1. My day started at 2:13 a.m. when Carol texted me that she and Paul and Molly had returned safely through the snow and ice back to Kellogg from the Spokane airport. I was suddenly wide awake and accidentally put the television on the local PBS channel and the documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali was about to begin and I watched all ninety minutes of it. I learned more than I had ever known about the Nation of Islam, Ali's conversion, his decision to be a conscientious objector, and the Supreme Court ruling that reversed his conviction for refusing to report for induction into the U. S. military forces. The movie helped me relive and better understand events that occurred when I was in grade school, junior high, and high school, giving me perspectives very different from the opinions and comments I heard on television and in my hometown. I thought of many friends I've made over the years, especially in Eugene, who aren't into boxing (but some are!), so might not watch this movie, but who are deeply interested in the issues this movie addresses. I hope some of them will give this movie a look.
2. The snow kept falling in Kellogg and Bob down the street cleared our sidewalk with his snow blower, but soon more shoveling was in order, and I wanted to help clear the way for Christy as she loaded up her car to leave, so I got some shoveling in. I was kind of hoping (but I kept my mouth shut -- she didn't need my advice!) that Christy might wait another day to leave, but she decided to brave to snow and drive back home to Martins Creek. It turned out that the roads were in pretty good shape, so that was a relief, but it would have been fun to have her around for another day.
3. One more gift exchange today for Christmas! With Molly having returned from Colorado, we had Carol's family over for a second go around of minestrone soup and had fun seeing Molly again and exchanging gifts with her. I don't remember the last time that members of Carol's family and others of us had dinner together five days in a row! It was, by far, the best thing that happened during the Christmas/my birthday season.
No comments:
Post a Comment