Back to the Beginning... of Summer

Fuel for the Storm

June 10th or maybe it was the 11th, we set forth for our annual cross country journey. We left Randolph and drove to Kildeer, Illinois to stay with my sister-in-law Tracey and her family for the weekend. Unfortunately, the night before we left there was a wild storm. In our four years in Nebraska, I had never woken up the family and taken them in to the basement ... until now that is! When I woke up in the middle of the night, I looked out the parsonage window, and the trees were nearly bent over sideways with the wind. I got the boys up and into the basement we went. When we awoke the next morning all was well, but I decided to take the nice slow leisurely route to Illinois, Route 20 East instead of going to high-speed Highway 80.

The stormy weather continued to follow us even the next day. Our intuitive (and beautiful) niece Kendall had her own hypothesis about this phenomenon of our bringing storms with us wherever we go. Her theory is that whenever our family is together and we see her, the weather is beautiful. In the summer, when we go in several different directions, that is when the storms set in. So true in so many ways! Well, with the storms in charge, our day at the pool quickly morphed into a day at the movies.

Before we went to the movies, we stopped to get fueled up on my favorite Dunkin Donuts coffee and some donuts. Little did I know, that this would come back to haunt me later in the day. Of course, as we were taking this picture outside of the shop, a gracious passer-by offered to take the shot for us. He almost changed his mind when he got behind the camera and spied my Steelers hat, but luckily, he took the picture anyway. It is a tough year to be a Steelers fan, isn't it? Anyway, we'll come back to these character issues later on...

We went to see Karate Kid. (Check out the website. http://www.karatekid-themovie.com/) Even though I am not a fan of violence (as in bully beatings and unethical karate moves), I have to say I got a lot out of this movie. I remember watching the first round of these films in the 80's, and this movie was the same formula with a modern day twist. Here is the summary from Columbia Pictures... "12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying - and the feeling is mutual - but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts "the karate kid" on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life".

I am sure that the critics panned the cliches throughout and the predictability of the plot, but I am a sucker for the lessons about good character. Having moved around this great country of ours, I could identify with the fact that cultural differences do exist and sometimes they are obstacles not only to friendship, but to understanding as a whole. Bullies... bluck! I am so glad that Mr. Han was there for Dre, and Dre saved Mr. Han from himself. The whole subplot about respect, responsibility and perseverance along with the powerful imagery or cinematography in the film was what really packed the punch for me. (Get it? Packed the punch... ya, ya...okay) Mr. Han's role illustrated that it is in service to one another that we are freed from our own darkness. By focusing on service to others and confronting injustices where they exist, we are able to prioritize what is really important. It doesn't matter if you are a NFL quarterback for the most powerful team in football history pulling in millions of dollars every year or an apartment maintenance person or a classroom teacher or an assembly line worker- we are called to build God's kingdom by loving and serving all!

Niece Kendall and nephew Tyler really loved it too... so much so that Colin, Ian and Tyler were karate chopping for the rest of the day. Loving and serving can sometimes take many different forms!

Where in the World has Mrs. Fallon been? or Meet My New Great Niece Addie

Although technological glitches have plagued me since I left Nebraska, I am ready to fire up my blog for the Summer of 2010. I guess that will require me to go backwards a little bit. Things have a way of working out though don't they? It somehow seems very appropriate that while I ended my Summer of 2009 Blog with the loss of my Dad, I will start my Summer of 2010 Blog with a birth. July 4, 2010 would have been my Mom and Dad's 55th Wedding Anniversary. It was shaping up to be a sad day until the house phone rang with the happy news. My new great niece was born (about a month early)! Pretty soon all of the technologically proficient members of my family were receiving great pictures such as this.. on their cell phones. Wow! How does this even work? Pictures were being sent from Florida to Hawaii to Vermont. Isn't it all so amazing?

My Dad

My Dad passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 12:10 PM. As we stood around his bed, hands linked in prayer, I think my sister said it best when she said that she felt like her heart had broken. Even though we know that he is at peace and his suffering is over, we will miss him beyond words.

The calling hours and the funeral were a blur in many ways, and we were all involved. There were so many beautiful moments during these difficult days whether it was seeing a rainbow arch high above my Aunt's house after the calling hours or Derrick leading our family in prayer prior to the funeral, the Holy Spirit gave us amazing strength when our sadness threatened to overtake us. My brother delivered the eulogy, which summarized my Dad's life so beautifully. From Dad's obsession with collecting hats to his dedication for all of his organizations (Boy Scouts, K of C, Trade School Alumni, Telephone Company) Dad was a mover, a shaker- a worker. He had such a dry sense of humor. I am so thankful for every minute I had with my Dad.

Sidebar- Harp Music- I do think that the harp music that I had playing in his room at the end brought comfort to him, to his visitors and bridged his trip to Heaven.

Music that Ministers

Mr. Norbet’s music really ministered as I was growing up. Although I am not musically inclined, the sounds of the monks singing resonated in my soul. Their chants and singing touched something deep within me and helped me through their melodies to form a deeper connection with God. I always felt that way. When I was a rebellious teen, I would select my pouting/processing music depending on the situation. When my soul hurt, I would always turn to the monks. When I was upset with my folks, it would be loud heavy metal. When I was suffering from a freshly broken heart, it was Rick Springfield or (here it comes, Lisa and Lucy) Shaun Cassidy.

In today’s newspaper, there is an interesting article about how there is a movement growing to have people, who play the harp, minister to the dying. They come in, get a “read” on what the patients are feeling and then play music that can soothe them as they approach the end of their earthly life. It was fascinating. I am going to bring Mr. Norbet’s music to my Dad’s room. I will try to report back on the results.

The people who play the harp try not to play familiar harp songs because instead of being relaxed, the patients would try to search their minds for the words to songs or experiences they had in their lives when the songs were played.

I was thinking of the book 90 Minutes in Heaven when the author describes what he saw and heard when he was in Heaven for those 90 minutes. I am deriving incredible hope and inspiration now from that. I thought that it was interesting that Pastor Piper came back to life/consciousness while his minister friend was singing to him from the back seat of the mangled car. Thanks for choosing this book, Jonathon!

The other night, my sister-in-law Sharon was talking about how she feels that in America, our school system doesn’t seem to touch on the whole issue of death and dying. In other countries, it is seen in a much more positive and natural light. It is funny that she was talking about it because I had made up my might to not focus on this in my blog- yet, in reality, it is this death and dying process that is consuming my heart and mind these days. Ironic, isn’t it? What is it about death and dying that feels so taboo? Is it our fear of death itself or just sharing something so intensely personal.

In The Last Lecture, the professor shares the lessons he learns as he closes out the earthly portion of his life due to pancreatic cancer. In this book and the youtube presentation, he gives us an inside look at his life and his death… This was so magnanimous of him.

www.thelastlecture.com/

My Dad, My Hero And Other (musical) Influences

(*I am having problems downloading my pics... I will keep working on this!)


June 22, 2009- While I was twiddling my thumbs on the George Washington Bridge, the boys got a text that my Dad had gone to the Emergency Room. We had almost lost him back at Easter, but it seemed like he had rallied back. Once again…well eventually, we were headed to Dartmouth Hitchcock.

There are many things that I really adore about my Dad, but his dry sense of humor is one of my favorite things. No matter how he is feeling, he always seems to have some witty sidebar comments to make that really get to the heart of the situation or his perception of it anyway.

At this point of the summer, time started to slip away, but there are a couple of things that have happened that I wanted to share. For example one day, my Mom and I were just arriving at the ICU waiting room. As usual, we had to check in before going over to his room. The ICU waiting room receptionist was on the phone. His voice had a very pastoral quality to it. In what can be a sad, chaotic or even intense setting, the tone of his voice just immediately set me at ease; it filled me with peace. I looked at his name tag while he finished his phone conversation- it read Gregory Norbet.

The name immediately resonated with me, but I just didn’t know why. After his phone conversation was over, he escorted us over to my Dad’s room. As we were walking down the hallway, I asked him why his name sounded so familiar. He said that it might have been because he is a composer and that he used to compose music for a monastery at Weston Priory, while he was a brother there. (I guess that I must have been in slight shock at this time in that I almost rammed my Mom’s wheelchair into the wall, but I quickly recovered.)

Mr. Norbet’s music had always been a tremendous source of inspiration in my life, and here I was meeting the man who was the conduit of that. What a blessing to have had the opportunity to share that with him. Can you say quiet working music? He was so excited by my enthusiasm that he told me that he would have a little present for me on the next day. On the next day, you guessed it, he had a CD and a book of his sheet music for me. It is inspirational stuff exactly when I am needing it the most. I will explore both of these topics in my next blog…. Stay tuned!

check him out at http://www.gregorynorbet.org/

Rutgers- or The Other Red R

I remember the first Christmas we were in Nebraska, Colin wore a red baseball cap with an R on it for the celebration with the extended Fallon Family. Uncle Dana thought that Colin was already a Rutgers fan because apparently, they have a similar logo to Randolph, Nebraska. Perhaps it was foreshadowing, and we didn’t know it yet. I guess that is what foreshadowing is, isn’t it?

Monday morning, June 22, 2009 dawned beautifully in preparation, I am sure, for our trip to New Brunswick, New Jersey campus of Rutgers. (Ian, the workout master, made us all work out at the gym before we headed to New Brunswick, but then we were free to go.) The campus, which consists of five colleges/campuses was enormous. We arrived at the admissions office, and there was quite a crowd. They began loading us into a luxury bus; this was a first, but it was rather nice for such a large tour. New Brunswick was a larger city than I imagined. After the tour, we attended the information session. The largest selling point for the Rutgers’ program was the Fast Track, where students, if accepted, can become a MD in six years. Wow! Rutgers packs a powerful punch. Colin said that he liked the feel of this campus. Poor Colin (and Matt)…we all were pumping him for his feedback and analysis of the various colleges and universities as we made our way around the country this summer; he really loved Rutgers though. Visit their site at www.rutgers.edu/

To further process the visit, we went to have a quick lunch at a nearby juice bar called Namaste. Check it out at www.namastejuicebar.com/. What an experience we had. We learned a lot from the toxins that can be in tap water to all about the slow food movement (www.slowfoodusa.org/), and the food was delicious. It was fascinating to watch our host prepare all of our meals and drinks by hand. Nothing was arranged ahead of time; it was prepared to order. The food came in its purest form. I had the sunshine burger, and, although it tasted like a Big Mac, there was no meat in it. I couldn’t believe it! The smoothies were astonishing too.

Soon it was time to head up the turnpike to Vermont. My nemesis, the George Washington Bridge, was about to strike again. Is it just me or does everyone get stuck on the George Washington Bridge no matter what time of day or night I try to drive over it? Two hours we were to sit in this same position. Don’t be deceived by taillights that look like they are brake lights in the picture on this page. These cars were not going anywhere. The funny part is that whenever a car from Vermont or Nebraska would drive by, I would wave, but I think Colin and Ian just slept. I never saw an accident or a toll booth, so I have no idea why we were stuck there for so long. Perhaps another piece of foreshadowing of things to come…

(pic of Bruce from monstersandcritics.com)

Red Bank Action


June 21, 2009 We started off the day with Church in Toms River (shouldn’t there be an apostrophe?). It was such a blessing that after almost two weeks of traveling across country and looking at colleges, the Pastor’s message was about teens (and fathers) finding their vocation. He eloquently talked about teens using their strengths and gifts to serve the Lord and His people, and how by trusting in His calling, teens can find fulfillment. There is much work to do in the Kingdom.

The Pastor also discussed fatherhood as a vocation. He talked about how fathers try to find that balance between permission and restriction in the hope that their children will develop into independent, strong and principle-centered adults. Wow! I also recalled Father Loseke’s vocations talk during Catholic School’s Week this past year that was so powerful. Many of us feel humbled or overwhelmed by all that there is to do, but after the past two weeks, the boys and I had so many ripe examples to learn from. I was inspired. This church had so many vibrant ministries: college Bible study, Meals on Wheels, Deacon Blood Drive, Job Fair, Choir, Book Discussion groups, vacation Bible School, Reel Faith Film Discussion Group and all sorts of fundraisers (i.e. Raft for Africa Weekend). It seemed like folks got involved wherever they could in a variety of ways. This sermon seemed like the perfect send off or a denouement for Matt, I thought. Involvement, empowerment and vocation…Amen!

After a quick brunch, we were on the road to the Newark Airport. Now, Newark was one airport, I had never visited before. We would rendezvous later, minus our Matt, at Jack’s music store in Red Bank, NJ. When we arrived at the airport, Matt checked in without incident. Did I mention though that his cell phone had broken back in Chicago? Eek….I was a little nervous about sending him off, but he would not hear of Trak phones or such foolishness. We watched him walk through security, and when we could no longer see his head over the x-ray equipment, Colin and Ian told me it was time to go. With a couple of, “He’s fine, Mom”s, we were off.

Now downtown Red Bank, New Jersey has always been a cool place to me. (www.redbank.com/ ) There are so many neat shopping experiences, so for someone like myself who is NOT a shopper, it feels funny to want to shop and explore. Jack’s is always the hub though. Jack’s is kind of an old fashioned record/cd/music store, and in this age of the mega music store, it is rather refreshing… albeit cramped! (www.jacksmusicshop.com)  A couple of purchases later, we were on our way. The rain showers had threatened again, on and off, but we eeked out a couple of nice hours. Now would come the ceremonious opening of the cds and reading/discussing/debating every word that came in the stuff that accompanied them. It is a Fallon tradition and reading comprehension at its zenith!