Dear Jack,
For those who did not know, my grandma Pease died last week. Kris bought me a ticket to go to Ohio for the funeral. There was no funeral, but rather a memorial service, as the body was to be cremated but could not be cremated in time for the service.
The service was held at Holy Cross Charismatic Episcopal Church. I am not a fan of that church as they like to "praise God" by going into bouts of clapping and cheering "yeah God" and "Amen" and I find it ridiculous. Plus during nearly every reading, song, or prayer the priest would interrupt with "thank you Jesus!" and "yes, my Jesus!" so that I could hear him in the back of the church. I also found it odd that he tried to get the congregation "saved" during the funeral invoking the usual guilt trips that I find repulsive and counterproductive to true conversion to Christ. Aside from that he did have me read the 23rd Psalm as I had my seminarian collar on.
Albeit that the situation was for less than cheerful reasons and the timing bad, it was an enjoyable trip. I got to know my cousins a lot better. It is amazing how my first cousins on my mother's side are virtual strangers. Since then I've even had a decent conversation with my first cousin, once removed Mitch who is all of 14. I felt more connected to him and his sister Stephanie than I did to those of my "generation" because I was closer in age to them than my generation. But we did have a good chat all of us. We also had some odd pictures taken..."orbs" were in many shots on various cameras. The odd thing was that sometimes the cameras would pick up the same orb. And then there would be times where there were none. I figure at worst they are dust particles, but at best they are loved ones or angels in our midst. Many seemed to revolve around me.
I was also able to meet my brother Lee whom I've not seen in nearly 15 years if not longer. He seems rather grown up, being nearly 40. I still get the impression people think of me as a child including him. I guess being the youngest always does that. Perhapse thats why I got along with the kids better.
I also got to see my nephew Kris and his mother Terri. They seem to be doing well. Kris is learning guitar and wants to be in a band. He has a mohawk and some piercings, but is very gentle and friendly. They have two domesticated wolves which were gorgeous.
I stayed at my Grandma Hohne's house. It was good to see her and Grandpa Hohne. He seems to be doing well despite being on oxygen 24/7. I thought he looked healthy and seemed to have surprisingly good spirits. They are always a joy to be with.
On the flight home, we came in over NJ and Staten Island. I was able to see Michael's house from the air. Then we flew over the west end of Manhattan. I saw the entire island including the Seminary from the air. It was a great joy. Then we flew over Yonkers, and I wish I knew were the parishes were that I'll be working at, because I'm sure I could have seen them too. It was a beautiful flight.
Now I'm back in NYC and getting ready to go for a physical at St. Vincent's. I'm not looking forward to it, as I know it means pricks and blood drawn and tons of health questions. I'm not looking forward to it. Afterward I'm free all afternoon and will probably work on the Guide Book or play Sims 2 or Sim City 4 to just clear my mind.
For those who did not know, my grandma Pease died last week. Kris bought me a ticket to go to Ohio for the funeral. There was no funeral, but rather a memorial service, as the body was to be cremated but could not be cremated in time for the service.
The service was held at Holy Cross Charismatic Episcopal Church. I am not a fan of that church as they like to "praise God" by going into bouts of clapping and cheering "yeah God" and "Amen" and I find it ridiculous. Plus during nearly every reading, song, or prayer the priest would interrupt with "thank you Jesus!" and "yes, my Jesus!" so that I could hear him in the back of the church. I also found it odd that he tried to get the congregation "saved" during the funeral invoking the usual guilt trips that I find repulsive and counterproductive to true conversion to Christ. Aside from that he did have me read the 23rd Psalm as I had my seminarian collar on.
Albeit that the situation was for less than cheerful reasons and the timing bad, it was an enjoyable trip. I got to know my cousins a lot better. It is amazing how my first cousins on my mother's side are virtual strangers. Since then I've even had a decent conversation with my first cousin, once removed Mitch who is all of 14. I felt more connected to him and his sister Stephanie than I did to those of my "generation" because I was closer in age to them than my generation. But we did have a good chat all of us. We also had some odd pictures taken..."orbs" were in many shots on various cameras. The odd thing was that sometimes the cameras would pick up the same orb. And then there would be times where there were none. I figure at worst they are dust particles, but at best they are loved ones or angels in our midst. Many seemed to revolve around me.
I was also able to meet my brother Lee whom I've not seen in nearly 15 years if not longer. He seems rather grown up, being nearly 40. I still get the impression people think of me as a child including him. I guess being the youngest always does that. Perhapse thats why I got along with the kids better.
I also got to see my nephew Kris and his mother Terri. They seem to be doing well. Kris is learning guitar and wants to be in a band. He has a mohawk and some piercings, but is very gentle and friendly. They have two domesticated wolves which were gorgeous.
I stayed at my Grandma Hohne's house. It was good to see her and Grandpa Hohne. He seems to be doing well despite being on oxygen 24/7. I thought he looked healthy and seemed to have surprisingly good spirits. They are always a joy to be with.
On the flight home, we came in over NJ and Staten Island. I was able to see Michael's house from the air. Then we flew over the west end of Manhattan. I saw the entire island including the Seminary from the air. It was a great joy. Then we flew over Yonkers, and I wish I knew were the parishes were that I'll be working at, because I'm sure I could have seen them too. It was a beautiful flight.
Now I'm back in NYC and getting ready to go for a physical at St. Vincent's. I'm not looking forward to it, as I know it means pricks and blood drawn and tons of health questions. I'm not looking forward to it. Afterward I'm free all afternoon and will probably work on the Guide Book or play Sims 2 or Sim City 4 to just clear my mind.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment