The Passing of Lois Cherry Goldy

This past Sunday, after mass at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio, I approached an elderly lady and asked her if she was Lois Cherry (I knew that Lois often attended 9 AM mass and sat in this particular location). She said that no, she wasn't Lois, and that Lois had passed on this past year. I was so sorry to hear this news--because Lois Cherry Goldy was my Mom's cousin and the maid of honor at my Mom and Dad's wedding in August of 1947. The passing of Lois, in late August of 2009, was one of the last links to my Mom. A couple of Mom's cousins still survive (I'm thinking of Sally and Pat Kearns; and some of the Sullivan kids, who were probably 10-15 years younger than Mom--Mary Ellen Sullivan, Sally Sullivan Silvaroli, and Mike and John Sullivan). But so many are gone now.

I located Lois Cherry Goldy's obituary online, at this address: http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/08/26/obituaries/nh1347976.txt

The obit mentioned that Lois' funeral was held August 28, 2009 at St. Mary's in Painesville; that she was born January 31, 1927, in Cleveland to Earl Cherry and Sara Sullivan Cherry. Sara Sullivan was my Mom's aunt and my Grandmother Margaret Ann Sullivan Fitzpatrick's sister.

Lois went to Villa Angela Academy in Cleveland (my Mom went there briefly before transferring to Notre Dame Academy on Ansel Road in Cleveland. Lois was married 3 years after my Mom and Dad were married--to Carl T. Goldy. They were married in Cleveland then moved to Painesville. They were married 50 years before Carl passed away. The obit states that she enjoyed playing bocce, and was "an avid seamstress, making more than 100 afghans for family and friends." Also--"she enjoyed the Cleveland Indians, bowling, cats, and especially adored her grandchildren."

Lois is survived by her sons Tim and Tom; daughter Jane; five grandchildren; her brother Richard; and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

So this link to my Mom is gone, and the opportunity to talk to Lois and ask her about growing up in the Euclid Beach area of Cleveland is gone. Requiescat in Pace, Lois.

Strawberry Creek/Continental Divided Trail in Montana

My daughter Carolan, her co-leader Adam, and their crew are now in the Strawberry Creek area of the Flathead National Forest (Great Bear Wilderness/Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex). She is there working for the Montana Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps. This is one of the wildest places in the continental United States. Carolan, Adam, and her crew will be doing trail building and maintenance--I think on the Continental Divide Trail, which runs near Strawberry Creek in this part of Montana.

Last year or the year before, a local fellow, Shane Wohlken of Burton, Ohio (Geauga County), walked the trail from Canada to Mexico--an astonishing accomplishment. He has given me permission to post some of the photos taken by him or his hiking companion. The three photos above were taken near this Strawberry Creek/Continental Divide Trail. Thanks Shane!

Concord House Explosion Felt in Hambden Township!

Yesterday morning, somewhere around 8 AM, my front window bowed and popped--I don't remember that ever happening before. I turned to my family and said, "I bet there was an earthquake out in Lake Erie!"--thinking about the frequent minor earthquakes that happen in the lake, off Lake and Ashtabula Counties. We found out later that what we experienced was the shock wave from a house explosion in Concord Township, on Little Mountain, some nine miles away. A mansion on Morley Road blew up into smithereens.This explosion seemed almost biblical in proportion--not a stone left upon a stone. And we felt this explosion beyond Chardon, Ohio. I heard it was felt as far as 15 miles away. There are some amazing photos of the explosion and fire at www.cleveland.com.

Videos of Poems Recited in Irish-Gaelic

I've discovered a great web resource for learners of Irish-Gaelic and lovers of poetry (and for those simply curious what this language sounds like). The site features videos of poets reciting poems in Irish. This site was mentioned in the Irish-English General Discussion Forum of the web site http://www.daltai.com (daltai means "students" in Irish). You might be able to click on the title of this blog entry to get to the Gaelic poetry videos.

I've cut and pasted the link below:



Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2010 - 08:50 am:

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http://www.filinagaeilge.tv

Videos of the poems on the Leaving Cert course. Read either by the poet or another poet (if the poet is deceased).

With explanations.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Thirty-eight years after the Bogside Massacre in Derry, Northern Ireland, the British government has finally accepted blame for the tragedy that left twenty-six unarmed civilians shot, thirteen of whom died right away, and a fourteenth who succumbed of his injuries months later. This massacre, Domhnach na Fola in Irish ["Sunday of Blood"], was memorialized in movies, plays, and song. Here are lines from a John Lennon-Yoko Ono song (Lennon was of Irish heritage):

Well it was Sunday bloody Sunday
When they shot the people there
The cries of thirteen martyrs
Filled the Free Derry air
Is there any one amongst you
Dare to blame it on the kids?
Not a soldier boy was bleeding
When they nailed the coffin lids!—John Lennon and Yoko Ono "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

And lines from a U-2 song:

And the battle's just begun

There's many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart.

Sunday, bloody Sunday.
Sunday, bloody Sunday.
—U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

Brian Freel, the great Irish playwright, wrote The Freedom of the City; and Paul McCartney (like John Lennon, also of Irish heritage), wrote the song "Give Ireland Back to the Irish." Many other artists memorialized this tragedy in their work.

The truth will out, and slowly but surely, justice will be done.

Hemingway's Shortest Short Story--in Irish Gaelic!

Bróga na bunóc a dhíol.
Níor bhain úsaid astu.


This is Ernest Hemingway’s short-short story: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never used.” --Translated by Paul Curran, my friend and Irish language teacher. We have an Irish language study group at the Irish-American Club East Side--in Euclid, Ohio, every Wednesday evening, 7-9 PM. We meet in the basement of the Club.

Paul uses a rather uncommon word for "baby" here. More common might be "leanbh," which is pronounced something like /LAHN-uv/. The entire story is pronounced approximately: BROH-guh nah BUN-oak ah YEE-ull. NEER whahn OO-sahj AH-stoo.

I guess Paul Curran would own the copyright on this translation. And the blame for it if it's incorrect!

Daughter to Live in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex

My middle daughter, CC, goes into the great Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex tonight in the next phase of her work with the Montana Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps. Tonight she'll be near the Spotted Bear Forest Service cabin, in the Great Bear Wilderness (part of Flathead National Forest). If there is a wilder place in the contiguous United State, I'd like to know what it is! This area has the largest population of grizzly bears in the lower 48, even more black bears, and many other kinds of large mammals--elk, moose, mountain goats and sheep, wolves, and the like. I think there are even mountain lions in the area.

Very soon, Carolan will move on to the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, which is a day's walk (a long, hard day's walk!) from a road. But even that's not her final destination. From there, she goes even further into the wild--a 20-mile hike to the Strawberry Creek area, where a segment of the Continental Divide Trail is located. CC will be building and maintaining that trail, along with her fellow crew leader Adam and her crew (3 guys and a girl).

I greatly admire CC and her colleagues--so brave, adventurous. So full of strength, energy, and hope. Hurray for the Montana Conservation Corps! Hurray for AmeriCorps!

Ein Gebet fuer den Geburtstag

The Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and Holy is His Name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, His servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as He spoke to our fathers -
to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

I prefer this older translation of the Magnificat. I hope I can maintain "the attitude of gratitude" present in this beautiful prayer--something my mother was able to do right up to her death. Many of the lines above apply only to Mary, Jesus' mother. But many of the lines speak to me--and to all of us.

St. Robert, pray for us.
St. Michael, pray for us.
St. Patrick, pray for us.

Lieber Gott, erbarme Dich unser!