Lost a good and dear friend this past Saturday. We had a memorial service for him tonight. He might have said, "It's not about Paul," because he was one to always place himself in the background. It's strikingly apropos that our devotional for this very day was about not placing ourselves in the "limelight" as we try to serve others. But it was truly about Paul tonight: I hope it was all right with him just this once, if he were -- or in fact was -- observing us from the other side. He helped me more than I or perhaps he could have imagined with his simple words, "I don't have any answers" combined with "I'm here."
I miss him. I'm going to try to carry on the way he has carried on ever since I've known him. He was a mensch.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Ad Hoc Genealogy
Visiting casually with a man this morning who belongs to my club. He's from Kentucky, is almost 78, is a retired farmer and works with, of all things, mules, for amusement. Belongs to some kind of association that raises them, trains them to work, for show, etc.
"What is your last name?" I asked.
"Evans," he said.
"Well, what was your father's name?"
"Perry," he said.
"Was your mother's name Gladys?"
"Yep."
"Well, I'll be danged! We're cousins, then."
I told him Perry came to my dad's funeral in 1968. Perry died at age 92, Charles (that's his proper name, although he has the nickname "Sug" as in sugar) told me. Charles -- "Sug" -- has a brother we called "Pee Wee." I'd incorrectly recalled that Perry and Gladys (and Sug and Pee Wee and Toad -- love those nicknames -- Toad was merely a play on Theodore -- and a sister whose name I've forgotten) lived near Crestwood, Kentucky, but the nearest town was actually Smithfield, where there is a wonderful restaurant called "Our Best." Sug told me that Pee Wee lives close to the original family farm, which was sold when Perry and Gladys died.
I also told him that in the early 1970s, my son John, his MaMa, and I visited Perry and Gladys at their farm, c. 200 acres. Perry took John and me for a tractor ride across his land and we visited the cattle herd. I saw that one of the Charolais cows was a bull, and I said, "Do you think it's safe to get off the tractor?"
Perry laughed and said that he'd never had a mean bull and this one was no exception. Indeed, the big fellow looked up at us for a moment and continued grazing, obviously wishing us no harm. We did keep our distance. Sug laughed and said they'd had no troubles with bulls but there was one mean cow they'd had and she had charged Sug when he was dealing with her calf. They sold her.
Sug invited me to come visit Pee Wee with him and I think I will do just that. We will have fun.
Sug also told me that he had a female relative who married a man named Bowyer, and that is another lost name of interest in my genealogical quest, so I may be able to get some more information about my roots.
I told Sug that our common (?) great-great grandfather was also named Charles and that he'd been born in 1791, had married Lena Palmer (b. 1791) in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and had then moved to the Providence District of Trimble County, Kentucky. Charles ended his days, apparently, living with his son and my great-grandfather James T. Evans (the CSA Orphan Brigade corporal) there, and that was where my grandfather, Tom (John Thomas) Evans, grew up.
It's kind of like detective work and it's pretty exciting.
"What is your last name?" I asked.
"Evans," he said.
"Well, what was your father's name?"
"Perry," he said.
"Was your mother's name Gladys?"
"Yep."
"Well, I'll be danged! We're cousins, then."
I told him Perry came to my dad's funeral in 1968. Perry died at age 92, Charles (that's his proper name, although he has the nickname "Sug" as in sugar) told me. Charles -- "Sug" -- has a brother we called "Pee Wee." I'd incorrectly recalled that Perry and Gladys (and Sug and Pee Wee and Toad -- love those nicknames -- Toad was merely a play on Theodore -- and a sister whose name I've forgotten) lived near Crestwood, Kentucky, but the nearest town was actually Smithfield, where there is a wonderful restaurant called "Our Best." Sug told me that Pee Wee lives close to the original family farm, which was sold when Perry and Gladys died.
I also told him that in the early 1970s, my son John, his MaMa, and I visited Perry and Gladys at their farm, c. 200 acres. Perry took John and me for a tractor ride across his land and we visited the cattle herd. I saw that one of the Charolais cows was a bull, and I said, "Do you think it's safe to get off the tractor?"
Perry laughed and said that he'd never had a mean bull and this one was no exception. Indeed, the big fellow looked up at us for a moment and continued grazing, obviously wishing us no harm. We did keep our distance. Sug laughed and said they'd had no troubles with bulls but there was one mean cow they'd had and she had charged Sug when he was dealing with her calf. They sold her.
Sug invited me to come visit Pee Wee with him and I think I will do just that. We will have fun.
Sug also told me that he had a female relative who married a man named Bowyer, and that is another lost name of interest in my genealogical quest, so I may be able to get some more information about my roots.
I told Sug that our common (?) great-great grandfather was also named Charles and that he'd been born in 1791, had married Lena Palmer (b. 1791) in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and had then moved to the Providence District of Trimble County, Kentucky. Charles ended his days, apparently, living with his son and my great-grandfather James T. Evans (the CSA Orphan Brigade corporal) there, and that was where my grandfather, Tom (John Thomas) Evans, grew up.
It's kind of like detective work and it's pretty exciting.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
More Potpourri...
"Cats are natural enemies of reptiles" (overheard on boob tube)...Reminds me of autumn last year when Miss Graypussy was boxing (with her declawed paws) at a blacksnake in the neighbor's yard and the blacksnake was taking it personally, coiled and striking back (not defanged, I surmise)...Ally Sheedy looks a little ate-up -- but she's not wearing makeup (courageous) and it's been a while since The Breakfast Club, when she was 23 (she's 45 now)...On Thanksgiving Day when I was about 15 I hunted birds one cold, clear morning with cousin/friend Johnny Henry on his grandfather's farm, i.e. I went with him, not shooting a gun as he did...A few years later at Fort Leonard Wood he won a sharpshooter medal in basic training, I "boloed" (didn't qualify) because I fired too many "Maggie's drawers" (missed the target altogether)...But I hit a water-snake in the head twice with BBs from Greg Peddie's gun from his dad's boat as we trolled up the Flat Rock River...Damn thing just flinched and kept on swimming parallel to us, like a little dragon...I heard the BB hit Snakey's leathery head both times...Got some holiday home-made pimiento cheese spread and we ate some of it tonight -- yummy! now that's "rushing the season" I don't mind...saw a house and grounds with glaring, garish Xmas lights on US 31 Thursday...not ready for it yet...breakfast meeting tomorrow -- will take some doughnuts...after a hiatus from Netflix we resumed with a revisit to Hill Street Blues...had forgotten how chaotic and over-the-top and absurd it was! loved it!...NYPD Blue was much slicker...A Vevay man, an Army sergeant, was killed this week in Iraq...oh yeah, between the no-draft and the mercenaries, we forgot about that atrocity for a little while, didn't we?...just add another yellow magnet to your car...
On Probation as a Daily Columnist?
Seems like the best I've been able to do is about every other day...My favorite character in The Asphalt Jungle is Sam Jaffe as the German mastermind criminal who makes daring robberies but never carries a gun...Had a good day Friday, putting up a Venetian blind and curtain rod, reading further in You Can't Make Me Angry by Dr. Paul O., attending a rehab meeting in which I complimented Irene for her talk and her marvelous turnaround from her sickness as of two years ago, and having a nice phone visit with the Bebe...Joined an online discussion group moderated by a newfound friend who lives in Richmond, Indiana...Also found an old friend who lives in Richmond; met him in California in 1967 and he has now been continuously sober for over 50 years!...Friend Kevin got a promotion and raise at his work...Leaves have mostly fallen and in the morning must begin to mulch them...Recently watched first four episodes of Hill Street Blues on DVD...Got the theme-song from iTunes and we've been listening to it...Still savoring the great brief visit with Ed Begley Jr., who is a Democrat, vegan, and teetotaler, and a mensch...Glad I stayed in town tonight instead of going to Columbus, otherwise wouldn't have heard Irene...Bach harpsichord sonata on Beethoven Satellite Network right now -- Van De Graaff, my friend...Must get to bed goodnight...
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Dropping Names
Ed Begley Jr.
He lectured at Hanover College tonight on saving the environment. Asked what he thought about nuclear power he said, "We have the best nuclear reactor in the world. It's 93 million miles away. It's called the sun." (Applause.)
He worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on an environmental issue and did the best impression of the Govinator I've heard when he re-created a session that Arnold had with Orrin Hatch. (Applause for that too.)
I got to visit with Ed for a couple of minutes afterward. He said he's making a movie about the Florida recount of 2000. I said "Ooh! That'll be great!" Then I whispered, "I'm a Democrat too."
"Good man," he said.
He is too.
He lectured at Hanover College tonight on saving the environment. Asked what he thought about nuclear power he said, "We have the best nuclear reactor in the world. It's 93 million miles away. It's called the sun." (Applause.)
He worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on an environmental issue and did the best impression of the Govinator I've heard when he re-created a session that Arnold had with Orrin Hatch. (Applause for that too.)
I got to visit with Ed for a couple of minutes afterward. He said he's making a movie about the Florida recount of 2000. I said "Ooh! That'll be great!" Then I whispered, "I'm a Democrat too."
"Good man," he said.
He is too.
Friday, November 09, 2007
"Why Do We Have to Keep Killing One Another?"
Just watched Bill Moyers' Journal, which featured author Thomas Cahill. Bill interviewed him about capital punishment, in particular. Cahill talked about our cruelty to one another over the centuries, citing public executions for sport, among other things. The three biggest offending nations in the world are China, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. Think about that.
Once again I was reminded of the gruesome place that is Huntsville, Texas -- the capital punishment capital of the United States. Once again I say that my first and foremost reason for opposing George W. Bush was his cruelty in presiding over that state's practice, never granting clemency to anyone. And I have heard over and over the uttered belief of people that Bush is a good Christian. Some of those people sport bumper stickers with the words, "Christians aren't perfect -- just forgiven." ("Forgive us our debts AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." -- from The Lord's Prayer)
Once Cahill said, "Why do we have to keep killing one another?" Our differences are so petty. Protestants and Catholics? Shiites and Sunnis? Pakistanis and Indians? Muslims and Jews? Why can't we accept differences, tolerate them, overlook faults, take the log out of our own eye before taking the mote out of another's, help one another to make it through the world without starving and suffering? Why can't we forgive one another?
Once again I was reminded of the gruesome place that is Huntsville, Texas -- the capital punishment capital of the United States. Once again I say that my first and foremost reason for opposing George W. Bush was his cruelty in presiding over that state's practice, never granting clemency to anyone. And I have heard over and over the uttered belief of people that Bush is a good Christian. Some of those people sport bumper stickers with the words, "Christians aren't perfect -- just forgiven." ("Forgive us our debts AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS." -- from The Lord's Prayer)
Once Cahill said, "Why do we have to keep killing one another?" Our differences are so petty. Protestants and Catholics? Shiites and Sunnis? Pakistanis and Indians? Muslims and Jews? Why can't we accept differences, tolerate them, overlook faults, take the log out of our own eye before taking the mote out of another's, help one another to make it through the world without starving and suffering? Why can't we forgive one another?
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Comment On -- Well, God. OK?
Yesterday I requested a book I'd seen discussed in the New York Times blog, Think Again, by Stanley Fish. The post was "Suffering, Evil, and the Existence of God." This morning I withdrew the request of the library to obtain Antony Flew's There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed his Mind. I did so because it appears that Flew suffers from senile dementia and was exploited by his co-author, Roy Abraham Varghese, the ghost-writer of much of the text that, when interviewed, Flew was not able to recognize or recall. I didn't want to ask the library to obtain a book that is, as far as I am concerned, a hoax, in the same way that I would have not asked for the book by James Frey about his treatment for drug dependence at Hazelden, which was shown to be a pack of lies and did more harm than good to people who are seeking the truth about escaping the evil of alcoholism.
In the same way, I think tricking an addled old man into signing off on little more than a tendentious rather than a purportedly rational argument for the existence of a First Cause is unscrupulous and, whereas I don't want books burned or otherwise suppressed, I'll leave it up to somebody else to request the book.
This is really hard work, trying to puzzle out what I believe about God, as we call "Him." First, define your terms, JT. What do I mean when I say "God"? I mean the creator of the material universe: the macrocosm and the microcosm that we are aware of, as well as all that we are unaware of: the force or entity that caused the Big Bang or whatever started it all and the one that was there before the Big Bang. "Before" and "after" being constructs of our mortal understanding of "time."
It can be neither disproved nor proved, but I believe -- and this is my article of faith, part of my personal catechism -- that this ineffable vastness and complexity and orderliness did not occur by "accident." I believe in a "first cause." We pipsqueaks don't even have the wherewithal to "prove" that. It's just my notion, my inclination -- my hunch. And I'll never know one way or the other. I guess.
It is all such a mystery.
In the same way, I think tricking an addled old man into signing off on little more than a tendentious rather than a purportedly rational argument for the existence of a First Cause is unscrupulous and, whereas I don't want books burned or otherwise suppressed, I'll leave it up to somebody else to request the book.
This is really hard work, trying to puzzle out what I believe about God, as we call "Him." First, define your terms, JT. What do I mean when I say "God"? I mean the creator of the material universe: the macrocosm and the microcosm that we are aware of, as well as all that we are unaware of: the force or entity that caused the Big Bang or whatever started it all and the one that was there before the Big Bang. "Before" and "after" being constructs of our mortal understanding of "time."
It can be neither disproved nor proved, but I believe -- and this is my article of faith, part of my personal catechism -- that this ineffable vastness and complexity and orderliness did not occur by "accident." I believe in a "first cause." We pipsqueaks don't even have the wherewithal to "prove" that. It's just my notion, my inclination -- my hunch. And I'll never know one way or the other. I guess.
It is all such a mystery.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Cerulean Sky, Luminous Pearly Clouds, Russet Leaves
I love autumn once again. Today was an exemplary day. Sunny, crisp, vigorous. Voted and -- hot diggety damn! -- Tim Armstrong won! Madison has a Democratic mayor for the first time in a long, long while. The guy has absolutely no experience. But it was time for a change. After voting, in the gym of Anderson Elementary School, went to the library and got books and DVDs.
Also requested a book that I learned about on the New York Times blog by Stanley Fish, this post with the title, "Suffering, Evil, and the Existence of God." The book of interest is There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, by Antony Flew.
I also wanted to obtain another book (Bart D. Ehrman, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer) wrestling with the conundrum of God's attributed benevolence and omnipotence in the face of evil. Epicurus wrote: “Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence, then, evil.” I learned a new word: "theodicy," meaning "the defense of God’s omnipotence and goodness in view of the existence of evil." I can see why they call defenders of the faith "apologists." Ehrman's book will be available in February 2008.
Made two CDs from new music I recently imported. I especially love the organ toccatas by Jongen, Widor, and J.S. Bach. (Psst! It's too easy to buy music from iTunes!)
No new comedy shows tonight because of the writers' strike, so will watch some of Countdown, which I taped.
Also requested a book that I learned about on the New York Times blog by Stanley Fish, this post with the title, "Suffering, Evil, and the Existence of God." The book of interest is There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, by Antony Flew.
I also wanted to obtain another book (Bart D. Ehrman, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer) wrestling with the conundrum of God's attributed benevolence and omnipotence in the face of evil. Epicurus wrote: “Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence, then, evil.” I learned a new word: "theodicy," meaning "the defense of God’s omnipotence and goodness in view of the existence of evil." I can see why they call defenders of the faith "apologists." Ehrman's book will be available in February 2008.
Made two CDs from new music I recently imported. I especially love the organ toccatas by Jongen, Widor, and J.S. Bach. (Psst! It's too easy to buy music from iTunes!)
No new comedy shows tonight because of the writers' strike, so will watch some of Countdown, which I taped.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Eight Minutes to Deadline
Beating the clock to get my story in print: I actually did that for newspapers in Franklin, LaPorte, and Madison, Indiana! I kept getting interrupted, but I could have been an honest-to-god reporter for a living. So my blog post will be on time. Piece o' cake.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
30 Posts in 30 Days, By Gum
This blogging thing is a piece o' cake! I can write something, some drivel daily, I who wanted to be a newspaper columnist? (Along with all my other pipe dreams?) Does a cat have a meow?
At just after six, EST (we returned to slow time), the sun was down, but amber light at the western horizon graduated into light blue as I raised my eyes toward the zenith, viewing it here from the bay window. Now the mini-blinds are closed, soft lights are on, and we're watching Shark, which doesn't take a lot of effort. I liked the sundown, of course, and I like being on the same time as the adjacent counties in Kentucky, Jeffersonville, Vevay, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Before DST, the only one of those we were on the same time with was Indianapolis. Which utterly ignores us. Southern Indiana! Onward and upward!
At just after six, EST (we returned to slow time), the sun was down, but amber light at the western horizon graduated into light blue as I raised my eyes toward the zenith, viewing it here from the bay window. Now the mini-blinds are closed, soft lights are on, and we're watching Shark, which doesn't take a lot of effort. I liked the sundown, of course, and I like being on the same time as the adjacent counties in Kentucky, Jeffersonville, Vevay, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Before DST, the only one of those we were on the same time with was Indianapolis. Which utterly ignores us. Southern Indiana! Onward and upward!
Saturday, November 03, 2007
OK, I accept the challenge!
Blog a day for a month, huh? Hmm. Words, that's about all I have to offer. Fair enough. So here goes. It sure is good to see some posts again from the family.
Just finished rereading Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by Nan Robertson, first published in 1988. I'll let the book speak for itself, should anyone care to read it. I will comment on the edition of the book, namely an Authors Guild backinprint.com edition. It's a paperback, excellently bound and printed. I'm also rereading Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz, and for the first time, You Can't Make Me Angry, by Dr. Paul O. The latter, although aimed at members of AA and Al-Anon, is of general interest, and enlightening as well as good-humored.
I'm also finishing reading A Woman in Charge, a biography of Hillary Clinton, by Carl Bernstein. I believe she stands a good chance of being the woman in charge starting in 2009, and although I cringe at her continuing to make pacts with the devil in order to tread lightly on that part of the electorate she needs to get to the Oval Office, I have high hopes that she will make a decent president, which, it goes without saying, this country sorely needs.
Just finished rereading Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by Nan Robertson, first published in 1988. I'll let the book speak for itself, should anyone care to read it. I will comment on the edition of the book, namely an Authors Guild backinprint.com edition. It's a paperback, excellently bound and printed. I'm also rereading Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz, and for the first time, You Can't Make Me Angry, by Dr. Paul O. The latter, although aimed at members of AA and Al-Anon, is of general interest, and enlightening as well as good-humored.
I'm also finishing reading A Woman in Charge, a biography of Hillary Clinton, by Carl Bernstein. I believe she stands a good chance of being the woman in charge starting in 2009, and although I cringe at her continuing to make pacts with the devil in order to tread lightly on that part of the electorate she needs to get to the Oval Office, I have high hopes that she will make a decent president, which, it goes without saying, this country sorely needs.
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