Rite of Passage

I heard about Costco while in Cambodia, and then when I returned, my sister Mary introduced me to the real thing and eventually I got a membership. In articles, I had also seen mention of the $1.50 hot dog combo, their trademark food offering that never changes its price.

Today I went to Costco to get some things for my trip to Cambodia next week and since it was lunch time and I was far from home, I decided to try the hot dog and a Coke. Not bad!

The “dining room” lacks a certain elegance, but now I feel like a real Ahmuracan!!

The True Self

Thomas Merton, the Trappist Monk, is noted for his conception of the true self, the real person who is often obscured by fears or insecurities or sinfulness or other factors.

Yesterday’s 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time gospel was the story of the father who asked his two sons to work in the vineyard. One said he wouldn’t but then did the work. The other said he would work but then refused to do it.

Here is a commentary from Daily Prayer 2026 that places that gospel story in the context of an understanding of the true self:

International Deaf Week

September 21-27

20 Years of the CRPD and National Sign Languages

As we mark 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we celebrate a recognition: national sign languages as full and equal languages. 20 years on, recognizing national sign languages means reaffirming a commitment to deaf people’s human rights and ensuring these rights are fully implemented.

Here and There, Then and Now

After 42 years in Asia, I returned home to Kentucky. But it isn’t the home I left. Things I saw THEN are different NOW. Life HERE is different from life THERE. Here is another example of the differences.

then

Funeral homes have a long tradition of providing “Comfort & Service to Families” upon the death of a loved one, as the Rattermans ad below indicates.

now

The loved ones of the family apparently now include the family pets. I wouldn’t have seen THAT forty years ago!

Charlie’s Angels + 1

50 years ago when I was teaching seniors at Angela Merici High School, I invited some of the girls to help with activities of the Catholic deaf community in Louisville, assisting with spaghetti dinners or Christmas parties or things like that. The volunteers learned sign language and were a real asset for the deaf group. And some of them are still volunteering!

Above L to R are Charlie, Peg, Donna, Nancy, and Fr. Randy Hubbard who replaced me with the deaf people when I went to work in Asia. The girls back then called themselves “Charlie’s Angels,” after the then current TV show, and these three are still angels. There were two more of the long term angel volunteers but they have died.

While I was in Asia we would gather for a meal when I came home for a visit, and now that I have returned we still get together and did so today.