SAINT ROCH-PATRON SAINT OF EPIDEMICS AND DOGS

BY PETER VUONO

DEDICATED TO ALL HEALTH CARE WORKERS


     When I see the incredible valor of all of our health care workers throughout the world I can't help but think of their predecessor, Saint Roch of France who , in spite of being a nobleman, traveled to various cities in Italy to cure those afflicted with plague at the age of twenty.  Just prior to the passing or Roch's parents, his father,  a wealthy nobleman ,on his death, bed decreed that his son would be the new governor of Montpelier France.
     Very much like Prince Harry,Roch denounced his birthright and traveled to Italy to the hospitals of Acquapendente, Cesena, Remini, Novara and Rome to assist in healing the sick who were inflicted with plague all across Italy. It was said that Roch healed victims completely by merely laying his hands upon the afflicted.
     While assisting in the town of Piacenza, Roch contacted the plague himself. Not wishing to infect anyone, he ostracized himself to the woods and constructed a hut made from branches and leaves. Miraculously, a small spring of water arose nearby.
      Living in the town of Piacenza was a count Gotthard Palastrelli who enjoyed taking his dog to hunt. Palastrelli didn't realize however, that the dog found Roch and stealthily made trips to Roch's refuge with bread each day! When the count followed his dog to see exactly what was happening, he found Roch fully healed and later became an acolyte.
      When Saint Roch retuned to Montpelier, France was at war. He was arrested by the soldiers of his own uncle as a spy and thrown into jail. Roch refused to say who he was thinking that he would fully obey any fate that God would bring to him. After 5 years in a dungeon he succumbed and passed in the year 1376 at age 28. He was identified after his death by a birth mark in the shape of a cross on his chest. He would later be made a saint by Pope Gregory XIV and is the patron saint of infectious diseased, epidemics persons unjustifiably jailed and dogs because of the bond he shared with the count's hunting dog.
     In Saint Roch cemetery in New Orleans there is a chapel constructed at least 100 years ago. In a side room of the chapel there is an enormous cache of ex-votos made from plaster and plastic along with dozens of crutches and other apparatus of assisting the afflicted. An ex-voto is a realistic "thank you" given to a saint for healing.
     Only a few visit his chapel and appeal to him for help. Very few of us either know of  or appeal to him However, I wonder how better off we'd be and how many fewer would suffer and die if we did.
   

DISORDER IN THE COURT

Title by Felix Adler
Biography by Peter Vuono

Dedicated to Joel, Rosalie and all die-hard Stooge fans

   Sophie Kischnerman was born in Brooklyn on March 21, 1912. Sophie was educated at Hunter College which is part of NYU. She was a natural born athlete and won a high jump contest in NYC. However her parents frowned upon her making athletics her source of bread and butter and Sophie was denied the chance to compete in the Olympics. Fortunately for Sophie, she had many other talents She was a superb dancer which didn't surprise anyone. Sophie became one of the very first Rockettes. She danced at the Radio city Music Hall on the first night that the Rockettes opened.
   Sophie continued to both model and train as an actress in Philadelphia. She went to Hollywood and worked for Monogram,. Republic, Metro and Columbia. She would change her name to Suzanne Kaaren. Kaaren was brought to this author's attention by playing in three 3 Stooges shorts; :What's the Matador" as Dolores Sanchez, as dancer Gail Tempest in "Disorder in the Court" and in "Yes We Have No Bonanza" as a saloon singer.
   Kaaren married actor Sidney Blackmer in 1946 . Attending the wedding was Raquel Torres who played a major part with the Marx Brothers in "Duck Soup". Unfortunately, Kaaren and Blackmer separated only a few months after their marriage but decided to remain together until Blackmer passed in 1973.
   Kaaren lived in North Carolina until a fire destroyed her home. She and Blackmer had been renting an apartment for $203.59 a month  at 100 Central Park South in NYC. Kaaren, at this time was a senior citizen and was making less than 10,000 per year. She had no choice but to move in; plus the property was rent controlled. Shortly after, a new real estate developer bought the property and tried to evict Kaaren and any other rent controlled tenants. The developer was a fellow named Donald John Trump. Kaaren and her fellow renters took Donald John to court in the 80's and won. She was allowed to remain there until her failing health warranted more care. Upon her death in 2004, she was laid to rest next to her husband in North Carolina. According to the Three Stooges Journal, the Associated Press headline read,"Actress Who Stood Up to Trump Dead at 92".
   Prior to my writing this, I had no knowledge of Kaaren's feistiness and chutspah. I loved her characters but from now on I'll  watch the hilarity of "What's the Matador" and not just laugh but admire a brave woman, who like David stood up to a Goliath for what she thought was right.


REFERENCES: Three Stooges Journal Winter 2019

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