We spent a lot of time over the past several days watching Pope Francis, first on his arrival, then his talk to Congress in Washington, D.C., then on to New York City, and finally in Philadelphia. I even watched him take off for Rome on Sunday night. Although we’re not of the Catholic faith, it was truly an impressive event and went off very well without a hitch. He had some very meaningful messages for all of us, and at the center of things is the love he said that we should show for our families, and everyone we know. It was a great event for hundreds of thousands of people who were up close to him along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and everyone who watched on TV. All in all, his coming here for the World Meeting of Families was something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. I really enjoyed the stage performances on Saturday night, too, especially Andrea Bocelli singing The Lord’s Prayer. He’s blind, and his voice is so powerful. And that 14-year-old boy, Bobby Hill from the Keystone Boys Choir with his high pitch voice as he sang. Both were terrific! . . . .The funeral for Carl Rehrig was held on Friday, and it was good to see that Pastor Fran Merkel came to town to officiate at it. She meant a lot to the congregation when she was here for nine years. His son Brian gave the eulogy for his dad. I haven’t seen him in years, and didn’t remember how tall a man he is. Good to see him, too. . . .Not to worry, the church group that has breakfast monthly down at the T&C won’t have Carl there to bring the orange marmalade, but Margie will have it there, no doubt. . . .The men are still at work making handicapped curbs and sidewalks. That’s been quite a project. Wonder if that is a forerunner to resurfacing Route 512? All the work has been up and down Walnut Street, so maybe it is. Only time will tell, I reckon. . . .What d’ya know?! Those Philadelphia Eagles won a game! It didn’t come easy though, especially in the second half, after they finished scoring all of their 24 points in the first half. If the defense hadn’t made all those interceptions the Jets would have won. The Eagles better keep working on their offense, or divine intervention won’t help ‘em. . . . Nazareth’s Blue Eagles have been winning, but sorry to say, the Northampton Konkrete Kids have been losing after their first-game win. Glad to see Penn State winning, but they’ve been suffering injuries, including that lad from Whitehall, who’s a running back. . . . Marty Beal is back to racking up high bowling scores again after last year’s bout with aching bones. . . . If I recollect right, Mayor Fi’s Turn Bath Pink events are coming up real soon. I’ll stick to rooting for my favorite dog in the pet parade. . . .Glad to see that a documentary film is gonna be made on the cement industry, and that its main focus is on what we’ve had here in the Lehigh Valley. If anybody can tell about our cement industry it’s Ed Pany. He knows it in and out, no doubt about that. . . . Saw a story in the paper the other day about needing to know who has your title or where it is when you buy a car. I don’t know where mine is, it’s probably on parchment ‘cause the Essex is so old. . . . Went to start up my leaf blower the other day, and the engine conked out. Better get it fixed soon, or I’ll be doing lots of raking. . . .Have a great week, gang!
