Hillary Clinton

Just hours after our first-term Democratic Congressman had helped unveil the Louisville Obama office (without us there - both Stephanie and I have seen Senator Obama before), Stephanie and I spent two hours in a local high school gym with some 3,000 other mainly Democrats (many of them women) listening and cheering on Senator Clinton, who gave a solid 45-minute speech without notes, but who made us wait for a while as she met VIPs back stage and did a Fox News interview. (Clinton had spent lunchtime, earlier in the day, in the Indiana town across the river where Stephanie teaches.) Both Kentucky and Indiana have primary elections coming up - primaries that are usually meaningless because everything is settled - but in Kentucky Republicans who switched political parties to vote in the Democratic Party will be frustrated - because the deadline to party switch by in order to vote has already passed. Greeting us were creative banners made by students (!?) at the high school (the top-rated Manual High, where my manager went and a rival school to Vincent's) and the high school's orchestra, chorus, and cheerleaders. We recognized several women in the crowd, and met a few others. The former KY Democratic party chair gave a short, fiery speech, but the rest of the speakers were almost all women politicians (plus the assistant principal who started it off). It was interesting as always to listen to what songs the played to keep us going as we waited. Clinton's speech dwelled on issues like schooling and health care access. She vowed to get No Child Left Behind repealed, and she irritated our neighbor by pledging to pursue coal to gas processes. She also pledged to lower student loan interest rates and to forgive student loans for school teachers, law enforcement officers, and other public servants - two policy changes that could directly affect us. Her speech was better than the ones I've seen her give on TV (no typed or teleprompter script) though she didn't say how she was going to pay for all of this (though she pledged to bring down the deficit and end the war). I remain torn between the two candidates - or - after all the fighting - calling for us to bring back Vice President Gore as the candidate - or - just throw in the towel and see if the old centrist John McCain returns, who might work well with a Democratic Congress. Still, Clinton seemed solid. Among the banners were those saying "Hillary - Don't Quit" - a direct reference to new calls for her to break the deadlock by dropping out. Among the most entertaining fashion were two young men in red "Hot for Hillary" T-shirt, as far as we were concerned also a reference to a certain Van Halen song and video. We never did get a picture of these young men in their T-shirts, but Stephanie did get a T-shirt (pink) herself. On the way home, Stephanie called her mother and suggested her mother look for us on CBS News, and to our shock Stephanie's mother said there I was - we'd stood in the floor 10 feet or so from the stage - in front of Senator Clinton!

Updates

Stephanie got to show her students the quilt today and present it to the principal, who may put it in the display case as you enter the school. Everyone was excited! This may have helped defuse some tensions from a couple of ongoing controversies at school - as everyone came back from spring break - including the work slowdown. The walkathon and potluck picnic for Vincent's school's Parent Teacher Student Association encountered no rain but somewhat chilly weather Saturday. We had a light turnout - with some elementary school student bidding to whip cream their teachers (pictured above). I enjoyed working with a few parents and a student who helped put it together. (And I got to talk with one of Vincent's teachers, a science teacher who helped illuminate the terrible mid-six weeks science progress report we had received the night before - and who may help intervene to soften the blow.) We raised between $600 and $700 - and are still receiving contributions from some of you - and may be planning soon a somewhat similar fall event - plus perhaps a "Battle of the Bands" at Vincent's school. (I may also be helping, tangentially, plan a fund-raising plant/art sale for Vincent's church youth group.) Frisco's health took a turn for the worse Friday when we plied him with special dogo food and then left for a movie and the plays. We came home to a grim scene and a very sick dog. Stephanie stayed home all day Saturday - except to help when I got frustrated trying to find Vincent at his cast party - and we rationed Frisco's special food and cooked wild rice. He seems to definitely be on the mend now. This extended weekend (I took Friday off) was also full of basketball. The weekend started with the Western Kentucky men's team falling, but the Louisville Cardinals, Davidson Wildcats, and Xavier Musketeers (from neighboring Cincinnati - a team I had picked to get into the Final Four). But all three of these teams lost in the fourth round - including the Cardinals to #1-ranked North Carolina (just as the Cardinal women had done the day before). This left three of my Final Four in the hunt, as I fell back in my pool to second. My Mother has been talking with my sister, Stephanie, and me about having her first of two knee replacement surgeries in early June. However, the doctor has just referred her to yet another doctor to get clearance, and so this may delay when she's actually able to schedule the surgery. The report of one doctor might it sound like her health problems were many, and it seems like they're being very cautious about sending her into surgery, trying to make sure they've considered every eventuality, particularly of possible complications during surgery. The last time Mom talked with the surgeon's office, they were scheduling surgeries in May.

Lazzi! (pronounced LOT-see!)

I thought among the most creative part of the 10-Minute Plays in which Vincent acted this past week at his school were the "Lazzi" transitions between scripted plays. In the Renaissance Italian comedy tradition, Lazzi performance meant improvisation, somewhat like the "Drew Carey Show" spinoff "Whose Line Is That Anyway." Vincent and other members of his 10-minute play ensemble didn't do lots of improvisation, but there transition involved very short vignettes that creatively drew from the scripted plays and each other and introduced new ideas (often apparent non sequiturs). One such transition in which Vincent performed was a depiction and commentary about a central part of the experience at Vincent's school: waiting for and riding the city (Transit Authority of River City = TARC) bus (in Vincent's case, just from school to home - we give him a ride to school). (In the scene pictured Vincent is essentially part of the bus - the Number 17 - which he takes occasionally.) It turns Vincent - with fellow cast members - came up with the ideas for at least a couple of these transitions, including one from Peter Pan, in which a robber kills a fairy by saying "I don't believe in fairies," steals her wallet, and then threatens another fairy. The plays and the transitions were full of references to popular culture, I've mentioned before, including the Ninjas vs. Pirates contest/debate in which two characters from Harry Potter end up taking over.

Sick dog

Our dog Frisco was back at the veterinarian's office, having spent much of Stephanie's spring break week home with stomach problems - including not eating, vomiting all night Tuesday night, and then today diarrhea. I probably didn't help matters by insisting that Frisco go out for a long walk in the rain at 5:30 this morning. Dr. Kaur and we thought Frisco was suffering a recurrence of pancreatitis, started when he got to some chicken meat in the garbage last week. He had even suffered a seizure this morning. But apparently that was not it. I picked Frisco go up tonight and took him for a short walk in the Meijer's parking lot and inadvertently discovered the video function on the digital camera. Frisco had gotten his epilepsy medication intravenously (he had been throwing it up), and he was sent home with some anti-nausea medication. He seemed well when I picked him up and he was energetic you'll notice on the short walk and he was happy to be home. But by now he's a little tired and clingy.

Stunning quilt

Two years ago Stephanie and her mother and her students - then at Mt. Tabor Elementary School - tag-teamed to produce a beautiful quilt. The students and a few faculty and staff fabric painted the quilt squares, which we purchased, and then Stephanie sent them to her mother (at that point very recently retired), who sewed them together into a beautiful quilt. Stephanie's kids and even their little brothers and sisters and other new students who have seen the quilt draped over one of the sofas in her room have been bugging her ever since to help them make another one. This one is even more stupendous. Nancy herself cut the squares, so they fit better, the kids really outdid themselves, and Stephanie's mother did a great job sewing it together and found great, appropriate borders (featuring the school's red and black school colors). It arrived in the mail earlier this week, and Stephanie will take it to school Monday after spring break. This will be none too soon, as things will have been a little tense at school and also, for her students, at home (since many of their families are feeling the pinch of stepped up opposition to immigration - whether they're legal immigrant or not - and several students and their families have returned to Mexico recently - potentially, in the long run (if not other issues), jeopardizing the jobs of the four people including Stephanie who are in English as a New Language education at Stephanie's school, the school district's magnet school. In their quilt squares, students, faculty, and staff generally were to draw symbols of their home countries. Pictured above are squares from two of Stephanie's students, from Stephanie's colleague Lourdes, and from Stephanie, as well as two views of most or all of the quilt, still at home.

10-minute plays

Vincent's school has no formal theater program. But, in recent years, with help from English teachers, students have written and directed - as well as acted in - a series of short plays performed after school and on a couple of weekend nights. Vincent hasn't been in a play since 4th or 5th grade when he starred as Hanazo in "Dragons in the Wind" with Betton Hills Prep School, at the old Quincy, Florida movie theater. It's been like pulling teeth to get him involved in extracurricular activities - plus he needs to do homework and get his nap and rescue the dog. However, last spring he loved watching these 10-minute plays, and this year he's started writing inside and outside of class. So this year he wrote one play and entered that one, and, when that didn't make the cut, he eventually made it in as an actor in three plays: "Semantics," "30 Years, 100 Acres," and "Dumbledore Dilemma." The latter two plays partly spoof the characters around two beloved classic characters, Winnie the Pooh and Harry Potter. Vincent has bigger roles in some of these short, somewhat irreverent plays than in others, and he also appears in the "Lotsi" transitions between plays. Today I took a late lunch hour at work and watched two of the three plays from Day One of the plays. Tomorrow we may catch either the 3 p.m. or 7 p.m. show. They'll finish off with a 7 p.m. Saturday show and then a cast party, just like when Penny and I played in the pit orchestra for Leon musicals. Vincent was actually pretty good, enunciating and projecting better than I had feared. Many of his better friends at school are also in the plays, and two of his favorite teachers - Becky and Carrie - are involved. We'll try again to take pictures tomorrow (Friday). Feel free to stop by for any of the other three shows. Break a leg, Vincent!

'80s night

Last night "American Idol" returned to a kind of '80s night, as the top ten contestants sang songs released during the year each of them were born. All were born in the 1980s, except for David Archuletta, South Floridian who we realize is Vincent's age. Michael Johns surprised us with a very good rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." The judges had mixed feeling about Brooke White's cover of the Police's "Every Breath You Take." But we even thought Archuletta and country girl Kristy Lee Cook were OK. But just stunning last night was David Cook's moody, almost unrecognizable, but sizzling rendition (pictured above) of the first good song released, 25 years ago, from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album: "Billie Jean." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Ke1zCWgI8
It took me a whole verse to recognize it. There was no moonwalking, nothing even like that - but it was truly amazing. (Sadly, tonight, "Idol" voters dumped Chikezie (pictured earlier).)

Busy week

Stephanie has been off from school for spring break this week and has been engaged in spring cleaning, putting up new curtain rods and drapes and washing and ironing our existing drapes and cleaning the upstairs and all of our windows in general. I've led the four phone focus groups with Presbyterian pastors and presbytery executives this week, hearing plenty of criticism of Presbyterian national staff that I work for but also hearing other valuable ideas about what's distinctive about the Presbyterian church and how we might improve it - some of it might be more useful to church leaders than others. Also, we've dealt with a very sick dog (Frisco vomiting all one night) and warming temperature with a car with no air-conditioning and power windows not working (so locked shut - we're looking into fixing the power windows). Vincent has also been preparing for appearing in three 10-minute plays, with the first performance of all the 10-minute plays slated for after school tomorrow at 3 p.m. He'll also perform at 3 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Friday (we'll probably be there), and 7 p.m. Saturday. I've been helping plan a first-ever fund-raising walk-a-thon/potluck lunch for Vincent's school Parent-Teacher-Student Association for this weekend. As I wrote earlier, contributions are welcome.

The Wizard of Oz

Vincent, Stephanie, and I watched the movie "The Wizard of Oz" tonight, complete with the scene adapted by "O Brother Where Art Thou." Toto of course reminds us of Frisco, and Dorothy (her mannerisms, her personality, even somewhat her voice and looks) of my grandmother, Grandma Beck. Vincent creamed me in Yahtzee as Dorothy was able to find her way back home. Parts of this movie used to terrify me when I was a child. I have greater respect for tornado safety not so much from having lived through a tornado in Kansas when I was three years old, but having lived through several tornados here in Kentuckiana. "There's no place like home" was the first sentence of my Toastmasters Ice Breaker speech, about my home state of Florida.

Go Hilltoppers!

In addition to the Wildcats of Davidson (a Presbyterian college several of whose graduates we know) and my pool Final 4 underdog Musketeers of Xavier, our local University of Louisville Cardinals and the longshot Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky (school mascot Big Red pictured), a school currently popular with Vincent as a prospective student, have made it into the men's Sweet 16. Having advanced to the women's tournament second round are the Louisville Cardinals, and the Racers of Murray Street, another prospective school, play a women's tournament first-round game tonight.

Easter breakfast

While Vincent, Stephanie, and I had an Easter breakfast of an Easter egg and a biscuit with sliced turkey and cheese (Vincent saved the chocolate bunny in his Easter basket), Speckles and Greenville (pictured) had an Easter breakfast of super worms and sliced strawberries and bananas.

Saturday before Easter

In between dealing with lost keys, doing laundry, and listening to basketball, I participated in three Easter-related events today (unlike yesterday, a breezy, chilly, gray day): Frankfort Avenue Business Association's Easter parade with several fellow Crescent Hill church members (some pictured) riding in a truck with "He's Alive" spray-painted on a banner alongside it (pictured); Phoenix Hill Neighborhood (my old neighborhood) Association's Easter egg hunt, where young kids got ready to hunt for eggs (pictured) and sit with the Easter bunny (pictured); and a beautiful, quiet one-and-a-half-hour Easter vigil service put together by the dissident, progressive Catholic congregation that worships (with a few Crescent Hill folks) in our sanctuary (usually Sunday night; tonight starting out with a fire out front and with beautiful music, beautiful candles, and limited light) - not quite as long as the equally, but differently breath-taking 3 1/2-hour Easter vigil service that my grad schol friend and I participated in in a West Greenwich Village Roman Catholic church, probably 15 years ago, in Easter 1993.

Possible knee surgery

My Mother is now talking about having the first of two conventional knee surgeries early this summer (probably at the same hospital where she nearly died 10 years ago, with the supposed model hospital room pictured above) in part so that Stephanie, my sister, and I can help her out during and immediately after surgery, at rehab, and then at home. Stephanie may have a nice break between summer school (assuming they still have it) in June and teachers having to go back to school in early August for the regular school year. I'll be in northern California for at least a few days for the church's General Assembly later in June. My Mother has been avoiding this partly because it will take her out of work for at the very least a couple of months. But she isn't yet sure she wants to retire, and her general health isn't getting any better and so it will just get harder and harder for her to recover from this. It's a scary time for state and local government/school employees across the country because lagging tax revenues due to the recession may force layoffs. Mom does take tai chi classes and has just started going to see a trainer at a women's gym, in part to get ready for the surgery.

School stress

Stephanie faced a couple of stressful days at her school (pictured above), starting out yesterday when she started out for a 12-hour school day (half-day of school plus parent-teacher conferences which are stressful because she has to try to flit into all of her students' conferences with their main classroom teachers and a translator) with a migraine headache and continuing with other kinds of stress today.

Ohio River cresting

It was a beautiful first day of spring today in Kentuckiana, but there was residue from the snow and rain earlier in the week and month. The Ohio River was to crest, and pictured above are trees submerged along the Indiana side of the river (in Jeffersonville) and submerged benches on the Kentucky side of the river, at Waterfront Park not too far from where I've worked and where we've watched concerts. Probably 1,000 yards away on the way to our storage space I had to take a different route, lest I risk flooding the car (as I have before).

Stations of the cross

For Holy Week, at Children's Fellowships one of our adult leaders (Martha), who wrote the curriculum we use in Sunday school and Children's Fellowship, led us in an activity in which we essentially went through the events of Holy Week, going to different parts of the church and Fellowship Hall and acting/speaking many of the events (in a kind of stations of the cross-type activity). Helping out, partly as a kind of Greek chorus, were Stephanie, our pastor (Jane), one of the youth ministries directors (Kate), another adult (Julie), and me (I was the only adult to crawl through the empty tomb!). In the first picture above, Martha was giving us early instructions as we finished getting dressed up. In the second picture, the kids paint the drape that was put over the communion table for Easter morning service.

March Madness

In 1994 after injuring my knee in a car accident, I kicked what turned out to be 13 years of TV addiction - in order at the time to get myself to stay home and rest my knee - by watching many of the NCAA men's Division I basketball championship tournament games (March Madness). More recently, life has begun to get in the way. Ironically, I may watch more of the games during Day 2 (tomorrow) than in recent years (at least after our noon church service) because at the church we have Friday (Good Friday) off. We've lived for the past three years in the "Golden Triangle" of men's college basketball, where three schools whose teams have historically dominated men's basketball (Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana). This year the men's teams from all three schools are back in the tournament. I believe the Louisville and Kentucky women's teams are also both in the women's tournament. In both tournaments, also, are the two teams from the school that Vincent is looking at most seriously (Western Kentucky), along with the women's team from another school Vincent is looking at (Murray State). Alas, teams from some of our older schools (Florida State, Minnesota, Ohio State) are not in the men's tournament. Some of Stephanie's Southern IN colleagues are Hoosier fans, however, and I've got some allegiance to the coach of the Louisville men's team (the local men's team seeded highest in the tournament (Rick Pitino, pictured above), partly because he was the New York Knicks coach when I was in New York City and first became a Knicks fan. I belatedly have set up a very small, quiet pool at work, and we'll see how many people sign up for it. I will have favorite North Carolina winning the championship, with doctor horse (and nearly local team) Xavier making it into the Final Four. Go Cards!

Yesterday

"American Idol" contestants spent another night interpreting Lennon-McCartney Beatles songs last night. Many contestants adopted the same strategies as last week and they also picked some of the Beatles' "smaller" songs. Among the more interesting repeat-strategy numbers was another country-fied performance by Chikezie, this one of "I've Just Seen a Face." Not picking a "small" song was Michael Johns, who performed "A Day in the Life." But the biggest transformation and best performance was by Sarasota, Florida's own Syesha Mercado, whose powerful but poignant, sophisticated but sentimental performance of "Yesterday" (sans string quartet) was the highlight of the evening.

Flooding

Melting snow and heavy rain have left the Ohio River high for several weeks. All-night rain last night left us waking up this morning to school cancelations in southern Indiana and - in Stephanie's school district - a two-hour delay, as some roads in the rural parts of the district were flooded. It also made it tough to walk the dog after he stayed up sick last night and made it tough to drive to work (on streets like Shelbyville Road, pictured above). The Ohio River may crest tonight, as the authorities have already locked some flood gates in place.

101 Dalmations

Students from Stephanie's school last night performed the musical "101 Dalmations" in the school cafeteria, directed by Stephanie's English as a New Language colleague Stephanie and her friend Sally, the music teacher. Several of Stephanie's students were in the play or were in the audience, and their families were there. (The cafeteria was full.) Vincent stayed back stage to help keep the kids behaving, and Stephanie talked - three times - one of the kids (who had a small, but critical scene in the end) from quitting the play. I sat with Stephanie's Mongolian student and his sister. Stephanie's translator/aide colleague Annabelle and her husband helped serve people dessert.

Stephanie in her classroom

Clean water

Vincent's experiences this summer in Guatemala and the lack of clean water there encouraged him to push - as a United Nations delegate to be from Guatemala - for a bigger UN clear water campaign. He dissuaded his Brown School/"Guatemalan" colleagues to abandon an anti-AIDS campaign and worked with classmates to help devise and find funding for a series of UN clean water projects across the globe. Apparently at the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (actual UN building pictured above) during the past 2 1/2 days, this campaign won - ironically, in Vincent's absence (see earlier post) - the best proposal award/plaque. Perhaps the lack of clean water got some people's attention even without Vincent there in person to target the problem.

The evolution of gaming

For several weeks Vincent has been reading books such as "Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age" and his "Game Informer" magazines (with the electronics holiday he's not currently allowed to watch the "G4" cable TV network) to prepare for a 30-minute (?!) presentation on "The Evolution of Gaming" in English this week. Since he wasn't at the Kentucky United Nations Assembly, instead he did his presentation today. He made a 24-slide PowerPoint presentation with graphics (on a black background!), broke the class into groups to take four different video game trivia quizzes (questions like: What was Mario's original name?) (Mario pictured above and to the left), and 10 minutes of his classmates trying out Nintendo's (multi-character) Super Smash Brothers. He got his friends to bring some extra equipment and we brought his GameCube (otherwise off-limits for now with the electronics holiday). He said the whole event went pretty well, even though he went over on time (I wondered how he'd fill 30 minutes) and even though this is one interest that he and his teacher, Becky, clearly don't share. They weren't able to lure her into trying out Super Smash Brothers. (Answer: Jumpman)

Mission focus

After returning from Guatemala with 18 other folks from our church this summer, I've ended up working a lot with a different, but equally amazing group of people from our church. This group - including some deacons, elders, long-time members, and others - planned a great all-church breakfast and mission discernment event on Epiphany Sunday, January 6. We're currently planning a follow-up breakfast and event for Sunday, April 20 (Vincent's birthday!). In the last event we ate cereal, fruit, and king cake, and then Stephanie and I took off with about 10 kids and showed them slides from the summer Guatemala and Appalachia mission trips and engaged in an Epiphany craft activity. Meanwhile, the adults stayed at their tables and talked about mission partnerships and developing authentic, reciprocal relationships not only in mission outreach ventures but also in our church and our families. This next event will pick up on that and push forward to help us prioritize among mission opportunities and rethink those opportunities primarily as relationship-building (for example, possibly with folks in Guatemala, Appalachia, Louisville, missionaries around the world, and farm workers). Once again we've got a great group of people working on this, including long-time church members such as Bob, who gave a fabulous Minute for Mission message last week in church referring to his work as a missionary in India in the 1960s, and Izzy, who helped inspire about eight (other) church people to get up in the fog this morning and head off to help build a new Habitat for Humanity house in Old Louisville and who started us off this morning with a beautiful prayer. I'm so blessed to be working with these and other wonderful people on this effort. Today we got off to a great start, after the Men's Breakfast folks (including two of our own) had invited us and we joined them for pancakes and sausage breakfast (I controlled myself). Then, although our pastor helped rescue us after we floundered a bit, our meeting ran long, and my cell phone went off during Izzy's prayer, we got to start off with introductions and prayer requests. We ended up getting so much planned/accomplished in a process - much like at our meeting in December - that I believe the positive group dynamics and the Holy Spririt helped along as none of us could have come up with all of that/made all of those decisions on our own. (For more information on our Spring Mission Focus Breakfast, you should be able to see, shortly, more about it on a blog (see above and to the right).

31 years old

A healthy living Web site that my father connected us with - Real Age - connected us with a canine version of the Web site last night. We typed in a bunch of information about our dog's habits and how we treat him. The Web site calculated all of this and said Frisco was "young for his age" - only 31 years old! Actually, he's almost eight and would I think be in his early 50s. And we probably got credit for some things unfairly. We only feed him premium dog food, but that was because for years we also fed him people food and thus gave him pancreatitis, which forces us now to feed him premium dog food only. We only take him out on a leash, but that was after years of occasionally taking him for leash-less walks and - more frequently - letting him outside the front door - which allowed him to attack and maim not one - but recently - two other dogs, which now finally has us never skipping the leash. We have recently turned over two new health leaves. I mentioned that Frisco's Bradenton veterinarian got us to start taking him for dental check-ups, and our now once- or twice-a-year dental check-ups the Web site definitely liked. We ran into someone at Tallahassee's Railroad Square the day after the funeral of our family friend Julian, who had been killed in Iraq, who persuaded us to start using a harness with the leash, which keeps us from strangling Frisco - or causing eventual neck arthritis - when we walk him. One practice the Web site faulted us for was letting Frisco ride in the car on our laps, a practice that could injure or kill Frisco if we got into a car accident. (The Web site plugged placing dogs in doggie car seats in the back seat.) We actually drive Frisco around less now that we don't ever leave Frisco in the car. Doing that even briefly in the Florida heat may have helped give Frisco his epilepsy, and leaving Frisco in an air-conditioned car was bad for the environment (and still dangerous in case the car stalled) and is no longer possible anyway because the air-conditioning is working in neither of the cars we currently drive. (We also got in trouble with the local authorities her for leavig Frisco in the car - with a sweater on in the winter. Because Frisco has separation anxiety, he always looks distressed to people when we used to leave him in the car.) The Web site also noted with regret that Frisco is aggressive towards other dogs and occasionally towards people (including biting me!) and suffers from separation anxiety. What we really need is a animal psychologist! Speaking of a psychologist, there were no questions about where your dog sleeps - Frisco and Stephanie kept me up last night because they hogged all of the covers and Frisco kept me up the night before because I took away his food because I feared we'd be home late (and feared he'd have an accident) and he kept waking me up to try to get me to put his food bowl back on the floor. Frisco and I did get some quality time together this afternoon in our extra (brown) car with me revving the engine while Frisco and I hung out and listened to the radio.

Another disappointment

Stephanie and Vincent got up early today for another college visit, this one just across the Ohio River and down the street from the first school that Stephanie taught at in New Albany, at Indiana University Southeast (IUS). Stephanie has actually consulted for this school and for several semesters had education majors from this school helping out in her classroom (and one of my former colleagues is graduating from there with an education degree later this spring). Still, it's an overgrown community college, and Stephanie and Vincent - perhaps having been spoiled by visits to private colleges and several much bigger state universities - found they were disappointed with no program except tours of the small campus, few departmental representatives there, no open bookstore (and therefore no T-shirt or post cards), and no dorms completed yet. Most of the people there seemed already committed to going to IUS, and there was little effort to market to those who were unsure. Stephanie and Vincent were impressed with the new library (pictured above), the low student-to-faculty and student-to-computer on campus ratios, the three years of Japanese offered (Stephanie's Japanese students participate in Satuday Japan school here.) and the Japan study-abroad program. We won't be able to ignore this option because they offer Indiana in-state tuition to Louisville area folks, match the modest Kentucky version of Florida Bright Futures scholarships (small stipends for college students based on students' high school grades, ACT scores, and Advanced Placement class participation) and - especially if Vincent were staying at home - this is by far the most affordable option we've examined. Plus Vincent could car pool with him mother in the morning and take the #2 bus home!

Difficult week

It’s been a difficult end of the week for us. Vincent has been preparing for a couple of months to participate in the Kentucky United Nations Assembly at a Louisville hotel (pictured above) , where he was to help represent Guatemala, a county he’s actually been to. He persuaded his colleagues to propose a new global water-quality-improvement program, after noting how hard we tried not to drink any water in Guatemala. But through a complex series of events and mediocre grades, short finances, and bad decision-making on his part, as of this morning he will not be participating in the three-day event that starts this Sunday. This unfortunately is somewhat par for the course with some of his infrequent forays into extracurricular activities.

Like many Americans these days, we’ve been struggling with finances. Even with help from family members and a tax return that I just completed that was essentially even, we faced a particularly tough financial week. Gas going up to $3.35 a gallon and even milk increasing doesn’t help matters.

With several big projects (including one I wrote about yesterday) underway and – as of tonight – down two staffers, people in my office are overworked, stressed out, and – occasionally exhibit poor decision-making. We said good-bye with a lunch out and cake to a ten-year employee, Charlene, who is retiring, but Monday morning will face an increased per person workload. I have applied for the position vacated by our new manager (who moved over to the manager’s position), but – no matter – what happens with that – we’ll be short staff for several months, at the very least.

Almost weekly out-of-town trips to visit colleges, church and other activities, an early-morning trip to Indianapolis this morning for Stephanie, and – frankly – even keeping up this blog have left us running ragged without enough sleep and other rest. All three of us have fought late-spring illnesses and nagging shoulder and back problems have bothered me.

Keeping things somewhat in perspective are the challenges that one of Stephanie’s students’ family faces. Stephanie met Thursday with half a dozen of her colleagues and the student’s mother. This student has moved schools four times recently and has exhibited academic and behavior problems, experiences visual hallucinations, and shows sign of anxiety, while his mother has struggled with depression and his whole family copes with living in a foreign country (and state) that is increasingly hostile to immigrants.

In one of those occasions in which Stephanie can appropriately feel like she is making a difference in people’s lives, she helped steer the meeting of her colleagues in the right direction and then followed with church friends who may help point this student and his family to helpful mental health resources.

Maybe we’ve had a bad day or a bad week, but other folks have had a bad year. And maybe helping lighten other people’s loads we can begin to lighten our own.

Phone focus groups

Today I got a new assignment at work, which will be to set up and lead four one-hour telephone focus group discussions - two each with synod and presbytery executives and with pastors - brainstorming about reshaping the identity of the General Assembly Council. Following up on some in-person focus groups led by professional focus group firms/moderators paid as consultants, we'll be trying to gauge what associations people have with the Presbyterian mission agency (the largest of six national Presbyterian agencies) which I work for and what ideas for how we could communicate what we do better to Presbyterians around the country. Although there have been good signs in the past couple of years, the denomination continues to shrink - except in the support financial and otherwise that Presbyterians give their local congregations. This an exciting and important assignment and one that may give me an opportunity to work directly with denominational executives such as General Assembly Council Executive Director Linda Valentine (pictured) but it also adds to an already heavy workload (and thus will make clients for rival projects unhappy with me).

Children's fellowship

Stephanie, Vincent, and I have been helping lead our church's Children's Fellowship each Wednesday since early fall. The activities attract anywhere between 4 and 15 mainly elementary-school-aged kids. Usually, Vincent helps out as the kids participate in Children's Choir practice for half an hour, then we spend time - following up on Sunday school classes which some of the kids participate in - reading and talking about the scripture for that Sunday/week (from the unified mainline Protestant schedule called the lectionary), engage in a broader discussion, and join in some sort of arts and crafts activity related to the reading and discussion themes. At some point we break for dinner, usually dinner that at least the adults love cooked by the father of two of the kids. We focused this week on the story of Jesus and his friends Martha and Mary and the death and then rebirth of their brother Lazarus. The story and the discussion looked ahead to next week's Holy Week and the death and resurrection of Jesus (along with the death and new life that we as Christians believe many folks will face). We talked about the experiences many of us have encountered with the illness or death of friends, family members, and even companion animals and how we and others have coped with that. I talked about going to a funeral of a church member's mother last week (in the snow), and Stephanie talked about how she was reaching out to the family of a colleague whose cat had recently died. Working with a great curriculum that another member of our Children's fellowship team designed, we asked the kids to make tissue holders - essentially boats out of contruction papers - with "God is with us at all times" and stickers and drawings (lots of flowers - I started it) on them - and tissues inserted - to put in the pews at church (perhaps for funerals). The kids did a great job and we ended up with about 10 tissue holders which Pastor Jane seemed OK with not waiting for a funeral, but putting them in the pews soon.

Prayer requests

A close colleague of Stephanie, translator and aide Lourdes, and her family (husband and two kids) faced a tragedy we can identify with last night. Perhaps after a stroke, their 20-year-old cat Spanky had become disoriented and even unable to find food and the litter box. After they left the cat in the garage while about to go out yesterday, the cat somehow wandered under the car and was injured when the car drove over one of its legs. Lourdes and her family took the cat to the vet and eventually, after spending more time with the cat (who was then on pain medication), decided with the vet to end the cat's life. They had the cat's body cremated and the ashes spread out in the woods. We ask those of you who pray to please pray for this family that is understandably having a tough time dealing with this, including the particularly tragic sequence of events. Others send soothing thoughts for this grieving family.

Ann, a Central Ohio friend and neighbor of Stephanie's mother, as a long-term result of a car accident, has had her jaw bone removed and her mouth wired shut for what is supposed to be several months. But she quickly began experiencing problems that may lead to even worse health results, and she must now feel helpless and terrified. Please also pray for and send healing and comforting thoughts to this woman and her family.

Beatles night

Having finally unveiled the Top 12 finalists last week, "American Idol" had contestants sing Beatles songs penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney last night. A number of contestants sang numbers from the Beatles' mid-career album "Revolver." Our favorite performances were: Chekize's "She's a Woman" (Chekize pictured above), Amanda Overmeyer's "You Can't Do That," Brooke White's "Let It Be," David Cook's "Eleanor Rigby," and Carly Smithson's "Come Together." Nothing stood out quite as much, however, as Amanda's incendiary rendition last week ('80 week) of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (except perhaps for Kristy Lee Cook's interesting but with her vocals completely off of the beat of the band country version of "Eight Days a Week," which stood out for the wrong reasons).

Spring flowers

International week

Stephanie has been on a roll this week. Sunday night we had vieja ropa, a Cuban stew. Monday night we had an Asian medley with kimchi, mondu, mabo sauce, and rice. Tonight – after going to Weight Watchers meeting – we had a Portuguese soup. Ever since we started going to meetings, Stephanie has been cultivating her culinary skills, taking familiar, not-very-healthy recipes (and recipes from Taste of Home magazine) and Weight Watcher-izing them and finding new, health recipes. She gets recipes off the Weight Watchers Web site (see Web site address above and to the left) and Weight Watchers magazine, from the newspaper, and from Cooking Light magazine. Occasionally she misfires with these new concoctions, but usually everything is great, and sometimes she hits the ball out of the park. She’s also found ways to use items we buy at Choi’s Asian market in Linden. This has been a blessing for our weight loss and a blessing for our palette. Tomorrow night we’ll be eating at church, but I can’t wait to taste what she’s cooked Thursday night

Test day

Vincent missed school Monday but got well enough to get back to school at Brown at take the ACT standardized test today. Kentucky is an ACT state, but this is the first year that the state has paid for all high school juniors to take the test. Last year Vincent scored a 19 on the PLAN, the ACT practice test, but he may need a 21 or 22 to get into the mid-level state universities we’ve visited and as high as a 28 or 29 to win merit scholarships at the private colleges we’ve visited. Vincent and his classmates have been doing ACT preparation in science and math classes. At home, he’s been going through an SAT math review workbook, and re-taking – this time on-line – high school Algebra 1 to help review. Last night he took a practice ACT English test. Vincent was still a little tired this morning, but said he only guessed on/rushed through four math problems (you can guess on the ACT). He said there were science and reading comprehension essays to read on genetics, a biology subject he likes, but he said the questions were tough. Vincent used to ace standardized tests, but his scores on a percentile basis have started to slide in recent years. Hopefully, as going to college becomes more important to him, he’ll have reversed that slide just in the nick of time. Go, Vincent!

Brown School walkathon

For three years Vincent and I have circulated through the neighborhood, as Vincent took orders from neighbors for items from a holiday catalog. The Parent Teacher Student Association at Vincent’s school, the Brown School, got a cut from the sales, and this money financed field trips, scholarships, gifts for teachers, and other activities at Vincent’s school. But participation by Vincent’s middle school and high school classmates in this fund-raising activity has ebbed, and the PTSA has shifted to a new fund-raising strategy, a Saturday morning, March 29 (two-mile) walkathon and picnic at Old Louisville’s historic Central Park (picture above in a turn-of-the-century post card), one of the city’s Olmstead-designed parks. I’m helping out a little planning the event, and we’ll hope to raise more money than catalog sales have and join together for a fun event that will draw kids from the K-12, parents and family members, and school supporters. Feel free to join us Saturday morning, and please pledge/contribute money to the Brown PTSA as a reward for Vincent walking the 2 miles in the walkathon. E-mail me about sending us a check, bring us cash, or use your PayPal account to send money directly to us using the ChipIn widget below. Brown is a great K-12 school that combines the informality and close family feeling of a small school with the diversity and downtown location of an urban school and academic rigor of a selective admissions school. But schools around the country are watching their budgets drop (note entry about Indiana schools below) and the Brown School needs all the help it can get. Support Brown!