I celebrated a birthday right after the beginning of the year. January 6, 2021 marked the 72nd anniversary of my nativity. To be honest, I’m not a huge aficionado of birthday celebrations. It’s nice being remembered and getting greetings and well wishes, but I don’t need much more than that to mark the passage. But, as birthdays go, this started off pretty nice—Breakfast tacos from a favorite restaurant, Teka Molina (where I first ate about 69 years ago), some creative gifts from Mary and others having to do with cooking—one of my other passions. Plans for a quiet afternoon and bring in dinner from La Paloma Blanca, another favorite. A nice way to mark the passage of another trip around the sun.
And then things got memorable.
I mean, how many times has an attempted coup by a group of right wing wackadoodles inspired and encouraged by a malevolent, treasonous, seditious, insecure huckster happened on your birthday? I bet never.
I won’t go into what I think about all that mess, but will say that I’m glad Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in control and are able to restore some sanity, order, process and dignity to our political processes. Won’t be easy, especially as long as a significant number of politicians continue to treat government like some High School Football rivalry.
After watching and reflecting on the inauguration the other day I penned these thoughts to my Facebook page: “In thinking on the Inauguration, it strikes me that it was outstanding American national liturgy. I confess that much of what goes on as American national liturgy turns me off. Especially that of the last four years. But this was well done national catholic liturgy: Inclusive, celebratory, descriptive of who we aspire to be, recognizing we aren't the center of the universe and there is a power higher than us, dignified and solemn in the best sense. And, perhaps most important to remember when we awake in the morning, "liturgy" doesn't mean simply pomp, circumstance, flag waving and banner hanging (What’s with all that?) but literally means "The Work Of The People". Great and inspiring start and reminder of the work we all need to continue.
We did get our COVID vaccines mid-January and we get our second dose this week. Neither my wife nor I had a single side effect from the first Pfizer shot. I wore my “La Cabrona” t-shirt by a local graphic artist, PincheRaf, which gave the nurses a good laugh. For those who don’t speak Spanish “Cabrona” is a bilingual pun based on a slang term “Cabrón”, which literally means “goat”. But as a slang term it can mean everything from something strong and headstrong to a mean ass son of a bitch. Since C-19 is a Corona virus, I think it’s the latter meaning the artist had in mind. For the second shot I ordered another shirt from PincheRaf , “La Proteción. We’ll see if that gets a laugh as well.
And, to keep it all in perspective, meet the newest member of our household, Xóchi. She’s been a blessing of abundant kitty life in this house. I needed a new muse. She’s a great one as I begin another year.
