Mobility

I was ...

Born in Gainesville, Georgia (1950)

Moved to Whitehouse, TX

Moved to Huntsville, TX

Moved to East Lansing, MI to attend Michigan State University

Moved to Monastery of Marylake to enter Discalced Carmelites outside Little Rock, AR

Moved to monastery in San Antonio, TX (studied philosophy)

            Spent much of the summer in a monastery in Mexico City

Moved to monastery in Dallas (got MA in Theology)

            Spent parts of two more summers in the monastery in Mexico City

Moved to monastery in Washington, DC (to work on PhD in spiritual theology)

Moved back to monastery in Dallas

Moved to monastery in Brookline, MA

Moved to St. Louis, MO for one year, studying at St. Louis University

Moved to monastery at Holy Hill outside Milwaukee, WI

Moved to Barrington, RI for a sabbatical year studying at Brown University

Moved to monastery in Brighton, MA

Moved to monastery in Chicago, IL

Moved to Silver Spring, Maryland for six months

Moved back to Chicago

Moved out of monastery, but stayed in Chicago in my own apartment

Moved into the apartment I shared with Tom in Chicago

Moved to Wisconsin Dells

19 moves – not counting the Mexican sojourns – in 64 years – about once every 3 1/3 years

Of course, I spent 15 years pretty much living at home with my family in Huntsville. So if you do 18 moves in 49 years, it is better than one move every three years. This is not surprising when you understand that the Discalced Carmelites, like many Catholic religious communities of men, operate on a three-year cycle of appointments. It being easier to transfer the younger friars, it is not unusual that I should have moved so often. And they almost sent me to Kenya!

Of the monasteries where I lived, I was in San Antonio only three months, then Dallas for four years as a student and again for two as a priest, at Holy Hill outside Milwaukee for eight years and in the Chicago monastery for five years all told.