Worthy of Praise

Kudos To:

The imaginative young priest at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Boston who quoted Bono’s lyrics from a U2 song during a Holy Week sermon~

Jessie the sweet, gentle, funny lady who celebrated her 97th birthday this month~
All those who love baseball and follow their team obsessively – that means you Red Sox Nation~

Sister Nancy and her staff for their tireless efforts at Casserly House~
The Fontbonne Academy class of 1960 as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their high school graduation~

Fontbonne’s first principal an amazing woman of wisdom and grace, Sister Flavia, who died last Christmas Eve.

Those who are careful not to litter as well as those whose job it is to clean the inevitable litter~

A certain puppy who has brought so much joy to a wonderful family~
A loving niece and her selfless generosity~

The novelist, Pat Conroy, whose book South of Broad is beautifully written poetic prose~

The Ledge Restaurant in Lower Mills Dorchester – terrific food, tasty drinks, attentive service and a lively atmosphere~

Heathrow Airport for shutting down operations due to the danger posed by volcanic ash from Iceland~

The Library of Congress for acquiring the entire Twitter archive with 50M tweets a day that’s a lot of 140 or less characters~

John Lackey for the ease with which he has assimilated himself as a member of the Boston Red Sox~

The first woman, Katherine Bigelow, to get an oscar for best director for the phenomenal movie The Hurt Locker~

Carrie Fisher whose blog can always make me laugh~

To those who care enough to research and preserve the memory and accomplishments of their ancestors~

All who make kindness a priority in their daily interactions with others~

Courage Personified

Much has been written and more has been said in recent days about the twenty-four year old Boston Red Sox pitcher, Jon Lester. His is an uncommon story of courage and inspiration. Lester came to the majors with great promise and a better arsenal of pitches. He won his first five games handily, the first left-hander to do so with the Sox. Then he began to struggle both on the mound and with back and neck pain. In September, 2006 Lester was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, a blood cancer.

The dreadful diagnosis was shocking especially to Jon and his family. Treatment began in Boston and later continued in Lester’s home state of Washington. None of us had any way of knowing what the outcome would be but we knew that Jon was a fighter and he vowed to lick it and get back on the mound.

Sure enough Jon Lester was declared cancer-free and back pitching for the Sox a little over a year after his diagnosis. Then in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series, Sox/Rockies, there was Lester the winning pitcher. The Red Sox were world champions again and Lester was able to celebrate much more than a ball game. His courage and tenacity in beating back the cancer have been an inspiration to more people than he will ever know.

The rest reads like a Hollywood script. For on Monday, May 19, 2008 Jon Lester carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning of a game at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals. After walking the first batter he induced two infield ground outs and then the final out, fittingly his ninth strike-out of the game. Of course he smiled and celebrated with his teammates and the fans. But it was the emotional hug between Sox manager, Tito Francona and his ‘other son’ Jon Lester that brought tears to my eyes. Lester has often said that Francona was like a ‘second father’ to him especially during his recovery. So, all the best to you Jon Lester as you continue your career in baseball and more importantly as you continue to inspire those who have their own struggles with catastrophic illness.