A New Saint Medal is Finally Painted!

June 5, 2025

June 2, 2025

Our New Friend, Dear Madge of Castello's Debut,

A Quick Note, Testimonials, "See You Soon!"

NEWS

All of your “Who’s Your Saint Quizzes” have been read and you have received the responses. Unless you typed your email address with a typo (those responses wind up in the netherworld of the Internet!) and except for those of you who have not taken the quiz yet - hurry, go take the Who's Your Saint Quiz. My response will be in your mailboxes in a flash!

All but two of our hand-painted saint medal orders are in the mail or have been hand-delivered locally. that's a new option we are experimenting. And, about the new saint medal, (new to us) joining our line-up....

Our NEW SAINT

Saint Margaret of Castello, patron of the disabled, has finally started accepting paint. PHEW! We have been painting and painting her, but the metal of her saint medal has been very resistant.

Our crafter Mark painted her in yellow and then Franco painted her again in another shade of yellow over Mark’s yellow and our own yellowish mixture color is finally sticking! No one can replicate this yellow, though we did try to get Carol Francolini to use a similar color for the awesome hats she designs for the Art Jones Scholarship Fund she created.

About a yellow hat, she said "Maybe Next Year," (that probably means "No") because her son, Joe, already picked the color khaki for 2025. Khaki!? Idk - I'll guess I'll buy and wear it. And I'll be lobbying Joe about Yellow!

Carol's husband, also known as Joe's Dad, Art, died in the Twin Towers on 9.11. in NYC. Carol and Art's legion of friends and family created the Art Jones Scholarship Fund in Eastern Long Island, where we were all born and raised. Art's Scholarship Fund helps kids pay for college. Go ahead and send in a donation! It's a very worthwhile cause, and fully tax deductible.

YELLOW REDUNDANCY

Yellow! The color gurus of the world, Pantone, say Chocolate Brown is the Color of the Year, but we’re still pushing yellow. It’s a Yellow Kind of Summer, according to SaintsforHOPE ~ SaintsforSinners.

TESTIMONIALS!

Wonderful notes have arrived. I’m quite inspired and happy to share – you know, you've heard me say before, that they're the “FUEL” that keeps this SaintsforSinners ~ SaintsforHOPE enterprise moving along. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Marion B. wrote to say her postcard from Pope Francis I Funeral was the "best postcard" she's ever received! I'm assuming little Marion may be 10 year-old and who has never received a Post Card before). Marion also said she keeps it on her table where she does her daily writing! I wish I had the Daily Discipline of writing everyday.

Incidentally, there is a song called "Postcard" by Harrower. Clay Crawford and Monte Miller put it on their album, "Intimate." I listen to it all the time. moving along, ....

And then, this note came along in the mail:

Dear Rob,

I am writing to thank you for the beautiful postcard of Pope Francis from the Vatican. It was so thoughtful and kind of you to take the time to write a a hand-written note and tell your ("stream of conscious") thoughts about being at Vatican and Rome as the Pope was laid to rest. I truly felt like I was there with you.

Ironically, the picture of Pope Francis on the postcard is the exact pose my husband got in the photo he took when we were in Rome, shortly Pope Francis I took office. He looked at my husband and gave him a "Thumbs Up."

Thank you. My husband told me it was all he wanted out of that trip to Rome. Thank you so much for (inadvertently) sharing that with us again.

As you said in your postcard, I truly feel like we are friends, even though we've never met. God Bless You,

Terry H.

Plus, here is what Karen S. wrote:

“ Thank you, Rob, for the beautiful post card. Your description of Pope Francis’ tomb made me feel like I saw it with you. How amazing that must have been. Keeping you in my prayers, and love purchasing your beautiful medals. Stay well. “

Karen S.

Warwick, NY

These notes were especially nice to receive, because they were surprising. In a good way! I’ve not sure about my writing and never even remotely believed that I’m a descriptive writer.

No, I’ve always thought,

stream of consciously

mimicking Miley Cyrus,

"Descriptive," that will “Never Be Me!”

I’d take wordy, verbose, offbeat, or rambling, since, as you know, I’m fairly decent with putting this stream of conscious blabber on paper.

So, Marion, Karen and Terry (and others) made my day. Thank you so much! For once, I actually enjoyed a surprise about my writing. Speaking of ….

WRITERS!

So, the other day, thanks to my friend, the esteemed Judge Jeff Morgan, I fell into a William Faulkner Rabbit Hole. And I’ll be writing about him soon. Thanks to Judge Jeff (we call him "JJ") a lady, Angela Bowlin, is hooking us up with the local Willam Faulkner Society. Stay tuned for details, coming soon, - well, actually, in September, after the New Orleans Heat and Summer Doldrums are over. The Humidity is already unbearable. In the fall, we will be writing about the WFS, its sounds, its fury, WF's Pulitzer, and the streaming conscious flair of writing!

Please look forward to future emails during my travels. I'll also post on Facebook and Instagram. Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron of hiking, biking, and mountain climbing will be canonized and I'll be in Rome for the occasion! Lauren, Adam, painters Franco, Rick, Victoria, and Mark will be ably steering the SFS ship while I'm away.

Lauren is also going to offer a beautifully decorated birdhouse on www.EBay.com - And who knows what else she will offer! We made the birdhouse long ago. Since this is the 20th year since the Katrina flood ravaged our home and studio....

The Birdhouse - It's covered with over 100 medals, painted, unpainted, messy, nice, big and small .... Many of those medals are the ones we dug up after Hurricane Katrina tried to slow us down (and failed). Thank you, Lauren. Nice try, Katrina! We will not be deterred. Not then, not now, not ever.

Adam has been trying to invigorate our Pinterest page. We now have 39 followers! Thanks, Adam. Tik Tok? It may be updated by Franco and Adam too! We could have a new store or two too! A loyal customer has hooked us up with a solid link to a store - Besame Mucho, in Key West, Florida.

Abiento! (See you Soon!)

Thanks for reading to the bottom!

Rob Clemenz, Founder

wwwSaintsforSinners.com

www.SaintsforHOPE.com