Pope Benedict XVI resigns ~ a historical moment

Vatican City

It has been six months since we returned from England and although our lives still feel a bit turned around, it's nothing compared to the Catholic church which is going through a major change.  Pope Benedict XVII, after much prayer and meditation announced to the world that he is resigning on Feb. 28 due to advanced age.  He turns 86 in April.  The last Pope to step down was Pope Gregory XII and that was in the 15th Century. Needless to say, the world was taken by surprise.

I think Pope Benedict should be commended.  I know it's not customary for a Pope to step down, but its better than the alternative ~ watching him whither away and die at the altar.  We watched Pope John Paul II to the end, and although he was adored, it was a long and painful journey. I read an article in the New York Times about a journalist who followed John Paul for his last 7 years. He said the Pope had to be propped up, wiped of drool, and required several attendants as he tried to deliver mass each week.  The whole world watched as he declined to his death.

St. Peter's Square

Pope Benedict, on the other hand, said from the beginning when he was no longer able to serve, with God's blessing, he would step down. And that's exactly what he did.  He gave two weeks notice and the Catholic church went into a tizzy. Since this was unprecedented in the modern world, protocol was followed for replacing a deceased Pope, and the cardinal conclave was called.

So here's what is happening in Vatican City.  

Late last week, Pope Benedict gave his final address and flew off in a helicopter to Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence south of Rome. After the new Pope is chosen, Benedict, who will assume the new title, Benedict XVI, rather than reclaim his birth name Joseph Ratzinger, will return to the Vatican grounds and reside there in retirement until his death. In the meantime, a papal conclave of 115 cardinals is convening in Vatican City right now. They will be responsible for electing the new Pope.  This practice of forming a conclave began 600 years ago when Pope Gregory stepped down. After three years with no leader, the cardinals were sent to a room and told not to come out until a decision was made.  Several days later they emerged with a new Catholic leader.

Hallway leading to the Sistine Chapel
(no photos allowed in the chapel itself)

That brings us to today. Gathered in the Sistine Chapel, 115 cardinals have sequestered themselves from the world. They were sworn to secrecy and will have no contact with loved ones.  They will eat, sleep, and pray together until a new Pope has been elected.  The voting will occur up to four times daily.  The process can take several days until the favored cardinal comes out on top, round after round, and climbs the papal ladder to gain 77 votes or two-thirds of the majority. Then, an announcement will come.

Cardinal Conclave

A smoke signal will billow from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel to alert the world when the new leader is chosen.  If black smoke is signaled then no decision has been reached, however, when white smoke erupts then the world has been alerted: a new Pope will reign. The first voting session has just ended and black smoke poured from the make-shift chimney. Much to the chagrin of the thousands who have huddled in the rain in St. Peter's Square, no decision was reached. And so the conclave continues.  Most suspect it will take four to five days before a new leader will emerge.  But when he does he will announce his new name (since nobody goes by their birth name), and he will go to the window of the second floor of the Vatican and address all those gathered in St. Peter's Square. It will be a moment to remember.

One final word, what's up with the red shoes?  According to tradition, back in 1566 St. Pope Pius V decided to change the papal dress from red to white.  However, he kept his cape, cap and shoes red. All successive Popes wore red shoes except for Pope John Paul, who wore brown.  Benedict brought back the red shoe.  We shall see if the tradition continues.

St. Peter's Square

Personally, I don't know what is more exciting.  The fact that all this drama is unfolding as the world watches to see who will be the next Pope, or the fact that we were there, in Rome, where all the action is taking place.  We stood in the Sistine Chapel, in awe of all its glory.  We toured the Vatican, prayed in the Basilica, and stood in St. Peter's Square awaiting the Pope's Sunday blessing. However, that particular Sunday the Pope did not show.  Instead we saw a video recording of his address since it was the Sunday after Easter and he was on holiday.  It was still powerful though; people fell to their knees and held up their jewelry so everything would be blessed.

Beginning tour of Vatican City

Our adventure may be over but the memory of Rome is burned in our hearts forever. Blessings to all those who await the news, and to the old and new Pope alike.  A historical moment indeed.

Hurricane Sandy hits home

Hurricane Sandy in full swing

A darkened NYC

Two months in and we were greeted with a harsh welcoming - Hurricane Sandy hit the tri-state area and left many towns devastated.  The eye zeroed in on the NJ but lower Manhattan went under water, and Staten Island, Westchester County, and the Jersey shore also suffered incredible damage.  There are many towns still without power, six days later, and parts of the shore have been wiped off the map.  Literally, Seaside Amusement Park is now in the ocean, beachfront homes that laid between the Ocean and the Bay have been washed away, and there are towns everywhere with a changed footprint.

Entrance to Battery Tunnel in NYC

NYC cabs in a parking garage - under water

Seaside Amusement Park - gone

Our town was hit hard.  We lost power Monday night, on October 29, and many residents are still without.  It was a slow storm.  It felt liked we waited around for days for Sandy to arrive.  We received word on Sunday afternoon that school would be cancelled on Monday and Tuesday.  We had already taken cover on Thursday as the stores emptied out of water, batteries, and soup.  Then came the wait.  We all sat around on Monday as the winds kicked up and the storm slowly made its way inland. We baked cookies, played with neighbors, and began to clear out the basement.

One of hundreds of trees in NJ, uprooted from the storm

Memories of last years' storms, Irene and the Halloween storm, were still present in everyone's minds.  We were not here but we heard enough stories that we felt like we lived through it.  Then Sandy came and brought us to a whole new level. Irene left everyone with flooded basements.  The Halloween storm dumped 8 inches of snow and left behind snapped trees.  But Sandy is the hurricane that uprooted our landscape. Hundreds of trees fell and with it went telephone poles, wires, roofs, and our picturesque small town.

A Staten Island home protesting the marathon

The aftermath.  This is the hard part.  We can barely get back on our feet.  There was a lot of controversy over the NYC marathon.  Originally Mayor Bloomberg said we should go ahead with it; it will jump start the economy (which was the real motivator), and it will show we have resilience.  But then we started seeing areas in NYC which were hard hit, like Staten Island where there is no power and the water is contaminated.  The worst part is nobody even knew about it until four days after the storm.  We're just not there yet.  Today was supposed to be the Marathon.  They cancelled it 48 hours ago.  People are still getting power back as evidence of Facebook.  New posts pop up every hour; "Hooray, we are back in business."

Now for the recovery.  The utility trucks have been out around the clocks working to restore power to those without - which is just about everyone.  Our parents, on both sides of the family, are still without power which worries us.  Plus, in the neighboring rural town, Harding, we heard they will not get power back until Thanksgiving nor will the kids go back to school.  That's crazy.

The gas lines are 3-4 hours long.  It has grown so out of control they closed stations and brought in the police to manage tempers - NY/NJ tempers which can become unruly on a good day.  Beginning yesterday, you can only fill up your tank on the even/odd day corresponding to your license plate.

The grocery stores still remain vacant.  The inner isles are somewhat filled with canned and boxed goods.  However, the outer isles, the ones they say you should shop in if you want to stay healthy, are sparse.  Dairy, produce, and meats are slow to be restocked as they had to throw away everything when the power went out.  Forget picture perfect health, we're just looking for a few bananas to eat.

However, every day progress is being made.  More friends are getting their power back.  Traffic lights are being restored.  Stores are posting signs, "We're Open".  We had garbage pick-up three times since the storm ended, for those that missed the first and second pick-up.  There are trees cut up everywhere - on the sides of roads, on lawns, on just about everyone's property.  Halloween, which was cancelled for the second year in a row, was held yesterday on Nov. 3.  Kids dressed in costume and trick or treated at the houses that offered candy, those that were with restored power and had not been damaged by the hurricane.

Slowly but surly life is getting back to normal.  As we look ahead, everyone is making plans.  New York City officials are looking at the city's infrastructure and brainstorming new ideas.  Home owners are scrambling to buy generators.  Everyone is taking a hard look at their emergency plan and revamping it.  We all thought we were prepared but the bottom line is the weather patterns have changed.  Hurricane Sandy was not an anomaly.  The prediction is it will happen again.  The question is will we be prepared, and how will we tackle global warming in the future?  

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday ~ the election and our future depends on it.

   

London Olympics 2012 ~ It’s time!!!

The day has finally come!  London has been preparing to host the Olympics for seven years now and the time has finally arrived.  I went on an Olympic walking tour this past winter; the stadium was just a shell and the Olympic Village looked like a construction site.  London has come a long way.

The excitement has been building.  The city is filling up with tourists.  Mac said his commute home has been challenging this week.  There are more people on the trains, with maps in hand, and the tube is a mess.  Plus, we are having a heat wave right now, which is so unusual.  (They say enjoy it because it will only last a week!)  Anyway, the trains have been delayed and Mac has been getting home an hour late each night.  One day there were no trains to Oxshott so I had to go pick him up at a nearby station.  I can’t imagine what the next two weeks will be like. 

Signs have been up for a while warning us that roads and businesses will be closed this weekend due to the Cycle Through Surrey, an Olympic event passing our street corner.  We are thrilled to be able to take part, but in a country where there is so much congestion, coupled with narrow English roads, it is destined to be a nightmare.  Normally, when construction is occurring, they put in a temporary light and you end up queuing for 20 minutes before you can pass.  Imagine all the extra people and traffic.  The joke is that London is going to bust during the Olympics!  

Saturday, after the bike race we are hopping in the car and driving 4 hours to Manchester so see another Olympic event – a football game at Old Trafford Stadium.  Actually, most of our Olympic tickets are held in places other than the Olympic Village.  We have Beach Volleyball tickets (a hot commodity) at the picturesque Horse Guard’s Parade; Canoe Sprint tickets at Eton Buckinghamshire; Men’s Basketball tickets in the big white bubble (which I learned will be deflated and sent to Scotland after the Olympics), and Women’s Football Final tickets at Wembley Stadium.  We had to purchase tickets to get into the park itself; we’re scheduled to be there August 1, from 4-9 pm.

Horse Guard's Parade - Home of Women's Beach Volleyball 

It all begins tomorrow, but really the torch has been traveling throughout England for some time now.  It arrived from Greece, via David Beckham, on May 18.  It started at the most southern tip of England, Lands End in Cornwall, and traveled almost 8,000 miles across 70 cities.  The thing that was most impressive was the people that carried the torch.  They are everyday people with incredible stories.  One torchbearer, Stephen Kirchner, is a student at our school.  He was diagnosed with leukemia a few years back.  He also is a straight A student, started a charity foundation for teenagers with cancer, is working towards his Eagle Scout, is the sound guy for dances/shows, also the captain of the track n field team, and is applying to Ivy League colleges in the States.  And his mother is fighting breast cancer at the moment.  He’s the nicest kid I ever met.  His story is just one of many.  All the torchbearers have a similar story to share.  It's humbling indeed.

 This is what is so great about the Olympics.  It brings out the best in all of us.  As we sit and watch the games we get to know the athletes and learn their story.  And they are just ordinary people, which really make it special. 

GB Support Crew ~ Sailing Team

A few months back I had the opportunity to sail with the Great Britain Olympic Sailing team.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  When we arrived at the Isle of Wight, we met the team and learned that they are actually the support crew.  They just found out two days ago that they did not make the sailing team.  Three guys had campaigned full time for a year – just to earn a spot.  But the forth guy (actually the first guy on the left), Rick Peacock, had been campaigning, full time, for over four years.  He is 26 and will be too old to compete in the 2016 Olympics.  He was gutted.  You could see it in his eyes - that lost hope to sail with the Great Britain Olympic team.  We were assigned to Rick’s boat and it was perhaps one of the most memorable days of my life.  There was no wind in the morning so while he was teaching us the basics about sailing he told us all about his life.  His hopes.  His dreams.  There are so many others out there that are just like Rick.  They don’t make it to the Olympics yet they train all their life.  It just puts everything into perspective. 

Tiina, Rick & Traci

The cauldron is lit, the concert in Hyde Park has begun, and the stage is set.  As the athletes prepare for their final moment, we also prepare for our final exit.  What an event on which to end! 

Go team (Great Britain AND America), Go!

Wimbledon and Sandown

One venue is world famous and the other is not, but both are very English!  We have two guest bloggers today which makes this entry especially historic...

 Wimbledon by R. Cobb

Murray Mound

The queue, 11, 000 deep

My dad and I had the opportunity to go to Wimbledon last weekend. We took the train there. We didn’t get tickets beforehand so we got in the queue. There was a giant line of people stretching a mile long. My dad and I were just a small dot on the canvas of 11,000 people. After 4 ½ long and tiresome hours of waiting, we got into the grounds.

They were fantastic and very posh. It looked like a tennis players haven with twenty beautiful courts, food stalls, stores, and a huge TV on a hill known as Murray’s Mound. We took in the views and watched some young stars trying to make a name for them selves.

Photo from Ryan's cell phone

We made our way to the ticket resale booth hoping to get tickets to Centre Court to see Andy Murray vs. Marcos Baghdatis. After another grueling 2 ½ hour wait we finally got in! We ran into Centre Court not wanting to miss any more points. When we arrived the match was in the middle of the first set. We stayed until it was over and Murray won, concluding one of our best experiences in England.

Andy Murray, "I'm getting closer."

As they say in Wimbledon,  “Three cheers for Murray. Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray! Hip-Hip-Hooray! And one for luck! Hip-Hip-Hooray!” 

For those who missed the news: on Sunday Andy Murray lost to Roger Federer in what was probably the biggest televised match at Wimbledon since 1990, drawing over 17 million viewers.  It was heartbreaking, and as Murray said, he “lost to one of the greatest athletes of all time.”

Sandown Racetrack by T. Cobb

We went to Sandown on Saturday and bet on horses.  Some people won and some people lost.  It was stunning seeing the horses run.  We had to dress up in a button down shirt and jeans.  When we bet we went inside and asked the guy to bet on the horses.  Then we went back to our seats and watched.  People yelled when their horse came in first.  We won five or six times.  I really liked it. 

Summer Camp by A. Cobb

Today I dropped off B and T at Chelsea football camp.   They are learning football at the training ground of England’s premier football team ~ Chelsea.  It is the hottest team in England and they train five minutes from our house. 

It’s not just about football but also about the players.  T thought he saw John Terry this morning, the Captain of the team.  However, Terry was in court for racially abusing another football player.

Fortunately, it’s not just about the players.  B and T were dressed in their proper team uniforms representing Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.  T matched the grounds crew and the staff working all around Chelsea this morning!

R started tennis camp today as well.  He begrudging went thinking he would be the oldest and playing with only novices.  To his surprise there was a nice group of kids his age and all of them were quite talented.  He had a great time! 

I think it’s going to be a good week J.

Summer Holiday in England

We just finished the first week of our summer holiday here in England and, boy, did we have fun!  Come along and see what we did...

1) Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour

It was absolutely fantastic to see the place where all 8 HP movies (that's the official lingo) were made.  It's about 45 mins from our house in the outskirts of London.  You drive up to basically a huge warehouse that's been converted into Harry Potterville ~ sets, costumes, props, cinematography, audio production, architecture/engineering offices, and more.  As they said in the tour, it became the home away from home for all of the cast members for 10 years.  They celebrated birthdays together, bonded with the cast and crew members, and even attended school there.  

We all know Harry Potter is huge.  But it really becomes evident when you go on the tour and see how it all came together.  It's a combination of an incredibly talented author (who was very much involved in the selection of the cast - English actors only), and the vision and know-how (not to mention money) of Warner Brothers, and hundreds of really talented people to pull it all together.  Plus, technology and the internet ~ because you know the magic didn't happen on its own!

Check out the pictures ~ you'll be sure to spot many famous things!

Inside the studio

The Great Hall 

Luna Lovegood's and Professor Lockheart's costumes

Mirror of Erised

Hogwarts Clock Tower

Gryffindor Common Room

Dumbledore's Office

Can you guess who's sword this is?
 

Staircase (perfectly suspended)

The Weasley Home

London underground

Makeup, camera, action!

Diagon Alley

Architects office (one of many)!

Model of Hogwarts (used to film the overhead shots)

A named wand for every cast member (in all 8 HP movies)

Sorting Hat (in the gift shop)

2) The smashing new musical hit on the West End, Matilda

Wow, what a fabulous musical!  I can honestly say it is perhaps one of the best shows I have ever seen.  It's Roald Dahl's interpretation of his book and it is taking London by storm.  Its dark and delightful, and tells the story of a smart young girl who uses books and her imagination to escape her horrid life ~ scandalous parents, an evil school, and the fate of her existence.  She wins over the hearts of the town librarian and her school teacher; the only do-gooders in the whole play.  The dialogue is fantastic, the children (who comprise over half the cast) are phenomenal and the choreography is over the top, not to mention the special effects.  Mac says its the new Annie (but much better) and the London Times is comparing it to Billy Elliot which continues to dominate the West End.  It won a record breaking seven Olivers (equivalent to our Tonys) and it's still going strong.  The lead character, Matilda, is shared between four girls. We saw Eleanor Worthington-Cox who was the original Matilda.  She was amazing, and did I tell you she is 11 years old?  Unbelievable.  It's a wonderful play, and it's coming to New York in 2013.  Go see it!