In the years since
Barbara became the Director of Pontotoc County Habitat for Humanity, I have
met a number of interesting people. Some have come from far off places like
Maine, California, and New York to help build houses for the local affiliate
of Habitat for Humanity International. Others have come from middle states
such as Illinois and Indiana and still other volunteers of interest are local
residents with whom I might never have had more than a passing acquaintance
were it not for their volunteerism and Habitat for Humanity.
Reverend Gerald Peterson, a retired Catholic Priest, is such a volunteer.
I don't recall any specifics of our first meeting, which was probably no
more than a handshake after my being introduced to Father Pete. Father Pete
is quite comfortable with simply being called Pete, but since he's several
years my senior, I'm more comfortable using Father Pete when addressing him.
After all, it's a common courtesy and a sign of respect for non-Catholics
to refer to a priest as Father.
Father Pete and Brother Joe Steen shared a house on a street that was part
of my formative years, a street that stirs vivid remembrances each time I
drive down it. Both men are Glenmary Missioners with the Catholic Church
and serve at the discretion of their superiors in the order. Brother Joe
was relocated a few months ago, but Father Pete is still in Pontotoc.
Father Pete is a gardener, a vegetable gardener as opposed to a flower gardener.
In the years I've known him, he's had something growing practically year-round;
greens in the fall, sweet corn in springtime, squash, okra, beans, leafy
vegetables, and tomatoes in the summer months.
A vegetable garden provides more than nourishment for ones belly. Properly
done, a vegetable garden can strengthen ones soul as well as those body muscles
that are needed to turn the soil and harvest the crop. Few vocations and
avocations offer their respective practitioners as close communion with ones
creator as does gardening or farming.
Men of the cloth don't ever seem to retire, at least not until they become
incapable of performing a service or pastoral rite. In recent years, Father
Pete has served as a minister on cruise lines in the Caribbean as well as
Alaska. As recently as Thanksgiving morning, he conducted a baptismal service
in nearby New Albany.
Father Pete's hobby is golf, though I don't know his handicap or what he
considers an average score these days, I know he plays almost weekly. Golf
is only one form of exercise for Father Pete. He walks regularly and can
usually be spotted with a plastic bag or two, which he uses to hold aluminum
cans he finds along the roadside.
Father Pete has a heart for society's disadvantaged and doesn't view our
country's illegal immigrant population as the problem seen by many, and he's
expressed his views in letters to the editor in local and area newspapers.
Each year, he lends his command of the Spanish language and his financial
skills to help many of our county's Hispanic population with their income
tax.
The money he collects from selling aluminum cans is donated to Habitat for
Humanity. Barbara recently shared that Father Pete had exceeded this year's
budget of three thousand dollars. Such is his dedication and dependability
that the local Habitat affiliate actually budgets a part of their annual
income to be derived from aluminum cans sold by Father Pete. Be assured,
Father Pete doesn't meet his budget single-handedly, for neighbors and others
drop off cans at his house, and he picks up the ones left at the office of
Habitat for Humanity. Still, he plays a vital part in helping others simply
with his aluminum-can effort.
When we last spoke, Father Pete, shared he had been given permission, for
as long as he is ambulatory, to remain in Pontotoc. However, he acknowledges
there may come a day when he will require assisted living and such can be
provided him by the Church. He would at such a time relocate to Glenmary
housing in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, should you pass an elderly gentleman picking up cans along the
side of the road, here in Pontotoc, please be careful, as he may just be
Father Pete, who is apt to be paying more attention to the next can than
to the traffic.
Note: Pictured above is Father Pete, who dined with us on Thanksgiving
Day at Sarah's home.
Big Blue Extreme
Associations
In the corporate world, Big Blue is synonymous with the IBM Corporation.
Some equate IBM’s blue logo with the term, but others remember the times
when field representatives of IBM were required to wear a dark suit (a lot
chose blue), white shirt, and a sincere tie. Whatever the origin of the term,
IBM has long been a major player in the field of technology and related
services.
Lately, I’ve been associating Big Blue with a specter of the
economy that’s relatively low-tech. The city fathers of Pontotoc, whose
wisdom some might question, saw fit to downgrade the twice-weekly pickups
by the sanitation service to a once-a-week pickup service. One might suppose
this is a cost saving measure for somebody, but thus far it hasn’t
translated to the bottom line of the monthly billing by the city for residential
sanitation service or what most of us call "garbage pickup," not so much
out of ignorance as might be due to a sense of complacency, even disregard,
with respect to political correctness.
City residents were notified that new containers would be delivered the last
week or two in September and usage of the new containers would officially
begin the first Friday of October.
Sure enough a new, big blue container appeared in my driveway in late September,
as did a quite similar one in each of my neighbor’s drives, so similar
in fact that unless one could remember the serial number on the container,
one would be at a loss to select his or hers from the lot of them should
they somehow all get blown into the circle. Luckily, that’s not happened.
Naturally, I wasn’t too happy to find mud on the front of my new container,
especially when none of the ones in my neighborhood had mud on them. And,
I wasn’t too happy that two containers weren’t left in my driveway.
After all, I have two houses and pay two garbage collection fees.
I phoned City Hall to complain I had only received one big blue container
and was assured a second one would arrive within a week. When it didn’t,
I phoned to ask the same person that I had spoken to earlier about the missing
container and was told I could expect it before the end of the day. I’m
happy to report it came that afternoon.
I’m not sure the capacity of the container, but it’s either 65
gallons or 95 gallons and based on pictures found on the Internet, I’m
thinking it’s the larger size. The only thing I’m sure of is our
garbage day is Friday unless the week contains a holiday, in which case the
pickup day may be on Saturday.
Thus far, one-day garbage service has not posed a problem for my household.
And both containers have been required only once, and that was due to our
volunteering our old garbage containers for use during our neighborhood party
in early November.
I can’t say that I care to see the uniformity of all the big blue containers
set at curbside (we don’t actually have curbs in my neighborhood), as
I leave my neighborhood on Friday mornings. There’s simply too much
of a rebellious spirit in me to accept the scene without complaint. While
"big brother" as depicted in the novel 1984 has not yet arrived, I
have to object to the slightest intrusion of government upon my rights of
individuality, even down to my right to select the color and style of my
garbage can.
Bodock Beau
Anti-Shopping Tactic
This is why women should not take their men shopping against their will.
(Received from Ken Gaillard, New Mexico)
After Mr. and Mrs. Fenton retired, Mrs. Fenton insisted her husband accompany
her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton was like most men
... he found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally
unfortunately, Mrs. Fenton was like most women ... she loved to browse. One
day Mrs. Fenton received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.
Dear Mrs. Fenton,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion
in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior any longer and so, as a result,
are hereby forced to ban both of you from our department store. Our complaints
against Mr. Fenton are listed below and were all documented by several Wal-Mart
employees as well as our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and
randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking.
2 July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in
House-wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice
on the floor leading to the women's restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and
told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in House-wares. Get on it right away.'
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and
tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.
6. September 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET
FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping
department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring
pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. September 23: When a clerk asked if they
could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave
me alone?'
9. October 4: Looked right into the security
camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose and ate the contents.
10. November 10: While handling guns in
the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. December 3: Darted around the store
suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.
12. December 6: In the auto department,
he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.
13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack
and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME!
14. December 21: When an announcement came over
the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE
VOICES AGAIN!'
15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut
the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet
paper in here!'
Our Sincerest Regards,
Steven Cazbar - Wal-mart Security Director.
In the years since
Barbara became the Director of Pontotoc County Habitat for Humanity, I have
met a number of interesting people. Some have come from far off places like
Maine, California, and New York to help build houses for the local affiliate
of Habitat for Humanity International. Others have come from middle states
such as Illinois and Indiana and still other volunteers of interest are local
residents with whom I might never have had more than a passing acquaintance
were it not for their volunteerism and Habitat for Humanity.
