|
This issue is dedicated to GK and Jerry Struckoff who have contributed
much.
Not only is this edition of our Diaspora
many months late, but I found a slew of 1999 letters in a cache folder while
cleaning up my files from DD29 & DD30. Apologies to the writers for
passing these on so late. Gael
+++++From 1999++++++
1 May 1999 Keith Eckrich wrote: Hi Gael, Chris, Jack. In between a
computer crashing and other domestic goings-on, I have given scant attention
to email and the world outside of Albuquerque. We have been into some
interior decoration with tile floor laying in kitchen, bathrooms and hallway.
My continuing pursuit of art in pastel (today I completed my third Van Gogh
copy, one of his self-portraits). Kristen is working in oils. A little bit of
doctoring. Oh, yes, and we took time to visit the Van Gogh exhibit in Los
Angeles at the end of March: terrific, a close up view of the Potato Eaters
and other originals from the Amsterdam Museum. We took a day to stroll the
Getty Museum as well, so it was art, art, art. We will be literally living at
the symphony during May: one final classics concert for the year (Tchaikovsky
s piano concerto and Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique), and four pops concerts.
I sing in one of the pops concert with the chorus when we do songs from
Showboat and one from Rent. I get tuxed up to sit on the lawn for some fried
chicken.
In July, we make a de rigueur appearance at Helene s family reunion. Her
uncle priest-bishop, Dennis Durning, celebrates his 50th year of ordination.
He was a missionary in Tanzania his entire priestly life and still lives
there as a parish priest in the bush and retired bishop of Arusha. He s an
old-shoe type of guy and lots of fun. This reunion, in Philadelphia, the tail
end of a trip to visit Helene s sister in Boston and friends in Cape Cod. We
arrive back in Albuquerque three weeks before the symphony chorus begins work
on Beethoven s Missa Solemnis to be sung in October. Year 2000 is my sixth
year in the chorus and it has been fun, fun, fun learning a repertoire I
never had the chance to sing before: masterpieces of Mozart, Beethoven,
Brahms and Prokoviev. We have done Beethoven s Ninth twice in the last five
years: it is too good of a seller of tickets to let it gather dust in the
music library. You can see that my business excuses my lack of communication.
Thank you for your kind understanding. [What year was it that our class
lucked into the huge Van Gogh exhibition at the Cleveland Museum? My guess is
1962/3. I ll never forget the Sunflowers on the north wall. Gael]
7 May 1999 Jack Brennan (JB): Re the new Star Wars,
did you know that George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg were good friends of
your hero, Joseph Campbell? In fact, Campbell died at Lucas s home: Luke
Skywalker Ranch. Bill Moyers s series with Campbell was done there. Have you
considered the Jesus Myth that was E.T.? He descends from the heavens,
performs miracles, is persecuted, dies, rises from the dead, leaves his
spirit and ascends into heaven. I don t know that Spielberg thought that through,
being Jewish, but it struck me when I saw the movie. And I ll bet he was
influenced by Campbell on that one.
8 May 1999 John Miller to Jack Brennan: I am aware of Campbell s association
with Lucas and Spielberg during the latter part of his life. I never knew he
died at the Ranch, as I had thought I read he died in the hospital in Hawaii.
Your interpretation of "ET" is interesting, and I can t say I
thought about it. Of course, I really didn t appreciate the Star Wars series,
thought it was fluffy special effects, until Sandy got on my case and made me
think about it. After I "found" Joe (Campbell), his interest in it
got my attention, and made me focus a bit more.
9 Jul 1999 Brennan to Stahl: Gayle, Rachel and Sarah are on their way to the
Columbia River Gorge to see the concert Lillith." That s about 150 miles
from here. I ve never been there, but I hear it is a stunning place for
concerts. Sarah McLaughlin and Sheryl Crow are featured singers. I like both
of them, but this is a feminine thing.
Michael and I will do some male bonding. I thought we d see "Star
Wars" or "Wild, Wild West" tonight, but he tells me they don t
appeal to him, so we will rent a video like "The Texas Chain Saw
Murders." When I object to horror movies and gross Nintendo games, he
replies: "What horror movies did Hitler, Stalin and Milosovic see that
made them mass murders?" I didn't want to get into Nietzsche with him...
I sent the Commonweal you sent me to Mooney. I think my aversion for
philo-theo musings is evaporating again. Truth be known, down deep I kind of
enjoy that stuff. Thanks to my family, my friends and my work, I continue to
live my intense life between those two worlds of cursed/blessed certainties.
I will probably die younger without the comfort of certitudes. But I will die
confused and that is certainly underrated. [The reflection that follows from
my spiritual director agrees with you - and Joe Campbell s bliss.]
24 Jul 1999 Sunday Reflections from the journal of Dalton Roberts: :
You must find what that thing is that you really want to do. You have to be
true to it. It is the thing that will save you.) ~~~ Was watching a bio of
LBJ on TV and he described his life as president as "a perpetual living
hell." Said he had nightmares. You don t want a man in such a position
of power who is that miserable. It s dangerous. ~~~ People drink and dope
because intoxication is one of the main needs of the human animal. It comes
right after food, water and sex. We err by fighting intoxicants and not
teaching our young how to get high on life through perfectly healthy means.
Some of my greatest highs have been while having good times with friends, or
sitting alone watching the birds in a meditative brain wave pattern. ~~~ When
the Jews came back from Persia, they brought the idea of the Devil with them,
along with a lot of the prophecies about the end time for Earth. It ended up
in our theology books. ~~~ For God s sake, choose a self and stand by it.
(William James ~~~ God is both Mother and Father but God is more Mother than
Father. (Pope John Paul I) ~~~~~ Wallis Simpson said, "A woman s life
can really be a succession of lives, each revolving around some emotionally
compelling situation or challenge, and each marked off by some intense
experience." I can see that it is true of men as well as women. When we
go a long time with no compelling situation or challenge, without an intense
experience, we are tailing off an old life. It s a good time to get ready
because the fireworks will soon begin.
 8 August 1999 Anton
Braun : Our classmate sent e-photos of his wedding: My
bride s name is Janet (Gallagher) a proud Irish Lass. She is the delight of
my life. You (Gael and Charlie Fenton on the way from Chicago to Nashville)
met her at Mooneys house [July 11]. So far it s been marvelous.
("Click" on the picture for a larger view.)
9 Sep 1999 Dick Mayer: I ve had a little adventure since I last e-mailed. A
series of angina attacks on Monday 23 August. Finally got myself into the
hospital that evening and had an angioplasty with implant of 3 stents to
correct a 90% blockage of my main coronary artery and a 70% blockage farther
down the artery. Now I m on a couple pills a day to lower my cholesterol,
which was borderline high. They made me take it easy for a week, and now I m
into a rehab exercise program, which I needed anyway. I ve had no further
pains and am feeling better actually, which makes sense I guess. I m
especially feeling good about the fact that I got a warning before there was
any heart damage. I can t believe now that it took two rather painful attacks
and several lesser ones to get me out of denial and into calling 911! We re
all educated intelligent rational beings, right? [I am a heart diseased brother,
too. I was helping my daughter understand alliteration recently and came up
with: "I had a stainless steel stent installed by Dr. Stifter."
AndI did not make up the doctor s name. Jack B.]
2 Oct 1999 JB to GBS: John (Malcolm) Hogan is in Gene Pavich s class. I don t
think he s related to Philotheus. (Remember the Hales kids used to call him
"Fr. Filthius"?) I read the Ragan Report you sent me cover to
cover. The picture of Larry was exactly how I remember him: bow tie, horn rim
glasses and crew cut. And I had not seen him since my First Mass. My brother
Dan has encouraged me to write to Larry s son about this little memory pearl
I have about Larry. Did I tell you that Dan was a pall bearer at Larry s
funeral? He still has lunch with Jean Larry s widow on a regular basis.
As I get older, I note that - with the possible exception of you all of my
famous contacts are one degree removed. That still gives me bragging rights,
though one degree weaker. I have started reading Hillman s "The Force of
Character." I like it. He is a master re-framer of common ordinary
things. I had not read him till now; I remember that Bob Pawell was
completely enamored with him in 1991. Hillman s frame of reference is
obviously Jungian and his reverence for the dark side is always up front.
I m beginning to recognize that almost everything in life is just a hair
short of my expectations. For example, while Hillman s book shows his unique
understanding of the great thinkers, his analyzes of different phases of
aging are a bit forced here and there. It has the interesting effect on me of
making me realize that some of my conclusions about life are a bit forced
too; but that it s quite OK. I guess it s about being more compassionate
toward myself finally.
When we were driving back from Seattle Labor Day weekend, Gayle and Rachel
got into this huge argument. I thought Michael was asleep. Suddenly, from the
back of the van he pipes up: "JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!" In case you don
t get the reference, it s what the audience chants on the Jerry Springer Show
when the guests are getting combative.
11 Nov 1999 Rich Kirshling : Classmates were Amen,
Huxel (now deceased), Gaudutis, Grawe, Reid, Koopman, Cedric (John) Schweiter
now in Brazil. Novitiate class of 64. Went to OLA for two years and then they
combined our class with Grush, Zangs, et al., and off to T-Town for our first
year of theology. Our second year of theology was at CTU the first year it
opened and then etc, etc, etc.
11 Nov 99 Dan Tanna's eddress: TANNADS of email.msn.com Paul Stubenbort's
PaulPatUSA of aol.com
14 Nov 1999 Jack Hardesty says Harry Speckman s new address is: Cross in the
Woods Friary, 7078 M-68, Indian River MI 49749-9324, (231) 238-8973(231)
238-7012 (FAX).
24 Nov 1999 John & Sandy Townshend: In reading the DD #29 I noted that my
name was among those not heard from regarding their choice in receiving the
DD. I would prefer to continue to receive the hard copy form. While I have
WWW access and have now visited the DD site, I do find the hard copy handy
for reading in places I can t take this computer. Also, my eddress is:
jtstktat of dwave.net
Thanks for all the work in assembling and distributing the DD. Although I
note that the majority of those in print professed earlier than when I went
through (Novitiate Class of 67- 68 with Ansgar Hankey, novice master), I do
enjoy browsing among the parties I know in the dialogues.
26 Nov 1999 Jim Sexton wrote on returning from his
mother s deathbed: Chicago was hard. Caroline, Jerome and I arrived just
after my mother had fallen into a coma. In a way, it is an end to an epoch. I
m rather lost now. Kids imagine their parents immortal by nature. And we are
all kids at heart. My only thoughts were that my mother continues on
(genetically and otherwise) in her children and grand children. I said to
Caroline, That was your grandmother, she s alive in you now, so live
accordingly. But how can a grandmother undo all the crap that kids learn in
school and on the streets? Only patience and time can nourish this kind of
power.
True, the summer was good in many ways. We got Pascale into [flying in]
gliders and Jerome into the work shop building radioguided airplane models.
Jerome s airplanes crashed often, but Pascale s flew off into the wild blue
yonder. They both discovered why birds seem so much more gracious than other
types of beings.
I give a great importance to flying. It gets people off the ground and into
saner spheres. Where one can look down and see what nonsense we build and
confine ourselves to, in loss of freer emotions. Soaring high above such
nonsense is a real treat.
We ll be back in Chicago for church [funeral] next week.
From the February Juno newsletter: A Great Online Study Bible: From Calvin
College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, comes an online study Bible that will
prove incredibly useful to amateur and academic theologians alike. What the
guide does is list every book in the Bible (Old Testament, New Testament, and
Apocrypha); for each one it provides a hyperlink that takes you to a page
listing sites from all over the Web that are relevant to that book: different
versions of the text, sermons, concordances, links to archaeological and
historical information, and much more. http://ccel.wheaton.edu/wwsb/
End of the "lost letters of 99"
++++++++++++2000++++++++++++
Letters received since DD30 of March 2000:
13 Mar 2000 Jack Bartz wrote, unfortunately, just after I d mailed DD30 in
early March. Re: CONVENIAT: JUNE 10, 2000. Zeke, Do you have all the
information you need to get out in the newsletter about the conveniat? If
not, please let me know what you need or what would be good to put out there.
I still haven t heard from John Doctor, Provincial Minister, about any
response to this event, whether of support for it or not. I think I mentioned
to you in an earlier missive that people are invited to come to our house
after 5 PM on the day of the conveniat for some Italian spaghetti and break
bread (in fact, it would be nice if everyone could bring some bread to
pass!). We ll provide the place, main course, and others can bring some bread
or salad or whatever they want. We ll also have some red potable to go with
the Italian food. How does this sound to you? [It sounded absolutely
enviously wonderful to someone who couldn't go. GBS et JB]
14 March 00 Pat/Kelly Feehan (1974) PKFeehan of PlatteValley. Net> wrote
in response to my request for information about some diaspora friars I wasn t
in contact with:Gael, I do not know whether Stellwag has E-mail. I have
probably not communicated with him for more than 20 years. Paul Gallagher
& John Eaton are active friars. John is originally from Ashland, and is
currently at Grambling plus serving on the provincial council. Paul is
originally from Cleveland. I got to know him at OLA Quincy proofreading his
papers. While he was a terrible speller and had to struggle academically he
is one of the best priests I have ever known. Thankfully the Spirit moves
where it will. Paul is currently doing campus ministry at the University of
Houston. Hope that fills some gaps. Until next time. - Pat
18 Mar 2000 Gael Stahl wrote to JB: Jack, I just got
a phone call from Ansgar Bob Hankey. He s a hard-driving, sincere, good man.
He s pissed at us for letting Joe Smith fool him into thinking that Joe s
Smith s alter ego, Rod Farrell, might be telling the truth about Joe Smith
being dead in DD30. "That s no joke," he said. "Joe needs to
be told that s no joke. And you and Brennan need to apologize for printing
that. It s no joke," he said and hung up. I m shocked that anyone under
the sun had any doubts about Rod Farrell/Smith. Hasn t Joe been carrying on
for awhile in DD about his much too advertised death and travels to the pink
clouds from which his AKA Farrell reports on Smith s doings and utterings
that persistently emanate since Joe has said so often he wasn t going to
write any more (at least in his own name)?
Do you think I should apologize to the fringe friars with something like
this: "In case more than one of you thought Rod Farrell in DD30 and
DD29, etc., was not Joe Smith s alter ego, it is. He s alive and well and
trying to be funny." Bye and bonum, boy
18 March 2000 Brennan to Gael: Dear Zeke, I wished that we lived closer. For
more reasons than this. Let s wait a bit before we make editorial apologies.
Let s get a few bucks together and get Medard a computer. He would be our
perfect consultant in situations like this. I can hear him now: "Ohhhh,
let him eat cake." I m certain that this was the first issue we heard
from Rod. My almost final thought is: You should not be blamed, my friend,
who works his heart out to maintain the spirit of Francis. Our diasporated
and cinctured hearts would have a huge void without you. I love you, Zeke.
Jack [With that assurance, I decided to let the literary chips fly not
realizing it would be a year before I got this into print. GBS]
19 March 2000 Brennan: Zeke, I have four bouncers from my mailing (of DD30 to
those online); any help? Steve Csotty: , Charlie
Strack: , Jim Schmitt: ,
Paul Zoderer: I ll write to Dick Korn re Paul s
eddress.
[I have an update for Schmitt: and for
Csotty I have: csottys@aol.com. I have what you have for Strack in Wheaton,
Ill.. I have no data at all for Paul Zoderer. Can anyone else help us? Write
Jack or Gael]
19 March 2000 Jack Bartz to Dennis Griffin (copy to Gael): Dennis, I remember
you, well, but I don t always remember who is in whose class when they were
so far ahead of mine. Concerning the Conveniat: It will be at the Portiuncula
Chapel at Mayslake, June 10th, 2000, 11 AM to 5 PM, and then to my house (I will
provide a map at Mayslake to those interested in coming) for a spaghetti
dinner, conversation, and a good red wine for those who are able to enjoy
such debauchery.
Hope you and your class can gather together for getting an update with one
another in the flesh. Of course, it goes without saying, that spouses and
offspring are welcome to come to this event. The gathering is meant to be a
picnic and is open to anyone, whether current or former Franciscans, and it
will be a great time renewing old acquaintances. I am looking forward to
seeing you there.
20 March 2000 Gael to Jack Bartz: Thanks for copy of your letter to Dennis
Griffin. He s also the one in our class that you recruited to contact our
classmates for the last reunion you had up there at Mayslake. Lots of neat
guys were still alive then, especially, Huxel and, of course, Bill Stachura,
who missed the gathering at the park but got in later with Carol from an
excursion boat trip on Lake Michigan with his colleagues at work. But they
joined us at your house. I have pictures of our long talk and laughter.
20 Mar 2000: Bill Bergman to JB: Thanks for DD30. I will attempt to read it
soon. You and Gael are incredibly thoughtful to keep this connection up so
gracefully.
There have been many changes in my life over the last year. I restored my
health. My divorce was final on Dec. 29,1999. I opened a new Northern
California office while keeping my Northwest presence in Seattle alive. I
also moved to Chico, CA. I have a number of new addresses, which I will
enclose herein to you and our friends.
Home: 1385 East Lindo Ave., #32, Chico, CA 95926, 530.332.9133 (home and Fax,
when I get it to work!) Work: 1.Bergman & Associates, Inc., PMB 121,1354
East Avenue, Suite R, Chico, CA 95926-7385,530.519.4912 2. - Bergman &
Associates, Inc., PMB 422,16625 Redmond Way, Suite M, Redmond, WA
98052-0900,206.310.8950 Updating databases is a modern nightmare. My email
address is what you have here: . I hope you
and your family are all good and healthy, Jack. My regards to them and hope
you have many enjoyable times at your wonderful cabin. Thanks for sharing
that two summers ago. Happy Springtime today and may the Easter Mystery be
alive and well in you and yours. Peace and Everything Good.
21 March 2000 Thomas H. Higgs: Hello, Gael. You don t know me but I graduated
from St. Joe s in 1969. I work for Eveready Battery Co. here in Westlake,
Ohio. One of my fellow employees, Dan Kirschling, graduated from St. Joe s in
1965 and is on your Digest mailing list. He has been sharing his copies with
me and I at least have some idea of what s happening with the alumni. This
newsletter is a fine work you are doing. Unfortunately, most of the people on
the mailing list are years ahead of me and it appears that there are few who
graduated in the late 60s that know about the newsletter or contribute. I
would like to find out more about some of the people from that era. I am very
interested in attending the reunion on June 10th but I d like to know if
anyone from my high school years will be attending. I spoke with a fellow
classmate from St. Louis who is also very interested in attending but we need
more details if you can provide them, such as: Is this purely a social
gathering, spiritual gathering, or a combination of both? Is there a schedule
of events? Is this open to spouses/family or just alumni? Will it be held
inside the old retreat house or on the grounds. We are just curious what to
expect and hope to contact others from our class who also maybe unaware of
this event. Will some of our former teachers (friars) be there? It would be
great to see some of them after all these years.
Although my years at St. Joe s turned out to be the final years of that great
school, what I was taught there and the community life that was shared there
will be with me the rest of my life. Though I did not continue through to the
priesthood I would not trade those four years for anything in the world and
to have some contact with long-lost classmates would be terrific. If this
e-mail actually finds its way to you maybe you could answer some of these
questions. If you wish to use this letter in the next digest please feel
free. I would like to hear from anyone who may remember me from St. Joe s and
would definitely respond back. My address is: Tom Higgs, 25614 First St.,
Westlake, Ohio 44145, Ph. 440-835-8929.
[Thanks for writing, Thomas. Here s hoping you can help locate more of the
guys who graduated from Mayslake in the 1960s and 70s and others who went to
novitiate in the 80s even.]
21 Mar 2000: Paul Zoderer to JB: Thanks for your message. I thought "Who
the hell is 'John' Brennan?" Glad you signed it "Jack." Long
time since I last heard from you or of you. Down here in the jungle the news
filters thru the leaves and, boy, do we have the leaves! Yes, the Indians are
now wearing clothes! If we could just get them to get the pants and skirts
off their heads!?!
Hey, thanks for all the other news that came along. Great to know where
everyone is and how they are doing.
I have now been here in Itaituba for 17 years. Getting to know the territory.
The town has grown from 4,000 in 1972 to 120,000 in 1992 entirely because of
the gold rush. Since then things have calmed down, the far-west shootouts,
the medicine men, and the adventurers left because the price of gold fell,
and prospecting was no longer a prosperous adventure.
We now have approximately 100,000 people in the county, about half in
agriculture. We are still politically on the periphery of Brazil, so not too
many funds are slushing this way. Religiously the people are very much alive.
There is a priest shortage but the laity are leading the way to new
ministries. There are only 3 priests here in the city. I have 10 communities
within the city and another 30 in the boondocks, plus 4 or 5 along the river,
and the gold mines whenever there is a call. Right now Itaituba is on the
tourist "binge". Everybody is sinking money in the tourist trade,
since the Amazon Valley is the last frontier.
So before they cut all the trees down, kill all the Indians, and dry up the
Tapajos River, come on down and see us. You ll love it! Regards, Paulo, ofm
[Who the hell is Paulo ? And stop sending me those letters in a foreign
language. All seriousness aside, I ll be down there with my chainsaw as soon
as we finish clear-cutting the Great Northwest, USA. JB.]
24 March 2000 Steve Yonick of Chicago who received DD#30 (I was saddened at
the news of the death of Joseph Fidelis Smith. No wonder he had not alled me.
Does he have a cellular? [I don t know. He sends his Rod Farrell messages via
USPS. If you d like to speak to him, his ground phone was 312-465-7368 but
that area code has changed. GBS])
Relished each word. Some names were familiar, others were unknown and made me
feel like a creature from a different galaxy. Of the names I knew and
recalled images of faces and personalities (presuming graying and some extra
pounds), what is amazing is the beautiful branching of life experiences from
the original trunk of monastic existence and a supposed variety of reasons
why each of us decided to do what we did as if some evolutionary spiritual
process was at work the bonding is ever powerful.
I never really felt like a "clergyman" - I never wanted that image;
I always felt like a "friar" I always liked that icon and still do
even though I am apart from the demands of official vows and the constraints
of institutionalization. I ve opted to throw myself into a job market, to pay
taxes, and to forego the material benefits of religious life (especially
health care) yet the friar icon is there. I m on SS, a small part-time
income, basic Medicare and Medicaid (no supplementary insurance). And I am
happy. I have no personal link with friars but the Franciscan values and
ideals persist. I live them in my own way "a simple life is a very happy
one" (to take off from Gilbert and Sullivan).
Of the names I recognized, to those persons, something inside of me extended
and reached out to touch them as if they were close biological kin. Yet the
Lord has gently and sometimes violently led me onto my own evolutionary
process, enabling me to grow up in a most unpredictable way. granting me so
much adventure that I have no need for travel. I ve never opted for marriage
and never will since I have no attraction for women, whom I respect very
much. I ve been gay all my life, survived the system, and outgrew a
guilt-ridden active life. I ve learned a hard lesson - how to be honest with
myself and especially with everyone else. I had to leave because I could no
longer live a lie, which was aggravated with alcoholism. I do feel free now;
I don t drink; I don t screw around. I have my true friend, who has helped me
very much in getting my life straightened out, and I have helped him.
Together we are growing up. As a Phantom troubadour, I have music as an art
and therapy and prayer - like the quiet juggler who performed in front of the
statue of the Madonna.
Pax et bonum. Stephen Yonick formerly Anaclete (i.e. "Arise, O chosen
one!")
27 Mar 2000 Gale White moved to 4306 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas TX 75229-6346:
Said, "Moved back to Dallas. Always enjoy DD!"
28 Mar 2000 Jack Hardesty : The Calvin College
on-line bible study seems to have moved to: http://www.ccel.org/
2 April 2000 Clyde Ebenreck: Thanks, Gael, The Calvin College does look like an
interesting site, and I have come to respect some of the philosophy that goes
on at Calvin: not really what I expected of a "faith alone" church.
For my home use I like Oxfords. The Complete Parallel Bible (contains, side
by side, The New Revised Standard, The Revised English, the New American and
the New Jerusalem versions). I also try not always successfully, to wean
students away from using the Good News Bible towards something that is a bit
more accurate.
There was an item in this week s Chronicle of Higher Education on the
illiteracy (both general and biblical) of seminarians today. I found it sad
reading these men and women will be out into the ministry in about three
years and the seminaries are struggling with an age old issue: just how
intelligent does the minister have to be?
I would like to hope that the pattern in catholic seminaries is different,
but I recall visiting St. Joe s in the late fifties when Harold Jochem was
registrar and seeing him walk into the rec room at the end of the day shaking
his head and saying "Why do all the smart ones leave?" Thanks for
the bible study site.
3 Apr 2000 Dan Mazar wrote from Clemson, South Carolina. Am having a few days
of retirement here atClemson with the Jim & Sharon Fischer family.
Thought I had better see some folks before going back to work. This snapshot
(photo of Cowboy racing along in the Fischer's motor boat) was taken under duress
and I am not responsible for any nasty letters to the editor.
["click" on the picture for a larger view.] Publish at your own
risk. Hope to see you at Mayslake in June. The war stories get richer with
every retelling. More tales from the cloister. Am not anticipating any return
to religious life. I just got my Zen in order and don t wish to upset my
balance.
Zach Hayes, Cal Giesen, and I went to the Joffrey Ballet last week. Saw a
revival of TRINITY. Made me want to go straight to the HEAD SHOP. Still a
child of the 60 s.
4 Apr 2000 Mazar again: It was suggested that I reply quickly to tell you
that I return to Chicago today so you won t keep sending messages to the land
of dogwood and azaleas (Clemson). I did figure out the Smith/Farrell scam. I
hope Farrell uses a tougher editor. I told Zach about the Farrell alias just
so he would know it was a tale from the other side. I m slowly entering the
21st century. I just turned in my rotary phone for a touchtone machine. I m
not a Luddite just slow.
5 April 2000 Bill McGee of Santa Rosa CA: On my desk there is a bit of Gael s
omnipresence of DD in pages. You do well. You are so organized in the process
to get DD going and out. [Bill, you said that too soon.] Technical gadgets
and dot coms have made it easier for you. But I do not overlook your devotion
to your sundry friends. Your high energy just appears to be working all the
time. Never stops. How does Susan cope with your character and beauty? It is
a miraculous study of "love and agony." [By forbidding me to sing,
whistle, speak, or ejaculate a Laudeamus until she s finished with her
morning coffee.] You two must make for passion.
I enjoyed Charlie Fenton, your buddy, bantering with you: "Gael, don t
go Republican, you re getting close ... don t get blatantly conservative. You
ll never be who you are." [Bill and Alice drove down with Mike Mooney to
spend a night with Susan and me on their way to their annual protest at the
School of the Americas, taking me with them in 2000. After dinner, Charlie
Fenton came out to reminisce with them since he joined them for the trip the
year before.]
The Mooneys came to [Santa Rosa, Calif., in March] and are gone. They were
amazed at the beauty. It was all here when they lived here but this is the
first time they saw it. I have similar feelings no matter where I go. Somehow,
when I was active as a priest, the wonder world of religion is quite
different than being struck wondrously by ant hills, mountains, shimmering
aspens, and dancing waves. Nature was asleep under our toes and not much of
it pinched our passions. Gerard Manley Hopkins would have written me of
nature s charged power but I would have had deaf ears as a priest active in
the ramifications of parochial life. I hope a young priest doesn t miss the
ants, bugs, spiders, and leaf of a maple budding to catch an eye on Spring.
However, some priests know the woods and the fairways and that s a start.
I m a bit catty here. Alice just went off to view Georgia O Keefe in SF. I m
home to get prepared for a 100-mile bike ride down the California Highway
One, a most delightful ride. My eyes are tearing up from the pollen. Beauty
has its pain too.
You and Susan be sweet. Time is blessed and short breads don t come often.
God be good to you, you are good to us.
[Bill s letter was encased in a card with one of his unutterable photos: this
of sand dunes leading to turbulence of mists dissolving in mountains. Bill s
photos are dearer than those of Ansel Adams. His jotting inside the card:
"I now know why only children of God went off to the desert and stayed.
They played on the edge of Eternity all the time. They liked that."]
7 April 2000 Rod Farrell aka Joe Smith: Bill Carroll tells us the latest DD
is out; but we haven t gotten ours yet. How about a replacement copy. I ll
fax it to Smith s purgatory number so he can keep abreast of what s afoot and
thus maybe et ahead: maybe less time in purgatory where the heat has recently
been turned up, because of inmates shenanigans and irreverence. Yours, Rod
Farrell for Joe Smith et al. [This letter put me to checking what happened. A
whole page of labels didn't get printed!]
10 April 2000: Gael called Carol Stachura of Elgin IL. Carol didn t get a
hard copy of DD either, but since she had read Mel Griffith s copy in Lowell,
Mass., she hadn t complained. On the phone, she said: Steve Laslo was
stricken a week ago and is just recovering from meningitis. The infection
attacked his brain in a way similar to the infection John Huxel got after
brain surgery and he died from it. The Diaspora friends told the hospital
personnel they d lost another friend five years ago so the medicos pumped
lots of antibiotics immediately into Steve. Despite excruciating headaches,
he is slowly recovering and will probably live. Whew!
Joan Burds, who wrote so delightfully in DD30 about caring for her 90-year-old
mother in Arkansas, took some much needed R&R, said Carol, by visiting
Ireland. Her mother died and since Joan couldn t be contacted, her body was
shipped back home to Iowa. Carol was commissioned to meet Joan at the
airport, give her the news, and redirect her to Iowa for the funeral. Carol
and Joan were from neighboring small towns in Iowa between Dubuque and Cedar
Rapids and met each other at the Franciscan convent in Dubuque. I finally got
to visit it briefly last year (July 2000).
12 April 2000: Gael called Jim Schmitt in Nebraska. He gave me Uhlinger s new
phone numbers. Jim has a new eddress (JSEgg of computer-concepts.com). He s
doing fine and plans to retire at 65. I ll believe they ll let an active
priest like him retire so young when I see it.
Apr 12 2000 Jack Bartz forwarded a Chicago Tribune article by John Chase:
"Mansion Make Over Sees Jump In Price. Mayslake Plan May Top $4 Million,
Officials Say." [I have shortened this. See Web page for more..]
Like the hidden staircase in Francis S. Peabody s Mayslake mansion in Oak
Brook, a secret has been discovered by DuPage County Forest Preserve District
officials while trying to renovate the building. It s going to cost more
money than they had first thought.
A decision Thursday by Forest Preserve commissioners to keep a large wing
that wasn t part of the original 1921 mansion, combined with a faulty heating
system within that wing, has caused a fiscal bump in the overall estimate of
the project to roughly $4 million, $1 million more than previous estimates.
By holding on to the so-called retreat wing, which is not considered
historically significant, the district will meet federal standards by
building restrooms and an entrance accessible to the disabled without
altering the historic integrity of the mansion on the National List of
Historic Places. Commissioners also chose to keep the 50,000-square-foot,
three-story wing because it provides growth opportunities for the entire
Mayslake Forest Preserve, on 31st Street just west of Illinois Highway 83.
Franciscan monks, who owned the mansion after Peabody s death in 1922 until
1991, built the retreat wing in the 1950s and housed those who came to
Mayslake for religious retreats.
The mansion has been closed to the public since 1992, when the Forest
Preserve District bought the 90-acre Mayslake Estate for $17.5 million.
Recently hired mansion supervisor Jerry Bulifant said opening the doors is
the necessary precursor to getting the mansion renovated and finished. By
allowing people inside, he said, philanthropist groups likely will be
impressed by the home s grand interior and will want to invest in its future.
"When you see the mansion, it really shows this era of opulence that no
longer exists," Bulifant said. Designed by Chicago architect Benjamin
Henry Marshall, also the architect for Chicago s Drake Hotel and Edgewater
Beach Hotel, the 39-room Tudor Revival mansion was built to mirror a 16th
Century English castle built by a duke under King Henry VIII.
Peabody, who made his fortune in the coal industry, had Mayslake built as his
retirement estate and named it after his first wife and daughte, both of whom
were named May. He lived there with his second wife. Inside, the home
features massive living and dining rooms floored with Italian marble, and a
large library with mahogany walls and built-in bookcases. Doors are
handcrafted, as was a secret stairway that led from the mansion s basement to
its second floor. Some walls also had secret panels where Peabody could hide
documents or other items, Bulifant said.
Unfortunately for Peabody, he enjoyed the home for only a few months. He
suffered a heart attack and died while on a fox hunt on the Mayslake grounds,
Bulifant said.
Follow up article: DuPage County Forest Preserve Commissioners on Tuesday
overwhelmingly agreed to retain a wing of the Peabody mansion in Oak Brook
that has no significant historic value. With a 20-1 vote, the Forest Preserve
Commission approved holding on to the so-called retreat wing of the mansion,
which was built in the 1950s by Franciscan friars. Commissioners said they
hoped to use the three-story structure, which includes a 250-seat chapel, for
weddings, conference and performances.
"We have the building already there, why not use it instead of tearing
it down?" Commissioner Olivia Gow (R-Elmhurst) said. "If we re
going to make money at Mayslake, we re going to need a building like
this."
... Gow said she has studied other historic buildings and discovered that
what makes money for them is not the historic buildings themselves, but
nearby support buildings that provide for conferences and other events. With
the retreat wing already there, she said, it would be best to use the
building for such purposes. In addition, Gow said, the retreat wing allows
the Forest Preserve District to meet federal standards by building restrooms
and an entrance accessible to the disabled without altering the historic
integrity of the mansion.
13 April Rod Farrell medium for Joe Smith in limbo/Chicago: Thanks from us
all for the latest DD. Good issue. With Smith now of "glorious
memory," there will be no more of the vulgar f-word or upsetting
controversies. All is peace and piety. There was a typo or two: in the
celestial marriage celebration the words are KIDS not KINDS and a DOG not
"a god". Smith, in life, was NOT a neo-pagan; but he told me once
at twilight that a preSocratic fragment says that "If dogs or frogs were
theologians, the deity would be the Big Woof or Croak in the Sky." I
think it was that fun-lovin misanthrope, Heraclitus, Heidegger s mentor, who
said this.
Anyway, Franco, Tito, Smith, et al., are still defunct (like the
"ex-parrot" in Monty Python) but functioning differently in
Tartarus, Sheol, whatever. Love, peace, and a few laughs. P.S. Smith s Kinder
are installing a computer and e-mail. So, snail mail is a matter of quaint
history. Wonders never cease. [Or do they? No e-mails yet from the Other
Side.]
15 April 2000: This Mayslake Web page came from Jack Hardesty, OFM:
http://www.dupageforest.com/PRESERVES/mayslake.html
19 Apr 2000 Kay Skonieczny: I did not get a hard copy of the digest. Hope all
is well with you and Susan. I just returned from Maui where I was for 8 days
watching whales and swimming with the turtles. It was my first vacation in 3
years and felt really good! Have a blessed Easter! Kay
20 April 2000 from USA Today 3D: Web site finds case for Latin broadcasts:
Nuntii Latini (world news in Latin) has been broadcast for five minutes daily
on Finnish Radio. Fans in 60 countries including a priest in Peru listen over
shortwave. Existing words, not neologisms are used so e-mail = cursus
electronicus, file = documentum electronicum. For more information:
www.yle.fi/fbc/latini/index.html = Nuntii Latini;
www.csbsju.edu/library/internet/latin.html = Latin Language and Literature;
www.ucc.uconn.edu//~hasenfra/wlatin.html = Lingua Latina;
www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/latin_TOC.html = The Perseus Project at Tufts
University. [Qui bene distinguit, bene cognoscit. JB.]
21 April 2000 Bob Willford: Yeah, hi there, Gael. Thanks for the word on the
Latin sites. I ll get back to you when I ve had a chance to take a look at
them. As regards Joe Smith s "death," what the hell s the point?
Are we supposed to find fabrications about death funny or what? I was taken
in, and I really don t appreciate it very much. Boy, I wish this guy would
get over himself. Thanks for asking, Gael. Keep up your good work. Pax et
bonum ! Bob [O si tacuiesses, philosophus manisses. JB]
21 Apr 2000 Clyde Ebenreck: Re your asking about Joe Smith, I was delighted.
Especially when the first thought I had was "Damn it, I missed seeing a
notice of his death, must have missed an issue of Diaspora." Then a bit
more reading I saw Joe s hand at work and marveled at his creativity and
irony. The creativity reminded me of a recessional he played at the T-town
parish church. A key got stuck so he improvised the entire thing. If memory
serves, it was an ordination where all the bigwigs were there and so the
music had to continue. Of course, Joe may have a completely other
recollection, but that is mine.
I very much like his take on issues. No curtailment needed from my point of
view.
Getting ready for my Good Friday lunch: baked potato with a butter onion
dressing that I first encountered in the novitiate. Kneeling for the meals on
good Friday didn t seem so bad when those wonderful spuds and dressing came
out.
[I haven t promoted our diaspora list group like I should, but it s fun when
I use it.Clyde s and Jim Tye s letter below both came via it. To join in, go
to: http:/www.onelist.com/viewarchive.cgi?listname=Diaspora_ofm]
24 April 2000 Jamestye of aol.com: Looking forward to seeing the article
about keeping catholic hospitals catholic. If it means like some are doing
here they treat Medicaid young women and will not deal with birth control and
some form of protection. They are really seeing the laws they have made or
bought into and not the needs of the individual person.
I am just in from Miami and Bahamas visited my daughter and two grandchildren.
It is sure hot there. I prefer my Chi town. My best to all the guys. - Jim
Tye
25 April 2000 Bob Wilson of Munich: It s not my style to join or subscribe to
anything, so it s possible you got my address from Tony [Lutz], who has been
trying to save my soul for 35 years. I have to admit that I only glance
through DD superficially and with mixed feelings. The most unhappy years of
my life were the six years I spent in the SHP [Sacred Heart Province], but
the rewarding moments were spent in the classrooms at Mayslake and Quincy.
The guys I taught at Mayslake were the best I ve ever known. I m grateful to
DD for the info about these wonderful guys - their lives and deaths have
moved me. However, the contributions of two writers I ve known since the 50s
have really depressed me.
Last week, a dear friend, Karl Paulitshek, died, and I think a lot of your
readers would like to know what happened to him. I d be happy to submit a
biographical sketch for a future issue.
It must be possible for you to e-mail me and save postage.
Tell John [Miller] he would be a welcome guest in Munich, but I wouldn t
appreciate having him and Tony at the same time. Addresses: Robert Wilson,
Kunigundenstr. 23, Munchen 80802, Germany, Tel: 089-331706, Bob-Friedi.Wilson
of t-online.de
May 2000 issue of Shambhala Sun: a Buddhist culture meditation life magazine
found at the local health food emporium had a well-written article about St.
Francis of Assisi by Gretel Ehrlich. Beautiful reproductions of Giotto s
murals on the life of Francis decorated it. My thanks to Marj Stellar for
spotting it.
3 May 2000 Rod Farrell/Joe Smith: I just noticed there s a family pig-roast
in the northern suburbs June 10th. I ll struggle to see if I can attend OFM
2000 at Mayslake. If not, Smith sends his celestial benedictions, slightly
singed from purgatorial fires. He gets to cool off Sundays in ... [I seem to
have lost the rest of the letter - or not.]
3 May 2000 John Miller: Glad you heard from Bob Wilson OFM. Tell him Sandy
and I say hello and remember him with great fondness. He loved to tease
people, and especially seemed to enjoy giving me a hard time. I deserved it.
I understand that Lutz flies over quite a bit, one of the fringes of working
for a airline.
5 May 2000 Brennan to Gael: Responsorium: Sent you the letter and spam below
on 4/30. Perhaps you didn t get it? Thanks for the corrections and I will do
what you wish. [Send an e-mail announcement of June reunion to all who are
online.] Pax Domini sit semper tecum.
Zeke, I have been in hibernation; it s a Hibernian thing. I have been busy
directing a variety show in Sarah s school. The show is over now and it was a
big success. I called it the "Garfield Follies" since Sarah s
school is Garfield Elementary. About a week before the show I realized that
not even the parents were aware of the Ziegfield Follies, so the nuance was
lost on everyone but me!
I have been working hard at the hospital and am thinking about increasing my
hours there just to avoid having to bill insurance companies. However, I will
probably always maintain a small practice.
I have been having some conflict with this young PhD psychologist. She doesn
t seem to realize that I was evaluating and treating patients when she was in
elementary school. We did have a confrontation last week and it seems it went
well. I was therapeutically correct and told her that what she was doing did
not feel good. Perhaps next time I ll say something stronger.
I have a new computer, an Emachine. It is fast and has lots of space. In
order to get this computer for about $250, I had to agree to use CompuServe
for three years. It is a good service merged with AOL a while back. The one
thing I don t like about it is that the address book is not as good as Juno
s.
Gayle just got a new full-time job at the community college. She does not
like working at any venue, but she is pleased that they appreciate her at
work.
Rachel will be graduating on June 13. I m not sure how she will do it given
the lack of time and energy she puts into it. When I get nervous about her
school work, I try to remember the adage: "The apple doesn t fall far
from the tree." You may recall that I was 21 when Klein handed us our
high school diplomas in the jakes at St. Joe s in 1957.
Michael continues to be a good and disciplined student. He loves his skate
board and his snow board. He is very reliable; I know it is Thursday when I
come home at night and he has the garbage out to be picked up on Friday a.m.
Sarah is learning the guitar and playing basketball every chance she gets. I
played her in HORSE today and I beat her by one. (I think she had mercy on
the old man!) I just asked her if she let me win and she denies it except
maybe one time she missed a shot so we could keep playing.
Becky is thinking about coming up here this summer with her family. Hope she
does. She s fun to have around and I thoroughly enjoy her children.
Do you know any of our class who are going to be at Mayslake in June for
sure? Sorry about my silence, it wasn t for lack of thinking about you.
5 May 2000 Gael to Bob Wilson: Thanks for a great letter, Bob. I so enjoyed
hearing from you. Have known of you from the distance. I sent John Miller a
copy. I accept your offer to write a bio of your friend Karl Paulitshek but I
d love one of you too. Many here know you but my class and groups around me
just missed you. What years did you teach at QU and at Mayslake? How did you
get to Germany? Thanks for your eddress. Brennan will send DD to you by
e-mail. You can always access the Digest on Hardesty s Diaspora home page
too.
5 May 2000 John Miller writes when Gael asks how he met Bob Wilson: Gael:
This is pure recollection, and I could be off a year. I started at Quincy
College in 1962, and I believe Jerome (Robert) Wilson OFM began teaching
German at the College in the fall of 1963. From what I and Sandy recall, he
was only at the College that year, and she saw him at St. Peter s in the
summer of 1964, just before he returned to Germany. The German department at
Quincy was a one person department, and very weak before Jerome came. I was
taking German, as a way to meet my language requirement, even though I did
not find it easy. Jerome finally made it fun, and we looked forward to going
to his class. I m not entirely sure why he beriended me, except that I was
already a good friend of Francis Jerome s, who told him of my interest in
things German. He began teasing me about looking like a "Northern
German" even though my German forefathers were Bavarians who believed
anything north was suspect and Prussian. He carried on a sort of banter with
me, but he did that with many. I was very disappointed when he did not return
the following year. The story seemed to be that he was unhappy in the States
and wanted to return to Germany. I can t say I ever got to know him well in
the short time he was at Quincy, but he made this then skinny, too serious,
19-year-old laugh at himself and laugh at life s absurdities. He just plain
made you feel good in his presence.
7 May 2000 Kay Skonieczny wife of Ben (1959): Hi Gael, Yes, I did move twice
when I sold my house in Carmichael it sold very quickly and I had to be out
in about two months my downtown (midtown) place was in the process of being
built it is brand new, so I had to move into an apartment for 6 months while
waiting for my house to be finished.
Don t remember when I last wrote you if I had mentioned that my mother was
sick towards the end of March. She died on Wednesday of Holy Week, April 19.
I had been with her two weeks prior for 6 days when she was quite ill (a
urinary tract infection) but she was improving so I went home. She was doing
better even the day she died and then about 7:30 in the evening when the
night nurse went in to give her meds, Mom pulled her over to her, looked at
her and said "I m dying" and lay back on the pillow, started to
breathe irregularly and within about 20 minutes was gone. My sister lives
there and was working at the hospital next door to where my mother was. They
called her at work, she came immediately but Mom was already gone when she
got there. Amy, Molly and I went to Arizona last weekend for a service in the
chapel of the care center where she lived. I picked up her ashes and the
girls and I will be going to Chicago this Wednesday for a Memorial Mass on
the 13th at St. Joseph s Church in Chenoa, Illinois. That is the church that
my mom and dad were married in and my older sister and I were baptized there.
When my dad died in April of 97, four months after Ben, I did not have the
energy to go back for the Mass and burial. I had been able to be with my dad
for 2 days prior to his death and stayed for the service in Arizona.
I was sorry you were not at Alicia s (Gael s niece) wedding (at Nevada City).
It was a great event and was so wonderful to see all the Lacoste s! [My
sister Joan and her family have been close friends of the Skoniecznys since
Ben and Kay moved to Sacramento about 1979.] It is always so hard to say
good-bye to people who have been such an intimate part of our lives; but I
know that I have been greatly blessed to have also been so greatly loved.
Love to you and Susan.
16 May 2000 John Miller (1967): On Saturday, we had the Newmans (Dennis
1967), Gregory Guerrero (1961) and the Cowboy (Dan Mazar 1966) here. The food
was outstanding (pork tenderloin with caramelized Vidalia onions) as usual.
The wine was good and the conversation flowed. We spent some time on the
Diaspora Web site looking at the pictures. Apparently none of the others had
seen them, and they were filled with reminiscences, and got their
fingerprints all over my screen. Greg stayed overnight rather than make the
long 2-hour, late night, drive home. It was good to see everyone. Cowboy
talked about possibly having a job offer at a university in South Carolina,
seemed excited, but wasn t sure he would take it. That s about it. Cowboy
mentioned that you have a picture of him from South Carolina, which, to his
surprise you haven t sent everyone. I inquired if perhaps the picture was
pornographic, which got him on to Charlie Cantlon s "bun run" in
Montana.
17 May 2000 Two responses for area code updates: Jack Bartz: Zeke, The phone
book puts out a map with the area codes. For the most part, 630 is in DuPage
County; 708 is west and south suburban Cook County.
John Miller: 312 is Chicago s loop only 773 is Chicago outside the loop. 847
s Evanston north to Wisconsin. 630 includes Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Glen
Ellyn, Naperville, Aurora. 708 is Oak Park south and includes Orland Park,
LaGrange and Cicero.
The upshot is that I have Chicago-area codes wrong in my DD data files. Use
this. G
17 May 2000 Kay Skonieczny: I got the digest but haven t had time to read it
yet. We had the Memorial Mass and burial for my mom in Illinois this past
Saturday. It all went very well; we gave her a great send off.
Amy is on her way in August to Minneapolis where she will begin a Ph.D.
program at the U. of M. She got a great offer there and is excited about the
opportunity but certainly has mixed feelings about leaving the West Coast
(and me). Her area is political science and she wants to teach, write and do
research. Molly is looking into art school programs and is seriously thinking
about moving to New York. I will miss them greatly but it is important to me
that they pursue their dreams and goals. Peace.
[Gael replied: Amy will be in a good diaspora town. Charlie Bloss, Phil
Eiden, Bob Ansgar Hankey, are all from Ben s era.
Molly will love New York. You ll miss them, though. Glad you had a good last
hurrah for your mother.]
20 May 2000 Erv Pfeifer: wrote about attending Conveniat 2000 and hoped I
could help him find some of his classmates of the class of 59 (simple
profession): Robert Bobber, George Bracco OFM, Kenneth Brune, James Crone,
Barnabas Diekemper, Ramiro Dominguez, Tom Ess OFM, Frank Flinn, Frank
Francovich, Frank Fratus, Kurt Hartrich OFM, Jim Hoffman OFM, Larry Isabell
OFM, Paul Kertz, Donald Krutek, Ralph Kuhle, Richard Mayer, Al Merz OFM,
David Moroney, Kenneth Ortegal, Richard Phillips OFM, Richard Praszniewski,
James Schmitt, Maury Smith, Jerome Thelen OFM, Cullan Uhlinger, Ed Vela,
Gerald Voss, Leon Wemhoff.
I can t find my reply to his fax that included his email address. I hope I
noted that he had a lot of still active classmates reachable through the
provincial Web site: Bracco, Diekemper, Ess, Hartrich, Hoffman, Isabell,
Merz, Phillips, and Smith. I probably referred him to DD#28 in which I listed
many of those addresses plus Wemhoff, Uhlinger, Voss, Schmitt, Ortegal,
Moroney, Mayer, Kuhle, Krutek, Kertz, (Fratus is dead), Flinn, and Crone. I m
not in contact with the others so if anyone can send me data on Bobber,
Brune, Dominguez, Francovich, Praszniewski, or Vela, we d appreciate it.
25 May 2000 Dick Korn: Just wanted to say that Madeleine and I plan on being
at the Fairfield Inn, 1940 Melbrowning St., Bowling Green, KY 270-782-6933
this Sunday and Monday. It s a Memorial Day family reunion of sorts,
equidistant from Homewood, IL, Columbus, SC and Columbus; We may see you or
the Nashville friars. Could you quickly tell me who s there of the OFMs with
their latest phone and address? I plan on getting to the Chicago area
gathering also in early June. Thanks for DD#30 and all your efforts with
interchange of info.
27 May Bob Wilson on Karl Paulitschek: A week ago today we had a memorial
mass for Karl in Bamberg at the Carmelite church, and at the same time we
celebrated his mother s 85th birthday. Some of the few living relatives Czech
and German came together to commemorate Karl and to be with Martha, a very
healthy and personable woman with instant recollection and a rare ability to
entertain. There were tears and laughter. Siegfried Karl Paulitschek was born
at Bad Kudova, Upper Silesia, on April 18, 1941. His father, Gerhard, whom
Karl believed was extremely nationalistic, received a commission and fell in
the siege of Leningrad in 1942. Karl and his mother fled the vengeful Poles
to relatives in Czechoslovakia in 1945, and as the German language was
forbidden, Karl quickly learned Czech. When they reached Chicago in 1949, the
name Siegfried had to be dropped, so little Karel became Karl for the rest of
his life.
After graduation from St. Augustine s elementary school, Karl entered St.
Joseph s at Mayslake and completed high school there in 1960. Although I didn
t have him in class, I knew him because he had spent the summer of 1959 in
Germany and came back pretending to know things his teachers didn t knw. Our
paths crossed again when Karl was in my advanced German class in Quincy in
1962. After two years at Quincy, Karl transferred to DePaul and graduated in
1965. He was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and served as navigator-engineer
of phantoms with two tours on the USS Coral Sea. He was shot down over
Vietnam but ironically died 30 years later of a crippling form of muscular
dystrophy, which couldn t be diagnosed with certainty. It is believed the
disease was war related.
While still in the Navy, Karl was recruited by Honeywell, but he discovered
that what Honeywell manufactured, he could, too. He founded his company, Controlco,
in Orange County, and made electrical panels and controls for air
conditioning and lighting systems. Some of his best customers were Disney
Land and Anaheim Stadium. A year before Karl s death, without consulting his
wife and two daughters, Karl made all the arrangements to provide for his
family and for his burial. After a memorial service attended by his many
friends and business associates, and the day after what would have been his
59th birthday, Karl s ashes were scattered at sea off the California coast.
It was a privilege to have known Karl, and to come to know well his family
here and in the Czech Republic. I think it s rare that a teacher becomes a
life-long friend of a student and shares in his joys and sorrows.
This is but a thumb-nail sketch. I might send you something about myself
later. All the best, P.S. Note my new e-mail: B-F.Wilson of t-online.de
29 May 2000 Bob Wilson replies: [I d replied on Memorial Day] Gael, American
holidays aren t observed here, unless you work for the US Govt, then you are
a big winner getting both countries s holidays. No, we did not get the wind
and destruction that hit France last year. I have friends in Normandy who are
still doing repairs.
I should have looked a little closer at the Karl bio I sent you. The spelling
mistakes really hit you between the eyes. There are times when I think I m
losing it at 73. I hope this will pass. Before my text goes to print, please
correct the mistakes. I imagine there are countless stories like Karl s, but
few would know what happened to their friends and classmates. I remember a
guy who was around Billie s time and whose name I think was John Spielmann
from Cleveland. I called him the Spieler, and he named me Willy the Whip, or
simply the Whipper. Obviously, John didn t have a vocation, but you never
forget a guy like that. I m slowly, very slowly, recovering from prostate
surgery, but when I m feeling a little better, I ll send you something about
myself. Greetings, Bob
30 May 2000 Dick Korn: Gael, Thanks for the comeback and the info on the
Nashville area friars. It came too late but I will keep it for another trip;
Madeleine and I will be in Horse Cave, Kentucky, in late June to meet with a
brother- and sister-in-law from Texas who will be in Nashville for a Unitarian
Universalist Assembly. Horse Cave? We have common acquaintances there in Tom
Chaney and family who run the used-book-store-eatery there.
We had a good couple of days with my brothers and their families at the
Fairfield Inn in Bowling Green. On Sunday we got to Opryland and then to the
renovated area of downtown Nashville. I couldn t even think about visiting
you with two carloads of family in tow and on short notice.
We discussed a trip we that three brothers and wives will take to Prague and
Slovakia in August.
30 May 2000 Jack Christensen new eddress: : Sorry
for the delay. Am leaving for Rome and Italy tour with Phil Hoebing and a
group from QU in the morning. Celebrating Phil s 50th ordination. I really
wanted to make the Westmont celebration, but I have known Phil for nearly 50
years (he taught me, concelebrated my 1st Mass and we taught together so this
seemed to take precedence).
Yes, my trip from Florida was a quick one and sorry I could nt stop to visit,
but Kippen (Labrador friend) said she wanted to get home. Was in St. Louis by
8:45p.m. that evening. Other than that all is well with the Christensen clan:
Carrie a massage therapist in Chicago; Kate just finishing 1st year law
school at U of Maryland and Jenny in summer school at Indiana U so she can
finish on time. Susan working hard and very successfully with her company so
I can take trips. Yours truly finally found ideal job after 66 years working
part time running the pro shop at local golf course (little pay and free
golf...).
I look forward to reading about the Westmont gathering (imagine the stories
will have grown over time) and to see who made it. Take care and I ll say
"hello" to Francis when we hit Assisi. Jack
2 June 2000 Gael to Anton, Dick Korn, with copies to Scott Kuhle, Richard
Lohkamp, James Tye, and our discussion group:
Dear Richard Korn, Susan says you called and left a message. No, I won t see
you at the reunion because etc., etc.
Cullan Uhlinger called yesterday. He ll be staying at the Clubhouse Inn. Give
all a hug from me. Pax vobiscum.
2 June 2000 Herb Rempe ofm Hi Gael, Your message found
me. I am here at St Pete s. 110 W. Madison, Chicago, Ill. 60602 - I have been
here since January after a good six months sabbatical. I work in the Friars
Legion Office, and work some with Br. Clarence in the business office.
I am going back to Hastings [Neb.] this coming week for a wedding and to
spend a week with Mother. She is alone since Dad died a year ago. She is near
90 and doing OK yet.
3 Jun 2000 Dick Korn: Thanks for the info on the Mayslake Conveniat. I should
have guessed that the problem with contacting Jack Bartz was the area code;
the first rule in dealing with phone problems in larger metro areas anymore
is seeing if the area code is up to date since yesterday!
5 June 2000 Bob Willford : Help. You gave the time
of the get together, but I can t find any correspondence with the date on it.
I d really love to make it, and I m sorry I won t see you there. Thanks much.
Bob (Woozy) [Bob, take notes at the reunion please. I hope several of you
will keep a roster of names and profession years for publishing in DD31.
Write down any stories, events, that tickle your fancy. I m dying to hear and
so are others. I ve had a few phone calls of folks going and I am fiercely
envious.]
5 June Gael had written: Dear Bob Waeltermann and Tom Higgs, A classmate of
mine, Anton Braun of Indianapolis, asked for details the other day. See below
for what I sent him. I don t believe I have you on my mailing list so please
send some particulars: when you were at St. Joe s, year of simple profession
if you went to novitiate, etc. What s your mailing address, phone, etc. We ll
send you the electronic newsletter if you like.
You ll have a good time at the home of John Bartz afterward. I put Bartz long
list of hotels/motels in the Diaspora Digest. He can e-mail it to you if you
don t know where to stay. My classmate from St. Louis, John Behl, plans to be
at the reunion. He lives in Kirkwood, west of St. Louis.
How d you hear about the Conveniat or gathering of the friars; in the
diaspora? Enjoy Saturday. I have heard from many my age (novitiate 1959-60)
and quite a few older and younger around me will be there. I d guess a good
60 people will be there. Probably more. Hope you ll stay in contact and give
me your impressions of the gathering. [As it turned out, quite a few who
planned to attend didn t make it to Mayslake. And some unexpectedly showed
up.]
6 June 2000 Bob Waeltermann of St. Louis (1966-68 at St. Joe s) :
Re St Joe s reunion next Saturday June 10, 11 a.m - 4pm at Mayslake until...
I am psyched up for Saturday. I finished 3 years of minor seminary at St. Joe
s, then returned home to St. Louis to finish high school and college. I
attended St. Joe s from 1966-1968. Prior to 1968, I was absolutely sure that
the Franciscan priesthood was for me; after 1968, I was fairly certain it was
not, but still I wonder.
I am a biochemist here in St. Louis, have been married to a wonderful woman
(Kathy) for almost 29 years, and have 2 college age kids (Anne, 22) (Paul,
20. I am still living close to St. Anthony of Padua parish in south St. Louis
where I grew up and see Fr. Ken Rosswog often. I am considering the Lay
Deaconate here at my parish of Holy Family, not far from St. Anthony s. Need
any more bio? Let me know.
I m looking forward to meeting you all on Saturday. Tom Higgs and I will be
traveling together (somehow). Possibly from Quincy, Illinois. Thanks, Bob
Waeltermann, 3170 Harlequin Lane St. Louis, Missouri 63139-1776. Would love
to receive the electronic newsletter via .
June 2000 Herb Rempe : Hi Gael, You were close in
your analysis of my email address. Breh is herb reversed, and jr is for James
Rempe. Real simple. I would sure love to see you Sunday, however I will be in
Quincy for Phil Hoebing s 50th Jubilee. He and Bro. Clete VanAckeran and I
were real good friends and spent many a night together out at the camp
cooking up gourmet meals and telling stories. Keep in touch, I m sure our
paths will cross someday.
We have a lot of construction going on here at St. Pete s, trying to make the
lobby, church, and basement handicap accessible. We have lots of noise and
dust for the time being.
10 Jun 2000: Marty Hegarty: As of July 9 I will no longer use MSN as my
server. You may begin to use my new address immediately. .
Thanks for keeping in touch. [This is the man in Chicago who puts out WEORC
for ex-clergy looking for jobs and other more spiritual messages. He s on my
mailing list and has been for years. He used to bring us more news about Tony
Lutz and consistently mentions Jack & Cheryl Bartz interesting
activities. Gael]
12 June 2000 Dick Korn sent the first account of the Reunion: Just returned
yesterday from a great conveniat at the Peabody house and Portiuncula and later
at Jack Bartz house. John Doctor, Dennis Koopman and Don Blaeser were there
with about 25 friar-wife couples and a few like myself, whose wives were
absent. I m sure you will see a list from the sign-up sheet that includes
everyone that was there, but let me mention a few for now. For starters,
congratulations to Jack Bartz, Cheryl and daughter Fran for great
coordination and hospitality; I hope others who thought of going to such an
event will be there next time (whenever that may be) because I can say that
it was worth every bit of the 12-hour round trip drive for me from Columbus.
God, I hadn t seen some of the guys for 40 years; you wanted to cry with joy.
To meet so many supportive spouses who raved about our esprit de corps was a
big surprise. Tom Leenerts and his wife all the way from Washington State
(Tom and I were together in Belem at Batista Campos way back in comunidade de
base days); Jim and Maria Tye, Bob Link (just to mention the
"Brazilians"); classmate Ron Pfeifer; Jerry Klein; Jerry and Pat
Krull; Dennis Griffin; Ray Konrath; Jerry Etzkorn; Cullan Uhlinger; Dick and
Joan Lohkamp; and many more.
I wish Madeleine could have been there to know me better via the
conversations, stories, songs and remembering that went on.
15 June 2000 Mike Mooney called. He said he and Judy celebrated their 30th
anniversary June 12th, and Mike s mother Dorothy, known to many of us, died
the next day the day after the reunion. She was about 90 years old.
16 June 2000 Keith & Helene Eckrich: Keith & I went to have Chinese
food, which we love, for lunch before the dry spell of NO Chinese food while
we are in Ireland, which is where we are flying tomorrow, June 16, for 13
days to visit my grandparents roots (my father s parents & my mother s
mother all came from County Donegal).
Before I broke open my fortune cookie I said, "It s going to say You
will be traveling far & wide " I broke open my cookie & it said
"You will soon be crossing the great waters." I figure they meant
the Atlantic. A good omen.
18 June 2000 Jack Bartz reports on Conveniat 2000: Last weekend we had the
ingathering of all the tribes of the Diaspora at a mostlysunny Mayslake
Forest Preserve. 53 people attended the event that stretched from 11 a.m. at
Mayslake until after 9 p.m. at the 237 Middaugh spaghetti dinner.
 I will be sending
you a picture of the group in front of the Portiuncula Chapel and a listing
of those who registered. Unfortunately, some of the addresses were difficult
to decipher from the handwriting, but I am trying to get some corrections
before I pass it on to you. ["click" the pic]
People were asking "Where s Zeke?" A more detailed reportage will
be forthcoming. However, since I will be away for the next two weeks, and
then have to catch up with what was missed, I cannot give you an accurate
estimate of when this will occur. Remember: All good things come to those who
wait as your mother used to tell you. Peace and all good to you and Susan.
Jack (Cheryl and Fran)
Gael replied: Thanks, Jack. I ve heard only good things about the gathering.
Good work. Only you and Korn have sent a narrative report so far. I m hoping
for more. I was so envious of those who could go. I noted the hours as you
were meeting. Susan and I were driving to Gatlinburg for the annual TML
conference those five hours. I tried more than a year ago to get one or the
other dates changed but you ll remember both attempts failed. You said that
you d have to stick with the date they gave you and my boss said she wasn t
about to change hotel commitments for more than 1,000 people. That was in
early 1999, in both cases. But as you said, no matter what you do, someone
isn t going to be able to make it. That s the second one I missed (Spokane
was the first). Have a blessed, peace giving summer. You ve earned a rest.
Zeke
20 Jun 2000 Dan Mazar s report on the reunion: Am visiting here at Clemson
with the Fischer family. Thought I should take advantage of the summer break
before I decide on what to do in my next life. Now that you have put my face
on the web I can no longer travel incognito.
Did stop at Mayslake to celebrate the chapter of Mats with Jack Bartz et al.
Several folks remarked about your absence. So we told even bigger lies about
you since you weren t there. Jerry Etzkorn sends his regards and was
disappointed that you were MIA. We had a good group. And a better time. The
Portiuncula is now being used for weddings. The retreat house is being
remodeled but is a long-term project. The white bridge is gone as is the
grotto at the bottom of second lake. All of the landmarks have disappeared. I
suppose that Jack has filled you in for the next issue of the Digest.
Anxiously await his report to the Provincial in exile. The Fischers have kindly
put me on line to visit with you. 20 June 2000 Tony Lutz: A new, shadowy
character is writing to DD by the name of Rod Farrell of Chicago. However,
regarding his choice of words, I have to say, "He ain t got no
couth." After a baseball game in Humphrey, Neb., if we wanted to give
someone an accolade we would say, "He s got couth." His standing up
for gays as a civil rights issue lacks plausibility. I know of ex-gays but do
any of you know an ex-African American?
There is nothing more important in reviving faith than to read sacred
scripture and the Fathers of the Church daily. So many recent converts to
Catholicism say that by reading the patristic writings they came to realize
that the early church and the present Catholic church are identical. The words
Jesus sent back to John the Baptist come to mind: "How happy are those
who have no doubts about me."
Gael gave us a report on picketing the School of the Americas (SOA) at Ft.
Benning. If teachers and class material there taught immorality, you fire the
teachers and change the class texts. But why shut down the school? Methinks
someone is protesting too much.
When some your writers have church doctrinal problems I think the real
problem is with the divinity of Christ. We are returning to Nicea. Nothing is
new in church controversies, just a regurgitating of battles that have been
won.
But let me bring you up-to-date about Sue and me. We traveled to St.
Petersburg and Moscow in December. As supporters of "Aid to the Church
in Russia" we wanted to be present for the consecration of the restored
Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Moscow. The Russian Orthodox Church
refused to invite the Pope and so Cardinal Soldano, secretary of state,
represented John Paul II. It was a glorious three hours church celebration.
Sue would love to go back to Russia but only during summertime.
In early April, we made the Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome. The four great
basilicas are splendid. I was especially moved at St. Paul s Outside the
Walls. He is buried under the main altar. In the treasury you can still see
the chains he wore when he arrived in Rome as a prisoner. A large statue of
Paul as a Jewish rabbi stands in front of the basilica. The inscription on
the base of the statue reads: "Preacher to the entire world." We
stayed at a convent 15 minutes walk from the Vatican. A recently published
book gives all the monasteries and convents in Italy that take in guests. The
first three popes are buried at St. Peters and have popes interred there in
every century except during the third and fourth centuries. Nine of the early
popes were buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, which we toured.
During early June, I again took my two sons, Mike and Matt, to the Men s
Conference at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. Every dorm has
a Bl. Sacrament Chapel. It is the most Catholic campus I ever visited.
Vocations abound among its graduates and its pre-theologate discernment
program is burgeoning. I met an 85-year-old doctor convert who was there
taking a theology course.
Convert theologian Dr. Scott Hahn just made a six-tape series, "Indulge
Yourself," exploding the many myths and misconceptions on indulgences.
Church history shows us that preaching of indulgences can be abused but it is
still an awesome gift from Jesus Christ to those who believe and are baptized
into Him. Always, Tony.
23 Jun 2000: Jerry Etzkorn: Linda and I have now been happily installed at
Fairfield Glade since retiring from The Franciscan Institute at St.
Bonaventure University in 1995. When I m not playing golf (Mon. Wed. Fri.), I
m working on making critical editions of three medieval Franciscan authors:
Walter Chatton s Reportatio on Lombard s Sentences (he attacks Ockham on
every page!); John Pecham, one-time provincial of the English Franciscans
(1275-1278), later Archbishop of Canterbury (1279-1292 he was so
pro-Franciscan and pro-Augustine that he managed to piss-off most of the
English Dominicans and probably the continental ones as well); Marcus of
Orvieto, who compiled a Liber de moralitatibus under the patronage of
Benedict Gaetani who later became Boniface VIII. This latter gem has taken me
to Spain to look at four manuscripts and libraries all over the place trying
to track down the sources this guy cites (three times to Emory, once to
University of Kentucky, once to John Hopkins Medical library, once to
University of Tennessee, twice to the Library of Congress, once to the
Smithsonian, and twice [from 3/19/00 to 5/3/00] to Catholic University).
Needless to say, librarians have a special place in my heart: they are
generally over-qualified and underpaid. The latter work Deus det mihi longam
vitam will take up two volumes of about 650 pages each.
We left Olean with our three offspring in college. Kevin graduated from
Quincy in 1996 with a degree in Business and is now with Paychex in
Rochester. Alan graduated in 1997 from Indiana Institute of Technology with a
degree in Engineering and is now a plant engineer with Hoffco-comet in
Richmond, Indiana and Kierin (used to be Karen) decided to drop out of a
Musical Theatre program at SUNY-New Paltz after two years. She s now selling
stylish clothing in Greenwich, CT.
Since we ve been in Fairfield Glade, Allan Wolter has visited us almost every
year when he was returning from Santa Barbara to St. Bonaventure. Together we
collated the text of Duns Scotus s Parisian lectures on Book I of the
Sentences,one of his latest works. Allan was the best teacher I ever had and
really got me interested in philosophy. He s now going to pass his winters in
St. Petersburg, Fla., and we hope that he ll continue to visit us en route to
his winter home.
Coming back from Wshington, DC in May, the University of North Carolina at
Asheville (prompted by one of my former students, now chair of the Philosophy
Department) gave me an honorary degree in Humane Letters. Big EGO trip! Linda
and I stayed at the Grove Park Inn overlooking the city of Asheville: the
room was $260 a night. I told Linda: "This is it, kid, we ain t staying
in digs like this any more!" Found out the Chancellor is a scratch
golfer and he promised me a "come back" so he can help me fine-tune
my game.
Linda and I went to the Chapter of Mats at Mayslake on June 10th and Jack and
Cheryl and their daughter Fran did a fantastic job of organizing the event.
They even orchestrated a spaghetti dinner for us at their home that evening.
It was really neat getting together and it was encouraging for me to hear
kind things from some of my former students: e.g. Dan Dolesh, Charlie Bloss,
Jack Bartz and Cowboy.
I really enjoyed the report of "visions" that Rod Farrell got from
FiFi: they were gems! I also got a chuckle out of Dan Tanna s narrative about
my search for being in my cupped hands. You may also remember that the
closest we could come to prime matter was a glob of peanut butter. Man, you
guys have good memories: enjoy them while you can! And, Dan, we promise to
get in touch the next time we re in the DC area, just please send us your
email, snailmail and tele numbers. [See 11 Nov 99 above for e-ddress.]
25 June 2000 Gael to Jacks Brennan & Bartz & Hardesty: Frank Schwirtz
has sent his phone number and eddress (see below) for inclusion in our data
files. And, Brennan, happy ordination anniversary (yesterday). Our 34th.
Susan and I chanced into an evening with [classmate] John and Candy Behl the
day after the 40th anniversary of our simple vows in 1960. We were in St.
Louis for a family reunion of her McMahon kin on Saturday and so spent Friday
evening and Saturday morning with John and Candy. Then, they were off to
their cabin in the midst of a 30-acre forest they own in Trowbridge, Ill.
We d been as far as South Dakota during the week. We left on Saturday, seven
days after the TML conference and the diaspora reunion. Hope to get some
accounts of the DD reunion event soon from those who attended. Dick Korn sent
a good one. Sure hated missing Jerry Klein there. Behl and Anton called and
wrote me about going, but didn t, at the last moment. Mooney s mother died
last Monday, the day after he and Judy celebrated their 30th wedding
anniversary with many relatives and friends. That was the diaspora weekend
too.
I m also forwarding this to the OFM Diaspora list group as a kind of
incentive to solicit reports and memories of the 2000 event. To one and all, it
s good to travel and meet, to be home, to have brothers like you. I loved
every inspiriting moment of the past week. The beauty was Umbrian. Pax
vobiscum. Frank Schwirtz, 233 West Main, Elizabeth IL 61028, 815-858-3603
 26 June 2000
Jim/Sharon Fischer (of Clemson, S.C.) : Gael, After
a week of Dan's wit and wisdom, we brought him to the airport at GSP
yesterday. Attached are some photos of Jim and Dan. Keep in touch, Sharon
1 July 2000 Gene Katoski: Gael, here s the last Senior Friars Talk. Fr. Blane
O Neill is my successor." Hope I still get the DD. Here is $5 for
postage. GK
[You betcha, GK, you get DD until it stops coming.] The June issue featured
two short obits. Fr. William (Aquinas - 1957) Schmidt OFM of Chaska. He
taught 10 years at St. Joe s Mayslake until it closed in 1977 and served
native Americans for 20 years. He sponsored annual serenity retreats for his
recovering brethren. Fr. Vitus Duschinsky OFM of Chicago, born 1917, was
provincial after 1969 and the one who when I met to ask about taking a leave
of absence in 1973, granted it in five minutes before I could discuss it with
him. He was certainly sunny and accommodating (too much so, I thought, but it
worked out). In the 1980-90s he spent 19 years at T-Town, St. Francis parish.
6 Jul 2000 Jack Brennan: Zeke, Good wishes back to you for Independence Day.
I have been lax in all things but work. The hspital keeps me busy; at times I
have to stay there late to wrap up things and even then I sometimes don t get
done what I want to get done.
The end of this month, brother Dan, sister Noreen and I will drive to
Missoula, Mont., to attend the wedding of Don and Brigid (sister) Krutek s
son. Many of my family will be there; seven out of 12 ain t bad...
Did I read that Klein attended the 2000 Conveniat? Man, sorry I couldn t be
there. But Rachel s graduation had to take a front seat that weekend. She did
well; not only graduated, but has some 15 or so college credits to her name. Michael
continues to skate board with gusto; Sarah did well in the "largest
three-on-three basketball tournament in the world" a few weeks ago. They
block off the entire downtown and over 5,000 three person teams played for
three days in a double elimination contest.
Got Etzkorn s letter about the reunion... I think he must have cc to you?
Nothing more yet. On Fathers Day, all three of my kids thanked me for
"being there" for them. What a happy moment that was for me; they
really do notice how hard I try to be there!
My brother, Paul, his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson will be with us at
the cabin during the week of August 12. If you happen to be in the area... It
s been 20 years since you have seen that gracious space and it is quite
different from that time.
There is a great article in "Sun" magazine in June issue about an
Englishman who Franciscanizes his life. [Could that be the same Sun I
mentioned above May 2000?] Our men s group will be discussing it tonight. The
title is "Nothing to lose, but our illusions." I forget the author
s name, but I think the Englishman s name is David Matthews? Grab and read if
you can. If you can t find it, let me know and I ll mail you a hard copy.
Peace and all good things to you and Susan. Affectionately,
6 July 2000 Cowboy Dan Mazar called to say how much he enjoyed the ofm
reunion at Mayslake. Off the top of his head he came up with a partial list:
Denis Koopman, John Doctor (provincial), Bob Link 1948, Jim Tye and Bob
Feltman (novitiate 1957), Tom Leenerts (1954), Dan Dolesh, Ray Konrath, Dan
and Sharon Tanna, and Gerry Krull of 1960, Dennis Griffin and Jerry Klein of
1959, Jim and Mary Zangs (1964), Bob Willford 1966, Jerry Etzkorn 1950,
George Vaughn 1959-62 at St. Joe s (lives in Costa Rica with his wife), and
Bob Waeltermann & Tom Higgs of St. Louis. - (Cowboy forgot to mention
some of the wives.) Dick Korn 1958, Cullan Uhlinger (1959)
"Grabber" Bartz 1963, who pulled the function together for us. And
he did it well. Porta Potties were set up for the friars, Cowboy said.
The reunion continued until a scheduled wedding at the Portiuncula moved them
over to the Bartz residence.
11 July 2000 Tony Lutz: Dear DD, In my last letter I forgot to mention that
on my pilgrimage to Rome in April, I prayed for all the readers of DD as I
often think of you and pray for you and I beg your reciprocation.
When I became a sacerdos inactivus, I joined CORPUS, and believed in its
mission for a married priesthood. I no longer go along this path. I now
support a group called "Standing With Peter" P.O. Box 2230,
Brattleboro VT 05303, headed by Lawrence Mykele. It is simply a group of
inactive and active priests loyal to the Holy Father and the Magisterium.
During his homily on his 80th birthday, the pope said: "I also think of
those priests who, for various reasons, no longer practice the sacred
ministry. ... For them, too, I pray fervently and invite everyone to recall
them in prayer so that ... they may keep alive their commitment of Christian
coherence and ecclesial communion. We are called to contribute in different
ways to the formation of the community of the People of God, wherever
providence takes us... that can, if necessary, extend to the scattering of
our own blood, as it did for not a few of our brothers in the course of the
last century."
On July 9, the pope denounced a large homosexual pride festival in Rome as
offensive to Christians and said that homosexual acts are "contrary to
the natural law." This plain language coming from "the conscience
of the nations" throws the intolerant but politically correct gay
propagandists into a tizzy. Recently, for two weeks running, Fr. Thomas
Aldworth, OFM, pastor of St. Peter's downtown renowned Church in Chicago
repudiates the God of the Old Testament and reflects most unscholarly on the
stories of Adam and Eve and on Noah and the Ark and the deluge in the Sunday
parish bulletin. I would suggest to him that he take a sabbatical and go to
the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, for refresher courses in
sacred scripture and theology. I'm sure that Dr. Scott Hahn in scripture and
Dr. Regis Martin in theology would assist him in his pursuit of truth. Vale
in Domino.
P.S. The enclosed card's frontispiece was taken from a priest's first Mass
card. [The 4-inch by 2-inch card has a priest in chasuble holding paten under
a radiating host in 1930s-50s illustrated catechism style - on back a
reminder that Thursday is pray for priests day with the Brattleboro address
above.]
[Editor's note: incisive as commentaries on someone else's apostolic
activities are, I sure rather you mind your own business and tell about YOUR
apostolate along the line of Isaac Braun's letter of Sept. 27 below, worthy
of a friar minor and a good reminder to us pontificators major.] [My older,
wiser brother - Dan - lives in downtown Chicago and is a faithful member of
St. Peter's Church. I recently asked him what he thought of Fr. Tom Aldworth.
He responds, "Fr. Tom is great for me. I go to his Masses whenever I
can. His sermons are so refreshing. He makes me think. He can really talk to
the common man. Other preachers don't seem to have a clue about what faith is
about." Dan says that Tom has a way of making the Scriptures come alive.
He is the opposite of doctrinaire. Instead of saying, "Jesus meant this
or that," he poses questions about what Jesus might have meant. That
approach makes me want to move back to Chicago to hear him. How often have we
heard and seen the pontifications of preachers who tell us who God is? What
arrogance for anyone to delineate the Almighty; to demystify God? Seems to me
we learned that anthropomorphizing was at least a 20 yard penalty in our
studies of the great exegetes. I suppose one can claim private inspiration or
papal infallibility and that we have to see God the way someone else does. I
think that since God made us all different - this seems empirically true to
me - we should all have the right to understand faith from the lenses God
gave us. Otherwise, we limit who God is, doctrine by doctrine by doctrine
until we have a God who is no more than the mental machinations of humans.
JB]
13 July 2000 Chris Reuter: sent along an interesting page from the July 1 St.
Louis Post-Dispatch featuring a large photo of Rev. Bob Blattner (1965) and
his wife Cathie who "share a ministry of ecumenical Catholicism. Bob
Blattner runs the St. Louis area s first congregation of a new sect called
the Ecumenical Old Catholic Church." The long article recaps Bob s life,
entering St. Joe s at age 15, taking final vows, going to Taize, France to
finish theology for 2 1/2 years, and ordained in 1971, taught at Hales until
1974. Having felt a need to date women, he took a four-year leave to get a
degree in counseling, and left the priesthood in 1978, was laicized, and
married Cathi Nowak, a former nun, in 1981.
"Last summer, Blattner heard about a new California-based sect founded
by a Baptist. Its formal name is the John XXIII Ecumenical Old Catholic
Church. It combines many Roman Catholic beliefs and rituals while accepting
married and female priests." The new church ignored Bob s laicization
and immediately accepted him as a priest. He began to hold worship services
in St. Louis last November. His parish is the only Old Catholic Church
congregation in Missouri or Illinois.
The former Baptist, Peter Hickman, who founded Bob s group (now up to 10
parishes totaling 7,000 members nationally), traces his apostolic succession
as a bishop back through the older Old Catholic sect of 1870 to the Roman
Catholic Church.
In his letter to me, Chris Reuter notes: "Here s an interesting bit of
news for the Diaspora readership. I fail to comprehend why, even with Jesus
license to bind and to loose both on earth and in heaven, some ecclesial ties
are so casually severed while Apostolic Succession remains so compelling.
Even in this day of cafeteria Catholicism, it s a rather peculiar diet of
beliefs. Et alibi aliorum plurimorum sanctorum... -- I ll make sure you get
the information on Corpus Christi s 2001 Centennial as we get it nailed down.
Many of the brethren, including yourself, have connections here. -
Chris"
[Indeed we do, Chris, and I can t wait to celebrate with you. It will be a
Conveniat 2001 of some size for the diaspora too, if the timing is halfway
right. Please, don t target mid-June. - It turned out that the first event
did, but the big banquet is in the Fall. Alleluia.]
23 July 2000 Mazar: I just received word that Dr. Daniele, who was the
dentist at Westmont for years, just died. Would you post this notice on the
friars net so the guys who knew him could remember him. Should anyone care to
send a condolence card to his son Frank, the address is: Frank Daniele, 1805
Sterling Court, St. Charles, Ill. 60174. Thanks, Dan Mazar
27 July 2000 Paul Stubenbort (1952-Josaphat) :
Hi. Just got DD#30 and was wondering how the June reunion came out. I
intended being there on my way back from California. But since my
correspondence with Jack, I got the opportunity to give bus tours at Denali
Natl. Park here in Alaska, which is where I m writing from now. My wife Pat
and I are living in our RV and I give natural history tours through the park.
Driving cross country we stopped in to see Shivers Shaughnessy in San
Antonio. Another couple was with us at Easter Sunday Mariaci mass. Since it
was this couple s wedding anniversary, Shivers invited them up to the altar
at the end of mass and danced a little Mariaci with them while the band
played on. No Jesuit that one. Stopped at San Diego to spend some time with
Donnan and Lori Becker. Don was with us in novitiate and philosophy. Don s
the one who composed a little skit we put on in novitiate. It played out to
the tune of "There is nothing like a dame." Fortunately Alban hadn
t seen South Pacific. I hope to see some more familiar faces on our return. Dave
Fritz will be on our path and Chicago holds Friars galore. Mike Clarahan and
I have stayed close. I ll have to find out who else is in Chicago.
Sorry about missing the reunion. I ll stay tuned. Good work with the DD. Pax
et Bonum! Paul (Josphat) Stubenbort. P.S. Obviously I won t have access to my
home email till late Sept. This comes to you from Stubenbort of pocketmail.com
1 Aug 2000 Paul Stubenbort: Hi Gael, thanks for the reply. Clarahan you might
not know because he was in the military for a career or so. Chaplain. Dave
Fritz was a year behind me till theology. Made his career in the Park
Service. They capitalize that where I work. Becker, as I say, was with us
till theology. He spent some time at old Corpus Christi in Chicago before
beginning his earning career. I didn t know how to choose those last two
words. It would probably make a good sociology thesis. I mean, isn t a
Franciscan earning? Anyway, thanks for the response. But I WILL make the next
reunion. I mean, how many do we have left? Pax et Bonum.....Paul (Josaphat)
9 Aug 2000: Roberto Flores: Sent an article: "Access to reporters denied
at GOP s politically correct convention" from ABCNews. com reporting
that Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams was forcibly prevented from talking
to reporters last night. Adams has been an outspoken critic of letting
Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe speak at the convention. Kolbe is an openly gay
Republican whose three minute speech was about trade.
10 Aug 2000 Frank A. Smith (1955-Brother Job) to DD @ Gael: Kindly remove me
from your mailing list as I can no longer see well enough to read the
Diaspora Digest. I enjoyed it very much while I could. I have enclosed a
little something to help with the cost of printing, mailing, and whatever
expense you may have. Good luck and God s blessings. FS/ms.
[Frank, we re really sorry to hear you are following Bro. Francis even into
blindness. Thanks for your letters over the years. Phillip Windolph,
especially, expressed delight in your metaphysical and theological
reflections. This will be the last issue sent to you, if I can remember to
remove your label. Thanks for the monetary help. Know that our prayers and
best wishes are with you. You hung in there as long as you could. I presume
you ll continue on at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Remember us with love, peace and
good wishes, or in OFM-speak, pax et bonum. - Gael]
29 Aug 2000 Paul Stubenbort (Josaphat): Hi Gael. You do good work. [He d
asked for DD contacts in Alaska.] Pat and I were up to Fairbanks yesterday
and made contact with Fr. Joe Hemmer, Bill Cardy, and Bro. Justin. We didn t
have long, because they had commitments to the celebration and parishioners
they were with. But on our way home we will go right by Cardy s place so we
ll stop in for lunch. I taught Bill at Mayslake.
The Jubilee celebration for the Fairbanks Diocese was good. I like these
Alaskan guys. When they read the list of parishes they included only two
societies, Dorothy Day and Bonhoefer. And at their parishes (at least the
ones we visited) they have for distribution the diocesan paper and NCR. I
think they have it right.
6 Sept 2000 Rosemary Wickham: Called to say that she d be moving in October
from the Georgia parish in Hiwassee on the Tennessee border to Mount St.
Francis, 3390 Windsor Ave., Dubuque, IA 52001. Rosemary said the OSFs are
celebrating their 125th in June. And on June 18, Rosemary celebrates her 60th
(diamond) anniversary in the Order of St. Francis. So many of us have loved
so many of the OSFs. We hope their 125th is great fun for them. Our province
is what, 135 now?
9 Sept 2000 Joe Smith wrote: "Where s my copy of the latest DD? Am I, as
"bad boy, off the mailing list?!" - He enclosed an "SOA Watch
Update" from Summer 2000. I was especially grateful to see how the
Tennessee congressmen voted. On Nov. 19, I got an email report on how the SOA
protest at the School of the Americas went. Again, 10,000 showed up, but only
about 3,500 crossed the line and 2,000 and more were booked and remained
confined the next day. Last year, only a handful were.
14 Sept 2000: Jack Bartz [From The Doings Newspaper by Brian Boyle. This has
been abridged here. If you want the whole article, see the Web site below or
contact JB.]
Sept. 10, 2000. The highly anticipated fall 2001 reopenng of the historic
Peabody Mansion is in jeopardy after project architects revealed last week
they are behind on their work.
Forest district officials bought the Mayslake Forest Preserve property, which
includes the mansion, in 1993 for $16 million, a deal voters approved in a 1992
referendum. The mansion will be renovated, room by room, to restore the
building to its original, 1920s-style. The retreat wing will receive space
for offices and public meetings, a museum, gift shop and a cultural center.
The Oak Brook Civic Association has scheduled a community meeting in
September to inform residents about the DuPage Housing Authority s proposal
to convert the St. Paschal s Friary into an assisted-living facility for
senior citizens. The friary residences at Mayslake will feature 72 apartments
and amenities such as a beauty parlor, barber shop, library, coffee shop, ice
cream parlor, bank and exercise room, said John Day, executive director for
the DuPage County Housing Authority. Senior residents will receive meals and
some support services, but no medication, he said. The friary, which had
housed 70 Franciscan Friars as late as 1956 has sat vacant for 10 years. In
January, housing authority officials purchased the 4.5-acre site from the
DuPage County Forest Preserve District for $1, a deal that hinges on Oak
Brook officials approving several zoning requests,
Housing authority officials had estimated the project s cost at $10 million
to $20 million, which they plan to finance by issuing tax-exempt bonds. They
commissioned a marketing study to determine the average rent for similar
units in DuPage County, which cost about $3,000 a month. [Jack Hardesty, our
Web master for the DD, offers this site on Mayslake: .]
27 Sept 2000 Isaac Braun (1956) of Olinda Brazil: Peace. Almost 75 percent of
the Jubilee Year has gone by; so it is time to write, communicate a bit.
Thanks a lot for all the copies of the D.D. that you have sent us. The last
number was #30. This is a very good deed/apostolate that you are doing
spreading the news of the experiences of one another to help, to encourage
others in the work of the Kingdom of God. It is good to see how the Spirit
works in so many different manners.
This year the pastor asked Socorro and me to be the coordinators of the
Eucharistic Ministers. However, this rests almost completely on Socorro
because I m usually working when they have the monthly meeting. On Sept. 17,
the parish was to have the jubilee celebration of the infirm and elderly but
in the morning there was a downpour. So, the pastor postponed the celebration
to a future date. The archdiocese here will have a Eucharistic Congress in
November.
Socorro continues as coordinator of pastorals of the parish, or you can say,
as the second assistant pastor. Last month, a group of 11 adults prepared by
her received their first Eucharist, and one was baptized. Another group
already asked her for instructions.
Socorro and the other ladies continue with the mothers club in the nearby
poor community or slum. By means of donations they now have a speaker system,
but the politicians had other interests instead of approving a project for
adult alphabetization. Some persons promised to rebuild the little wooden
house with bricks, and one political candidate paid to replace the dirt floor
with a cement floor. This house is also used for religion classes and the
celebration of the Word with communion every Saturday night. Socorro
succeeded in getting the archbishop to celebrate an open-air Mass in this
community. However, the sermon was rather long, and it began to rain. So, the
Mass ended with the sermon, but he promised another Mass in November.
Since the end of August, Kaline is officially a Mass server. She and the
others had a preparation of six months. This year, she ll finish the fourth
grade, and next year, we want her to study in a school run by a congregation
of Sisters where Socorro taught some years ago.
Since the month of May, I m retired, but my boss the owner of the small hotel
asked me to keep working for the time being. It helps our financial situation
too.
One of the biggest news items last month was the big rainfall (the heaviest
in about 50 years, after one of the worst droughts two years ago) and flood
in this part of the country, especially here in Pernambuco and the
neighboring state to the south, Alagoos. In our state there were 22 deaths,
63,000 homeless persons, 5,000 houses destroyed, and several hundred miles of
roads to be rebuilt. Water from the river entered many of the houses of the
poor community. Thank the Lord, our house is higher up, and there was no
danger of flooding. On Aug. 5, a cliff came down and destroyed thirty houses
in Recife. It was a miracle that the people were aware of the danger and left
their houses before it happened. In the downpour of Sept. 17, another 5,000
persons in the state had to leave their homes. We had floods here and, in the
south of Brazil, they lost a lot of corn, soybeans, and coffee because of the
snow and frost. Brazil isn t just heat. In July and August, we had some
nights down to 71 degrees. Socorro and Kaline think it s cold. I think it s
nice.
This is a Jubilee Year, and based on the Old Testament jubilee year, the
National Conference of Brazilian Bishops organized a plebiscite or vote on
the external and internal debt. Almost 6 million voted, and more than 90
percent were against the present accord or contract with the International
Monetary Fund. Some countries already succeeded in getting a reduction of
their debt, and in one of their meetings the IMF recommended a reduction of the
debt of about 10 more countries before the end of the year.
On the first of October, there will be elections for mayors and aldermen. A
positive point this year was the many TV clips that the government made to
teach the people to vote consciously and with responsibility.
Yesterday, the clip showed Fr. Florencio, an Indian in the Santarem region,
orienting the Indian community and introducing them more to the life of the
country, at the same time valuing their way of life. Computers and electronic
voting machines are being used all over the country, even in some places
where there is no electricity.
It is a privileged time that we are living - the Jubilee Year of 2000 years
since the birth of Christ, a new century, and a new millennium. Our prayer is
that all this helps us to bring the presence of God, the experience of God,
to those who need us most. God bless all of you.
1 Oct 2000: Dennis Griffin: Update on our family: During the first week after
last June, Jean and I spent six days in South Dakota seeing Mt. Rushmore,
Crazy Horse, buffalo, the Badlands and lots of other stuff in the area. It
was a good time.
Then on June 10 it was the Bartz Conveniat at Mayslake. Jerry Klein looks
like he is 23 years old.
Backtracking on May 8, 9 and 10 - I took the three day course at the Skip
Barber Racing School at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. We drove the
open-wheel race cars at up to 130 mph and learned all the basic techniques of
racing. Very, very exciting. I am ready for more.
Backtracking yet again, in December 1997, Jean retired after 21 years as a
reporter for the Chicago Tribune. She now has her own company, CyberInk. She
does freelance writing. Lately she has been developing political strategies
for campaigns including writing direct mail. She has done stuff for the Al
Gore race, a congressional candidate in Minnesota, the New Mexico senate, and
two candidates in Illinois. My best wishes and prayers for everyone in DD
Land.
9 Oct 2000 Dan Mazar of Chicago goes on-line: Cowboy's eddress: sends
occasional e-letters to stay in contact. This past week, he encouraged others
to celebrate and told of his celebration of the Transitus and Feast of Father
Francis. He celebrated with Zach Hayes, Mary and Jim Zangs. They went to the
Greek restaurant where Tarsicius used to dance on the table top to celebrate
the spirit of Francis s joy in life and death. Cowboy writes that this year,
"the Greeks let Zach dance on the tabletop in memory of Tars. Good
fun."
Cowboy noticed that my reply this morning was written somewhat early (7 a.m.
isn t early for me) and quoted Julius Treasury book gem: Die Morgenstunde hat
Gold im Munde. I am so often impressed how he and Jack Brennan and Anton
Braun can quote those old sayings. They were welded into their brains somehow.
I was obviously oblivious. And I don t have my Julius Schott treasury book.
10 Oct 2000 Mazar wrote: Zeke, as to Die Morgenstunde hat Gold im Mund, I don
t know how I remember the stuff from the old days. Long term memory must be
good, I guess. We went to Costa s. It is on the site of the old Grecian
Gardens. This is a little upscale from Diana s grocery that you were
referring to. All of Greektown has gone upscale. Ergo, higher prices and the
like. They still feed you well and don t rush you.
I was reading about the new version of Thomas Wolfe s "Look Homeward,
Angel." Lots of words. No wonder Maxwell Perkins is held in high regard.
Wolfe s editor. I have absolutely no doubt that Brennan and Braun will be
ecstatic to find out that I have e-mail. Brennan should remember me but I
doubt that Braun will. Not that it makes any difference. Pax. [I don t
remember you, though I should. I have a great memory except for numbers. So
far I ve loved everything you have had to say; so don t spoil your reputation.
I wish that I could have seen Zach dancing on the table. I have long since
lost my Treasury Book AND 8 years worth of stories I had written from the
Novitiate through theology. JB] 18 Oct 2000 Joe Smith sent a copy of a letter
he sent to the president of Kent University. He noted that he was
"sticking it to them." He noticed Kent St. U was listed in the
fourth tier of public universities. He said he was the first tenured
professor (elect) to have been fired - in 1973. He then reviewed the case. He
ended with advice on how faculty should be evaluated by their academic
credentials, not their political sentiments and for kowtowing to
administrative arbitrariness.
Joe s note: Gael, what s up?! No DD since April! Sorry I missed the June
bash. Joe S. [Joe, are you saying you re a reject from a fourth tier
institution?!]
20 Oct 2000: A Mayslake URL to note:
http://www.dupageforest.com/PRESERVES/mayslake.html, Jack Bartz forwarded a
Tribune article about Westmont senior facility (Mayslake Village) getting $6.6
million U.S. HUD grant to build 75 units with federal funding. Article was by
William Presecky, Tribune Staff Writer, Oct. 18, 2000.
I (Gael) remember well when the retirement complex was being planned and
gotten underway by Mark Hegener. It s across the road south from First and
Second and Third lake at the minor sem. It now has more than 700 residents.
Rev. Larry Dreffein is president of the non-profit village. And it might be a
nice place for elderly Diasporites to gather and chew the fat into dotage
together. But we ll have to sign up fast.
The 74 one-bedroom units and a two-bedroom manager s unit will replace 44
small efficiency apartments built in the early 1960s. When completed, the new
units will give Mayslake Village 671 units. Because of the popularity of the
retirement complex near Oak Brook, Mayslake officials recently capped the
list of seniors looking to rent units at 1,400. The wait for one of Mayslake
s larger units can run to more than a dozen years, officials said.
It is "a community that enriches the lives and dignity of each in our
Franciscan tradition," said Dreffein. U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), who
assisted Mayslake Village in acquiring the grant, described the senior
housing complex as "a model facility."
The complex, at 1801 35th St., consists of three high-rise buildings and
several low-rise apartment clusters scattered over about 40 acres of the
former Peabody Coal Co. estate. The apartments range from the small, one-room
efficiencies, which are scheduled to be replaced, to three-bedroom units.
Depending on income, healthy seniors 62 and older can pay $50 to $594 a month
to rent units. A small percentage of the units have no income restrictions.
Although it is managed by Franciscans, who founded Mayslake Village in 1963,
a majority of the complex s funding comes from federal housing money.
According to Mayslake officials the complex is the nation s largest
HUD-subsidized retireent village in a single location.
14 Nov 2000 Anthony Lutz: Dear Diaspora, Pax et bonum. At the end of
September, Sue and I traveled to Naples where we rented |
