weekly post

Hello Spring, Goodbye wicked wet winter weather (that's for my friend Lady Di who truly enjoys alliteration). Spring may have arrived on the calendar but this past week (today in fact) it has arrived in the temps and sunshine. As my spouse would say, it's delicious.

Karol Wojtyla was laid to rest today. 26 years, 5 months, 2 weeks (the 2nd longest reign), won the vote of 103 of 109 cardinals (after 10 ballots), bridged the rift between Catholics and Jews, the first non-Italian pontiff in more than 400 years (he was Polish), traveled to 129 countries and performer of numerous humanitarian acts, including forgiving the man who shot him in 1981. More than 2 million people gathered in Rome to mourn. Now the real fun starts; choosing a new pope. Whoever it is, hopefully he won't be German born (that means you Ratzinger).

movie of the week: I'm not into sappy or maudlin movies, however, we went to see a truly enjoyable (I thought) film last weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though there heart tugging and over the top moments. The film Millions is a movie I highly recommend. It's a story of two young brothers who find a bag of cash that "falls from the sky." One brother wants to spend it (and not frugally) and the other wants to give it to the poor as he thinks it is from God. There's one scene where a line of homeless people and charity groups are lined up at the kid's home; the line spans the length of half the block. It's a touching movie with some nice points about faith and being a good person. It's directed by Danny Boyle. Who? The director of the movie Trainspotting and 28 Days Later (the creepy zombie movie). Yes, he's made a "family film," however, there are still elements of his scary style as the brothers encounter the criminal who "lost" the money and he wants it back.

Ridiculous item of the week: The word is that Jimmy Carter believed Bush's delegation to the Pope's funeral was strong enough without him, however, no matter what happened or what miscommunication there was, Carter should have been there. He was the only president to host the Pope at the White House when John Paul visited more than a quarter century ago.

Wherever you are this weekend, enjoy it and relish it. Get some sun and live life fully. And remember these words (which we can all live by) of Pope John Paul II; "But if there be truth in me, it should explode. I cannot reject it; I would be rejecting myself."

Be safe, happy, and healthy.

love,

paul