Random Observations

Teenagers apparently find it quite hysterical to discover that their priest snores like a freight train.  Weariness from the weekend ensured that I was out like a light.  The unusual position in which I was sleeping ensured a particularly good show for the kids.  Fortunately, I will never be required to share a bed.

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I tried to tell the kids not to get energy drinks when stopping for snacks and a bathroom on the return trip.  I knew they wouldn't listen, but I told them anyway.  It didn't really matter.  Never underestimate the power of teenage girls to turn the teenage boys into crazy people.  Add a cramped ten hour bus ride, and you have a circus before it is over.

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It is of little avail to ask kids on a bus to be sure that they have taken everything off of it.  Among the collection of lost items this year are a pair of shoes, several water bottles, and a pillow.  The shoes, sadly, don't fit.

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Cynicism is an art form of which priests are masters.  I was with my Caritas group on Monday and Tuesday.  The cynicism was thick enough to cut with a knife.  As good as it is for priests to be together, we must be careful that we not become bad for each other.

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There are no rainbow trout in the Black Hills.  For many years now, my father and I have made an annual fishing day.  In these trips, neither of us has managed to catch a single fish.  Caritas afforded me the opportunity to spend several hours fishing the same waters again.  In keeping with tradition, I managed to catch nothing.  It is said that the definition of insanity is attempting the same behavior repeatedly hoping to achieve a different result.  Perhaps I am insane.  Shortly after arriving home, I went to Cabelas and bought more trout lures and some pliers with which to remove said lures.  Maybe I will even need a knife with which to clean the fish one of these times . . .  Some say crazy, but I prefer to think that hope springs eternal.

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Speaking of insane, the reason that I didn't sleep enough yesterday was because I decided it would be good to watch a movie until 1:30 AM with a group of high schoolers.  It was for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls, of course.