Dear Matt and Rose,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The sad news is:  Jim Blaney e-mailed me that he and Jack Callaghan attended the funeral of Rich Sullivan recently.  That leaves five of the “Dirty Dozen” alive, according to my arithmetic.  I am surprised at God’s Plan for us.  But I am NOT complaining!  It is absolutely miraculous you and I are communicating on earth in 2009.

How are your Umbrella Kids doing?  It looks to me from the answers you give on your blog that you planted a lot of Peace Seeds around the world, during your career as an artist.  That is great.

Inge and I are doing fine in Arizona.  This has to be God’s Plan, because we would not have thought of moving here.  We are here for a reason.  We encourage our flock to follow the often-repeated recommendation of St. Padre Pio, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”  I think we live in exciting, albeit dangerous, times.  God will correct the errors in our government in His time and way.  Pray.

Love,
Jim and Inge Doody

Dear Jim and Inge,

I’m publishing your whole remarks on the blog.

For the historians out there, beginning when I was in 3rd grade and continuing through high school, there was a group of 12 of us, who eventually expanded to 14, who lived around the South Side of Chicago around Ashland to Halsted, from around 76th South to 83rd South...

We were a motley group that had great fun.  Every day we learned something about each other and did things for each other.  We were named the Dirty Dozen one day when a guy asked us to stop playing football in front of his house and tearing up his grass.  He told us if we would, he’d give us sportcoats with our names on them.  So we came up with the symbol “D.D.,” the Dirty Dozen.

We were a gang, but not like the gangs that exist in Chicago today.  Our biggest crime was spitting on the street and stealing people’s gates on “Gate Day.”

Later in life, as we grew up into adults, we all went to each other’s weddings and kept up with one another’s activities.  Jim Doody was the best man at my wedding.  My wife has a group of friends like that and they still get together 4 times a year.

Jim, as always it was great to hear from you over the blog.

I think the real miracle is not only that we’re alive, but that at this stage of our life, we’re talking about these great issues of peace, tolerance, hope, love, and understanding, instead of “Should we smoke Camels or Philip Morris?  Should we have a shot in the beer or a martini?  Who’s sober enough to drive home, and where the hell is the car?”

If there’s a miracle in the universe, it’s that you and I are still walking on top of the earth, speaking, thinking, and knowing what we’re saying, not drooling in straightjackets, wondering where we are and what we’re doing.

The Holy Spirit must either have something planned for us, because I doubt he or she can make mistakes.  We are where we’re supposed to be.

It’s great keeping in touch with you in cyberspace.

As I understand it, Rich Sullivan had a quick bout of cancer and was unexpected.

At this point, our Dirty Dozen is almost like that old mystery movie with Barry Fitzgerald, And Then There Were None.  Who’s going to be the last on the mantel?  As my favorite saying goes, Frankly  my dear, I don’t give a damn!

Jim, great hearing from you, as always.  Thank you for your Christmas and New Years wishes.  You and Inge have a wonderful holiday in Arizona.  We look forward to hearing from you again on the blog!

Love,
Rose and Matt