“Already autumn is in the air, alas.”
by Arthur Symans

I don’t mind if autumn comes, but I hope it will bring slightly cooler weather. On those very hot and humid days, Hubby and I stayed only in the rooms where we had an air conditioner. Early next spring, we have promised we will buy a portable air conditioner when they first come on the market. My cousins Mary and Chuck have two portable air conditioners on the first floor of their home and they seem to do a good job of cooling the air. They are so easy to move into position.

I must mention that our outdoor cat, Louie, really feels the heat. He has taken up residence on any surface that feels cool. He has been seen in a large flower basket sleeping on top of the cool dirt. He has also been sleeping under cars on our street.
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The Admissions Fair at BC High this past weekend reminded me of the High School Day that the Pope’s Hill Neighborhood Association used to put on each October, thanks to the kindness of BC High, which allowed the seventh and eighth grade students of Dorchester and South Boston to use the school for the afternoon. The first president of BC High to allow us to use his building was Fr. Ray Callahan. One year, at the height of interest during the 25 years that our PHNA High School Day was held, some 1,000 thousand parents and students in the gymnasium talking to representatives from 42 public, parochial, and private schools. (In the first year, we had only six schools participating.) Nancy Harrington and I co-chaired the event every one of the 25 years and each October seemed to fly by as we prepared for HS Day.) We welcomed help from both Pope’s Hill and Cedar Grove members for such a big undertaking. At the end of the day, our volunteers went home tired but satisfied that our local parents and children learned a great deal about the schools in which they were interested.

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When we arrived a church last Saturday, Sr. Elizabeth told us that Fr. William “Bill” Carrigg, the brother of our pastor, Fr. George Carrigg, had passed away earlier in the day. Fr. Bill, who was ordained in 1951, one year before his brother, joined us for many celebrations at St. Christopher’s, thanks to invitations from Fr. George. We were always happy to see Fr. Bill. We all knew that he was quite ill recently because we saw, from the church bulletins, that many Masses were being said at St. Christopher’s for Fr. Bill’s health. I am sure that I join all the parishioners at the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturdays in sending sympathy to Fr. George, to the priests’ sisters, Anne and Mary, and to their many nieces and nephews. Brothers Thomas, John, William, Joseph, Christopher, and Paul predeceased Fr. Bill. His wake was held at St. Christopher’s Church on Tuesday evening and his funeral Mass was celebrated by his brother at 10 a.m. yesterday.

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I was also sorry to hear of the death of George V. Kenneally III. George was the son of the late Sen. George and Carole Kenneally. He was the father of George IV, Patrick, and Katherine “Katie,” and a devoted parent, with their mother Joanne (Dolan). He was a retired court officer at West Roxbury District Court and Boston Municipal Court. Our neighborhood sends its sympathy to all the Kenneally Family.

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About two weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Capt. Richard Sexton of District C-11 inviting us to join the Boston Police in honoring those residents who assisted the police in Districts B-3, B-2, and C-11 in their Crime Watch efforts. Capt. Haseed Hosein, from District B-3, and Capt. John Devin, from District B-2, joined Capt. Sexton on the cruise. The large white bus came early to the McKeon Post parking lot so we were able to enjoy the bus’s air conditioning as we waited for the rest of the people on that hot morning. When the bus was filled, we were taken in town to the “Spirit of Boston” for a luncheon cruise.

When we arrived at the dock, we discovered that we had been transferred to the “Odyssey” because the “Spirit of Boston” was too small to hold the number of people invited. Hubby and I finally got to the second deck and we stood along the wall. Because of the large number attending, the crowd had to be fed in two sittings. I finally saw two people get up and I motioned to the man sitting next to the empty chairs, asking if he would save the seats for us.

As we moved along the buffet line, we thought the food was wonderful and served hot. I loved the chunks of fried potatoes. Hubby, of course, loved the roast beef while I had the chicken. The man staffing the bar was wonderful to us. He kept pitchers of water, with plenty of ice, on both sides of the bar, which was much appreciated on that hot day. While we were getting our food, the man holding our seats gave one away to a man. My heart sank. Hubby, when we got to our one seat, began eating standing up. A woman on the other side of our table saw what was happening and moved over one seat so Hubby was able to sit down.

We figured that we had better not move after we ate. We might not get two more seats. We began to chat with the man sitting next to me. We talked about the pope and his visit and some of his changes. There was no lack of topics to speak about. While we were chatting, we were looking at the islands. One of the waitresses knew the names of the islands of Boston Harbor and listed them. She was a tax expert who worked for a well-known tax firm. Gwen, from Keystone, had come to sit with us at that time and the waitress gave her some advice about settling a relative’s estate.

The man sitting next to me said that he probably should get back to his group since we would be back in port in a short time. We still chatted some more. I mentioned that I usually get up about 4 a.m. on days that I work. He asked what I did. I told him, “ I’m a columnist for a small newspaper.” “You aren’t Barbara McDonough, by chance.” I almost fell off my chair. How did he know my name? I never mentioned it or Hubby’s first name. “I am very good friends with your copy editor, my former co-worker Tom. I have breakfast with him probably once a week.” I was in a state of shock. How could this man, Lou, out of 560 passengers on the boat, sit next to me, his buddy’s co-worker, for the afternoon? I still shake my head. We bid Lou good luck in finding his group of people. He was great company.

We saw Capt. Sexton and his Community Service Officers Mike and Lenny and thanked them for the lovely day on Boston Harbor. Once again, workers from the boat gave each of us a chocolate-covered strawberry as we left. The weather was so hot that day that, much to our dismay, a great deal of the chocolate covering stayed on the paper and not on the fruit.

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Here is a great thought from Mark Twain: “The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone else up.”