Do You Know Father Dan?

Dear Uncle George,

Golly, I am falling behind.  I see why you ended your journal on August 20, 1907.  It is hard to keep up.

I don't to rush this and to quote "The Princess Bride"--"This is for posterity, so be honest."

If we are keeping it real, and being honest, I disliked New Hampshire.  A lot.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

We pick up our story in Buffalo, New York on Friday, Aug 16, where Carol and I have seen, spent, and gotten wet to the point the grown women should not be laughing so much, so our move back to Rochester has come.

She likes plants.  I like plants.  So we went to the Buffalo Botanical Garden before we left.

Yes, in case you are wondering, if you are ever in Buffalo, you should go, too.

I thought it would be faster to just put the album link here:
https://www.facebook.com/valerie.popperanderson/media_set?set=a.10151784429615042.1073741852.532120041&type=3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went to high school with a fella named Father Dan F.  He actually wasn't a Father of any sort at the time, but he has been led down this path. Carol and I stumbled by a Catholic church by the garden and I said, "Hey, there is a Catholic church.  Let's see if Dan is there."  Which of course is akin to the idea of when people say they know someone from Alaska and ask me if I know them (which I have a story for that when I get to Sharon, Vermont).  I mean, really, how many Catholics can there be in New York, after all?  :)

Well, just like my unbelievable experience in Sharon--the one for a later date--the Father there in Our Lady of Victory Church DID know Father Dan from Soldotna, Alaska.  See, it never hurts to ask.

Dan lived too far away to visit, so instead we visited the church building they say is their "Pearl of the Dioceses."  It was super gorgeous.  Carol and I did our best to respect their holiness, so when we entered we did put holy water on ourselves. She said she put her's over her heart to cover everybody, Catholic or not.  I liked that and copied her.  I am like that you know....no original thoughts of my own.   My name is Val and I am a copycat.

Here are these pictures too:

https://www.facebook.com/valerie.popperanderson/media_set?set=a.10151782666720042.1073741851.532120041&type=3

I want to say something about the church. Any church, really.

This building had a spirit of reverence.  Of peace.  It was "still."  I have some experience photographing religious buildings, and this was humbling.  No less humbling then photographing our own sacred buildings or temples.  No different than wandering past the shrines in India.  Or the Buddist temples in China.  I like how human beings are making the effort, the conscious decision to show their devotion to their god.  Good for us.

I gotta go.  I am lost in New Jersey somewhere.
Love
Sister Val


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