THE CARLY REPORT - July, 2011

Carly and Crew made it to New Mexico and here's what she had to report:

Dear Sister:
Tonight we are in a place called Santafay. It's cool and nice here. Much better than the last few places. We even got a little rain this evening which really cooled things down. We got here early so my Mom could go see some church and a stairway. I don't see what the big deal with it was but then I had been shoved into that carrying bag because they don't let doggies walk in and my humans refuse to leave me in the car because even though it was cooler here it was still too hot to be in a parked car. I don't much like the carrying bag but it beats being roasted to death in the car. They let me out as soon as we got out of the church. Do you know why the churches don't allow critters in? I know God loves us so it seems to me the churches should too.
We are in a pretty good RV park. It has lots of trees so I think there may be squirrels and bunnies although I haven't seen any yet. All for now, Carly

Hello Carly,

Santa Fe's weather sounds better than some of those other hot spots you've visited. I bet the church and staircase your folks went to see is "The Loretto Chapel". Sorry you had to go via the bag but it was still better than baking in a vehicle.
The staircase you probably didn't see is very famous. History tells us that when the Chapel was completed back in 1878, there was no way to get up to the choir which was 22 feet above. The carpenters that were asked for advice would only suggest using a tall enough ladder. Otherwise, building a real staircase would be too big for the small sized Chapel. So the Sisters of the Chapel decided to make a Novena (9 days & lots of prayers) to St. Joseph who was the patron saint of carpenters. Brilliant move on the Sister's part! So on the 9th and final day of prayer, a man appeared with his donkey and a tool box and said he was looking for work. Then a few months later, a most beautiful and elegant circular staircase was completed. The carpenter had disappeared and never even got paid for his labor. They even searched with an ad in the local newspaper and no trace of him was ever found. It's very possible that the Sisters had their prayers answered with their carpenter being St. Joseph. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and nothing seems to be holding it up. No nails were found, only wooden pegs.

Carly, I see absolutely no excuse for keeping God's little creatures out of church. Only conclusion I can come up with is the old "poo" issue but then they allow itty bitty humans in diapers to come in, so that makes no sense. Maybe we should start our own congregation for the four-footed sinners and worshipers.

So, are you home yet? Sister VC