Daily Horoscope for Gemini

Horoscope Cast for Saturday, September 17th, 2011

by daniel "bud" dowd

Daily Horoscope for Gemini Summary

This is the Eulogy that was read at Mama Dowd's funeral, written by Bud, with collaboration with his siblings.

Mama

This you-googlie is intended to be a celebration of our mother Val, aka Mama Dowd, and while we will all lament her passing, she wouldn't have wanted us to sit around commiserating. That's not who she was. She was a woman who enjoyed life in all facets, as evidenced by her courageous fight against cancer. She never let her pain show in front of us and always kept a positive disposition despite whatever she was feeling internally.

We can remember her as a kind soul, one who truly believed in treating others as you should want to be treated yourself. She never showed preferences, instead treating all on equal terms. As she would often tell us, “I love you all the same, but different,” as evidenced by the different things she would share with each of us individually, from bribing Rich to get up for school with fresh oatmeal, watching soap operas with Bud, cooking with Julie, walks and visits to the basilica with Chris.

She made sacrifices so that all of us would have it easier, and her caring and selflessness extended far beyond the family, from her volunteer work at Friends of the Night People to her devotion and commitment to church and her role as a religious education teacher. Through her faith she found her strength, which was never more apparent than near the end, as her capacity to speak diminished and it became difficult for her to speak in full sentences, and yet as Father Jack came to bless her, she was able to say the Our Father in one shot.

She had an appreciation for the little things in life, or as she would say, “The nice little things”. Everything for her was described as “nice”. She loved the ocean, and she loved her lilac bush in the front yard; the smell of flowers always lifted her up. She would always make note of the “nice” flowers and always implored us to appreciate these things as well. Life perhaps shouldn't be so difficult as we all can make it out to be.

She had her routines and loved watching the Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. In fact, as even-keeled and tolerant as she was, if they ever preempted one of those shows for breaking news, she would let her displeasure out into the open. She was a very smart and witty woman, and loved playing along with the shows, often guessing the answer to Final Jeopardy before the question was even asked. While she enjoyed these shows on her own, they were better enjoyed with us and Andrew whenever he would come by. 7 o'clock was dinner time and dinner was spent watching the Wheel and Jeopardy, every night.

Her love and impact spread far beyond us as well. She had a large network of friends with which she would stay in contact with, from her days at Brand Names, to Key Bank, on to Al-Ross, and co-workers from all of the above would come to visit her or go out to eat with her. She was known for her Christmas cookies, especially the Hello Dollies, which were awesome, and she would share these with everyone she knew, family and friends alike. Some family members even had an internal timer and if they hadn't received their Christmas cookies yet, they might display what one might call, symptoms of withdrawal.

She was also a huge cat lover, from Norman and Fraidy, to Toto and Spike and Spot, all the way to the four she left behind, Miss Poofy, Little Buddy, Little Chunks and Briere. The cats would swarm her on her bed and follow her around everywhere. As Mama grew sick, Little Buddy rarely left her side, as if he could tell. That was the connection she had with them; they were more like her children than anything else.

As we join to celebrate the life and legacy of Mama Dowd, we must come to accept that she, in body, is now gone, but the things that made her who she was don't have to be. Her caring and compassion can be exhibited by each of us in our daily lives. Taking the extra time to make sure others around us are okay. Showing forgiveness when others put us off, as Mama would never sweat the small stuff. We can carry on her tolerance and understanding of others. We can treat everyone we meet like they are our best friend. When we look back and remember her, we will remember a woman who got the most joy out of the simplicities and beauties of life, and in turn we can look to find appreciation, peace and serenity in the “nice” little things.

So while her personal compassion and comfort and cookies might be gone, her spirit lives on. She wants us to carry on and find our own level of happiness within. And through her life it is evident that such happiness and support comes through the love we all share with each other and the strength of the community we belong to. The outreach of support through this time has been immense, and as time passes like sands through the hourglass, don't let that fade as we settle back into our daily routines. It is our relationships that make us better people and Mama Dowd always sought to maximize the strength of every relationship she had. Thanks, and Godspeed Mama.

The Daily Horoscope for Gemini

The daily scopes return on Tuesday, September 20th (Members can view them on Monday as usual).

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Today's Astrology Quote of the Day:
The controls of life are structured as forms and nuclear arrangements, in a relation with the motions of the universe...
~ Louis Pasteur

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Daily Tao

The bold in daring will be killed
The bold in not daring will survive

Of these two, one may benefit, the other may harm
The one hated by Heaven – who knows the reason?
Even the sages still find this difficult

The Tao of Heaven:
Does not contend and yet excels in winning
Does not speak and yet excels in responding
Is not summoned and yet comes on its own
Is unhurried and yet excels in planning
The heavenly net is vast
Loose, and yet does not let anything slip through

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