Winter, the stubborn bastard

Chicks for sale at Tractor Supply

This winter is proving to be a stubborn bastard. I am hopeful, however, that we may be close to turning the page to an illustrious spring. My evidence is the emergent garlic sprouts in my little garden and that Tractor Supply is proffering baby chickens and ducks for backyard poultry adventures and bigger enterprises.

Spring reminds of youth; of revitalized swagger; of unbridled optimism and the freedom of hope. I have the good fortune of working in an environment where youth is a constant stream – each year, new classes of hope-to-be pharmacists matriculate and energize the school. A couple of years ago, the dean quipped, “The only thing that gets old around here is us.”

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been part of teams interviewing nearly 40 students who applied for scholarships. Twenty-two at the College of Pharmacy and 17 members of the Men’s Glee Club presented their best spit-shined selves and responded to a barrage of questions from multiple interviewers. At stake was nearly $30,000 in scholarships available to members of the Glee Club and almost $70,000 available to 3rd and 4th year pharmacy students. The interviews are inspiring but the ultimate selection process is painful – deserving students couldn’t be selected due to a scarcity of dollars. Andrew Carnegie’s late life observation became very real: “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.” I hope we were wise.

I stopped off to visit Howard on the way home tonight. I hadn’t seen him since March 6 – distracted by the million bites of life’s gnats. As I approached his house, I saw him napping in his chair by the window and I nearly turned around and tip-toed off. No, go ring the bell.

I hit the bell and pledged not to follow up with a second ring nor knocking – 3 minutes would be my wait. I’m pretty sure that the door opened at the two minute fifty-nine second mark and Howard beckoned me inside.

“How are you?”

“Not well.”

“Should I go?”

“Hell no, sit down.”

I wish I could take credit for timing – today was Howard’s 87th birthday and his sons and some friends had just left after celebrating over some wine, lamb chops, and laughter. While this was very tiring to him, he wouldn’t hear of me leaving right away.

“Peter, I don’t breathe so well,” he shared. “Three months ago, I could walk 3 miles; now, I can’t make it to the mailbox and back in less than 10 minutes.”

We spent some time discussing his symptoms and his pending doctor’s appointment in the morning (“that son-of-a-bitch better have some answers or I’m getting a second opinion”). In short, Howard’s heart is a mess and his pulmonary function is insufficient. He’s uncomfortable and frustrated.

His son visits daily and he hears from friends from the many decades of his life. He reads his Bible and told me to say hello to “the gang.”

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering	5
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,	10
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the archduke’s,
My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,	15
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter. . .  .

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965).  The Waste Land.  1922.

Andrew Carnegie quote 

"The Waste Land" text 

Francis

I was able to watch the live feed from Vatican television today after it became widely known that white smoke emerged from the copper flue atop the Sistine Chapel announcing the selection of the 266th leader of the Catholic Church. Cries of “Habemus Papam” were audible amidst clapping, singing, praying, and other happy noises from the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elevated by his peers to the papacy and he was introduced as Pope Francis. It is a surprise that His Holiness is the first to choose Francis as his papal name especially with the renown of St. Francis of Assisi among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Much has been written of St. Francis of Assisi: his early privilege, long and difficult conversion, imprisonment, the charge to “repair my Church” at San Damiano, and his reported ability to communicate with animals are among the most known stories. No doubt a colorful, interesting, blessed individual whose feast day (October 4) takes special meaning to the Franciscan orders.

For more information on Francis of Assisi, see St. Francis of Assisi.

I certainly have no inside information, but I suspect that Pope Francis may also be inspired by other saints bearing the name Francis – especially the humility of St. Francis Borgia (1510 - 1572), a Jesuit like the Pope. From Catholic Online (see St. Francis Borgia): 

St. Francis Borgia

Francis was a young nobleman at the court of the King of Spain. He became a Duke when he was only thirty-three and lived a happy, peaceful life with his wife Eleanor and their eight children. But unlike so many other powerful nobles, Francis was a perfect Christian gentleman, a true man of God and his great joy was to receive Holy Communion often. This happy life ended when his beloved wife died. Francis did something that astonished all the nobles of Spain; he gave up his Dukedom to his son Charles and became a Jesuit priest. So many people came to his first Mass that they had to set up an altar outdoors, but his Superior tested him by treating him in exactly the opposite way he had been used to all his forty-one years of life. He who had once been a Duke had to help the cook, carrying wood for the fire and sweeping the kitchen. When he served food to the priests and brothers, he had to kneel down in front of them all and beg them to forgive him for being so clumsy! Still he never once complained or grumbled. The only time he became angry was when anyone treated him with respect as if he was still a Duke. Once a doctor who had to take care of a painful wound Francis had gotten said to him: "I am afraid, my lord, that I have to hurt your grace." The saint answered that he would not hurt him more than he was right then by calling him "my lord" and "your grace." It was not too long before the humble priest accomplished wonderful works for God's glory as he preached everywhere and advised many important people. He spread the Society of Jesus all over Spain and in Portugal. When he was made Superior General of the Jesuits, he sent missionaries all over the world. Under his guidance, the Jesuits grew to be a very great help to the Church in many lands. Through all such success, St. Francis Borgia remained completely humble. His feast day is October 10.

We also pray that Pope Francis is inspired by St. Francis Xavier Bianchi’s (1743 - 1815) call to ministry. Also from Catholic Online (see St. Francis Xavier Bianchi):

St. Francis Xavier Bianchi

Francis Xavier Bianchi, of Arpino, Italy, suffered much in striving to overcome his father’s opposition to his religious vocation. Having been ordained a Barnabite priest at the age of twenty-four, Father Bianchi spent hour upon hour in the confessional, sustained by a deep prayer life. His personal resolve to make himself always and everywhere available to anyone seeking his priestly ministry and counsel seemed to impart to his words and prayers an extraordinary efficacy. Later in life, Father Bianchi was crippled by the swelling and ulceration of both his legs, rendering him incapable of moving about or even standing on his own. He nonetheless managed to continue celebrating Mass. When in 1805 a lava flow from the erupting Mount Vesuvius threatened Naples, he had himself carried to the advancing edge of the lava, where with a blessing he halted it. Although bedridden, Father Bianchi continued to counsel those who came to him. Three days before his death, he experienced a vision of his deceased penitent, Saint Mary Frances of Naples, who before her own death in 1791 had promised to appear to him thus.

Another Francis – St. Francis Trung Van Tran (1825-1858) – from Vietnam was martyred because of his deep dedication to his faith; also an inspiration we hope for Pope Francis. Again, from Catholic Online (see St. Francis Trung Van Tran):

St. Francis Trung Van Tran

While serving as an army corporal, Francis Trung Van Tran, of Phan-Xa, Vietnam, was imprisoned after being accused of cheating during a scholastic exam. When subsequently the Vietnamese emperor Tu Duc granted a general amnesty to prisoners, all were ordered to trample upon a cross in renunciation of Christianity if they wanted to be set free. Having converted to the Catholic faith, Francis refused to comply with this command. When questioned about this, he admitted to being a Christian, adding, “Never will I desert my religion.” He was thereafter beaten repeatedly and sentenced to death for his faith. When two mandarins of the imperial court petitioned Tu Duc to pardon the condemned man, the emperor not only refused their request, but he also ordered the mandarins themselves to be punished for trying to save the prisoner. At his execution, Francis asked for a bit of limestone paste, which he then used to draw a cross upon the back of his neck. He was put to death by beheading.

More than a billion Catholics around the world pray for this new Pope as he begins a very big, very difficult job – may all the Saints Francis intercede on his behalf.






All images from Catholic Online at the url addresses cited

Squid ink and airplanes

A productive and pleasant west coast trip ended last night as the Delta 767 touched down at Detroit / Wayne County Metropolitan Airport just after 8:30 pm. Most of the four hours aloft were spent reviewing applications for the 2013-2014 Leadership Scholars Program. This is a scholarship/mentorship opportunity for students at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy that I help administrate and I serve as one of the mentors.

Hearty if not heart-healthy fare at the Pantry

Twenty-two students are vying for limited spots in the program and have yet to endure a fairly rigorous interview process. Each of the applications shows promise and I expect that the committee will have a very difficult set of decisions.

While in Los Angeles, I met with alumni, hosted and helped host gatherings, and enjoyed walking to meetings actually breaking a bit of a sweat due to the sun and temperatures in the 70s. Much of my work is done while sharing meals and there was a happy coven of eateries casting delicious spells in walking distance from my hotel. A couple of notables: The Pantry – a diner opened in 1924 and in continuous service to the community (by continuous, I mean literally open 24/7 for nigh 90 years!). The second, Drago Centro – from the website: “Chef Celestino Drago introduces his latest concept rediscovering local Italian dishes, which are revisited with the aid of modern cooking techniques and inserted into a modern context. The menu is representative of the cultural diversity of Italy. It emphasizes fresh, high quality ingredients reflecting old flavors that have defined Italian cuisine for centuries.”

Despite a touch of jet lag, I did manage most of a full day at the office where I got (somewhat) current with emails, reviewed some pending mailings, dealt with recertifying credit accounts, penned some needed verbiage for a coming publication, filed my trip expenses, and had a delightful conversation with two alumni from New Jersey.

Drago tasting menu

What I eagerly anticipated was detailing the weekend’s meals to Howard while plotting which day we’d take our field trip to “our” tavern..

Around 5:30 pm, I stumble my SUV down the heavily pock-marked gravel byway looking forward to telling my friend about the tasting menu at Drago (I ate squid ink!). From the road, I didn’t see any lights nor did I see his familiar presence in the window. I pulled in the driveway and confirmed that no one was home.

I sat in the driveway and decided to call and leave a message for Howard. I hope he was out for groceries.



More about the restaurants:
http://www.pantrycafe.com/
http://www.dragocentro.com/index.php

I wish I knew more about Howard