Bob and Penny's Message

We are in the best of times; we are in the worst of times
Family, when we wrote our book: “Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah, Prophecies and Promises” in 1999, we were concerned it would become dated material, and lose its relevance. In a way, I wish with all my heart that was so.
One of the chapters was titled: Requiem for the Age of Innocence; and God knows I wish it was no longer true, that it was a thing of the past. If anything, matters are worse. Our children are being inundated with the worst forms of ADULT literature. Children are killing children! They are being programmed to commit violence, under the guise it’s entertainment. We have an enemy, who has invaded our homes. For years, most parents were afraid to send their children to universities because they came home completely changed, spouting heresies against our Church, revolution against our government. The enemy has spread his tentacles. The age has been lowered to include children in kindergarten and up. Our children are learning things their tiny minds cannot absorb. They are being taught that marriage is not holy, between a man and a woman, but between two women or two men, as well – possibly better. Pope John Paul II said that the education of the children is the parents’ responsibility. On Judgment Day, God will ask parents to show accountability of how their children turned out. Not teachers or television producers, but parents!!!
Our phones are ringing off the hooks with Priests, CCD teachers, school librarians ordering books and DVDs on the Super Saints. And it is not confined to just our Catholic Faith. We are receiving orders from Ministers of different denominations, saying their young need viable, holy role models to imitate.
I would like to add a segment from our book: Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah:
Requiem for the Age of Innocence
“While the crowds pressed around Jesus, He began to speak to them in these words:
`This is an evil age. It seeks a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign for the present age. The queen of the south will rise at the judgment along with the men of this generation, and she will condemn them. She came from the farthest part of the world to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, but you have a greater than Solomon here. At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here.’”
How did it happen?
How did we go from faith and fidelity,
to deception and betrayal?
“Those were the days, my friend; we thought they’d never end...” I still remember those days, the good old days, days filled with innocence, love and caring for one’s family, friends and neighbors, days where children revered their parents and grandparents, where the family stuck together, days of trust, days of honor, days of patriotism. Yes, we thought they would never end.
My childhood was a simple one, a life filled with awe and wonder, where with other neighborhood children, we would take hours to determine which candies we should buy for the precious penny we had to spend. They were days of dressing up as Mommies and Daddies, the Mommy serving the Daddy make-believe tea and fresh bread my Nana had made.
In the heart of Brooklyn, what would be called a ghetto or barrio today, was a neighborhood, more like a small village, where everyone knew everyone else, with many aunts and uncles (some really only friends whom we respectfully called Aunt and Uncle). You were never alone; at least one mother or grandmother was hanging out the window, at any hour of the day or night, watching your every move and reporting any mischief you got into, to your parents. We felt safe! It was a world of innocence, with coal stoves and wood-burning stoves warming our bodies and cooking our food. I can still see the dust particles floating up to heaven on the rays of the sun; I can feel the warmth of the sun streaming into our kitchen on the third floor of the apartment house we lived in. I can still feel the warm tears flowing down my cheeks when we moved away from that neighborhood as I waved good-by to everyone and everything I had ever known, and to the Age of Innocence.
We believed in our country!
We placed our hand over our hearts when we pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Tears came to our eyes, and our voices choked up a little as we sang the National Anthem of our country. We were Americans! When it was time to vote, an electricity filled the air, an excitement, with Daddy explaining the electoral system to us, the importance of casting our vote, and the merits and shortcomings of the different candidates. We were all involved, even those of us who were too young to vote. At four years old, I campaigned clandestinely, while my mother was on duty as one of the inspectors at the Polling Place. Franklin D. Roosevelt badges covering every inch of my favorite red coat, I would find myself being lifted bodily and carted to the other side of the Polling signs, when I wandered too close to the Barber Shop where the voting took place.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was our hero! We would have done anything he asked of us, even die; and many of our loved ones did! It was a time of patriotism and pride--We were Americans! Oh those were days of flags waving and speeches on the street corners, everyone crowding around the speakers or hanging out their windows to hear their platform. We believed in our country! We believed we had a personal interest in the destiny of our nation. What we said or did made a difference. We were important; we counted!
When did our world start to fall apart?

For more information about our book,
“Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah,
Prophecies and Promises”