Nowhere to File This

I am spending some time this AM reading blogs and such. Joined the Ooze Community and was reading their blog. First entry there was this little piece below. Seems like a hoax but it is not. I investigated further. It is for real. I have nowhere to file info like this in my brain...so I will blog it.

Sunday, October 30
Some tragic news.
University Baptist Church, Waco pastor Kyle Lake died this morning as a result of injuries suffered in an electrocution during a baptism at his church in Waco, Texas .This is very tragic news for his wife Jen and his daughter and twin sons.
Please do whatever you can to pray and find ways to be supportive of Kyle's family. Kyle had written Understanding God's Will and the just released (Re)understanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation With God.

I re-read this several times. Unimaginable! He was 33 years old. He was a leader in the emergent church movement. He was simply adjusting a mike while in the baptismal. Thankfully, the young woman he was about to baptise was not yet in the baptismal, but still.... what a horrendous memory!

Skinless Backs and Pure Wind

Political language, verbal manipulations, give "an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

That is one phrase in a piece by Hunsinger that Chris TN put on Broken Glass today. It gave me much pause to consider the ways I have seen spin, propaganda, deception... aka "Political language" used to give the "appearance of solidity to pure wind."

Pure wind. It sounds a bit blissful perhaps? That's not the truth of the matter. I re-read the phrase and ponder it, as I simultaneously watch hurricane coverage (for the umpteenth time this season) and again see the horrendous damage that pure wind can do...yes....the deception of spin, political language is indeed a dangerous thing. Anderson Cooper said it well tonight: it can peel the skin right off your back............. yesss........... I do understand.

Last night I stumbled upon and watched a special called: The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, a story about a 36 year old "man" who allowed filmakers to follow him for the last months of his life. http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/B/boy_whose_skin_fell_off/

Johnny Kennedy had sufferred from a horrible genetic disease since birth, EB, where the skin doesn't stick to the body and continually peels off. A truly horrible condition. There was one particularly intense scene in the film where his mother is changing the bandages on his back -- a terrbily painful process that had to be repeated every week for decades.

The image of the skinless back is fresh in my mind.

The skinless back; the damage that deceptive language can do.

Skinner Mt on Friday 10/21/05

On Friday I joined Jess on a hike of Mt. Skinner in South Hadley with the 8th graders from Great Falls Middle School in Turners Falls (where Jess is student teaching). Ben and I helped Jess and the teachers chaperone the 100 or so kids. It was a bit more rigorous than I expected -- I had never climbed Mt Skinner. But the weather was perfect and the views were great. I was with the slowest of the slow hikers, bringing up the rear with 4 kids who barely made it. They were slow for even me, sitting down at every rock out cropping and wondering how they had become convinced to come on this hike! It took us 2X as long as it should have but in the end we made it! Yeah!

More Flooding October 15,2005

We had terrible rains last week, on October 8 and it caused local flooding. Then it pretty much rained all week. So, this past Saturday, October 15, when it again poured all day...there was more flooding. Here are a few shots from the Leverett/North Amherst line.

Jess's 21 Birthday Party

Last Night - Friday, October 14, was Jess's 21 BD party at our house in Shute-ho. Ben was the event planner and BBQ chef extradonaire, even in the pouring rain. It was a great time with friends and family. Here are a few shots.

Jess's BD!!

Today was Jess's 21 BD. The family went to dinner at Smokin' Lils and then Jess and Ben met some friends at the Tunnel Bar both places are in in Noho (tunnel bar = high end bar in in the old rail station tunnel). Jess also got to do her very first full day of teaching today....on her 21 BD. She was a math sub all day at Great Falls Middle School (where she is doing her student teaching). Cool coincidence.. .. first day teaching on a special BD!
Happy BD Jess XO!

Thinking of Writing and Looking Back

Today, due to the rain, I decided to do indoor work which this time meant cleaning our bedroom: sorting through stuff, cleaning stuff out, washing curtains, and getting out the winter down comforter and flannel sheets. One shelf had a few older journals of mine. Since I am thinking more about writing for publication these days I decided to take a glimpse at the oldest one there...from February 1985. The first entry had a lot to do with baby Jessica, who was then just over 3 months old. Since her 21 birthday is in a few days, I thought I would blog some of my old journal entry from Febraury 4, 1985 which I had entitled "Interruptions."

"Interruptions'' That's my life these days. I got this piece of paper out to write on over an hour ago. Just as I looked for a pen, Jessica woke up from her nap. She has had a fever yesterday and today. I got her up and changed her. As I washed my hands I noticed how dirty the sink was so I washed it, which then led to cleaning the toilet and tub. In doign so, I noticed the shower curtain was slimy on the bottom so I took it down and put it in the washer. By then Jesscia was tired of sitting in her baby seat watching me clean so I took her down stairs. As I started to put her into her swing so I could write, she began whimpering and I realized she was hungry. So, now, having fed her and put her down for another little nap, I found a pen and sat to write. Then, I was not sure what the date it is today so I had to get back up, go into the kitchen and check the calendar. Now that I finally sit to write I am not sure I can recall what promted me to decide to finally begin this journal today. Pretty soon Jess needs to be awakened as I will be taking her to the doctors..and the wash will be done. Yes, this is how my life goes, especially since the arrival of Jess. Most of the time I just flow from one task to another and then, the day is over and it is time to start supper.

Well, after that intro, Jess slept a while I suppose, or I wrote fast, because I had time to write 2 pages before rushing off to the doctor's. Jess had a bit of the flu as it turned out. Most of the entry was about how I was trying to decide what I wanted to do about the career track verses being more available to my children. Guess the answer to that, 21 years later, is now obvious. :-) I never did go back to any regular agency work where I could work up the career ladder, etc. No regrets tho.

Writing

The latest thing in my head is that I am trying to more seriously get into writing. I met 1:1 with a Christian writer who coaches, I went to a 2 hour workshop by a coach who specializes in professional social work type writing, I bought some recommended books and a web based market guide for 2006....and I have tried to begin my first article. It is a daunting process....lots of detials and marketing oneself to get anything published. We'll see where it all leads.

Rare Abdominal Birth

In my Deans Book course we are studying all about genetic engineering, as we are reading Remaking Eden. One thing in the book is that technically men can gestate babies if an embryo was to be implanted in their abdomen. This is based on the fact that in some rare cases women have gestated babies where the embryo implanted (accidentally) in their abdomen instead of the uterus. THEN... just this week.. . one of these very rare cases (with a woman) happened in Canada. Here's the link for the story includign photos of the baby and the mom!!
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050926/miracle_baby_050926/20050927?hub=Health

The Generosity of a Cat

So today Surely, age 17 months (my Maine Coon) has demonstated a new level of moral development: generosity. Yes, it is true. This week we bought her a couple of very real looking little mice filled with cat nip. She has been playing with them incessantly. This AM, I discovered she had put one in my purse. Thinking it was only an accident, I removed it and threw it into the living room for her. Now, two more times, she has re-inserted it into my purse! She wants Mommy to have her mouse today :-)

Garlic and Art.......

This weekend is the Garlic and Arts festival in nearby Orange.Yup, it's true.
I think I first went there..mmmm...did we go 5 years ago, Jet? Then 4 years ago Jet and Beno were there together. Then 2 years ago they went there, right after getting engaged at the cliffs. Now they will go again, both days, to play and to work and to display the first B&J Greene product I hope.
I will go with Polly and Cheryl.
Hope the weather holds out for it!!

Video Screening Night

Fun time screening "Evnetually" by Ben and Jess as well as a few other shorts by the likes of Ian and Aaron and even Spike. Great food and a wonderful time around the campfire. Thanks to all who came and made it memorable :-)

Labor Day = Labor?

So this is Labor Day weekend, eh?

I guess that means day to labor. It started out that way anyway.Today, Saturday, started bright and early. We went to the Williams' house and unloaded stuff from their cellar that we had put there a few years ago. Brooks,Mindy, Jess and Ben helped Baird and me. Mindy and Brooks had some yummy food for us too. Mmmm.... We brought all of the boxes and stuff up to the garage, vacuumed & cleaned it up, put it in our vehicles and took (most) of it to a storage garage in Amherst. A bit of it went to the dump and a few things came home. We also took stuff from the Amherst garage to Jess and Ben's for the art room and work room in their cellar and dleivered Aaron's bike to his place. Aaron's at the Honors College orientation this weekend.

Now it is 4PM and I am getting started on some projects that I want to do this weekend.
There is labor and then there is labor. Translated: some of it is actually fun and even rewarding.

Hannah's at Nyack Now!

Niece Hannah Schmidt flew into town from Tokyo last Monday eve. After 3 days of visiting and shopping, I took her to Nyack College on Friday, Aug 26, 2005. The drive to Nyack was quite pleasant... almost 3.5 hours. I left the college at 2:15pm, after settling her in and getting her books, ID etc. But...once I crossed over into CT I was in a 45 mile back-up! No kidding , it took over 2 hours to get the 45 miles from the NY/CT border to New Haven. I tried 2 different routes too..both were bumper to bumper 10-20-25 mph. Summer's last gasp...people headed to the CT coast I guess. I've never been in such a long back up. Oh well, thank goodness for air-conditioning and a good stereo.. I even had 3 cookies from the Nayck cafeteria. Soda would have been nice...but then..there was little opportunity for any rest stops, so just as well that I forgot to pack my cooler.

At Nyack, a number of upperclassmen were on hand to welcome and move in the new students. My fully loaded car was unpacked and all her stuff was up on the 4th floor (with no elevators) in less than 15 minutes. It was unbelievable. Everyone was very friendly. It was great to see, since this is all new to her and she is so far away from "home." Her room is a corner room, with 2 views of the Hudson. One view is posted here. The other view is of the orange bluffs along the river north of town. Wonderful!

The final photo here is of Hannah and her new friend and room mate, Maritza. She lives about an hour away in NJ and her family is Mexican.

Going back to NYC (sort of)

So tomorrow at 6AM I will head back down to the city.... sort of. I will stop just north of the city in Nyack to help our neice Hannah move into college there...it's her first year. Big move (from Toyko!) ....lots of anxiety today. Hope I can help her feel more settled before I leave mid day / early afternoon. I want to stop at IKEA in New Haven on my way home, if traffic doesn't make me drive off into the ocean in Bridgeport. Rt 95 can be a real bear.. especially alone (no co-pilot) and on Friday afternoon no less.

Flyin' and hoppin' day

We flew, almost literally, over to the Berkshires today.... first lunch with my mom (and Hannah). Then shopping there with Hannah. Fast stop at Bridgman's ended up taking over an hour b/c, despite a phone call this AM, the person who knew where Hannah's boxes were tucked away was not home when we arrived and had not pulled the boxes out. The delay yielded a nice visit, an ice cream sandwich and pickings from the garden, tho!! Not bad :-) Then we sped our way to Hadley for supper at Panera with Baird and more shopping. Spent about 2 more hours but we got about 80% of her list for college done. Amazing!! The shopping spree and picking out dorm stuff got her psyched about heading off to Nyack on Friday. Tomorrow is a day filled with other stuff...work and etc. So, banking and more shopping on Thursday, in between clients.... and then... Friday AM...off to college we go...he ho he ho......

Back Log

Wow.... I haven't posted in over a week on this blog. Opps. I have been posting on Broken Glass instead, I guess. This has been a busy week... helping J and B move into their new place. Also J and I went to Tower Hill Botanic Gardens Friday (photo 1) and then yesterday the family went to NYC, East Village area on a day trip (photo 2). So, lots has happened in addition to the regular day to day, work, eat, sleep, do laundry etc.

Tonight was a going away party for Laura D at Glen's house (photo 3). I have known Laura for several years. She and I worked with the youth at FBC together, among other things. Now she is moving back to the Boston area to share a place with her "sis" and to work for DSS. Gotta go where the jobs are I guess. It is sad to see her leave here but the Boston area has a lot more to offer her in many ways. We can always visit her there! Yipee....someone to hang out with in Boston.

Baird went to Boston tonight in fact.... to Logan Airport to pick up his neice Hannah. She is coming from Tokyo to go to college. I will help her get everything ready and I will take her to Nyack, NY on Friday for her first year of college. Jess's new school program in Athol ( thru UMass) starts that same day! Yup, it's another full week!

They are BACK!

Hey....it's true...Jess and Ben are back...yipee! They got into town a bit after 11PM Friday...after leaving Whitewater at 3:30 AM, WI time. That's like 18.5 hours on the road but they made it! After a bit of sleep and a big breakfast in Shute-Ho this AM (with the Aaron too) we headed down to the new apt at The Brook and began to clean and move some stuff in. Michael, Baird and Ben, along with some help from Ian too, got 2 car loads and 2 van loads out of storage! Jess and I got quite a bit of the kitchen unpacked and set up. Wow! More tomorrow with friends and family all pitching in and a cookout with Wisconsin Cheese Burgers after.....whohoo.

Greenfield: Closed on Sundays

I think I will make a new sign for Greenfield:
Greenfield: The Town That is Closed on Sunday.
Baird and I drove up there this eve to go to this little Mexican place with tables outside and it was closed..as was most of the town, so we ended up at Wendy's!!!! Imagine that!

Hey..good news..the 7 Russian sub guys got rescued today after spending 3 days deep underwater, snagged in an old finshing net off the coast of Japan. The Brits cut them loose. It was 5 degrees celsius in there....imagine, 3 days, all dark...laying still on the floor of the mini sub..breathing lightly to preserve the remaining oxygen...(right). I am having a mini panic attack just thinking about it!

As for the U.S..well...the shuttle is suposed to land in 6 hours! Pray is goes well this time.

That's about it for things on my mind tonight :-)

another week....

Thus ends another week. Hot...steamy...August. Today was really good....coffee with Laura D, who has decided to move back to the Boston area (Somerville) with her sister and work for DSS, then lunch with Polly and Pam (fun time at Bertuccis), and then LAOS meeting with 2 from the exec. committee (they both liked my ideas..we'll see where it all leads...stay tuned), and finally "coffee" with Baird and Ian to chat...mostly about how to get Sufjan Stevens here to talk before his Sept 7 concert at Pearl St. There was a client in there somewhere too. The only downer of the day was email from the "office" but I am putting it behind me. Life goes on, thank God. This AM, before I ever saw the "jab" email, I was thinking how folks leaving FBC is sort of like the dispersal in Acts... the people were driven out ( they by outright persecution) and it led to even more spread of the Gospel. Parallel: those of us who have begun to spread out feel the losses but we are also making new connections we might not have otherwsie; we are meeting new people from other realms of the Christian family within the Valley and it has been nothing less than reaffirming and even downright inspirational at times. In some cases we have even already been able to connect our new connnections with other new connections. Articles like the Harpers one are affirming on an even larger scale. So, all around....good stuff. Hey...Jess and Ben's new apartment is basically all set too...so...one more week to go and the next phase will begin for them. Yahoo!

The most astounding thing of the day was my BIG paycheck from one of the insurance companies: here attached. Worth framing I think.