The birds are flocking up

I've noticed over the past few weeks that the birds have been flocking up...majorly.  Last week it was hard to safely drive down the road.  It was unnerving to drive through flocks of birds flying low over the road.

For the past two days we've had high winds, and snow and the birds have seemed to disappear.  No more flocking birds.  Well, that's not quite true.  I found a flock on my front lawn this afternoon.

 

I'm terribly fond of flamingos, so I'm happy to have this flock on my front lawn.  Trouble is, though, now I have to figure out who should have the flock next.  Anyone? Or...anyone wanna pay me to not flock them?

Blessed Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko

In the Catholic Church ones becomes declared Blessed on their way to Sainthood.  To journey down that path, one must be a martyr for their faith and for the Church.

The harsh political climate of Communist Poland gave birth to Blessed Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko.  Today, October 19 is his day.

In the 1980s I was glued to the television for the latest news about Solidarity, the Polish shipyard workers union.  It started in Gdansk and spread to the steelworkers in Warsaw, Poland's capitol.  There were many clashes between Union members and supporters and the Communist government, violent clashes.  The world watched closely, every night. We read about it too.  Especially in my home town, an enclave of decedents of Polish folks who came to America in the 1880s.

Father Popieluszko, while a young priest in Warsaw, became the spiritual leader for Solidarity. He instituted workers masses where he preached against the Communist regime and it's inhumane treatment of its own citizens.  The Communist regime hated Father Popieluszko. Other priests picked up on the the workers masses and they, too, began preaching against the regime.

When Solidarity was declared an illegal organization and marshal law was declared in Poland in 1981, Father Popieluszko stepped up his criticism of the government.

On October 19, 1984, the Communist government decided they had had enough. Shortly after leaving a meeting with Cardinal Glemp in Warsaw, Father Popieluszko was kidnapped by agents of the secret police.  He was beaten and tortured, forced into a bag weighted with stones and thrown into the Vistula Water Reservoir.

His body was recovered on October 30. People poured into Warsaw for his funeral, some estimates place the crowd at a million strong. They filled the church and stood in the street and mourned the man who lead them, and prayed for them, and gave them strength.

That was the beginning of the end of the Communist regime.  The Polish people had had enough.

On June 6, 2010, people once again poured into Warsaw for the Beatification of Fr. Popieluszko. Included among those was his 100 year old mother.

I was reminded of all of this by a  friend of Fr. Popieluszko.  Thank you, Father Andrew. Thank you for coming to this town and reminding us about your dear friend.

“If we must die suddenly, it is surely better to meet death defending a worthwhile cause than sitting back and letting injustice win.” Father Jerzy Popieluszko

What One Learns by Working at the Paper

Actually, I do like proofreading the paper.  It's like reading the paper before anyone else.  You know all the latest news before other folks do. We proofread the paper on Monday.

Proofreading comes as separate articles, one per page, placed in a stack.  The routine is simple, pick up a stack, read, edit, sign off, put on bottom of stack.  When done with the stack, return it to the proofreading desk and grab the next stack.

Midstack, I happened upon an article with a photo of a young man impishly staring back at me.  I picked it up, and looked at that photo.  Why, that's the young man I used to work with over at the restaurant where I worked before coming to the paper.  We often worked that same night shift and would chat with each other.

I liked him. A sweet young man. Helpful, thoughtful, kind.  I had been wondering recently how he was doing. In fact, I thought of him quite a bit last week.We both left the restaurant at about the same time to pursue other things.  Last time I saw him, he told me he was happy with his new "thing". As I am with mine.

Well, I thought, let's proofread this article and see what my friend is up to.  It was then that I realized I was proofreading.his.obituary.  Gone, passed on, dead. Way too young.

Very, very sad day.

Feeding the Hunters

Pheasant hunting is a big deal in South Dakota.  And so is feeding all the hunters who flood into our community, especially for the first couple weeks of the 12-week season. 

So along those lines, the good folks at the Kimball Protestant Parish, which in itself is worth a post because they are three denominations who worship together, are putting on a pork feed. 

I volunteered "to work" this event, so my part is show up early to cut bars, fill water pitchers and coffee carafes and then work the tables pouring these two beverages.  I can't wait!  And I mean it.  This will be so much fun!

Yesterday I met guys who've been coming to our little town to hunt for the past 50 years!  Oh, the stories I heard.

Mr. Smith

V J Smith, a man with connections to Kimball will be speaking at the White Lake School gym at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 18.

His topic? Life's Greatest Moments - the story of how he met the richest man in town.

You will be awed, renewed, and motivated after listening to this presentation. VJ will be available to sign copies of  his book The Richest Man in Town after the program.

Thanks to Dona over in White Lake for being so persistent in getting VJ to come over this way and speak to us.  Interested in carpooling?  Call me....

Breakfast

  Yes, this is exactly what you think it is: a tomato, zucchini, fresh herb quiche, warm buttermilk biscuits and apple butter with ginger for slathering atop the buttered biscuits. And, let.me.tell.you, it was delicious!

Homecoming

Today's the big day - Homecoming.  Kids, teachers and other helpers will be furiously decorating floats, but only after attending the pep rally.

Parade at 1:30, candy scramble at 2:30, tail gate party at 5:30, and the Big Game at 7:00.  I'll be there. For all of it.  Dressed in red and black in honor of my alma mater - go Panthers! Update: Oh, boy. Changed clothes and avoided a major faux pas by learning just in the knick of time that red and black are the team colors for our opponents! Yikes...that could have been...embarrassing.

I should probably get some Kelly Green to honor the local Kiotes.  I could buy a Kiote t-shirt and put it on over my Panther gear. Yup I could do that.

The weather is perfect for homecoming, so off it is to have a good, good day.