Today reaped rewards within patience. Patience is the virtue I concentrate upon. I ended events with Adoration at St Andrew Abbey. The hospitality of the Benedictine community astonished. The Abbot himself greeted me as I approached the front doors, opening the doors, welcoming me, telling me he wondered if I would come. I could only chuckle. I was only there the first time last week. I told him I waited until after eight in order to allow the community their communal Holy Hour. He said, ‘there are visiting Germans wondering if you would come back’. I am not sure what he meant. Did he know I was German? Then he said, ‘Brother Gabriel said you would come. You do not have to wait until after eight’. Then a brother came from the church, welcoming me, ushering me into the church. The Abbot called out in a hushed voice, ‘that is Brother Gabriel’. As I sat, I noticed there was a monk sitting in the seat I sat in last Friday. It was the brother who welcomed me to the Adoration a month or so in the past. Sitting in silence, I felt overwhelmed with love, peace, and gratitude. They were waiting for me. After moments of recollection, the brother rose and spoke, asking in a whisper if I was spending the night. I said, ‘No’. He said, ‘If the gate is closed do not panic. Ring the bell and someone will come and let you out’.

The Abbey is firmly etched upon my itinerary. Friday evenings shape into a graced offering. Holding matters lightly, allowing God to present situations and solutions, I reflect upon the day, cherishing the east side of Cleveland. St Andrew Abbey is close. After work, I spent time in Cleveland Heights visiting with two sellers of photo scanners. I came into contact with the man and woman through Craigslist. I find the highly educated eccentric people in Cleveland Heights fascinating. The first woman, older, living alone, was selling a Konica Minolta high end scanner, however it only handled slides and negatives. Not what I was looking for. The woman’s husband is deceased. He used the scanner for his scientific work. Not sure what that meant, however I do know I thoroughly enjoyed touring the apartment. The coupled collected artwork throughout their lives. Their luxury apartment contained a treasure trove of works by local Cleveland artist. The woman took me around showing off her paintings. Most of the work was rather dark and sensual, yet I took in the images. I must admit I turned my eyes away from one, ending the tour, as it seemed demonic. I did receive a hug upon parting. The second seller of scanners lived in a huge home. The gentleman and myself have been speaking for days. He is a funny older man, a conversationalist and lover of life. He took me into his basement and we had a wonderful time. He showed me his photography studio and his computer setup for handling photographic images. Retired, he has become an archivist for his family, scanning old family photos for relatives, creating digital collections for family members who have volumes of photos, yet do not have the inclination to convert everything to digital. I purchased a quality Epson scanner from him. The scanner was still in the box and loaded with goodies. I did well. My intent is to retrieve all of my deceased father’s photographs. He has boxes upon boxes. He became quite an avid photographer later in life. I will go through his images, paying homage to my father by posting selected photographs on their own page amongst this blog. I am quite excited.

Other things happen today, yet I am tired, including a visit with Dr. Nichta, paperwork from the Hospice of Case Western arriving, and several interesting phone calls. I will continue in the morning.