Snow in Maine

We are in Maine and right now, it is snowing. It's supposed to clear later today, mid-afternoon. We drove over yesterday for a visit with Jim and Mary. We left at about 12:30 or so, stopped at Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions, and came over without stopping - except for some MacDonald's french fries and a cup of coffee - with perfect weather, a lovely winter's day, and arrived at about 6:05p.m. I read Kierkegaard aloud much of the trip. We've just about finished up Fear and Trembling. We can say that we have read it, but I don't think we can say we have understood it. I could talk fairly intelligently about it, but it would be superfical. Much of it has gone over my head. Our class has the first session tomorrow night (Wednesday). Our instructor sent out a reminder, and he included a word about Kierkegaard which was sort of comforting: Dear folks, I know how hard it can be to read Fear and Trembling. Kierkegaard’s text moves in surreptitious, allusive, often unclear ways. No one masters it. You are likely to feel, while immersed, that you’re on a careening, unfamiliar vessel moving through choppy waters. You might well wonder what the captain has in mind! I can’t convert this particular uncanny voyage into a pleasure cruise. But I’ll do my best to shed light on the book’s fierceness—on why it will not unfold in a straightforward manner. Kafka once said, “I have experience, and I am not joking when I say that it is a seasickness on dry land.” We who read Kafka—and Kierkegaard as well—may be the lucky ones. Thanks to their writing, we can engage the profound unease at the heart of their subject—without undergoing the gut-wrenching wretchedness of real seasickness. And whatever your discomfort, it doesn’t approach Abraham’s trial, during his three-day trek to Mt. Moriah. I realize the above paragraphs don’t make Fear and Trembling likable. It isn’t likable. But I believe it matters, and I'll try to shed light on why. I look forward to our taking these matters on, together. All best, Phil************************************************ With the weather what it is today, I doubt that we will be going anywhere, though we might go out late this afternoon to pick up some kefir, which I forgot to bring.

Looking out the window - you can't quite see it, but it is still snowing.**************************** Last evening, we had a lovely supper that Ellen brought with us: Corned beef hash, squash, steamed cabbage, etc., and then I watched a Tarheels game on the computer while Ellen, Jim and Mary watched a TV program, a dramatic series set in Germany after WW II. The Heels managed to win the game against Virginia Tech - 78-68- and it was fun to actually see the players. I have been listening to the games on the radio up to now.