“Another year is dawning
with the chance to start anew.
May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,
In all I say and do.”
“New Year’s Prayer” by Kay Hoffman
As usual, I vow each new year to keep the house neater. Things that should be stored on the second floor end up in a pile at the bottom of the stairway, waiting to be taken up the stairs. I vow not to leave the unread daily newspapers in a pile that seems to grow by leaps and bounds every time I look at it.
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Last Tuesday evening, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I drove out to Attleboro to LaSallette Shrine. It was about 4:30 p.m. when we arrived, which was too early for the lights. Sue had gone to the Shrine fairly often with her cousin Terri when Terri lived in Attleboro. We saw all the handicapped vans coming into the parking lot. The patients were taken out of the vans and put in wheelchairs. We spoke with some of the people in cars. One lady looked like Santa Claus with a beautiful suit.
Then it was just before 5 p.m. We heard the countdown, 10, 9, 8 all the way to 1 and then the most spectacular show of Christmas lights was lit. It was amazing. Hubby and I were floored. We had only taken a quick ride through the Shrine many years ago. There were so many things made of lights. I loved the stars, snowflakes, doves, and candles. There was even a small tableau of lights with an angel and the Blessed Mother. On one of the buildings was at least an eight-foot green wreath, made of lights. Everywhere you looked there were lights. Sue remembered a few years back that the pastor asked that the public be generous in the collection. The Shrine was going to convert to LED lights, which would save a great deal on their electric bill. I wish we could have stayed at the Shrine longer because there were so many things to see. Hubby sat in the back seat of our car so he could take photos of the spectacular displays. I was amazed at how many people with baby carriages attended the light show. The children must have been thrilled. The Shrine will be lit until Sun., Jan. 3. Take yourself to Attleboro to see this wonderful display.
Sue remembered that there was a restaurant on the same street as the Shrine. It was called Bliss Brothers’ Dairy. We had eaten there once before when we were helping Terri pack for her move to Colorado. We loved it. It had a huge menu. This time, Hubby and I had some form of burger with a side of French fries. I remember Hubby had his with bacon. They were cooked exactly as we had ordered them. We both got the 1/3-pound burger, which filled us. I can only imagine how full we would have been if we had ordered the half-pound burgers. Daughter Sue stuck with her favorite, the Philly cheese steak sandwich and fries. Bliss, as you might suspect, also has many flavors of ice cream. We didn’t dare go to the ice cream counter. We would have found room for ice cream. By the time we left (about 6:30 or 6:45 p.m.), there were quite a few people waiting to be seated. Take a ride out to Attleboro to see the lights at the Shrine and then take yourselves to Bliss Brothers.
From Bliss Brothers, we went to the Kmart Store in South Attleboro. It is a larger store than the one that is closing in Braintree. Sue needed a new winter jacket. She liked one that was 40 percent off the original price. They didn’t have one in black in her size, so she was disappointed. Hubby and I know where the Kmart in Brockton is located. We promised that we would look in that KMart. (We did find that jacket two days later in Brockton and gave it to Sue for Christmas.)
After we left Kmart in Attleboro, we drove across the parking lot to one of the newer Market Basket stores. It was late Tuesday evening and there were only a few people in the store. Sue wanted to get the fixings for the chocolate pudding pies she was going to take to our Christmas parties. I bought more potatoes for making potato salad. We bought additional soda to be sure we had enough. We were tired when we arrived home but happy that we had finally seen the lights at the Shrine and were able to go to a very nice restaurant afterwards.
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I was saddened to see that Walter Pienton had died on Dec. 19, at age 89. Hubby and I became good friends with Walter and his wife Doris on Castle Island Association’s trips. I can remember standing in the Jefferson Memorial early one morning with both of them. We enjoyed sitting with them at the lunches and dinners on the trips. We also enjoyed sitting with them at the Robert Quinn Awards Breakfast at UMass Boston every year. Hubby and I send our sympathy to Doris and to their children: Walter, Deborah Yeaman, Judith Russo, Jenifer Fillmore, and David. Walter was also the grandfather of 19 children and the great- grandfather of 23.
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As many of you know, I love WBZ. The radio goes on at about 4:10 a.m. each day and goes off when Hubby closes up the house for the night at about 11 p.m. (I must confess, though, that we listen to the Irish Hit Parade for a few hours on Saturday afternoons.) On Christmas Eve, I heard that Rick Simondson was retiring from giving the traffic reports after 20 years on ‘BZ. Before that, he had done 20 years of reporting on another station. Every one of the on-air personnel congratulated him on retiring after 40 years. Bravo, Rick, after 40 years!
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Here’s a great quote by Victoria Holt: “Never regret. If it is good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”
