Easter crams a lot of stuff into basically a weekend. Let’s start with the powerful stories of Holy Thursday and Good Friday. They are emotionally draining. Then the emotional and spiritual triumph of The Resurrection comes on Saturday night and Sunday. I wish we could take longer to celebrate. We had Easter brunch at my sister’s. My stepmother, my brother-in-law and his son, my two sons and #1 son’s wife, J, my sister K, and I were the attendees. My brother and his family were having a celebration at his mother-in-law’s house in Southside.

All I want to say about the food now is that was delicious and plentiful. I could write a lot about the food.

My younger son is going to his cousin’s destination wedding at a resort in the Dominican Republic. He doesn’t seem to understand the there are dangerous places in the DR, and it’s not the type of place where you just go hang out like Nags Head or Myrtle Beach.

He likes to mess with our heads. We hope when multiple adults tell him it’s a dangerous place for a novice traveller to just visit, he will get the idea to just go down to the wedding and get back. But nothing is ever easy with C.

Before The Vigil Mass

That’s what the doctors and physical therapists call them. I can swim without discomfort. But standing, sitting, moving my arm in simple tasks, like breaking asparagus in half, or slicing a lemon, forgetaboutit. We’re supposed to go to the Vigil Mass tonight. I have about an hour to get better.

After The Vigil Mass

Traditionally the Easter Vigil Mass contain the Liturgies bringing new Adult Catholic converts into The Church. It lasts seemingly forever, because I guess they want the newbies to see what they are getting themselves into.

If one doesn’t have a pinched nerve, it feels like it lasts a long time. With a pinched the duration morphs to forever. But I made it.

Upon my return home, I applied Tiger Balm liniment, the smell of which reminds me of Church incense. I have heat on the shoulder too. It feels better.

I get to sleep late tomorrow.

Next weekend is Orthodox Easter. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the Vigil lasts all night and, as an added feature, there are no pews, chairs, or seating of any kind, unless you have a disability or are aged. However, the traditional chanted Liturgy is exquisitely beautiful. There are no Russian Orthodox Churches in Richmond,

From time to time, I will use the downstairs lavatory at night, flick on the light switch, only to discover a rather large cockroach on the wall. Rather than strike it with a rolled-up newspaper or spray it with insecticide, I simply leave it alone.

I know many of you will be repulsed by my reticence to destroy the creature, whilst others will admire my “Live And Let Live” attitude.

But I just can’t get worked up over a bug. Were it a mouse or other even more disgusting rodent, I might react differently. But a cockroach? In my nice suburban neighborhood?

I’m just not all worked up to kill stuff any more. And if you think I’m some sort of hippie, I’m not.

The moral of the story: Don’t be too quick to generalize.

Easter Cuteness

I have a greatniece whom I spoil, at every chance I get. I saw this candy tin at Vermont Country Store and immediately thought of her. I’m taking it over to her Mom’s so she can decide whether the candy that comes in it is safe for her (R is 3) to eat. She can substitute a “safer” candy, a stuffie or just plain nothing because the tin is what’s cute here.

I went to the doctor, described my symptoms, and he is confident I don’t have lung cancer. He thinks I have a pinched nerve in my neck and referred me to my physical therapist. He said that lower back issues often bring on neck issues. That makes sense. So there. Acting up on this nugget of information, I applied heat to my lower back. I’m feeling much better already.

Looks like the Notre Dame damage is not as bad as first was feared. Huge relief here.

“I have to admit it’s getting better, getting better all the time.”- Paul McCartney

So J says to me today, “Shoulder pain can be a sign of lung cancer.” Casual-like. Her father had shoulder pain when his lung cancer was diagnosed at age 92. Great.

So my mind has been nuts for the last 12 hours or so. The pain has changed, moved to other parts of my back and arm. I don’t know what it means. It is crazy. I’m calling the Doctor in the morning. I would go to bed but J decided to work on the taxes in bed.i could just scream.

We did go to the 5:00 PM Mass. I’m glad we did. I did feel the love of Christ tonight. The Passion story is so intense. It is a short course in human behavior and depravity. And I needed to hear it.

I have this shoulder pain going on, like I slept on it funny, or sat too long, or something like that. I did ride in a car more or less nonstop for 16 hours a day for a week. Hmmm, a clue?

So for the past two days I have been making an effort to work the kink out. Kink, not that kind. I have been swimming, a mile yesterday 1100 meters today. Today I swam in the family pool, the warmer pool, which explains the shortened distance. It was quite a test. I move my shoulder with little problems swimming. I’m done. I come home.

Earlier, we had dinner (lunch) with friends at our favorite restaurant. I had salmon, steamed vegetables,fresh fruit.

We decide to skip the Vigil Mass tonight for the Palm Sunday Mass on Sunday.

I’m tired, lonely, sexually unfulfilled. And I have no solution to this dilemma. Except talking, communicating, and trusting that Love will find a way,

This is a familiar time and a familiar reason for being awake. Pain. This time I have a sore shoulder that feels “tight” and sore. Ice seems to help. J will be up in a short while. I shall go back to sleep after she awakens and showers.

I tried reading, but can’t get engaged with the story. Odd. The author is Anais Nin, usually not a problem getting involved in her fiction. Later, I guess.

There are Looney Tunes cartoons on YouTube. Some animated mayhem usually perks me up. Daffy Duck is fighting Nazis. It is war Everybody did their part.

OK , Back to bed.

How else can I describe how I feel? The energy present during our late lunch/early dinner at Mellow Mushroom has dissipated. I am watching a Looney Tunes cartoon that I have seen countless times, A Corny Concerto. It is still funny and gorgeous to watch. It is a send up of Fantasia with some anti-Nazi imagery thrown in for good measure.

But I am overwhelming myself. More books came today, on important topics, Allen Dulles, and Washington corruption. My concern about public corruption and the morphing of American journalism into propaganda now has a longer reading list, but the reader (me) is lacking gumption.

The next cartoon is on. Can’t recall the title, but the soundtrack just played The Girlfriend Of The Whirling Dervish. There is patriotic imagery in this one too, a cartoon with mice and a tyrannical cat. The little guys (mice) won.

Think I will rest a bit. .