I Learned Somethings I Didn't Know About Italians and Their Relationship With the Catholic Church

 I didn't know the history of the Italian Unification vis-a-vis Rome and the Vatican. I did have a strong sense of both the secularization of Italy and it's underlying Catholic morality and this video is quite informative about these complex issues. 

Even though I'm American-Italian and over 70, I relate to the group of those who have become secularized.

My Holiday E-mail

Greetings to You and Your Loved Ones:

Just a note to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Season’s Greetings, Happy New Year, Winter Solstice    ….and to let you know that even though we did not send out cards this year, Leon and I are alive and well (enough). We Thank you for your Cards and Holiday Wishes.

AGE catching up to me, Leon’s busy WORK schedule, and the general STATE of AFFAIRS, has made us both less inclined to engage in the HOLIDAY RITUALS…so we are having a very minimalist Christmas this year.  Even many of those traditional cookies and foods are missing from our house! (we are enjoying other people’s cookies however) We’ve made donations to the homeless shelter, LGBTQ non-profits and other charitable causes in lieu of gifts. Much less stressful and more in keeping with the Spirit of the Season.

The often mindless frenzy of the season as promoted by commercialism has always struck me as rather profane and a source of existential angst. I often find even the expectations based on religious or cultural tradition to be sometimes a source of stress and guilt rather than a source of joy and peace.

But I’ve always been a outlier, a reluctant rebel, a contrarian, a sceptic, proudly gay and mostly “woke.” And perhaps in my OLD AGE I am beginning to own those parts of me along with the aches and pains. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am, we are, Leon and I, also so GRATEFUL for all that we have: we are not lacking any necessities (there's at least one too many vehicles in the driveway), we have great FRIENDS and RELATIVES (you among them), wonderful MEMORIES (Leon has more memories than I do!) and just our being together, and, here in New Mexico lots of SUNNY DAYS (although we had a freak snow before Thanksgiving - 12 inches - see photo above) .

In all of that we find our JOY and PEACE.

Wishing JOY and PEACE to You, too.

While this missive is mostly “FRANK” 

“LEON” sends his LOVE as well.

Frank and Leon

P.S. I do not have email addresses for every family member or friend. Please pass on our Greetings to your loved ones and friends.

Baking Day

I must have had a few good hours of sleep last night because I was industrious today.

I made a double batch of Jim's Apple Muffins today and Italian Bread.

Apple muffins: 

    1 1/2 cups grated (McIntosh) apples 

Mix together:

    1 egg 

    1/2 cup milk 

    1/4 cup Crisco (or canola) oil  

Add the above to 

    1 1/2 cups flour

    1 cup sugar (I use 3/4 cup)

    2 tsp. baking powder

    1/2 tsp. salt

    1/2 tsp cinnamon (and a dash of pumpkin spice)

Mix until all is moist and put into 12 large muffin tins (or 2 small loaf pans)

Topping: 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sugar

Sprinkle topping on each muffin before baking

Bake at 400 F for 25 to 30 minutes (a bit longer for loaf pans)

 

 

And then there's the bread. Because there is no good Italian bread in New Mexico. So I have to make my own at least every two weeks.

 

Water, yeast, sugar, salt, flour.  

 

It's all the same.... but oh so different depending on hydration (proportion of flour to water), rise time, oven temperature, steam. This was one of my best crusty, light texture breads yet. High hydration. I think it was about 70% or slightly higher. A very soft sticky dough. Like focaccia or ciabotta dough. 

Leon and I already ate half a loaf.

One Last Thing

 Click to enlarge

Lots of Rocks and Vanished Memories

 Whenever we have guests from out of state we like to take them to see Leon's "Office" in the New Mexico wilderness. We spent the day on Saturday wandering around BLM land in the high desert. Lots of Rocks. Some scenes may look familiar as I've posted similar photos before.

 

Cactus growing in the rock crevices

This is the area Leon calls "Mars" but perhaps "Moon" would also describe the terrain.

 

Leon overseeing his territory.

Later that evening we dragged out some old VCR video tapes that we hadn't looked at since they were filmed in 1993. 

We were on a trip to California to visit a friend Tommy and as the movie unfolded with views of the California coast Leon and I were both puzzled by our complete lack of recognition of what we were seeing. 

Neither of us recognized the location, the buildings, the scenery, or the entire experience itself.

I swore that I was not actually there, that Leon must have gone alone...but he didn't recall any of the scenes depicted in the video either... until I heard my voice on the tape and soon enough, my own image!

How is it possible that such a trip that we took together in 1993 has been erased from our memory? 

We did recall some of the events that occurred later in the video, but without the details that we were seeing. 

We did remember that we rented a car in California and drove to Arizona and the Grand Canyon. I will not forget my experience of seeing the Grand Canyon early in the morning just after sunrise before any crowds had arrived.

But so much of the rest of the trip...Vanishing memories...scary. 

Stills from the video on our TV:

Me

Leon

Leon

Me

Me

10th Anniversary and Growing Old Un-Gracefully

  Today is Leon's and my Tenth Wedding Anniversary though it's been 36 years we've been together. 

I am eternally grateful for having met and wed such a kind, loving and devoted man with whom I've spent almost half my life.  I am a moody, crabby, anxious, introverted old guy with new aches and pains, hearing aids, knee and joint issues and a back ache. And hubby still puts up with me.

I just had cataract surgery on my right eye (the left eye was done three weeks ago) and I was not prepared for the the fact that I can see better for distance, but cannot see close without reading glasses. 

I got a pair of readers at the pharmacy but they are not quite right...And that right now is a royal pain in the ass because what I need until I get a new prescription (which I cannot do for at least 4-6 weeks) is a pair of bifocal reading glasses which are nowhere to be found in these parts but have to be ordered on line....

This has made me irritable and cranky. I am living up to my moniker "Cranky Franky" for sure...and not disposed to celebrate our Anniversary in style.

But it's early in the day so I'll get over it before Leon gets home from work. 

I think we will have dinner at home this evening and maybe go out to a restaurant this weekend to celebrate a bit more formally. 

 

The early years:

Good Morning

Leon and I voted yesterday morning. Here's a couple of photos I took when we got out of the polling place. I'd like to think it was a good omen but I don't believe in omens.

 The view from higher ground.

October 11, 1987 - Thirty-seven Years Ago - The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights

Just a reminder to all of you that we in the LGBTQ community have had a long history of fighting for our right to be who we are and to express our sexuality and to love who we want to love.  

And a further reminder that our rights are not guaranteed forever, because, if those espousing the draconian vision of the 2025 Agenda get their way, we may lose everything we've gained and then some.

The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a massive political rally in Washington, D.C. on October 11, 1987. The movement was reaching its zenith in the 80s and  AIDS was a major influence in our becoming more visible, and out, and proud. 

Lesbian and Gay Rights because the Bi and Trans folks were not yet being specifically acknowledged and the term Queer was still an insult. No one even contemplated a "plus".

Approximately 750,000 people took part in the march and other events including a civil disobedience action in front of the Supreme Court.

The 1987 March on Washington stands as an important part of LGBTQ history. 

 I was there with a group from Hartford, CT.

Hector*,  Me, Richard, Robin, ?, Joe, ?
   * Hector was my co-worker at the CT Dept of Health AIDS Program. He died of HIV/AIDS

Remembering the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights: a song by Ten Percent Review:

 

The focus of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was to demand our civil rights and to protest the government's lack of concern for HIV/AIDS.

The AIDS Quilt was displayed for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the weekend event.

It covered a space larger than a football field and included 1,920 panels.

I'm not absolutely sure if this picture was taken at the 1987 March in Washington, but I think it was. It was a time before digital cameras and iPhones. Can you imagine?

The Hidden Brain Podcast: The Yin and Yang of Political Sides (Or Why Dems are Happy and Repubs are Sour)

 

This podcast that I heard this morning in NPR is probably the best explanation I've heard about the psychology underlying the political divide. The beginning is a more genera discussion...but...listen to the end where Danna Young talks about politics in more depth. 

 I don't know if this link will work (Hidden Brain may require a subscription but I was able to listen for free)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sitting-with-uncertainty/id1028908750?i=1000671334611

A Break From The Desert