This third section of reflections includes the post-developmental years of my employment at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas; my formation and ministry as a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, and my retirement years, post 1999, from BCM. Although my retirement began when we were still living in the Longwood area of Cypress, Texas, the majority of these years are associated with Eagle’s Trace, an Erickson Senior Living Community in West Houston.
The memories for both Houston: BCM and DGH (1977 – 1999) and Retirement and Eagle’s Trace (post-1999) are organized somewhat chronologically, as has been the model for the previous periods: Bronze and Silver. This third section, Golden Years, also contains another collection, Reflections in General, which are not gathered in a chronological order. Basically they include thoughts recorded in the Third Millennium for the overall eighty-plus years of my life.
The specific memories for Houston: BCM and DGH include:
HOUSTON HOUSE HUNTING … HOUSTON TIDES … HOUSTON STARTS AND STOPS … WEST TEXAS … A BILIOUS TIME … LIFE IN THE OFFICE – PEOPLE … LIFE IN THE OFFICE -DEPT OF MEDICINE AND THE HEART CENTER … LIFE IN THE OFFICE – FACULTY RESOURCES … A PUZZLED EXISTENCE … SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK CITY AND BACK AGAIN … LIFE ON GRAND VALLEY IN SPRING TEXAS … LIFE IN THE CITY – HOUSTON AND THE LITTLE TIN BOX … CHRIST THE GOOD SHEDHERD … MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER … DIACONATE – FORMATION … DIACONATE – MATRIMONY … DIACONATE ANNULMENTS … DIACONATE – ADULT RELIGIOUS FORMATION … DIACONATE – HOMILETICS … DECEMBER 7 – VOX CLAMANTIS … SEEING A SAINT … WE WERE ROBBED … LONGWOOD, CYPRESS, TEXAS … BAD HABITS … RETIREMENT
Retirement and Eagle’s Trace
ET-PIONEER DAYS … ET-RETIREMENT LIVING … RETIREMENT LIVING – PROS & CONS … IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH … HURRICANES …IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 …A PIMPLE REVISITED … A VIRUS REVISITED … IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT … IMPEACHMENT TWO … IMPEACHMENT TWO – POST-TRIAL … SNOVID-21 … HOMEWARD BOUND … SEPTEMBER SONG …THANKSGIVING 2021 – (ET Homily on Trust)… JANUS IS TWO-FACED … PUTIN’S WAR …LEFT BEHIND … POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE … THE SEMI-NORMAL LIFE OF COVID-19 …MY NEED TO SEE … HIDDEN ECLIPSE …
Reflections in General:
OLD TIME RADIO THEMES …MOON WALK … DATED MEMORIES … FORGOTTEN MEMORIES … CAPTAIN MARVEL AND FRIENDS … COLLECTIBLES… LIGHTERS … COMMUNICATION …THINGS YOU NEVER SEE TODAY … CLOTHING DRIVES …. BEING MALLED … MADE FOR WALKIN’ … EXERCISE …RIDING A BIKE … COME SEPTEMBER …. PEN & INK … “HI GRANDPA” … GRANDPA, WERE YOU SPOILED … SUMMER JOBS … LOOKING GLASS COMMUNICATION … TEMPTATIONS IN THE DESERT …. WHO GUARDS THE GUARDIANS... AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY … GRANDS AND GREATS ... TIME TRAVEL … THEY’RE ALL RELATIVE … THE OTHER SIDE … LEVELS OF GRAND … ORGAN RECITALS … MEMORY BITS … TIME WITH OUR LADY … RENFEST GOODE OLDE DAEG … THE NEW NORMAL … READING ROOM … BIBLIOPHILE ….NEW WORDS: OLD IDEAS … THANKSGIVING DAYS … MERRY CHRISTMASES … ANOTHER NEW YEAR … FEBRUARY DAYS … EASTER EGGS … FIREWORKS … THE HOLIDAY THAT WASN’T … TRICK OR TREAT … BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS …THE FIRST WALK WITH THE LORD … AN IMPROBABLE MEDITATION… GETTING LOST ON A WALK WITH THE LORD … FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN TO ITS SETTING