Forever Mets

As anyone with the slightest interest in sports knows, the NY Mets are going through a really bad time.  The ownership is broke and it shows in the team's payroll.  They couldn't even keep their all-star shortstop who led the league in batting.  If the Mets don't end up in last place this coming season, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

So how come I can't wait for the season to start?  I bought a 15 game pack for next season and hope to go to even more games.  Because of religious reasons, I won't be able to go to opening day but I'll be at Citi Field soon after.

What is it about this team that has gotten under my skin?  I guess you could call in unconditional love.  No matter how bad they are, I can't give up on them.  To me, there is nothing like going to the game and hanging with my friends.  We cheer the great plays and groan at the bad.  We never boo our Metsies unless they really deserve it.

Is it because they are "lovable losers" and we can identify with them?  Is it the challenge of supporting such a team?  Or is it because when they do win, they do it in a big way?

Yes, that must be it.  I was around in 1969 and what a high that was!  In 1986, I was not living in the NY area and only got to see a sliver of that great season but have relived it on TV.  1973, 2000 and 2006 brought us to the brink but we did not go all the way.

Now, serious fans know that it will be a few years before the Mets are contenders again.  But we hang on because we know when the time comes, we will be in for the ride of our lives.

Let's Go Mets!

The One Speeders

This makes me nuts.  You are driving behind someone and they are going about 10 miles below the speed limit and there is no traffic.  Then the speed limit goes down but they still keep going at the same speed.  I don't get it.  Why don't you want to go the speed limit and then why do you think you can go above the speed limit?

This is a perfect example.  I used to drive my son back and forth to Ithaca, NY.  At one point you get off the interstate and get on a state highway.  In some spots, the speed limit is 55, then 40, then 30 in towns and then it goes up again.  I have been behind people doing 40 in the 55 zone and remain at 40 while driving through the town.  Why they don't get tickets is beyond me.  I always slowed down because I was fearful of getting stopped.

Another thing that irks me is people who drive very slowly even when there is no traffic.  A good example is a road I drive on almost daily, Bergen Blvd.  The limit is mostly 35 and sometimes 40.  Usually, there is so much traffic that 35 is impossible but occasionally not.  However, people still drive 25 when there are no cars in front of them.  What is their problem?  And no, these are not old people; just people who don't know how to drive.

The War on Pizza and Potatoes

I am so sick and tired hearing how pizza and potatoes are not good for you.  I had pizza for dinner last night and the scale was down a pound this morning.

Pizza is the perfect food:  vegetable, protein and carb.  Sure, if you sit and eat two entire pies, that's not good for you.

And the poor potato.  It must be one of the most vilified foods ever.  If you eat a potato, the most horrible things will happen to you.  Really?  Potatoes are a great food and are full of vitamins.  Recently, a new study says that potatoes do not raise the glycemic index as much as was believed.

I think the people who come up with this stuff are just miserable and want the rest of us to join them.

The New Translation

For the past several months, in the Catholic press anyway, there has been article after article on the new English translation of the Novus Order a/k/a English Mass.  Why was this necessary?  Because the last translation was horrible.  I mean, it's bad enough that the prayers are mostly banal and not uplifting but they even screwed up the translation of the ordinary of the Mass such as the Gloria and Credo.  And why?  Every Latin/English missal had the translation right there.  All they had to do was use it!  But no!  We can't use these old and beautiful translations.  They don't fit with the spirit of Vatican II.

And even when they went back to work on the rotten translation, did they even bother then to use what they already had from the old missals?  No, they did not.  Talk about reinventing the wheel. 

I know some people who are really stoked about this.  A priest I spoke to last Saturday says he "has to get through next week".  Someone else said that she will have to bring glasses with her so she read the new responses. Oh, the humanity!

But I, dear reader, will not be affected by this at all.  Why?  Because I attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.  Yes, there have been tweeks over the centuries but nothing dramatic.  This form uses Latin, a dead language so the meanings of the words do not change.  Sad used to mean heavy and now it means unhappy. Don't have that problem with Latin.

Also, the prayers are so much more beautiful. Here is just one Offertory prayer:

Accept, O Holy Father, Almighty and eternal God, this spotless host, which I, your unworthy servant, offer to You, my living and true God, to atone for my numberless sins, offenses and negligences; on behalf of all here present and likewise for all faithful Christians living and dead, that it may profit me and them as a means of salvation to life everlasting.

Compare that to:

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

So, have fun with your new translation.  I'll stick with the more beautiful and reverential Latin.

Pax vobiscum.

All My Worldly Goods

A couple of weeks ago a friend said he was thinking of selling all his possessions and moving to Venice (California, not Italy) and living on the beach.  While not quite ready to do that, it did make me think.

In 1999, I went about 6 months without owning a car.  While it was slightly inconvenient, it was also liberating.  I didn't have a car payment or insurance.  I didn't have to worry about finding a parking space.  Price of gas?  Who cares?

We all have so much stuff.  Look around your house or apartment.  Gobs and gobs of things we just can't live without.  How many people with garages use it for storage and those of us in apartments have an offsite storage place. 

Think about how much time you spend cleaning the stuff, taking care of the stuff, washing and ironing the stuff.  What would you do if a hurricane came through and took all of your stuff?  We see people on TV called hoarders who are buried by their stuff.  We do not control our possessions, they control us.

And every day, we are bombarded by messages that we need more stuff.  Hey!  Get the new iPhone; wait, you don't have the latest digital camera?  What about more clothes and shoes?  Can you possibly live without the latest and greatest?  And now that the Christmas shopping season has started in earnest, we will go even more crazy getting stuff for other people.

And all this time dealing with stuff takes us away from thinking about God.  While you were in the checkout line, did you think about saying a prayer?  Did you think to thank Him for all this stuff?  I am just as guilty as the rest but I know I have to work to not be enslaved but all this stuff!

Receiving in the Hand

A few years ago I started thinking about receiving the Eucharist in my hands. I thought about how I walked to church, sometimes bringing the garbage out with me. I thought about all the other dirty things I touched on the way and during Mass. Yes, I sometimes washed my hands before Mass but still there were the dirty music books and maybe I blew my nose, etc. And let's not forget the "kiss of peace" when you shake with numerous people and who knows where their hands have been. It just seemed wrong to me to touch the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior with my germ filled hands.

After all, the priest should not really be touching anything after the consecration except the host and chalice although they get into the "kiss of peace" but at least it is not as widespread as us lay people. So, that is why I receive on the tongue. I know some people consider it gross but if it is done properly the priest does not even touch the tongue or lips of the recipient.

And let's remember that a priest's hands are consecrated to show the sacredness of handling the Eucharist. Have the hands of the Extraordinary Ministers been consecrated? I don't know for sure but I doubt it. That's the way it used to be: only the consecrated hands of a priest were fit enough to touch our Lord.

Now, of course, it's every man for himself. I think this is why the belief in the Real Presence has diminished. We have removed the sacred from Holy Communion. Maybe it is time to put the communion rails back in churches and return to the old way for everyone. If the Holy Father wants the people to whom he administers Holy Communion to kneel and receive on the tongue, why not the rest of us?

Retirement

I know some people who could retire right now but don't want to. One of the comments I get is, "What would I do?" What you do? What would you do? Are you kidding me? I can think of several things.

For the first two weeks I would probably just sit on my couch and watch TMC non-stop.
I would brush up on my French and master Italian.
I've always wanted to learn German and maybe Polish.
I was a volunteer at Holy Name Hospital when I was a teen and I wouldn't mind doing that again.
I'd finally have the time to figure out how to edit photos and scan photos on my PC.
Take that trip to Hershey, PA that I never got around to.
If finances allowed, I'd fulfill the dream of going to the Tournament of Roses Parade.
I might start getting on the bus to Atlantic City and spending the day playing the penny slots like a good senior citizen (but only if I had a coupon to the buffet).
All those books I want to read!
I could go to Mass on First Friday.
I could go to Mass on all those other wonderful feasts that we have in the Catholic Church.
Dare I say it? Go to more baseball games.
Again, if finances allowed, I'd do some travelling and maybe even get to visit cousins in NC and upstate NY.
Run for office or at least volunteer for a candidate in whom I really believe.

Okay, that's what I come with off the top of my head. Would that keep you busy? Sounds good to me.