1. Jane King wrote me a lovely email. It included the following passage:
I'm a part of this little group that meets each Wednesday to discuss
the lectionary texts for the week. This is a comment for this week
in connection with Psalm 67 that I read this morning in DISCIPLINES,
an Upper Room Publication. I believe the author is Rene A. Perez:
"Many years ago I heard about a high school teacher whose husband
unexpectedly died of a heart attack. About a week after his death,
she shared some of her insight with her students: "Each of us is put
here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate, and give of
ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.
It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is God's way of
telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. So I
would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to
school or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It
doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent--perhaps of
freshly baked bread wafting from a house or the sound of the breeze
slightly rustling the leaves in the trees or the way the morning
light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground.
Please look for these things and cherish them. For these things are
the "stuff" of life, the little things we are put here on earth to
enjoy, the things we often take for granted. It becomes important to
notice them, for at any time it can all be taken away."
2. I received the kindest email from my student Katy who had done a fiercely beautiful painting of King Lear during the storm on the heath. She was grateful that making art was a project option.
3. I listened to a superb radio interview with Artur Lubrano, author of Limbo: Blue-collar Roots, White-collar Dreams. He discussed how his book explores the difficulty of blue collar family kids making the move out of the working class into the middle class. I have written about this about myself and his work more than validated some of my insights about the limbo people like me feel having made this move.
2 comments:
Totally off topic here, but, looking at your pictures on the right of your blob ....... do you know (well actually you wouldnt) that we have a Bunkers Hill in this village..... its the road that runs through the middle of Creech Woods.... its not a hill at all, its hardly even an incline..... but its the road/lane surrounded by overhanging 200 year old trees...... so the week before the D-Day landings thousands of troops and vehicles decended upon this village and were stationed along Bunkers Hill (which is not a hill).. it was all very secretive, and then apparently according to old Bessy, they disappeared overnight, not a soldier to vehicle to be found.......D-Day Landings were happening........ :) - just a little bit of useless information for ya lol - but I always think of our little Bunkers Hill and Creech Woods when I click over to your blob......... xx
I was also in limbo for a while, determined to go to college, even if I had to pay my way. (Which I did for my AS degree, and two semesters of Bible School.) I don't think I have made it to "White-collar" status, unless substitute teaching in Public Schools and being a Private school teacher counts. The Hunk is definitely White-collar, mostly sits behind a desk in front of a computer, fills out a ton of forms, and even has a company owned cell phone. (Woo hoo!) I can call him anytime I want. So much better than the days he spent underground or in the quarries where he worked.
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