Fran 'The Title Man' Gaspari Title Insurance-PA & NJ

It has been actively raining in Pennsylvania all year...

In fact, the grass is so green this time of year...when we would normally be recovering from brown dormancy, we're mowing grass twice a week instead, and we're mowing it wet to boot...!!!

Of course, my Scag Tiger Cub Zero Turn, which allows me to cut 2 acres of lawn in an hour and a half instead of 3 to 5 hours as with a conventional tractor, is still in the shop waiting for a small part from Kawasaki, the engine manufacturer...

I thought perhaps by writing this post, I might get some productive Google Juice flowing with some of the key words in here...!!!

The good news, however, is that the Berks County sweet corn crop is in and simply delicious...If you've never tasted Berks County sweet corn on the cob, you don't know what you're missing...

It is so good you can eat it raw...!!!

Have a great weekend and go out and grab yourself some of that great sweet corn on the cob...!!!

In fact, there are a lot of Pennsylvania freshly farm grown products in season right now...go for a nice weekend family drive and hunt down one of those pleasant Pennsylvania roadside stands...they're full of local peaches, watermelons, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, string beans, apples, pears, pumpkins, etc...!!!

The other day I posted about our new U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sonja Sotomayor, and in that post I referenced the idea of CELEBRATION...

Well as of July 30, 2009, the faithful Catholics of the Diocese Of Allentown, Pennsylvania have reason for CELEBRATION...a new Bishop...a new shepherd...!!!

May The Lord's blessings be upon him in this new mission...!!!

Newly ordained a Bishop at the same time as his installation as chief shepherd of the Diocese, The Most Reverend John O. Barres, brings with him a youthful appearance and an interesting background...

The oldest son of former Protestant ministers, with four older sisters and a younger brother, and who was baptized by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and who played JV basketball at Princeton University, chose for his episcopal motto---'Holiness and Mission'...!!!

Especially memorable at his installation homily were his words to the young people of the diocese:

"Know the hope and dreams I have for each one of you. Know that I realize that you want to understand and know the truth and person of Jesus Christ, the Truth and Person who will set you free.

Your deep and developing Catholic faith, your heroism in embracing the truth of the Gospels and Church teaching, and resisting negative peer pressure, helps to rekindle the faith of the generations that go before you. Thank you for that faith. Thank you for that heroism. Keep following the Light of Christ."

We pledge our loyalty to Bishop Barres and wish him well as he shepherds the flock of the Allentown Diocese!

And with initials J.O.B. he reminds us as Pope Benedict XVI did last October to study and pray the sacred Scriptures daily...!!!

Bishop Barres, a warm and hearty welcome to you, and may God's richest blessings be upon you...!!!

Anyone who has passed through Douglassville, Pennsylvania, probably on the much traveled Route 422, will recognize the landmark on the corner of Rt.422 & Rt. 662...Michael's Restaurant...

The famous landmark, formerly known as Michael's Diner, is currently undergoing a massive facelift, which will render the popular eating establishment even more recognizable and impressive than the 'old Michael's'...

Well, we had a 'family after church breakfast' there last Sunday...

And the food is as good as its ever been...!!!

Breakfast is outstanding, open 24 hours, excellent dinner entrees including soup and salad bar, and courteous service are all hallmarks of Michael's...

Next time, don't only say 'Make a right at Michael's'...stop and go in and enjoy a scrumptious meal...!!!

Michael's Restaurant...a fine Douglassville Landmark and dining experience...!!!

Most of my neighbors in Amity Township spent the weekend cleaning up the damage caused by an intense storm which swept through our area on Friday evening around the dinner hour...

According to the weather 'experts' no tornado was seen to touch down by local radar...

Except Amity is literally within a valley surrounded on all sides by substantial hills...in fact, I'm always kidding my children by saying we live in a former volcano or a large meteorite-caused crater... and lest I'm mistaken, radar, is only able to detect line of sight occurrences, and the damage to our area was focused mainly on low lying areas, particularly those in heavily clustered treed areas and densely wooded areas along creeks and gullies...

Hence the term 'flying under the radar' typically applies to this one hour duration, mile and a half wide, catastrophic storm...

Our home suffered a screen panel torn off our french doors and two major limbs brought down on two trees...even though our Star Spangled Banner continued to wave atop its twenty foot mast, unmolested by the ravages of Mother Nature, attesting further that we live in the home of the brave...

Only by the Grace of God were lives spared and damage to residences kept to an unbelievable minimum...

In any case, tornado or no, Amity residences are counting our blessings, and thanking God that the powerful winds and bigger than golf-ball sized hail didn't damage our most precious possessions...our family members...!!!

In just a few days, no one but us will know that anything unusual and so devastating occurred in our resilient and lovely neighborhood...!!!

Amity lives...!!!

It was about a 40 minute drive from our home to the recreational area in Leesport, Pa., where Schuyllkill Valley Girls Softball Association would host a 10U (age 10 and under) girls softball tournament...!!!

It was a double elimination tournament beginning at 9 AM, and so you lose two games, and you're out...!!!

And so, the discussion in the car between my 8 year old daughter Emily and me on the way to this early morning sporting event revolved around self confidence, having fun, playing hard, and reminders that there are probably plenty of teams worse than ours, who, up until this point, hadn't won a game yet...

Heck, regardless, it would be a great Daddy/Daughter bonding event, and we'd probably be back home by 1 or 2 PM...

In true form, our team (The Thunder), lost the first game even though they showed brief flashes of brilliance...one more loss and we could head home and have some Saturday fun...

Well, we got a little lucky, and pulled the second game out in the last inning...our first win of the season...

Now the girls got a little taste of success, and you could tell by their facial expressions and general behavior that they liked this feeling...!!!

Long story short, they proceed to win the next two games...each game showing greater skills, enthusiasm, self confidence and team spirit...!

We end up finishing third in the tournament, and barely made it home in time to watch the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird pull off an upset of immense historic proportions...

And so did The Thunder...!!!