Candlemas Day

I couldn’t believe my eyes when, after driving granddaughter to a doctor’s appointment, sitting in the car waiting, I looked over to my right towards the area where, on the 14^th Day of Christmas, I’d hung a random act of Cheer, and thought I saw a flash of red.

This being such a busy parking area, it can’t be thought I; but, getting out of the car, taking a closer look, it indeed was.

How?

The bulb is right by physician parking, and I can see it from where I was parked (which was more than halfway across the lot). 

It's a Christmas miracle, as is the blub hung on the 5th day of Christmas at Omnitrans Route 2 bus stop a miracle because it too is still there.

Before acting as grandaughter’s Uber Driver, I stopped into the Community Room earlier to find out how the folks were coping with all that came out of them yesterday. I found no one except the writer of Christian literature.

I guess the others were all sleeping-in as venting had been exhausting.

LOL.

The writer and I chatted for a bit about similar disappointments with family and having to protect ourselves from the inability of family members to cease laying blame and take responsibility for their own choices in life. After a while, Apache and The Baker dropped in.

Apache asked if any of us knew how to work, or knew of anyone in the complex that could work, the barbeque grill. He’d purchased a propane tank, but he has problems with his hands to where he can’t attach and turn what needs to be attached and turned.

I don’t know all the details, but I have on good authority that Apache’s problems with his hands and other health challenges, which are quite numerous, are due to having once attempted suicide over a woman.

That’s pretty sad when you think your life is so troubled that you try to end it, fail and are left with health problems that overshadow what you thought was a problem and plague the remainder of your life.

Apache’s request for someone to set up the grill relates back to January 9^th, when I’d blogged that, after having dropped off two pattie pies on the counter in the Community Room, I later walked through and found the old folks, who I say will eat anything, had done so, leaving only two empty boxes. They were also hard at work disappearing one of those circular breads with a Baby Jesus inside.

Researching Wikipedia, I find those circular breads are actually cakes -- Kings’ Day Cakes, commemorating the arrival of the three Wise Men. The baby Jesus hidden in the bread represents the flight of the Holy Family, fleeing from King Herod's Massacre of the Innocents. “Whoever finds the baby Jesus figurine is blessed and must take the figurine to the nearest church on February 2 (Candlemas Day, Día de la Candelaria). In the Mexican culture, this person has the responsibility of hosting a dinner and providing tamales to the guests.”

Apache says he’d eaten some of the King’s Day Cake set out on the counter that day and found not one but two baby Jesus.

He’s since bought a lottery ticket, rubbed one of the baby Jesus on the ticket and won $20, whereupon his sister put in his mind that, unless he hosts a party on February 2^nd, his being blessed will run out and reverse.

Apache is a Indian, full blood apache not hispanic but, not wanting to take any chances, is hosting a February 2^nd Candlemas Day barbeque, putting everything on himself – bringing Pork Butt to barbeque, potatoes, salad.

It goes without saying, I won’t be eating any pork butt. However, inasmuch as Apache is such a nice caring person, us ladies are planning to kick in and contribute. Since the tradition is tamales, not pork butt, I volunteered to make a few.

Even though the ones I made around Christmas were an experiment -- non-traditional with gluten free masa and butter, and turned out well enough to share, I’m not 100% sure of my tamale making skills. So, taking no chances, I’m going to go with traditional masa, lard and all. I may not be able to eat any, but hopefully they’ll come out to everyone's liking.

I don't think Apache knows, according to what I read, he's to host a party AND take the baby Jesus to a church. I don't plan to tell him and mess him up any further, superstitiously speaking, than his sister already has. I just hope that what he doesn't know won't hurt him.