“At Christmas, play and make good cheer,
Doe Christmas comes but once a year.”

“Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandries”
By Thomas Tasser (1557)

Hubby, daughter Sue, and I have attended some very nice events that have put us in a holiday spirit. Last week we attended the Black Catholic Choir’s concert at the Keystone Senior Apartments and on Wednesday, the three of us, along with pal Eileen Burke, went to the Carney Hospital’s auditorium for the Senior Supper. We were greeted by Barbara Couzens from the Carney. We were delighted to see our friend Barry Mullen sitting at the next table. We hadn’t seen Barry in quite a while. Then our friend Margaret Buckley arrived and we invited her to sit with us. (Margaret used to come in town with us to the Wednesday Evening Concerts on City Hall Plaza.)

Barbara then told us that we were fortunate that someone had been very generous to the raffle. There must have been at least 20 raffle prizes. My buddy Barry was the first winner. Barbara’s Mom won one, too, and near the end of the drawings, pal Eileen picked up a prize. There were also some winners at the table next to us where our friends Mary Keeley, Barbara Sullivan, Mary Carney, Anna Paris, Mary O’Rourke, Maureen Reedy, and Ann Lessard were sitting.

We were then treated to 10 members of the Pope John Paul Chorus from the Lower Mills Campus. They were led by Mary Hebard, who played her guitar beautifully. They sang: “Rudolph,” “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Silent Night,” (again), “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Joy to the World,” and finished with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” The children had big smiles on their faces as we applauded them. They were terrific.

The food at the supper was excellent. We began with salad and rolls and butter. Then we had a choice of either turkey (with cranberry sauce) or fish, with mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrot slices. For dessert, there was a piece of lovely carrot cake. Everyone raved about the food. We thank Sheryl M., Bob Hasenfus, Laura Klint, Ron Diorio, Bob Angland, Barbara Couzens, and Mike G for serving our food so nicely. Bob Angland took good care of our table.

After we were finished our Senior Supper, we were happy that Dr. Kit Mui, a neurologist at Carney, was going to speak to us. My pal Barry said that he was one of his doctors. Dr. Mui told us he trained at BU. He said that much has been done since 1998 in preventing strokes. The symptoms of a stroke are: trouble walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, and numbness. The effects may happen on one side of the body and they happen suddenly. Get help quickly. Call a family member or 911 immediately.

Dr. Mui urged us to take our medications. He told us to watch our blood pressure. He stressed that we should buy a blood pressure cuff for about $40 or $50. (“Don’t get a cheap one.”) He told us to write down our blood pressure readings two or three times a day for a while and bring the results to our doctor. He said that our blood pressure could differ as much as 10 points from one arm to the other. He also told us that a clot in the brain could cause a stroke. So could diabetes or high cholesterol. He told us that his clinic is located near the hospital’s chapel. He warned us that it takes much longer to recover from a stroke. We applauded Dr. Mui because he explained everything so clearly. With the announcement that the next Senior Supper would be held on Mar. 9, Barbara Couzens thanked us for coming.

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I was sorry to hear of the death of Charlie Mahoney on Dec. 6. Charlie was well known in the Neponset area where he grew up. He was the husband of Constance (Bryan) and the father of Megan Palmer, Bryan, and Cathleen Agostino. He was also the brother of Elaine Holmberg, Cathleen Perry, and Colleen Ivens. He was a member of the Redberry K of C. He had many friends, including my cousin Carolyn Harty, who called to tell me of his passing. I send my sympathy to his wife Connie and to the entire Mahoney family.

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Our entire Pope’s Hill family was saddened by the death of our Pope’s Hill Association’s treasurer Judy (Mahanna) Burke on Dec. 6 at age 68. Judy had fought a long, valiant fight against breast cancer. For many years, after picking up the monthly Pope’s Hill newsletters at Staples, and the stamps at the Post Office, she gave them to me so I could mail them. Even when she was not feeling well, she came to the monthly Pope’s Hill meeting to give her treasurer’s report. She would love to tell us about her wonderful grandchildren, Liam and Benjamin Neville. I saw Ben at the wake, and he is the cutest little boy I have seen in a long time. I send the sympathy of our family and the entire Pope’s Hill family to Judy’s husband Tom, to their children, Mary Beth Neville, and Tom Jr., and to their extended family. I loved seeing the photos that were shown at O’Connor’s Funeral Home. They have some beautiful ones of Judy with all her family, bringing back wonderful memories of happy events. Her many friends and her Pope’s Hill family will miss her.

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There is one more person I would like to mention. I was sorry to read of the death of Elaine (O’Brien) Anderson on Dec. 8. I knew Elaine through our mutual friend, Nancy Harrington. Elaine helped Nancy and me deliver notices to various junior high schools that would be given to each of the students, informing them of our Pope’s Hill’s High School Information Day, which we held each October at BC High (God bless the school!) for 25 years. Hundreds, more likely thousands, of middle school children listened to representatives from up to 42 high schools telling what their school had to offer. Elaine had gone to Boston Teachers’ College, Class of 1954, I believe, and understood the need for the parents and students to know what the schools had to offer. Our daughter Sue was friendly with all of Elaine’s daughters. As a matter of fact, Sue remembers going into the Anderson home and calling out, “Hi, Mom!” Elaine would respond, “Hi, Sue.” Elaine was the wife of the late James Anderson Jr. She was the mother of Mary Anderson, Margaret “Margo” McLaughlan, Ellen Roche, Janet Anderson, and the late James III. Everyone remembers what a nice lady Elaine was.
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I need about another month to get ready for Christmas. I haven’t even brought down the big box of Christmas cards from the attic. I’ve been trying to get articles of clothing ready for Morgan Memorial. We had quite a bit of candy left from Halloween. We divided it in half and Hubby took one half to Father Bill’s place and the other half to Morgan Memorial. Both were delighted to receive the candy. We bought a mince pie at Shaw’s and discovered that it is almost as good as Mrs. Smith’s brand, which needs cooking. We discovered Garelick Egg Nog (our favorite) at Market Basket one week, but it was all sold out the following week, so we chose the Hood brand. We have several bottles of Welch’s Sparkling White Grape Juice in the house. We’ll take one to son Paul’s home and the other to daughter Jeanne’s. There is still time for us to get at least one more bottle, or two, to toast New Year’s Eve.

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Here’s a little hint from one of the tree farms: To keep a wreath from shedding, apply a little hair spray. It looks like moisture and keeps the needles from shedding. I hope that you all are doing much better than I am in getting ready for Christmas.