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Amanda Aaron and the Bishop

 Amanda Aaron, Terry’s daughter, was confirmed this last spering at St. Therese parish in San Diego.

Sam, Owen Cole, Laurie Cole, Mike Cole

I was also involved in a confirmation ceremony for my godson, Owen Cole, the child of my great friends Mike and Laurie Cole. (I had been asked a few years ago to be my other godson, David Tarlau’s, Confirmation sponsor, but I incorrectly thought a person other than me, the godfather, was supposed to be his sponsor, so I demurred.  But Laurie insisted I sponsor Owen, so I agreed).  Owen’s confirmation was at St. Francis de Sales in Sherman Oaks, with Cardinal Mahony presiding.  We were instructed that no one could record or photograph the ceremony, so I don’t have any good pictures of me with Cardinal Mahony (although if one surfaces, I will be sure to post it).  The confirmation was at the end of April – Amanda’s was a week later – and participating in the ceremony made me think of the other Catholic milestones in which I participated.

I don’t remember my baptism.  But after September 1955, I was a Catholic.

Yep, that's me in the arms of the parish priest September 1955

I remember standing on the stairs outside of St. Timothy’s in May 1963 for the picture with my class, and heeding the warning to not eat any food three hours before receiving the sacrament.  I also remember struggling to think of sins that were good enough to mention when I made my first Confession.  I am lucky enough to still be in contact with one of my friends from St. Timothy’s, Shawn Perez. When we left St. Tim’s after my fourth grade year and moved to San Diego, I forgot most of the kids in the picture, but Shawn attended St. Tim’s until the 8th grade and he remembered a number of the kids. 

Shawn is the first boy in the second row and I am over at the other end – the blondest kid in the row, squinting into the morning sun.  Other boys in the row are James Kirkham, George Alfs, Keith Flaherty, Chip Mallek, Charles Orofino, Michael George, Michael Handorf, and Peter Butiglierre (I remember Cub Scouts at the Butiglierre house.)  Mary Sue Weldon and Heidi Schulte are inthe first rorw of girls – Mary Sue is second from the left and Heidi to her right. The Weldons and the Perez’s were friends of Mom and Dad and I remember having parties and outings with them.  Monica Morris is in the third row, and in the top row Walter Stanford, Peter Cathcart, Rick Flaherty, Ronald Green and Tim Donovan.  The pastor was Fr. O’Shea, who we all thought was the coolest priest because he spoke with a bit of a brogue.  Even Shawn couldn’t remember all the names, but he was able to fill in some holes in my memory for me. 

It’s odd for me to see these kids because I lost track of most of them once our family moved to San Diego.  The Perezes and Weldons visited us in San Diego and really, who could ever forget a name like Mary Sue Weldon or Shawn Perez?  

I don’t have any pictures of my confirmation, but I do have one indelible memory.  I was assembled with my class in the front pews of St. Patrick’s.  We had been drilled in the Baltimore Catechism and had been warned that Bishop Ward might ask any single one of us a question about our faith before administering the sacrament.  Needless to say, I was ready just in case he asked, and I knew the answers forwards and backwards.  Sure enough, before he began the process of lining us up and confirming us, he stepped down from the altar and spoke to us about how important this step was in us becoming full members of the Cathloic faith; he stepped over to the side of the church where I was sitting and, just as we had been warned, started asking kids questions at random.  My heart was in my throat as he took a step closer to my side of the church and he looked over in my general direction. 

No,  he didn’t call on me.  But he did call on Anthony Intrieri, my best friend, who was also the smartest kid in the class, and probably also the best Catholic, even to this day.  He looked at Anthony, asked him a question and Anthony answered correctly. 

Then the bishop said no.  Everyone gasped.  We were so well drilled, and so confident in Anthony’s response, that we knew the bishop was wrong.  As soon as I fell out of line after our dismissal, I ran up to Mom and spat out my horror, not only that Anthony had been incorrectly corrected, but that the Bishop had been wrong! Jesus’s representative here on Earth had been fallible. 

Who said receiving a sacrament isn’t fun?

Gray and Haila

Here are pictures of Gary and Haila, who are engaged! 

We LOVE Gray and we are ecstatic that Haila is about to become a KUGLEN.

As much fun as Gray is to be around, I am sure the experience is quadrupled now that Haila is part of the fun. 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Dear Wonderful Family- 

A couple of weeks ago (May 23)  the Toplaks- Paul, Teresa, Eva and Tessa – visited San Diego.  (Aaron and Christina were supposed to come along, but didn’t come at the last moment.  We all wanted to see you!) We all met at Terry and Chris’s on Saturday afternoon and everyone was there – Joan and Dick, KK and Bill, John and Lory, Terry and Chris, Joanie and Nathan, Maribeth, plus lots of the nieces (none of the nephews), including Nathalie, who I have not seen for a while.  I drove down from Los Angeles early in the morning, so we all had a nice “Start of Summer” party.   As much as we like seeing all our cousins from the Kuglen side of the family, we also like seeing our cousins from the Greene side of the family, and since we don’t have the opportunity to see them as frequently, I think we all clear our schedules to make the time to see the Greenes.  

We all especially liked seeing Paul and Teresa’s daughters, Eva and Tessa.  They are both gorgeous little girls and Paul and Teresa are great parents.  If you look closely at Eva, the elder of the two girls, you can really see Uncle Jack in her face; she really looks like a Greene.  Tessa is only 7 months, so I wasn’t able to see Uncle Jack as clearly yet, but I am sure her Greene side will emerge as she gets older.  Of course, I am also sure that Paul sees his parents in the faces of his girls, but it was a Greene Day.      :-) 

Mom and Dick left on a road trip through the states of California, Oregon and Washington 2 days after the party.  I have been getting emails from Dick about the trip, along with pictures in a format I can’t copy and load.  They are travelling a lot and have hundreds of pictures of all the places they have been, but so far they have been stingy with them – maybe once they get back from Washington they will send me few of the best and I can post them for everyone to see.  

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the party.  Enjoy!

Terry, Amanda and Teresa

Paul, Bill, Nathan, and Chris

Teresa and Eva

Nathalie and Joan

Tessa

KK and Teresa

Paul, Joanie and Nathan

Nathalie and Eva

Joy

Tessa with the blue eyes

Terry and Amanda

Yesterday, June 4, 2009, was the graduation ceremony at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, where I teach 11th and 12th grade English (By the way, if you watched the show “Glee” after “American Idol” JBHS was used as the school in the show.  All the backgrounds are where I work!).  I have attended the graduation ceremony every year for the past 6 years because between the kids I see in the 11th and the kids I see in the 12th grade, I end up teaching somewhere between a third and a half of the graduating class and the ceremony is as much closure for me as it is the beginning of a new part of their lives.  I am lucky that I teach at a good school with mostly great kids.  Sometimes one of them thinks enough of the work I do to thank me and every once in a while one of them even puts their thoughts into words. Here’s a note that one of my favorite students from the last couple of years gave me last night before he received his diploma. He asked me to read it today, so I did – and here it is: 

Dear Mr. Kuglen, 

     Sorry this had to come written on a piece of paper instead of spoken aloud.  I wouldn’t want to say this on graduation; too corny, too predictable. Not me at all!

     I wanted to take a moment to thank you for how you have changed my life.  Without a doubt, you are the single most difficult person I have ever met.  You used to tell me I was wrong simply to say I was wrong!  And yet, how badly I need that.  I needed that constant tension and strife to learn, and I truly feel 11th grade was the year I matured the most. 

     I have to wonder if this is why one becomes a teacher.  It may sound a little pompous, but it must be an incredible feeling to have improved a person’s life in the way you have mine.  I’m a stronger, smarter, and more confident person because of your teachings.  I know this is sappy, and sentimental, but it’s also my last chance to say this…. I’ll always remember you.  Because, really, who knew Faulkner was so damn funny? 

Best Wishes,

I’ll spare him the revelation of his name (unless he lets me know I can reveal it).  

He’s right – I did always say “no” to him.  But I really loved having him in my class – the whole group was awesome and he was right at the top of the awesomeness.  I looked forward to period 6 every day with those kids (it might have had something to do with also having a fifth period conference).  I am fortunate that I love teaching American Literature and that I have students who challenge me every year to top what I accomplished the previous year.  He was pretty smart when he started my class, so I am flattered to think I helped to make him smarter (hey, he got the humor in As I Lay Dying).  I cleaned out my classroom today, put everything away, and one my favorite students from this year, Talitha McGirt, came in to help me clean.  So, I get a few weeks off, maybe see some Shakespeare and do a wee bit ‘o’ travelling, then back in August to start a new year.  

I am going to blog frequently this summer, so come back often!