EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY

During the first two weeks of December there may be a glitch in communications between my readers and me. I will be moving to experience another way of living here in St. Louis.

I have lived in my present apartment for almost six years opposite the majestic Cathedral of St. Louis. The location has provided me with a Parisian sometimes Roman view of the City. It also has provided me with a 15-floor, constantly moving panorama of life's sad and joyful moments.

I watched the elaborate installation ceremony for the new Arch Bishop as well as the quiet,dignified candle light demonstration by nuns and lay people opposed to Rome's edicts for nuns. I became a real fashion maven on the latest bridal wear as brides and their courts paraded below my windows on Saturday mornings. On solemn occasions, I heard the bag pipes and mighty Church bells tolling at funerals.

My fellow renters include a wonderful assortment of children, families, university students and dogs, many of them were known to me. Others were only fellow elevator travelers whose greetings were brief. The neighborhood was close by the Park and invigorating to walk through. I was able to recognize and greet home owners and small business people. I usually wound up at a favorite coffee house where the regulars became like family. To me the area represented the multifaceted joys and problems of urban living.

The new apartment I move to is once again a studio on the 6th floor where I will enjoy a cityscape of lights, highways and, on a cloudless night a sky filled with stars. The ages of other residents at my new address could probably be best described as in the new old, old and older age groups. Truth be told I am not sure what those terms mean. I suspect the terminology describes the clinical needs of people but tells us little about who they are. I hope to find out.

Because the City itself is so important to me, I expect to still discover many places not yet visited and continue visiting my favorite haunts. So, I ask for your patience and continued readership as Beverly's Notebook blog gets hooked into a new Internet system.