The making of a black belt

This video was taken by me, at our taekwondo studio, on the day of our belt testing. Edmund is seen here being attacked by two other black belts to test his sparring for his second degree black belt decided--for the fifth time. (Taekwondo also teaches perseverance!)

This video was also taken by me at our testing. In this one, Edmund has to break three boards. He only gets three tries. In all his previous testings, this was the thing that hindered his advancement.

We are so proud of you, Edmund!

What's a nice girl like me doing in a place like this?

I never thought I would enjoy taekwondo sparring as much as I do.

Here I am: a 46 year-old mother of ten sparring with teenage boys who could really hurt me. But they're not.

They understand and try to follow the words we recite everyday before each class: "...I will practice in the spirit of Taekwondo; with courtesy for fellow students, loyalty for my instructors and respect for my juniors and seniors, Sir!"

I know they're holding back; practicing restraint when they spar this old mom (who's older than most of their moms). I know this because I watch them spar each other and say a prayer of thanksgiving each time I see how hard they can kick.

Why am I enjoying this so much? I ask myself this question after nearly every class. Maybe it's a release of stress and frustrations. Maybe it's the adrenaline that surges through my body each time I face an opponent who could really hurt me. Maybe it's the sheer joy of doing something strange that I never thought I'd do. Maybe it's the relief each time the class ends and I haven't gotten a major injury. It's probably all of the above.

Granted, it's a lot more fun since most of my family members are doing it too. Once my #4 daughter leaves for college in the fall, everyone living at home will be in taekwondo: all eight of us!

We credit our taekwondo instructors with helping our kids to learn better self-control, better discipline and study habits and certainly better physical conditioning. My #5 son has been involved with this studio for nearly 6 years and has recently achieved the rank of 2nd degree black belt decided. When he started he couldn't even do jumping jacks and he was a little squirt of ten years of age. He's now almost 16 and nearly as tall as the instructor. My, how time flies!

Eliot's video: the 99 day miracle

The video that was here was deleted due to technical difficulties, but you can view it by following this link.

You wouldn't eat a kitten, would you?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has a new campaign to stop us from eating fish. They're re-naming fish. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried, so I'll just quote from their own website:

...Whoever was in charge of creating a positive image for fish needs to go right back to working on the Britney Spears account and leave our scaly little friends alone. You've done enough damage, buddy. We've got it from here. And we're going to start by retiring the old name for good. When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?

Ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop promoting sea kitten hunting.

Aha! The REAL reason behind the campaign to rename fish sea kittens. (You may guffaw now.)

It turns out fishing is evil because it hurts the widdle sea kitties to have hooks driven through their furry (I mean scaly) little heads.

I suspect their campaign won't work too well on grown-ups who remember fondly the lazy Sunday afternoons spent torturing sea kittens with their dads then taking the carcasses home to their moms in order to indulge in their murderous cannibalistic rituals of devouring flesh. BUT the campaign isn't really designed for adults; it's for kids!

C'mon kids, let's go make our own virtual "sea kittens" on the "create your own sea kitten" page. Or let's read a bedtime story like this one called Playing Chase: (Again, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried)...

Fred the Flounder is a sea kitten with an eye for fun and a nose for mischief.

Growing up, he spent all his time playing chase with the other sea kittens in his school.

But overfishing has left him morose and alone.

Now he just endlessly chases his tail, thinking of a happier time.

Fin.

Something tells me someone at PETA has a sense of humor.

How Christianity Answers Everything

What's So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D'Souza

rating: 5 of 5 stars

My review

I had the opportunity to hear Dinesh D'Souza debate atheist Christopher Hitchens at CU Boulder this past winter (see my blog) and I heard this book mentioned.

D'Souza takes the opportunity to go into great depth into the topics that were touched upon at the debate. When I first began reading this book, I though it was just going to be a retelling of the debate I heard, but D'Souza goes into much greater detail here and without interruption and snide remarks from Hitchens.

I am about half-way through the book now and thoroughly enjoying it! I put the book on my "religion" shelf, but it could easily go under something like "philosopy of science" or "metaphysics" due to the fact that D'Souza discusses the "Big Bang" theory, Einstein's theory of relativity and Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, among other things. He also doesn't shy away from the question of Biblical creation story vs. scientific theories of evolution, the so-called war between science and religion and other topics that have plagued Christianity in the modern age, such as Galileo and Copernicus and whether or not the Church stifled scientific progress (answer: on the contrary, the Church is the reason man made scientific advancements).

I will write a more thorough review when I'm finished.

View all my reviews.

Poetic Knowledge: The Art of Knowing

Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education by James S. Taylor

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
My husband and I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Taylor and take him to dinner several years ago (1998 or 1999) when he was in Denver for a Catholic homeschooling conference.

We had a marvelous evening and learned so much from this man, who attended the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas which was a hotbed for Catholic conversions and making monks (dozens at Clear Creek Monastery in Oklahoma and the Abbey of Fontgombault in France), priests (Fr. James Jackson, FSSP) and bishops (e.g. Bishops Conley of Denver and Coakley of Salina, KS).

Dr. Taylor discusses the ideas of "poetic knowledge" as things we know with the core of our being, as opposed to things we learn by rote. For example, we know the smell in the air after a rain, or after the lawn has been cut. (Okay, so that's MY analogy, which is pretty poor...I read this book many years ago!) We are physical as well as spiritual beings and we need to learn with our whole beings, not just with our brains. Dr. Taylor's book is a wonderful complement to the Charlotte Mason approach to education as well as the Montessori approach (as taught by Maria Montessori and not by the dozens of New Agey schools that have sprouted up everywhere using her surname).

Not as delightful as sharing a bottle of wine with Dr. Taylor, this book may be the next best thing.

View all my reviews.

Cardinal Arinze came to town

Yes, my fave Vatican offical (after da Pope) came to town a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I'm slow about posting exciting news. Just been too darn busy (or lazy).

He presided at Mass at the cathedral (a couple days after we made our pilgrimage there). We only found out about it because we were there on pilgrimage. (Yet another reason to go on pilgrimages more often).

It was marvelous to see Cardinal Arinze up close and personal and hear him laugh heartily with some families after Mass. Unfortunately, we weren't able to personally greet him afterwards as he was whisked away just as we made it to the head of the line.

My husband happened to be in Rome on the day of his consistory, May 25, 1985; that day there were 28 men elevated to the position of Cardinal. My husband was there because a former Navy Chief of Chaplains, John O'Connor, was being made Cardinal that day and the Navy chaplains at the base in Naples where he was stationed, had some tickets to the consistory. They all put on their Navy whites and drove up to Rome for the ceremony.

To this day, the part my husband remembers most clearly is the arrival of the Nigerian delegation. They processed around Vatican square before the ceremony began, beating large drums while carrying huge elephant tusks and blowing a ceremonial horn with a retinue of priests and nuns chanting and swaying to the drum beat as they went along. The Italians went crazy with cheers when they saw the joyful party pass by and no one seemed to notice the smart looking Navy men in their dress whites. But everyone knew the Nigerian delegation had arrived.

In case you haven't read Cardinal Arinze's bio, he was baptized at the age of nine, by the first Nigerian to be beatified, Bl. Michael Tansi. I kept thinking about that when I saw Cardinal Arinze...here is a man who was baptized by a blessed of the Church, who will probably someday be a canonized saint on the Roman calendar. Cardinal Arinze may be a canonized saint someday as well. And we will tell our kids and grandkids about his hearty laugh and the huge elephant tusks.

God or the Girl: Young men choose between the priesthood and marriage

We recently watched a DVD that I found on the shelf at our local library. It's called God or the Girl.

It was filmed for the cable television network A&E, as a reality/documentary show about four young men who are trying to discern whether or not they have a call to the Roman Catholic priesthood. The title is a little misleading, as only one of the young men is actively dating a girl (and he quickly chooses the girl). Another young man has put off his relationship with his girlfriend so that he can have time to discern more wisely. Another has a hard time getting a girlfriend (which elicits some groans from my girls, who were quickly rooting for a particular girl to NOT date him), and another young man (perhaps the most handsome of them all) has given up his successful career and half-million dollar condo and girlfried he wanted to marry in order to be a FOCUS missionary and test his call to the priesthood.

We were thoroughly engrossed in the five episodes, despite the annoyance of having the segments recap the previous episodes since this was originally made for television. Even my husband stayed up late to watch the final episode where the three remaining young men "reveal" their decisions. So as not to spoil the show, I won't tell you how they choose, but you'll be able to figure it out...at least for all but one of them, and his decision really isn't surprising either.

The series encouraged me to up my prayers for vocations and for those who are called to be priests because it is so obviously a supernatural vocation that can't be sustained by will of man alone (e.g. the Fr. Cutié scandal).

My two youngest, who were adopted from Guatemala around the age of 2 and who have no memories of their native land, were enchanted by the lovely, though realistic, images of the heartbreaking poverty in Guatemala, as seen through the eyes of the FOCUS missionary. I played that portion of the DVD especially for them to see the conditions in Guatemala and to inspire them to do something to help the people there when they grow up. The missionary priest from India shown in the series cares for a mission plus 60 remote villages. He is able to visit each village only once every 3 months...but that is more often than his predecessor, who was only able to visit them once a year. Nevertheless, the Guatemalan people are so joyful and so thankful for anyone who comes to visit them and they share what little they have with the priest and the young missionary that the missionary is deeply changed, and I believe those who watch this video will also be deeply changed.

I highly recommend God or the Girl for families, for young men, for youth groups and for anyone who is interested in priestly vocations.

P.S. I almost wish I hadn't watched the "special features" on the DVD. Apparently, a fifth young man was filmed but didn't make the cut for the final tv special, and with good reason. He comes across as a very confused and unconfident young man, despite also being a FOCUS missionary. He even goes so far as to see a "life coach" in Boulder, Colorado who makes him go sky diving in order to boost his self-esteem. He is akward on a date with a young lady, who looks miserable thorought the ordeal and he is a terrible public speaker.Even his fellow FOCUS missionaries groan and roll their eyes when they have to deal with him. Watch at your own peril.

Washing with plain water better than hand sanitizers, say researchers

A team of researchers from Emory University and North Carolina State University conducted a study to test whether or not popular antibacterial soaps and alcohol-based hand sanitizers are as effective against germs that cause "stomach flu," i.e. gastrointestinal illnesses characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Guess what? They found that washing in plain water removed an average of 96% of the norovirus placed on the fingers of subjects, while using an antibacterial liquid soap with water removed about 88% and the alcohol-based sanitizer removed only about 46% of the virus from the volunteers' fingers.

I was skeptical too, so here's the link to the American Society for Microbiology so you can read it yourself!

Hmmm...I'm using the antibacterial stuff. Maybe plain old soap works just as well or better?

A Pilgrimage for Mary in May

Six of us went on a walking pilgrimage last Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We decided to walk from Arvada to downtown Denver, a distance of a little over 8 miles. We parked at a commuter lot in Arvada so that we could take the RTD home again. Our plan was to leave Arvada early enough so that we could make it to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in time for noon Mass. Unfortunately, we left about an hour after we had intended to leave, so we were compelled to begin our hike with a brisk walking pace.


We began on urban sidewalks, passing by quaint houses with lovely gardens.
We crossed over Wadsworth Boulevard on the new Grandeview overpass.

Walking along Grandview Avenue in Arvada.
Walking enables you to see things you wouldn't normally see from a car. The eldest son immediately took the lead and frequently had to wait for his slower companions.

The urban setting quickly gave way to the Ralston Creek bike trail, where we enjoyed nature just a stone's throw from the sounds of highways.
Ralston Creek is flowing rather high today.


Signs of industry just off the trail.
So green and lush, it's hard to believe we're in Colorado!


The trail passes under a railroad bridge.

We enjoyed seeing nature and walking in the cool morning.
We had a bit of a shock when we saw Nessie, popping up her head to see who was invading her turf.

Much to our relief, it wasn't the Loch Ness Monster after all.


A bit of Arvada's Gold Rush history. This is located at Gold Strike Park, where there is a lovely bridge and the Ralston Creek Trail connects to the Clear Creek Trail. This is also the site of the first documented gold strike in Colorado in 1850.
The first of four beautiful pedestrian bridges.

We've left the Ralston Creek trail and we're now on the Clear Creek trail.
The overpass for I-76.

Clear Creek is especially high today.



After following the bike path under I-76 and seeing examples of local artisans, we once again left the trail for Tennyson Street, which took us past lovely houses and a great view of Lakeside Amusement Park.

One-half mile to Tennyson Street.
Lovely view of Lakeside Amusement Park.


Couldn't resist snapping a pick of St. Clair's.
Tennyson passes under I-70 and we followed it to 46th Avenue, which is a lovely, wide and tree-lined street for most of the nearly 2 miles we spent on it. As we neared the city, we began to see more Italian and Mexican restaurants. We spotted more than a few tamale places to which we'd like to return.
Some of our group were lagging behind.
While others were leading the charge.
Who decided to paint the funeral home?
Thanks for waiting, guys!

The first sighting of downtown. We're a bit over half-way there!

We're getting closer! Union Station can be seen above the end of the street.
Are we there yet? I'm getting hungry!
We'll have to go back to this place, for sure! But it was getting on towards 11:30 and we had to get to noon Mass. Crossing the pedestrian bridge over I-25. Feel the rumble! My husband gave me a kiss as I was looking at the traffic and a trucker blew his horn as he passed underneath. I nearly jumped out of my socks.
Ever onward. Despite what some critics have said, I think this is a beautiful bridge and it was incredible to walk across. But on the other side we found...
A Christmas tree made out of kidney beans? Some people love it; some people hate it. Here's a video of the artist talking about this work. Straight from the horse"s mouth.

Yours truly.

The Platte.
The next bridge we crossed was this pretty little bridge which crosses the Platte River. Further down, you can see yet another bridge, (the tall white mast) which crosses the train tracks near Union Station and the 16th Street Mall.
We decided to hitch a ride on the free Mall Ride to get to the end and closer to our final destination of the cathedral. The shuttle covered about 1 1/2 miles in ten minutes, helping us cover the final distance in a shorter amount of time in order to get to Mass on time.

The FREE Mall Ride!





The shuttle dropped us off near the state capitol building with it's gold-leaf covered dome. It was just a short walk up capitol hill to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass during World Youth Day 1993.
A new statue commemorating JPII's visit to the cathedral.


Schedule of Masses.
This statue of Mary's Assumption is on the east side of the cathedral.
The interior of the cathedral.

Finally, here's a shot I took last winter when our homeschool group had a tour of the capitol and we were able to climb up into the dome. You can see the cathedral quite well from up there.

After Mass and visiting with a friend,* we walked back down 16th Street Mall to look for a suitable place to celebrate our great achievement. We dined at Rock Bottom Brewery, Giovanni and I had their beer on tap, while the kids enjoyed their home-made root beer. The meal was scrumptious and worth every mile (8.5) we walked.

After that fine repast, we walked a couple of blocks to find our bus ready to leave for Arvada. It was a very lovely and enjoyable pilgrimage for Our Lady!

*Funny and true story, and one I hope a dear reader will be able to solve: Our friend was telling us that she spent last Christmastide in Cambridge, England, visiting her son, who is a fellow at Cambridge. While there, she went to a parish church, where she waited in line for confession one afternoon. She took up a conversation with a fellow penitent, who, upon hearing her accent, asked her where she was from. "Denver," she replied.

"Oh, I know someone from Denver," said the penitent.

"Oh, really?" said my friend, thinking to herself that Denver is a pretty large city.

"Yes," she said, and she proceeded to relay our family name to our friend.

Just curious: anyone out there been to confession in Cambridge lately?