Sorry I've been virtually incommunicado for a few days, I was in New York City for what was described as a "press briefing" for journalists about religion and homosexuality. The event was sponsored by the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture and held in midtown Manhattan.
It was an incredibly helpful and informative meeting in which leading scholars from around the country discussed what their religious groups' stances are on such issues as ordination of gays and blessing of same-sex unions. These experts not only explained their faith's position, but also why and how they reached such a stance. The sessions were meant as informational, not as news stories, and I certainly learned a lot and made some great connections for future coverage.
I am fairly sure that this information will be the catalyst for a series on religion and homosexuality. It's a project that will take a lot of time and effort, but which I sincerely want to research and report.
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A few little observations about New York City:
The people are genuinely friendly, quite the opposite of prevailing wisdom. A number of times I opened a map to try to figure out just where to go and the locals came up to me, unsolicited, and asked if I needed directions.
Near Wall Street, I saw a guy in a suit hail a cab, and next to him was a woman on crutches, also trying to hail a cab. The cab stopped and the suit guy started to get in, then noticed the woman on crutches. He stepped aside and gave up the cab, and even helped her get in.
We visited the site of the World Trade Center, and even six years after the attack it is still highly emotional. Walking down the street to Ground Zero, I recognized buildings that I had seen so many times in the videos but almost subconsciously, as all your attention is riveted on the Twin Towers and the jets. But this week, looking down the street toward the site, those buildings aligned with the memory to create a particularly eerie and sad feeling that is hard to describe.
Walking through Greenwich Village on Wednesday night, we came across several blocks with movie-studio trailers lined up from end to end. I saw a woman standing on the steps of a building and asked what was going on, and she said they were filming the "Sex and the City" movie. I have never seen the TV show but the woman was so nice, we chatted for 15 minutes or so. Her name was Jehira, not sure how to spell it, and she's hoping to be a star someday. She was incredibly friendly, personable and very cute. I hope she makes it to the top. I'll have to look for her in the movie. A security guard there was also very nice. He said he works 3 or 4 months on a movie, 16 hours a day, saves his money, then when it's a wrap he spins a globe and picks a place to visit for a month. Interesting work schedule, don't you think?
One cab driver was from Bangladesh. Felt so bad for him. He explained that he pays $115 a day to use the cab, plus pays for fuel. He keeps anything above that. It's hard, so hard, he said. He's a young guy but also has back pains and other ailments. I gave him a $10 tip, I felt so sorry for him.
I perused the postings in the windows of real estate firms and was astounded at how many apartments/condos/townhouses in NYC are renting for $5,000 or more a month. I saw at least 4 or 5 listings that were $12,000 a month! Unbelievable. I always had this idea in the back of my head that I'd love to live in N.Y. for a few years... but at those prices, I don't think it's gonna happen. I do hope to get there more often, like once a year.
We saw "Hairspray" while there, that was a real blast. I didn't know who Ashley Parker Angel was, the actor who played Link, but my daughter Cara sure did. She screamed with excitement when we told her he was in it...he was on MTV's "Making of the Band."
My one small regret about this trip was that I did not eat a knish. And I was so looking forward to it -- it's a real New York delicacy, a pastry filled with mashed potatos. But I just couldn't find a knish when I wanted one.
I did have an egg cream, however, and a pastrami and corned beef "samwich", sitting on a patio watching the crowds walk by. That was a real New York moment.
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I got back to work on Friday and was not only slammed with finishing Saturday's religion pages, and reviewing the 250-or-so legitimate emails, stack of snail mail, and dozens of voice mails waiting for me, but also two court filings involving Father Gerald Robinson.
I wrote about them for today's paper, you can read it here.
Survivor Doe's civil suit against Robinson being reinstated by the appeals court is major news. I have some observations to share when I get a chance. Also, there is a lot of interesting information in the 92-page motion seeking Robinson's release on property bond...
For example, one friend of the priest said the Sisters of Mercy sent Valentine's Day cards to Robinson and that Sister Margaret Ann Pahl signed them. This same Robinson friend said he and Sister Margaret Ann went to Cedar Point together.
Another Robinson supporter said the priest has only one fault, he doesn't take a good photo.
Numerous letters of support claim the jurors had their minds made up ahead of time and didn't listen to the evidence. They say Robinson is the scapegoat for all the bad priests out there, that the jurors are taking it all out on him.
Of course, they are not looking at things objectively but are so biased in the priest's favor that they can only see things the way they want to see them. That's true about much of life, isn't it.
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Got a glimpse of Fred Rosen's true-crime paperback book about Robinson. The title is "When Satan Wore a Cross." A friend had a copy, and promised to loan it to me when he's done. It's not been released yet officially.
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The world series is moving along, and it is looking bleak for the Colorado Rockies. (what kind of team name is that? As one columnist said, it's not a name for a baseball team, it's more like a flavor of ice cream.)
The Red Sox are prolific hitting machines and tonight appear to be on their way to another rout and a 3-0 lead in the series. Even the pitcher, Dice-K, knocked in two runs tonight with a single. Since Boston knocked the Indians out of the playoffs, I am rooting for the Red Sox for two reasons: one, I follow the American League and don't care too much for any National League team, and two, the logical extrapolation that if the Sox win, at least the Indians lost to not only a good team, but the best team in baseball in 2007.
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One other sport I follow is Formula 1 racing and finally got to watch my Tivo of the season finale in Brazil. Quite an exciting season... The championship was rookie Lewis Hamilton's to lose, and that he did, driving off the course briefly and apparently damaging the low-lying electronics, and finished seventh, just enough to let Kimi Raikkonen of Finland and his Ferrari take the title. Ferraris rule!
Toledo, Ohio
October 27, 2007