it, you'll be both saddened and educated , both Kristen & I were. Yes, Even George Washington Charles Blow On the difficulty of American slavery, I’m an absolutist: enslavers have been amoral monsters. The very concept that one group of individuals believed that they’d the correct to personal one other human being is abhorrent and wicked. The undeniable fact that their management was enforced by violence was barbaric. People usually attempt to c...

Today, June 26th, I just happened to be at the Mass that was for the Fairport Angels. It's the 13th anniversary of the tragic auto accident that claimed the lives of Hannah Congdon, Bailey Goodman, Meredith McClure, Sara Monnat, and Katie Shirley.  All members of Fairport HS Class of 2007.  Feelings of sadness & sorrow immediately hit me when I found who the Mass was in rememberance of. Today, those girls would be young women either 30 or 31. But, no they are forever frozen in time, 17 or 18.  A young boy & girl were receiving the Holy Eucharist for the first time, a celebration. I wonder what thoughts were going through the minds of the parents of the Fairport Angels. I'm sure their thoughts floated back to a time of innocence for their girls. "Just one more day", is a wish the Fairport Angels & parents probably hope for. Never to be  I walked out of Church with a pit in my stomach, and just a saddened feeling. So in today's troubling time both in the...

This is not a fictional tale, nor a little bit of reality and then embellished for a TV movie, no it's about two men , actually three men, of different economic backgrounds, races, ethnicity, and how they didn't see differences  but commonality. The commonality was they were all football men, Chicago Bears, one a coach/owner, the other two players. They had a common goal, win football games for the Chicago Bears. Actually, maybe win a few games for the Bears, because in the late 1960's the Bears weren't a very good team. Gale Sayers was one of the best running backs to ever play in the NFL, Brian Piccolo was second string all the way. He had the heart and determination better than not only of most in the NFL, but better than 99% of the citizens in the United States. Nothing stopped that guy except cancer. Brian Piccolo was pre Jimmy V, there was no ESPN in his time, But, his message, Gale's message, George Halas's message was eloquently told in the TV movie, ...

Want to lead a happy life ?  After experiencing some troubling times in life, and with wisdom that comes with age, I say this list is very worthwhile to incorporate in your life. 1. Make little changes in your daily routine, such as getting more sleep, exercising, getting out into nature, and meditating. ✔ 2. Read more books. Read books to learn—research suggests that lifelong learners remain healthy and engaged, and live long lives. Read books as an escape from your everyday life, Read books—it will make you happy. ✔ A few of my recent faves. 3. Find your right fit or match, both personally and professionally. If you love what you do and who you are with, you’ll position yourself for personal happiness and professional success. SO TRUE !! 4. Be grateful. Sanderson suggested two specific activities to help foster a greater sense of gratitude. First, keep a daily gratitude journal. Second, pay a “gratitude visit” to someone from your past who has had a signif...

Not a particularly uplifting day for Catholics & Christians, less so in my family. In 2000, we got the shocking news my Mom was diagnosed with leukemia. She was dead within a year. Twelve years later in 2012, my Dad drew his last breath on Holy Thursday afternoon. Over 2000 years ago , Jesus and his twelve disciples gathered for the Last Supper.  At that gathering, Judas Iscariot admitted that he had betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Take a moment to pray for all those before who held strong in their Christian faith, both my parents had a strong faith on their last days on Earth. God Bless ! ❤ 🙏 ✝. 

I'm sharing a couple of tweets from Cardinal Joe Tobin the Archbishop of the Diocese of Newark NJ. 🙏  Let’s begin each day with prayer asking Jesus to stay close to us and to all our family and friends. Let’s pray for the health and well-being of everyone we associate with, and of all God’s people throughout the world. Mary our Mother, as we prepare to celebrate your Son’s passion, death and resurrection without being physically present in our churches, help us to stay close to our Lord and each other through your intercession In closing a message I always remember from Fr. Stan Kacprzak,    Remember God is with you. Fr. Stan was pastor at our parish in Webster, NY. He took over after the former pastor was removed for past improprieties. He led with kindness & prayer.

We , my wife & daughters, and I took up the offer by Marriott Resorts to stay at their Orlando location for 4 or 5 days free of charge. In exchange we (wife & I ) had to sit through 1.5 hour sales pitch for a timeshare. We had done a similar thing a few years back in Myrtle Beach in exchange for tickets to a show. We held our ground and  definitely said no to the sales pitch of some vacation offer. We went to Orlando for a final family trip to Disney & Universal before our daughters went off to college in the next couple of years.  We had a grand time, Disney & Universal were more fun as the girls were now older teenagers. The resort was absolutely fantastic, the pools provided cool relief when we returned from the hot August days spent trekking through the entertainment parks. The day of our sales pitch arrived. I told my wife to remember the words , NO NO. I was memorized by the salesman's presentation. Usually, I'm a person who resists this stuff, I said YES...

The linked article below is a  much better alternative than to complain, whine, about disruption in life due to coronavirus.  READ  , be thankful, implement, yes we may be inconvenienced some, but keep in mind some have died, some are very very sick, some are in bad financial situations. However , if you're not in an ICU bed, not on a ventilator, or have someone close to you in such a situation, count your many blessings and please don't whine.  I never did dare whine as a kid & adolescent when the days were hot & long on the farm, nor on the practice fields or courts when the practices were long & hard, nor when my mother was dying & suffering from leukemia...etc. Why didn't I whine ? Because those around me & those in charge wouldn't accept it.  I didn't hear those who had lived thru WWII or the depression whine. God Bless & stay safe. P.S. Patricia Schmitt didn't whine.  READ & FORWARD ON :  https://rbj.net/2020/03/27/ co...

I've learned in the past week the selfless actions of a few people that attended either the same high school or college as I,  to help others effected by the COVID -19 virus. Mr. Ed Stack, CEO & Chairman of Dick's Sporting Goods Stores, announced that Dick's will continue to pay the wages and benefits of all employees for the next two weeks that Dicks stores are closed due to the virus. Ed is an alumnus of St. John Fisher College. A very generous move. Mr. Christopher Baldwin is Chairman of BJ's Wholesale Club. BJ's will be open each day from 8-9 AM for senior shoppers only. That is a relief to many of those 60+ . They can shop without overcrowding , and the additional worry of contracting the virus. Chris attended St. Kilian's Elementary School and Holy Family Diocesan High School, a few years after I. Thank you for making the needs of your customers a priority. Finally, current students of St. John Fisher College are donating medical classroom suppli...

Corn farmers and cattle ranchers watch commodity prices drop, while produce growers fear labor shortages By Jacob Bunge , Kirk Maltais and Jesse Newman March 21, 2020 5:30 am ET The new coronavirus is dealing another blow to the struggling U.S. agricultural sector, driving down crop and livestock prices and threatening labor shortages for farms. Even as consumers clear food staples from supermarket shelves, Midwestern farmers’ prospects have dimmed. Agricultural futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have been on a slide since Feb. 24, when coronavirus concerns began to weigh on U.S. stock markets. Corn futures have shed nearly 10%, wheat futures have fallen nearly 2%, and soybean futures have dropped over 4%. In U.S. Plains states, prices offered for ranchers’ cattle have dropped over the past two weeks, reflecting selling by investment funds and fears that consumers will eat less beef as they avoid restaurants—and that meatpacking plants could suffer staffing shortages. Longer t...

It is very rewarding to read and hear about professional athletes giving to others. Too often the news we hear away from the arena, stadiums, and courses are filled with selfishness, lawlessness, and not about the good that the majority of pro athletes do. The late Kobe Bryant was known for making countless Make A Wish dream come true. Now we hear about many NBA players giving back to the staff of the NBA teams and the arenas in which they play during the shut down of athletic seasons due to the COVID-19 virus. Among them being, Kevin Love, Zion Williamson, Blake Griffin, and Giannias Antetokounmpo.  They deserve our admiration for such unselfish acts. Great basketball players, better men. My 👏 to them all. Matthew 25:40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’