For whom the bells toll
The bells of SS Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco's North Beach ring a bit too loudly and a bit too often for Alan Coe, who lives a half-block away.
They're so annoying, he says, that the church should stop the chiming during funeral services. Sunday morning clanging should be scaled back, too, Coe said, because the racket is ruining his girlfriend's slumber on the rare day she can sleep in.
[Full Story]
I wonder why it is that I have no sympathy for someone whose live-in girlfirend can't sleep in.
Known as 
The bells are keeping her awake? They're doing for her what her conscience won't.
I imagine it's a foretaste of Purgatory. The Bells! The Bells!
Maybe we should take this practice throughout the US: no church on Sunday? We'll wake you up anyway (you may as well come) . . .
Jay
One of the joys of my life is that I live across the street from a Catholic church (not my parish, though) that chimes the hour then plays a hymn every hour from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. It's a lovely reminder of the time, and a way to turn my heart toward God.
Oh, wait. They don't believe in God.... Ooops.
This story really gets me, because of its proximity. My daughter was baptized at this beautiful church, and it is the central landmark (OK, maybe number two after neighboring Coit Tower) of the area. It has been there for decades. Joe DiMaggio was married there, and Mayor Alioto was buried there.
North Beach is an Italian neighborhood. It has a Catholic heart that will not be supressed. One can regularly see friars and nuns in habits, priests in collars, children in uniforms. They complete the smells of roasting pork, baking bread, as well as the sounds of revellers at the many excellent bars and caffes in the area.
So this Coe fellow moves into this and wants the quiet of suburbia so that his concubine can sleep in on her day of rest. Well, now, how did it come about that she has Sunday's off anyway? Was that just by chance or is it something to do with our culture bearing at least the vestigal structure of the Holy Catholic Faith.
I am thinking that Coe should have to confront crowds of protesters on his front steps at least once a week, if he persists. I would love to see the look on his face when he stares down a bunch of tough octogenarian Italians with the Save the Bells Campaign! This is giving me an idea...