The Runaway Nest:  This story isn’t about a nest as in a bird’s nest.  This story is about a NEST thermostat that I have installed at my parents’ house.  As I’ve said on a number of occasions, my family is pretty good about all the technology upgrades I do at their houses.  Some work; some don’t.  My parents, especially, are good sports about it because my “upgrades” often require some intense training to figure out how to operate things.  Sometimes even I forget how I’ve programmed things.  For example, when we were at the house on Mother’s Day, I was trying to turn on some lights above their kitchen cabinets, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what I called them so I could tell Alexa to turn them on.  As I type this, the thought crossed my mind that if I need a cheat sheet to remember this stuff, I can only imagine what it’s like for my parents when they have to live with my installed gadgets 24/7.  Even an incoming telephone call on their house line triggers Alexa to ask if they want to answer the call.  Yes, sometimes it’s complicated living at the Bugarin house!
 
Sometimes my newfangled things act up (well maybe not just SOMEtimes).  This past Monday around 6:30 a.m. I got the following text from my Mom, “Good Morning Mike – somehow our heat and cooling were changed to 77 and 87 and we are boiling here.  I just shut it down but don’t know what happened.  Help! From the hot ones in Shelby Township!”  My poor parents.  As I learned that morning, my mom wasn’t feeling all too well during the night.  She started off needing a sweater because she was cold but then started sweating in the middle of the night.  By morning she thought she had a fever because she was sweating so much.  Originally, she thought it had something to do with what she ate at our family gathering but when she started sweating in the morning, she figured she might have caught something.  But then even my dad complained about being too hot.  When my dad complained he was too hot, she knew something was definitely wrong because my dad is ALWAYS cold.  My dad happened to wander over to the NEST thermostat and he noted the heat was set to 77!  Yikes.  They tried to figure it out themselves but quickly decided to text their in-house tech support person!  Thankfully they were able to turn the heat off; I went in later and reprogrammed it.  Sure enough, the schedule for Monday got changed to 77 for heat and 87 for cooling.  Yikes.  Yes, living in the Bugarin house can be complicated at times.  They need a fulltime tech support person … and lots of patience and prayers to go along with it!  The good news was that my mom didn’t have a fever!
 
Welcome to Festival Weekend!  Can you believe it?  We’re in the midst of the 49th annual SJA Spring Festival!  It’s truly amazing how the festival just happens.  Everyone knows their tasks, and everyone accomplishes them with greatness.  It’s also fascinating to watch people watch the North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) staff put the rides together.
 
As you can imagine, a lot of work goes into making the Festival a wonderful annual event.  As you enjoy the weekend, please remember to thank those many people who have volunteered their time and talent to make everything go so smoothly.  Many of our area chair people will be wearing red or white SJA Festival shirts.  Also, please do what you can to thank the NAME staff.  They have been with us for several decades and we are grateful for the great team they have assembled.  You will see others helping wherever help is needed.  Without this help, we wouldn’t be able to pull off such a successful annual event.
 
For the fifth year in a row, we hosted a Thanksgiving Day style meal on Wednesday for all of the NAME staff.  Realizing they rarely get a home cooked meal during their seven months on the road, we decided a few years ago to host a luncheon for them.  Our Festival Chairs were also invited to represent our entire parish community.  The luncheon was our way of thanking the NAME staff for what they do to make our festival such an outstanding family event.
 
It all comes to a close on Sunday at 6:00 p.m.:  Please remember that the festival closes with the raffle drawings at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The drawing will take place in the Entertainment Tent.  Then, if you have an hour or two to spare after we close we could use your help with the massive tear down that takes place.  By midnight or so the only remnants of the festival will be the tent and a few rides.  By Monday afternoon, it will all be gone!
 
Raffle Tickets:  If you haven’t turned in your raffle tickets yet, please do so during the festival.  As I have said on many occasions, raffle ticket sales are an essential aspect of the festival.  In the end, we count on netting around $125,000 annually on the festival.  A good portion of this comes from strong raffle ticket sales.  If you need extra tickets or need to turn in your tickets, please stop by the ticket booth located directly across from the big pineapple.
 
SJA’s Festival Food Court:  Please stop by and see our food offerings in the SJA Food Tent.  Like last year, the many foods we used to offer at our themed specialty dinners are now available throughout the weekend.  No matter when you come to the festival you can enjoy some amazing and delicious food the crew has prepared.
 
Working Together:  If you see trash on the grounds or on a neighbor’s lawn, please pick it up and dispose of it in a trash can.  If you see anything suspicious or unusual, please alert the police or our security team. Working together we can keep the place safe and our neighborhood free of “wandering” garbage.  If you have any concerns please call the festival office at 586.773.1602.
 
Thank you for your support:  Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank you for the overwhelming support you have shown me and the festival chairs.  It takes a lot of effort and a lot of volunteers to make our annual festival happen!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
 
See you around the festival!  Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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