Dear Everyone,
It is still Sunday, Dec. 15th, the day of Mandela's burial. There were ninety five candles behind the altar in remembrance of his 95 yrs. here on earth with us. I thought that it was especially meaningful because each of those candles represents the light that he brought into the lives of so many throughout the world. Even sitting here in my room, after having celebrated mass with a community of mostly children, I stretched out my hand as the coffin passed by and sais, hamba kahle, go well, Madiba. Everyone who had even the slightest connection with him, even just standing at the side of the road as he was whisked past, felt moved and touched by his spirit. Me too. I guess that it is clear, the rest is up to us. How can we, even is a very small way, make our world a better place for those who live here. One of the things that is so noticeable is that almost every picture of Mandela show him smiling, and we all know that he liked to smile. Drop a line when you get a chance. I don't go to facebook anymore because I just don't have time to spend as many do catching up on so many things there. If you want to contact me, here is my email: frcascmm50@gmail.com Send me yours and I will answer. I promise. Love and Peace Fr. Cas
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Mandela's funeral and preparations d
Hey, it took me over an hour to remember how to post a new blog. I am not the IT fundi that some of you think I am. However I want to share with you what has been happenning this past week.
Ever since Mandela went home to his eternal rest (the end of the long journey to freedom---free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last).
Mthatha is always crowded because it is an overgrown hick town, but this past week, Holy Moses. I wanted to go over to visit Fr. Guy and his boys on Saturday evening (I usually share a meal with them once or twice a week to keep in touch with his boys as well as to give him my support) but when I left where I stay (about 2 km from the main road to Mthatha), when I arrived at the main road to Mthatha--in one direction you go to the airport, in the other direction you go to Mthatha. It is 9 km. just over 5 1/2 miles and the queue started right there as I tried to get out on the highway. I did it but when I saw the line of cars, I turned around and went back home to my place next to the orthopedic hospital at Bedford and phoned Fr. Guy to tell him it was impossible. So I ate my leftovers.
But it has been a psychologically draining week, much like I remember when JFK was assassinated. The TV went all day long for 24hrs. with stories about Mandela and his history, and tributes to him, etc. etc. etc. I am like a sponge. Sometimes I had to smile, as I said before, and other times I was in tears. He was just special special special.
When interviewing a few Afrikanners to get their opinion about Mandela, most of them confessed that they had been brainwashed by their society and thought of Mandela as a killer, a terrorist, and all blacks were things (not necessarily people) to be frightened of. One lady told the story of hearing a knock on her door and when she opened it, there was a little about 10 yrs..old black kid asking for a piece of bread. He was in tattered clothes and looked skinny enough to believe that he was hungry, but she was so frightened of him because of the pre-programming that went on about how terrible all aftricans were, she slamned the door in his face. Now when she thinks back, after discovering a Mandela that is the total opposite of everything that she ever heard, she cries because of what she did and is ashamed. I believe it was this same lady who said that her son was a policeman and was assigned to guard Mandela now that he was president. Unfortunately, her son got in an accident and was in the hospital. Mandela visited the hospital to cheer him up and brought him some chocolates. She was devastated at how she used to think of him. And so it was with so many others.
The legacy that he has left is one of forgiveness, reconciliation, building understanding and unity. When he was president, he paid a visit to Oranje, a part of south Africa that is inhabited by Boers, Afrikaaners, who, at least at that time, did not want a black president and didn't want to be a part of south Africa. They wanted to have an independent white state. He went there to have a cup of tea with Mrs. Betsy Verwoerd, the wife of the man who forced apartheid upon south africa. That is like Daniel entering the lion's den.
Then he went to have lunch with a man named Percy something who was the prosecutor in his case back in 1962 and had asked for the death penalty. He invited his warder from his prison days to his inauguration as a VIP. But the frosting on the cake was when he donned the Springbok jersey ( The Springboks are the rugby team--called at that time, the National Party at play) with the number 6, the captain's number and presented the trophy (having just won the world cup in rugby, South Africa being able to play in international rugby because of Mandela--previously they had been banned from world competition because of their apartheid policies) to Francois Pienaar and thanked him for leading " our " team to victory. Pienaar never forgot what an honor that was coming from Mandela and he said that he was unable to sing the national anthem because he was afraid that he would cry since he was so touched and overwhelmed by this gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation. It would be the same as though a Jew would put on a Swastika, such a hated symbol by the Jews.
I have heard more planes this last week, even jets, big and small (we just finished a runway that is able to hanldle big jets, most likely expecting that Mandela would soon be returning to his maker, just in time) than I have heard in the 20 yrs. before.
I had Mass this morning with a small community, mostly kids, and we combined our preparation for Christmas with joining with the others in laying to rest our beloved Tata. We will see how much we will be able to imbibe his spirit. One commentator said that he was who he was not in spite of the 27 yrs. in prison but because of those years when he had the time to reflect and grow into who he became while there. When he was asked, some time ago, by an interviewer, whether he ever hated his jailers and oppressors. He admitted that he did feel that way at one time but later realized that as long as he hated, he was not free and he wanted to be free. So when he walked out of that prison, he hated no one because he wanted to be truly free. Does that say something to us in our world of today when there is so much hatred and violence.
Hey, this is enough for one day, in fact more than I intended. I love you all and have renewed my resolution to work for the kind of society that Mandela lived and died for. Peace to you all.
Ever since Mandela went home to his eternal rest (the end of the long journey to freedom---free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, free at last).
Mthatha is always crowded because it is an overgrown hick town, but this past week, Holy Moses. I wanted to go over to visit Fr. Guy and his boys on Saturday evening (I usually share a meal with them once or twice a week to keep in touch with his boys as well as to give him my support) but when I left where I stay (about 2 km from the main road to Mthatha), when I arrived at the main road to Mthatha--in one direction you go to the airport, in the other direction you go to Mthatha. It is 9 km. just over 5 1/2 miles and the queue started right there as I tried to get out on the highway. I did it but when I saw the line of cars, I turned around and went back home to my place next to the orthopedic hospital at Bedford and phoned Fr. Guy to tell him it was impossible. So I ate my leftovers.
But it has been a psychologically draining week, much like I remember when JFK was assassinated. The TV went all day long for 24hrs. with stories about Mandela and his history, and tributes to him, etc. etc. etc. I am like a sponge. Sometimes I had to smile, as I said before, and other times I was in tears. He was just special special special.
When interviewing a few Afrikanners to get their opinion about Mandela, most of them confessed that they had been brainwashed by their society and thought of Mandela as a killer, a terrorist, and all blacks were things (not necessarily people) to be frightened of. One lady told the story of hearing a knock on her door and when she opened it, there was a little about 10 yrs..old black kid asking for a piece of bread. He was in tattered clothes and looked skinny enough to believe that he was hungry, but she was so frightened of him because of the pre-programming that went on about how terrible all aftricans were, she slamned the door in his face. Now when she thinks back, after discovering a Mandela that is the total opposite of everything that she ever heard, she cries because of what she did and is ashamed. I believe it was this same lady who said that her son was a policeman and was assigned to guard Mandela now that he was president. Unfortunately, her son got in an accident and was in the hospital. Mandela visited the hospital to cheer him up and brought him some chocolates. She was devastated at how she used to think of him. And so it was with so many others.
The legacy that he has left is one of forgiveness, reconciliation, building understanding and unity. When he was president, he paid a visit to Oranje, a part of south Africa that is inhabited by Boers, Afrikaaners, who, at least at that time, did not want a black president and didn't want to be a part of south Africa. They wanted to have an independent white state. He went there to have a cup of tea with Mrs. Betsy Verwoerd, the wife of the man who forced apartheid upon south africa. That is like Daniel entering the lion's den.
Then he went to have lunch with a man named Percy something who was the prosecutor in his case back in 1962 and had asked for the death penalty. He invited his warder from his prison days to his inauguration as a VIP. But the frosting on the cake was when he donned the Springbok jersey ( The Springboks are the rugby team--called at that time, the National Party at play) with the number 6, the captain's number and presented the trophy (having just won the world cup in rugby, South Africa being able to play in international rugby because of Mandela--previously they had been banned from world competition because of their apartheid policies) to Francois Pienaar and thanked him for leading " our " team to victory. Pienaar never forgot what an honor that was coming from Mandela and he said that he was unable to sing the national anthem because he was afraid that he would cry since he was so touched and overwhelmed by this gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation. It would be the same as though a Jew would put on a Swastika, such a hated symbol by the Jews.
I have heard more planes this last week, even jets, big and small (we just finished a runway that is able to hanldle big jets, most likely expecting that Mandela would soon be returning to his maker, just in time) than I have heard in the 20 yrs. before.
I had Mass this morning with a small community, mostly kids, and we combined our preparation for Christmas with joining with the others in laying to rest our beloved Tata. We will see how much we will be able to imbibe his spirit. One commentator said that he was who he was not in spite of the 27 yrs. in prison but because of those years when he had the time to reflect and grow into who he became while there. When he was asked, some time ago, by an interviewer, whether he ever hated his jailers and oppressors. He admitted that he did feel that way at one time but later realized that as long as he hated, he was not free and he wanted to be free. So when he walked out of that prison, he hated no one because he wanted to be truly free. Does that say something to us in our world of today when there is so much hatred and violence.
Hey, this is enough for one day, in fact more than I intended. I love you all and have renewed my resolution to work for the kind of society that Mandela lived and died for. Peace to you all.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Last night, Sunday, Dec. 8th, I wanted to sit down and start on my Christmas letter, but I had the TV on and was fascinated by the stories about the struggle of Nelson Mandela, the sacrifices he made, the suffering he went through, to achieve this dream of a free, democratic south africa and I was mesmerized and wasn't able to continue. I was part of that struggle, as you well know, and it brought back many memories. Sometimes I wanted to smile and other times I felt like weeping. There is no doubt that he has touched all of us, far and near with his being just who he was, humble, committed, forgiving, reconciling, giving us a pattern for our own lives where we may find some of these things seemingly too challenging for us, but if he did it, against all odds, then there is no excuse to believe that we can't do the same. He made the gospel values come alive. Now the rest is up to us, wherever we may be, to take up the challenge to make our own contribution to making this world a better place in whatever way we can. I will stop here. Love and Peace, Cas
Friday, August 30, 2013
It is August 30th, 2013 and I have been meaning to update my blog for the last few esciting weeks, but no time or didi't take the time.
My life has taken a new twist. Call it The exciting life of of an ex-con priest for the 21st century.
As you already knew, I as assigned to Abbot Francis Hone in Mthatha as the superior (do the shopping, make sure there is enough toilet paper, pay the bills, keep the place minimally maintained, etc.) and postulant master or something like that, e.g. to make a plan for the one and only postulant who managed to arrive with us back in February. A postulant is one who comes to have a look see if he is interested in joining the community and we have a look at him to see if we are willing to give him a chance to stick with us. But, in the meantime, I was also asked to look after out rental project at a place called Bedford Convent Farm. We built some bachelor flats on the land that we had bought from the Holy Cross Sisters when they got too old and too few to run the orthopedic hospital which they manned and which they finally handed over to the government. We renovated the convent and the old laundry and some other buildings so that we now have 29 flats. That means, maintenanace. Father, there is no electricity, father, there is no water, father, my geyser leaked all over my bed, father, father the septic tank if overflowing, etc. etc. etc.
Well, one of the concerns was also security. Cars had been stolen out of our yard although we spent R600,000 for a fence around the property. Even parts of that fence were stolen. We have very creative people in our area. However, we decided to put in an electric fence that opens and closes with a remote. I susptected that that would cause more than the usual difficulties and complaints, so I suggested that I take one of the flats that are there and move in during the teething time. Also we intend to install electricity meters in each of the flats so that the tenanats are responsible for getting and paying for their own electricity. Both of these items, I felt sure, would mean lots of problems, at least in the beginning. So I decided to ask permission to move in here and see how it goes.
Ha, the first night (after announcing that we have a new gate and they must come and pay a deposit of R200 and get a remote) at 10pm, hoot hoot, please come and open the gate. I have no remote. The second night 1am in the morning, knock, knock on the door. I have no remote and I forgot the key to my flat. Ha. There have been a plethora of thiings like this and, by my being present here, we were able to get most of the tenanats to have their own remotes.
But then came the big problem, e.g. no water. After weeks of trying to contacct my friend at O.R.Tambo (municipal water supply), I fianlly got an appointment yesterday at 10am. I arrived early after many stops (get eye drops --I discovered that I have Glaucoma, it snuck up on me, and I have tunnel visiion in the right eye because of too much pressure which destroyed the peripheral vision cells--I put in a drop in each eye once a day to keep the pressure from building up) then to another store to get some sandpaper, polyfiller, turpentine and putty (lots of maintenance around here), then to another store to get some toilet cleaner, then to the rent collector to turn in more of the R200 that I had collected for the remotes, and finally to OR tambo for the appoinmtnent. It took more than an hour and a half but we got someone to come out to see why there is no water with us although, just next door, the hospital is drowning in water. It took till 4:45pm before we had water flowing again into the taps and the water tanks and we rejoiced. But when I went to take a celebratory shower (we have a quick wash in the morning called "dry cleaning" when there is no or little water) only to find out that there was only a trickle but at least it was warm. I know that when the water is off for a few days, air gets into the pipes and one had to fool around to get it out before it starts to operate properlly again. But I slept well until I had to get up to pee at about midnight and found that the water was off again. I didn't sleep soundly thinking that people will get up in the morning delighted that there is water and there is none. So, I got up at my usual 4am, did my dry cleaning, said Mass at my kitchen table for all of you, and then went out to check the pump, which I also did yesterday, knowing that air also gets into the pipes and it won't pump unless there is water. I had to check around and eventually I found the place where you can bleed out the air and get the water flowiing again, and had to do the same thing at 5am this morning and finally succeeced to get the pump pumping agani. Hooray. So this is my new adventure. It will be some weeks or even months till we sort out the main problems and then we will see. In the meantime, I lead a very exciting life. I help out on weekends, as I did before, with Masses at the outstations which, thank goodness, are in Xhosa. (although I understand that they are also trying to change the Xhosa too. I am sure that this will confuse and irritate those who are used to what seemed to have been OK for years and years as it did/does with the atrocious english. In any case, you are not in the picture as to how life goes. I am back to doing my own cooking so I cook a lot at one time and put the rest in the fridge or freezer and take it out as needed. Tuna fish casserole has served me for about 5 meals so far, and my soups are a good, quick meal, with some bread. No day is boring as there is always something but I really get frustrated with this ageing process as I forget what I did with my keys, or glasses, or whatever and waste lots of time hunting for thngs only to ask myself why I was so dumb as to leave it (whatever it is) THERE! Of all places.
Some of you, I am sure, know what I am talking about. But I try to remember (I promise each morning) that I am walking with the Lord and I try to be aware of that and it helps to take the sting out of unwelcome surprises. Love and Peace, Cas
My life has taken a new twist. Call it The exciting life of of an ex-con priest for the 21st century.
As you already knew, I as assigned to Abbot Francis Hone in Mthatha as the superior (do the shopping, make sure there is enough toilet paper, pay the bills, keep the place minimally maintained, etc.) and postulant master or something like that, e.g. to make a plan for the one and only postulant who managed to arrive with us back in February. A postulant is one who comes to have a look see if he is interested in joining the community and we have a look at him to see if we are willing to give him a chance to stick with us. But, in the meantime, I was also asked to look after out rental project at a place called Bedford Convent Farm. We built some bachelor flats on the land that we had bought from the Holy Cross Sisters when they got too old and too few to run the orthopedic hospital which they manned and which they finally handed over to the government. We renovated the convent and the old laundry and some other buildings so that we now have 29 flats. That means, maintenanace. Father, there is no electricity, father, there is no water, father, my geyser leaked all over my bed, father, father the septic tank if overflowing, etc. etc. etc.
Well, one of the concerns was also security. Cars had been stolen out of our yard although we spent R600,000 for a fence around the property. Even parts of that fence were stolen. We have very creative people in our area. However, we decided to put in an electric fence that opens and closes with a remote. I susptected that that would cause more than the usual difficulties and complaints, so I suggested that I take one of the flats that are there and move in during the teething time. Also we intend to install electricity meters in each of the flats so that the tenanats are responsible for getting and paying for their own electricity. Both of these items, I felt sure, would mean lots of problems, at least in the beginning. So I decided to ask permission to move in here and see how it goes.
Ha, the first night (after announcing that we have a new gate and they must come and pay a deposit of R200 and get a remote) at 10pm, hoot hoot, please come and open the gate. I have no remote. The second night 1am in the morning, knock, knock on the door. I have no remote and I forgot the key to my flat. Ha. There have been a plethora of thiings like this and, by my being present here, we were able to get most of the tenanats to have their own remotes.
But then came the big problem, e.g. no water. After weeks of trying to contacct my friend at O.R.Tambo (municipal water supply), I fianlly got an appointment yesterday at 10am. I arrived early after many stops (get eye drops --I discovered that I have Glaucoma, it snuck up on me, and I have tunnel visiion in the right eye because of too much pressure which destroyed the peripheral vision cells--I put in a drop in each eye once a day to keep the pressure from building up) then to another store to get some sandpaper, polyfiller, turpentine and putty (lots of maintenance around here), then to another store to get some toilet cleaner, then to the rent collector to turn in more of the R200 that I had collected for the remotes, and finally to OR tambo for the appoinmtnent. It took more than an hour and a half but we got someone to come out to see why there is no water with us although, just next door, the hospital is drowning in water. It took till 4:45pm before we had water flowing again into the taps and the water tanks and we rejoiced. But when I went to take a celebratory shower (we have a quick wash in the morning called "dry cleaning" when there is no or little water) only to find out that there was only a trickle but at least it was warm. I know that when the water is off for a few days, air gets into the pipes and one had to fool around to get it out before it starts to operate properlly again. But I slept well until I had to get up to pee at about midnight and found that the water was off again. I didn't sleep soundly thinking that people will get up in the morning delighted that there is water and there is none. So, I got up at my usual 4am, did my dry cleaning, said Mass at my kitchen table for all of you, and then went out to check the pump, which I also did yesterday, knowing that air also gets into the pipes and it won't pump unless there is water. I had to check around and eventually I found the place where you can bleed out the air and get the water flowiing again, and had to do the same thing at 5am this morning and finally succeeced to get the pump pumping agani. Hooray. So this is my new adventure. It will be some weeks or even months till we sort out the main problems and then we will see. In the meantime, I lead a very exciting life. I help out on weekends, as I did before, with Masses at the outstations which, thank goodness, are in Xhosa. (although I understand that they are also trying to change the Xhosa too. I am sure that this will confuse and irritate those who are used to what seemed to have been OK for years and years as it did/does with the atrocious english. In any case, you are not in the picture as to how life goes. I am back to doing my own cooking so I cook a lot at one time and put the rest in the fridge or freezer and take it out as needed. Tuna fish casserole has served me for about 5 meals so far, and my soups are a good, quick meal, with some bread. No day is boring as there is always something but I really get frustrated with this ageing process as I forget what I did with my keys, or glasses, or whatever and waste lots of time hunting for thngs only to ask myself why I was so dumb as to leave it (whatever it is) THERE! Of all places.
Some of you, I am sure, know what I am talking about. But I try to remember (I promise each morning) that I am walking with the Lord and I try to be aware of that and it helps to take the sting out of unwelcome surprises. Love and Peace, Cas
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Here it is, June 16th, Youth Day here in South Africa. In 1976 the youth, unarmed as usual, of Soweto, gathered together to protest the new law that said that they would now have to study Afrikaans as a required subject in school. There were many other things that were going on at the time and this was the last straw. It seems that when the police, who were caught off guard, saw the 20,000 or so students, they got nervous and one of them pulled out a revolver and shot into the crowd. Of course this was like lighting a fust for a bomb. All hell broke loose and the students wound up throwing stones at the police and the police then were firing live ammunition into the crowd of students. The famous picture of a young man carrying the dead body of Hector Peterson, who had been shot directly in the chest, was circulated world wide, it brought to the attention of the world the brutal regime that was, at the time, the apartheid government. The youth of today have other problems to face like drugs, cheap and daily sex, and love for money , along with a sense of entitlement that they deserve everything for free that most people in the world have to work for, like free education, even in university. So the challenge to the youth it to emulate the willingness to make sacrifices for the good of the country and the nation as a whole as did those youth then.
But, in the meantime, I have had a not good at all weekend. We discovered on Friday that thieves have been busy dismantling the palisade fence that had just been put up, and not just in one place but a whole section, maybe 15 meters or more of fence. We spent most of Saturday morning and afternoon trying to put it back togethers and have asked the guy who did the job to get someone to do something so that the thieves cannot just unbolt the bolts and walk away with whole sections of the fence.
On top of that, my cell phone stopped working so that I can't call anyone and I can't receive calls. Our home landline phone doesn't work either. And then my modem doesn't work well where we are located as the signal keeps changing, sometimes ok, most times very slow or not at all. So I was not able to send messages to anyone. I am in Fr. Guys's house now, Sabelani Home, where the signal is good so that I can get this out.
As I have said often, I am glad that I can't be bored but sometimes I think that the Lord overdoes it, if you know what I mean.
So, you all take care. Love and Peace, Cas. (June 16, 2013
But, in the meantime, I have had a not good at all weekend. We discovered on Friday that thieves have been busy dismantling the palisade fence that had just been put up, and not just in one place but a whole section, maybe 15 meters or more of fence. We spent most of Saturday morning and afternoon trying to put it back togethers and have asked the guy who did the job to get someone to do something so that the thieves cannot just unbolt the bolts and walk away with whole sections of the fence.
On top of that, my cell phone stopped working so that I can't call anyone and I can't receive calls. Our home landline phone doesn't work either. And then my modem doesn't work well where we are located as the signal keeps changing, sometimes ok, most times very slow or not at all. So I was not able to send messages to anyone. I am in Fr. Guys's house now, Sabelani Home, where the signal is good so that I can get this out.
As I have said often, I am glad that I can't be bored but sometimes I think that the Lord overdoes it, if you know what I mean.
So, you all take care. Love and Peace, Cas. (June 16, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Dear Everyone,
I "posted" something on Monday but it seems I didn't do something right because I don't find it here and I am too lazy to repeat the long story I told then. I am happy so far with the results of the eye drops and am being kept busy as a kind of handy man here at our project where water, electricity, broken things, etc. etc. etc. keep me busy and from getting bored. I hope that this goes out now. If not, I will have to go back to Chicago to Sr. Ann and take some more lessons. Love and Peaace, Cas
I "posted" something on Monday but it seems I didn't do something right because I don't find it here and I am too lazy to repeat the long story I told then. I am happy so far with the results of the eye drops and am being kept busy as a kind of handy man here at our project where water, electricity, broken things, etc. etc. etc. keep me busy and from getting bored. I hope that this goes out now. If not, I will have to go back to Chicago to Sr. Ann and take some more lessons. Love and Peaace, Cas
Monday, May 27, 2013
May 27, 2013
Just a quick update on the recent happening in my life. About 3 1/2 weeks ago I had a wedding here in the Durban area and took the opportunity, since I was in the area, to see an optometrist because I could feel that there was something not quite right with my right eye. Nothing painful, nothing gross, just subtle pressure. She discovered that I am near-sighted (I don't need glasses to read) but my far-sighted ness now needs glasses. Not bad that I managed to hold of fo almost 78 yrs. without glasses.
However, she discovered that the pressure in my right eye was 38 and in the left eye 24. She sent me to an ophthalmologist who found the same and gave me some drops to put in the eyes each day, one drop each, every day. It is supposed to decrease the pressure. I don't know how, but....
I am back now in Durban for a checkup to see if the drops are working. They are. the pressure in the right eye went down from 38 to 18 (hooray), and in the left eye from 24 to 17. We are all happy. The right eye has already been damaged and it is called Glaucoma. the pressure has damaged the peripheral vision but the direct vision (tunnel vision) is still OK. There was the possibility of the need for an operation to drill another hole to drain the excess fluid in the eye so that the damage will stop and whatever you are able to seen now will remain. The Ophthalmologist said to come back in another 6 weeks to see if the pressure continues to go down. I understand that 7 would be OK or maybe a bit more but that means that there is still a ways to go.
Then I went to the dentist who discovered that the ache that I had been experiencing for the past week or so was actually a deep cavity that had gone down into the root so there was no option but the take the whole tooth out. Hey, I am falling apart. What's next.
But, I am happy that the problems have been solved and I can get on with my life which brings new and exciting things every day. As Murphy once said, the light that you see at the end of the tunnel is probably the headlight of the approaching train. Ha! Get used to Murphy intruding on your life.
I am happy to be able to continue physically and to be active. I was even able to do some digging the other day which made Fr. Guy, my Provincial, mad at me. He wants to be over protective, but I appreciate his concern.
I will be receiving visitors in July and in September and have a wedding coming up sometime in September as well, so I have exciting things to look forward to. I also received a note from my niece, Dr. Ann Kulik, that she and her husband will be coming out next year in February. That home leave combined with the sabbatical last year was a strong tonic for my spirit and I have the pictures on my computer as a screen saver so that I keep seeing the people there that I love and it keeps me in touch in my spirit.
I pray that you all stay well and thank God for the love and attention that you have graced me with in my life. In Xhosa there is a saying " umntu ngumntu ngabanye abantu", e.g. a person is a person because of other persons. How true! I would be a pauper without the richness that you have shared me by being a life-giving part of my life.
Stay well, y'all. Love and Peace, Cas
Just a quick update on the recent happening in my life. About 3 1/2 weeks ago I had a wedding here in the Durban area and took the opportunity, since I was in the area, to see an optometrist because I could feel that there was something not quite right with my right eye. Nothing painful, nothing gross, just subtle pressure. She discovered that I am near-sighted (I don't need glasses to read) but my far-sighted ness now needs glasses. Not bad that I managed to hold of fo almost 78 yrs. without glasses.
However, she discovered that the pressure in my right eye was 38 and in the left eye 24. She sent me to an ophthalmologist who found the same and gave me some drops to put in the eyes each day, one drop each, every day. It is supposed to decrease the pressure. I don't know how, but....
I am back now in Durban for a checkup to see if the drops are working. They are. the pressure in the right eye went down from 38 to 18 (hooray), and in the left eye from 24 to 17. We are all happy. The right eye has already been damaged and it is called Glaucoma. the pressure has damaged the peripheral vision but the direct vision (tunnel vision) is still OK. There was the possibility of the need for an operation to drill another hole to drain the excess fluid in the eye so that the damage will stop and whatever you are able to seen now will remain. The Ophthalmologist said to come back in another 6 weeks to see if the pressure continues to go down. I understand that 7 would be OK or maybe a bit more but that means that there is still a ways to go.
Then I went to the dentist who discovered that the ache that I had been experiencing for the past week or so was actually a deep cavity that had gone down into the root so there was no option but the take the whole tooth out. Hey, I am falling apart. What's next.
But, I am happy that the problems have been solved and I can get on with my life which brings new and exciting things every day. As Murphy once said, the light that you see at the end of the tunnel is probably the headlight of the approaching train. Ha! Get used to Murphy intruding on your life.
I am happy to be able to continue physically and to be active. I was even able to do some digging the other day which made Fr. Guy, my Provincial, mad at me. He wants to be over protective, but I appreciate his concern.
I will be receiving visitors in July and in September and have a wedding coming up sometime in September as well, so I have exciting things to look forward to. I also received a note from my niece, Dr. Ann Kulik, that she and her husband will be coming out next year in February. That home leave combined with the sabbatical last year was a strong tonic for my spirit and I have the pictures on my computer as a screen saver so that I keep seeing the people there that I love and it keeps me in touch in my spirit.
I pray that you all stay well and thank God for the love and attention that you have graced me with in my life. In Xhosa there is a saying " umntu ngumntu ngabanye abantu", e.g. a person is a person because of other persons. How true! I would be a pauper without the richness that you have shared me by being a life-giving part of my life.
Stay well, y'all. Love and Peace, Cas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)