“October seems to me
The nicest month we know.
Too late to cut the lawn,
Too soon to shovel snow.”
“Reasonable Season.” By B. Boyce
I remember that gardening expert Paul Parent mentioned that this is the time of year when we should add lime and fertilizer to the grass. These are best applied before the leaves fall. We also should add super phosphate to our grapevine. The hot weather over the weekend raised havoc with the ornamental fall shrubs outside my work.
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Last Sunday, thanks to info from our friend Eileen Collins, Hubby, daughter Sue, pal Eileen Burke, and I drove to Fr. Lane Hall at St. Brendan’s for the Pancake Breakfast, sponsored by the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Brendan’s. We had already been to church so we were very early. Mary Shea greeted us as we walked in the hall. Gwen Adams and I chatted for a few minutes. Della Melchionda came in and sat with Gwen. Pal Eileen Collins came in with Evie Dunne, Phyllis Hartford, and Marilyn Ferrrara. Mary Keeley and Pat Devilly joined us a little later.
There was such an assortment of food. I finally had one pancake because a very thoughtful person bought one bottle of sugar-free syrup. The pancake tasted so good. I must compliment the cooks, Kevin Monahan and his son Kevin, for turning out such picture-perfect and scrumptious pancakes. Pal Carol Murphy made sure we had plenty of juice and water. Pals Loretta Philbrick and Ginny Biagiotti sat at the next table but pal Eileen went over to speak with Ginny and Loretta came over to our table to chat. John Scannell came in and sat with Ginny and Loretta. The crew praised the Stop & Shop on Morrissey Blvd. for being so generous to the breakfast. We were delighted that our friend Evie Dunne won one of the prizes. We all took chances on the beautiful fall basket that was up on chances. Sadly, none of our friends won that lovely prize.
As the various Masses ended, more and more people came into the breakfast. The kids loved the assortment of General Mills cereals. I shared a blueberry muffin with Hubby. There were other pastries from B.J.’s to tempt us, also. We chatted with Fr. Rich Putnam, our friend of many years.
We were delighted to see Fr. Jason Makos, the pastor of the St. Ann/St. Brendan Collaborative, come to the breakfast. Fr. Tom Macdonald, Fr. Paul Rouse, and Deacon Richard Brennan also joined us for part of the morning.
There was quite a crew making sure that everyone had plenty of food. In addition to Mary Shea, who manned the front desk, a great deal of the credit went to the two cooks, Kevin and son Kevin Monahan. Elaine (Collyer) Monahan was one of the crew at the food tables. She was joined by Mary Murphy, Christine Shea, Sis Holmes, Norma Stewart, Diane Byrne, Mary Ann Ellis, and Susan Allen. Jennifer Shea manned the coffee and tea table. I was delighted to see Elaine Monahan’s mom and dad, Peg and Jim Collyer, attending the breakfast. By the way, I must mention how pretty the tables looked with assorted fall-colored leaves as a centerpiece. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning.
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Last Friday, the students at the Murphy School were treated to demonstrations by “first responders,” both the firefighters and the police officers on their Appreciation Day. Hubby and I walked down to the school and saw that the K-9 Unit was giving a demonstration. Officers Ray Ramirez and Lissette Garcia were the police officers giving the demonstration. Officer Ray, with his loud voice, spoke to the children. The dog he was using was named “Cuba.” He mentioned that he has been a part of this unit since 1994.
“Cuba” is his fourth dog and I think I heard him say that the dog was seven years old. Officer Ray says the he is a walking billboard. His uniform says “Boston Police” all over it. He calmed the students’ fears by saying that only one percent of the dogs bite people. Their main job is to find things. They also find lost children and seniors, like those with Alzheimer’s disease who have wandered off. Officer Ray warned children never to pat a stray dog. They also should never pat a police dog. He said that, when a police dog is working, the canine always keeps his eyes on his handler for instructions. He mentioned that all the Boston Police dogs are male. (The female dogs get too attached to their handlers.)
There was a second dog in a Boston Police car, named Codi. The dogs are usually kept on a long line. The first time Boston Police ever used a police dog was during the hunt for the “Boston Strangler” in 1963. The British police sent over a police dog because Boston did not have a K-9 unit for the search. Office Ray mentioned that when they received their own police dogs, the dogs only understood German commands because they had been trained in Germany. He told the children that the unit has a 94-acre site near Faulkner Hospital, in Jamaica Plain, I think. Officer Ray and Officer Lissette said that they give the dogs lots of praise when they do good work and sometimes even give them a toy or food.
While Officer Lissette held “Cuba,” Officer Ray put on an arm guard, which looked to me like a roll of carpeting. The dog was ordered to attack the arm with the guard on it. (I think there was metal in the arm guard also.) That shows how the dogs subdue a “Bad Guy.” Officer Ray showed the kids a few scars on his arm where the guard was not long enough. He said he and Office Lissette wear bullet-proof vests as do their dogs. The K-9 officers are called at any time of day or night to bring their dogs to investigate a situation. The kids loved the K-9demonstration. So did Hubby and I.
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While we were standing outside the Murphy School, Pat Kennedy came over and spoke to us. She said that there will be Bingo for Seniors at the Murphy. The first will be on Mon., Dec 29; the second on Fri., Feb. 20; the third on Wed., Mar, 17; the fourth, on Fri., Apr. 24; and the fifth, on Tues., June 17. There will be more info later.
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On Sun., Sept. 28, Hubby and I drove the short distance to the Venezia Restaurant for the annual Simon of Cyrene Brunch. We have been attending this event since its founder, Fr. Tom McDonnell, urged us to come. We often sat with pal Nancy Harrington, her pal Katherine, and Agnes Minihan.
In the program on Sunday, Sr. Peggy Youngclaus stated the purpose of the Society: “The mission of the Simon of Cyrene Society continues to provide spiritual and social support, hospitality, advocacy, networking, and friendship with the disabled community and their families.”
When we walked into the Venezia, we saw Sr. Peggy walking around the foyer welcoming the guests. Sr. Elaine McTaggart was one of the people manning the registration desk. (She was one of our faithful representatives from her school during the 25 years that Pope’s Hill sponsored a High School Information Day for seventh and eighth graders.) Pal Eileen O’Connor, the ace photographer for Boston’s Elderly Affairs Dept., came over to chat. We went into the dining room and sat down near the back. We were soon joined by a very nice couple from Needham, Paul and Maureen Deeley. We had lots in common with them so it was very easy to chat with them.
We enjoyed listening to state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry when she was invited by former state Senator and UMass President William Bulger to the microphone. Linda mentioned that she first knew about the Simon of Cyrene Society from its founder, Fr. Tom. She proudly stated that Fr. Tom had baptized the Forry children.
While some of the festivities were going on, each table was called to the buffet. We already had juice. There was a great assortment of fruit, bacon, scrambled eggs with sausage and peppers, home fries, muffins and other pastries, and bagels. The wait staff was wonderful, bringing around regular and decaf coffee. We were delighted to see our church friend Mary among the wait staff.
While they were pulling the prizes, our friend former Mayor Ray Flynn came in with his eight-year-old grandson, Braeden. He had just been with Braeden at the boy’s soccer game so he apologized for his attire on that very warm Sunday. Bill Bulger asked Ray to come to the microphone and sing along with him. Our former city councilor, Maureen Feeney, currently Boston’s City Clerk, and her husband Larry came by and said “Hello.” Maureen said that she couldn’t stay too long because she and her daughter Caitlin were going to meet with Rick O’Meara at Cedar Grove Gardens to pick out the flowers for Caitlin’s wedding later this fall. I had a chance to greet former Mayor Tom Menino as he walked through the hall. I also saw Tom Tinlin, Sr., Paula’s nephew, as he collected money for chances. Tom loves his new position as chief of operations and maintenance for the state’s Highway Division. He said that he is all over the state doing his job. I was also delighted to meet Bishop John Dooher. As we were leaving the breakfast, we met Dennis Walsh, who organizes the Friendship Social, the fundraiser for people with disabilities. The social will be held this Sun., Oct. 5, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Florian Hall. Tony Faunces of The Platters will be there to sing. He has a great voice. The price of admission is only $10.
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I loved this very timely thought by Elizabeth Lawrence: “Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”
