My confirmation group and I helped out with a Special Olympics Bowling Tournament at AMF Lanes on Northview Rd. in Waukesha Saturday. I'd never helped with this annual event before but people in our group had. They said what a great time it is and how much fun we'd have. But I really didn't expect it to be as much fun as it was.

I don't know much about bowling and nothing about tournaments. Lots of questions, spectators and participants and a little confusion. There were eight young men bowling the two lanes we were watching, and each bowler switched lanes with each frame.

Our athletes had Downs, autism and other physical or mental limitations. We noticed only one bowler had any remarks we should be aware of. The young man with autism didn't like to be touched. So what happens when he bowls a strike? Supporters not knowing his preference for contact begin hugging him, slapping high fives, etc. Nothing happened. He didn't yell or run in the other direction. It was actually good to see. The few people reading the notice knew about his dislike for touching, but everyone else treated him like any other accomplished athlete. I think he probably preferred the hugs.

The three games of bowling was faster paced than I expected and was over all too soon. The bowling was fairly good with many scores over 100. Most of the guys kept to themselves, but I did enjoy Zachary's good mood and playfulness. Medals and ribbons were awarded for our eight guys. The gold medal winner in our team? He'd never bowled before that day!

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Of course Saturday night was special too, because that's when I finally got to attend the Carroll concert I'd been looking forward to since my first visit two years ago. Christmas at Carroll was two hours of pure magic. The selections were great and performers near flawless. We were literally surrounded by music as all areas of the Shattuck Auditorium were used, the main stage, back and side balconies, floor down in front for the handbells.

After the concert there was a few minutes left to the Angel Art Crawl so I popped in to Allison Art House to see if anything was new. Had a very nice visit with John and Jeanette and tried to talk them into going to Christmas at Carroll Sunday night, but they had plans. How they can show 26 artists in one gallery without it appearing too cluttered I'll never know. Several pieces really caught my eye. I most enjoyed the natural art, especially the interesting gourds and the laminated wood bookmarks.

I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.

I'm sad because I missed Christmas at Carroll this year. It was last weekend. I'd been looking forward to it all year ever since last December's concert. It was the best concert I'd ever been to and I wanted to do it again. I know I can't do everything and there's always next year, but darn!!

There's plenty of other good things going on today and this weekend to help me forget my sadness: The Waukesha Civic Theater begins it's two weekend run of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever tonight. I heard that "Mary" sings so beautifully that it brings tears to the eyes.   A free holiday concert at UWW at 7:30, which I probably will be going to, is tonight. Also tonight is the Carroll College Jazz Ensemble. And on Sunday after the Packer game is the Carroll College Chamber Strings Ensemble, a free concert at 4:00 p.m..

12/8 update ------------- Interesting Experiment -------------------------

I just read about something fun and completely different in yesterday's Freeman. At 7:00 p.m. today, Sat. 12/8, the Carroll Players will perform a two-act comedy that they had only 24 hours to rehearse and create stage sets for. The so-called guerrilla theater production is a first for Carroll College and is meant to be fun and educational more than a great play. The five dollar ticket price is a fundraiser for the Carroll Players. The play will be in the Otteson Main Stage Theater.

Don't go near Shattuck Music Center / Hall / Auditorium this weekend at Carroll College / University if you don't enjoy great music. Besides the wonderful offering this Sunday at 3:00; a combination of the Waukesha Choral Union, Carroll Concert Choir and Children's Choir of Waukesha, there's world-class sax player Johan Stengard on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. 

I don't want to recommend one over the other, they both sound great, but the Johan concert is a benefit for the St. Vincent De Paul Society. As you may already know, the Society helps the poor in our area and any proceeds from the concert go to help the needy in Waukesha. As a member of the Society, I know there are plenty of underemployed, injured, homeless, unemployed . . . in the city that could use some help. 

Tickets for the Johan concert are $15.00 at the door. I guarantee you'll walk away from the concert feeling good . . . in more ways than one.  

Missed the last bus to my regular stop Monday evening. The alternate was to wait 20 minutes for the next coach and take it all the way to Downtown Waukesha. Without phone change, I walked to Christina's Family Restaurant on Delafield St. to see if I could call from there.

At Christina's I noticed a free-standing sign on the sidewalk, (a sandwich board?) advertising gyros on a stick. Now my familiarity with gyros is extremely limited, but I thought it was a sandwich and wondered how the stick fits in. Peggy was nice enough to tell me all about the sandwich and George let me use the phone.

Two things in my favor; First, I was on my own for dinner Monday night so nothing but leftovers to look forward to. Also, my wife told me to stay right where I was and they'd come to get me. By now it must be around 7:00 p.m. so I ordered a gyro and found it really delicious. There is a rather tall cylinder of lamb meat in view behind the grill gyrating on a verticle spit, cooking in front of a red hot heating element. The meat is taken off the cylinder in long thin slices. It's served on pita bread, not a stick. The spit is the only stick involved. For less than $7.00 I devoured an interesting sandwich, ate a cup of hot cream of mushroom soup and shared piping hot fries with the son who came to get me. A heck of a good deal I would immediately repeat.

If anyone has wondered who Christina's Restaurant was named for . . . be sure to check out the trio of choirs Sunday the 28th at 3:00 at Carroll College. Christina will be one of the featured soloists.