Category: Dittmeier

Candlelight Vigil

Tonight a group called Leviticus 19, mobilizing for immigrant justice, held a candlelight vigil at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in Louisville.
Fr. Pat Delahanty organized the vigil. He has been working on social justice issues for many years.
Representative Morgan McGarvey from the U.S. of Representatives spoke of the value and the rights of immigrants. He also honored his predecessor, Rep. Romano Mazzoli, who authored the last major immigration bill in Congress. Rep. Mazzoli’s son Michael also spoke.
The ever-faithful contingent from the larger Dittmeier family also made their appearance in support of immigrants and their rights.

Airport Plane Crash

While we were eating dinner tonight, a UPS cargo plane crashed at the Louisville airport which is the world headquarters for the UPS air services. A UPS MD-11 took off for Hawaii and then immediately went down, impacting three miles from the end of the runway. It is still continuous coverage on all the local TV stations and very little is known except the plane had a full load of fuel for the 8+ hour flight to Honolulu and created a huge fireball when it came down in a little populated industrial neighborhood. The emergency alert system contacted all the mobile phones in the area. 4 people are known dead and 11 injured and those numbers are expected to rise. The Louisville airport is in the middle of the city and fears of toxic chemicals and a spectacular smoke plume moving across the city caused officials to establish a shelter-in-place order that included the Nazareth Home where we live, but just now the air monitoring agency has determined there is nothing to fear so that area has been reduced.

Too Much Food

Life at Nazareth Home Clifton is good. The rooms are simple but nice, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the food is really good. And REALLY plentiful! We keep asking the kitchen crew to lessen the amount of food they put on the plates when serving us. Here is a photo of my choice for dinner tonight: taco salad, dirty rice, and refried beans–and way too much of it!

Cousins Gathering

Our large extended family has a long tradition, started by the Dittmeier grandparents, of getting together. My visits to the United States were often occasions for such gatherings, and my recent return to the U.S. became an opportunity for the cousins to come together.

Each family brought something to eat and there was plenty of really good food.
Lots of conversation ensued as we caught up with each other.
Me and Randy and Karen, the only photo of me this evening!
These were the cousins who contributed to buying the e-bike for me so I put up several signs around the house to let everyone know I really appreciate their thoughtfulness and generosity.

Angela Merici and Holy Cross High Schools

Yesterday the 1978 graduating class of Angela Merici High School gathered at Holy Cross High School to dedicate a room the class had furnished. Holy Cross is the result of a merger between Angela Merici and Bishop David High School. I was invited and it was a great evening with the women who were students when I was at Angela Merici during the 1970s and 1980s. Those were really great years for me.

Buying T-shirts and sweatshirts from their old alma mater.
Reuniting with old friends.

Rosie’s Funeral

Mike is married to my sister Mary and his mother died last week. Rosie is her name, and although not Catholic, she had asked if I would have a funeral service for her. I was most happy to do that and this afternoon we had a gravesite service and then the family gathered at Mike and Mary’s home. We have a wonderful family and it is exactly for events like this with family that I have returned from Cambodia. Here are some photos of some of our family gathered today.