Vote for Joe

Met Kathleen Leahy, 85, in Ocala, Florida today. She said when she grew up in Flushing, NY, in the 1920s and ’30s, their home had no electricity, they boiled water to wash clothes in a metal tub, and they walked practically everywhere. Yet she said they lived ‘high class’; not in terms of money, but in terms of faith, family unity, community involvement… Kathleen said her parents came here from Ireland and she believes strongly in maintaining a strong sense of family history. “Every tombstone is a biography,” she said.

Met with George Bartosh in Ocala, Florida. He is originally from Minnesota and had a cabin on, what he swears, is the “Lake Woebogone” story teller Garrison Keillor talks about each week on his Public Radio show. (The actual name of the lake is: Birch Lake, and George said the topographical details and several of the town folk seem to match with what Keillor talks about.)… Fiction (or not) aside, George is retired from Minneapolis Gas and Light Co. He said there is a “Retirement Group” from his company that does regular volunteer work with the Savation Army, Food for Deprived Countries; Habitat for Humanity…

Met with Barbara Fleury, the Youth Ministry Director at Holy Faith Church in Gainseville, Florida. She has her kids working at the local Soup Kitchen, visiting a nearby Catholic Worker house… all to expose them to those in need. She said it is critical that youth who are well off be exposed to those in need to increase their sense of social justice. Later at Mass here, Father Ignatius Plathanam said to follow Jesus is to be: “counter-cultural” (in American society). He talked about the famous Dr. Tom Dooley who renounced a lucrative medical career to work with the poor, as an example.

While in Orange, Texas we also met with Dru Chauffe, who was the “Moderator” (Director) for a 12 state region for the Dominican Laity. The group’s “charism” is to preach in every way possible. Dru said some Dominican laity go the abortion clinics to “preach love.” They “preach” through their service work in the Church. They go to the street corners to “preach love” to the gangs, the prositutes… “So many people don’t know the Lord… we must plant the seed,” said Dru… Incidentally, Dru’s husband Tom is an expert mechanic. And his donation to us this evening was to do some brake work on one of our vans. And he did an absolutely excellent job.

Went to Orange, Texas where we met with Paul and Ruby Mayeux, wonderful couple who are tremendously on fire for God. Several years ago, Paul started the Apostolate Against Pornography (and other public obscenities). He talks in area churches exhorting people to boycott stores that display, for instance, pornagraphic magazines — including stores with such mainstream magazines as Cosmopolitan and others that have, in essence, become ‘pornographic’ as well… Paul and Ruby are also quite active in the Pro-Life Movement and while in Orange, Paul and I were interviewed by the local newspaper — with a primary focus on Pro-Life issues. Paul explained to the reporter that he and Ruby have seven children: “…all gifts from God.” I told the reporter that Paul and Ruby are, indeed, excellent examples of what we call: “extra-mile Americans.” Note: Paul explained to me that he and his wife, in line with Catholic Church teaching, don’t use artificial contraception whatsoever because many can be abortificients, that is they can actually cause an abortion shortly after the embryo is formed. As an addendum, I told a reporter from Beaumont’s newspaper that artificial contraception has also made it a lot easier for people to have affairs, and in that (among a number of other factors), we are seeing a tremendous breakdown of the nuclear family in this country, partly because of this.