April 4 2021 to April 10 2021

Daily Entries for the week of
Sunday, April 4, 2021
through
Saturday, April 10, 2021

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It’s Saturday, April 10, 2021
Welcome to the 1072nd consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Barred Owl

mikeojohnson photography: Blog

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2.0 Commentary
Sometimes you have a day that explodes with joy.
It’s a ‘my daughter’ day, as in,
got her first vaccination,
just now heard Swarthmore’s announcement they will be holding commencement ceremonies after all.
and,
got the post-graduation job of her dream with one of the country’s most important political consulting firms. She’s been working for Lucy Lang, a progressive running for District Attorney in Manhattan.

Re: the changing atmosphere in America.
Of all colleges Swarthmore’s decision to cancel commencement was questionable.
They have a huge amphitheater that sits 2,000 and they graduate fewer than 400 students.
They have a ‘rain or shine’ policy so they don’t need an indoor alternative.
They have 400 accessible acres of campus.
When they cancelled, I was bothered by what I considered was an
unnecessarily dramatic response to an edgy event.

On the same topic, I walk a lot.
More than 80% of the time there are no other people within shouting distance.
A mask?
I’ve taken to hanging my mask by my chin until others approach,
only then sliding it to cover my nose and mouth.
So my default is ‘mask at the ready,’
not, ‘mask at all times.’
 
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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.1 Sacco and Vanzetti
A powerful political action group wants to align itself with us under certain conditions.
Our Board of Directors will meet on Friday morning to discuss their proposal.

3.2 Conflicted
And the beat goes on. Wrote five pages on Thursday, two more than my goal. I love the rewrite so much it’s hard to pull myself away from the writing.

3.3 Storyworth
I will finish my piece on my mother by Thursday and publish it shortly thereafter.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
Online literature and writing classes for middle schoolers through adults.
Find community in a fun, dynamic learning environment and become a better reader.
Our assignment is 100 pages this week, Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. On Thursday I read 20 pages.

3.8 San Jose
Taking advantage of a reduced air fare, I booked a trip to San Jose for May 5 to May 11 of this year.
I did some fun work on this on Thursday.
I focused on the Presidio.
The Walt Disney Family Museum and the Golden Gate Bridge are both located there.

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
“I did not attend his funeral,
but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”
~Mark Twain

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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192

This from a college buddy, a very sweet young woman, Joyce G:

Your trip planning was spot on. Always looking forward, even if the plans do not materialize.

My book, in case you are interested, is called In Hugger-Mugger: Dark Secrets and Forbidden Love in Renaissance England.

It is about Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, who was a contemporary of Shakespeare and wrote and published numerous works under her own name but within the parameters allowed to a woman.

She is now  considered a prime candidate as the “hidden” author of the 37 plays and 154 sonnets which were published under Shakespeare’s name 7 years after his death and dedicated to Mary’s two sons, William and Philip Herbert.

Blog meister responds: Sounds fascinating. I’ll check it out. Good luck with it, my dear.

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Wednesday night for dinner I ate another cold cut sandwich.
I enjoyed it a lot.

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11.0 Thumbnail
The Presidio of San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis is a park and former U.S. Army military fort on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

It had been a fortified location since September 17, 1776, when New Spain established the presidio to gain a foothold in Alta California and the San Francisco Bay. It passed to Mexico, which in turn passed it to the United States in 1848. As part of a 1989 military reduction program under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, Congress voted to end the Presidio's status as an active military installation of the U.S. Army. On October 1, 1994, it was transferred to the National Park Service, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use.

In 1996, the United States Congress created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the park's lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%.[8] In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013. The Presidio achieved the goal in 2005, eight years ahead of the scheduled deadline.

The park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. It was recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

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It’s Friday, April 9, 2021
Welcome to the 1071st consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, with San Francisco in the background

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1.0 Lead Picture
Panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, with San Francisco in the background

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2.0 Commentary
Happy to say that I’m feeling confident in catching up on my work.
Today I have three appointments but nothing scheduled for rest of week.
I will catch up.
Ooops! I forgot. Friday I have coffee with the author of a book I’ll be reviewing.
Not a big deal.
Oh! Yes. On Thursday I have a bi-monthly phone call with Gary from Echobatik, his company that invents and designs devices to aid navigation for the blind. Pretty exciting stuff. We talk about the broad strokes of his efforts.
Beyond those two, nothing scheduled for the rest of the week.
I am expecting some phone calls and an email or two but I don’t count those as appointments.
And just in, an emergency Sacco and Vanzetti board of directors meeting on Friday morning.

I’m excited about visiting San Francisco.
It’s been several years since I spent a night outside my apartment.

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.1 Sacco and Vanzetti
Wednesday we worked on the tax-exempt status of the Memorial to Sacco and Vanzetti, Inc.
made some progress.

3.2 Conflicted
The excitement is the unexciting but steady progress on my manuscript.
Every day without skipping a beat I complete three or four pages.


3.3 Storyworth
Worked on this today.
Not a lot of time, but some.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
Online literature and writing classes for middle schoolers through adults.
Find community in a fun, dynamic learning environment and become a better reader.
It’s my granddaughter’s class.
I’ve enrolled in the class on Modernism and Existentialism.
I must shine; say something intelligent.

3.8 San Jose
Taking advantage of a reduced air fare, I booked a trip to San Jose for May 5 to May 11 of this year.
I found a website for 20 things to do in San Francisco and they sound like me.
Am going to make San Francisco my home base.
I booked a room at the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown, which borders Fillmore Street, one of San Francisco’s great treasures. It’s the main shopping and dining district in one of the city’s finest neighborhoods. Bounded on the east by the ethnic vitality of Japantown, on the south by the nightlife of the Fillmore Jazz District, and on the north by Pacific Heights, with its grand mansions and views of the bay, this is a neighborhood of great diversity. Thrift shops and the trendiest boutiques range from cheap to chic.
to Filmore Street

My trip will include two museums, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the de Young Museums.
Something around the Golden Gate Bridge. If it’s a nice day, walk it.

Haven’t started on the restaurants yet.

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.
Small people always do that, but
the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
~ Mark Twain

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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192

This from Tommie T from So Carolina.

I can relate to your "potatoes" story.
Having grown up in the Heart of Dixie, a southern accent is a difficult hurdle to overcome.
When at Florida State University majoring in Speech Pathology, I was told to either get rid of the accent or get a new major. I got rid of the accent.
Then a move to East Tennessee for a year and out of academia, the accent easily returned but with a bit of East Tennessee embroidering it.
Then to Europe and teaching children from all over the world - I had to get with it and get rid of the accent.
Worked well until back in East Tennessee and then South Carolina.
It is so easy to slide back into that lazy way of speaking!
But back into academia, I could speak general American and Southern.
Wow! I am bi-lingual! haha!

Blog meister responds: Multi-lingual, perhaps. Great story, my dear.

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Tuesday night I made a chicken soup with the remaining half of a roast chicken I enjoyed a couple of days ago.
I had my own chicken stock so I didn’t need to drain all the flavor from the chicken to get the soup tasty.
I added onions, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, basil, a bit of canned tomatoes and cooked it for 30 minutes.
The soup was great.
I brushed gochujang sauce on the chicken and enjoyed it as a separate course with a bit of brussle sprouts, green beans, and spinach, all leftovers.
Dinner was great.

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11.0 Thumbnail
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California. It was initially designed by engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world." At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and a total height of 746 feet (227 m).

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It’s Thursday, April 8, 2021
Welcome to the 1070th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Verbs

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2.0 Commentary
Weather continues fine.
Don’t you  love being outdoors?

I had a productive Tuesday but I need several such days to catch up my writing.
And Wednesday is busy for me: a 10.30 meeting for Sacco and Vanzetti, a 1.00pm haircut, and a 3.00pm class with my granddaughter.
Won’t be doing much catch up then.

After Tuesday’s lifting, I can say I’ve arrived at 67% of my pre-pandemic strength.
Time will tell how close I can get to full strength.
Unfortunately, I’m making no progress on my weight.

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.2 Conflicted
I’m delighted with the steady progress I’m making on the manuscript.
Stayed on schedule plus added a a few lines more.

3.3 Storyworth
I began my next question. Tell me about your mother.
I got halfway through it.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.
On Sunday, I got an early start and was mostly done before I went off to the café.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
Online literature and writing classes for middle schoolers through adults.
Find community in a fun, dynamic learning environment and become a better reader.
It’s my granddaughter’s class.
I’ve enrolled in the class on Modernism and Existentialism.
I must shine; say something intelligent.
It’s Tuesday as I write this and I will read Chapter Three, due for discussion on Wednesday.

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
“If you tell the truth,
you don't have to remember anything.”
~Mark Twain

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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192

This from Sally C:

Dear Dom,

Considering how much you enjoy not using verbs in your writing
– at least in “Conflicted” –
here’s a funny meme to tickle your funny bone. 
Have you seen it before?

Blog meister responds: Love it. Thank you, my dear, I put the meme in the Lead Picture.

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Monday night I entertained a pair of dear friends.
My cousin Lauren also came over to lend her personality and to help.
We had olives and a marinated grilled artichoke,
a plate of Minestrone soup,
rigatoni and Marinara Sauce,
Roast lamb with beans and spinach,
a simple salad, and
a cheese plate.
But the piece de resistance were the two tarts that Tommy and Rita brought from their daughter’s bakery in Salem, a coconut crème and a lemon meringue.
It’s a pale compliment to say that they were among the most delicious desserts in the New England region.
And their breads? Paris look out.
Interested? You should be.

A & J King Artisan Bakers
ajkingbakery.com
48 Central St, Salem, MA 01970
(978) 744-4881

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11.0 Thumbnail
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word (part of speech) that in syntax conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of being (be, exist, stand).
In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive.

In many languages, verbs are inflected (modified in form) to encode tense, aspect, mood, and voice.
A verb may also agree with the person, gender or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object.
Verbs have tenses: present, to indicate that an action is being carried out; past, to indicate that an action has been done; future, to indicate that an action will be done.

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It’s Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Welcome to the 1069th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Frutta di Mare

Seafood includes any form of food taken from the sea.
Seafood platter

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2.0 Commentary
My weight lifting is going well.
Another week of uninterrupted workouts should get me to the 67% of my pre-pandemic strength.
After that, I’m sure I’ll get stronger but have no clue whether I can regain my full pre-pandemic strength.
I got a year older.

Great weather coming up. Ten days in the mid-fifties. Winter is behind us!

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.2 Conflicted
Another day.
Another three pages ready for my editor.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.
On Sunday, I got an early start and was mostly done before I went off to the café.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
Online literature and writing classes for middle schoolers through adults.
Find community in a fun, dynamic learning environment and become a better reader.
It’s my granddaughter’s class.
I’ve enrolled in the class on Modernism and Existentialism.
I must shine.

On Monday I read Ch 2.
Today I will read chapter three.
That completes this week’s assignment: class is Wednesday.

3.7 Book Review
I have finished a book called Once a Northender and I am meeting its author on Friday.
I will review the book and report on its author after that.

3.8 San Jose
I booked a larger room at the Hotel Kabuki. Recommended by my son.
To our calendar, I added a visit to the SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)
Probably the Settui Vineyard for a wine tasting.
A ferry and then a walk around Angel Island on our day in San Francisco.
My cousin Alex is a fan of Walt Disney and we’re likely to add a trip to the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Juliet, my cousin Robert’s significant other, wants to cook for us on Sunday night. She’s a great cook. Who can say no to that invite?

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
Everything is funny
as long as it is happening to somebody else.
~Will Rogers

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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192

My son Mino sent an email chock of notable ideas. 
I am checking them out.

Blog meister responds: Great to have children who know more than you.

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Sunday we had the best Frutta di Mare I have ever tasted.
My cousin Alex, who has gifted hands and a chef’s palate made the dinner.
I include the recipe in the 11.0 Thumbnail section immediately below.
Note that the recipe does not include handling of the fish. Just the cooking.

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11.0 Thumbnail
FRUTTA DI MARE 

Large Pot for Dinner
7oz garlic oil  

AROMATICS
chopped fine in a chopper:

1oz chili
2oz red pepper
2oz onion
2oz carrots
1t oregano
½ t freshly-ground pepper

Slide into pot and simmer for 5 minutes
Add:
2TB tomato paste
1TB anchovy paste
Simmer for 5 min more 

Drain the shellfish of all broth/juices (reserve the juices/broth)
Leave whole of cut into large pieces
Add raw shellfish w/o juice to the pot
Turn the heat up and cook quickly

Salt to taste
1t freshly-ground pepper
1 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or fresh basil

PASTA

Boil the pasta to al dentissimo
Drain the water and return the pasta to the pot
Add the reserved juices and broth and cook the linguini or spaghetti in the fish juices/broth until pasta is al dente

Drain and serve with the Frutta di Mare

Note that the discussion of which and how much seafood to use will have to come on another day.
It’s its own study.
But this sauce is phenomenal.

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussels and cephalopods such as octopus and squid), crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g. sea cucumbers and sea urchins). Historically, marine mammals such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have been eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae are widely eaten as sea vegetables around the world, especially in Asia. In the United States, although not generally in the United Kingdom, the term "seafood" is extended to fresh water organisms eaten by humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as "seafood".

The harvesting of wild seafood is usually known as fishing or hunting, while the cultivation and farming of seafood is known as aquaculture or fish farming (in the case of fish). Seafood is often colloquially distinguished from meat; vegetarians who consume seafood as the only source of meat are said to adhere to pescetarianism. Seafood is an important source of (animal) protein in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas.

Most of the seafood harvest is consumed by humans, but a significant proportion is used as fish food to farm other fish or rear farm animals. Some seafoods (i.e. kelp) are used as food for other plants (a fertilizer). In these ways, seafoods are used to produce further food for human consumption. Also, products such as fish oil and spirulina tablets are extracted from seafoods. Some seafood is fed to aquarium fish, or used to feed domestic pets such as cats. A small proportion is used in medicine, or is used industrially for nonfood purposes (e.g. leather).

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It’s Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Welcome to the 1068th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Wine grapes

fir0002 flagstaffotos [at] gmail.com Canon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 - Own work
Wine Grapes

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2.0 Commentary
This is a time for prayer for our Floridian neighbors..
Thinking of the potential disaster of the release of breathtakingly large amounts of radioactive waste water.
It’s a time for prayer.

Love trip planning.
I have planned for twenty-three trips and taken four.
Look at the money I’ve saved.

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.2 Conflicted
I like the way my manuscript is unfolding.
The three to four pages a day I hoped to do is happening.
And well.

3.3 Storyworth
Just finished the last question.
Waiting for a new question re: my life.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
I read several pages of the Invisible Man today.
Assignment is due Wednesday.

3.8 San Jose
Taking advantage of a reduced air fare, I booked a trip to San Jose for May 5 to May 11 of this year.
I’ll be researching my itinerary.
My son Mino, who knows the area well, started me off with some key ideas which I shall look at closely.

Although San Jose is where my cousin Robert lives, he’ll be seeing enough of me on this visit.
I opt to take a hotel room for the duration. I’m planning to book a hotel in the Pacific Heights for the duration of my stay.
Once I book that I’ll start researching cafes, restaurants, and day trips.

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
There are three kinds of men.
The ones that learn by readin’.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. 
~ Will Rogers

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5.0 Mail and other Conversation
We love getting mail, email, or texts.

Send comments to domcapossela@hotmail.com
or text to 617.852.7192

I got excellent ideas from my son Mino who lived for five years in San Francisco many years ago.
That will get me started on my calendar.

Blog meister responds: It’s swell having smart children.

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Saturday night I roasted a small chicken.
Simple and good.
I bought three prepared vegetables from W Foods so the dinner took little time to prepare.

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11.0 Thumbnail
There are five basic stages to the wine making process which begins with harvesting or picking. After the harvest, the grapes are taken into a winery and prepared for primary ferment. At this stage red wine making diverges from white wine making. Red wine is made from the must (pulp) of red or black grapes and fermentation occurs together with the grape skins, which give the wine its color. White wine is made by fermenting juice which is made by pressing crushed grapes to extract a juice; the skins are removed and play no further role. Occasionally white wine is made from red grapes; this is done by extracting their juice with minimal contact with the grapes' skins. Rosé wines are either made from red grapes where the juice is allowed to stay in contact with the dark skins long enough to pick up a pinkish color (maceration or saignée), or (less commonly) by blending red wine with white wine. White and rosé wines extract little of the tannins contained in the skins.

To start primary fermentation yeast may be added to the must for red wine or may occur naturally as ambient yeast on the grapes or in the air. Yeast may be added to the juice for white wine. During this fermentation, which often takes between one and two weeks, the yeast converts most of the sugars in the grape juice into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is lost to the atmosphere.

After the primary fermentation of red grapes the free run wine is pumped off into tanks and the skins are pressed to extract the remaining juice and wine. The press wine is blended with the free run wine at the winemaker's discretion. The wine is kept warm and the remaining sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

The next process in the making of red wine is malo-lactic conversion. This is a bacterial process which converts "crisp, green apple" malic acid to "soft, creamy" lactic acid softening the taste of the wine. Red wine is sometimes transferred to oak barrels to mature for a period of weeks or months; this practice imparts oak aromas and some tannin to the wine. The wine must be settled or clarified and adjustments made prior to bottling.

The time from harvest to drinking can vary from a few months for Beaujolais nouveau wines to over twenty years for wine of good structure with high levels of acid, tannin or sugar. However, only about 10% of all red and 5% of white wine will taste better after five years than it will after just one year. Depending on the quality of grape and the target wine style, some of these steps may be combined or omitted to achieve the particular goals of the winemaker. Many wines of comparable quality are produced using similar but distinctly different approaches to their production; quality is dictated by the attributes of the starting material and not necessarily the steps taken during vinification.

Variations on the above procedure exist. With sparkling wines such as Champagne and Methodé Champenoise (sparkling wine that is fermented in the style of champagne but is not from the Champagne region of France) an additional, "secondary" fermentation takes place inside the bottle, dissolving trapped carbon dioxide in the wine and creating the characteristic bubbles. Additionally, bottles then spend 6 months on a riddling rack before being disgorged to remove any sediment that has accrued. Other sparkling wines, such as prosecco, are fermented using force-carbonation- a faster process that involves using machinery to manually add CO2 and create bubbles. Sweet wines or off-dry wines are made by arresting fermentation before all sugar has been converted into ethanol and allowing some residual sugar to remain. This can be done by chilling the wine and adding sulphur and other allowable additives to inhibit yeast activity or sterile filtering the wine to remove all yeast and bacteria. In the case of sweet wines, initial sugar concentrations are increased by harvesting late (late harvest wine), freezing the grapes to concentrate the sugar (ice wine), allowing or encouraging botrytis cinerea fungus to dehydrate the grapes or allowing the grapes to raisin either on the vine or on racks or straw mats. Often in these high sugar wines, the fermentation stops naturally as the high concentration of sugar and rising concentration of ethanol retard the yeast activity. Similarly in fortified wines, such as port wine, high proof neutral grape spirit (brandy) is added to arrest the ferment and adjust the alcohol content when the desired sugar level has been reached. In other cases the winemaker may choose to hold back some of the sweet grape juice and add it to the wine after the fermentation is done, a technique known in Germany as süssreserve.

The process produces wastewater, pomace, and lees that require collection, treatment, and disposal or beneficial use.

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It’s Monday, April 5, 2021
Welcome to the 1067th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0 Lead Picture
Ordination of a Deacon

Unknown author - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42180/42180-h/42180-h.htm

Ordination of a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, a.d. 1520 146
Gives the vestments of that period.
The man in the group behind the bishop, who is in surplice and hood and “biretta,” is probably the archdeacon.
Note the one candle on the altar, the bishop’s chair, the piscina with its cruet, and the triptych.

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2.0 Commentary
These few days following my daughter’s five day visit have ben just as demanding of my time.
I spent much of Friday with the Revere Capossela, two cousins and an aunt.
Sunday will be a feast with the same group plus cousin Lauren’s boyfriend, Rob.
And Monday night I’m entertaining friends with a multi-course dinner.
Then I shall appreciate some down time, at least until I get all of my projects up to date.

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.2 Conflicted
I did my three pages today.

3.3 Storyworth
On Saturday I finished my answer to the question: What did you learn in the Seminary.
I published my answer in today’s section 11.0 Thumbnail section.

3.4 Blog
I had fallen behind but I got caught up on Saturday.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
I didn’t read The Invisible Man on Saturday but I started Lincoln in the Bardo.
Tory, my editor, turned me on to the George Saunders novel because it is one of the few works structured similarly to my own.

3.8 San Jose
Taking advantage of a reduced air fare, I booked a trip to San Jose for May 5 to May 11 of this year.
I’ll be researching my itinerary.

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4.0 Chuckles and Thoughts
“Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people that they don't like.”
~Will Rogers

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6.0 Dinner/Food/Recipes
Friday night we had Linguini and White Clam Sauce followed by Baked Swordfish.
Then we watched half of the movie Sideways while picking on a tray of sweets.
We being cousins Alex and Lauren and Aunt Patti.
The food and company were excellent.

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11.0 Thumbnail
What did you learn in the Seminary?

I attended Saint Francis Seminary in my sophomore and junior years of high school. The seminary was a Franciscan operated private school for candidates for the priesthood. When I became convinced that I did not want to become a priest I withdrew.

A life-changer: discovering my vanity.
The realization that vanity led me to pursue a vocation to the priesthood.
In the eighth grade, a Fr. Tirella came into our Catholic grammar school and spoke of the role of Catholic missions to the poorest villages in Central and South America.
Of the good works that were being done.
The improvements to the lives of the native populations.
The souls that were being saved.
He showed slides of the village priests gaining leadership roles in the villages.
That was me.
I would save souls; find fresh water; tend to the sick.
I would be a priest.
I would be a hero.

A life-changer: realizing that my home life was an aberration.
At the seminary, I learned that most people said Goodnight to each other.
That mealtime was a pleasant experience.
That some toilets were indoors.
That people showered. At least twice a week.
That trading insults was not the way normal people spoke to each other.
That people used knives to cut a small piece of meat from their piece and then eat the small piece. They did not lift the entire chop to their mouths and use their teeth to rip off chunks.

A life-changer: learning that spirituality you shall always have with you.
We prayed. A lot.
We rose at 5.30am and made our beds and toilets and at 6.00am we lined up at the top of the stairs.
The senior leader spoke loudly, De Profundis clamavi ad te Domine…(Out of the depths have I cried unto you, o Lord)
and took the first step downstairs to our chapel for early morning Mass.
The rest of us responded, Domine exaudi vocem meam. (Lord, hear my voice)
We finished the prayer in Latin as we entered the chapel.
Then came Mass and then breakfast, sometimes in silence.
Our days began and ended in communal prayer.
For a lot of people, such recitations are by rote and have no meaning, aren’t real prayer.
I beg to differ.
To this day, I feel the beauty of that daily chant in the dark.
I feel it in a penchant for spirituality that lingers in me to this day – a feeling I am trying to capture in the manuscript I am working on.

A life-changer: Realizing that not everyone spoke in the English dialect we used in Boston’s North End.
I learned this lesson real early, like my first night in the seminary.
The first dinner.
Sitting at one of the ten tables of ten that were our refectory.
I had taken my meat.
I had taken my vegetables.
I just needed the bowl sitting at the opposite end of the table so I spoke up:
Pass the padadoes!
My entire table cracked up, pointing fingers at the source of the gaffe as male sophomores are wont to do.
Ridiculing me.
Padadoes.
He said padadoes, the line passed on to every table in the dining hall, each one in turn bursting into aughter and waving at me or pointing fingers.
How charitable was that?

A life-changer: Realizing that not included within the boundaries of the one square-mile of Boston’s North End where I grew up, a world existed, infinitely larger, more populous, and richer than ours, a world full of grand possibilities and opportunities passing us by.
And my neighborhood never looked the same to me again.
The announcement of this world came from my living at close quarters for two years with 100 students from all over America plus several from Honduras.
They made me realize that across the country, from other Little Italys, as well as the Midwest or Los Angeles, were other boys as tough as we North Enders were, as street-wise as we, as caring and loyal. Many of them were more sophisticated. More educated. Richer. More spiritual. I realized that while we were good people and had created a terrific society in our neighborhood, it was only one of millions.

A life-changer in verso: My first year back at Columbus High, my senior year, was a disaster for me. I lost my discipline, my study habits, my respect for the priests who taught me. I couldn’t recreate the routine that balanced study, sports, recreation that was dictated by seminary life. I floundered. The Franciscan priests who taught at Columbus were of the same order as the priests who taught me in the seminary. They expected great things from me. They didn’t get them and were greatly disappointed.

Fortunate to get accepted to BU I had another opportunity to find myself. And I did.

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It’s Sunday, April 4, 2021
Welcome to the 1066th consecutive post to the blog,
existentialautotrip.com

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1.0   Lead Picture
Grand Coulee Dam spillway in June 2009.

David Brodbeck from Seattle, WA, USA - Grand Coulee Dam spillway
CC BY 2.0
File:Grand Coulee Dam spillway.jpg
Created: 14 June 2009

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2.0   Commentary
Employment is skyrocketing.
Love that.
Reduce the number and amounts of monies needed by the unemployed.
The economy is growing.
Love that.
We have a long, long way to go.
The boost from the covid-relief bill will not be enough to maintain this progress.
We need President Biden’s infrastructure rebuilding plan, both parts, to drive the evils of unemployment rom our economy.
Everyone working.
Everyone contributing.
Everyone paying taxes instead of remaining unemployed and taking relief monies.

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3.0 Reading and Writing Events

3.2 Conflicted
I entered the changes my editor suggested and I filled my daily quota for editing the manuscript.
Target date: July 4, this year.

3.4 Blog
No wriggle room here.
Every day requires its own effort.
On Sunday, I got an early start and was mostly done before I went off to the café.

3.5 Modernism and Existentialism
I read Chapter Two, mostly.
Finish it on Saturday.

4.0   Chuckles/Thoughts
Never miss a good chance to shut up.
~ Will Rogers

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6.0   Dinner/Food/Recipes
On Friday night my cousin Alex and Aunt Patti, as well as frequent guest, cousin Patti, joined me for dinner: hite clam sauce, lobster bodies, a taste of escargot, broiled swordfish, a plate of chocolates and cookies.
It’s been a year since we’ve celebrated together.
Fun.

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11.0 Thumbnails
Infrastructure is the set of fundamental facilities and systems that support the sustainable functionality of households and firms. Serving a country, city, or other area, including the services and facilities necessary for its economy to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical structures such as roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications (including Internet connectivity and broadband access). In general, infrastructure has been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions" and maintain the surrounding environment.

Especially in light of the massive societal transformations needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, contemporary infrastructure conversations frequently focus on sustainable development and green infrastructure. Acknowledging this importance, the international community has created policy focused on sustainable infrastructure through the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Sustainable Development Goal 9 "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure".

One way by which to classify types of infrastructure is to view them as two distinct kinds: hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure. Hard infrastructure refers to the physical networks necessary for the functioning of a modern industry.[4] This includes roads, bridges, railways, etc. Soft infrastructure refers to all the institutions that maintain the economic, health, social, environmental, and cultural standards of a country. This includes educational programs, official statistics, parks and recreational facilities, law enforcement agencies, and emergency services.

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