March, 2006 Uveges News
March shows and Monarch Ski resort
In life's big picture once in a while you get
to participate in momentous events for people. On June 8th of
1960, at the tender age of 6 months of age, my father and mother
took me from Lakewood, NJ (our home at the time) to Holidaysburg,
Pa. to be with one of my Dad's best friends on the day he said his
first Mass. He had just been ordained a Catholic priest. It was a
very exciting time for both he and for my Dad who had been a great
friend of his when they were both considering being priests in the
mid 1950's. His name was Fr. Damian Drass. Supposedly I cried
through that entire 1960 event. Sometimes, nowadays, that still
happens at mass, though for different reasons.
As the years went by, my Dad and Fr. Damian stayed in
fairly close touch, letters, occasional phone calls, visits when
we were down in that part of Pennsylvania. Fr. Damian ended up
spending the final 30 years of his priesthood in the town of
Phillippi, W. Va. where he was a Newman Campus Minister at Alderson
Broadus College as well as the priest for the local Catholic
Church. He used to tell the story that back in the 1970's a
freshman coed from down South, upon meeting him, kept peering at the
top of his head and trying to see behind him. He later inquired of
one of the other students why she was doing that and they sheepishly
replied that she had probably been looking for his horns and tail.
(Priest = Devil according to her upbringing.) Next time he saw her
he kindly greeted her and then promptly bent over and said "Here,
honey, take a good look. We might as well clear this up right
now. " Then he smiled in a kindly way and moved on. In a time
when priests are not generally getting much good press, he was a
spitfire with a big heart.
Fr. Damian had a stroke a few months ago and was "retired"
back to Holidaysburg, Pa. For a people person, that was a huge
blow, especially considering that his community of friends by this
point was down in W. Virginia. My father called me in early January
and told me that when Damien awoke from a stint surgery, the first
person he asked for was my Dad. In a fit of kindness and a touch
of insanity I decided to fly my son and I back to NY, pick up my
Dad, and drive him down to Holidaysburg to visit Damian. We arrived
there on Sat. Jan. 28th. It was a whirlwind trip. We spent most of
Saturday visiting, then returned on Sunday for coffee and to see
him "concelebrate" the mass. (In Catholic terms that means that as
a priest he participates in saying the mass during the critical
moment when the bread and wine is being turned into the body and
blood of Jesus. For the Catholic community, and in the life of a
priest this is the most holy moment of the mass.) After mass my
Dad decided we needed to get going back to NY so we bid farewell,
both of us suspecting that this would be our last visit.
Two days after we left, Damien went into the hospital with
pneumonia. His condition deteriorated
and about a week later he died. My Dad called me to tell me the
news. That night it occurred to me that my Dad and I had been
present at Fr. Damien's first mass in 1960, and his last mass 45
and a half years later. I wonder how many times that has happenned
in history? Not often I'd warrant. Rest in peace Fr. Damien.
Here's the digs on gigs:
First Friday of the Month. Fri. March 3rd Olive Branch with Steve
Hoke 7-10 pm Cover $your choice...
Sunday, March 5th R.Mt. Church of Religious Science.
Theme "Evolving" Hillside Community Center 10AM
Sat. and Sunday March 18th and 19th at the Monarch Lodge near
Salida, Colorado. With Steve Hoke.
6-9pm FREE Call 1-800-332-3668 for reservations.
Everything else is private. If you'd like to do a house concert
starting in April, please let me know. I'm leaving holes in my
schedule for recording and "drop in" gigs. Peace All.
Uveges News Archives:
July, 2008 Uveges News
"Swimmer's Ear, The RUB, etc. "
June, 2008 Uveges News
"THE RUB, plus the updated summer Schedule,
N.Mexico, Spokane, Missoula Penrose"
May, 2008 Uveges News
"Summer Schedule, Touring and 'Driving' Now Available"
March/April, 2008 Uveges News
"Karl Marx Lesson, Colorado Springs
and Denver shows, N.East tour"
January, 2008 Uveges News
"Portland OR, HPUUC, Soul Link, and NASCAR"
October, 2007 Uveges News
"When Freedom Calls CD Release Concert "
September, 2007 Uveges News
"The End of Summer . . .Portland,
Black Forest, Monarch"
August, 2007 Uveges News
"Working Boys (Cont),
Aug./ Sept shows, Olive Branch Returns every Thurs"
July, 2007 Uveges News
"On summer projects, boys, and schedule"
June, 2007 Uveges News
"Ducks in trees, the Philharmonic, and schedule for june, july"
(click here)
April/May, 2007 Uveges News
Late April, Early May shows
and the story of the "Stinking Ant Eater"
(click here)
March, 2007 Uveges News
This weekend in C.Springs, and New Hampshire end of March
(click here)
February, 2007 Uveges News
Soul Link with S. Rissman, N. Hampshire etc.
(click here)
November, 2006
Pre-marital Sex, Tours and End of Year Shows
(click here)
September, 2006
CABOOM!!!
(click here)
August, 2006
August 06 Co.Springs, Creede, Trinidad
(Click here)
July, 2006
On Maggot Farming and the summertime schedule
(Click here)
June, 2006
Summer Musings and Schedule Through Late August
(Click here)
April, 2006
Music and Rafting on Bighorn Sheep Canyon
(Click here)
March, 2006
March shows and Monarch Ski resort
(Click here)
January, 2006
Soul Link
(Click here)
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