Tuesday, 2-20-96
10:32 PM London
4:32 PM E-Town
Grampa Jack may have had a stroke. Mom e-mailed me this today… This saddens me & it hurts me to know he is suffering this way. After what happened w/ Grampa Robert (R.I.P.) & the time he spent at the nursing home… I just want Grampa Jack to live a peaceful life until his time comes.
Tuesday, 2-20-96
11:44 PM London
5:44 PM E-Town
I just got back from getting milkshakes w/ Mel! Yum-yum & the last of my American fast food till after Lent… We ended up at BK, cuz McDonald’s closed at 11 PM & when we got there, a few minutes before, they had closed down the milkshake machine. I continue to enjoy Mel’s company, as well as Ruth’s. The 3 of us went to Spitalfields Market this morning & roamed the area till the pancake race… It was fun, especially watching the race! There were teams of 4 dressed in silly costumes, who had to race while flipping pancakes in frying pans!!! It was hilarious & there were even 2 clowns to heckle & entertain the spectators, like ourselves!
I am not really in the mood to write in here, for some reason, so I’ll round it up. Went to Daily Mass with Jill & then I stayed for an exchange type of thing w/ a student Catholic group from France. It was a brilliant discussion & time of praise with them. The group was made up of young people who have given up a yr. of their life to serve & learn for the Lord. There is a bit of missionary work involved & thus is why they came to Newman tonight… It was uplifting & enlightening!
Tonight, when I got in, I watched the “Brit Awards” w/ 1/2 of Pembridge! It was only 1 1/2 hrs. long & featured a bizarre performance by Michael Jackson, that bordered on sacrilegious! He acted like he was God or something?!
Okay, I am tired & uninspired to write, though my thoughts are here, my hand (& body) is ready to rest!
CHEERS! ☺︎
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Note from Present Day Kathy: It’s bittersweet to reflect on that time in my maternal Grandpa Jack’s life. He ended up living another two years, to age 82, which we were/are grateful for. My paternal Grandpa Robert had died the previous year, which I share some about in a future journal entry, on the first anniversary of his death. Grandpa Robert had a stroke when he was 72 and ended up moving to a nursing home, where he lived until his death in March 1995, at 79. Knowing that Grandpa Robert spent 7 years in the nursing home, I was hoping and praying that Grandpa Jack wouldn’t have to go down a similar road. Grandpa Jack did end up spending some time in a nursing home, towards the end of his life, but not nearly as long.
I love the adventures my friends and I sought out and had during our semester abroad, from the big trips we took to other countries and cites, to the smaller ones, such as going to this event on Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras (the night before Ash Wednesday) at Spitalfields Market in London. It’s also fun to remember how my friendships were growing, as I got to know more of my housemates and classmates better.
(Not her real name) Ruth is the woman I ended up traveling for 3 weeks with, after our school semester ended, through France, Spain and Italy. Though we had our moments (as anyone does spending that much time with another person), Ruth and I ended up being really well matched, in terms of our interests/what we wanted to see and do in each city that we went to.
I find it amusing reading entries, like this one, in which I used British words/phrases/expressions that I wouldn’t have said prior to my experience abroad, such as “brilliant.” I think it’s cute and fun that I was trying to write and speak, at times, as some of the Londoners/Brits that I met did.
As for the Michael Jackson at the Brit Awards performance, I have little to no recollection of that, but my description made me curious and want to look it up. So I Googled it and found this Wikipedia Entry: 1996 Brit Awards. I appreciated getting to see the nominees and award winners that night, as many of the songs and artists remind me of that semester/time in my life, as they were popular then.
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Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.
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Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.
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