Years ago, (late 60's) when street food was cheap and I was driving a truck in NYC, I always stopped at 39th Street and Queens Blvd, where there was a hot dog stand, that to me, sold the best hot dogs in the world! And they were 4 for a dollar! Loaded down with sauerkraut and mustard, I could gobble up four dogs and a can of soda! Of course I was young and fit then, so food like this did not add to my figure :-) Anyway, here's the shocking part of this story: the company (Merkels Meats) was supposedly closed because they were putting horse meat in their products. [Here's the Newspaper story: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19650225&id=enkjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ucwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6144,4679942] Now I don't know if this is true but nevertheless, those 'horse dogs' were delicious!!!

Prayer. Conversations with God

Good question! This is one that everyone should contemplate every day of their lives because we really don't know when that last day of our life will be. Even with a meteor about to strike the earth, not everyone will die! People live through all kinds of tragedies, earthquakes, hurricanes, plane crashes, etc. But we could get killed in an accident at any time. We could get run over crossing the street. A truck could crash into the car we are in, killing us instantly. There are so many ways to die in an accident and we never know when it it will happen because, unlike the meteor, it will be unexpected! Are we thinking about the next life? Are we prepared to meet your "Maker?" Are we in "conversation" with God? My last day of my life will be the same as the other days of my life. Prayer is the key. I wake up and greet God in the Three Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit! I greet Mother Mary, Our Queen and Lady! Then I say my Morning Prayers, go to Mass if I can, and worship and thank God for all the graces he has given me in my life, even if it is going to be a short one. At night, before retiring, I pray some contrite prayers after thinking over the day and asking God to forgive me my sins. Everyone sins! A bad thought, a curse word, an omission to duty. If we are in prayer with God, we have nothing to fear about death. Let the meteor come. We will be in a better place after it lands on our head: Heaven!
God bless us all+

Making pumpkin soup

I was invited to a Haitian friend's home for dinner. His name is Francis and he lives in Brooklyn, New York. We were classmates while studying for the diaconate. Anyway, as we sat around the table, his lovely wife brought the first entry to be served: Pumpkin soup! The soup was an orange color and I hesitated to eat it. I stirred the soup and saw something floating in it. So I asked: "What are these things in the soup?" They both answered: "Cows feet!" I gulped and said "No thanks, I pass on the soup!" I just could not get myself to taste it. I was embarrassed and to this day I don't know if they were offended by my refusal to eat the Pumpkin soup. I did say I was sorry. Now here's possibly why I couldn't eat the soup. Back in 1955, while I was in the Navy, we sailed to the Island of Haiti and went ashore for some R & R (Rest & Recuperation) fun. We toured the Island and bought some souvenirs. Then we sailors, went to a little restaurant to get some lunch. As we sat around the table, laughing and having a good time, we ordered some food from the menu, although we really didn't understand the language and what we ordered. I forget what I was eating but it sure tasted funny to me. As we ate, I looked out the back door and there were two donkeys standing there. I looked up at the guys and said: "We must be eating their mother!" That brought on a lot of laughs but most of us did not feel too well that night and we spent a lot of time in the latrine! I guess, with that in y mind, I just could not eat a cows foot!
Deacon John