Devshirme » Weather

Mission Focus

Fr. Greg — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:38:06 +0000

Last week, on one of those super hot summer days here in Worcester, I had a crazy and unpleasant adventure. It was one of those days where I was zipping around to the different hospitals to visit parishioners. On the way back from Memorial Hospital my coolant light dinged and lit. I was near Elm Street and thus not too far from the Cathedral, as well as not too far from Takis & Sons, my go-to foreign auto mechanics. I looked at the temperature gauge and it rocketed to the red zone. Oh no! My mission focus kicked in, and I drove straight to the church, since I had some stuff to take care of there. I parked in a shady spot (like that would help), turned off the engine, and opened the hood. I called Takis and he told me let the engine cool off for 20 minutes or so, turn it back on and see where the guage was. If it was not in the red zone, drive it (the 3/4 of a mile/mile) to his shop. If it hit the red zone en route, pull over and wait again. So I had a nerve-wracking, knuckle-clenched, hunched-over-the-steering-wheel ride to Takis’s place, but the needle stayed midway and never reached the red zone. The weird engine sounds which had begun on Elm Street, before I reached the church, kicked in and got louder. But thankfully I reached his shop without the engine blowing up or anything else I feared might happen. The damage from what was probably a busted thermostat on such a hot day? The water pump, serpentine belt and belt tensioner all were toast, and the antifreeze tank was blown to smithereens. Thankfully Takis took care of things that evening and the Jetta (and I) were back on the road the next morning.

Robin And Batman at the Greek Independence Day Parade

Fr. Greg — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:25:56 +0000

Today was the annual Greek Independence Day parade in Boston, and it turned out to be fabulous. We were all expecting rain (I, who has no umbrella, was particularly dreading walking and getting soaked). And we ended up having a fairly sunny day and pleasant, not-too-warm-or cold weather. It is funny because today was the feast of St. Mark, and the Liturgy of St. Mark includes prayers for rainfall (it is a liturgy from Egypt, so it has these prayers and prayers for the rising of the Nile) and yet most people were saying “please pray for _no_ rain!”. The Greek School children marched with vigor, and the float was in tip-top shape. Many thanks to the Marine USA, who graciously wrap and store our float each year, as well as the Greek School teachers and PTA. Here is a picture that Eva P. took of Robin (me) and Batman (Fr. Dean). A cropped version of this is my new profile picture on Facebook. I imagine the Greek Boston site will have pictures up soon, and I will link to it when that happens.

Composting In Worcester

Fr. Greg — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:05:55 +0000

The sun came out for a moment today – unbelievable after all this rain! – and I took advantage of the brief window to visit our composting barrel outside the house. There was no way I was going out in the yard during the downpours so I could empty our kitchen scraps container. So, mission accomplished. If you are a Worcester resident you can buy a composter from the Dept. of Public Works for $35. The idea is that, by composting, you cut down on trash output and garbage disposal usage and, eventually, you have some nice soil after the conqueror worm and the bugs have a chance to do their thing. Here is a picture:

Middle Atlantic Snow

Fr. Greg — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:11:14 +0000

John Miller has some spectacular photos on his blog of the snow that has hit the Middle Atlantic region. Of special note is the collapsed roof of the ice rink where his children play hockey. As a transplant from New England living in Virginia I was always shocked when we would have a snow storm looming and school would be cancelled for a week, premptively. I soon realized that people who lived out in the country would not get plowed out for days – it is a very different universe there. We up here have so far been spared snow from this storm but it looks like Wednesday that may change…