It’s spring, and “The bells of St. Mary, I hear they are calling, the young loves, the true loves, that come from the sea.”  I was on the high school basketball team, and sometimes when we went to a game away, the cheerleaders were with us on the bus.  Among them was the class beauty, a girl I almost worshipped.

But the cheerleaders talked among themselves, as did the basketball team.  In the closely guarded autonomy of those adolescent years, I never went over to strike up a conversation with her.  Neither did any of the other players.

Sometimes we feel it’s just safer to go with the crowd.  But after basketball season came the proms, around this time of the year.  I asked her to go with me, two years in a row.  She turned me down, twice.

We have replaced a forthright President with a mealy-mouthed weakling who advocates the Marxist CRT (Critical Race Theory) that says a person is racist according to his race and sexist if he is masculine.  We don’t need a reformed stutterer to teach us such things.

Joe Biden has given up much truth that he once held, and the future from him does not bode well.  There was always hope for him, stemming from his traditional catholic (universal) background, but he himself has shown his true colors.

He has signed CRT into law, further confusing a confused electorate.  We look for a new, manly leader.  I still pray for that man.

She was not a bad looking girl.  But all the unnecessary weight was a sign of years of disinterest in her own life, possibly despair.  What was it?  A lost love?  Failure at school?  An unquiet home life?  Parents, even when present, can sometimes be childishly disruptive.  I couldn’t do anything, but I did say a prayer.

We size people up when we see them, and draw conclusions.  Their appearance gives clues, but I wouldn’t dare conclude with certainty.  It is sad, but would you believe it, sadness is part of the kaleidoscope, and beauty of life.  That is, if kept in check.

But can we achieve a balanced life?  We try, but we need the perspective of eternity to succeed, to fill in where we failed.

It seemed to turn out fine, I mean the community built for the returning WWII veterans; houses built to sell for $7,500 each.  Some people said it would turn into a slum.  Let them look at it now (if they’re still alive), to see all the changes wrought in these chalets, so that some of them now sell for $900,000.

Levittown now has an excellent school system, and civic pride.  It also has Pat’s, an Italian-owned barber shop where you can get a haircut for $8, from either an old pro or a young inexperienced one.  There are gradations in between.  Each section of Levittown has its own community pool, and swimming competitions among the young.  Levitt knew what he was building, and he was right on track.

The citizens have achieved laurels for those who grew up in Levittown.  There’s Bill O’Reilly, Steve Israel, and Billy Joel.  The town is known all over the globe for Levitt’s innovation in building.  If it’s a new venture, with imagination, spirit, intellect and verve, it happens in America! 

There have been times when my world appeared bleak, and stifling like a North Sea sleet storm.  Those were especially the times I resorted to prayer.  It was as though, within my heart, not mind, was a miniature Jesus, calming the storm and helping me catch fish.  After that, I’d make it to land, and get my feet on the ground.

Joyful days would inevitably return, and so would the sun.  It’s good to be able to look back and realize those bleak days are now just memories.  How did I pray?

I spoke to the author of the universe as eloquently as I could, and thanked him for his son.  He was a mensch.  Some people just liven up whatever they touch.  And with a whole universe to get lost in, who wouldn’t be occupied?  And then there’s the rosary.