Posting lite; looking for home
By Hilary White
Sorry about the sparse posts lately. I’ve actually been writing things for other people, but mostly I’ve just been preoccupied with personal things. The house in Norcia can’t be moved back into, despite previous premature phone calls to Germany. It’s all very complicated and difficult, but that’s the bottom line.
I met with my friendly realtor and he said Norcia is “un disastro totale,” worse by far than any quakes we’ve had in living memory. Indeed, the history books show that the only ones worse were the ones in the early 1860s in which tens of thousands died when their medieval stone houses fell, and the terrible catastrophe of 1703. Many – close to most – of the houses still standing in Norcia are going to have to be bulldozed. The quakes haven’t stopped (I was awake five times with the Adrenaline Rush of Mortal Peril the first night) and no one has any idea when they will. They’ve slowed down, but that was also the case in the days before the October quake, so it’s nothing to go by. So, Luca and I agreed that the sensible thing is to look for a new place. Somewhere close, and accessible, but somewhere else.
Luca said he could try to find me something in or near Perugia, which I’m keeping in mind. Perugia has a Mass, so there’s that, and you don’t have to live in the city itself. Rents are good in the villages – some of which are quite beautiful – and the bus services are very good. I visited Cascia overnight last week, and said the intercession prayer at St. Rita’s, but there was nothing in Cascia to rent either. I’m thinking of Spoleto area as well. Considering options.
Tomorrow I’m on the train up to Narni (yes, that Narni) where, judging from the internet immobiliare sites, the rents are simply mindbogglingly cheap – and go even lower in the “frazione” or surrounding villages and hamlets. There seem to be plenty of listings too. They also have a good bus services and there is also a Mass there to go to. Narni is also on the train line, which is convenient. And no earthquakes.
I have to get my stuff out of the house as soon as possible, and I’ve only got just under 4 weeks left in this place. I could have wished that someone had told me this about the house in Norcia before I had only a few weeks left, but whatever. Anyway, this and writing for other people – fulfilling some writing commitments that have been sitting on the shelf for a while – is going to take most of the time I’ve got to spare from house hunting. So things are going to continue to be a bit sparse around here for a bit.
This isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened, and we never know where God is going to lead us next, so I’m OK. But I’ve been badly worn out from this, and sleeping has been a problem. It took me fully five days to recover from my last trip, and I’m off again in the morning.
As for All the Stuff, I’ll try to keep up, and keep y’all up to speed with me, but things are moving so fast in Rome now that even with all my attention and all the energy in the world, it wouldn’t be enough. More and more I feel like the Coyote, watching helplessly while the Roadrunner effortlessly streaks away from him, tearing up the roads as he goes.
The absolute latest is that apparently some of Francis’s Conclave supporters are asking him to resign, saying that he’s going to … well… basically destroy the Church. And they’ve got their collection plates to think about… those Beamers don’t pay for themselves, right? As our friend Sam pointed out, the “progressives” have progressed themselves right out of a job. Anyway, the weirdness just keeps getting weirder. We’ll keep watching.
But meantime, I wanted to say thank you all again for the generous support, financially and with prayers. The latter I could use more of, in fact. I’ve had a priest in Rome offer the traditional Mass for the intentions of my benefactors. And please be assured that I remembered you all – particularly the ones who have written to me asking for prayers – at the shrine of St. Rita in Cascia.
Keep praying, and keep going.
HJW