The Committal

On Wednesday afternoon, January 7, the Lovely Mona and I took the water taxi from Gamboa to Isla Barro Colorado, carrying the ashes of our dear friend Elizabeth Leigh to their final resting place in the tropical forest she loved so. Lizzie was interested in all manner of plants and animals, but she was very much interested in bats. She loved talking with the bat experts on the island, and when we lived in Paraíso and our kitteh Sin Nombre got into the habit of bringing bats into the house, Lizzie asked us to bag them and keep them in the freezer until she could get them to BCI (Barrol Colorado Island), which made for some interesting sights when one was rooting about in the freezer looking for ice cream! We placed her ashes in a lovely place near the Bat Cage. Several people came and participated in the Committal; we used the service in the Book of Common Prayer, using Rite 1 which was consistent with the funeral we held back in September.

Waiting for the water taxi


The Canal


Barro Colorado Island




The forest




Looking for monkeys


Dr. Egbert Leigh at the Bat Cage


The trail



All that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

He that raised up Jesus from the dead
will also give life to our mortal bodies,
by his Spirit that dwelleth in us.

Wherefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoiceth;
my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Thou shalt show me the path of life;
in thy presence is the fullness of joy,
and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore.




In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life
through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty
God our sister Elizabeth; and we commit her body to the ground;*
earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless
her and keep her, the Lord make his face to shine upon her
and be gracious unto her, the Lord lift up his countenance
upon her and give her peace. Amen.




Rest eternal grant to her, O Lord:
And let light perpetual shine upon her.

May her soul, and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Padre Says: Find The Monkey!

Yesterday evening some Capuchin Monkeys were in the tree outside our room, grooming. Later two more appeared, looking for flowers to eat. Can you find the Capuchin?

This Morning on Isla Barro Colorado

Yesterday the Lovely Mona and I took the water taxi from Gamboa to Isla Barro Colorado, an island in the Panama Canal, where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has labs, and where our dear friend and member of our extended family, Dr. Egbert Leigh, lives and does his work. We came with Elizabeth Leigh's ashes, to be committed to the ground in the Tropical Forest. I'll post photos of that event later today or tomorrow. We also spent the night on the island, which was really something. The howler monkeys woke us up at 5:30 this morning!

Bert took us on a walk in the forest this morning. Here are two photos, to whet your appetite.


Morning Sun shining through the forest

Last Night At Parroquia San Cristóbal

Last night was the Big Epiphany Pageant, or our service of the Festival of Lights. This year instead of a narrator and kids doing the nacimiento thang, they decided to have a play, with lots of Christmas Carols, AND the nacimiento thang. The play was quite good: a young couple discussing the Christmas story and what it means. The Lovely Mona and the Youth Choir led the congregation in the Christmas Carols, and my part was simple: opening prayer, play the guitar, closing benediction. María and José were very cute, except José refused to put on his costume and this caused much stress for María, who was good and wore her costume. They spent much of their time coloring, just like on that night so many centuries ago. At the end of the program, candles were lit throughout the congregation and everyone sang "Enciende La Luz." It was very nice! And, yes, those shepherds were a handful!!

Photographic evidence:

Before the program:

La Bendita Virgen María y Lil' Baby Jesus waiting for José to show-up


Shepherds await their cues



Shepherds in costume


Los Reyes Magos



Keisha and Peter

Tuesday Miss Bebé, The World's Most Beautiful Granchild™ Blogging

Jangly bells, jangly bells, jangly all the waaaaaay. It seems to be quite cold for Berk-e-ley today, hey!

It's Epiphany!

Photo by Enrique Marcarian

I gots no idea what the heck Santa is doing in there! Loco Argentinos.
The yoofs gots a Major Production tonight with a play and lotsa music. We hope we can get someone to operate our camera, as the Lovely Mona and Padre gonna be really busy during dis ting.

Perdóname

Posting has been a bit slow as the rest of my life has been at full speed. Like today: it's my day-off, but I assisted the Bishop with his cousin's funeral, and then worked on Bible Studies for camp, and THEN had a three-hour rehearsal with the Youts of da Parish in preparation for tomorrow night's Epiphany Pageant. Padre Cáceres is off with the students from Instituto Episcopal San Cristóbal as they spend several weeks in the Interiór doing their Servicio Social, so I was by my self at the 10:30 Misa en español (I was priest and musician, as Bernie takes January off). Tomorrow is The Big Show. Wednesday, after the Healing Mass, the Lovely Mona and I will be off to Isla Barro Colorado do disperse Elizabeth Leigh's ashes. Thursday is the regular Vestry Meeting and a big one as it is in preparation for the Annual Parish Meeting on Jan. 25th. Friday I meet with a couple who will be marrying next week. Friday I'm taking the services at San Simón in Gamboa, Sunday is The Usual Thing, except the the Lovely Mona and Chompita and I head off for a week of Campamento after the Misa a las 10:30. I'll officiate at a wedding on Saturday, Jan. 17 in Coronado, and we'll all head home on the 18th, as I start planning the services for Diocesan Convention.
So, blogging may be a bit slow at times. Your mileage may vary.

What Are The Things You Can't Live Without?

Click on image for larger view


I read this great post at Pandagon, one of my favorite blogs the other day, and it really got me to thinking about what we consider essential in the area of appliances. I have to admit that my requirements for essential have changed since living in Central America. We have readers from all over the planet here at Padre Mickey's Dance Party, and I'm sure that the answers to the question "What are the things you can't live without?" will be diverse.

So, I'll answer the question first: I need shelter, food, and clean water to survive. I've spent enough time in the Third World where water and power can be quite random, and I've spent time in Bocas del Toro where the water pump for the town has been in-operational for weeks at a time, so that I've had to sleep with my ears listening for rain so that I could run out and place a barrel in the rain. What do I need to maintain my present lifestyle? I gosta have a washing machine, a computer with high speed internet access. I like having a car, but, to tell the truth, I walk to the church so it isn't that important, even though public transit here leaves much to be desired, and the taxis won't go everywhere one wants them to go. I don't have a driver's license right now, as my driver's license must be renewed every time I renew my visa, and my visa is only valid for three months at a time right now. I'm too cheap to pay $30.00 for my visa and an additional $40.00 for my driver's license every three months. The Lovely Mona had to drive to La Boca several days a week while in school, so she renewed everything. I'm lucky that she will drive me around. We use solar power to dry our clothes, but I have to have a washing machine. The first thing we bought with our first pay cheque here in Panamá´was a washer, but we don't need a dryer. I can live without a television as the computer has a DVD drive and, with high-speed internet, there are lots of sites which show tv programs. I don't want cable as I really don't see that much worth watching! I've lived without a dishwasher for ages. Heck, we've lived without hot water in the kitchen sink for three years and haven't had any problems (but we have those scary flash-heaters on the shower heads). We live nine degrees from the equator, so an air conditioner is helpful quite often, but we really only use it when going to bed, and then I turn it off once I wake up from a dream about snow. We have a microwave but rarely use it; we use the toaster oven much more often. As much as I love my iPod, it is malfunctioning at the moment, which reminds me that I survived for 53 years without one. But, Lawdy Lawdy, I gotsta have a coffee maker!!!!

So, what is essential to your lifestyle, and what could you really do without? Please put your answers in the comments.

Friday Red Mr. Peanut Bank And Gallito Mescalito Blogging: Guest Blogger Edition

This evening's episode is guest blogged by a member of our extended family, Stephenie Cooper of San José, California. Those of you with excellent memories (I'm talking about YOU, Mr. Leonardo Ricardo of Foot-Of-The-Volcano, Guatemala!) may remember this episode of Friday Red Mr. Peanut Bank and Gallito Mescalito blogging which took place when I was staying at Stephenie's place back in November of 2007. She has Gallito's cousin, who I call Mescaline Rooster (Stephenie actually gave me Gallito Mescalito after a Cursillo one Christmas), but in this episode, she calls him Gallita Mescalina, which would be an effeminate version of the name, since "Gallito" means "rooster" which, of course, is a male chicken. Which, of course, is not a big problem around here (I'm just trying to save us all a Lecture On The Spanish Language from the well-loved-by-all-of-us and the present crush of the evil lesbian priestess [who is also well loved by all of us] David Austin Allen, Dance Party Language Expert), especially when the story is So Dang Good! ¡Gracias, Stephenie!

Entonces, let's all enjoy Stephenie's contribution!

Gallita Mescalina decided to go out exploring and met a new friend.
Gallita Shriek!
Squeak Squeak!


As Spot looked on from on top of el túnel del gato, suddenly, the situation became perilous.


Abby took off because she heard a can opener.
Gallita Shriek!
Squeak Squeak!


And Gallita quickly found herself in big trouble.
Gallita (offstage) Shriek!
Lori Mmm ... mmm ... delicioso.


Then Lori got distracted when Squeak tried to make his escape.
Alas, poor Squeak. He took on the crown of martyrdom so that Gallita would be spared.
Gallita (offstage) Shriek!
Squeak Squeak!
Lori Squeak!



While Lori cleaned off her paws and took a post-Squeak cat nap, Gallita consulted with Spot.
Gallita Shriek!
Spot You know, you might try hiding up on el túnel del gato. They never look there.
Gallita Shriek!
Spot Uh oh.
Gallita made her way to the top of the túnel del gato while Lori chased Spot.
She made a grisly discovery when she got there.
She discovered that los gatos actually do look up there.



Gallita Shriek!
Lori Mine!
Abby I don't think so.
While Abby and Lori fought over who would get Gallita and the remains of el leónito, Gallita made her way down el túnel del gato.



Gallita met Rocky Raccoon and asked him for advice.
Rocky I'd try that big pillow thing if I were you.
Gallita Shriek!
But, of course, Rocky was just trying to make sure that los gatos were distracted while he made his escape.



Gallita Shriek!
Abby Now I've got you, my pretty.







But what saved Gallita, as you can guess, is that fact that cats would rather take a nap than anything else in the world. Abby just walked off and she and Lori prepared for their 12-times-a-day nap. All Gallita could think to do was give them her opinion of how she'd been treated during her oddysey.


And Gallita made her way home, anxious to tell her friend about her day.
Gallita Shriek!
Gallo con la lengüeta amarilla Bleah!

Okay! We all gotta admit that that was some EXCELLENT training of them kittehs!

Friday Random Top Ten

Ya pushes "shuffle" and ya takes yer chances. . .

1. Us And Them Pink Floyd
2. Build Me Up, Buttercup The Foundations

I think we'll stop right here; it's not going to get any better.
What, Top Ten means Ten? Well, okay grumble grumble

3. Con Mis Manos Bebe
4. Spooky Girlfriend Elvis Costello
5. Little Hitler Nick Lowe
6. I'm A Believer Bram Tchaikovsky (
Monkees Video)
7. Mr. Me They Might Be Giants
8. Como Ves Ozomatli
9. Inevitable Shakira
10. Watch Her Disappear Tom Waits

See, waddeye tell ya? It really didn't get any better than Build Me Up, Buttercup, did it? Cuz ya ain't gonna get much better than that, unless we'd followed it with Love Train or sumpin'. Now, don't get me wrong, the other stuff is really good, but not really on the same level as The Foundations' Greatest Hit. I mean, Bebe and Ozomatli and, well, I'm always up happy to watch Shakira, and, yeah, the others are great cuts, too, well except Mr. Me; that song sucks. I'm still thinking I shoulda stopped at Build Me Up, Buttercup.

Sorry about being so late. I had a two-hour meeting with the Bishop which stretched into four hours. No, I'm not in trouble.

Put yer lists in the comments, porfavor.

The Year-End Round-up Meme

I saw this over at Jane's and Faddah Paul's, and decided to give it a try, and, let me tell you, I think I'm sorry I did so!

For this meme, you take the first sentence of the first post of each month and line 'em up.

Here we go!

January: Last night we had our Watchnight Service.

February: Today is the feast of St. Brigid, who is also called St. Bride.

March: Well, it does make sense. Turns out I was St. Melito of Sardis in the "Which Church Father Are You?" thang

April: The Annual Very Special Day in April Message from The Most Blessed Primados of The Real Live Orthodox Episcopal Anglican Protestant Catholic Pentecostal Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian Church of All the Americas and Actually the Entire Globe; Yeah, that's Right, We Include the Global South, the Global North AND the Global Center, So Where Else Ya Gonna Go? also known as the RLOEAPCPEFCCAAAEGYRWIGSGNAGCSWEYGG, or The True, Really, I Mean It, Church™, His Holiness the Rt. Rev. Red Mr. Peanut Bank, Bishop of All Legumes and Vegetables, and his Most Shriekiness, the Rt. Rev. Gallito Mescalito, to the Entire World.

May: ¡Hola a todos! I want to thank everyone for their response to the loss of our camera.

June: This morning I took the services at San Pablo.

July: The Lovely Mona and I want to express our gratitude to the generous folks who responded to our financial need back in May.

August: Ya pushes "shuffle" and ya takes yer chances. . .

September: What I've learned from the Bristol Palin mess is: Black, poor, un-wed mothers are irresponsible and just trying to get more welfare money, but White, rich, un-wed mothers who happen to the daughters of Republican governors believe in the sanctity of life.

October: This evening's humorous political commentary

November: All Saints Day is the day on which we remember the martyrs, those who died for their faith, those who refused to sacrifice to the emperor and were thrown to the beasts and gladiators in the arena.

December: I was feeling a little sorry for ol' George Bush. People really don't like him, he gets ignored when the leaders of the world get together to wear ponchos, and people are asking if Obama's inauguration could take place early.


After reading these, I wonder why anyone comes here; we've got some pretty boring opening sentences. So I am even more grateful for ya'll dropping by last year and hope you continue to do so in 2009.

UPDATE:After a visit from the Alter Guild, I realized that I didn't line 'em up as per instructions. Entonces, here it is all lined up, which is actually quite funny!:
Last night we had our Watchnight Service. Today is the feast of St. Brigid, who is also called St. Bride. Well, it does make sense. The Annual Very Special Day in April Message from The Most Blessed Primados of The Real Live Orthodox Episcopal Anglican Protestant Catholic Pentecostal Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian Church of All the Americas and Actually the Entire Globe; Yeah, that's Right, We Include the Global South, the Global North AND the Global Center, So Where Else Ya Gonna Go? also known as the RLOEAPCPEFCCAAAEGYRWIGSGNAGCSWEYGG, or The True, Really, I Mean It, Church™, His Holiness the Rt. Rev. Red Mr. Peanut Bank, Bishop of All Legumes and Vegetables, and his Most Shriekiness, the Rt. Rev. Gallito Mescalito, to the Entire World. ¡Hola a todos! I want to thank everyone for their response to the loss of our camera. This morning I took the services at San Pablo. The Lovely Mona and I want to express our gratitude to the generous folks who responded to our financial need back in May. Ya pushes "shuffle" and ya takes yer chances. . . What I've learned from the Bristol Palin mess is: Black, poor, un-wed mothers are irresponsible and just trying to get more welfare money, but White, rich, un-wed mothers who happen to the daughters of Republican governors believe in the sanctity of life. This evening's humorous political commentary. All Saints Day is the day on which we remember the martyrs, those who died for their faith, those who refused to sacrifice to the emperor and were thrown to the beasts and gladiators in the arena. I was feeling a little sorry for ol' George Bush. People really don't like him, he gets ignored when the leaders of the world get together to wear ponchos, and people are asking if Obama's inauguration could take place early.

Christmas Tales Of Padre's Family: Rashomon Kurisumasu: The Flaming Pudding Toss.

For those of you coming late to the party, Part I and Part II.

Today's version of the Flaming Pudding Toss is told by Tara Mobley, daughter of Padre and the Lovely Mona, and mother of Miss Bebè, the World's Most Beautiful Granchile™

When I was a little kid, what seemed like all of Dad's side of the family lived somewhere near San Jose. So we would have these parties all throughout the Christmas Holiday season, and I'd get to see all these aunts and uncles and cousins. Well, one year at one of these many fabulous family get-togethers, someone had made some sort of traditional English pudding with a lot of brandy or something like that on it for the spectacle of setting it on fire.

I'm sitting on the floor, because I mostly was on the floor those days, and they bring this flaming thing on a plate out of the kitchen with everyone saying "ooh" and "ahh" at how pretty the pudding is. Now, I didn't know how much alcohol is supposed to go on one of those things, in fact I don't think I quite knew why it was on fire at all, but the flames must have been too big. The lady carrying the pudding dropped it, and off it goes skidding across the floor on the plate. It was still on fire.

So now we have this pudding, which was supposed to be this thing of beauty, on the floor burning away, threatening to catch anything that goes near it on fire. There's screaming and staring. I think it got kicked around the room a bit. And then, finally, *punt*. Someone kicks the pudding back into the kitchen to be extinguished.

This just goes to show that some very odd things happened around me as a kid.

Here endeth Rashomon Kurisumasu. Happy New Year to you and yours