ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL, SAN DIEGO, CA

I am kind of shocked that I have not had any post on St. Joseph's Cathedral located in San Diego, CA. Shocked because any time we went down to San Diego, Dad would always take us down to St. Joseph's.  I know for sure there is at least one photo of me, Tom, and Joe standing in front of the cathedral.  

This might be 1968.

There might be more than that.  I recall, too, how we may have scored some donuts one morning if we helped out with the mass at all.  That is one thing that Dad always taught us--was to help out. Volunteer.  Not because of what we might earn from it, but for the sake of participation.  

I loved the steps of this church.  It was up on a hill, where virtue should be.  The last time I was there was probably 2004.  It was summer.  The lights were dimmed to keep the church cool and to save on electricity. And in that cool, dimmed environment, I lit a votive candle for Dad.  He loved this church from his days of being on leave from the Marines perhaps.  Not sure.  But I am sure that when he was on leave that he spent a little time in San Diego.  And just as he stopped off at the Plaza Church in Downtown LA near Olvera Street after stepping off the train up from San Diego, that he also stopped in here to pray when disembarking from a ship.  

On Wednesday, September 23, Joe wrote that

yeah after WW2 ended dad was stationed at the El Centro Marine base...he would visit this church on his way back to see mom or driving to & from Camp Pendleton til 1947...

The following shot captures the red carpet and the two columns of pews.  It was a straight-forward church design.  I like the arches.   

I love this shot because you can see the stained glassed windows better. 

I think it was 2003 that I took Joanne down to San Diego to the Coronado Hotel to Old Town and the La Pinata restaurant, of which she made little mention, to Presidio Park, but she was no fan of walking, then drove up to Solano Beach to relive those wonderful memories for me.  

DAD'S FAVORITE SONG: SNOWBIRD by Anne Murray

Dad's favorite singer was Canadian, Anne Murray.  He really did love her. Perhaps his favorite song of hers was "Snowbird."  The song appears on her album, "This Way Is My Way," 1969, and was released as a single in 1970.  The song, written by songwriter Gene MacLellan, a prolific Canadian artist, was a good friend of Anne Murray's.  I don't think I ever heard Dad mention Gene MacLellan.  

Beneath this snowy mantle cold and clean
The unborn grass lies waiting
For its coat to turn to green
The snowbird sings the song he always sings
And speaks to me of flowers
That will bloom again in spring

When I was young my heart was young then too
Anything that it would tell me
That's the thing that I would do
But now I feel such emptiness within
For the thing that I want most in life's
The thing that I can't win

Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you

The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So little snowbird take me with you
When you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow

Spread your tiny wings and fly away
And take the snow back with you
Where it came from on that day
The one I love forever is untrue
And if I could you know that I would
Fly away with you.

Songwriter: Gene MacLellan.

I will never forget a memory I had with Dad.  We were in Denver.  We were visiting Aunt Gertrude or the Haases, and Dad called me to join him to go to the store to get a paper and a beverage.  Well, he bought sandwiches for just he and I.  He found a park and pulled over.  He carried his sandwiches and his encased radio to a picnic bench there at the park. 

And he dialed his radio into a station that played Anne Murray's "Snowbird."  He was in heaven.  I'll never forget Dad's tone when he heard or commented on her voice: it was adoration.  Anne Murray, a turkey sandwich, the local paper, and one of his devoted sons to keep him company.  

I don't know if it matters or not, but Dad's sentiments of love seem to align with those of Gene MacLellan, particularly in this song, "I Just Want to Be Loved by You."  I don't know if Anne Murray ever sang or recorded this song.