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As my Continental flight from SFO touched down at Newark International, I had my first experience of touring with the Whiners with whom I would be spending my vacation this year. Not that I planned being with complaining people, there just seemed to be a lot of them.	By Fr. Joe Landi, Editor
Read Fr. Landi's story of conversion--Fr. Joe  Landi:  Out of the World and Into the Kingdom--His journey to priesthood  by Rissa Singson.

         “For the kind of money they charge for First Class,” Bob complained, “You’d think it would be more than orange juice and warm muffins, which we have to gobble down so they can collect the plates before we land.” I tactfully didn’t mention that he was asleep when they first came with his tray, or remind him that a late-night dinner of grilled chicken over field greens had been served just two hours before, or tell that I was enjoying hog-heaven, having been upgraded from coach where there was no late night snack, breakfast, or sleeper seats.

The Big Apple Scene—A clue that composer Vernon Duke did not experience the same Broadway that we do in his musical assertion that “Autumn in New York” spells the “the thrill of first-nighting,” Robert Simonson says in PLAYBILL. “In recent years theatergoers could well swing a very long cat between fall openings on Broadway. The Duke tradition, however, is back in vogue for the 2000-2001 Season with nearly a dozen possible fall premiers.” Not swayed by the hype on the new openings, I opted for the last season’s Tony Award musical “Aida” (Music by Elton John, Lyrics by Tim Rice), at The Palace Theater. It was sold out at the box office, so I went to a legal scalper.

The United Nations were in town, big time—The following day I attended one of the UN’s Millennium Summit meetings, the State of the World Forum 2000, Religion and Spirituality. Father Luis M. Dolan, C.P., liaison with the UN, gave the opening remarks, calling people of faith to a reaffirmation of the sacred with a respect for all religions. His remarks were followed by those from representatives from Abrahamic, South Asian and East Asian religions, as well as those from Indigenous Peoples traditions. No whiners here.

It’s a real cow town—Besides dignitaries being wailed through snarled traffic and millions of tourists, also in town were 500 life-sized, three-dimensional, Swiss milking cows. Each is sponsored by a corporation, civic group, or cultural institution, and deployed in public spaces throughout the city, mostly in Manhattan, a few in Central Park.

Outside the American Craft Museum was my favorite, “Four-Alarm Cow” (by Red Grooms). It’s colorfully painted in fire engine red, cleverly depicting the paraphernalia on a fire truck. As I stood admiring it, a Texas-sized voice behind me drawled, “Hell, that don’t look nothing like a cow. Why would anyone do that?”

I couldn’t help myself. “For charity, I replied. “To raise money for charity. I read in the New York Times that one of them called Lady Cowdiva—a ladylike cow seated atop a Holstein (by Tim Gaydos), was auctioned to a chain of Japanese steakhouses for $48,000.”

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