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This is one of those short breaks in the routine. Meanwhile...

• I found it useful to revise the sidebar that appears at left. The excerpt from Mr Storck's book, which was the inspiration for this weblog, now takes its appropriate position, followed by the video of a John Prine song that provides an inspiration of its own.

• Recently, an online Catholic magazine approached me about being a regular columnist. I'm preparing my first submission, for what I hope to be a regular feature. It's something I've tried before with mixed results, so we'll have to see what happens. When it comes through, you'll be among the first to know.

• The busiest time of the year for a Scout Commissioner is the renewal of unit charters. In this area, they expire at the end of February, so units are being contacted to confirm their rosters, and set goals for the coming year. The process is mostly about chasing down paperwork, signing it where they tell you, and getting it into the local headquarters before the buzzer goes off.

• My current class at the Art Institute is entitled "Marketing Basics," also known to Advertising majors as "Introduction to Advertising." I grew up in a "P&G family," and started my career in consumer advertising, a subject which still intrigues me. So it's been fun. It's also a refreshing break from the past year, of enduring younger students getting past their "high school issues," and departmental faculty with issues of their own. As often as not, I sleep like a baby -- for a change.

• I'm organizing training sessions for the altar servers at the parish where I act as senior master of ceremonies. The prospect of spending quality time teaching the details of the Traditional Low Mass to these guys, is something I'm looking forward to.

• Sometimes, when I'm out in the western suburbs on a weekend, I stop by the restaurant where Paul works, belly up to the bar, and order "the usual." This includes a hot tea with lemon, a light supper, and a chance to see the master at work. From when he was barely two, to the age of twenty-two, the kid still cracks me up.

Well, I guess that's all the news that fits. I'll be back.
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