As if yesterday’s meltdown at the end of the thirty mile pilgrimage wasn’t bad enough, I learned today that the Cubs lost three out of three games, ending their chances in the post season of American Baseball.
So it’s either the fact that my muscles don’t like to respond to the bio-electrical messages that my brain sends out, or abject disbelief in yet another season that the Cubs lost that has kept me in bed most of the day.
I didn’t have anything new to do, which is good. I consider my work in Argentina “done” even though I know there are hundreds more churches I could see. I need time to nest my wounds, and get ready for Peru.
A day of rest gave me a chance to go back to St. Nicholas de Bari parish this evening, give a CD of the photos I took during the pilgrimage to Lujan, and say “Thanks.” for the opportunity to join them. I do not often have the opportunity during this pilgrimage to go back to a parish and share my appreciation for them, so it was worth the… ouch… ow… ug… ten blocks to walk to the parish for Mass.
I’d already taken pictures of St. Nicholas de Bari parish before on September 25, but if you want to see the photos again, make sure you have Google Earth loaded onto your computer and click here.
There is a joke amongst some of my friends that the only thing for a Cubs fan to do after rooting for the most-losing team in baseball (the Cubs) is to root for the most-wining team in Baseball (The Yankees). So the spirit of sportsmanship, I went back to the Alamo after Mass to watch the baseball game on the only television station in town.
A few people supposed that I was crazy for wearing a Cubs hat and cheering for the Yankees. I smiled and replied, “Hey! I’m a supporter of labor unions. If the Yankees lose tonight, Joe Torre will lose his job. That’s unfair to the American workforce! If we’re going to end unemployment, we need to keep people working. It doesn’t help us to have a person who makes seven million dollars a year join the unemployment line! I mean, what is he going to do for health insurance if the Yankees lose? It’s unfair!”
My fellow Americans stopped supposing that I was crazy. Suppositions cease to be when there is sufficient evidence to verify. To me it is just a shame that more people don’t stop and see the impact of unemployment.
The Yankees lost. Joe Torre will probably lose his job, which is sad. But even sadder is that now I am without a secular cause to distract me, as my body continues to recoup. Perhaps I can think of some other ridiculous way to interpret the justice principles of Catholic Social teaching, or perhaps I can just… go to sleep… in hopes that tomorrow… (yawn)… I won’t need another hot bath... in order to…
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…