Growing up somewhat close to the University of Notre Dame, I spent a lot of time with Catholics. In fact I dated all Catholics (including one who was training to be a priest) until I finally found the one non-Catholic man in Indiana. Thus, this protestant preacher’s kid went to a lot of masses and Catholic weddings. My equally protestant mother also enjoyed watching the suspense caused whenever a new pope was to be selected during the cardinals’ conclave. I’m afraid I’ve succumbed to her “illness,” too. Since I have only known of 5 popes during my lifetime (including Pope Francis) and I am no “spring chicken”, the reality is that we probably should be paying some attention to each conclave. The election of a new pope does affect a rather large portion of the world’s population. Unfortunately for the Catholic community, I have known just a few too many crazy Catholics and so, I feel no obligation to be completely reverent about pontifical poetry. My apologies to God, Pope Francis, and my Catholic friends. After this, they will probably be my former Catholic friends.

The rare has happened,
A papal resignation
That has led to reason speculation.
Because of too many scandal seasons?
Or because of aging health reasons?
No matter what the trouble,
The Sistene Chapel is still far from rubble
And seems like a majestic setting
To drink Italian espresso
And celebrate ego less so.

To elect a new pope
You have to wear a dress
Which might cause distress
To an ordinary male witness
And the only sign of a decision
Is smoke with questionable color division

This method was first thought
By the Vatican distraught,
Who felt cardinals should elect a new pope
In less time than it takes for a spinster
To regain matrimonial hope.
So, they locked up those gentlemen,
Who had little papal acumen,
And gave them sparse nutrition
And little religious hydration.
And presto!
A quick election
With minimal additional frustration.

So, here is my question,
For our national consternation
Why haven’t we locked up our Congress
To fix our governmental budget mess?
It hasn’t been attempted
Because we know them all too well
They’d rather not jell or budget fight quell,
And most would rather drown
Before getting caught wearing a gown.

Last week’s honoree for 26 Tuesdays was Dylan Hockley. Dylan loved to read and if you read my Poetry post this past Saturday, you know that I have a fierce appreciation for Dr. Seuss, whose birthday was on 3/2. Our family’s Dr. Seuss books have long been donated to our local elementary school, but it’s my opinion that a school library can never have too many Dr. Seuss books.

I “polled” the members of my immediate family and asked them to tell me their favorite Dr. Seuss book while growing up. Here are the results:

PH – How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
Moi – Fox in Socks
Eldest DS – One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
DD – Hop on Pop
DSL – Green Eggs and Ham
Youngest DS – The Cat in the Hat 

I went to our local Walmart and managed to pick up Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish for free. How? I had “leftover” gift cards from Wally World that needed using up. Next, I went off to our local Hastings Entertainment store and found the rest of the books listed above. The bonus? Since it’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday month, you can buy 2 Dr. Seuss books and get the 3rd free! Now, this is the way to shop, friends!

In our little town we have several excellent private pre-school and kindergarten programs. My youngest two children attended one of these wonderful programs and started off their educational lives really well because of it. Not only that, but the program exists on a shoestring budget to try and help as many kids attend this program as possible. So, the Dr. Seuss books have now been donated to this fine program, in the hopes that more children will be exposed to how fun poetry and reading can be.

So, with the other folks also doing their 26 Acts of Kindness, the MIP Kindness count stands at 15 right now. What did you do for your act of kindness to honor Dylan? You can submit a comment below or send a private email to me via the Contact page.  As always, details are welcome, but not mandatory.

This week we honor Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung. Hochsprung was the heroic principal who raced out of her office to investigate the commotion in her school’s hallways. Tragically, doing this very thing resulted in her being shot and killed. Here is a little about Ms. Hochsprung:

Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47

It’s 26 Tuesday on the ol’ blog and last week’s Sandy Hook honoree was Ms. Charlotte Bacon, age 6, who liked dresses. I decided that my first act of kindness for Ann Curry’s 26 Acts of Kindness campaign was going to be to donate dresses I no longer wear to a local home for youth (who are from troubled homes).  In addition the DD decided she would clean out her closet and donate some old prom/band banquet/drill team banquet dresses, too. The teens from this home often don’t have a lot of money to use for dressy occasions, like prom. Since I used to volunteer at this home, it was such a simple and happy thing for us to do!  I hand wrote a card stating why we were donating and noted this site. Why? Because I’m hoping that doing that will help others find “26 Tuesday” here and increase the tally of kindness! Between the two of us we donated 17 dresses and 2 skirts. While the LSH hasn’t said he is participating, I personally watched him do two acts of kindness this week as well. He would probably not want me to elaborate on his acts of kindness, but let’s just say he did well and that this is very much in keeping with his personality!

Yesterday, another reader said she was blessed more than the recipient by participating in her act of kindness this week. That is awesome and I think I feel similarly.

How about you? What did you do for your act of kindness this week? It’s okay to just say that you completed your act of kindness. But, I’d like to hear from you just so I can keep a tally of how many acts of kindness have been done as a result of my favorite readers! So, as of right now, the tally stands at 5–1 from me, 1 from the DD, 2 from the LSH and 1 from an MIP reader. Not a bad start. Care to up the tally?

Below is this week’s honoree, courtesy of CNN:

Daniel Barden, 7

Daniel earned his missing two front teeth, his family used to say. His “fearless” pursuit of happiness and life also earned him ripped jeans.”Despite that, he was, as his mother said, ‘Just So Good,'” his family wrote in a statement published in the New Haven Register. Taking after his musician dad, Daniel and his siblings — brother James and sister Natalie — formed a band, in which he played drums. He loved to ride waves at the beach and make s’mores around the bonfire with his cousins. “He embodied everything that is wholesome and innocent in the world,” the family said.

The youngest DS plays drums, as well as the LSH, so this is already giving me a lot of ideas. Hmmmm….

Tomorrow: Part 3 of 2 Heart Attacks Too Soon…What’s Love (and Laughter) Got to Do with It?