Three Beautiful Things 06/28/10: Krakauer and War, Julie Whitesel Weston and Kellogg, Weeding

1. I finished Jon Krakauer's Where Men Win Glory. No matter how much firepower, how many schemes, how sophisticated the planning, how just the cause, or how superior the training, military enterprises are carried out by complicated human beings: flawed, heroic, limited human beings who are in over their heads. I don't know if Jon Krakauer had it in mind as he wrote this book, but the lasting impression it made on me was that no matter who he discussed, whether it was Bush, Clinton, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice, generals at the top of the military chain, platoon leaders on site in battles, or Pat Tillman racing up a hill to provide cover for his fellow soldiers, they were all in over their heads, no matter the political party, policy, strategy, religious belief, personal philosophy, or anything else. And, yet, men and women say and write things as if they understand what's happening and as if solutions exist.

2. This evening I started reading The Good Times Are All Gone Now, a combination memoir, oral history, and documentary history of Kellogg written by Julie Whitesel Weston. Her father was the emergency room physician who treated me when I was gassed and blinded in a flash roaster at the Bunker Hill Zinc Plant in July, 1973. I'm learning more about Doc Whitesel, about the immigrants who came to Kellogg, and about how Julie Whitesel Weston experienced (and experiences) Kellogg. She's about ten years older than I am, and this relatively small difference in our ages is significant in accounting for the differences in our experiences growing up in Kellogg. Inevitably, our experiences were different, too, because of the work of our fathers -- as well as my work, following my father's footsteps, at the Zinc Plant. I'm eager to finish Weston's book and reflect on it more. I'm enjoying seeing Kellogg through her eyes and her memory.

3. I got another section of our gardens weeded. I'm doing my best to focus on one section a day. So far, so good.

Three Beautiful Things 04/16/07: Churches, Bose, Alex Supertramp

1. As much as anything, I enjoy having discussion with people about their churches and how things work in different churches, not only theologically, but also regarding how the place operates. Katrina and I have been having a wonderful email exchange on this very topic and it's been heartwarming and informative.

2. Nothing like a little bit of reasonable self-indulgence. I went to Best Buy and purchased some new speakers for my computer and XM satellite radio. Sweet.

3. I've just read short essays my WR 123 students wrote on Chris McCandless in the book Into the Wild. They are writing about Chris' feelings, thoughts, and understanding of himself in relation to class and his efforts, in that regard, to re-invent himself. I think highly of the students in this class. Their work in these papers surpassed what I thought they would do. How gratifying!

Three Beautiful Things 01/19/07: Back to Poetry, Othello Surgery, Into the Wild

1. Thanks to the blizzards and ice storms and quarter inches of snow that befell Eugene over the last ten days, my Intro to Poetry class met today for the first time since last Wednesday and I loved discussing poetry again with my students.

2. The play Othello needs some trimming and I helped Sparky and Will go through the play and make some judicious cuts here and there to further reduce the play's run time.

3. Kelly dropped me an email to say that she had picked up a copy of Into the Wild at Smith Family Bookstore and loved reading it. I was thrilled that she enjoyed this book. It has been one of my favorite books to teach and to reflect upon over the last five to six years.