Friday after Thursday
Yesterday, Thursday, last night, Evening Prayer at St. Thomas by the Sea Episcopal Church, Laguna Beach, where I was vicar August 2004 to April 2009, nearly five years good and happy of my life as a human, priest and friend; then supper. Fall of each year, in the mail comes a personal invitation, the only one sent out, everyone else is invited as parishioner, from Harry & Gwena Sweezey to Italian Night, a popular evening in which they lay out on long tables across Jewell Hall, a mouthwatering spread of delicious Italian dishes. I’d have to struggle to identify favorite, but last night most scrumptious eggplant parmigiana. And a beautiful creamy casserole of pasta and chicken. And the tomato soup. And the Italian cheese pie. Not to mention the meatballs in tomato sauce. Lovely red wine from the Carousel. But always to mention dear friends who welcome us back, how it is to feel loved.
One of the things that shows up in my email mornings is DelanceyPlace.com, with an excerpt from a book, often historical. Today’s is from a newly published book about U S Grant, nineteenth century president, popular army general, and autobiographer. In my growing up years as a Southerner, we feigned to loath General Grant, who basically ended the Civil War by accepting the surrender of our beloved Robert E Lee. Still, Grant was second in our contempt to General Sherman and his scorched earth March to the Sea, Sherman who ordered the shelling that killed our Bishop/General Polk, Sherman to whom my great-grandfather R H Weller, to the disgust of his wife, later boated out to Sherman’s yacht moored in StJohnsRiver off Jacksonville, Florida and served him Holy Communion.
Where I was going, googling after reading this morning’s DelanceyPlace.com piece, I came upon free online, U S Grant’s original autobiography, started reading, downloaded and saved to desktop. From the beginning at least, it looks personal, personable and captivating. Assuming so, it will be my casual read for present and near future moments.
Other, yesterday from Jeremy with parents after brother’s wedding in Charleston, a picture of DD-724 moored there, a WW2 destroyer similar to my first sea duty 1958 to 1960, bringing back a couple hours sunk in memories and happiness that I sometimes forget to remember are there to be tapped as long as life is for me.
Blessings for the weekend.
DThos+