Wildlife agents kill black bear after attack on camper in Bob Marshall

Click on this link to see The Missoulian's story on the black bear attack in the Bob Marshall Wilderness:
Wildlife agents kill black bear after attack on camper in Bob Marshall

Feeding the Hungry--at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio

Every Thursday evening Linda and I go to St. Mary's Church in Painesville, Ohio, and serve a meal to the hungry. The meal is prepared, from scratch, by many volunteers associated with Karpos Ministry, led by Kathy Philipps and her husband Dan. St. Mary's lends us their kitchen and refrigeration facilities in the Fr. Hanzo Center. My guess is that about 15 people are involved in meal preparation, serving, and clean up. I don't know the names of every volunteer. Besides Kathy and Dan Philipps, there is Wayne, Jan, Joan, Rose, Pam, Jeff, Ken Fitzsimmons, Kathy Flora, Chuck Hillier, and many more (I'll try to get all the names one of these days). Chuck does one of the hardest jobs, washing up the pots and pans.

The food is delicious, as good or better than a family homemade meal. Kathy is very concerned that the meals be nutritious, and she uses her considerable powers of persuasion to get everyone to eat their veggies. The meal is topped off with a dessert. These are always good and often spectacular. My favorites are the fruit pies made by hand by an expert, the former owner of the restaurant on Burton Square, near Northern Ohio's Amish country.

The closest thing to St. Mary's meal that I have ever seen were the meals prepared at the Catholic Worker House in Davenport, Iowa, under the watchful eyes of Margaret Quigley Garvey. I lived and worked there in the summer of 1976, and we spent much of every afternoon preparing a delicious supper for the hungry.

Jesus said, "Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty." We try to do our little part every Wednesday and Thursday evening, around 5 to 6 PM, at St. Mary's in Painesville, Ohio.

Carolan on Montana's Flathead Divide Trail and in "The Bob"

Montana Conservation Corps crew working on the Flathead Divide Trail

Carolan on the Flathead Divide Trail, not too far from Spotted Bear. That might be Glacier National Park in the distance!

Carolan on the Big River Trail, Bob Marshall Wilderness, near Schafer Meadows. Note the 4th of July bandana!

James Taylor in Charlotte

It was 1969 or 1970 that Marty Gerrity (Mike's brother) came to the University of Notre Dame with albums of James Taylor. The beautiful and intelligent music was a revelation and the beginning of my interest and affection for JT's artistry. Surely he is one of the great singer-songwriters and performers of our generation.

Last week he performed in Charlotte. His words were very funny and his music was beautiful, singing "In My Mind I'm Going to Carolina, " "You've Got a Friend," and "How Sweet It Is to be Loved by You."

In his remarks he has a retort to Clint Eastwood and his talking-to-a-chair speech; and he has a remark about "old white guys." Being one myself, I enjoyed this remark.

James Taylor's music brings a tear to the eye for all it has meant to me during my life.

Lots of Coyotes in Chardon and Hambden Townships!

Last Monday morning, Linda said, "Look! There's a wolf in the backyard!" I ran to the window, grabbed my camera, and took a couple photos of a very large canine stalking a cottontail about a hundred feet from my house. My brother Kevin identified it as a coyote, rather than a wolf (a wild wolf hasn't been seen in these parts in a long long time!).

Last evening I told some of my neighbors walking their dogs (and one couple taking their tiny three-month-old son for a stroll) about the coyote sighting. They told me three other neighbors have seen coyotes lately. One saw 2 coyotes together; another saw 3 together; a third person saw a pack of 4 coyotes together! Some of these animals have been caught on neighborhood security cameras.

I'm starting to feel that Chardon and Hambden Townships are more dangerous than my daughter's territory in Montana (the Bob Marshall Wilderness). Carolan just has an occasional grizzly or cougar to deal with; we have packs of wild coyotes!

Here are my coyote photos:

Billy Collins' Great 9-11 Poem: "The Names"

In the video below, former poet laureate Billy Collins reads his great 9-11 poem, "The Names."

Remembering My Mother on 9/11

My Mother on September 11^th

We didn’t know if we would live

Beyond that Tuesday.

I rushed from my teaching duties

Thinking not with my brain

But my frightened heart.

Filled the car with gas (what if

the stations ran dry?)

Took $200 out from the ATM (what if

the banks close?)

And drove my car like a maniac

Over the backroads to Euclid (what if

the freeways get jammed?)

To be with my Mother,

Aged, blind, living alone, maybe scared . . . .

When I got there, she was fine,

I was the one terrified.

She had lived through 12 years of the Great Depression,

Four years of The War-To-End-All-Wars,

Followed by The-War-After-That (Korea), and

The War-After-That (Vietnam), and

All the little wars,

All the little and huge deaths.

She was peaceful, strong, hopeful,

Helped her scared oldest son --me--

Face that terrible day

Gave me an idea of what to do

Next.

                                       Robert M. Coughlin

                                                September 11, 2003