Charlie Dittmeier's Home Page
One of the residents, Myra, in independent living at Nazareth Home is an aficionado of the dulcimer, a stringed instrument that was developed in Appalachia and is still much a part of the musical scene in Eastern Kentucky. At a gathering in one of our community rooms, Myra related the history of the dulcimer and showed us her collection of the instruments, explaining the different types and how to make them and play them. Quite interesting!
Cambodia is now celebrating the Buddhist new year of 2570. I miss being there for the annual festivities which are a source of real joy for the ordinary people who have gone through so much with the Thailand-Cambodia border war and now the effects of the U.S. war with Iran.
Here is a good article from UCAN (Union of Catholic Asian News) about the current situation.
Even as individuals maintain their comfortable consumerist isolation, they can choose a form of constant …. bonding that encourages remarkable hostility, insults, abuse, defamation and verbal violence destructive of others, and this with a lack of restraint that could not exist in physical contact without tearing us all apart. Social aggression has found unparalleled room for expansion through computers and mobile devices.
[From Fratelli Tutti, #44, by Pope Francis]
Tuesday, 17 February 2026, is the first day of the Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year or Tet [Vietnam]) so today is New Year’s Eve. May the Year of the Horse be a good year for you!
Bishop Olivier of Phnom Penh is a very active player in the life of the kingdom and always reaches out to the Buddhists to address issues, celebrate events, etc. In the current conflict between the kingdoms of Cambodia and Thailand, Bishop Olivier has gone to the front lines with a Buddhist delegation and has engaged with Buddhist leadership in praying for peace.
The joint prayer events take on a form not so familiar to Christian groups. Literally hundreds of Buddhist monks came together for this joint prayer service.
In the United States, many girls’ dream is to be a cheerleader for their school’s sports teams. In Cambodian culture, where there are no school sports teams, the girls want to be apsara dancers.
Every Sunday adult volunteers work with really young girls to get them started in the classical dancing.
