More slides

My slide projector isn't working - it has a burned out bulb - but John left his projector here. It does not use a carousel, it just loads one slide at a time. That's okay. I'm projecting a slide on to the acreen and then using my cell phone camera to take a picture of the projected image. It isn't an ideal way to make a copy - especially since I'm doing it right at the moment in the daytime - so the projected image is not very bright and copying it has altered the tint. I'll try again tonight when it is dark. But for now, it does produce an acceptable image. When we went to Switzerland in 1984 - 40 years ago this month - we visited John Nissen and Mary Anderson in Geneva. While there, we saw some sights in Geneva. One of those sights ia called the "Reformation Wall," an impressive granite (marble?) wall with large inscriptions, statues and bas reliefs commemorating the leaders of the 16th Century Protestant Reformation who lived and worked in Geneva. The wall is 100 meters long, on the grounds of the University of Geneva, and was inaugerated in 1909, commemorating the 400th anniverary of Calvin's birth in 1509. The outstanding feature of that wall is a cluster of four statues of the most prominent figures of that time: John Calvin, William Farel, Theodore Beza and John Knox. John Calvin is by far the most widely known of the four today, is regarded as the founder of what is called the Reformed wing of the Reformation, and is on a level with Martin Luther in importance. The Reformed wing includes Presbyterians, Congregationalists and the Dutch Reformed Church. William Farel was a Frenchman closely associated with Calvin, but not so well-known today. John Knox is fairly widely known (helped by the fact that a book publisher is named for him), and was particularly important in forming the Scottish Presbyterian Church. Theodore Beza succeeded Calvin as leader of the Genevan Church. Church leaders from the British Isles and all over Europe came to Geneva to be inspired and trained by these men. Geneva became "the Protestant Rome." The church in which I have membership and ministerial standing, the United Church of Christ (UCC) is in the Reformed tradition and Shirley grew up in a Dutch Reformed Church on Staten Island, NY (Brighton Heights Reformed Church). So these were our roots, religiously.

My slide of the four statues.

Another view of the four from a photo online.

A wider view of the wall. *************

Aha! I just experimented with another way to make a copy of a slide! Far superior! I put a piece of blank paper on top of my desk lamp, put a slide on the paper and took a picture of the slide with my cell phone. Cropped the picture and this is what I got:

Sharper and truer color!

This is the set up. The slide I used is one from a trip on a gondola out of Chamonix, France up to L'Aiguille du Midi, "The Needle at Midday," at over 12,000 feet just below the summit of Mt. Blanc. Spectacular trip! More on that tomorrow!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was a full day! I slept pretty well after our slide show last night (though I got to bed after 1 a.m.!). We got up at 7 a.m. in time to get to GCC Choir practice (we thought), but it took me so long to get dressed that we couldn't get there in time, so we ditched choir and just went to church. Peter Amidon was leading the service (Allyson Platt is in New Mexico), and it was a special Peter Amidon day with little surprises and unexpected twists in the service. After church we went to the Mother's Day Brunch at Guilford Center sponsored by the Grange, and we took Jerome as our guest, plus Nancy and her friend Ginny. It was the first brunch for a few years because of COVID, and it was good! All you can eat for $15. I had a fruit cup, coffee cake, mushroom and cheese omelette, french toast, bacon, coffee. I came out full! We took Jeromme home and came home ourselves, and I took a nap. But I got up in time to go to a River Singers pot-luck supper at 5:00p.m., at the Westminster-West Church. A chnace to meet new RS people and socialize. And we did. We met Anna Marie, who lives in Dummerston, Leslie, a friend of Fred Taylor's, who lives at Morningside near Fred, and Judy - all of whom sat across from us. We enjoyed all three.

At the Grange brunch: Jerome is in foreground; Davis family in the distance at the end of the table.

Looking over to the order window at the Grange Brunch.

Lining up for food at the RS Pot-luck supper. After supper we went upstairs to sing a few songs. **************************** I got a Mother's Day text from Katie Shay. She was thinking about her mom, Betsey, my daughter, who died in 2016, and wanted to share. Nice to hear from her. John found a bulb that fits my projector on eBay for $20. Not clear if it is used or new. Could make a big difference!

An old fashioned slide show

Tonight, we got out my old Kodak Carousel Slide Projector and several carousels full of slides, and invited over John and Cynthia and had slide show. I hadn't looked at slides for many years - decades even. I was amazed that the projector worked after all these years, but it didn't last - after about an hour or so, the bulb blew out, and that was the end of that. But we got to see a lot of slides - Switzerland from a trip Shirley and I made in 1984, Nova Scotia from a 1985 trip, and a tray mixed slides, some going back to the 1950's when I was in seminary in Chicago. There is an amazing coincidence. We went to Switzerland in part to visit John Nissen and Mary Anderson who were living and working in Geneva at that time. It was May, and on Morher's Day we went to a Mother's Day Festival at a castle near Geneva and all the mothers present were given a rose. Mary Anderson was with us, and I have a slide of Shirley and Mary holding their roses - taken exactly 40 years ago tomorrow (almost today - it is only 40 minutes to midnight as I am writing). Here it is:

Mary and Shirley, Mothers' Day, 1984.*************** We had a lovely supper of fresh asparagus and a soufflé with J&C. I did not think to take a good photograph of a slide being projected onto the screen, so I had to dig this one out of the carousel. tape it up onto a lampshade and take a picture of it with my phone. Not perfect, but not too bad either. Here is another of Shirley overloooking a lake in Switzerland, plus one of our supper, and one of the screen.

Shirley looking at Lake Como (I think).

John and our simple but delicious supper.

The screen we were using to project slides. Alas, I forgot to take a picture of the projector! Here is one last slide ( I need to improve my method for taking a picture of a slide - it's all about what is behind the slide).

Me in the Alps.

Enjoying Spring!

These May days have been lovely thus far - a bit of rain, to be sure, but also warm sunshine. We have gotten out a bit - Tuesday night we went to Nancy Ragle's for a "movie night," with her and her daughter, Melendy, who is visiting from Calfornia. Melendy is a real sweetheart, and Nancy is always thrilled to have her there. Ellen brought soup and salad, amd we had a nice little supper together and then watched a movie together: Song of the Lark, a story based upon a novel by Willa Cather about a young woman, Thea Kronborg, a daughter of Swedish immigrants in Colorado, who is very musical and starts out studying piano, but whose voice makes it possible to attain a career as an opera singer and become world-famous. But it is a very rocky road dealing with the demands of the professional world of music, the expectations and envy of others, and very tangled relationships. The film stars Alison Elliot in the title role. It was a very interesting movie, and I had the "seat of honor" - Tom Ragle's recliner - which lifts you up and sort of pushes you out when you want to get up. Nice!

Nancy and Melendy at lunch

The VHS cover for the movie.

About the lead actress.**************** Then, last evening we went to Andy and Robin's for another movie night. We again had supper - this time a meal prepared by Andy - falafel pita sandwiches - yummy! And then a very different movie: Come, Sunday based on the true story of Bishop Carlton Pearson, an evangelical, pentecostal mega-church pastor in Tulsa, OK, who comes to question the existence of Hell and is ostracized by his congregation and eventually declared a heretic. "Come Sunday is a 2018 American drama film directed by Joshua Marston and written by Marcus Hinchey, based on "Heretics", a 2005 episode of the radio show This American Life. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Carlton Pearson, an evangelist minister who was ostracized by his church and excommunicated for preaching that there is no Hell. Jason Segel, Condola Rashad, Lakeith Stanfield, Stacey Sargeant, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Danny Glover, and Martin Sheen also star.The film had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and was released in the United States on April 13, 2018, by Netflix."

Bishop Pearson

Movie cover.

A rare visit

We are in Northampton. Ellen had a appointment today with the optometrist. She had been noticing the symptoms of having a cataract, so she made a date to have her eyes checked. Sure enough, she has a cataract. She will need surgery to have it removed. All this is rare - she rarely sees a doctor. She had her eyes dilated at the appointment, so she is waiting until it is a bit safer to drive. I've been at the house with Jerry, enjoying their porch.

Two views from the porch.**************

Tamar is not here - she is home from Brandeis and is at work at Walgreens. Her academic year has ended. Seems really early to me. Spring is very advanced here. The leaves have budded out and flowering trees and shrubs are at their peak. It is lovely. Ellen and Julie are walking Theo the dog at the moment. Jerry is practicing his French. **************

Grace Schoedel sent me a photo today she found of Bill and me taking a hike togther - not sure when it was taken. Sometime maybe 30-40 years ago? My beard is grey, so I must be in my fifties or so.

Bill Schoedel and me on a hike together.*********************** LATER: We waited until late afternoon to leave Julie and Jerry's house. But we didn't go right home. We looked for Tom and Courtney MachLachlan's new house in Northampton (specifically, Florence). We found it at 49 Redford Drive, not far from Where J&J used to live when they were at Pathways. We were going to just take a picture of the house, but Tom was right there outside, with their dog, Henry, and he saw us and invited us in. So we had a nice visit with them and got some details about the move. They have sold their cottage in Goshen, MA, but still have their condo in Amesbury. But this will be their primary residence. They are ten minutes from their son, Alec, and his family. Sadly, I got no pictures. It just went clean out of my mind. But here is a photo of their house from Zillow:

49 Redford Drive.********** We got home at about 10p.m. or so.

Big Weekend

Written earlier, on Saturday afternoon: This is going to be a full weekend. Right now we're just about to leave for our River Singers concert which is at 4pm this afternoon - we need to be there at 1:25 to rehearse. i felt sort of ill yesterday evening, but I slept reasonably well and tested negative for COVID this morning. I think I'll be okay.

Mary Cay setting up for the concert before people arrive.********* Tomorrow is church, Windham-Union Association at 2pm and Chorale concert at 4pm. LATER, on Sunday evening: Well, things didn't work out quite as I expected. The River Singers Concert on Saturday was great. We had a packed house and a lively concert. John and Cynthia were there, and Cynthia got some pics. I was pretty exhausted at the end but I got through it okay. But Saturday night, I slept poorly, and this morning, I did not feel very well. So I decided to stay home - no church, no Windham-Union meeting, no Chorale concert. Ellen went to River Singers concert - a repeat of Saturday - and that was it. It was disappointing for me - especially missing the Chorale Concert - the last one under the name "Blanche Moyse Chorale" - but I think it was wise. I slept a good part of the day. Here are Cynthia's pics:

Kathy Bullock leading a song.

Singing an African song, with hand motions.

Talking with John before the concert

With Ellen before the concert.

VSED

We went to a Hospice presentation at the Brooks Library last Thursday on VSED (Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking) - a way of dying that is legal everywhere. This was a timely presentation - my friend Bill Schoedel recently chose this manner of dying, and as a Parkinson's Disease person, I have included it as a possible option and choice in my Advanced Directives. It was good to learn more about it, although I'll have to say that it is a lot more complex and difficult than I anticipated. We watched a video of a woman who had gone through this experience vicariously with her husband, and she walked us through it in some detail. It requires a lot of advanced planning and support, and typically takes about 10 days. We had to leave early to get to a Hallowell rehearsal, so we missed the question and answer session after the video. But it was good to know that our local Hospice is supporting this option. There is a lot about VSED on the Internet. The next day, we sang in the choir at a memorial service for Elliot Freeman, who died last month. It was one of the most well-thought-out memorial services I have ever attended - thanks I am sure to Diane, Elliot's wife. The readings, the music, what was spoken - all was revelatory of an aspect of Elliot's life and character. It was a privilege to be there. Ellen and Robin were in charge of the reception, and it was wonderful. We went right from the reception down to Brendon's birthday supper. Sunday afternoon, I attended via Zoom an Ecclesiastical Council for Matt Deen, a candidate for ordination who is pastor of the Newfane Congregational Church. An "EC" is a tradition in our denomination in which representatives from the various churches in our Association hear a presentation by the candidate and ask questions, and then vote on whether they support his (or her) ordination. Matt is very engaging, and the vote was unanimously in favor of ordination. We had bought tickets for the Brattleboro Camerata concert at 4p.m., but to attend it, I would have had to leave the Zoom session very early, so I stayed and Ellen went alone. I missed a great concert! But next Sunday I will get to hear the final Blanche Moyse Chorale concert.

Elliot Freeman

Matt Deen