Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad

I’ve been traveling this past week. It’s a road trip I took with my mother-in-law and my son. Just the three of us. She had a few things she wanted to visit and I happened to be free. She knows I’m game for these sorts of things and we just have so much fun together.

It is a blessing to have a mother-in-law who is truly like one’s mom especially when you can’t see your mom because of distance. I like to think of myself as Ruth. “…for whithersoever thou shalt go, I will go.”

So first up was Kansas. We had been invited to the first profession of a young woman from the parish in a trad convent. I met Cardinal Burke afterwards but did not have the chance to whisper, “Come on man, do the right thing…” also, he’s looking frail FYI.

Then on to Kansas City where we saw among other things the Harry Truman house.

Then came St. Louis. Here we toured churches and had dinner with a beloved blogger – St. Louis Catholic.

Then we headed to Indianapolis where we attended the Lifesite News Trad Eucharistic Revival. I approached Fr. Altman after Mass and was taken aback that he remembered me from our last meeting a year ago. I guess I make an impression.

Then we drove to Georgetown, KY. Why? There’s a TLM there. Silly.

This morning we set out on a 14 hour drive back to Texas. Midway through the day I asked my wife the following:

“Don’t think we can push through today, can you book us somewhere in Memphis area?”

I quickly got a confirmation email for a hotel in… Oxford, MS.

For the uninitiated (or those who don’t care) Oxford is nowhere near Mississippi. I put the address of the hotel into my navigator and hilarity ensued.

The route took us off the interstate around Jackson, Tennessee and south over local roads for damn near three hours.

The cool thing is that this is one of those experiences, but I did not ask for, did not want, and yet would not trade for anything. 

If it had not been for this felicitous, turn of events, we never would’ve met Zoe, the Sophomore at Ole Miss who’s studying to be a speech pathologist. Her five older siblings all needed speech therapy but she didn’t so she felt like she should give something back. And she’s doing that by waitressing over the summer at a diner serving creole and soul food. Good soul food.

On our drive in we crossed the Tallahatchie Bridge. My mother-in-law recommended we listen to an old classic and so I share it with you now.

Tomorrow it’s up and at ‘em by 6:30 so we can hit Mass in Cabot, AR before driving weeeeeeeeee… all the way home.

God bless!

Continuing my travels this week…

Here’s a picture of the inside of the dome of the Cathedral of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.

Magnificent.

Got to stop and pray for his soul today…

RIP, Rush. We miss your commentary every day.

Couldn’t do my usual news roundup tonight as I was dining with a fellow blogger (and a hero blogger at that) so I’ll just link you to his page.

https://stlouiscatholic.wordpress.com/2024/07/17/biden-has-covid/

It’s been quite the day for me. I started off in eastern Kansas where I was happy to attend the first profession of three young women entering religious life. I even got to meet a Cardinal who’s name rhymes with smirk.

From there I continued on to Kansas City where I would be staying the night. I had booked myself into the Sheraton Hotel in an area called the Crown Center. I chose this hotel because I am fascinated by disasters. As in I could watch disaster videos until the cows come home. There’s something deeply intriguing to me about watching things go wrong and then investigating why. Also, the fury of nature or the massive failure of physical materials when they give way to elemental forces usually due to the hubris of man is captivating to me.

So why this hotel?

Well, this hotel opened as a Hyatt Regency in 1980. It was magnificent. In particular, the lobby – which featured a four story atrium with “floating” (suspended) catwalks criss-crossing in the air – became a local hotspot. The hotel had begun hosting tea dances on Friday nights in that lobby. These dances, featuring big band music and merriment, attracted hundreds of locals.

And then it happened.

On a fine summer evening those catwalks collapsed and killed 114 people. See below.

When I checked in tonight, my son and I headed to our room high above the city. He turned on the TV and pulled up a video of the disaster. See below.

When the video started I froze in my tracks. That anniversary is now. I will of course say prayers in the lobby for the souls of the departed.

But of course the biggest takeaway?

STAY CONFESSED.

Listen, I’m going to say this again. I posted about this a few weeks ago.

I truly like JD Vance.

And I truly like President Trump.

I’ve always liked Trump from the time I was a kid growing up outside New York. He was in the news every day and you just couldn’t help but feel an affinity for him.

We’ve been over this before. Did he screw up on the Coof? Yep.

But something changed on Saturday – for all of us.

I prayed very hard for my former president.

I knew he’d survive, it wasn’t that.

I prayed that almost losing his life would wake him up – that he would contemplate his own mortality enough to start lurching toward the Catholic faith.

And Vance? Here’s where it gets interesting.

I hope both men on the ticket see this.

Senator Vance, I saw your answer to Kristin Welker on Meet The (de)Press(ed) about the abortion pill.

You’re a Catholic now. You’re my brother in the faith. For that reason I have an obligation to correct you. This is serious stuff and claiming a need to win an election matters not when it comes to defending the innocent and defenseless. You know this. You’ve fought for the forgotten man in Ohio. Don’t forget the unborn.

Brother JD, I like you. I even love you with Christian charity. I’m praying for you to get this one right because I believe you could do great things for this once-great land.

And Mr. President? You have Catholic advisers. Seek out the ones who call themselves “trad” and lean on them. Your life almost came to an end and I along with millions of Americans shed a tear of joy that you were spared. Ask those advisers about Fatima and July 13th (which is my anniversary, by the way). I know the significance. Our Blessed Mother gave us some important info that day. Her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ spared your life that day.

Please, sir, don’t let that moment of saving grace die in vain Fight. Fight. Fight for all of us, especially the unborn.

God bless you both and may God bless America!

I wasn’t even going to vote this year…

And then I found out I get to cast a vote at the BATTLE BOX!

How exciting!