Grandpa Part II

Dear Jack,

Well this past weekend I flew to Ohio to attend my Grandpa Hohne's memorial service. It was a very pleasant weekend over all--in a manner befitting the memory of a great man. My Dad, Uncle Mike, and nephew Kris sang a prelude of music before the service, as well as How Great Thou Art at the end of the service. My Uncle John gave the eulogy, and it was very touching. After the service, we all went to the cemetery where there was a military salute to Grandpa by the VFW of Geneva OH. Following that, we all went to St. Joseph's Catholic Church to use their parish hall for a reception. It was good to see everyone there, and to share in the food with the family.

After that, the immediate family went back to my Grandma's house to talk and relax. I was happy that my brothers Kris and Lee were able to come, and my nephew Kris. After my Aunt Candy, my uncles, and my cousins left, big Kris and Lee stayed and visited with my Dad, Grandma, and myself. This was probably the most in depth conversation I've been involved in with my brother Lee. It was great.

Early the next day, Dad and Uncle Mike left to drive back to Georgia. Grandma and I met my Uncle Tom, Aunt Annette, and her mother Madge for brunch at Lakeways. It was also a good visit.

Later that day, Grandma drove me to the airport. There I ran into my cousin Ron and his family as they were also leaving (only heading to Atlanta rather than New York). It was a very nice coincidence and opportunity to visit.

Despite meeting for the occasion of a funeral, this was probably one of the best visits I have had.

FINALLY

Dear Jack,

It has taken forever to finally be able to post on this board. Everytime I have tried to load Blogger, it would not load, and it made me really sad.

Well I'm in NYC still, having a good time working at Belleveue Hospital as a chaplain. I am making a lot of good friends from the program of the other Chaplains and am learning a lot.

Michael and I hang out a lot and it is great--I'm really in love with him. It is nice that we will be spending the rest of our lives together. I thank God daily for this true Blessing.

I miss Joy and Caleb and Kevin a lot--I also miss the internet (I don't have it for the summer--finances suck). My cell is working for those who want to chat. I also have MySpace and Friendster and Facebook profiles.

There is not a lot really going on for me.

I'm worried about my nephew Kristopher as his father has gone to jail and he is stuck in a house with my Uncle who works late nights. Some positive signs are that he has decided to take Karate--seems to be a safe hobby.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more.

Grandma Pease

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.

Catholic, Charismatic, Grandmas, and Nephews

Dear Jack,

I woke up early and went to Mass at Mount Carmel Catholic Church. It was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. I came back and ate breakfast (yeah, that's how freaking early it was). Then I went to Holy Cross Charismatic Episcopal Church. I walked in and nearly all of the congregation started hugging me. It was sort of odd. Then I found out that my Aunt Sam was there... whom I had not yet met. So I sat next to her. Then I realized she had a baby, and I gathered it was my cousin... whom no one told me about. GRRRRR. Well then the priest came up to me, and noted how I bowed before entering the pew, and started talking to me about me being Episcopalian and how this service works. He didn't seem to react to me being Episcopalian. Then, just before the service began, my Grandma Pease, Aunt Sandy, and her boyfriend Joe (uncle to be) showed up. The service was like an Anglican service aside from the keyboard and tacky music.

At the time for Prayers of the People, he took prayer requests. My grandmother said, "please pray for my grandson, Jaime, as he needs to get funds for seminary." Then she pointed to me. The priest asked what seminary I was going to (in front of the whole congregation) to which I replied General Theological Seminary. He asked why I choose that one... with an heir of disdain. I said because I liked it and thought it would be best for me. He said, "you need financial aid, and we'll pray for it, and you will get it." I can only hope it is that easy. He then went on a spiel about how I need to be wary of false teachers there, and heretical teachings, etc.. I wanted to say, "yeah, but I'm glad they accept homos, like me." but did not. He then asked if I would be willing to have hands laid on me and prayer after communion. I said, "sure". "hell, why not" is what I wanted to say. And well, hell, why not... no harm could come from it. So they did communion and then I went up for it, and then they gathered like a cult about to sacrifice me to a pagan god. They laid their hands on me and started praying. Some started speaking in tongues. This was my first time hearing tongues spoken in person...above me... by three or four people, including my Uncle Randy.

Just before laying the hands on the priest asked if I had been Baptized in the Holy Spirit... well I thought that happened at Baptism... you know One Lord, One faith, One baptism. Apparently not so with them. He asked what I thought my spiritual gifts were. Uncertain what he meant... I thought Corinthian gifts and said "preaching and discerning of spirits"... I do feel empathetic at times. He then asked, "have you had any manifestations of the Spirit?". I was like... hmmm... I don't think so... I don't know... um... "no, not that I know of." He then said, "Well are you open to them?" "Sure"... ok then... and they prayed that the Spirit will move in me and manifest itself in me while I'm at Seminary. Other prayers included me hearing the Gospel, and boldly being empowered to preach it.

Here is where the strange part kicks in. For a brief moment, my mouth and tongue began to tingle. I cannot explain it. I do not know if it was me nearing speaking in tongues or if my lips had fallen asleep. I said nothing... the prayer ended, and he said, "You're going to be a priest, stay and pray over the others that need it." I did.

I was weirded out about it. I am gay. I know i am gay... they do not. I am very certain they would have not treated me the same way had they known. In their ignorance they gave their blessing and prayers to a gay postulant. They kept telling me to hear the truth. I do not know if what I hear is the same as what they call the truth... but I'm listening.

After that I went with that part of the family to Perkins, and I ate the best Eggs Benedict ever. YUM YUM YUM. Then I went back to Grandma Hohne's house where I napped until around 4:30... I was waiting for my Nephew's to tell me they were home again.

At 4:30 I gave up and took back Signs which I rented for my grandparents. Then I got some dinner... then I decided to try and visit my Grandma Maude. Maude is a friend of the family who I adopted as "grandma" at a young age. We have kept in touch constantly. I drove by her house, and figured I'd try and call... I looked up her name on Cell 411... and they connected me... it was a different number than i was used to. She answered and said, "come on over", so i pulled in the driveway. From her side she had just been visiting with her daughter Vicki when she said she would go home because maybe someone would call. She entered her house, and I called. It was a good visit. Much needed. We talked of everything, and I realized how much I missed her. Turns out she's been reading the Mitford series about an Episcopal priest, and thinks of me every time. She's known my calling since I was in first grade. She is a very open woman, and I commend her for that. We then walked back to Vicki's house and I visited with her too. Then I departed for Grandma Hohne's house. There I got the coveted call from my nephews. I whipped over to visit them. It was a good time. Their mother was out working. We talked till 10ish, then I headed back to Grandma Hohne's.

That's it for this long-ass post.

Nephews are Well

Dear Jack,

I went to see my Aunt Colette today. She lives in Garfield Heights. It was a good trip, and she is in great health for 95 years old. Her granddaughter may have cancer, so keep Erin in your prayers. She, Colette, does not know it though. I was shocked beyond all belief when I read her graduation card to me... my aunt gave me $50. Lilia, her Ukranian maid, gave her a shower, and then we went downstairs to a cook-out thing they were doing. I felt bad eating the hamburger because it was pink in the middle.

After visiting Colette, we drove back to Ashtabula, and Grandma went to a hair appointment. I took a nap, we ate dinner, and then I went to visit my Ex-Sister-In-Law Terry and my nephews Joe and Kris. They have really grown up. Kris is going to be a heart breaker... has the dimples and blue eyes. They've been getting into trouble. I'm told that mostly it's been Joey, but Kris too. Both are on house arrest for breaking and entering, although Kris swears he was trying to get Joey and his friends out of the house. Who knows for sure. I did have a good time with them, although it was Kris who spent the most time with me. We played Chess and talked about goals and life and stuff like that. He says he wants to be a cop, and is taking an joint-enrollment class on law. He says if that falls through he wants to be trained as a hairdresser. Hairdresser? Then he gave a "gay acting" display of how he would be... and now I wonder. He also said he's giving up on girls, he had one in middle school, and they just seem "too damned expensive."

Regardless he exhibited very mature discussion and thought. Joey did too, but was not as keyed at visiting. I don't think he has the patience to just sit and talk. He does look like his father, before big Joe gained weight. Terry was also proud to show that she got a degree in dentistry assistance. For a long time she has been working at this, and now she has something that will really move her forward. Joey is getting a job at Burger King in Ashtabula. All in all, it was a good visit.