Significant Emotional Events

Happy Weekend to All!

Again, I’d like to begin this post as I always do, by thanking everyone who’s supported my book/blog for their interest, support, and kind feedback!

A special thanks to those of you who’ve purchased the book and taken the time to write a review on Amazon, B&N, Lulu.com, etc. It means a great deal, and all honest reviews, thoughts and comments are most welcome and truly appreciated!  I’ve added a new menu tile to make access to sites, such as Amazon, etc., just a click away.

Thought I’d continue on with sharing photos that provide some background/backstory on how they relate to the story and/or setting in the book, and the photos today relate to what psychologists (or anyone) might call some significant emotional events, described in the book.

The first photo above is the one seen on the back cover of the book with me in my Holy First Communion suit, taken just hours after making my First Communion at our Lady of Lourdes Church, in Jamaica Plain, MA, and described in Chapter 3.  This was and is a significant emotional event for most Catholics as we progress across our sacramental journey, and moreover, as I mention in the book, it came with some perks too like money and candy from friends and relatives!  Here’s a picture of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Jamaica Plain.

As I tell you in the book, the joy of the day was quickly extinguished when my parents made it clear they expected me to wear my shiny new “Pat Boone” suit to public school on Monday, the next day following the festivities.  I of course, was horrified, because as proud as I had been on fulfilling the sacrament of my First Holy Communion, I did not want to face the bullying I was sure to encounter from my public school cohorts for wearing it.

In spite of my protests, my mother shoved me out the door to make the slow walk to school, full of dread, that would take me up and over intersection of Washington and Green Street, Jamaica Plan, via the elevator train stations’ span of thickly painted green stairs over to the other side of the street.  Boston’s elevator train system has long been dismantled, but here’s a photo of what it pretty much looked like that day in the early 1960’s.  This was Dover Station, almost a common mirror image found long the train’s route.

I’d crossed over to the other side, just 50 yards from the school, when I decided I’d just play hooky!  My first “sin” committed so soon after my recently obtained sanctification lol.  I went back to the apartment and to my mother’s extreme displeasure, and things got even more dicey when Dad got home that evening!

I hope you enjoy the photos, and I’ll continue the “photographic tour” of some parts of the book in the days ahead!

Thanks to all, have a wonderful weekend, and hope to see you back here soon!