The New Year - Sr. Maxine Style

I'm in big Trouble - with a Capital 'T'! Okay, so that's not unusual lately.

It all started when my Uncle Max came to visit and Mother Frangelico and Father allowed me some time out of the Monastery to visit with him. We decided to travel to a nearby state to a small town and celebrate the New Year (and no, Sr. Caprice, not the 'state of confusion!').

Mother Frangelico and Father have been visiting and speaking at nearby Churches & cities within the state to increase the visibility of our Monastery and the Catholic Faith. Because of this, they have been extremely busy and away quite often every week.

Uncle Max and I decided to go out for lunch New Year's Eve to Circus Circus, a place he frequents when he goes on vacation. As we were walking around, we saw a sign for one of the shows that evening called the 'Flying Elvis'' and low and behold, our waiter was Elvis #9. He has been flying since he was a teenager and was taught by his father who retired from the show. He told us that his father actually met Elvis. (way cool!)

Manuel, our waiter, gave us tickets to the bulls-eye seating. We hope that Manuel's aim is good and he is right on target. My uncle and I couldn't wait until that evening to see Manuel in his uniform. Manuel talked about his first attempts at skydiving and some of the wonderful experiences during his career. He is only a waiter for fun - he enjoys meeting people and telling them about the show to get a bigger crowd.

That evening, my uncle and I took our seats. It was so exciting to see each of the men leap out of the plane, watch them as they dance in the sky with the flares, and land one by one in the target zone. One of the Elvis', I think it was #5, waved a sign on the way down promoting his Elvis show on New Year's Day. It was so fun to see how he landed with this huge sign on his back.

This gave me a great idea....and I looked at Uncle Max, he looked at me - we both had the same idea! What a way to help Mother Frangelico and Father promote the Monastery! After the show, we had to talk with Manuel!

It was all planned - the site, the sign, the plane. Uncle Max and I would both jump with Manuel and some of his friends. Each of us (5 total) would carry a sign on New Year's Day. We were so excited! Manuel talked with his friends and the company, they would all offer us their services free of charge because it was for such a great cause - God!

Uncle Max & I met at the skydiving company at 10:00am. We had to take a class to prepare us for what was to come. The more we learned, the more excited we became. Mother Frangelico would be so proud of us! Manuel's friend, Boris, was making the signs so they would be ready by 3:00pm, the time we would start our adventure.

Everything was going as planned. The class went well, the signs were made, the plane was ready, and our skydiving packs were prepared. Now we had to get into our suits. They took us one by one into a back room to help us get our suits on. Uncle Max came out wearing a black suit with a bright blue stripe down the sides. Manuel wore a dark blue suit with yellow markings. I went back and was horrified. The only suit they had left for a girl was bright pink! I grudgingly put it on and walked out to the lobby looking like a big pink Easter bunny! My uncle took one look at me and tried to stuff the laughter, but the tears that came out of his eyes were dead give aways.

We all entered the plane and took off for our adventure to help the Monastery.

As we reached 15,000 feet, the assistant opened the side door. Manuel exited first with his camera so he could film everyone coming down with their signs and would post it on his website to promote the Monastery. Boris went next, followed by Uncle Max, then me, then 2 of their friends.

The day was beautiful - and the sites - you could see everything from up there! It was so peaceful! I could understand why people enjoy skydiving! It's only God and you!

I saw Manuel's parachute open, then my uncle's. 5 more seconds ... and I could pull mine. The parachute opened and I was slowly sailing down toward the earth. I pulled the cord to open the sign attached to my back and practiced turning and flaring. I could see the five of us drifting with our signs flying behind us. As we drifted toward the DZ (drop zone), there was a crowd waiting for us to land. How wonderful! The signs apparently worked - but I was so amazed that they would work so quickly.

We all landed safely, I flared just at the last moment and landed on the ground like I was walking down a set of steps. The canopy drifted down behind me. Several people from the company met us so they could get us unhooked and the packs off.

We waited in the lobby as Manuel and a friend of his reviewed the video and prepared one for me to take with me back to the Monastery. I couldn't wait to see the look on Mother Frangelico's face when she saw how we helped her and Father build up the Faith and interest in the Monastery.

Manuel handed me the video but said the viewer in the lobby was broken and we would not be able to see the video but said it all came out so well. He would post it on his website that evening.

My uncle and I returned to the hotel. We had such a wonderful surprise! Mother Frangelico and Father were there! They just happened to be visiting and decided to travel a bit during a break from the mini-retreat given by several Archbishops regarding evangelism and the Catholic Faith. But I noticed neither one of them were smiling. At first I figured that it was that the retreat was not going well, but then when they were asking me about the event, actually drilling me is more the word, it seemed they were getting more angry the more I explained.

They asked how I came up with such a lame-brain idea and about the signs, so I explained everything. I handed them the video that Manuel made us and they wanted to see it immediately. Father talked with the manager and was able to find a room with a TV and DVD player so we could all watch.

The music starting out was wonderful - Handel's Messiah, Alleluia Chorus. My uncle still tried to hold back bouts of laughter when he saw my pink bunny suit, I think I saw tears in Mother Frangelico's eyes as well. *sigh*

Manuel had close-ups of each of the signs. The first one - 'Come Visit the Monastery'.
The second - 'Call: 866-555-1234 Come-and-See'. The Third - 'God's email - Prayer. Pray Often'. I couldn't see why Mother F. and Father were getting so upset. The signs were great! But then the last signs were shown. We were all horrified!

'Catholics - a Closer to God'
'Meet a Nun and Have a Fiend for Life'


I am now not allowed to exit the premises of the Monastery unless Mother Frangelico or Father are with me. Mother Frangelico and Father are now trying to get the video off of the internet. They have received so many calls that they are unsure of how to handle this entire fiasco.

My only duty now - Bingo!