Polar Bear Club

Yesterday, February 5, the seminarians had their annual Polar Bear Club meeting at Lake Placid. Those who wish to be a member have to jump in the Lake and submerge themselves. Of course the lake was still frozen so they had to cut a hole in the ice and then jump into the hole and then crawl out on a ladder. A number of the students do this and even a few of the monks go down and take part in this crazy exercise. Yesterday the air temperature was pretty moderate, up in the 50's, but the water was very cold. I am including a couple of pictures from yesterday.

This past Tuesday I went to St. Joseph for an appointment with a dermatologist. They gave me my first treatment of what they call: The blue light treatment. The object is to treat the whole face at once to get rid of the pre-cancer growths that I tend to have. Just a couple months ago I had to have a growth surgically removed from my nose which had developed into a cancer growth. In this rather new treatment they put some type of cream on your face and then you sit for about 1 1/2 hours and after that you sit under a bunch of bright lights for 16 minutes. My face looks like I have a sunburn. I will have to have two more of these treatments, each of them a month apart. It was really not painful but sort of annoying.

Here at Conception it is budget time as our fiscal year begins on June 1. I have never been one who enjoys just sitting and working with numbers but I manage to get mine done. I have two budgets to work on: for the infirmary and one for the oblate office. This year is a rather difficult year to budget for with the financial condition as it is in the country. Anyway they like to have the budgets completed sometime in February so they can be checked and fine tuned in the next month or so.

Lent also is fast approaching with Ash Wednesday coming on February 25. So it's time for all of us to be thinking of what we are going to do special this Lent.

Prayers and best wishes to all of you who read this blog.

Fr. Kenneth