by Thomas A. Droleskey
Here is another set of photographs to accompany It's Still Better This Than Purgatory (or Worse), part 6. The first part, as you will see, concentrates on the glories of the food fare of Long Island.
Leaving Bridgeport, Connecticut, to enter into Long Island Sound. Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry, Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Lucy looking out at the sights in Bridgeport harbor. Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Long Island Sound. Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Entering Port Jefferson Harbor, Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Lucy holding a pickle. Majors Steakhouse, Woodbury, New York, June 12, 2007. She had said thirteen months before, after getting sick from eating too many pickles, "I shouldn't have eaten three pickles. Oh, yes, that's me doing some work on the computer.
How did I get to me 275 pounds before I began to lose weight on October 8, 2007. Look at those fried onions, please, for a partial explanation. Tuesday, June 12, 2007. The clams oreganta had been consumed by the time this photograph was taken.
That's a liter of iced tea to my left (your right).
Majors Steakhouse, Woodbury, New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
There he goes! Andy, the irascible tailor--and devoted fan of the New York Mets--at American Drive-In Cleaners. Hicksville, New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Andy barked the following to one of his co-workers on Friday, November 23, 2007, in his thick Hungarian accent: "How are you bringing my coffee? By pony express?"
Bagel Boss. Where it, the Bagel Boss franchise, all started. Hicksville, New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Showing off the goodies. Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
Um, um, um, um, um. Nothing better than a Bagel Boss everything bagel with lots and lots of butter on it (except, just maybe, an everything bagel with lots of sun-dried tomato cream cheese on it.)
The old homestead. 259 North 9th Street, Bethpage, New York. Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Our landlord, Mr. Ferdinand "Ferdy" Williams was a wonderful man. I gave him that old Saturn, which had been purchased in 1995, in 2000 after its engine died. He put a new engine into it himself and it's been running fine ever since. We pray for you every day, Ferdy.
A display of yummy cookies at a bakery in Bethpage, New York, that, unfortunately, we will not patronize again because of the horrible music played there and the really arrogant attitude of the young workers who play the music.
This is also a good way for a person with the tendency to gain weight to add the pounds.
In the left turn lane on South Oyster Bay Road, heading northbound, to proceed left onto the westbound lanes of Old Country Road, Hicksville, New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2007. See, Midwesterners, especially Hoosiers: people actually proceed through left turn lanes without waiting for four days to make their turn.
The famous Empire Diner of the estimable Mr. Gus Mihalatos, Hicksville, New York, Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
With the Colgans (Spencer is to my left) while onboard the Naugatuck Rail Road, Waterbury, Connecticut, Sunday, June 17, 2007.
Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Litchfield, Connecticut. Sunday, June 17, 2007. Statue of the great champion of Our Lady and her Most Holy Rosary, Saint Louis de Montfort.
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, Litchfield, Connecticut, Sunday, June 17, 2007.
Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Wednesday, June 20, 2007.
A turtle posing for his photograph. Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Wednesday, June 20, 2007.
This fellow either wants to sell you a bag of potato chips or a cigar, it appears.
Strolling along the paths of the Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Wednesday, June 20, 2007.
Prairie dogs are not indigenous to the East Coast. They sure are cute, aren't they?
A kite flies by. Lucy is at the other end. Oh, there's that big white van that I borrowed on November 20 and 21, 2007, to move things out of the storage facility in Bethpage. The Trial Blazer at the rear of the van. Our Lady of the Rosary Church parking lot, Monroe, Connecticut, Monday, June 25, 2007.
Sloshing through the water at The Olive Branch Campground, Oregonia, Ohio, Tuesday, July 10, 2007.
More kite flying. Saint Gertrude the Great Church parking lot. West Chester, Ohio, Thursday, July 12, 2007.
A friendly Manatee. Homosassa Springs State Park, Homosassa Springs, Florida, Wednesday, July 25, 2007.
Downtown Portsmouth, Ohio, Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
A bridge from Portsmouth, Ohio, over the Ohio River to Kentucky. Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
Porky the Professor and his former student, Mitchell's Fish Market, West Chester, Ohio, Saturday, August 4, 2007.
The indomitable fortress of the Catholic Faith, Mrs. Ada Federspiel, her son-in-law, Mr. Barry Ahern, the brother of Father Daniel Ahern, and Spencer Colgan. Mitchell's Fish Market, West Chester, Ohio, Sunday, August 5, 2007.
Daniel Ahern, Lucy Mary Norma Droleskey, Carrie Colgan, Genevieve Ahern. Newport Aquarium, Newport, Kentucky, Sunday, August 5, 2007.
Parked at Camp-A-Wyle, Weeki Wachee, Florida, Monday, August 13, 2007. Listing a little to the left, you see.
Tiger cubs playing with each other, Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
A close-up of a manatee, Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
Mother elephant and her baby boy, Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
Hello, Mister Giraffe. Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
Off on the trail again. Lucy takes a pony ride. Lowry Park Zoo, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
This photograph is for the sake of Mr. Ryan Colgan, who eats lemons aplenty. Ryan will never die of scurvy. Mitchell's Fish Market, Tampa, Florida, Wednesday, August 22, 2007.
Hovering over the Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida, Thursday, August 30, 2007.
This little fellow floated around our home for about two weeks before he lost his air. He actually floated from the bedroom to the main part of the motor home one evening, stopping right in front of my computer to "look" at me. He then moved around to my right shoulder, all of "his" own, mind you. It was grand entertainment for as long as it lasted. Monday, September 3, 2007.
Mother and daughter. Mrs. Catherine Ahern and her mother, Mrs. Ada Federspiel. Rosary Breakfast, Helfta Hal, Saint Gertrude the Great Church, West Chester, Ohio, Sunday, October 7, 2007.
With Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Johns, Helfta Hall, Saint Gertrude the Great Church, West Chester, Ohio, Sunday, October 7, 2007.
This means that we were out of Florida. Thursday, October 11, 2007.
Georgia swampland. Thursday, October 11, 2007.
Nearing the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Friday, October 12, 2007.
Back at her favorite park in the whole world. Lucy as Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park (aka "Oyster Bay Park"), Saturday, October 13, 2007.
Sticking a toe into Oyster Bay harbor, Saturday, October 13, 2007.
Lucy sticks her toe into Oyster Bay harbor, Saturday, October 13, 2007.
Oyster Bay Harbor, Saturday, October 13, 2007.
The best apple cider anywhere in the world. Jericho Cider Mill, Route 106, Jericho, New York, Saturday, October 13, 2007.
Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, grounds of Saint Pius V School, Melville, New York, Saturday, October 13, 2007.
Parked in Connecticut, Monday, October 15, 2007.
Mrs. Janet Clementi with His Excellency Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P, following her conditional Baptism and Confirmation, the Feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Wednesday, October 17, 2007.
"Saints" enjoying All Saints' Day. Grounds of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel, Monroe, Connecticut, Thursday, November 1, 2007. "Saint Therese of Lisieux" is visible above, if you will notice.
A distant relative of the Newport Aquarium's Denver the Sea Turtle. New York Aquarium, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Walking along the boardwalk at the New York Aquarium, Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Walruses at play. New York Aquarium, Sunday, November 3, 2007.
Atlantic Ocean. Taken from Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Coney Island. Brooklyn, New York, Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Pointing to Coney Island. Saturday, November 3, 2007.
Silverman's Animal Farm, Easton, Connecticut, Saturday, November 10, 2007.
Looking for a bite to eat. Silverman's Animal Farm, Easton, Connecticut, Saturday, November 10, 2007.
One his ancestors carried Our Lady and her Divine Son, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Note the Jerusalem Cross on the back of the donkey. Silverman's Animal Farm, Easton, Connecticut, Saturday, November 10, 2007.
This poor fellow was desperate to be in pictures. Silverman's Animal Farm, Easton Connecticut, Saturday, November 10, 2007.
A Watusi cattle sticking out his tongue at us. He had no manners at all. Silverman's Animal Farm, Easton, Connecticut, Saturday, November 10, 2007.
A grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, near Danbury and New Milford, Connecticut, Sunday, November 11, 2007.
A covered bridge to nowhere. Between Danbury and Newtown, Connecticut, Sunday, November 11, 2007.
A cold day at Oyster Bay Park, Monday, November 12, 2007.
One I forgot to add six days ago From the Milleridge Inn, Jericho, New York, Saturday, November 24, 2007. Mr. Colgan to my left, Miss Helen Franco, the sister of the late Father Salvatore V. Franco, to my right.
Brigid the Cow, New Marlborough, Massachusetts, Monday, November 26, 2007.
Pepita the Cow, New Marlborough, Massachusetts, Saturday, January 6, 2007. Who is cuter? Brigid or Pepita. I vote with Lucy and choose Pepita? What do you say?
Sharon and Lucy's monthly liturgical calendar (which was inspired by the way in which Holy Mass is offered at Saint Gertrude the Great Church in West Chester, Ohio). Thursday, November 29, 2007. Lucy said, "This is our best calendar ever." Indeed, it was.
Well, that pretty much brings you up to date. We may be poor materially. However, we do enjoy this wonderful gift of the Catholic Faith that we have been given through no merits of our own. It is a joy to carry the cross. It is a joy to be Catholic, is it not?
God bless, Mary keep, Thomas A. Droleskey
Vivat Christus Rex!
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint Luke the Evangelist, pray for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Andrew the Apostle, pray for us.
Saint Bibiana, pray for us.
Saint Peter Chrysologus, pray for us.
Saint Barbara, pray for us.
Saint Nicholas, pray for us.
Saint Ambrose, pray for us.
Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Chysogonus, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.
Saint Sylvester the Abbot, pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us.
Pope Saint Clement I, pray for us.
Saint Felicitas, pray for us.
Saint Felix of Valois, pray for us.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.
Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, pray for us.
Saint Gertrude the Great, pray for us.
Saint Josaphat, pray for us.
Saint Albert the Great, pray for us.
Saint Didacus, pray for us.
Pope Saint Martin I, pray for us.
Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us.
Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.
Saints Vitalis and Agricola, pray for us.
Saint Hilarion, pray for us.
Saint John Cantius, pray for us.
Saint Peter of Alcantara, pray for us.
Saint Hedwig, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Saint Francis Borgia, pray for us.
Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us.
Saint John Leonard, pray for us.
Saint Dionysisus (Denis), Rusticus and Eleutherius, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Therese Lisieux, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Placidus and Companions, pray for us.
Saint Bruno, pray for us.
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Saint Jerome, pray for us.
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Saint Clotilde, pray for us.
Saints Cosmas and Damian, pray for us.
Pope Saint Linus, pray for us.
Saint Peter Nolasco, pray for us.
Saint Raymond Pennafort, pray for us.
Saint Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us.
Saint Thecla, pray for us.
Saint Matthew, pray for us.
Saint Eustachius and Family, pray for us.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Cupertino, pray for us.
Saint Januarius, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.
Saint Giles, pray for us.
Saint Stephen of Hungary, pray for us.
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.
Saint Nicomedes, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Calasanctius, pray for us.
Pope Saint Zephyrinus, pray for us.
Saint Louis IX, King of France, pray for us.
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, pray for us.
Saint Bartholomew, pray for us.
Saint Philip Benizi, pray for us.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.
Saint John Eudes, pray for us.
Saint Hyacinth, pray for us, pray for us.
Saint Agapitus, pray for us.
Saint Helena, pray for us.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.
Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, pray for us.
Saint Irenaeus, pray for us.
Saints Monica, pray for us.
Saint Jude, pray for us.
Saint John the Beloved, pray for us.
Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.
Saint John Bosco, pray for us.
Saint Dominic Savio, pray for us.
Saint Scholastica, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us.
Saint Antony of the Desert, pray for us.
Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
Saint Bonaventure, pray for us.
Saint Augustine, pray for us.
Saint Francis Xavier, pray for us.
Saint Peter Damian, pray for us.
Saint Turibius, pray for us.
Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us.
Saint Lucy, pray for us.
Saint Monica, pray for us.
Saint Agatha, pray for us.
Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us.
Saint Basil the Great, pray for us.
Saint Philomena, pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us.
Saint John Mary Vianney, pray for us.
Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.
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Saint Charles Garnier, pray for us.
Saint Anthony Daniel, pray for us.
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Saint Lucy, pray for us.
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Saint Hyacinth, pray for us.
Saint Basil, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.
Saint Sebastian, pray for us.
Saint Tarcisius, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
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Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us.
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Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius V, pray for us.
Saint Rita of Cascia, pray for us.
Saint Louis de Montfort, pray for us.
Blessed Humbeline, pray for us.
Blessed Edmund Campion, pray for us.
Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, pray for us.
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Father Miguel Augustin Pro, pray for us.
Francisco Marto, pray for us.
Jacinta Marto, pray for us.
Juan Diego, pray for us.
Father Maximilian Kolbe,M.I., pray for us.
Father Frederick Faber, pray for us.
The Longer Version of the Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, 1888
O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
Verse: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
Response: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.
Verse: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
Response: As we have hoped in Thee.
Verse: O Lord hear my prayer.
Response: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Verse: Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls.
Response: Amen.
