“A mother is …different from anything else that God ever thought of…She is a distinct and individual creation.”
By Henry Ward Beecher

With all the excitement last week with the death of Osama Bin Laden, I completely forgot to write something about Mother’s Day this past Sunday. Fr. George, administrator of St. Christopher’s Parish, doesn’t forget, however. After each Mass on the weekend, Fr. George stood at the door of the church and gave each mother a beautiful pink carnation. As he handed me mine, I told him that my mother had passed away 66 years ago that day. My brother Jack and I were just little kids when my grandmother, at age 72, came to take care of my father and us kids. I also told Fr. George that Hubby’s father had died 48 years ago the following day, May 8. May is a month filled with memories for our family.

Early on Easter Sunday, Hubby and I drove to the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Gregory’s Church. (Daughter Sue took her own car.) Pal Tommy Finneran did a great job as the lector at the Mass. (What a clear, distinct voice he has!) Also, I thought that the multi-colored flowers on the altar looked beautiful. I didn’t know, until I arrived home and had a chance to read the Sunday bulletin, that my friends Mike and Bobbi Skillin had decorated the altar. Good job, Guys! On the way out of church, we had a chance to wish Peter Woloschuck a Happy Easter.

We then drove to Gerard’s to celebrate Easter with a lovely breakfast. The restaurant was bustling with activity. We knew why the restaurant was so busy so early in the morning. The Castle Island Outdoor Easter Sunrise Mass had begun at 5:50 a.m. The Castle Island people were already eating when we came in after St. Greg’s 7 a.m. Mass. Gerard himself was seating customers and cleaning off the tables. We were fortunate to have our friend Theresa as our waitress. Hubby ordered the bacon and eggs breakfast with a side order of Gerard’s terrific French toast. (I had to eat a few pieces to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.) Sue ordered the same thing as her Dad. We thoroughly enjoyed our food. When we finished breakfast, Sue went directly home while Hubby and I drove to Walgreen’s to get the newspapers.

After I arrived home, I cooked some potatoes early in the day so that Sue could make potato salad to go with the ham we would have for Easter dinner. (We had already bought a canned ham.) I found a can of crushed pineapple in the pantry, which I used to cover the ham while it was baking. I also had bought some asparagus, which I thought would be a treat on Easter. I ate about six very thin spears at dinner. When I went for my appointment at the Coumadin Clinic at the Carney Hospital on the following Thursday, my level was 1.9, just below where it should have been (between 2.0 and 3.0). The nurse questioned me: “Had I missed a dose? “No!” “Had I taken the correct amount as ordered? “Yes!” “Did I change medicines?” “No, however, I did have six, small, thin asparagus on Easter,” I confessed! “That’s what did it,” said the nurse. So beware if you are on Coumadin/Warfarin. Even a small amount of dark green veggies can foul up your Coumadin level. It is so important to stay between the 2.0 and 3.0 levels so that the medicine can prevent blood clots effectively. By the way, for dessert on Easter, I bought a pint of rainbow sherbet (the three different flavors combined). I had a small amount of sherbet in a three-ounce paper cup. It was scrumptious.

Thanks to a heads-up from cousin Janet, I learned that the library at the Murphy School was going to be dedicated in memory of her friend, Nancy Sheehan, who worked so diligently at the school. Of all the schools she worked at, Nancy particularly liked the atmosphere at the Murphy School. On Thurs., Apr. 28, Hubby and I walked down to the school. We arrived in the library just as the ceremony was beginning.
Ms. Cahill’s third graders were sitting on the floor waiting for the celebration. Several of Nancy’s coworkers spoke first. Then her nephew Andy thanked everyone on behalf of the family. A plaque with Nancy’s face on it was unveiled. It looked so much like Nancy that we all “oohed” and “aahed” when the cover was removed.

When the ceremony was completed, some of the teachers came around with slices of the large cake, along with bottles of water, for the good-sized crowd of Nancy’s friends and co-workers. Hubby saw one of his former fellow assistant principals, Bob Holland. Off he went to speak with him. Cousin Janet’s assistant principal Jean Egan sat with me for a long while as we chatted. Then Joanne Rogers, a retired supervisor in the Boston school system, came over to chat with me.
Since her retirement, Joanne has been volunteering. Joanne and I first met when we were involved in making plans for the Murphy School even before construction of the school had begun, way back in the early 70’s. After hearing all the wonderful things that Nancy Sheehan had accomplished, the ceremony was a well-deserved tribute to this dedicated educator.

What an interesting Pope’s Hill meeting we had on Apr. 27 at the Leahy/Holloran Community Center. When Hubby and I arrived at the center, we saw a man working very diligently at his computer. I went over and welcomed him to Pope’s Hill. He told me that he was Brian Riley, a sergeant detective in the Investigative Services of the Boston Police Dept. Brian mentioned that he had been on the force for 28 years and had been stationed in Roxbury and Charlestown. He also had been in the Motorcycle Unit and Internal Affairs. He had been assigned to investigate new recruits. He was now assigned to our District C-11.

Sgt. Riley was at Pope’s Hill to show us how to be a better witness to a crime. The title of his talk was “Be a Witness; Solve a Crime.”
On the big screen in the Murphy’s cafeteria, we saw a witness to a crime call 911 and give the 911 operator a detailed report on a crime he saw. As the man was speaking, the dispatcher was typing and sending the info out to all the police cars. (all Boston Police cars are equipped to take this info.) Sgt. Riley told us what to look for: clothing of the suspect, height, approximate weight, race of the person or persons, type of car if a motor vehicle was used, color of the car, license plate, which way did he/they go. Since the officers in the patrol cars get this important info almost immediately, they are apt to find the suspect/suspects more easily and quickly.

Sgt. Riley also spoke about the detective shows on TV. Those TV police officers only have one case per show; they have endless resources to solve their case; and they never seem to do paper work, which actually takes up about 60 percent of a real police officer’s time. The average detective has about 50 open cases that they are working on at one time. The TV detective solves a single case in less than one hour. Sgt. Brian also told us that there were witness advocates to help a person who is going to testify. He also said that there were very few cases of witness intimidation. He advised us to look at the Boston Police website: bpdnews.com. He also gave us the phone numbers to Dist. C-11: 617-343-4330, main number; 617-343-4335, detectives’ line; and 617-4524, the Community Service officers. Sgt Riley was given an enthusiastic round of applause for this informative presentation.
Community Service Officer Dennis Rorie came to the microphone. He told us first of the Bike Rodeo that will be held at the IBEW Hall Freeport St. on Sat., June 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. He stated that there were 61 incidents in our neighborhood, with 11 arrests, so far. He also mentioned that there is what is known to the police as “Dial-a-Drug” drug-dealing crime going on now. A person calls a drug dealer and tells him what drug he wants. They then meet at a convenient place and exchanged money for the requested drug. Dennis also mentioned that the police periodically sell a large lot of stolen bikes because they are not able to find the owners.

John O’Toole, who served as president of the Cedar Grove Civic Association for 16 years, came to the microphone and announced that he was a candidate for Maureen Feeney’s City Council seat. He praised Maureen for serving Dorchester for 18 years as a City Councilor.

Thanks to a heads-up from our terrific letter carrier, Mike McGillicuddy, Hubby and I learned that the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive will be held this Saturday, May 15. Please leave your donations in a bag near your mailbox on Sat. morning. Your letter carrier will pick up your donations at your home.

I was sorry to hear of the death of Elizabeth “Betty” Devin of Savin Hill on May 4 at age 91. Betty was the wife of the late John Devin. She worked as a secretary at Stop & Shop for 26 years. Our Reporter staff sends its sympathy to her children: Judy Coleman, Lorraine Saulnier, Patty Shaughnessy, Kevin Devin, Jack Devin, and especially to our co-worker, her daughter Maureen Barrett. Betty had 15 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

I do hope that all mothers had just as nice a Mother’s Day as I had. There will be more about Mother’s Day next weekend.