Today we honor Saint Swithin, Bishop (died 862), and Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor (died 1274), and today is also the birthday of my best friend Nedra in Tennessee (1959).
All that is known of Saint Swithin in history is that he was Bishop of Winchester, England, for the ten years before his death in 862. He was buried outside (apparently at his own request); legend states that when in 971 an attempt was made to move his remains inside the new Cathedral of Winchester, a heavy downpour occurred on the day set for the translation of his relics, and it continued to rain each day until an official decision was made not to move him indoors. (The legend is at variance with various 10th century writers, who recorded the translation of the remains with no weather phenomena in sight.) Weather lore has it that if it rains on St. Swithin’s Day, it will rain for forty more days. We also honor Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor (died 1274). Born in 1221 at Bagnoregio, Tuscany, as Giovanni di Fidanza, he is said to have received his cognomen of Bonaventure (“good fortune”) when he was cured from a serious childhood illness through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi. Joining the Order of Friars Minor at age 22, he studied theology and philosophy in Paris, becoming a Doctor of Theology in 1257 along with Saint Thomas Aquinas. That same year, he was elected General of the Franciscan Order. In 1265 he was selected for the post of Archbishop of York; however, he was never consecrated and resigned the appointment in 1266. Bonaventure was instrumental in procuring the election of Pope Gregory X, who rewarded him with the titles of Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, and insisted on his presence at the great Council of Lyon in 1274. There, after his significant contributions led to a union of the Greek and Latin churches, Bonaventure died suddenly and in suspicious circumstances, with rumors that he might have been poisoned. A Doctor of the Church, he is the Patron Saint invoked for stomach problems (somewhat ironically). Finally, today is the birthday of my best friend Nedra in Tennessee; although she was born one year after me, I tell her she must be older than me, because she is not only a grandmother, but a great-grandmother (1959).
While taking my bath last night I continued reading Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics by Margaret A. Farley, and I read another story in On A Raven’s Wing: New Tales in Honor of Edgar Allan Poe by Mary Higgins Clark, Thomas H. Cook, James W. Hall, Rupert Holmes, S. J. Rozan, Don Winslow, and Fourteen Others Edited by Stuart Kaminsky before going to sleep.
On our way to work we dumped a bag of trash in the dumpster; according to Richard the cat in the dumpster was seriously annoyed by Richard’s presence. I did my Devotional Reading and said the Ninth and Last Day of my Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At the casino Richard was the relief dealer for Mini Baccarat and Pai Gow; he broke the Four Card Poker table once at the beginning of our shift, broke the dealer who was helping to set up Macau Mini Baccarat cards, and broke the second Pai Gow table at the end of the day. Meanwhile, I was the dealer on Mini Baccarat, which went dead at about 5:00 am and stayed that way for the rest of the day. On my breaks I continued reading The Known World by Edward P. Jones.
After work I called Nedra to wish her a happy St. Swithin’s Day (she could not talk long, said she would call me back, then sent a text message that she was tied up with stuff and would try to call later), and called Bonnie (I reached her husband Bob, who said she was at the dentist and would call me back). I then continued reading the July / August, 2013 issue of The Bible Today. Once home Richard went back out to get us a newspaper (it rained before we got home, and our paper on the driveway was soaked), and I read the morning paper. I then took a nap until about 4:15 pm. Richard went to Wal-Mart to get the stuff he needs to make bread from the Amish Friendship Starter, and I watched Jeopardy! I then came to the computer and did an Advance Daily Update Draft for Wednesday, July 17, 2013, then had some chicken jambalaya for dinner while I did today’s Daily Update and printed out discussion questions for The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. When I am finished with the computer I will take a bath, do some reading, then head to bed. And I hope to be asleep long before the First Quarter Moon at 10:20 pm.
Tomorrow is Tuesday, our Friday at work. We will try not to sign the Early Out list at work, as we really need to get some full=hours paychecks before our vacation in late October. After lunch I will take a nap, and after Jeopardy! I will go to Lafayette with my Nook HD to attend the Third Tuesday Book Club meeting at Barnes & Noble to discuss The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson.
Our Monday Afternoon Parting Quote comes to us from Celeste Holm, American actress. Born in 1917 in New York City, New York, her father was a Norwegian businessman whose company provided marine adjustment services for Lloyd’s of London, and her mother was a portrait artist and author. An only child, she traveled often during her youth and attended various schools in Holland, France and the United States. She performed in many stage productions during high school, and studied drama at the University of Chicago before becoming a stage actress in the late 1930s. Holm’s first professional theatrical role was in a production of Hamlet starring Leslie Howard. She first appeared on Broadway in a small part in Gloriana (1938), a comedy which lasted for only five performances, but her first major part on Broadway was in William Saroyan’s revival of The Time of Your Life (1940) as Mary L. with fellow newcomer Gene Kelly. The role that got her the most recognition from critics and audiences was as Ado Annie in the premiere production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! in 1943. After she starred in the Broadway production of Bloomer Girl, 20th Century Fox signed Holm to a movie contract in 1946. She made her film debut that same year in Three Little Girls in Blue, making a startling entrance in a “Technicolor red” dress singing “Always a Lady,” a belting Ado Annie-type song. In 1947 she won an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in Gentleman’s Agreement. She garnered Academy Award Nominations for Best Supporting Actress in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950), but decided she preferred live theater to movie work. In 1951 she the replacement for the role of Anna Leonowens in the Broadway production of The King and I, and in 1952 she played Anna Christopherson in Anna Christie. She starred as a professor-turned-reporter in New York City in the CBS television series Honestly, Celeste! (fall 1954) and returned to the movies in 1955 with The Tender Trap, followed by High Society the next year. In 1965 she played the Fairy Godmother alongside Lesley Ann Warren in the CBS production of Cinderella. On Broadway in 1967 she was the replacement for the character of Mame Dennis in Mame. In 1970-71, she was featured on the NBC sitcom Nancy, with Renne Jarrett, John Fink and Robert F. Simon. In the story line, Holm played Abby Townsend, the press secretary of the First Lady of the United States and the chaperone of Jarrett’s character, Nancy Smith, the President’s daughter. In 1973 she played the role of Aunt Polly in Tom Sawyer. She was often in episodes of television series (often as a guest star) in series such as Columbo, The Eleventh Hour, Archie Bunker’s Place and Falcon Crest. In 1979 she played the role of First Lady Florence Harding in the television mini-series Backstairs at the White House. In 1986 she first appeared on the ABC soap opera Loving in the role of Lydia Woodhouse. She played the role of Mrs. Hudson in Three Men and a Baby (1987), and appeared again in the ABC soap opera Loving as the second Isabelle Dwyer Alden from 1991 to 1992. Her last theater appearance was in Allegro in 1994. She last appeared as a regular on television in the CBS television series Promised Land (1996 – 99), playing the character of Hattie Green for 67 episodes. Her last television appearance was in an episode of Whoopi in 2004. She was married five times, having two sons, one by her first husband and one by her third husband. On April 29, 2004, her 87th birthday, Holm married her fifth husband, opera singer Frank Basile, age 41. Soon after their marriage, Holm and Basile sued to overturn the irrevocable trust that was created in 2002 by her younger son. The trust was ostensibly set up to shelter Holm’s financial assets from taxes though Basile contended the real purpose of the trust was to keep him away from her money. The lawsuit began a five-year battle with her sons, which cost millions of dollars, and according to an article in The New York Times, left Holm and her husband with a fragile hold on their apartment, which Holm purchased for $10,000 cash in 1953 from her film earnings, and which in 2011 was believed to be worth at least $10,000,000. Her last movie was College Debts, not yet released at the time of her death (died 2012): “We live by encouragement and die without it – slowly, sadly and angrily.”
From The Recamier 