Katie is here!

We have just returned from picking up Katie at the airport - Bradley Field in Windsor Locks, CT. It is astonishingly warm! In the 70s! It was almost too hot down in CT. Katie's plane waas on time - even a few minutes early. WE stopped in Northhampton on the way back. Katie checked out a cannabis dispensary in Northhampton, just to campare with Colorado (BIG difference - cannabis is twice as expensive in Massachusetts!). We also stopped at Harrell's for ice cream. It was the perfect day for ice cream and everyone knew it - the place was packed. But we found a parking place right in front and enjoyed our ice cream sitting on the wall opposite the store. Fun!

A very popular spot in Northhampton

The famous Herrel's bears

Not as busy the day this picture was taken!************************** Now we are home and Katie is telling us about her new job. She is so much happier in this job because even though the hours are long, when she goes home, she is home; her work is at work. She can relax. She is working with living plants. Very different from being on a computer all day long.

The kind of place Katie works

Tamar is in a high school musical

Last evening, we went to Northhampton to see a production of Mamma Mia, a "juke-box" musical written by Catherine Johnson and based on songs made popular by the Swedish band ABBA, composed by Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus, members of the band. Tamar auditioned for one of the lead roles, but had to settle for being a member of the ensemble. She is a Junior. She is hoping for a more major role in next year's musical. I knew nothing about this musical, despite it's being one of the longest running shows ever, both in England, where it originated, and on Broadway, where it had a 14-year run! I was not particularly impressed by the musical itself, either book or songs. But the students obviously poured their hearts into it and it had amazing energy. Some of the voices were very good, particularly, Donna, who is the mother, and Sophie, her daughter. The plot, such as it is, is sort of crazy. Sophie has been raised by her mother, and does not know who her father is; her mother refuses to discuss the issue. The show, which is set in Greece (not sure why), opens with Sophie about to be married, and she has invited to the wedding (without her mother knowing), three men, each of whom she thinks could be her father. She hopes that by meeting them, she will learn the truth and be "given away" by her true father. That sets up a pretty wild ride of encounters between and among the principals - the three men, Sophie and her mother, as well as a wide variety of friends and other family members (and three Greek goddesses, who function like a Greek chorus). But the plot is nothing more than a showcase for a lot of songs. Although everyone was miked, I could barely understand any dialogue or lyrics of songs. But it hardly mattered. The choreography was particularly effective, I thought. The costumes were well-done; the set was very spare. Tamar had one scene at the opening in which she sat at a table with another girl, and we were close enough (row 4) to be able to hear her singing and I got an unusually good photo (flash photography was prohibited but I didn't need flash). The audience was very enthusiastic, particularly the girl sitting in front of me, who screamed her head off after each song. So it was a high energy experience, and that was unusual in this time of COVID, to say the least. The entire audience was masked - a requirement (if you forgot to bring one, you were given one when you came in). There was no requirement to be vaccinated. I saw only one member of the ensemble wearing a mask. We saw Tamar after the show and gave her a bouquet of rose buds, and took her home. Her parents, and Katie, Savanna and Brendon, are all coming to the Saturday performance. Tamar seemed pleased with last night's performance - it was the opening show. There were no glitches. There was a pit band, so the music was live, and it was well-done, if a bit loud. So - well done, Northhampton high school! Please give Tamar a worthy role next year! (And let it be in a really high-class musical!).

A good photo of Tamar (at right) fairly up close

Ensemble scene - Tamar is up on the balcony somewhere

Finale scene

The program booklet

Tamar's bio entry in the program

A sense of spring!

Today it was reslly possible to believe in Spring! And looking at the next few days, I think that feeling will be re-enforced. Our snow is almost all gone in the woods. The piles thrown up by the plow are still there, of course, but they are much reduced. Temps will be in the 50s and 60s in the next few days. That will melt even more. I wouldn't be surprised to see little green shoots appearing here and there! We will have a real treat coming up in a couple of days - my granddaughter, Katie Shay, will be coming for a visit, arriving at Bradley Field in Hartford, CT at 2pm in the afternoon on Friday. It will be a short visit - she will return Sunday morning. But we haven't seen her since last summer, and a lot has happened in her life in the meantime. So we need to do a lot of catching up. And what else is going on? We are reading the short stories of Franz Kafka for our Swarthmore Course Uncanny Journeys. Tomorrow we will go to Northhampton to see Tamar in her high school musical, Mama Mia. In the afternoon, at 4:30 tomorrow, UNC will play Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I'm not sure how that will fit in with getting to Tamar's musical, but we'll try to either listen to or see at least part of that game. We might be able to go to Katie & Savanna's for the beginnning of it, at least. Or maybe we'll just hang out somewhere in Northhampton and listen on the radio, via my iPhone. Earlier today I picked up Jerome and took him to Hannaford to do some shopping. I took a fifteen minute walk on our driveway after I got back from that. Ellen is shopping at the moment and I just cleaned up the kitchen and did my exercises. I had a zoom session earlier today with retired clergy - Jeff, Catherine, Jack and Roger. We always have a good, lively discussion. Catherine told us about someone she reads regularly - John Pavlovitz - and by some coincidence, just a few minutes later, when I checked in for my Wednesday Chicago Theological Seminary Wednesday noon Reflections, I learned that he is to be the guest speaker next week. Here is just a little bit about him (written in 2017 when Trump was President): Pavlovitz, forty-eight, is a Wake Forest resident, minister at North Raleigh Community Church, and father of two young kids. He's also the writer behind "Stuff that Needs to be Said", a blog that calls out hypocrisy in plain language, with the president and his ardent followers within the religious right earning particular scorn. His style—compassion paired with a no-bullshit, emperor-wears-no-clothes attitude, all informed by an inclusive brand of Christianity—has endeared him to millions of readers. This year alone, twenty-three million people have viewed his blog, and he has over sixty thousand Twitter followers.******************************* So the days are full and it is wonderful to look forward to Spring!

Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

John Pavlovitz (1969- )

The Seven Storey Mountain

Last evening, I went to a book study group that was held at the Amidons. It had been formed as a sort of spin-off from Contemplative Prayer at the Guilford Church, mostly at the initiative of Patty Meyer, and includes six or seven others. The book was Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain. I had never read it before. Indeed I had never read much of Merton at all. TSSM is called "An Autobiography of Faith" and tells in pretty riveting detail the story of his early life and his formation, ultimately, as a Trappist monk. A key word for him is "vocation." This is the story of his struggle to define, discover, accept, find joy and peace in the vocation of being a contemplative monk. It was not easy. Merton is a fantastic writer (that could have been his vocation, and in a way was, but also wasn't, and the tension between "writer" and "contemplative monk" probably ran through his life after he entered the monastary). Whatever you think about his belief system, you (at least I) was pulled along by his writing. The book obviously touched everyone in the group and raised a lot of questions: e.g., what does it mean to love God? What does it mean to pray for someone? But also, "Why has this book sold millions of copies?" For me it raised the question "Do I have a vocation at this advanced stage of my life?" "If so, what is it?" Merton himself gives a kind of answer to that question himself: "This means, in practice, that there is only one vocation. Whether you teach, or live in the cloister, or nurse the sick, whether you are in religion or out of it, married or single, no matter who you are or what you are, (and I would add - no matter how old you are), you are called the the summit of perfection, you are called to a deep interior life, perhaps even to mystical prayer, and to pass the fruits of your contemplation on to others. And if you cannot do so by words, then by example." (Seven Storey Mountain, p. 458). I also brought to the discussion an article I found in the Christian Century by Cassidy Hall, a filmmaker who created a documentary on Thomas Merton. She is wondering if it is time to "let go of Thomas Merton." She writes, "Merton, as a White cis man and vowed monastic in a patriarchal church perpetuates damaging exclusivity alongside his wisdom." So there is another perspective. Her film is titled Day of a Stranger. All this certainly gives one food for thought!

Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

Coping mode

Let's see - I went to see Jerome in the hospital and learned that he had been discharged. So I went to his home, but he wasn't there either. I roused his daughter's boyfriend, and learned that he had been taken to the ER! And that a home health nurse was with him. I subsequently learned that he is home again and is "OK." I wanted to visit today, but we're in the midst of a blizzard. So I texted his daughter and told her I would come tomorrow. I called Pastor Elisa and activated the church prayer chain. Jerome's cell phone is not working. Frustrating! On a more trivial level, the Tarheels collapsed last night and lost to Virginia Tech by 13 points. So that ended the ACC tournament for them. There is still March Madness! Ellen decided not to mail cards because of the storm. Katie is visiting next week and I'm calling her in a bit! So, we are coping as best we can.

Right now**************************************** LATER I heard from Margaret that Jerome is home and that some new medication is actually helping him. So that is good news! LATER ON SUNDAY: I went to see Jerome Sunday afternoon. He was up and feeling somewhat better - he's taking a compound pain-pill -Ban/acet/Caff that seems to be helping. He wanted to go to Wendy's for something to eat so we went and he got a Hot&Sweet chicken sandwich and some fries. Not bad.

An actual In-person sing!

Today we went to Holton Memorial Home for a live, in-person, sing in their activity room where we had a small audience of about a dozen residents and a few staff people. Mary Cay Brass led and there were about 8-9 of us singers. We sounded a little ragged from lack of regular experience singing together, but I don't think anyone minded. We sang with masks, but the residents were unmasked. It was fun singing again. We sang for about a half-hour. Among our songs: New Jerusalem, I'll Fly Away, We'll Camp A Little While, Africa, What a Wonderful World, How Could Anyone Ever Tell You? And some "singalong" songs like Swing Low, Sweet, Chariot, and You Are My Sunshine.

Holton Memorial Home

Gathering in the Dining-room

The singers...

...and our audience****************************** Yesterday, we drove to Shutesbury for supper with Katie & Savanna, and stayed late to watch UNC play Virginia in the ACC Tournament, which was on ESPN. UNC totally flummoxed Virginia. Virginia scored only 13 points in the entire first half! That was the lowest first-half score in the entire history of the ACC! The final score was UNC 63- VA-43. UNC plays Virginia Tech tonight in the semi-finals. I will be able to listen on the radio app on my phone. It would be fun to drive down to K&S's (which we could do) and see the game, but we filled the tank on the car today and it cost $65! Gas is $4.39 a gallon! So we'll stay home. If UNC wins tonight, they could meet Duke again in the championship game tomorrow evening. Duke is playing Miami as I write and they are ahead by 7 points. It was tied at the half. If UNC/Duke play again tomorrow that will be some game after UNC's upset win over Duke in the final game of the regular season last Saturday. We probably would watch that at the Bergh's. So this is basketball season, and of course "March Madness" starts next week. Who knows how UNC will do in that tournament, but it could be fun!

Snowy errands

Well, on the heels of that violent windstorm we got an unexpected snowstorm. We had to run some errands yesterday and we decided not to let the snow stop us. Ellen wanted to take things to the recycle bins at the landfill and take cake to the refugees at SIT, and I wanted to visit Jerome in the hospital. So we set out. It was the kind of snowfall that sticks to every twig and branch. So it provided some wonderful photo-ops. And this morning, in the bright sunshine and blue sky, it is pretty spectacular.

At the recycle station

A friendly reminder that you are under surveillance!

Getting rid of our paper and plastics

Beauty at the landfill

Cake to the dining hall at SIT

On Route 30

The iron bridge makes a nice geometric pattern

West Dummerston Baptist Church (across from the Post Office)

Coming out of the covered bridge

Coming up the East-West Road

We made it home

Snow-heavy branches out the window

A bright wintry scene today!