A Walk in the Wilderness

Today, I took a took an eight and a half mile walk from Maynard to Hudson, MA (click on the picture to the left for a more detailed map). The  first stop was at St. Bridgets, praying the Rosary and then daily Mass.

After Mass finished at 9:30 am, I made the first of many crossings of the Assabet River. While I walked, I was in awe of the greenery of New England. It would not take long for the trees and plants to over take any area which had been cut.

After the river is the Stow line, and Erikson’s Ice Cream. Unfortunately, it was too early to purchase ice cream.

Near the Stow Shopping Center is a bit of history. First it was merely Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride. Then it turns out that there was another guy named Dawes who rode too. Well, it turns out that Dr. Samuel Prescott (who happened to be out at night a little too late with a lady friend) met up with Revere and Dawes. It turns out that Prescott completed Revere’s ride to Concord (Revere was captured) and continued on to Gardner’s Inn (I’m not sure of the name here) in Stow.

I stopped to purchase a drink at Shaw’s in the shopping center. The blacktop added 15 degrees to the day’s heat. And then I passed the Stow Police Station and neighbor Union Church of Stow. It’s a plain white church with decorative stain glass windows.

The next stop was in the center of town, at the Unitarian Church of Stow and Acton. This was the fourth building that held the First Parish of Stow, and in the previous buildings, they were also town meeting halls. People tend to forget that the Puritans had no separation of church and state. Their idea of religious freedom included a combination of church and state. If I remember correctly, the parish voted to become Unitarian in 1840 (Congregational Churches would vote on doctrine). The bell, since recast, was made by Paul Revere & Sons.

Next stop was the Randall Library which does have Internet access, however I suspect their machines are severely infected with viruses because of poor performance. I sat down at the several war monuments in front of the library.

I tried to make a stop at St. Isidore’s, just past the town center, however I found the front doors were locked. I stopped at Russell’s Convenience Store for a drink and a snack and then headed toward Hudson.

This was the worse part of the trip. While the walk along Rt 117 was pleasant with trees for shade and sidewalks, the trip south (actually 62 West) on Rt 62 toward Hudson was uncomfortable. There were no sidewalks and various parts of the road were so narrow that I was forced to walk on the road. Additionally, there was a high volume of traffic (which kicked up dirt and sand).

The one point of history was a marker for Pompositticut Plantation in 1630 (what Stow was called before becoming incorporated as Stow). There are a couple of golf courses off of the road which are not visible. The Stow portion of the road has a lot of curves, but crossing over the Hudson line, there tends to be more straightaways. There is definitely less shade in Hudson, than Stow. It seems that Hudson keeps the trees and brush away from the road, while Stow is much more tolerant of growth.

Before getting to Hudson’s Main Street, I passed the Hudson Gun Club and entered the bike trail constructed over the old railway line (Assabet River Rail Trail). I ate at Main Street Pizza and Subs just off the trail and I recommend the place. Customer service is friendly, and seem to remember their repeat customers. Additionally, there are a couple of pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary hanging near the cash registers.

The final stage of the journey was tough due to the lack of shade and the time (it was afternoon). I passed a friendly mother and her child, but it seemed that most were keeping off the trail due to the heat. I decided to avoid the planned stops at St. Michael’s, the Unitarian Church of Hudson and Marlboro and St. Luke’s Episcopal because it was close to home and because of dehydration. I made a stop at the Hudson Library to cool down and get early access to the Internet. It turned out that I needed a card number (which I don’t  have), so I enjoyed the air conditioning for a bit, before heading for Central Street Market for a drink before the final leg home.

Overall, the walk was good, except for the portion between Hudson and Stow. Both Hudson and Stow have sidewalks or trails for an enjoyable walk except that the two towns are not connected. Stow is more fun because of the shade and the points of historical interest.

After several years of neglect, I’m going to start posting again to Whispers in the Wasteland. I’m going to keep Agapas Me as a place for the deeper philosophical and theological reflections, and use Whispers for quick commentary. I hope the kindling from Whispers will feed the fires for Agapas Me.

This is an open post. Please feel free to post any comments you like (within the limits of good taste). The comments can be about old posts, site design, any topic you might like to see posted in the future, or anything that is of interest to you. I’m trying out something new with respect to comments (so as to reduce spam), so I’d like to know if there are problems with comments.

The first time you comment to this blog, the comment should be held in moderation. After I approve your first comment, that comment will appear, and follow up comments should appear without the need for moderation.

Out with the old, and in with the new. Whispers in the Wastleland is now the old defunct blog. It hasn’t been updated in a year.

Agapas Me is the new blog which I will use as I prepare for total consecration To Jesus Through Mary (according to the formula described by St. Louis de Montfort). The day of consecration will be on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Agapas Me is the question Jesus Christ asked of St. Peter, after Peter’s three denials of Jesus and after Christ’s resurrection. Jesus asked, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:15)

In Greek, “Agapas Me?” means “Do you love Me?” and Jesus is using the word for love, agape, which translates to an unconditional self-sacrificing love. The exchange between Jesus and Peter in John 21 is something I’ve been meditiating over for quite some time.

The new blog will be found here –> http://blog.agapasme.com/

While the first blog entry of the new blog has not been written yet, I expect it will be done before the day is finished. God Bless.

I’ve been contemplating another name change for the blog, and today’s first reading (Year A – 19th Sunday in ordinary time) seems to be appropiate way to close out the old way in preparation for the new way. I’ve given more context than supplied by today’s reading (1 Kings 19:3-13):
Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there and went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: “This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!” He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the LORD came to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” He answered: “I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”

As Mr. McClarey puts it, “a pro-Playboy troll comes to Open Book.” A commentor at Amy Welborn’s blog sings praises of the Playboy track to stardom. He cites Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, and Tara Patrick (Carmen Electra) as examples.

My reply follows…
—

Oh, it’s a little bit of centerfold gamesmanship, is it?

Well, I’ll call your Pamela Anderson, and raise you a Colleen Applegate.

What? You’ve never heard of her? Oh, that’s probably because she’s dead. Although she gathered more fame as a dead porn star, she’s largely forgotten now. The young 20-year-old girl came from Nowhere, Minnesota and struck out for Hollywood, California for her 15 minutes of fame. People Weekly describes her first steps to stardom:

A few weeks after leaving, Colleen called with an odd piece of good news: She was working as a model and earning $100 a day, more than her father was making. She didn’t mention that she’d answered a newspaper ad for the World Modeling Agency in Van Nuys and had begun posing nude for magazine photographers.

PBS is more antiseptic, they can’t be bothered to reveal her name:

She was from Minnesota. Young, pretty, and fresh. She went to Hollywood in search of a dream and found herself in X-rated movies, on drugs, and estranged from her family and friends.

Yeah, she made it to the “top.” One week she’s clinking champagne glasses with Francis Ford Coppola at the Erotic Film Awards, and the next week, well… “Two years to the month after she left Farmington, Colleen Applegate came home to be buried.”

Such are the wages of the culture of death.