June 17th 2007. Luis has arrived bringing his soccer expertise to Littlestown for the 4th year of "LUIS Camp". Bringing the Dallas heat with him, we (Denise, Trish, Paul, Christopher, Xavier, Isaiah, Simon, Mathew Santry and LUis) enjoyed some Spanish cuisine at Baltimore's inner harbor. I'll upload some pictures of the day later. Hope all are well and you are able to enjoy some form of cold refreshment not unlike the shake being shared to the left. Carry on....

The Tale of the Eclipse (by John Nichols)

Long, Long ago, when there was only planets, stars, and comets, there was a great big star, which we today call the sun. All other stars feared him, including the smallest and dullest of them all, who we call the moon. Both sun and moon loved the planet earth.

Now, the two stars loved earth for her great beauty and cleverness, so both wished to propose to her. The sun got a huge comet that was almost as big and bright as himself to propose with. The moon got a beautiful small meteor with blue gems in it that sparkled when the tiniest bit of light hit it. When the two stars made it to earth's orbit, she was combing her wonderful green hair. When the two stars saw each other, they knew exactly what each was thinking; "She's mine!"

The sun thought fast and thew burning hot flames at the moon, creating dents on the moon's surface, which we now call craters. The moon was furious! He was so angry, that he glowed a little brighter. The earth screamed, "It's not worth it! Stop!" But secretly, the earth loved the moon's beautiful glow, and wanted his hand in marriage. She didn't care for the sun's light; it was too hot and bright. The sun grew upset that the earth was staring at the moon, so he was knocked the moon all the way back to the Milky-Way! The moon got up and charged at the sun. He was yet again knocked to the Milky-Way. The sun laughed, "Your glow may be breathtaking, but your strength isn't!" The sun glowed as he had never glowed before. The earth gasped at the beauty of the moon. The Milky-Way gave the moon an idea. The moon took a huge spoon (The Big Dipper) and dipped it in the Milky-Way. He drank it all up, stepped in between the earth and the sun, and spat all the milk at him. At once, his bright, searing rays had vanished. The sun was charred and ugly now. The moon had won earth's hand in marriage! But the sun soon grew hot, and his rays were as searing as ever. The moon had won the battle, but not the war.

This battle happens every year, and we now call it a lunar eclipse when the moon wins, and a solar eclipse when the sun wins. The earth and the moon got married, and the moon forever orbits around her, protecting her from the suns rays. Nonetheless, they lived happily ever after. The End.

(I got an S++ on this assignment in ELA. Luisito-draw a scene from this story, and post it!!!)

Miss Veronica and Miss Magdalene

My Spring Break

Those of you who know me will agree that I have a dream vacation: to travel from Nice, France all the way to Istanbul in Turkey, along the Mediterranean Sea. I have dreamed of this vacation for all of my life. Unfortunately, due to the tuition at Canisius for Andrew, I had to settle for my trip to the Czech Republic. Formerly known as Czechoslovakia apparently the Slovaks could not even stand the Czechs and so now Czechoslovakia minus the Slovaks = The Czech Republic. If you have never been to the Czech Republic and cannot afford to go there, a cheaper solution to afford yourself of the same sensory experiences would be to live in a fat man's pants in mid-August!

For the most part, the place is a pest hole. But thank whatever God the Czechs believe in that they know good beer. Czech beer has a long and important history. A brewery is known to have existed in 1118 , the city Brno had a right to brew beer from the 12th century, and the two cities most associated with Czech beer, Plzeň and České Budějovice (Pilsen and Budweis in German), certainly had breweries in the 13th century.
Hops have been grown in the region for a long time, and were used in beer making and exported from here since the twelfth century. The Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world.
In 1842 a brewery in Plzeň employed Joseph Groll, a German brewer who was experienced in the new cold fermentation lager method. Their beer at the time was not of very good quality and they needed to compete. Groll developed a golden Pilsner beer, the first light coloured beer ever brewed. It became an immediate success, and was exported all over the Austrian Empire. A special train of beer traveled from Plzeň to Vienna every morning. Exports of Czech beer reached Paris and the U.S. by 1874.
Originally Pilsner was a specific term for beers brewed in Plzeň (with Pilsner Urquell being registered as a trademark by the first brewery), and Budweiser for those brewed in České Budějovice (the most famous being Budweiser Budvar today). Both terms have lost their original meanings by different means, Pilsner because all the imitations of the original style (especially in Germany where the style became extremely common) used the name, Budweiser because of the American Budweiser brewery, set up by a German immigrant. The problem is that the name Budweiser Bier does not historically belong to either of them, since it was used for the first time in 1802 by burgess brewery, which exported its beer under that name to USA in 1875 while Anheuser-Busch started operation in 1876 and their first trademark registration is from 16th July 1878 (made by C. Conrad as Budweiser Lager Bier and transferred to the company on 27th January 1891). In 1911 an agreement was settled that Anheuser-Busch may use the Budweiser name in North America and in 1939 it was banned to use Budweiser by Czech breweries there. Nowadays, Anheuser-Busch is trying to extend this to the rest of the world by various lawsuits.
The German Reinheitsgebot, their purity law, was imposed when under German rule, and has been retained. Communism meant that the breweries, while nationalised, were not given funds for modernisation, so traditional methods were retained. Since the reintroduction of a full market economy, however, production methods of most mainstream Czech beers have been altered to take advantage of new technology. Lagering times have been, on the most part, reduced, and the quality of the final product is increasingly being questioned. Some Czech breweries have even begun to allow their trademark beers to be brewed abroad in Poland, Russia and other countries. Most beers are Pilsners, but some wheat beers and a large amount of dark lagers are produced.

Here's a photograph of of the main gate at Pilsner Urqnell. I had a grand old time here! I met many new friends and the more Pilsner I drank, I thought of some of my old friends.

These were some of the most fun Czech guys I met. Clubs and pubs are all over Prague – being at the best ones is the key. Pivos are so cheap, people go out with the equivalent of 20 Euros, drink like a fish and return home with enough cash for a hangover breakfast the next morning. There's a certain joy in ordering another when it costs about the same as a pack of gum back home.
In this compact city with a casual conscience there's no worrying about driving or even cab rides, only the biggest clubs have lines and cover charges (and even at that it's just a couple hundred KC) and places stay open until 4, 5, even 6 in the morning. There's no real closing time and it's not uncommon for some people to be getting home when others are headed to work.
This is nightlife in Prague.

Beers are from 25-35 krown (or KC), depending on where they are consumed. That's about one Euro for those keeping count. And while the Czech Republic is world famous for its excellent pivo, there is also a quite potent Czech vodka as well as a drink called Absinth, "the king of spirits."

If you see me, ask me to tell you of my new friend Blokus. He showed us all around Prague and was an absolutely wonderful man -- a man I now call, Blokus My Brother!

Love,

Phil

The Great-Grandparents

“Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things.”

- Pierce Harris

Family is a beautiful gift. I have always loved growing up in a large family. Though it is undeniably hard at times, I can’t imagine life any different. Maybe this is the reason why I am so proud of having a large extended family. Growing up, I would always brag that my mother had “eleven siblings”. Man, you should have seen the reactions I would get. Yet I’m sure you all have, at one point or another, received the same response. Our large family reminds me of my family: though it is hard at times, though there can be rifts, it all comes down to the fact that each and everyone of us is irreplaceable. Yes, family is a beautiful gift, and we have four people to thank for this one.

The Grandmothers

“Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”

-Blessed Mother Teresa
Nana. She is the great-grandparent I remember the most. Strong, beautiful, and wise she always reminded me of a forties movie star. Though as I slowly learned her story from the family, I realized that her life was the antithesis of glamour. Yet, Nana possessed a strong sense of grace, confidence, and exquisiteness that I tried, and still try, to emulate. I remember going over to her house with Maureen “for tea and a sleepover” every visit to the Falls. Her warm, welcoming house matched her simplicity. I always loved her teacups. They reminded me of her: delicate and beautiful…just perfect. I felt like a princess every time she poured me tea in one of those China cups. Nana would then finish filling the fragile cup with milk and sugar, always ending the processes telling us in her striking accent that Maureen and I could add more sugar or milk if we wanted to. We never did. She had made it flawlessly, the perfect amount of each ingredient. That is how she lived her life. She performed simple, humble tasks perfectly in love. When I think of Nana I think of intense, pure love. I’ll never forget hearing each Sauvageau woman, on numerous occasions, stating that they would love to age as beautifully as Nana did. Why? Not only because she was the most stunning ninety year old you would meet, but also because of her indisputable obvious love for the people around her that shone through whenever you were in her presence. She loved her family to the utmost. When I think of our family I am reminded of Nana and her love. That amazing love was her gift to us.

“There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.”

- Brother Lawrence
Grandma Smith. What a woman. I unfortunately only have one memory of this strong woman. Yet I am so thankful for the memory and I treasure it and replay it often in my mind’s eye as to never forget. It was the “The First and Only Annual Sauvageau Family Christmas in July”. I must have been only three or four at the time. We were all in Grandpa Rene and Grandma Anne’s “old” house on Center Street eating lunch together in their screened in veranda. I had just gone up to the table of food and messily plopped potato salad and chips onto my paper plate. I turned from the table, timidly looking for a place to sit. “Come here Claire”. I almost dropped my mess of a plate. It was Grandma Smith, better known to me as “Grandma’s Mother”. I looked at her shyly. She was sitting in her wheelchair, a paper plate on her lap, a fork in her right and a rosary in her left. I was surprisingly unafraid to sit next to her. Her voice was so soft and unassuming. Complete peace. I sat on the floor beside her wheelchair, glancing up at her in between bites. It felt like I was sitting on earth looking up to heaven at a saint. It seemed as if she had a constant halo around her head. All of a sudden she spoke. “Claire, stand up”. I stood. “This is for you”. It was a stuffed animal. A small, white kitten with a pink lace bow tied daintily around its neck with soft brown eyes. “Thank you”, I replied. I sat back down, holding the kitten and finishing my plate of food. Now every time I looked up at her she would smile, and I would smile. I treasure that memory. I am a firm believer of when you pray, it shows in your life and through your actions. What better witness do we have of this than our Grandmother Smith. She always held a prayer in her heart and was more than willing to share it with others around her. Her amazing strength in prayer was her gift to us.

The Grandfathers

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday. Yet our present thoughts build our life for tomorrow.”

-Buddha
I sadly do not have any memories of my great-grandfathers. However this is where the importance of a memory comes into play. Because I never met my great-grandfathers, I always make it a point to ask any family member that met them to tell me stories of these two men. I listen intently, creating pictures of them in my head. I have an idea of what these two men were like, and I have you all to thank for that. With this said, I would like to make two points. Primarily, I am extremely glad that this blog was created and thank you to all those who have been writing and I would like to encourage anyone who hasn’t to take a half hour or so and remember your grandparents- they deserve it. Being the youngest grandchild that is able to remember that generation I cannot stress enough how important your stories are, not only for me but for the younger grandchildren. Stories, especially about loved ones, are so essential to discovering who you are, what you believe in, and an appreciation for the past. It truly brings a family closer together. Secondly, I would like to emphasize that we should be writing about the present, updating each other from time to time. I have always thought it unfortunate that I have no tangible memories of my great-grandfathers, yet I remind myself I have the gift of their stories you all have given to me. I want the same for the younger grandchildren and the generations to come. We are literally, spread all throughout the country and this site is a wonderful opportunity to fill each other in with what is going on in our hectic yet fun-filled lives. I encourage you all to do so. I also guarantee it will bring us closer together and fulfill the gifts our beautiful grandparents have given us: a sense of unity and love.

Like Mother Like Daughter -- Like Father Like Daughter...

Doesn't Andrea look just like her mother?

Doesn't Andrea look just like her father?

Nichols Family Hiatus

We promise -- No More Posts From Malone Until Someone Outside Malone, Posts Something. Our Lips Are Sealed.