Monthly Archives: August 2012

Remember The Mustard Seed

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A friend of mine passed away last week, I got the word via email while we were still on the train journey from Montana to Illinois.

Father Paul T. Brouilette was a fine priest, a great preacher, and a terrific musician. He played guitar, and a mean banjo – he had a Pete Seeger model, complete with "this machine kills fascists" motto. He was also an avid runner before being diagnosed with liver disease almost 2 years ago. It’s been a long, slow fight, and we had some hope when he was approved for a transplant. But then the match was no good, and a risky procedure didn’t work.

I loved singing old rabble rousing folk songs and "Silent Night" on Christmas Eve (he played guitar with the choir). It will be an honor to sing him on his way Wednesday at his funeral Mass. He requested a choral service and a Mozart piece, "Ave Verum Corpus" and we’re making it happen, midweek schedule notwithstanding. It’s a piece that’s "in our bones," and I hope that Paul’s family finds it acceptable.

The Episcopal bishop of Chicago will preside at the Mass — only a few months ago he stood with Paul at Manny ‘s installation. Now he has to preside at a sadder celebration.

This has got to be hard on so many people, as Paul had been ill for so long. He fought, he struggled, and now "the race is o’er, the battle won. Alleluia."

Fortunately, I’ve gotten excused from work that morning; I’m so grateful to have such a supportive employer and team leader.

Fr. Paul used this humble bottle of mustard seeds to illustrate a favorite scripture he loved to preach from (this was probably a year or more ago).

The Parable of the Mustard Seed was one of Mom’s favorites, and mine, too.

Via: Flickr
Title: Remember The Mustard Seed
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 21 Aug ’12, 12.10am CDT

Weekly Tweets 2012-08-19

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  • Glacier National Park is incredibly beautiful. Congress needs to fund NPS better. #
  • Whitefish is a fun town and a good base for exploring the area. Also, GREAT BEER. #fb #
  • We saw a bear by the road yesterday. A BEAR, people. Munchin berries and ignoring us. #fb #
  • We've also seen 2 Gee-whiz cars on park roads. Like Pringlemobiles for bears: self driving snack cans. #fb #
  • Glacier National Park won't have any glaciers by 2020 at current melt rates. #climatechange http://t.co/YXdO2Vwb #
  • Mosque shooter: does this mug shot make me look crazy? http://t.co/ZmMz4bu3 http://t.co/GkFdCCkF #
  • Future travel: book flights UNDER 300 seconds for best results: WaveRider hypersonic jet targets Mach 6 http://t.co/1gfH9TUm #
  • Hey, NPR fans, @PubRadioSlave appears to be hacked. @spam #
  • Yesterday's critter report: mountain goats, bighorn sheep (by @fallingrock) and many ground squirrels. #SQUIRRELL #fb #
  • Vacation ending soon, but not before a long train ride #ILoveTrains #
  • #Amtrak8 delayed, now leaves at 10:26am so hanging out at Grouse Mountain Lodge for breakfast. #fb #
  • RT @AP NATO: Helicopter crash in Afghanistan has killed 11 people including 7 international service members. http://t.co/N3SMgzhf – VW #
  • RT @BlueDuPage Republican Lingle promotes candidacy with photo of her and President Obama http://t.co/7l6otQsU #4jobs #2futures #p2 #tcot #
  • Ah. Failed to note #Amtrak8 doesnt have baggage service at BOTH departure and arrival stations, so must haul aboard. #
  • #Amtrak8 station agent noted that they will start charging for excess bags soon. Schedules show a little bag graphic. http://t.co/o5Uj6o44 #
  • #Amtrak8 coming down the track 3 1/2 hours late – typical for summer. #
  • ON THE TRAIN. Some confusion due to last minute change but in our economy double. Our world for 26+ hours #Amtrak8 .. http://t.co/IfuTODHh #
  • Underway at 11:39 am MDT, only 4 hours late… On our way. #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • Ugh, nasty tasting Kocha Kola again. RT @truthout Jim Hightower: Koch Brothers' Moonshine http://t.co/x5WJQC5h #
  • Losing signal soon, tweet ya tweeps later. #Amtrak8 #
  • Smoke stop in Havre, MT. Golden wheat fields and endless blue sky, and a lonely mountain range called Bear Paw. #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • Have Roadside Geology [Insert State Here], Will Travel. #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • If David gets up later will try to swap bunks so he can watch the stars – we have a "roomette" (AKA a "phoneboothette") #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • I couldnt figure out how to get up there, watched how he did it. #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • Is Amtrak essential? It seems to me it is to the towns we go through (and to the people it employs). Now in Glasgow MT. #fb #
  • Welcome to the geographical center of North America – Rugby ND (7 hour delay, le sigh) #Amtrak8 #fb #
  • Delay #FAIL We're currently delayed 9 hours. Were offered a bus from Minneapolis to Glenview, an 8 hour ride. No. #Amtrak8 #
  • We're booked on a flight, will argue refund for difference and taxi later. Problem was freight delays and track work, maybe wildfires. #
  • In a way, it's not Amtrak's fault, they dont own the tracks, the freight lines do. I blame Eisenhower. 😉 #Amtrak8 #
  • We started yesterday with a 4 1/2 hour delay, some long holds and very slow speeds overnight doubled it #Amtrak8 #
  • They are rerouting the train around track work, nonstop Minneapolis to Chicago, but very slow. Arrival 3am, yikes! #Amtrak8 #
  • A lot of pax understandably upset, including elders and youngsters. Amtrak agent doing his best to calm fears. #
  • So now, we're in St Paul, headed to the airport. Bye, #Amtrak8 people! #fb #
  • CHICAGO WE ARE IN YOU. What a crazy plane car train almost bus plane trip its been. #fb #

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Sunflowers Somewhere in North Dakota

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Actually slept last night and a bit this morning. It’s a pretty rough ride, though the people are nice.

And heck, the steward just brought us mimosas. Doesnt help the people who’ll miss their connections in Chicago, but it’s pleasant to drink and watch the morning roll by.

I saw where @RuthieGledhill (UK religion journalist) was complaining about a "foul, noisy" train between Chester and Euston and pronounced herself glad that Virgin Trains had lost the rights to run an entire area of the UK’s British Rail system. Wonder what she’d make of Amtrak and BNSF?

It sure seems that a LOT of jobs and local economies are dependent on rail freight. As much as I enjoy the wonderful, precious misery of train travel, I have to wonder how much Amtrak benefits the tiny communities we blow through, horn blaring.

But now and then, I see someone stopped at a crossing, waving happily, and I think they’d be sad to lose the passenger trains.

Via: Flickr
Title: Sunflowers Somewhere in North Dakota
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 17 Aug ’12, 10.25am CDT

Good Night, Good Bye Mountains

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Somewhere west of Harlem, MT —

Stopped again on a siding, probably waiting for another freight train with higher priority to go by.

These are probably the Bear Paw Mountains, or maybe the Little Rockies, according to my Roadside Geology Montana book.

Soon the sleeping car attendants will start making the rooms up for what passes for sleep on the train. We’re currently delayed at least 6 hours.

No telling how much of the time I’ll be wakeful or snoreful. Or whether I’ll have cell service (David’s been able to get some stuff done, though).

Good night!

Via: Flickr
Title: Good Night, Good Bye Mountains
By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 16 Aug ’12, 9.54pm CDT

Heh. Kismet or Karma?

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Floyd Corkins, the 28-year-old Virginia man who allegedly shot a security guard in the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday because of the group’s opposition to gay marriage, could be prosecuted under a hate crimes statute. The FRC would rather he wasn’t.

While the FRC has specifically opposed expanding hate crimes protections to individuals targeted for violent attacks because of their sexual orientation or gender identity because they believe it “sends the false message that deviant sexual behaviors are somehow equivalent to other categories of protection such as race or sex,” the group also opposes any hate crimes law on principle.

Via Family Research Council Opposes Hate Crimes Law That Could Nab Shooter | TPMMuckraker

Scribefire Next Borked, Scribefire Classic Still Works Sort Of

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While on a 26+ train journey I needed to be able to blog offline – the newest version of Scribefire will not complete, says it can’t get information on either of my most active blogs. Yet the old version, when reinstalled, remembers how to connect to all my blogs, even the inactive ones.

Oh, well! Backward into the future-past!

Expect some posts about the journey, and the rest of our vacation since arriving in Whitefish and exploring Glacier National Park.

ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to your blog. You can drag and drop formatted text from pages you are browsing, take notes, upload images, and post to multiple blogs

Via ScribeFire Classic :: Add-ons for Firefox

Going-to-the-Sun Road Information and Transit System – Glacier National Park

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It’s an amazing drive – but congested and slow during reconstruction of a section damaged by a mudslide last month. The transit system is excellent and efficient; we should also have considered taking a Red Bus tour but they were booked up. Book a few days in advance (or more) during peak season.

One of the most amazing highlights of Glacier National Park is a drive on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This engineering marvel spans 50 miles through the park’s wild interior, winding around mountainsides and treating visitors to some of the best sights in northwest Montana.

via Going-to-the-Sun Road Information and Transit System – Glacier National Park