It’s practically the middle of July and, for people who love the summertime season, two of the big three holidays are now past us – Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
When it’s Jan. 1, I have July 4 as a target date to reach in my mind. In a blink of an eye, it’s over.
There is still plenty of summer left, though. Did I just hear a collective sigh from parents of school-aged children? Many students still have about six weeks left to celebrate Sol.
Many of us have a Facebook account. I sometimes marvel when someone tells me they don’t have an account. Just a few days ago, my good friend Cathy Fusco comment on Facebook that she’s noticed how dark it’s getting at night.
Since the end of June, we’ve been losing about three minutes of sunlight a day but on the day she commented, it was an overcast and gloomy day, making it appear much darker than usual by 7:30 p.m. On the day Cathy commented, sunset for our area was approximately 8:39 p.m.
Be glad you don’t live in Los Angeles; sunset there is about 30 minutes earlier than us. If you live in Alaska, like my cousin Mark Casseri, sunset is about 10 p.m.
Cathy also commented she believes summers lasted a lot longer as a child than they do now. I guess it’s perspective. When you’re younger, time seems to crawl. Summers are longer, the school year is forever, and reaching the age of 16 is something you never thought would arrive.
Perspectives change all the time. For example, did you ever walk into a house or building as an adult that you remember as a child? Usually, you say something like, “This place was so much bigger when I was a kid.”
How about this for perspective? You now go to bed at a time of night when you used to get ready to go out on the town.
So even if the days are getting shorter, have no fear, at least it’s not 4:30 p.m. like on the first day of winter.
Fear not, school kids — despite what your parents are saying, six more weeks of summer is plenty of time. After all, if you’re a Wyoming Area student, you’ve only been out of school for 2 ½ weeks… so live it up!
Congrats to Sr. Mary Ann Cody
I had the honor of interviewing Sr. Mary Ann Cody of Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish this past week on the 50th anniversary of her ministry as a sister in the Catholic Church.
Sr. Mary Ann is a tireless worker and, as I see her, the quarterback of that parish. Since Fr. Tom Maloney retired two years ago, she has taken the baton and has been running ever since. Granted, the Bishop of the Diocese had to agree on her appointment to run the show and, right now, Bishop Bambera is looking pretty good Sr. Mary Ann is doing a great job.
I asked her about the number of nuns now serving in her order, the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM).
I was pretty startled to find out when she came out of Marywood College in the ‘60s, IHM had over 1,300 nuns serving. Today, that number has dwindled to fewer than 500. The main thrust of those nuns are serving in the Diocese of Scranton and reaching all the way to Peru.
Marywood College, now Marywood University, was established by the IHM in 1915 and is stronger than ever.
For many years, Marywood College was known as a school for woman; it wasn’t until 1989 that the school allowed males to attend.
In 1997, the college reached university status by the PA Dept. of Education.
JFK statue
It’s taken a bit over a year, but we now have a statue of the 35th president of the United State, John F. Kennedy adorning Kennedy Blvd. where it intersects with the Water Street Bridge. The statue waves and welcomes everyone to the City of Pittston.
Organizers and city officials worked hard to mount the statue to its base and prep the landscaping for the dedication today at 2 p.m.
This and that
Congratulations to Sgt. Mike Turner on becoming the newest police chief for the Borough of West Pittston. Mike’s been a great addition to the department since the early 2000s and will do a great job as chief.
This past week was the sixth anniversary of the old Eighth Street Bridge being taken down.
Don’t forget Pittston’s Second City Art Walk this Friday, July 14.
Quote of the week
“Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.” – Roger Babson, American author
Thought of the week
“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” – Robert Heinlein, American sci-fi writer. This is dedicated to my friend Don Fetsko who passed away on July 1. Don made a lot of people happy.
Bumper sticker
“Come live in my heart and pay no rent.” – Samuel Lover, Irish composer
