If only I had listened!  A couple of weeks ago, Deacon Tom stopped me in the sacristy and told me he had a story that he considered was a classic DIY (do it yourself) project gone awry.  He mentioned that had I been the subject of the story, it definitely would have landed in the bulletin.  As the story goes, Deacon Tom was unclogging a sink at his house.  He tried a variety of quick fixes but decided to use this gizmo that even I have in my arsenal of tools.  It’s called the Kleer Drain Opener.  With the use of a carbon dioxide (CO2) cartridge, this plunger style tool blasts compressed air into a drain to unclog even the most stubborn of clogs.  The instructions claim the unit can work on a clog up to 50 feet away.  Once the plunger is armed with a CO2 cartridge, you put down this large plastic shield over the sink in an effort to minimize the amount of debris that might fly out of the drain or overflow holes as a result of the air blast.  With everything in place, you take aim with the plunger, give it a nice push over the drain and the CO2 cartridge pops,  thereupon sending a huge blast of air into the drain.  As Deacon Tom was telling me the story, he was laughing so hard that it took me a moment to understand what happened.  Deacon Tom did as the instructions said.  He put down the plastic shield, armed the tool with the CO2 cartridge, took aim, pushed the plunger and the cartridge did its thing.  As the small amount of smoke that gets discharged as a result of the puncture of the cartridge dissipated, he suddenly realized the plastic shield wasn’t so secure.  He had black gunk, that is to say all the “stuff” residing in the drain, now splattered all over the bathroom.  It was a royal mess but he was excited because the tool worked!  The sink was no longer clogged!  He now just had to clean up the mess.
 
Fast forward to this past Sunday.  After getting home from our family meal and being somewhat exhausted from dealing with all the news that last weekend brought to our parish, I decided to work on my bathroom sink which was running slow.  For a number of weeks I utilized some enzyme treatments in an effort to unclog the sink.  That never worked.  While I had my quick spin drain auger handy, I decided I would use the Kleer Drain tool.  I only had one CO2 cartridge on hand so I figured I had one good shot at unclogging the sink with the Kleer Drain before utilizing my drain auger.  So, I got everything in place.  I turned on the faucet to get some water in the drain.  I put down the plastic shield, armed the plunger with its cartridge, took aim and pushed the plunger.  Much like the explosive turkey dinner scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there was an explosion of sorts in the sink.  I didn’t have time to react.  Before I could even start laughing, I had black gunk ALL OVER my bathroom.  From my towel, to the floor, to the sink, to the mirror, to the wall, it was all coated in wet black gunk.  It was disgusting!  As I stood there in utter silence and looking at the mess I just created, I quickly recalled that conversation with Deacon Tom.  If only I had recalled that conversation BEFORE I pulled the plunger I may have secured the plastic shield a bit more.  What was worse was that my sink was still clogged.  I still had to use the drain auger!  Next time, I’ll know better!
 
Festival Raffle Tickets:  By now, every registered family should have received their packet of festival raffle tickets (the festival is only 33 days away)! Please note that your 100% ticket (seniors get two 100% tickets if they buy/sell all 14 of their raffle tickets) were included at the bottom of the YELLOW CHECKLIST sheet.  Also note that the deadline to qualify for the early bird drawing is immediately after the 12:00 noon mass this weekend.  Four lucky winners will each win $500.  To qualify for the 100% club and thus earn a chance to be placed in the drawing, you must sell or buy your allotment of 14 tickets (or 7 tickets if you are a senior).  If you miss the early bird drawing, you can continue to turn in 100% tickets until the end of the festival to earn a chance to win $100 at that time.  And, it’s never too early to start all those prayers for beautiful weather and a successful and safe festival.  Thirty-three days and counting, here we go!
 
Join us next Saturday for the Dedication of the Sr. Carol Center for Community and Fellowship!  Please consider joining us next Saturday, April 21 beginning with the 6:00 p.m. mass when we will formally rededicate the Family and Youth Center as the Sr. Carol Juhasz, IHM Center for Community and Fellowship.  We will also bless the various rooms of the Sr. Carol Center and rename them in honor of saints who were important in Sr. Carol’s life.  The evening will continue with a Sr. Carol style celebration complete with food and drink.  We will have speed painter Dave Santia render live his tribute to Sr. Carol on canvas.  It will be a great evening and I hope you’ll be able to join us!
 
For a few years, we have tossed around ideas of what we could do to honor this special legend who so faithfully served our parish.  We knew Sr. Carol was all about her faith, family, community and fellowship.  We also knew she loved a party and loved gathering people together.  So, when someone suggested that we rename the Family and Youth Center in her honor, the idea took off instantly and without question.  It was a perfect idea
 
I’m grateful to Fr. Rich and the team of people he assembled who have spent months planning this special event and evening.  They worked on all the details from what we would actually call the rededicated center to how we would remember the saints who were special in Sr. Carol’s life.  They also helped conceptualize a large tribute wall in honor of Sr. Carol that will eventually grace one of the prominent walls of the Center.  Then with the help of John Vitale, who was the original architect and designer of the Family and Youth Center, all of the ideas were refined, designed and put into production.  I’m grateful for all the work this great committee has done.  I’m also grateful to a family in our parish who, wanting to remain anonymous, has funded the entire project!
 
So, please mark your calendars for next Saturday, April 21 beginning with the 6:00 p.m. mass and join in on the celebrations as we honor Sr. Carol.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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