Farewell And Thank You . . . "Good Place"

Well, it has ended. It's all too short stay with us, that strange and yet captivating series, "The Good Place," has come to an end.
And, yes, I watched all of what? four seasons? Is that the length of this series run? Four seasons - and relatively short seasons at that? Really?
And to have said so much in so little time!
Well, thank you.
And for those of you who may be reading but who did not bother with watching, I have to be honest. I am not going to try and capture in a few words the substance and content of this series.
All I can tell you is this - if you can, binge watch this!
Maybe you can pick it up On Demand if you have that feature. And if you cannot do something like that, well, hope for something like, I think it is or at least used to be called, syndication. That's when an old tv series comes back to haunt you still again.
Anyhow, it has ended. Just witnessed the finale.
The Good Place is over.
It won't come back. It can't come back.
That is the nature of this entity.
It was a series that attempted to deal with the afterlife.
It did so humorously and yet seriously and respectfully.
It respected mystery while trying to provide a degree of clarity.
It actually attempted to address the question of what happens when we die.
Now that is being bold!
And for anyone willing to do so, there were many moments that invited serious thought.
One example of such a moment came when Ted Danison, about to be transformed into human (OK, it really is fantasy!) is given the suggestion of excluding death as a possibility.
His response: To be fully human is to include even the element of death!
Chew on that for a while.
Simply put - this show was worth the watch.
It provided lessons in being human, in being able to laugh with and at, in being able to face loss, even the greatest of losses.
It demonstrated that, deep within every person there is a goodness and we can help one another to bring that to the fore.
The NPR reviewer, Linda Holmes, summed it up in this way: "Humanity is beautiful and weird and frustrating, and joy and loss are twins."
And the Good God loves each and every one of us!

Because We Care

They marched!

Once again, this year for the Forty-Seventh time they marched.

They took to the streets of Washington, D.C.

From across this land of ours they came to march. Young and old, they came to march.

And where they were not marching, they were praying.

We were praying.

All of us who care took the time to march and to pray.

And yes, it is because we care.

And with increasingly growing numbers our young men and women are standing with us, even at times leading us. It is so good to see the intensifying concern of our young.

We care and we need to care.

And so they marched and we prayed.

We care . . .  about life!

God's great gift!

Life!

We care because we, ourselves, are and should be grateful to the ever generous God.

Life!

What an awesome gift!

And blessing!

Life that is stirring, tiny heart already beating; barely formed limbs seeking to move!

We care!

That unborn little one deserves a chance to embrace and enjoy the fulness of life.

We care.

And so we march and we pray.

And that frightened, ill-equipped mom who so deserves her chance to bring that life into a welcoming world with that "Village" to surround and support her.

We care.

And so we march and we pray.

And our caring extends vastly beyond this to those elders whose years should truly be golden, rich with memories, blessings, joys, and loving support.

And to those who bear within their bodies those pains and fears and ills.

We care.

And those young women and men who, while only now beginning to face the realities of adulthood are also, for whatever reason, facing that specter of ending things even before they really start - we care!

And our caring needs also to extend to so many, many others.

Love for life and for the Giver of life should lead us to abandon the use of a "death penalty" as a solution for evils.

And love for life and for the Giver of life should lead us to see the folly and futility of solving problems with wars and weapons of destruction.

And love for life and for the Giver of life should lead us to stop our foolish disagreements about climate change and start working together as a human family to make this earth the best possible environment for generations to come.

They marched because we are.

We prayed because we care.

And we shall continue because we care.

And we will continue until you care!

Well, That Might Explain It

After my last posting, a comment actually arrived. Actually, two comments but I deleted the second since it told me that the first was intended just for me but it got the general audience. Someone had just learned that anything posted as a "Comment" would be available to all.
Then I received an email asking how to post a comment. Seems there was no place to do so and my reader was looking for and unable to find any "Comment" invitation.
These items prompted me to do this blog - a sort of instructional message for all who may need it.
And I do have to remind you that I am also still learning about this blog animal.
So, let's do some learning together.
First of all, there are an unknown number of you who have signed up for getting email notifications of any new postings.
I found something out.
When I got that email asking how to post a comment, I was fortunate enough afterward to get a copy of what this reader was receiving in the email "blog."
Seems this particular reader was one of those who had signed on for the email notification.
When I got a copy of the email notification, I actually got the blog message but without the actual blog. And I discovered that there was a big difference.
The blog message was a bare bones version. It did not contain a number of features that are part of the actual blog.
Getting the email version had no place to provide feedback or comments. It had no place to sign in for anything. It had no listing of followers, no table of contents that could provide access to earlier postings.
And it did not even have my photo!
And I kind of wonder, since periodically I may include a piece of music, a sound bite or a photo, does the email version provide access to any of these?
Likely not.
All you get via the email would be the words.
Oh, and a link where you can "unsubscribe."
Hey! Don't do that!
So if you want the full featured blog posting, you have to go to the actual blog site.
And that would be:
" . . . And Eighty If You Are Strong"
Going there provides the possibility of entering comments, engaging in a "conversation," asking a question.
But you have got to get there. And that means you either need to become a "follower"or bookmark this site as one of your favorites. The email does not get you to the full blown blog.
The big difference between bookmarking and following is that, if bookmarked, you do not get a notification of a new posting. You just have to keep checking in and guessing when I might post something new.
Followers automatically get notified when there is something new.
(I think!)
As I said earlier, I am still learning how this thing works.
So we can do some learning together.

And still more information just received - You cannot make a comment unless you sign up for Google Mail (Gmail?)

That Comment!

My last post on this blog actually elicited a comment!
While it is always possible to comment on any posting and while I do rather hope for someone to post a comment or even invite a "conversation" it does seem that in the last year plus since I have been blogging, comments have been few and far between. Seems like I occasionally get an email or one of those thumbs up icons on Facebook and not much more.
No questions, no comments, no discussions.
But my last post got a comment!
And a surprising one at that.
It came from an old friend and I do hope that I am in no way putting him on the spot with this.
In the late 1960's and early 1970's we sort of hung out together. We were both in the summer liturgical theology program at the University of Notre Dame and in our second last year there we roomed together. We even did a bit of traveling together - late 60's/early 70's style. He had a VW Bug, which got loaded up with camping gear and off we went.
And then he discovered a higher calling whose name is Julie and that calling led to many happy years and parenting and grand parenting and, I would suspect if not already, fairly soon, great-grand-parenting.
Anyhow, he posted a comment.
And it got me thinking and reminiscing.
He mentioned how he fell in love with Rome back in 1963.
Seems my recent writings brought that back to him.
And then his comment brought to my mind - I, too, have had  a sort of love affair with Rome.
Mine may not date quite as far back as his but it is there and it is real.
My first contact with Rome was in 1975.
Since then, as I count, I have been to Rome a dozen times.
Frankly I cannot remember each and every trip clearly and specifically.
Some stand out more vividly than do others.
My recent, end of the year blogging about the 1999/2000 trip is a fine example of some clear and vivid rememberances.
Over the years some details from some of those trips have tended to blur together. Like - did this happen on this trip? or this one?
Ah,, but no matter.
I do have memories.
And they go back with Rome all the way to 1975.
That was our first meeting.
So, since my friend evoked some ancient memories for me, perhaps some blogs are in order to share with you (like, are you really interested?) memories of some of my visits to Rome.
And I just might be inclined to add some other memories - other journeys and there have been a good number of them.
Looking back on some of those journeys and the adventures attached, I also recall something else, some words of advice I eventually began to give to those considering joining me on one of these trips.
I would tell then (warn them?) "If you can't take a little adventure, don't travel with me!"
Anyhow, as we begin to move through the days of this New Year, I am thinking that I just might spend a few of these blogs boring you with some memories of my love affair with Rome and memories of some other adventure in travels as well.
And, please don't forget.
There is that possibility for you to enter into the conversation.
That is the place called, "Comment."
Perhaps you shared some travels with me and you have some memories as well. Perhaps my reflections and recollections will stir some within you. Perhaps you just have an exciting or funny travel story of your own.
Share them!
Let's get some story telling going.
Let's enter 2020 by going on some journeys!

The New Year Has Begun

Well, here it is - The New Year!
2020!
Twenty years ago now we made that memorable journey, that incredible pilgrimage.
We got to Mass at St. Peter's on  New Year's Day but the Holy Father was not there. He was presiding at Mass at St. Mary Major, the great basilica dedicated to the honor of Mary, the Mother of God. This Mass was for the Vatican diplomats and we hardly qualified for admission to that. We had to settle for some lowly cardinal for our New Year's Day Mass.
But still it was St. Peter's.
And the trip went on for some days afterward as well.
A couple of those days were spent in Assisi before we headed back to the States.
Along the way we accumulated numerous other memories, I am sure.
I did not mention the falls - three of them!
Before a trip like this there are usually a couple of organizational meetings to try and make sure that all the travelers have proper documentation, pack proper attire, and are also clued in to what we might expect. When heading to a foreign land, things are not always as they would be back home.
One warning given ahead of time had to do the caution in walking. Italian roadways and walkways are not quite like ours. They can be old, they can be rugged, they can be cobblestone. Be careful!
First evening - on our way to dinner, hardly in Rome for a few hours, the first fall. Missed something or hit something or whatever it may have been, down she went and the first battle scars appeared.
Day two - entering the catacombs - down he went. Another fall victim.
New Year's Eve right around the great St. Peter's, a third traveler down! This time warranted an ER trip! Broken wrist!
And then there was that mysterious flu-like bug that descended on our group toward the end of the trip. On the trip home that airplane could well have served as a hospital ward - fevers and coughing and sneezing and chills and - well maybe those complimentary drinks helped a bit! Disinfectant?
And one more memory that stays with me - New Year's Day itself.
We were on our own for dinner that day and so a group of us headed out to find a restaurant.
"Anything in particular that we should look for?" I asked.
And the surprising response.
"Can we find some Japanese or Chinese or something else? All they seem to have around here is Italian food!"
Yes, well - - - !
And so it went twenty years ago now.
And even as I have been writing this, I have been conscious of the fact that there are those among us today who were not even born yet back twenty years ago. Surely, there may even be someone thinking to themselves, "Wow! He was alive for the turn of the century" and that somehow sounds like, "Wow, are you old!"
And, yes, we have been growing older.
But in our years we lived!
And we dared!
And we had our adventures and discoveries and lessons and memories!
Memories!
Oh, did we craft memories!
So to all of you who are now welcoming 2020, I say,
Learn from us.
Put those gadgets down for just a bit. Break away from those screens and take a look, a good look at the world around you.
And dare,
and discover,
and go somewhere new,
and meet someone new,
and experience something new,
and have an adventure or two,
and take a risk and dare,
and most of all
live!
Those twenty years that have gone by, have passed so very fast.
That is the way time is.
So use the time you have right now.
It's 2020.
Seize it!
And live!
And create your own memories for sharing in some yet distant tomorrow.
Happy New Year!