Do widzenia...

In honor of the Pope's passing this afternoon, I was going to have a special dinner at the Polish Cultural Center...then decided that I had Polish food way too many times last week, so I ordered (and absorbed) a huge order of Pad Thai with beef. Incredible! Then I felt like crap because my secondary plans for a nice "zimne piwo" (cold beer) were dashed by the absence of any Zwiec in the basement fridge right by my writer's lair. The closet I could find--imported and full bodied--was Foster's. Things are just not shaping up this evening.

Being part of a large Polish Catholic family, this is a rough time. My sister called me sniffling and I had to remind her that the Pope isn't suffering and I had to ask her if she would want to prolong the inevitable. Needless to say that conversation didn't last too long. It's also my Grandma's birthday today and I've been calling to wish her a good one. She's not answering the phone and I don't like leaving messages on the machine. She really didn't want to share her birthday with his death-day. A bit morbid. I'm sure she wanted the passing to be either yesterday or tomorrow. One really can't plan these things.

I was on Pope watch all yesterday afternoon and night, then a bit this morning before running my Saturday errands (getting an oil change, going to Target, going to Starbucks, visiting the recruiter and meeting a VERY VERY VERY persuasive Army recruiter...and the fact that he was in full fatigues (*sigh*) didn't help matters) but I was paying attention to news reports on news/talk radio the whole time. Then for a brief window I left my media-saturated existence and went to Meijer and missed the big moment...so now I'm feeling slightly guilty. Especially for the fact that I was listening (and singing along) to Blondie's "Rapture" all the way home.