Povey Prattle

I am not at all certain about the meaning and efficacy of prayer. I am reluctant to pray to God requesting certain outcomes. So, when I pray for people I think that I am simply "naming them before God", i.e. bringing them by prayer into the presence and ambience of the Holy One. Most of my praying takes place during my early morning walks with my dog Penne.  I have three lists which Penne must now know by heart. 1. My Bishops in Massachusetts and Florida The parishes I have served in both States:  for  their Pastors, and for people in those congregations who are in special need. 2. For friends and acquaintances who are in special need. 3. For my family members.  This is a long list. It includes my eight siblings and their spouses. It includes my nieces and nephews, together with their spouses/partners/ boyfriends/girlfriends. It includes my great nieces and nephews. This family list includes 63/64/65 people (depending on how good...

Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings often see me at the home of my pal Ben for pre-dinner beverages and nibbles.  Bob usually joins us. This week I asked Ben if our wonderful friend Betty (the nonagenarian WWII marine) might join us. Ben readily agreed, and he extended the invitation to the ever delightful couple Bill and Patrick, and to the relative newcomer Rick (with his splendid standard poodles Louis and Vuitton). Of course Penne was in heaven to be with her "besties"  Bob and Betty, and with her boyfriends Louis and Vuitton.   I am always so happy to see the three dogs getting along so fine (especially as Penne is often skittish around other canines). I brought a tapas plate with meats from Spain (Lomo, Serrano Ham and Chorizo), and with Spanish Manchego and Iberico cheeses. Bob brought some fabulous Red Leicester cheese from England. Oh what fun we had.  There we were, six older gay men  (two older than I, and three you...

When I re-entered the U.S.A last June  (in Boston),  (after my fabulous holiday in England and Norway),  the very pleasant immigration officer noted that my passport would expire in January 2015.  He advised me to renew the Passport ASAP since (according to him) the National Passport Center had a six month backlog. I (snail-mailed) the passport renewal docs, together with my check/cheque for $110 on September 1st.  My new passport arrived today (September 25th). That's good work on the part of a Governmental Agency. Despite what Republican/Tea Party/ Libertarian  idiots assert - government works! My new U.S. Passport asserts that I am indeed John Michael Povey. Three cheers for the bureaucracy! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, the private sector,  (i.e. Fidelity Investments) continues to assert that I am "Mary Gilligan" (see yesterday's blog). In tr...

NONSENSE 1 My desk chair (which I bought second hand a few years ago) has/had a cane seat. The cane started to split, causing some considerable discomfort to my bottom. I stopped by our local Goodwill store this afternoon and found a decent wooden chair for the modest sum of $16. Once at home I put on my flip-flops and took the old chair outside (trash day tomorrow). As I was taking the "new" chair out of my car I trod on a dog poopy-bag which I had left on the ground, rather than putting into my trash can.  The poopy-bag burst.  Eew! Thank goodness for my garden hose with a high pressure setting. NONSENSE 2 On Monday night I started to take off my glasses and put them in their usual overnight place. Only trouble was -   there were no glasses on my nose. Where in the world were they?  Maybe I had left them on the table next to my reclining chair. They were not there.  I did a quick search but my glasses were nowhere to be found. I delayed t...

The fabulous couple Al and Doris Williams (see yesterday's blog) worked behind the scenes, and raised some money so that my mother could come to the U.S.A. from England to be present at my ordination as Priest on December 17th 1976.. The first plan was that I would be "surprised" by seeing  Mum at the ordination.  Wise heads realised that this would be all too much for me. So the good folks at the Church of the Good Shepherd disclosed their wonderful plan to me a  bit early.  'Twas just as well,  as I had planned to be on a retreat at the Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, MA on the day of Mum's arrival at BOS. I cut my retreat short, and joined a convoy of cars which transported folks from Fitchburg to Boston to meet and greet Mum. Al and Doris Williams were part of that convoy, together with other fine Good Shepherd parishioners such as Elsie and Vic Sidlaskas,  Bob and Fran Brown, Thelma Osgood, and Ruth Card with her mother ...

Cindi and Wes Wasdyke are dear friends who spend each year partly in SRQ,  and partly in Nashua N.H.  I miss them when they are away.   Last weekend the Wasdykes traveled from Nashua to Westminster MA, there to attend a wedding.   Westminster is the next town over from Fitchburg MA in which town I served at the Church of the Good Shepherd (now closed) for four years - 1976-1980.   I warned them in advance that the locals often call the town "Westminister" rather than Westminster.   I did not tell them that the locals also refer to nearby Winchendon MA as "Winghinton".   The wedding reception was at "The Old Mill" restaurant which is on the Westminster side of the Fitchburg/Westminster line.   I dined there so often between 1976 and 1980. Wes and Cindy's visit to the Old Mill brought back so many memories.   The Old Mill by day   The Old Mill by night. At the top of my memory list is a vis...

It rained in SRQ for most of yesterday  (19th September 2014).  It was a gentle, soft, soaking rain.   After the rain I opened the back door and two tiny frogs came a-hopping in. Have you ever tried to rescue two tiny frogs which have come inside and restore them to the great outdoors Not "my frogs"  but they were about this size.   I didn't try, for these two tiny frogs were destined to awaken the hunting instincts in my two cats  -  yes one a piece.   The cats had fun.  I was amused.  I swept up the frog corpses today.