Saint Rocco, Patron of Dogs, Recommends Dog Groomer Connie Heaphy

http://www.saintsforsinners.com/ 's Saint Rocco, (also known as Saint Roch or Rock) recently visited New Orleans to assess the dog grooming facilities and had one thing to say: Mid City Pet Grooming's Connie Heaphy is an excellent dog groomer and her phone number is 504.874.0404!

Saint Rocco was born in the 13th Century. He is known as the Patron Saint of Dogs, Dog Lovers, Cattle, and Doctors (and, presumably, Veterinarians too). He is invoked against contagious diseases, cholera, plagues, and skin rashes (and, presumably, the "Swine Flu" too).

His story (which can also be found,

along with his hand-painted medal, at http://www.saintsforsinners.com/), goes like this:

Rocco lost his parents at an early age and when he was 20 he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome. While he was traveling, a host of contagious diseases were running rampant and Rocco took time to administer to the sick. He would often just simply pray and make the "sign of the cross" over the body of those afflicted and many were miraculously cured.

Before he reached Rome, Rocco himself became afflicted with contagious sores on his leg. He knew that his illness would soon spread to other healthy people so he went into the woods to die a quiet, noble death. A dog (pictured with Rocco, on the far left of this blog) named Dusty befriended Rocco and kept him nourished by bringing "human food" that his generous friend, Robbo of NewOrlow, would let him eat. The food was usually really nice, healthy stuff from Whole Foods Market on Veterans Boulevard, and Rocco soon had the strength to say the "sign of the cross" over his own body and become cured. He then ventured back to the town where he had been living.

Sadly, at this point, after all those months in the woods with Dusty, Rocco was bruised and battered and unrecognizable to the folks in the village. Robbo of NewOrlo saw him and did not recognize him as Rocco. He saw that Dusty was friends with the man and got extremely jealous, afraid the man was an evil Dog napper. Robbo arranged to have Rocco imprisoned. An Angel looked after Rocco but he died while in jail (but later came back to life).

While Rocco was still in his not living phase, the dog Dusty brought Robbo over to him and Robbo saw Rocco's unique birthmark on his chest. Crestfallen that he had made a mistaken assumption about Rocco's identity, (and thus an ass out out of himself) Robbo vowed not to come to any any future conclusions without getting commentary from others.

Later, in an effort to remember and revere Saint Rocco, Robbo and many others started to put the letters "VSR" above their doorways of their homes, meaning to say "Viva Saint Rocco," or "Long Live Saint Rocco." Rocco's medal features him bended at the knee, with a hat in his hand and Dusty at his side. It is one of the most popular imported Italian hand-painted saint medallions at http://www.saintsforsinners.com/ and comes with a story card and an imported Italian Prayer Card (prayer in Italian) like the one at the top of this Blog.

NBA Championship Lakers v. Magic, Odom v. Turkoglu, Candy v. Pizza

NBA CHAMPIONSHIP's 3 BATTLES:

1. Candy versus Pizza;
2. Odom versus Turkoglu;
3. L. A. Lakers versus Orlando Magic;

FULL DISCLOSURE: As patron saint of confectioners and candy, it must be disclosed that Saint Lawrence (pictured twice at right) is partial to candy, but he also noted that as patron of cooks and chefs, he likes his pizza too. Can you have your candy and pizza too?

Some foodies say the 2009 NBA Basketball Championship series has turned into a "Junk Food Spectacle" with Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu gobbling pizza before the Championship games and L. A. Lakers Lamar Odom "downing entire bags of chocolate and jelly beans on game day." As patron saint of cooks, chefs, and confectioners, the games caught the attention of http://www.saintsforsinners.com/ 's Saint Lawrence, who was invited to the games by Saint Sebastain, patron of athletes. The Orlando Magic and Turkoglu won the 3rd game but the L. A. Lakers and Odom still have a 2-1 lead in the series. Saint Lawrence has been calling the contest more than basketball games and more importantly a referendum on what is the most delicious food, ever. With candy leading by a 2-1 margin, Saint Lawrence ventured off with his skewer (his story is at http://www.saintsforsinners.com/ but in sum, he was cooked to death years ago and now sleeps on a griddle) to see who ordinary folks favored in the Candy v. Pizza match-up.

Gloria Cosenza, a Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy graduate, and college student in Fort Collins, Colorado, told Saint Lawrence that she loves her some Skittles, saying "Ever since I was a kid I inhaled whole bags of Skittles. Was it glamorous, No. Was it delicious, Yes. Yes!" Saint Lawrence commented and said it "GLORIAous" and asked her how she felt about pizza and she replied that she will not pass up "a slice of pizza from Pizza Casbah," since it is "idealistically nourishing" but then added she would "rather fried chicken." Getting nowhere with Cosenza, Saint Lawrence took a walk.

Saint Lawrence ventured over to Pizza Casbah, in Fort Collins Colorado, where he met college student and pizza expert and chef Nick Cardinale, whom he asked about the Candy versus Pizza contest. "A man who knows his pizza knows a lot of other things, like how to win a Championship," he said, obviously indicating he favored Turkoglu and the Orlando Magic. He then twittered, you can't count out "Zen Master Phil Jackson" (L. A. Lakers Coach). Cementing his utter confusion and obvious fickleness with the contest he blurted, "to be honest, I thought it would be the Cleveland Cavaliers who would win it all."

Whether it's Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Dominos, Little Caesars or Pizza Casbah celebrating the final victory, or Skittles, Snickers, Peppermint Patty, Twix and Milky Way, remains to be seen. But the patron saint of cooks, chefs, and confectioners, Saint Lawrence, says "Either way, it will be a delicious convergence of ingredients that allows one team to land dominant."

Saint Martin of Tours, Patron of Winemakers, Praises European Commission Decision About Rose'

Saint Martin of Tours, (featured left, and at www.SaintsforSinners.com/saint-martin-of-tours-medal-story.html the Patron of Winemeakers, Grape Growers, Wine Lovers, and New Orleans' "Tales of the Cocktail," has weighed in on the Rose' Wine debate that has rollicked Europe recently. Speaking in Bruges, a small town outside of Brussels, Belguim, Martin declared that "any effort to change the ingredients used in the making of Rose' wine will be rigorously opposed. Rose' is not red wine and Rose' is not white wine and never the three shall meet."

It appears the European Commission and Agricultural Commissioner, Mariann Fisher Boel, have heeded the warning from Saint Martin of Tours. Boel was quoted in the New York Times, on June 9, 2009, stating that the group has "abandoned the proposed changes" that would have signaled end of the traditional creation of Rose' and allow the blending of red and white wines to make Rose'. Before the end of the blending ban was proposed, Rose' had always been made by taking red grapes, crushing them, and then leaving them alone to ferment. Their colorness would disippate because the skin pigments would create a wonderful hue of pink, and voila, Rose'.

According to The New York Times, a spokesman for the European Commission was quoted as saying there had been lots of "ooh-la-la-ing" about the potential change in the recipe for Rose', especially by the French Winemakers. And across the pond, the American singer Billy Joel was no doubt pleased that there will remain 3 choices with regard to wine: "A bottle of white, a bottle of red, perhaps a bottle of Rose' instead" since those are the lyrics in "Italian Restaurant," one of the many hits from his classic masterpiece, "The Stranger." We tried to get a quote from Rock and Roller Bruce Springsteen to see what he thought, especially since he is in Europe on Tour, but he was not available. The line from his song "Spirits in the Night" should adequately explain his postion though, "I got a bottle of Rose' so let's try it."