Random Thoughts of a Catholic Husband, Father, Physician, Licensed Commercial Septic System Operator, Driving Instructor, Tractor Mechanic, Gardener, Deliverer of All Foods Carry-out, Amateur Book Reviewer, Neo-Texan, Novice Chicken Rancher, Beekeeper, and Writer of Really, Really Bad Poetry. I try to live up to Chesterton's observation that 'a thing worth doing is worth doing badly.'
Here are a few pictures I took while driving on Skyline Drive. We were in Front Royal, VA, visiting our oldest son who is in college.
First, we couldn't have made this trip without our little GPS direction finder. We set it for our hotel, and then drove off in the opposite direction. It kept telling us to turn around at the 'next' scenic overlook.
This a view looking west at about 2,000 feet. Those little bits of cloud below us were cool. A while later we drove through them - after they drifted over the road. Here is another shot, about 2655 feet, looking east toward Washington, D.C. If you look closely, you can see Congress in session: Meanwhile, back on the west side, clouds were still hanging low.... More little bits of clouds:
Again: We have looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down. Still, somehow, it's clouds illusions we recall. We really don't know clouds at all. Send in a clown to explain it. Don't bother, they're here.
On the way down, we saw deer. I specialize in photographing the tails of deer. Here is a picture of our college student. Note the facial hair. I was feeling a bit of 'beard envy,' since I can't grow enough facial hair. I tried several years ago, and after 6 weeks a nurse took me aside and told me(respectfully) that it looked "really bad" and "not professional." I took her advice, and shall remain clean-shaven for the rest of my life. Not so for my sons:
A few videos of our afternoon adventures. One of Yours Truly, one of Noisykid #5.
This is a .20 caliber pellet air rifle. The target is about 10 paces, or 30 feet from the shooting site.
This air rifle is made by RWS Diana, and is powered by compressed air. The mechanism for compressing the air is called a side lever. By pulling the lever all the way back, and placing a pellet into the chamber, air is ready for release when the trigger is pulled.
Let us watch Noisykid #5 first:
Note the safe handling of the weapon, with no finger on the trigger until ready to shoot.
Now join me after I loaded the weapon:
My shot is rather unimpressive after watching Noisykid #5 blow his target away.
This is one of the things I enjoy doing with the boys and girls(the younger ones, at least). I shall post more videos after I upload them to Youtube.
First, pray for the repose of the soul of this man who died trying to save the life of his son. I never met him, but I knew several of his sons, one of whom is a priest in the Arlington, VA diocese(that is where my brother, Father Uncleofnoisykids has his parish). This is what he sent me:
"Dadwithnoisykids, you also may have met Mr. Vander Woude when you were in college.
He was a model of Christian manhood - a Navy and airline pilot; then,
when he had to retire from that because of age, he became athleticdirector and coach. I could tell you much, much more.
Suffice it to say he died the way he lived - truly a man for others.
May he rest in peace, and may God have mercy on his family who are now grieving his loss.Please take some time to say a Rosary today for the Vander Woude family. Ifyou don't know them - they are Holy Trinity parishioners with seven sons,one a priest, one a teacher at Seton School, another a coach at Seton, andthe youngest Joseph(in his teens) has down syndrome. Today he fell into awell on their property and his dad heroically jumped in to save him.He treaded water holding his son up until rescue workers could get there. Itonly took 17 min to arrive from the phone call but Mr Vander Woude seniordid not survive. Please take a minute to pray for the repose of his soul andgive all your children a big hug. Thank you."
May his soul, and all the souls of the Faithful Departed, rest in peace.
Birthday
Yesterday was the 7th birthday of Noisykid #10, sometimes referred to as the 'Ritalin poster child' and one of those who inspired the concept of the 'Ritalin dart.' We are blessed to have such an enthusiastic child living in our midst, for he is always making us laugh with his antics. He was named after a pope and a priest, both of whom we think will intercede for him in Heaven.
We brought Noisykid #10 home on September 11, 2001, which brings me to the next part of this post:
The Empty Sky
Two years ago on September 11, I wrote this post about 9/11. I think it is worth bringing up again because it is good for us to remember what happened on that fateful day in 2001. I render my own opinion as to why 9/11 happened....here is a picture of a priest I know praying for those outside of the Pentagon:
Noisykid #15 Captured on Film!
Alright, enough melancholia and navel-gazing! Let's look at ultrasound pictures of the 2009 Model Noisykid!!!!
Noisykid #15 kept waving his arms in front of his face, so the pictures are not the best quality. Still, it was great for me to see a moving body - and a four-chambered heart beating merrily away. Here is a foot. Another shot of the face gives a little better view of the eye sockets. Here Noisykid #15 shows off his fingers. But here below is the MONEY SHOT, the one we were waiting for. The sonographer asked us if we saw what we saw, and sure enough, it looks like outdoor plumbing.
By nightfall, Noisykid #13's old crib was stripped of any evidence of pink, and large crates of 'boy' baby clothes were opened. The baby dresser was emptied of all girl stuff, and every shade of blue material was put in its stead. Of course, deficiencies in the inventory were duly noted, and shopping expeditions were planned.
Meanwhile, a little baby danced in his mother's womb, waiting for the day that he would join the ranks of the Noisykids.
Now you can see some of my favorite pictures from my blog on Facebook!
For those of you outside the loop, I started a Facebook page so I could spy on my children and their friends. All was well until yesterday when a friend of mine sent me a flair, which is a little button shape like the one above. I couldn't resist, and I started making some Dadwithnoisykids exclusive Flairs.
As an aside, I am shocked and disappointed by some of the things I have seen on Facebook pages. Some of the word, phrases, and pictures that are associated with my kinfolk sadden me. I don't think they realize that what goes on the Internet STAYS on the Internet. Roman Sacristan said it well,when he said that things on the Internet are like nuclear waste; it doesn't go away....
Facebook does have some redeeming qualities, as Rhett and Link point out in this little song:
HAMBURGER
OR
HOT DOG?
Tuesday we get an ultrasound which should show all four chambers of the heart(hopefully), kidneys, a brain, and the outdoor plumbing. On ultrasound, gender resembles either a hot dog or a hamburger. If you need me to explain which one is which, you are too young to be reading this blog. Get off now before I tell your parents!
So check back on Tuesday. It may just be one word; maybe it will be a picture of an ultrasound. Either way there will be news on Tuesday.
The first in a series of arguments supporting my contention that
IT IS ALWAYS WORTH ANY AMOUNT OF INCONVENIENCE TO GO TO A LATIN MASS!!
It has been a while since I heard a deacon give a homily(thank God!), but our recent trip up North brought the whole genre of deacon homilies crashing back into my brain. They are so easy to deliver that I shall end this tirade by formulating one which I could have given today, August 31, if I were a deacon.
The outline of the homily, just like most military plans, consists of three parts. No, I don't mean the introduction, body, and the conclusion. Instead we must remember we are speaking to a group where the majority of them really don't want to be there in the first place. One must grab and hold onto the audience's or congregation's attention. The effective deacon builds his homily on these three parts:
1. The real-world experience anecdote. This is far more than just an attention-grabber. This little nugget of secular life solidifies the deacon's position as one of the people, one who has actually had to work for a living - unlike the priest, who only works weekends. This first part of the homily will bring back a few men who were preparing to meditate on their golf game or mowing the lawn, especially if the story shows how someone at the deacon's work looked really stupid.
It is important to have a segue to connect the first part of the homily with the next one.
2. A brief reference to the readings or the Gospel. There is no need to mention all three, although it suggests that the deacon gave more than passing thought to the homily. At least one of the readings should be discussed, and re-reading part of the text may result in a few people remembering at least one of the readings.
There is no need for a bridge to the final part of the homily.
3. A long, detailed reference to a movie which everyone has seen. One favorite is 'The Scarlet and the Black,' but few have seen that movie, so the better choice is to describe a scene from any movie directed by Steven Spielberg. Extra points are given if one can describe a scene from 'Schindler's List.'
Now that we have the ground rules set up, let me demonstrate 'how to preach like a deacon' using today's Gospel as a reference. As you recall, today's Gospel is when St. Peter got his comeuppance for trying to correct Jesus. Jesus utters those words which none of us would want to hear spoken to us: 'get behind me, Satan.'
Here goes:
"When I was a first year medical student, one of our courses was 'gross anatomy,' where we spent a semester dissecting a cadaver."
Anybody NOT listening to this homily so far?
"One of the members of our 'dissecting group,' was a total klutz, and so we limited his time actually working on the cadaver. I think he went into psychiatry(this will stimulate laughter from those who are listening). Anyway, one day he cut apart a very important structure which we needed to keep intact for our studies. After that, we never let this clumsy medical student touch the cadaver. If we saw him near the table, we would tell him to 'get behind me' so we could work on the cadaver instead."
Here comes the segue:
"In the same way, the Gospel relates how Jesus orders Peter to 'get out of the way' of what is to be the culmination of His mission; namely, His death and resurrection and opening up the Gates of Heaven for us. We have to be followers of God, not stumbling blocks for those who are trying to do His Will."
Consider that the last movie I saw was 'Into Great Silence' when reading this last part. The last Steven Spielberg movie I think I saw was E.T. or maybe one of those Indiana Jones movies.
"Just as Philip Groning sometimes got in the way of the Carthusian monks in the Grand Chartreuse while filming them in the movie Into Great Silence, we too must learn to stand aside and follow the Will of God. If Philip had never learned to do this, we would never have had the scene where the old monk feeds the barn cats."
Leaving on a jet plane after two weeks of joy and yes, some sorrow, as we send our oldest son to college. To my readers in Harrisburg, PA, perhaps another time. Contact me for information about coming and speaking at your event!
Visiting friends in PA before returning to Texas on Saturday. This baby rabbit was caught on the grounds of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's Basilica. Yes, I washed my hands afterwards.
I am on vacation, but the brain never stops churning over thoughts, and the Noisykids don't sleep for long. So here it is, almost midnight, and all the Noisykids are asleep, and even the rock band next door can't complain about our children ruining their peace and quiet. Sounds like a great time to blog....
I am convinced that my youngest daughter is the mysterious 'Sixth Monkey' who was written out of the book about the Five Little Monkeys. She demonstrates many of the same characteristics of the other monkeys, especially the desire to put oneself at risk for serious injury in the pursuit of thrills and adventure. While she has not ended up in a hospital yet, we have initiated a protocol where we map out directions to the nearest emergency room 'just in case' we need them in a hurry. The 'Sixth Monkey' probably was omitted for economic reasons - cost for ink, paper, binding - plus the fact that most good little boys and girls get the point after watching FIVE monkeys suffer from a closed head injury. We, however, suspect it had more to do with the extreme daring that our own little 'Sixth Monkey' exhibits as she skates her way through the minefield known as the life of a toddler.
For those of you scratching your heads about monkeys, I shall provide a reminder:
"Five little monkeys, jumping on a bed. One fell off and broke his head. Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!'"
Repeat the verse, adjusting the number of monkeys to account for attrition. It seems as if this poem/story could be worked into a Fortran program in one of those computer science classess I took in high school or college.
PLEASE PRAY FOR:
The repose of the soul of David P., and for his family.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
In your charity of prayers, please pray for the repose of the soul of David P. who died today.
Mary my mother, take my hand today, and all days. Lead me away from all occasions of sin. Guide me in fulfilling your last words in the Gospel, "Do whatever He tells you." Amen.
I used to have a section here where I listed some of my interests, but I was saddened to see that it linked my site to folks who had, well, behavior not really in line with that of a Catholic working hard to be a good dadwithnoisykids.
We have 12 living children, and their ages are: 21, 19, 17, 16, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9, 7, 5, and 2 years old.
Our third child, Theodore, passed away on April 3, 2008, at the age of 15.
This a view looking west at about 2,000 feet. Those little bits of cloud below us were cool. A while later we drove through them - after they drifted over the road.
Here is another shot, about 2655 feet, looking east toward Washington, D.C. If you look closely, you can see Congress in session:
Meanwhile, back on the west side, clouds were still hanging low....
More little bits of clouds:
Again:
We have looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down. Still, somehow, it's clouds illusions we recall. We really don't know clouds at all. Send in a clown to explain it. Don't bother, they're here.
Here is a picture of our college student. Note the facial hair. I was feeling a bit of 'beard envy,' since I can't grow enough facial hair. I tried several years ago, and after 6 weeks a nurse took me aside and told me(respectfully) that it looked "really bad" and "not professional." I took her advice, and shall remain clean-shaven for the rest of my life. Not so for my sons:
