Finally......

After many applications, essays, scholarships, and hours spent debating, scheming, visiting, and of course praying, as well as time spent emailing, calling, and visiting with admissions and financial aid officers, I have finally decided on where I will spend the next four years of my life.... (Talk about cutting it down to the wire, the deadline is Monday). My decision will please some of you, and probably disappoint others (sorry Michelle and Joe, it's not Santa Clara), but most importantly it excites me. It's funny how things work out, because what was nearly out of the picture last week is now entirely affordable for me, with some borrowing, of course (though I'm sure the debt will be worth the quality Jesuit education I will obtain... and the exciting basketball games I will witness.) So, if any of you have not yet figured out where I am going, though I can't imagine anyone not figuring it out, I will be heading to Gonzaga in the fall. I am excited to be done with the application process and everthing that goes along with picking a school and I eagerly awaiting becoming a Zag. See ya next fall Lib.

Life Lessons on The Learning Channel

Hi Family,

Last weekend I used up 1 minute of my purported "15 minutes of fame". Check me out! http://www.lifelessonsontour.com/gallery/gallery.aspx In the upper right hand corner, enter my email address: skrschneider@gmail.com and then click on the "Your Video" box. Ahh shucks, I am so cute....

Perpetual Roach Reunion

Aaron's Address

All, thanks for the emails to Aaron, I know he has appreciated them greatly.

His address is:
190 E Timberlakes dr. Shelton, WA 98584

Also, in case you didn't know, Aaron and Dez are pregnant too!

JDR

Perpetual Roach Reunion

Aaron Leth

All,
I am at work, and don't know if this is working properly, so hopefully you all get it. I wanted you to know that my good/best friend Aaron Leth experienced some tragedy last Thursday. Aaron is a middle school teacher over in Shelton, Washington. During lunch or recess, one of his students was outside playing and suddenly fell over and wasn't breathing. Another teacher ran out and started CPR. Aaron was soon out there helping the teacher out, then ran in to get the AED, or electric pads. He administered the shocking sequence and the other teacher did CPR exactly as they were trained.
The medics showed up a few minutes later and put the child in the ambulance. He died shortly after.

The consoling thing about the event is that Aaron did everything he could to save the child. He went by the books, but sometimes when the man upstairs makes a decision, we aren't always able to override it. I think our family knows best about that situation.

Well, I'm going to make this short. I wanted to give you Aaron's email address for now, and I will follow up with his home address. This was a traumatic experience and I think the guy could use some prayers and help.

Personal: aaleth@gmail.com
Work: aleth@psd402.org

JDR

Pasco has a Dollar Store!

Located in the confines of the old Price Chopper. I had to make a stop, and I came away with some real treasures:

1.) 4 pack 60 Watt light bulbs - Energy Saving. I don't think blind kids made these ones though.

2.) 1 Lint Roller - As seen on TV! Freakin' WayneHair....

3.) 5-pack Toothbrushes - Joe and I can share these...

4.) 10-piece Deluxe Bit Set - For a ratchet screwdriver, not a horse.

5.) 1 Toenail clipper - Katrina won't let me bite them off in front of her.

6.) 1 package Pepperoni treats for Wayne - I'm trying to train him in Joe's absence

7.) 2-pak Snap Clip keychains - Now that I'm a working man, I've got a bunch of keys to keep track of...

8.) 2 Country Dream Vanilla-scented Candles - It's all about Ambience, baby, and Katrina's coming to visit next weekend!

9.) 2 cans Nalley Hot Chili - Self Explanatory

10.) 1 can Hartford House Luncheon Loaf - I think this is low-budget Spam, and it really scares me, but I had to get some. I'll keep you posted on developments with this particular item. There's even a website devoted to this stuff...

Total bill was $13.00. Not a bad haul, and Joe and I will each get a can of Chili!

This place only opened on April 1, so all you Tri-Cities Roaches oughtta check it out. All you other folks, I'll mail you a can of Luncheon Loaf if you ask real nicely.

Reinassance Man

I just found this quote from famed SF writer Robert Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land), and found it awesome. When it all pops off and we're living in the hills, fighting tribal style, you'll see.....

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

I don't think this picture even needs a caption.

But, in case you're wondering, Wayne likes being held like this!

Saints and Madmen

Guys,

I found a book that has been looking for me for a long time, in an unlikely bookstore in Klamath Falls, OR.

Saints and Madmen, by Russell Shorto

I'm only about 40 pages into it so far, but it is fantastic. It gives voice to some of the things that are so difficult to express about the manic experience, to those who have not experienced it. It is also introducing me to a whole movement within "mainstream" psychiatry, that is not so quick to dismiss the spiritual aspect of mania, and in fact looks to integrate the worthwhile portions of it.

I'm sure you've all heard the recommendation to read "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison. That recommendation stands, but this is (so far) a tremendous secondary source.

Why should you care? A Harvard study completed last June showed that 4.3 of the U.S. population has some form of bipolar disorder. It is transmitted genetically. The average age of onset is 18-22. Two out of the eleven cousins who have released that 18 y/o threshold are bipolar. You do the math, but to me it looks like there may be more on the way...

Not to scare all you youngsters, though, because it isn't all bad......

Russell Shorto's "Sains and Madmen is a book for which many of us have waited for a great many years. Without conflating mysticism and psychosis, it shows the manifold connections between the two, including their relation to the brain, the interplay of mind, body and soul, consciousness, psychedelic drugs, and spiritual exercises. The scope of this book is awesome and the vividness of its stories and examples breathtaking."

--Maurice Friedman, Ph.D., author of "Religion and Psychology"

Thanks Uncle Mike and Aunt Nancy for a terrific Easter celebration!
Great Food, Great Volleyball, Great Basketball, Great Scrabble, Great Family.
I'm sure everyone would agree that the entire family is grateful to you for opening your house to all of us on so many occasions.
Thanks also to the entire family for making Oby, Stephanie, and Aboobe (ay-boo-bay) feel so welcome, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to be 12 and a half thousand miles away from home for most of the rest of their holidays.
Enjoy the Easter season..
Wim

My New Best Friend

 
 
  

Easter Picture

Hi, I tried to post a pix from Easter today, but the Blogger Uploader symbol just spun aroung in circles for 5 minutes in spite of 3 tries @ different resolutions. How did you geniuses do it? I'm daft

Great article from Forbes - Let's Have More Babies!

One and all:

Today at lunch I read this column that was published in last week's issue of Forbes. It's by a British historian, Paul Johnson, who has an occasional column there. It begins...

One of the nightmare visions that has faded away in recent years is the "population explosion." Even in the Third World rates of increase are rapidly slowing down. The danger now lies in the opposite direction. Europe in particular is producing fewer and fewer children, with a high percentage of those who are born coming from immigrant families.

Italy is a sad case. As recently as the 1930s it had one of the world's highest birthrates. This was reflected in Mussolini's plans to colonize Africa and encourage migration to Argentina. Today Italy has one of the lowest birthrates. You can go into villages in northern Italy, whose inhabitants enjoy living standards their grandparents wouldn't have believed possible, and look in vain for children. The Italians are rich in all material things--save life.

Germany is just as sterile. In France things are marginally better, but...

The author talks about the decline of marriage and religious practice and the fact that kids are expensive and career-hampering, among other things.

As I was reading it I couldn't help but think that there are very few families that I know of (aside from ours and the Roozens) where siblings who are our contemporaries from large families are most all having fairly large families themselves. (For instance, Mike Campbell, one of seven, may have six but his siblings haven't been very prolific.) I can think of several large families where many of the kids have no children or perhaps one or two. (Kind of like the Beaver boys I guess so maybe that's been going on for a long time.)

Hit the link and read the author's thoughts.

http://www.forbes.com/columnists/columnists/forbes/2006/0417/031.html

For what it's worth, Colin regularly reminds me that he's going to have seven, just so he can "one up" me. (I tell him we that might not be done...) His buddy, Nick Conley, one of six, told me a couple of weeks ago that a gal he goes to college with at Idaho has "committed" to giving him eight if he'll marry her!!

Big families might be coming back. (More fodder for discussion on the cruise north this summer.)

Happy Easter!!

Dan

(Posted wirelessly from my kitchen table!)

Aaron Schulte

Thank you U Bill for your update on Aaron. I will keep him and your family in my prayers. I think it is becoming more and more apparent amongst the Sullivan/Roaches how important research into Crohn's Disease is...

Happy Holy Thursday,
Shannon

Big news for Cancer Research

We, like most families our size, have had a number of run-ins with the Big C. Researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have, for the first time, found a way to reverse the process of cell division.

This has major implications in the fight against cancer. The full findings will be published in Nature Magazine on April 13.

Viva Mexico!

(this post is really just to prove to Uncle Mike that I know how to do this)

Uncle Bill, we will keep the prayers up for your nephew. I hate to hear the "C" word, but our family has done some miracles through prayer on fighting that stuff so hopefully that streak will continue.

With all the immigration discussions going on lately, the Adam street Roachs are headed down to Puerto Vallarta 33 hours from now! We will be there for 10 days and hopefully won't check this blog, or the internet the entire time.

Talk to you all soon!

Joseph Roach

How to Post to the Blog

There has been some confusion as to how to post, and the difference between comments and posts.

A "Post" is an entry that you publish to the front page of the Blog. "Comments" are entries made in regard to a particular post, and each Post has it's own Comments section.

To add a new Post to the front page of the blog, do the following.

1.) Go to http://manyroaches.blogspot.com.
2.) Click the orange "B" icon in the upper-left corner.
3.) If you're not already logged in to Blogger, do so.
4.) Click the green "+" symbol next to the words "New Post".
5.) Format your post, using the buttons above the text entry window. Hovering your mouse over the various buttons will tell you what they do.
6.) Click "Publish Post".

To post pictures, click the button that looks like a mountain range. Paste the location of the picture (if it's from the Web), or browse to it on your harddrive.

You can find the internet location of any picture you see on a website by right-clicking it, then click "Copy Image Location". You can then paste this location into Blogger.

Comments are pretty self explanatory, and you access them by clicking the Comments link below each post.

Love you all, please respond in the comments section with any questions, so all can see and benefit!

--JFR

Update on Aaron Schulte

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers for Aaron. The findings from the surgery were not what we had hoped for. The surgeon admitted that she was shocked to find the section of the bowel in such bad shape. She removed an 8" section of the large intestine adjacent to the small intestine. The section was inflamed and swollen and was the site of the obstruction. She removed two lymph nodes and the analysis showed cancer in both nodes; she removed all of the nodes in that network which are being analyzed now to determine how far the cancer has spread. Kathy, Steve, Mary, Jeff, and my mother were together during the surgery which was a great. Kathy and Steve will be searching for an oncologist so that Aaron can start chemotherapy sometime soon.

The good news is that this appeared to be the only active site for the Crohn's and by removing the obstruction, Aaron will be able to eat and gain digestive function again.

Aaron has been volunteering with children who are undergoing chemo and when he was told of the need for his own chemo treatments he said that he had seen a number of children deal with it and he felt he could as well.

Not the best news at present, but there is an abundance of hope and faith....

Love you all,
Bill

Book for the Young Adults

Guys,

I hear from several reliable sources that this book, Maniac McGee, is a fantastic story.

Of course, the Newberry Medal is usually a pretty good indicator of quality for young adults, so you should ask your local librarian for a list of Newberry winners.

Or, if you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can always print out a list of Newberry winners from 1922 on and bring it to the library with you!

Request for Prayers

A quick note to ask for prayers for my nephew, Aaron Schulte, who will under go surgery this afternoon at 4 pm to remove a section of his colon where the large and small intestine join. Aaron is the oldest of my sister Kathy and her husband Steve's three boys; he is 25.

Last week, while analyzing some biopsies taken to confirm his Crohn's diagnosis and to investigate a blockage that was impacting his ability to eat, word came back that one of the specimens showed evidence of cancer.

The thoughts and prayers from each of you would be much appreciated.

Love you all,
Bill

Perpetual Roach Reunion

Dear Readership, I am told (by a well connected source) that TCP is coming up short in it's challenge to raise $1000 by the end of Lent in the little "rice bowls for your spare change". If the students could deliver $1000 by Good Friday, then Mr Potter and Mr Bill Merk will have their mustaches shaved in public view in front of the entire student body by Hair Stylist Amy Krcma! Bill has worn his stash for 27 years!!! Steve can't even remember his last unshaven upper lip!To see the effect, go to http://tcprep.org/ to see an animation of Steve sans stash on the homepage! If you'd like to help raise the needed funds (they are $400 shy) please send or pledge the gift you would like to contribute to see this become a happening to NMR @ 8212 Sunset Lane, Pasco WA 99301. Please let her know via this blog or email (nmroach@gmail.com or nmroach@roachmedical.com). By letting her know, even before the hard cash arrives, then the Goal Amount will be known and the Ceremonious Shave can begin! Make checks payable to Catholic Relief Services. To jumpstart this effort, I hereby pledge/contribute $100.

Tri-Cities Prep Catholic Relief Service Campaign

Dear Readership, I am told (by a well connected source) that TCP is coming up short in it's challenge to raise $1000 by the end of Lent in the little "rice bowls for your spare change". If the students could deliver $1000 by Good Friday, then Mr Potter and Mr Bill Merk will have their mustaches shaved in public view in front of the entire student body by Hair Stylist Amy Krcma! Bill has worn his stash for 27 years!!! Steve can't even remember his last unshaven upper lip!To see the effect, go to http://tcprep.org/ to see an animation of Steve sans stash on the homepage! If you'd like to help raise the needed funds (they are $400 shy) please send or pledge the gift you would like to contribute to see this become a happening to NMR @ 8212 Sunset Lane, Pasco WA 99301. Please let her know via this blog or email (nmroach@gmail.com or nmroach@roachmedical.com). By letting her know, even before the hard cash arrives, then the Goal Amount will be known and the Ceremonious Shave can begin! Make checks payable to Catholic Relief Services. To jumpstart this effort, I hereby pledge/contribute $100.

Spokane Visit JMR & NMR

Dear Family: We packed our toothbrushes, a priceless bottle of Leonetti Merlot 1995 (to pay the hotel bill with........it worked), and headed north for a 2 day respite from the phone and frenzie of things back home. The Davenport Hotel has been refurbished to the tune of ~$40M and it is beautifully appointed. I hope it is on the list of Historical Sites to be Preserved. I haven't seen such a plaque yet. We dined out. Then rather than find outside entertainment, we enjoyed the amenities of our quarters. It has been lovely! Carpe Diem! With love, Mike

Congrats Dominic

Congratulations Dominic on passing your Physical Therapy Boards...not a trivial accomplishment. Dominic found out yesterday that he had passed the exam and is now a fully licensed PT.

The attached picture is of Dom and all of his recent mother figures. Dom will have an interesting cultural anthropology topic after being a part of the family life of four or 5 different families. (Actually, I could not find a picture of Dominic in my limited collection on my computer, so to add visual interest, I included a picture of Lizzie, Maggie and Gianna at the Carnivale parade in Viareggio, Italy from Feb 25 or so. The object in the back is one of many giant floats made of paper mache' that were the main focus of this 3 hour long parade and people fest in this Italian sea-front town).

San Francisco College Tour Experience

Hello Family,

Michelley and I just returned from a whirlwind San Francisco adventure where we fit in a few college tours (USF, Santa Clara, and St. Mary's). Uncle Dan and Kevin were also touring the same schools! I just thought I would let you all know that I was very impressed with St. Mary's. For all of you high schoolers considering college and think a small Catholic School in California in a picturesque location might be for you, think about St. Mary's. It is pretty darn neat in my opinion...

Birthday Party Pics

Thanks to those Seattle and Bellingham Roaches who came to Katrina's apt. and helped make a very special time for my 29th birthday.

You can see more pictures of the event on Katrina's Picture site. Which, by the way, if you are considering online photo hosting/sharing, SmugMug is a very sweet choice.

I thought I would post a couple of pictures for all you chatty cathy and doubting thomases out there -- Here is a picture of Anna and I at a recent Jr. /Sr. banquet, and one of my friend luke larsen and I -- one of the only other pics I have from the night. Hope this is fodder for faith and impetus for indulging your penchant for gossip. Love to all - the rex

Where are the new posts to this blog?

Boo:

Am I missing something? Where are the new posts to this blog? Where's the activity?

Dan