Category: On the Road…

Monday afternoon I flew from Louisville to NYC and stayed at the Maryknoll house in Manhattan.  Early Tuesday morning I took the bus to Newark airport for the 15-hour flight to Shanghai where I had a nine-hour layover.  Then it was six hours to Bangkok where I slept in the airport till a 8:30 AM flight to Phnom Penh.  Click here.

After the reunion mass with the family in the morning, I had another reunion, with “Charlie’s Angels,” a lovely group of ladies with whom I worked in Louisville back in the 1970s and 1980s.  Nancy Reynolds (L) and Donna Lashley (second L) I taught at Angela Merici High School; Sally Newton went to AMHS also and was part of St. Lawrence Parish where I was first assigned; Norma Lewis is the doyenne of American Sign Language interpreters in the United States; and Peg Darcy has worked with Norma and assisted with interpreting for the Catholic Deaf community for many years.  We try to get together each time I come back to the U.S.

---

Often I stay with Mary and Mike Davis when I am in Louisville, but this trip, because their daughter was married the day before I arrived in Louisville, I stayed at the English house where we had the reunion.  After the wedding house guests had basically gone home, though, I came over to the Davis house for my last night in Louisville.  From L to R: Dennis Dittmeier (Florida), Bailey Davis, Mary Dittmeier Davis, Martha Dittmeier Reed (Ohio), Amy Davis, and Charlie, with Mike Davis seated.

The whole weekend was set aside for the reunion.  Friday night we had a dinner together, Saturday there was the family picnic, and this Sunday morning we had a family liturgy together at the English house.  Click here.

Yesterday I ran out of time so today I added the rest of the photos from our Dittmeier picnic.  Click here.

Today was the big day, the gathering of all the first cousins, the grandchildren of Adam and Philomena Dittmeier.  It was a glorious day and glorious occasion.  Click here.

Adam and Philomena Dittmeier had ten children and many, many grandchildren.  These first cousins decided to have a reunion, and this weekend they gathered in Louisville, Kentucky for a wonderful time together.  Click here.

In the morning I worked at my cousin’s house where I am stayed and then in the afternoon Dennis Dittmeier, Jane Dittmeier Browne, and I went to take our sister Ann to lunch.  First we took a look at her house that needs a few repairs.  Click here.

Today was nephew William Reed’s 17th birthday and four of us uncles and aunt drove up to Cincinnati to help him celebrate.  It was a delightful trip, both for us in the car having a chance to talk and then gathering at the Reed home for a family get together.  Click here.

Today I ran around to several places to visit old priest friends, to vote, to visit my aunt, and to just go back and see the places where I used to live and work in the South End of Louisville.  Click here.

I’ve been on the road and out of the loop for a week or so as I traveled to Kentucky and then got caught up in all the unexpected goings-on with my family.  There was a lot of running around both by car and by plane.  (The photo above is sunset in Shanghai, China as I changed planes to go to Bangkok after a 15+ hour flight from New York City.)  Now I am back in Phnom Penh and can start catching up with the photos and stories of the trip.