What one person can do

My child, I’ve often heard your question. Now this message is my answer.

You’re concerned about the hungry in the world, millions who are starving....and you ask “What can I do?”  - Feed One!

You grieve for all the unborn children murdered every day....and you ask “What can I do?”  - Save one!

You’re haunted by the homeless poor who wander city streets,.....and you ask “What can I do?”  - Shelter one!

You feel compassion for those who suffer pain, sorrow and despair,....and you ask “What can I do?” – Comfort one!

Your heart goes out to the lonely, the abused and the imprisoned,.....and you ask “What can I do?”  - Love one!

Remember this my child....two thousand years ago the world was filled with those in need, just as it is today, and when the helpless and the hopeless called out to me for mercy, I sent a Savior. Hope began with only one!

The Archangels

'The Three Archangels' by Filippino Lippi

Today is the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael ‑ the angel of Judgment ‑ is known as the champion in the fight against Satan and the other devils as well as the guardian of the faithful especially at the time of death. Frequently he is portrayed crushing the devil’s head with a lance. Gabriel ‑ the angel of Mercy ‑ is the messenger from God in St Luke’s gospel who foretold the birth of John the Baptist, “Be not afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.” Six months later it was Gabriel who appeared to Mary at the Annunciation saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Raphael ‑ the angel of Healing - was sent by God to heal Tobias of his blindness and to deliver Sara from the devil in the book of Tobit.
We tend to underestimate the presence of Angels in our lives. However they are gaining popularity as we see many angel pins on people’s jackets, posters and paintings of various angels are showing up at card stores. And of course at Christmas, there are the angels on ornaments and hanging on nativity scenes. We sing about the angels in several of the Christmas carols. Angels were also present at Jesus’ tomb when the women went to anoint his body and found the tomb empty. But we are reluctant to accept their actual existence. This is certainly a departure from our childhood when we prayed to our Guardian Angel at least daily. As children we believed that there was truly one angel whose job was to look after us, who would always hover around us ready to protect us from all evil and to communicate our desires and needs to God. The feast of the Guardian Angels is in 3 days, on October 2. There are other inferior angels whose names also have interesting meanings: Uriel – the Fire of God; Selaphiel – Intercessor of God; Jegudiel – Glorifier of God; Barachiel – Blessing of God, and Jeremiel – the Exaltation of God.

An Appeal

I pray on my knees today in my chapel, asking for help. It’s a simple appeal to get more visitors to this blog. I’ve heard many people recently and over the years telling me how much they enjoy visiting my blog every day. I hope they keep checking it daily, as I place a post every day, ever since 2012 when I started blogging. There were a handful of days when I did not have access to the Internet and I could not post anything. But as you all know, I’ve been faithful to my mission of sharing some food for thought every day.

My appeal is very simple. May I ask each visitor to share this blog with at least one other person on your mailing list, or a dear friend, whom you think would appreciate this blog. And whenever someone writes to you in a surprising, unexpected way, let them know about the blog. There is always something inspirational which may surprise you. It could be a simple quote, a prayer, reflection, anecdote, life of a saint, interesting story, or one of the many photos with a message.

I appreciate your effort in this, and I will let you know in a few weeks if I find an increase in the visits. Presently I am getting an average of 100 visits daily. My hope is that we can double that number. Just this past week, I got these visitors from these countries: USA – 297, Malta – 172, Armenia – 25, Spain – 10, Germany – 7, Portugal – 7, Brazil – 6, Ukraine – 5, Philippines – 4 and Pakistan – 4. Plus many others.

I personally do not use Facebook, but when someone shares the address of my blog through Facebook, the number of visitors at least triples itself. So anyway you can share the address will be helpful. Let them know that scrolling down on the right hand side, you can click on Older Posts, and feast yourself with much more food for thought. My old blog from the USA is still active, and there are over 1500 posts there to feast on at this address:   www.fatherjulian.blogspot.com

This blog already has 520 posts, and counting. I thank you for visiting, for sharing and for appreciating Dun Giljan's blog.

Oman galley leaves Malta

Galley from Oman leaving Grand Harbor in Valletta, Malta.

Continuing on the exit of the galley from the Grand Harbor of Malta, I can tell you that the flag belonged to the state of Oman, a country in the Middle East, with its capital city being Muscat. As the sun rose over the harbor, the galley sailed away, precisely at 8 AM, as was advertised beforehand. I thought for sure that it would leave later, but sure enough the Omanis seem to be extremely punctual. I waited to see if the sails would open, especially with all those sailors hanging precariously on the beams, but it was not meant to be. However the last photo shows what it would have looked like with its full regalia and splendor.

Passing through the breakwater and into the open Mediterranean Sea.

Sailors show the flag of Malta on the left, and the flag of Oman on the right.

The Oman galley sailing through the open seas.

Galley leaving Malta

Massive galley leaving Malta's Grand Harbor. No shots were fired!

Yesterday I left home very early to capture the departure of a beautiful galley that was anchored for a few days in the main harbor of Valletta. Obviously my intention was to take a few photos of this galley, hopefully with its sails open. Even though I was disappointed as the sails never came down, I still got some good photos which I will share over two days as they capture the whole process of leaving a harbor with the sailors positioned to open the sails. They were hanging on the horizontal beams of the galley, ready to unfurl the sails, which they probably did as soon as they got into the wind outside the harbor. 

Sailors precariously positioned on the beams ready to unfurl the sails.

One of the photos show the sailors with two flags, one of which was the flag of Malta, half red and half white with the George Cross on the top corner on the white part. I was curious to find out to which country the other flag belonged to, and after a little research I did, but I’ll keep you guessing until tomorrow, to see if anyone is able to find out and reveal the mystery country.

Galley passing by one of the fortifications built by the Knights of Malta

Sailors waving to the people of Malta

Serenity Prayer

The Prayer made from US license plates

This popular prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr. The earliest recorded reference to the prayer is a diary entry from 1932 by Winnifred Crane Wygal, a pupil and collaborator of Reinhold Niebuhr, the American theologian who lived between 1892 and 1971. The prayer spread both through Niebuhr's sermons and church groups in the 1930s and 1940s and was later adopted and popularized by the Alcoholics  Anonymous. The AA members adopted this prayer as they follow the twelve step program. Many members use the prayer as a tattoo on their bodies.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

What is Life?

Sunset in Malta on September 20, 2017

Life is an opportunity.........................don’t lose it.

Life is beautiful...................................admire it.

Life is peaceful....................................appreciate it.

Life is a dream....................................make it a reality.

Life is a challenge...............................accept it.

Life is a responsibility........................accomplish it.

Life is a game......................................play your part.

Life is precious....................................protect it.

Life is a treasure.................................guard it well.

Life is an experience of love...............share it with others.

Life is a mystery.................................discover it.

Life is a promise.................................realize it.

Life is a form of suffering...................overcome it with courage.

Life is a melodious song.....................sing it.

Life is a fight.......................................join the battle.

Life is a tragedy..................................overcome it.

Life is an adventure............................go along the journey.

Life is a lot of fun................................earn the right to deserve it.

Life is a faith experience....................give the example daily.

Life is a lesson....................................learn it quickly and early.

Life is a hill.........................................climb it slowly.

Life is a struggle.................................conquer it boldly.

Life is an objective.............................realize it.

Life is a way........................................walk it gently.

Life is a competition...........................join the race.

Life is life itself...................................defend it.

St Pio of Pietralcina

St Pio of Pietralcina (1887-1968)

Pope St. John Paul II canonized Padre Pio of Pietralcina on June 16, 2002. It was the 45th canonization ceremony in Pope John Paul's pontificate. More than 300,000 people braved blistering heat as they filled St. Peter's Square and nearby streets. They heard the Holy Father praise the new saint for his prayer and charity. Many people have turned to the Italian Capuchin Franciscan to intercede with God on their behalf; among them was the future Pope John Paul II. In 1962, when he was still an archbishop in Poland, he wrote to Padre Pio and asked him to pray for a Polish woman with throat cancer. Within two weeks, she had been cured of her life‑threatening disease.

Born Francesco Forgione in 1887, Padre Pio grew up in a family of farmers in southern Italy. Twice (1898‑1903 and 1910‑17) his father worked in Jamaica, New York, to provide the family income. At the age of 15, Francesco joined the Capuchins and took the name of Pio. He was ordained in 1910 and was drafted during World War I. After he was discovered to have tuberculosis, he was discharged. In 1917 he was assigned to the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo. On September 20, 1918, as he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus. When the vision ended, he had the stigmata in his hands, feet and side.

Life became more complicated after that. Medical doctors, Church authorities and curiosity seekers came to see Padre Pio. In 1924 and again in 1931, the authenticity of the stigmata was questioned; Padre Pio was not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to hear confessions. He did not complain of these decisions, which were soon reversed. However, he wrote no letters after 1924. His only other writing, a pamphlet on the agony of Jesus, was done before 1924.

Padre Pio hearing confessions

Padre Pio rarely left the friary after he received the stigmata, but busloads of people soon began coming to see him. Each morning after a 5 a.m. Mass in a crowded church, he heard confessions until noon. He took a mid‑morning break to bless the sick and all who came to see him. Every afternoon he also heard confessions. In time his confessional ministry would take 10 hours a day; penitents had to take a number so that the situation could be handled. Many of them have said that Padre Pio knew details of their lives that they had never mentioned.

Padre Pio saw Jesus in all the sick and suffering. A fine hospital was built on nearby Mount Gargano in the 1940s, known as "House for the Alleviation of Suffering" and has 350 beds. A number of people have reported cures they believe were received through the intercession of Padre Pio. He died on September 23, 1968, and his stigmata disappeared as soon as he died. He was beatified in 1999 and made a saint in 2002.

A Garden of Happiness

First start by planting 4 rows of peas: Prayers, Politeness, Promptness, Purity.

Next plant 3 rows of squash:

Squash malicious gossip,

Squash destructive criticism,

Squash indifference and laziness.

Then proceed to plant 4 rows of lettuce.

Let us be faithful to our duties.

Let us be unselfish.

Let us be truthful to the Word of God.

Let us follow Christ closely.

Finally, no garden is complete without 5 rows of turnips.

So, turn up for church, punctually.

Turn up with a smile and a positive outlook.

Turn up with new ideas.

Turn up to volunteer and help out whenever needed. 

Turn up with determination for something good and worthwhile.

Independence Day in Malta

Prime Minister George Borg Olivier showing the documents on Independence.

Malta was ruled over the past 2 millennia by the Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, the Knights of St John, the French and the British. Following a Maltese constitutional referendum in 1964, approved by 54.5% of voters, on September 21st 1964, Malta became an independent state as a Constitutional Monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its Head of State.

So September 21st every year is celebrated as Independence Day or Jum l‑Indipendenza in Maltese, this year being the 53rd anniversary. One can say that both Labor Leader Dom Mintoff, as well as Nationalist Leader and Prime Minister George Borg Olivier contributed towards the attainment of Independence.

Front page of a special edition of the Times of Malta, September 21, 1964.

On December 1st 1964, Malta was admitted to the United Nations. In 1965 Malta joined the Council of Europe, and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the European Community. Malta was declared a republic on December 13th, 1974 and in 2004, Malta finally became the 25th nation to join the European Union. I was only 12 years old when Malta became Independent, but I remember very well the week-long celebrations, one of which was for all the children.

New York City in the 1910s

5th Avenue in New York City in 1913

Continuing from yesterday's review of photos of New York City 100 years ago, here are three more vintage photos from that era. Incredibly enough, many of the buildings are still standing and in a very good condition. Many of the buildings were constructed by Italian immigrants and built between 1850 and 1900. So what you see in these photos are pretty much new buildings. And what you see in high risers is replicated underneath with a complicated Subway system, underground tunnels, electrical connections, pipes and sewage systems, all of which cater for the millions of people who live and work in the 'city that never sleeps.' (as usual click on each photo to enlarge)

The business district on Wall Street in New York City in 1911

Another section of 5th Avenue in New York City in 1913

NYC over 100 years ago

New York City - 42nd Street in 1910

With the United Nations convening this week in New York City, and all the eyes of the world focus on this big city and reflect on the many speeches to be delivered there this week by leaders of nations, I want to take you back to over 100 years ago and see what New York City looked like back then. Three more photos will be on my post tomorrow, and so, here are 4 images of the city that never sleeps. 

New York City Public Library in 1915

Observe the cars and clothing of the people, with most many wearing top hats. Most building shown are still standing today, and well preserved.

A fire in New York City in 1915

Manhattan Bridge being built in New York City in 1909

Characters and Temperaments

Pope John Paul I reigned only for 33 days in 1978, but as Albino Luciani, he became known for his love of the church, people and also history. He wrote a book called Illustrissimi, which means ‘Illustrious People,’ a collection of letters he wrote to fictional characters. In one of the letters, he is writing to Hippocrates, the father of Medicine, and in one section, he is describing different characters of different nationalities. I share with you this hilarious situation, which I’m sure is very real.

Well, the best place to discover people’s temperaments and characters is in a cheap restaurant. Or, to be exact, in a cheap restaurant where a thirsty man who has ordered a glass of beer has it brought to him with a big fly struggling in it. Is the customer an Englishman? Phlegmatically he places it on the table, calmly rings the bell and orders “Another glass of beer, cool and clean, please.” Having drunk it, he pays and goes out, neither moved nor upset. If anyone is upset, it is the waiter, not because of the fly, but because of the tip he didn’t get.

Is the glass of beer served to a Frenchman? He sees the fly and goes berserk. He slams down the glass, swears and shouts at the owner and the waiters, goes out slamming the door, and in the street carries on ranting and ranting against the beer, the fly and the restaurant.

An Italian comes in, looks at the fly, and smilingly flicks his middle finger at it to chase it off the surface of the beer. He jokes with the waiter: “Look, I asked you for a drink, and you’ve brought me something to eat,” but he drinks it all the same, and leaves, forgetting to pay the bill.

Now it’s the turn of the German: he sees the fly, keeps the glass raised to the height of his nose and frowns, shuts his eyes, puts back his head a little, and being highly disciplined, sends both beer and fly in a single gulp.

A Dane comes in. He is much amused to see the fly in the foam of the beer and takes out his glasses. So wholly taken up is he with the sight of the fly, that he would forget to drink if the waiter, having noticed the fly, didn’t change the first glass of beer with a second, with effusive apologies.

Last of all is the Eskimo. He’s never seen a fly and thinks that the one before him is a favorite local dish, a specialty. So he eats the fly and the throws the beer away!

The Important and Unimportant

God, our Father, forgive us that we so often give our best to the wrong things.
Sometimes we put far more enthusiasm and thought and effort into our pleasures and our games and our amusement than we do into our work.
Sometimes we keep our best behavior for strangers and our worst behavior for our own homes; and often we treat our nearest and dearest with a discourtesy and disregard we would never show to strangers.
Sometimes we get irritated and annoyed and angry about things which in our calmer moments we know do not matter.
Sometimes we lose our temper in an argument about trifles.
Sometimes we allow very little things to cause a quarrel with a friend.
Help us to see what is important and what is unimportant, so that we may never forget the things that matter, and so that we may never allow the things which do not matter to matter too much.

Words of Wisdom

We’ve all heard recommendations from parents, teachers, other leaders. Here are some priceless gems that you may have ignored in the past, but are worth remembering from now on.

1. No one will ever get out of this world alive. Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable sense of values.
2. Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth. Without it, happiness is almost impossible.
3. Resolve to be cheerful and helpful. People will repay you in kind.
4. Avoid angry, abusive persons. They are generally vengeful.
5. Avoid zealots. They are generally humorless.
6. Resolve to listen more and to talk less. No one ever learns anything by talking.
7. Be cautious in giving advice. Wise men don’t need it, and fools won’t heed it.
8. Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.
9. Do not equate money with success. There are many successful money-makers who are miserable failures as human beings. What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.

Sorrowful Mother

Our Lady of Sorrows, at Carmelite church, Valletta, Malta.

The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated a day after the feast of the Cross, and even though we are far from the Lenten season, the church asks us to reflect on the 7 sorrows that Mary experienced. The 7 sorrows that Mary had to face were these:

1. Jesus’ circumcision.

2. The escape into Egypt.

3. Jesus lost and found in the temple.

4. Seeing Jesus carrying the cross and meeting him on the way to Calvary.

5. The crucifixion of Jesus.

6. The Pieta, as the dead body of Jesus is laid on her lap.

7. The burial of Jesus.

The beautiful hymn Stabat Mater Dolorosa is sung frequently during Lent, especially during the Stations of the Cross. The first three words mean “Stood the mournful Mother weeping,” and the poem was written by Jacopone de Todi in the 13th century, and was set to music by various composers including  Palestrina, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Haydn, Rossini, and Dvorák. Here are the first 2 verses:

At the Cross her station keeping,

stood the mournful Mother weeping,

close to her Son to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,

all His bitter anguish bearing,

ow at length the sword has passed.

The Finding of the Cross

St Helena and St Constantine with the cross of Jesus.

Today the church commemorates the day when St Helena found the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Being the mother of Emperor Constantine, who ended the persecutions in 313 AD, Helena was determined to find the abandoned cross on which Jesus was crucified. The excavations actually found three crosses buried in Jerusalem close to Mount Calvary. To verify which was the actual cross of Christ, they asked a sick person to touch each cross. He touched the first two crosses and nothing happened. When he touched the third one, the person was completely healed, and thereby they concluded which was Jesus' cross.
The Cross of Christ dominates our lives in many ways. So many of us start meetings, classes, trips and gatherings with the sign of the cross. Passing by a cemetery, you see hundreds of crosses lining up the entire area. This feast is also called the Exaltation of the Cross, or the Triumph of the Cross. We all have crosses to carry, but when we are given a cross, we are also given the strength to carry it through our lives. May we let Jesus walk along with us and help us carry our crosses.

Dr Albert Schweitzer

When Dr Albert Schweitzer was asked to sum up all he had learned in half a century of teaching and writing, this was his answer:

1.     If you have something difficult to do, don’t expect people to roll stones out of your way.

2.     It is not necessary to go off on a tour of great Cathedrals in order to find God. Look within you. And you have to sit still to do it.

3.     Reverence for life is where religion and philosophy can meet and where society must try to go.

4.     The misery I have seen gives me strength, and faith in my fellow man supports my confidence in the future.

Holy Name of Mary

Monogram of the name of Mary.

It’s hard to imagine that the Blessed Mother has many more feasts than Jesus himself in the Liturgical calendar. In one week between September 8 and 15, there are three celebrations honoring Mary. September 8 is the Nativity of Mary, September 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a feast only recently introduced, even though this was made officially a universal feast by Blessed Pope Innocent XI to commemorate victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

The feast was only a local one at its inception in 1513, when it was instituted in Cuenca, Spain. It was initially celebrated on September 15th and later on the 17th. Pope Gregory XV extended the celebration to the Archdiocese of Toledo in 1622. In 1671 the feast was extended to the whole of Spain. After the victory of the Christians, lead by King John Sobieski III of Poland, over the Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the feast was extended to the whole Church by Pope Innocent XI, and assigned to the Sunday after the Nativity of Mary. Before the battle King John had placed his troops under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Even in the past 60 years, there has been some controversy over the date of this festivity. In 1954, it was re-instated at September 12, but was removed temporarily as many thought it was duplication of the Nativity of Mary, but in 2001, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary was once again set to be celebrated today.

Mary is Mariam in the Holy Land. The Hebrew variant of the name is Miriam. The name may have originated from the Egyptian Meri-Amun, "beloved of the God". It was incorporated in the Exodus narrative as Miriam, the name of Moses' sister. It became common in ancient Israel, hence its appearance in the gospel narrative as the name of Jesus' mother and several other women. The name is very common among in Arab, Iranian and other Muslim cultures. However, Mary is frequently called by an innumerable number of names that denote a connection with something special, Lourdes, Fatima, Joy, Peace, Angels, Perpetual Help, Snows, Queen, as well as other Latin names like Ave Maria, Salve Regina, Ave Maris Stella, Stella Maris, besides many appellations listed in the Litany of Loreto.

God Bless America

We commemorate today the 16th anniversary of one of the darkest days of the United States of America. When this tragedy happened, I was distributing communion to the homebound, just after my 9 AM Mass at St Stanislaus, Pleasant Valley, NY. The following week, I placed in our parish Bulletin this image of the Blessed Mother and Jesus replacing the Twin Towers, and it’s been a source of consolation to many people who reflected on this image which I designed with the help of an artist parishioner at that time. I offer also today this prayer I placed along with this image:

We pray today that from the ashes will rise a new spirit of beauty and unity in America. Already, all across this nation our hearts have been knit together into a new tapestry of one America. Because of this tragedy, we have been bound together by a silver chord of hope and brotherhood and sisterhood. What was meant to drive us apart has really drawn us together. May we always remember. And so today we ask, God, that you would wipe the tears of all in need of comfort. That you would warm the heart of one who would grow cold from bitterness. That you would lift the head of that one who is bowed down in sadness. That you would touch the discouraged and remind them that love will always conquer hate. We thank you, God, for making us such a resilient people. We know that we are. And we pray now for the strength to continue to rise again, to build again, and to live free from fear. We pray that you will help us rebuild our broken lives and mend our broken hearts. We pray that you will give us the courage to face evil and the faith to believe that good will never be defeated. Hold us close to your heart. And through our tears, and through our sorrow, may we all see a new vision of a new tomorrow. Bless us all and God bless America.

Photos from another festa

The facade of the Nativity church in Naxxar.

The Nativity of Mary was celebrated a day later this year because of a thunderstorm and rain that fell throughout the day on September 8. These are photos from the parish church at Naxxar, where I am honored to celebrate Mass every Sunday morning at 7 AM. The postponement did not dampen the spirits of the parishioners who flocked in hundreds to honor the Blessed Mother with a procession that went through the streets of the village. Three other parishes had the same predicament and celebrated procession on Saturday or Sunday, precisely at Senglea, Xaghra (Gozo) and Mellieha. Many of the outdoor decorations were removed before the rain arrived, but some of them were displayed again on Saturday. 

Inside the church at Naxxar.

The main altar at the Nativity parish in Naxxar.

Harvey and Irma

Irma and Harvey Schluter, respectively 93 and 104 years young.

This week the news has been dominated by the two hurricanes that have caused incredible damage to the USA and the Caribbean. First it was Harvey which caused havoc in Houston, Texas, and then followed hurricane Irma which slammed the many islands in the Caribbean and is close to destroy parts of Florida. As we pray for the victims of these hurricanes, an interesting story surfaced from Spokane, Washington, as an elderly couple, curiously enough named Harvey and Irma Schluter just celebrated their 75^th wedding anniversary.

Harvey turned 104 in July; Irma will be 93 in November. They vividly remember many of the major events of the 20th century, from her first time spotting an airplane, during the Great Depression, to his wonder at watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. But never before have they seen two major hurricanes bearing their names threaten the United States. “I don’t know how they’ve done that, to have a Harvey and Irma,” Mrs. Schluter said Wednesday. “I don’t know how that worked out.” The explanation is simple. Since 1979, the World Meteorological Organization has alternated men’s and women’s names for tropical storms born over the Atlantic. Six master lists of names are kept and used in rotation, so the minor hurricane names of 2017 will appear again in 2023. Only hurricanes that are costly or deadly enough to be memorable have their names retired. Harvey was first used as a storm name in 1981, and six other storms have had that name. The gale that followed Harvey every six years used to be called Irene. But in 2011, Hurricane Irene pummeled the Caribbean and many cities on the East Coast, so that name was retired, replaced by Irma. Given the ferocity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, this will probably be the first and last time the names appear in tandem.

Irma and Harvey Schluter  in 1942

The Schluters, by contrast, have been appearing in tandem since the 1940s, when Harvey was visiting his brother at a duplex in Spokane and ran into Irma, staying with her sister in the apartment below while she attended high school. Mr. Schluter was smitten. The two got married in 1942 and, after a brief stint living in Fort Meade, Maryland, while Mr. Schluter was still in the Army, they returned to Washington. While he went to work as a barber, she found life at home lonely. Both had grown up in big families and it seemed natural to begin to take in groups of foster children, many of them physically or mentally disabled. Over the years they fostered around 120 children. Spokane, in eastern Washington, never sees hurricanes, of course. Mrs. Schluter did not recall ever being seriously affected by other weather events, including snowstorms and earthquakes, which are more common in Washington.  When Harvey and Irma were born, in the early 20th century, radio was a new invention and cable television was decades away. In a new century, after 75 years of marriage, they can only watch as their names flicker across the screen with reports of death, destruction and evacuation. We pray that Harvey and Irma Shulter will continue in fairly good health, and pray even harder that Harvey and Irma will decrease in intensity, besides other hurricanes that may follow.

A Personal Note to my followers: If anyone wants to contact me personally, use my e-mail address dungiljan@gmail.com   Anyone is welcome to leave comments on this blog, but I have no way to respond to you, because your e-mail does not show up in the blog comments. A few followers wrote comments recently and since they asked questions, I love to respond back, but unless you write a personal note on my e-mail, I have no way to get back to you. Thank you.