November brought more sad news. We learned of Mary McSorley Shertz’s sudden death. We had already mourned the loss of my brother Father Dick when on November 1st, we received the news of Mary’s death. She was my brother John’s oldest. Mary was 54 years of age and according to reports had no prior heart problems but died of a heart attack. She and I had corresponded over the Internet for the past year. I last saw her at her brother, Richard’s, home in July of 2001. She attended the cousin’s party and we promised to keep in touch. She had three sons.
I regretted as I did with Dick’s funeral being unable to attend in person. I was there in spirit on the day in question and his being remembered by many. I have a collection of obituaries from several papers but by far the best report was from my nephew Jim Allen. He wrote so well of the occasion that he made one feel as if he were there. June expressed this thought as I read to her the letter aloud. There were numerous summaries of Dick’s achievements in the news reports. All accented his devotion to his cause – Peace. He was an active protester in his day walking with Martin Luther King and being imprisoned for the cause on one occasion with Dr.Salk. Jim Allen had been our presence in his life these past few years. His care and interest in his doings kept us informed and I owe him endless thanks for this endeavor. In this month dedicated to giving thanks we certainly give one great big one to Jim and his wife Linda for all that they did.
The many obituaries of Dick reported his internment by the Japanese; his participation in the civil rights protests of the ’60’s; his friendship and assist to Jackie Kennedy in ’62; his participation in the funeral of Bobby Kennedy, and his teaching of the “Theology of Peace” at Georgetown University. His passing caused me to review a file I had concerning him, some letters from him and notes we exchanged on his attempt to write a book, or essay, on “The Divine Will” and a verse I wrote for him on his 80th birthday in 1994. It reminded me of two things I would always remember him doing. One was he was the instigator and manager of the campaign in 1948 to have Mom named the “Catholic Mother of the Year” He later wrote a book on the family entitled, “The More the Merrier” which in my reading of it was really a canticle of praise to her. I further had recalled for me an incident that occurred in 1970 when I was Commissioner of Records of the City of Philadelphia, under then Mayor James H.J. Tate. One day, which date I never recorded, I received a phone call from Dick at my City Hall office. I was surprised to learn he was in Philadelphia but he was calling to advise he was leaving the State immediately if not sooner. I learned also that he had been protesting with others in the front of the Naval Base at the foot of Broad Street. He was advised to move on by no other than the Commissioner of Police, and future Mayor, Frank Rizzo. Dick didn’t tell me that he mentioned to the commissioner that his brother Paul was a “right hand man to the Mayor”. It had little effect on the Bambino! So he left and called me as he was doing so without telling me about advising ‘The Commish’ that he claimed his brother had a close connection to His Honor the Mayor. I learned that shortly after he hung up and the Mayor called me. He was complaining by remarking, “What is your brother trying to do to me? “I asked if he had a brother. He said, “Yes.” I then I asked if he told his brother what to do? He agreed and let the matter die. I had a good laugh about it years later with Dick. I seldom told Dick or any brother what to do. In fact Dick and I agreed to disagree on some things but still were brothers and friends. I read a line by CS Lewis some time after we did so, that had bit of application. It was: “The man who agrees with us that some question, little regarded by others, is of great importance, can be our friend. He need not agree with us about the answer.”
My physical world has shrunk. It is now most of the time 1644 Connecticut Avenue since I am not permitted to drive. June doesn’t drive but that may change in the future since she is contemplating taking lessons. It is really not as bad as it seemed when I was faced with it some weeks ago. I have really been retired. I read more and have been reading aloud to June. We have gone through “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and may try one of Henry James’ short novels as our next venture. Fortunately we have lots of friends who have offered and do drive us. I even have some one from my Bible class on Thursday morning pick me up and of course bring me home. What I miss the most is the quick errand to Home Depot or the Post office or the like. But it is beginning to be accepted, even if reluctantly. Our hope is that no more spells or whatever they are occur for sometime so June and the Doctor will agree that it is safe once more to get behind the wheel.
I know you all have been waiting to hear the Florida election news. We had an election without a foul up! The late night comics are going to have to look elsewhere for material. All the referendums, or initiatives, amending the Florida Constitution and creating new legislation passed except one. We are the first state in removing smoking from public places and protecting pregnant sows! (This is as reported in the St. Petersburg Times, but June remembers her son Joe noting when he lived in Vermont that it had smoking in public places prohibited by legislation.) The one that did not pass was about the Miami/Dade County governing charter which for some reason or other is in the State Constitution. The Republican Party here as elsewhere across the country was the winner. I may have been a bit hasty in saying the late night talks shows will lose Florida material since I am sure the caged pregnant sows will bring a few observations. I was surprised to learn that Florida has some 100 hog farms but only two of them confine pregnant pigs in crates! The failure of the legislature to regulate them is laid to the strong agri-business lobby in the State. Protecting animals and preventing cruelty to them is I leaned a popular topic these days in part due to a book entitled “Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy” by Matthew Scully. He was a former speechwriter for President Bush. The book received a prime review in the November Atlantic and the Sunday New York Times magazine had a lead article challenging and rebutting its premises. Basically both writers wonder why it is necessary to talk about “rights” when making the conduct of people treating animals cruelly can be controlled by political action of legislatures. I am sure that Florida’s example of such legislation will be treated as giving the pigs rights but it would be a large jump of reason to read it in that manner. Michael Polan in the article in the NY Times magazine of November 10th has this interesting observation, “Scully calls the contemporary factory farm ‘our own worst nightmare’ and, to his credit doesn’t shrink from naming the root cause of this evil: unfettered capitalism. (Perhaps this explains why he resigned from the Bush administration just before his book’s publication.) A tension has always existed between the capitalist imperative to maximize efficiency and the moral imperatives of religion or community, which have historically served as a counterweight to the moral blindness of the market.” So it looks from the amount of discussion in the air that Florida is leading in providing some of that restraint to some rampant capitalism in the agribusiness. It is good to know it is leading in doing something apparently good for a change.
A half of the ten initiatives had strong Democratic backing and money. So they won that, but failed in electing individuals to Congress and the Legislature. But all this is old news, and of greater interest now is the Iraq question. The unanimous agreement of the United Nations was a pleasing surprise. I was happy to see that as I know a lot of Americans were. It has raised among opinion writers and others the old question that Father Dick had answered with a loud ‘no’, that is, is there such a thing as a “just war”? I recall being taught years ago that there was and have seen discussions of that proposition in various media even today. I learned too in Law School that there is such a thing as a justifiable killing, i.e., in defense of one’s or a love one’s life. The application of this principle has been complicated, as with all moral principles in modern life, with the creation of nuclear power and it’s killing reach. Is it only a question of degree or is the principle completely inapplicable? One of the answers proposed is that to not act will cause even more death than if we do so. The unity of the nations is help in making any action more justified. We pray as all sane people do that no action is required on either side.
November is a time for us also to remember those who went to heaven in this month over the years, beginning with my brother Bishop Frank, my Mom, and my second Mom- sister Winifred (both on the same day forty six years apart), and my sister Therese. Having them in my life is one more thing I am thankful for and will remember on the day of Thanksgiving. We still find it a bit strange to be wearing shorts or at least no gloves on Thanksgiving Day. It isn’t as it ‘used to be’ but not much in our lives is ‘as it used to be’ these days. Nevertheless we have much to be thankful for, things such as ‘life’ itself and the people in it that make it worth living. I like the thought expressed in; “we can pick our MBA, but not our DNA”. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!