Daily Life in the USA – Page 3 – Welcome to Cambodia, and…..

Nazareth Home

Independent Living

At Nazareth Home Clifton, seven of us priests abide in the Independent Living building on the right called Cedar Hall (for some unknown reason, since there is no wood in the building except some of the furniture). The building on the left is the main administration building, and between them is a lobby or large gathering space that can be used for family or other gatherings. The lobby is basically a bridge between the two buildings. It has a door that is almost never used because it requires an electronic fob to unlock it where the outside door to Cedar Hall has a keypad for punching in a security code that unlocks the door.

Rolling Again

Mike Davis is unloading my new bicycle at my home. Mike spent all day negotiating with the bike shop, waiting for the bike to be assembled, checking it out (and discovering a bad taillight), and then delivering it to Nazareth Home. Thank you, Mike! The bike is a dream!

Grounded

I’ve been pretty much “confined to base” the last few days. Because of early macular degeneration I decided not to start driving again because I would have to stop driving sometime in the future and it may be good just to make a complete break now. That is one of the reasons I got an e-bike (in addition to just liking to ride!).

But the bike I got, picked out and delivered by my dear brothers and sisters and cousins, turned out to be a bit too big in the frame so Thursday it went back to the store and my brother-in-law (a really SERIOUS bike rider, read three 14,000-foot Rocky Mountain peaks in one day) picked out another one that I loved in a test ride. I can’t wait for it to be delivered tomorrow!

Finding my way

Fr. Jerry Eiffler’s sister died and he presided at her funeral today at Holy Spirit Church in Louisville. Jerry and I are friends and live close by so I attended.

The church is only 2.5 miles from Nazareth Home Clifton where I live and I biked over there, the first time I’ve used my bicycle for a “churchy” event. It was also the first time I wore the black suit I had made in Cambodia shortly before departing. Not to attract too much attention, I put my suit coat in my backpack and wore a windbreaker.

Bike Exploring

Today was a beautiful sunny day for [1] learning more about my new bicycle and [2] exploring old neighborhoods where I grew up. In the morning I rode about 19 miles to the Portland and Shawnee neighborhoods where I lived from 1950 to 1960. I was amazed at how the streets and everything had shrunk in size since I rode my bike there 65 years ago!

In the afternoon I rode from Nazareth Home to home of my sister Mary and husband Mike. The return journey from there (8.7 miles) is in the graphic above, taken from Strava, an app that records bike trips. Mike is a professional biker and introduced me to the app. Today’s graphic shows two personal records, which can only be made to seem noteworthy because this was the first time to use Strava and that journey is the ONLY one it knows!

Immigration: US attitude

According to a recent Gallup poll, the number of American people in favor of immigration has reached a record high, 79%. In 2024, 55% thought immigration should be reduced. Now that number favoring a reduction is 30% in 2025.

The American public has greater sensitivity and more Christ-like values than our present Washington administration.

Receiving mail again!

Since I moved into Nazareth Home Clifton two weeks ago, I have received three letters–the first mail I have received in more than ten years. Cambodia had no mail pickup or delivery before Covid. Mail could be received only in a post office box. Then with Covid, there was NO mail in either direction.