[Magdalen] Fwd: Where Am I?

[Scott Knitter]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Joseph Cirou <romanos at mindspring.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 19, 2020 at 6:13 PM
Subject: Where Am I?
To: Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>




Merry Christmas, Scott,

As you know, Scott, I can't get into Magdalen .  Would you please forward
my answer to "Where Are We"

I miss the list but I can't reply due to some glitch in the system. So
Scott Knitter has graciously agreed to forward my response

I truly miss the list. I can't get into the list to respond but I can read
all the messages.

I was not seriously affected by the pandemic. The Irs gave us
administrative leave at the end of March and we returned to the work force
in Georgia on June 16. Since then we have been working at home four days a
week and coming into the office to present our work and send it to the
server every Thursday.

On Christmas and New Year's Eve we are on holiday.

I haven't played the organ since February

In October of 202018 I celebrated my Golden Jubilee on our patronal Feast
of St. Sergius and Bacchus More on that in a minute.

In January of 2018 Yvonne Boone died of lung cancer. Our was a tempestuous
relationship as those of you with long memories may remember.

I did the music for her funeral which took place in Bishopville, NC

>From then until shortly before my Golden Jubilee, I remodelled her bedroom
into a small Byzantine Rite Oratory.

It was there that I celebrated my Golden Jubilee Divine Liturgy.  We had
about 15 guests from Chicago and Georgia.
Yvonne's daughter, Talisha read one of the lessons.
It was a gala affair with a hired quartet from one of the local Episcopal
Churches where I had subbed over the years'
The quartet led the music  which was primarily in the Byzantine Slavonic
tradition (mostly English) and we used severqal arrangements of the
Cherubic Hymn, Mnohaya LIta, and other selections by Borniansky. Since I
had been the music director
at the local Moravian Church in  2018 and haver always loved the Moravian
musical tradition, we did All Hail the POwer and the Moravian Easter Hymn
in the program.
The retired pastor from the church who remains a great friend did the other
lesson.
After the Liturgy we had a gala reception which included touriere (French
Canadian, croquembouche, and other gourmet specialties especially Belgian
Wine, good wine, gourmet pop and flavored waters.

The chapel is well equipped and I have an iconostasis on the wall (the
expansive former bedroom is not large enough to
hold a free standing iconostasis.
 This past year I have begun hanging a second wall of icons to reflect gay
Christian theme of David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, Sergius and Bacchus,
Mychal Judge, St. Sebastian St. Aelred, and many others. I have
commissioned art work of the Madonna of Montevergine  which is a medieval
shrine that is the only shrine to Mary set up by Gaylesbitrans Christians.

Etsy is a wonderful source for these types of icons.

I have been able to celebrate the liturgy in the chapel a few times and
including on our patronal day in 2020. We had a festal trapeza afterwards
but not as elaborate as the jubilee.

I have been in the ante-preparatory stages of retirement from the IRS which
is tentatively scheduled on or after by 79th birthday in 2022 when i  will
have completed 20 years with the service.  Some of you I have known a bit
longer than that.

After my personal vehicles were totally twice (not my fault) I began to use
Go Go Grandparent (contracts with LYft and Uber)  and have not driven since
April of 2018 and exchanged a drivers license for a State Id as of NOvember
3 2020.

My email remains romanos at mindspring.com I also use jcirou8 at gmail.com  My
landline is 404 508 9128 or cell 404 246 3477  I am not using 4046297575
since about a month ago when A Handy Pro (housekeeper) stole my phone and
caused temporary havoc with my debit card and paypal.
Things are going well now!

Happy Christmas to all. Christ Is Born Glorify Him Joyeuux Noel et Bonne
Anne a tous!





-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA