Bertha's sister, Betty Spain, passed away during the week and the funeral was today. Don went to the visitation and found Bertha very, very upset. He said she wouldn't even look up to see him but he did touch her shoulder and offer condolences to those around her and asked them to let her know when she was feeling better that he had tried to console her. Bertha has many family members around her to support her but she has also lost her husband, a boy she called her son (he was like a son to her), and now her sister, all in less than a year. The "son" and her sister were within two weeks of one another in passing away. I hope Bertha will be all right as her sister had reached a stage where the best hope was that suffering be limited.
On his way to the visitation, he let me out at SouthPark as I wanted to visit Dick's Sporting Goods to look for a couple of exercise items to use at home and I especially wanted to try and find a couple of pair of shoes that were low heeled but looked good for use during the summer. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods first and to my surprise found what I was looking for. I also found an exercise ball (which I really like using) with a pump included should I ever want to go back for that. It is just that it is too big for keeping around the house. I would need to devote a closet to it practically and I also need room to move around with the ball and that would be iffy unless I moved the coffee table out of the living room. Anyway, I bought some exercise bands and another kind of stretch band that has handles on it and that you can anchor in a closed door. This was the equipment being emphasized during my last trainer sessions at the Y and Mariel spent time making sure I understood how to hold my hands while using this stuff. I can do a lot more at home with these items than I could without them. For now, I will continue to emphasize the exercises on the ball while at the Y. They have plenty of these balls of all different sizes. (One of the exercises relaxes the small of my back really well and I look forward to doing that at the end of every session.)
Then I went to Joseph Beth Bookstore which was nearby and immediately ran into a guy who used to help me with investing (I have nothing to invest any more). I always really liked him as a person as well as an advisor. He and his wife have dogs that they treat as their children so we are on the same wave length in animal conversation. He seems to really care about people, not just his own pocket. For example, he was at the bookstore buying Harold Kushner's book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People for a client who is both young and knows she is dying of cancer. He said he has always given that book to clients who have extraordinarily bad things happen to them. He taught it 30 years ago when it first came out and met his wife in the class he was teaching. He said unfortunately he had just bought the last book for this person. He didn't know what had happened to me but when he found out, he said let's go sit down and talk a minute. He offered to look at some of my investment allocation in 401K and see if he saw a way to reallocate better. I asked him about how much would a consultation be and he said "Free". We'll see. I hate to ask people for free when that is the way they make their living but I have known this guy for many many years and we are as much friends as we are anything. He left and I ordered and got the Kushner book on my Kindle. I'm interested to read it, knowing it means so much to Tom. I told him I would HAVE to read it now that I know his story around it. Anyway, I was so excited. I hadn't been on my shopping excursion more than 15 minutes and already had not only made progress but run into a long lost friend. I looked for some books on Judaism while I was there but I thought they were all a bit expensive (as are all books nowadays) so I got one tiny one that can fit in my purse with a few highlights and definitions of things I know nothing of and left. They also had lots of Vera Bradley stuff there and I bought a cloth eyeglass holder for my sunglasses (or glasses) if I want to carry them easily.
Then I went to try and find the shoe store I used to frequent to get shoes that really fit my feet. At first, I passed it and knew I had somehow missed it because I had looked at the South Park Directory on line the night before and knew about where it ought to be. I went back and saw it from a distance. By then, I was getting tired and sat down to rest just outside the shoe store and made a couple of calls on my cell phone. I called Sandy who said she takes her daughter to this store all the time because her feet are hard to fit for shoes and they have good success finding shoes there. It is a more expensive store I find but they had a sale on today and I had luck right away finding two styles I liked in my size. The clerks were so helpful and friendly and the place was busy because of the sale. Some shoes were as much as half off and the ones I bought were about 1/3 off. Anyway, I just bit the bullet and paid the price. I'll probably wear these shoes out this summer as they are comfortable, low heeled, good looking, and in colors that go with everything. I think I should go get a couple pair each season(twice a year) and I should get a pretty good wardrobe of nice fitting and quality shoes that way. The store is Marmi's at South Park. Love it.
I started toward a big department store thinking I would go for some hosiery and maybe look in the household goods area for a new teapot. I got approached along the way with a girl handing me some lotion to try. I said, I don't have enough hands for this and she took me by my free hand and started to rub a generous amount of the lotion on my hand and forearm and also to buff one of my fingernails. She told me she is from Israel and some of these products use Dead Sea Salt to take off dead skin. We talked some about Israel and why she was here in the U. S. Man, did my nail look great and my hands and arms feel smooth when she got through. Then the sales pitch but I found her to be very charming. I agreed to buy a bottle of the cream and nail buffing stuff. It cost so much I commented on it and she offered to "give" me 3 more sets for three of my friends which she wanted named. I told her 3 first names, bought my set and she must have loaded me up with 7 or 8 free ones. (At her prices, I don't think there was much there that was really free.) She then started in on something else which was also wonderful. Then something else after that. I told her ENOUGH. During the second set of stuff, the bank denied my card. I knew I had the money in my account for it but I also knew it was not a normal kind of activity on my card. First the shoe store and now this. But nothing stopped this girl. Again with the extra packages of free stuff. This time, she told me to hang on to these "freebies" for myself. Anyway, we made that transaction and I left. She was still telling me about the other stuff and said to come back. There were so many free packages of stuff from her, she had to help carry it to an area where I could eat and wait for Don to pick me up. I was really a little embarrassed by all the packages and thought I didn't even know how I was going to get them to the car but I did. I put them in the trunk and when we got home, Don helped me get them upstairs. When he saw all that stuff, he exclaimed to the guy downstairs vacuuming the hallway, "Have you ever gone to the hardware store and come out with anything that looked like this???!!!" I'll just have to use some of it for gifts as I think it really is pampering sort of stuff. I shouldn't have is right and sure enough the bank had put a temporary hold on my account thinking there was possible fraud going on. I had gone to a shoe store and spent a lot followed immediately with spending a lot more than I would normally on lotions. I had to call and get my card re-activated, also embarrassing, but I am glad they do watch out. I told the girl that I had been housebound for a long time insofar as being free to shop or go to a mall on my own and I had gone a bit crazy I guessed. However, I had done the craziness on my own. It was not that my card had been stolen.
Then I went and got a sandwich at the food court and called Don to tell him I was ready to go home. "More than ready" was my thought. I didn't get to the big department store to look for hosiery and a teapot but maybe another time. I do still need those things as my teapot has almost got a hole in the bottom and I need a larger size hosiery to be comfortable. I have managed to wear out my hose over the last 6 months of not replacing any of it as it ripped.
I came home and tried on my shoes for Don, called Sandy and talked to her a little, and messed around with putting things away and reading on some books I need to have read before some classes next week. I also watched some of the Walk the Line movie and kept looking in on the Lakers/Denver NBA game until it became utterly clear the Lakers would win. I wanted Denver because of George Karl being a Carolina guy but oh, well. Carolina did win its first regional game in baseball today so that was something positive.
Guess I'll try and lay low for a few days now. I am glad to have some pampering stuff in the house but I wish I had gotten to the department store instead to get more practical items.
Now the cats have woken me up in the middle of the night and my brain won't quit working so I am in here writing my blog diary. Milo seems to be guarding the pet door so I imagine poor Gray is stuck outside. I am going to go try and rescue him and go back to bed.
5/30/09
5/27/09
2009/05/27 First Introduction to Judaism Class Notes
Notes from class this week:
The teacher was Susan Jacobs, Doctor of Education. The topic was Life Cycle.
The teacher gave out books for us to use during the next eight weeks. She had a book by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin called Jewish Literacy. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and told why we were taking the class. Most were already Jewish and taking a refresher class or were planning to convert. At least two of the women in the class were engaged to Jewish men and wanted a single family faith so were planning to convert. I think I was the first one to say I had no plan to convert but was there for the learning experience and that I did have a sister who was married to a "nice Jewish boy." This brought some laughter from the group who had used that phrase earlier in the introductions.
Class began with a description of life phases in Jewish families. I spell the Hebrew words phonetically since I have no other benchmark to go by. Many in the class seem to know Hebrew because they have had training in Jewish schools where Hebrew is mandatory - but not me.
CIRCUMCISION:
The first life cycle event is birth. Boys are circumcised usually on the eighth day of life in a ceremony called Brik Milah. Brik is translated as covenant from the Hebrew. This event is popularly called a bris. Circumcision is meant to be a way of keeping Jewish men apart from the rest of the population. This used to really be true but now other men are often circumcised as well. The boy is given a name at the bris. The boy should not be named for a living person. This is why there are no juniors in the Jewish community. You pick out someone dead to name your child after. Children are given both a Hebrew and an English name. It used to be that families named children after Biblical people since there was always an English and a Hebrew name meaning the same thing. Now if a child is named something non-Biblical such as Sean or Tiffany, a Hebrew name is simply chosen that may start with the same letter as the English name or is similar to the the English name.
Girls are named in a naming ceremony usually done on Shabbat after the child is born in the Conservative Jewish tradition. In Reformed Judaism, families can simply choose when to do the naming ceremony. None of this is law for girls, but it has become a tradition.
Tradition also says the first born son is given over to Kohanim (priesthood or religious community) . If the family did not want this to happen, they had to give 5 shekels to the (synagogue?). Now they give $5 since we don't deal with shekels any more.
CONSECRATION:
Jewish education begins at 5 or 6 years old (kindergarten or 1st grade age). They get a prayer book and a small Torah
BAR MITZVEH (BOY) OR BAT MITZVEH (GIRL):
Bar Mitzveh means son of commandments and Bat Mitzveh means daughter of commandments. This ceremony is done for girls at age 12 and for boys at age 13. You don't have to do anything to be Bar Mitzvehed - just turn 13 if a boy. This is seen as a time of adult responsibility and there is a ceremony for a Bar Mitzveh. Each synagogue comes up with its own course of study to get the children ready. In Traditional Jewish synagogues, only boys are bar mitzvehed. In Reformed Synagogues, the Bat Mizveh is included for girls.
Traditional Jewish Synagogues put tafillen on the boys. This straps around their arms with prayers inside little boxes. There is also a little box on their head between their eyes - contains prayers.
Also at 13, young men are eligible to be one of the 10 minions required to say traditional prayers. In the Jewish faith, there must be 10 men to do this.
The Torah says 70 years is a life span. Often at 83 (13 years beyond normal lifespan), men have another Bar Mitzveh.
CONFIRMATION:
Sometimes, after Bar Mitzveh, Jewish families stop Jewish studies. To combat that, Reformed Judaism instituted confirmation at the end of the 10th grade. This keeps kids in Hebrew school longer. Reformed has kept the Bar Mitzveh and added confirmation. Confirmation does not exist in Orthodoxy. It is a custom within certain synagogues. This is similar to the confirmation done by Christian churches and this is where the idea came from.
MARRIAGE:
In Biblical times, engagements were one year which gave time to arrange things.
Hoopa - Marriage canopy symbolizes marrying couples first home together.
The bride and groom don't see each other for one week before the marriage day so the groom goes into the bride on the day and identifies her as the bride. Then in Traditional Jewish congregations, thick cloth is thrown over brides face so thick she can't see through it. She has to be led by her family to the altar. In Traditional ceremonies also, the bride walks around the groom 3 times and the groom does the same around the bride. This tradition is not as commonly practiced now.
Seven blessings are said during the marriage ceremony. These blessings do not have to be said by a rabbi. Anyone can say them as long as all the legal documents are signed. During the ceremony, Katuba is given by the groom to the bride. This is a legally binding contract. It tells all the things (worldly goods) the groom grants the bride and how he plans to support her. Katuba makes Jewish divorce more difficult even if the couple is granted a civil divorce. If all does not go well, the husband promises a "get" to tell what the wife gets when they split up. In Israel, this is a real problem because there is only Orthodox rabbis there and they often refuse to remarry women if they don't have a "get".
In Reformed Judaism, Katuba is not legally binding. It is a statement of love for one another. So Reformed Jews recognize civil divorce. In Orthodox, Katuba is legally binding and is so much so that, if lost, the couple can't live together until a new one is drawn.
Mazel Tof means good luck.
Smashing of glass in cloth napkin is done at marriage ceremony (usually the glass is a light bulb). This is done as a reminder that the Temple is still in ruins and we still have an unredeemed world. Jews keep looking for the Messiah to come. The smashing of the glass is not law but it is custom that is deeply rooted. Right after the marriage ceremony, the newly married couple try to spend some time together alone.
There are written rules that give the number of times the couple has to have sexual relations. It is often based on the husband's profession. He can't change his profession without his wife's permission because of this rule. I. E. he can't change a profession to one that requires more sexual relations or less sexual relations.
MIKVEH:
Important in Jewish life cycle. It is a ritual bath. The Mikveh (bath) has to have a certain proportion of fresh water. It is used in conversion ceremonies. It is symbolically a very spiritual event and can be very powerful. There are 7 steps down into the bath. Seven is a holy number and is used often in the Jewish faith. The convert is dunked 3 times completely and someone makes sure even all the hair goes under the water.
DEATH:
Jews believe in redemption and resurrection. Many stories of redemption and resurrection in Jewish liturgy.
Jews do not embalm or view the deceased. They are buried usually within 24 hours in pine coffins since all must be able to go back to the earth. The body is ritually purified. No one except a Jewish person is allowed to handle the body after death. Everyone, rich or poor, is buried in a white cotton shroud. Everyone has the same kind of funeral. There can be no artificial anything and even all nail polish and makeup is removed from the body by a special group of people who help with preparing the dead for burial. This is the highest form of mitzveh since the dead can never repay you for the help you give to them after death. Mitzveh means obligation. The family often literally buries their dead relative before the funeral. There is something in the Torah about rending garments and people pin a ribbon to their clothing which the rabbi goes around and tears or cuts as a way of meeting this requirement.
Shiva lasts 7 days for the closest relatives of the deceased. Shiva means the number 7. During this time, the community is supposed to do everything for the family after the funeral is over. Those who are in Shiva often go walk around the block at the end of seven days in order to show the community they are re-entering society.
There are 30 days of mourning but this is not the same as Shiva. Some relatives death, such as parents, are mourned for one year. Obligated to say Kadesh??? which means thanks to God. Jews believe no one is pure enough to go directly to God so go to Gehena - a kind of Purgatory. The purpose of Kadesh is to shorten your relative's time in Gehena.
On anniversary of the death, family goes to Temple and say Kadesh. Now, since so many Jews had no relatives during holocaust, the whole congregation stands in for the family and everyone says Kadesh for the deceased at this anniversary of death service. In addition, four times per year prayers of remembrance are said.
Kohane - can't be around a dead body. So the first thing Jews settling in a city must do as a community is establish a cemetery. They must have consecrated ground. Used to be only could be used for Jews. Now, as in Charlotte, there are sections where interfaith families can be buried beside one another.
The teacher was Susan Jacobs, Doctor of Education. The topic was Life Cycle.
The teacher gave out books for us to use during the next eight weeks. She had a book by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin called Jewish Literacy. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and told why we were taking the class. Most were already Jewish and taking a refresher class or were planning to convert. At least two of the women in the class were engaged to Jewish men and wanted a single family faith so were planning to convert. I think I was the first one to say I had no plan to convert but was there for the learning experience and that I did have a sister who was married to a "nice Jewish boy." This brought some laughter from the group who had used that phrase earlier in the introductions.
Class began with a description of life phases in Jewish families. I spell the Hebrew words phonetically since I have no other benchmark to go by. Many in the class seem to know Hebrew because they have had training in Jewish schools where Hebrew is mandatory - but not me.
CIRCUMCISION:
The first life cycle event is birth. Boys are circumcised usually on the eighth day of life in a ceremony called Brik Milah. Brik is translated as covenant from the Hebrew. This event is popularly called a bris. Circumcision is meant to be a way of keeping Jewish men apart from the rest of the population. This used to really be true but now other men are often circumcised as well. The boy is given a name at the bris. The boy should not be named for a living person. This is why there are no juniors in the Jewish community. You pick out someone dead to name your child after. Children are given both a Hebrew and an English name. It used to be that families named children after Biblical people since there was always an English and a Hebrew name meaning the same thing. Now if a child is named something non-Biblical such as Sean or Tiffany, a Hebrew name is simply chosen that may start with the same letter as the English name or is similar to the the English name.
Girls are named in a naming ceremony usually done on Shabbat after the child is born in the Conservative Jewish tradition. In Reformed Judaism, families can simply choose when to do the naming ceremony. None of this is law for girls, but it has become a tradition.
Tradition also says the first born son is given over to Kohanim (priesthood or religious community) . If the family did not want this to happen, they had to give 5 shekels to the (synagogue?). Now they give $5 since we don't deal with shekels any more.
CONSECRATION:
Jewish education begins at 5 or 6 years old (kindergarten or 1st grade age). They get a prayer book and a small Torah
BAR MITZVEH (BOY) OR BAT MITZVEH (GIRL):
Bar Mitzveh means son of commandments and Bat Mitzveh means daughter of commandments. This ceremony is done for girls at age 12 and for boys at age 13. You don't have to do anything to be Bar Mitzvehed - just turn 13 if a boy. This is seen as a time of adult responsibility and there is a ceremony for a Bar Mitzveh. Each synagogue comes up with its own course of study to get the children ready. In Traditional Jewish synagogues, only boys are bar mitzvehed. In Reformed Synagogues, the Bat Mizveh is included for girls.
Traditional Jewish Synagogues put tafillen on the boys. This straps around their arms with prayers inside little boxes. There is also a little box on their head between their eyes - contains prayers.
Also at 13, young men are eligible to be one of the 10 minions required to say traditional prayers. In the Jewish faith, there must be 10 men to do this.
The Torah says 70 years is a life span. Often at 83 (13 years beyond normal lifespan), men have another Bar Mitzveh.
CONFIRMATION:
Sometimes, after Bar Mitzveh, Jewish families stop Jewish studies. To combat that, Reformed Judaism instituted confirmation at the end of the 10th grade. This keeps kids in Hebrew school longer. Reformed has kept the Bar Mitzveh and added confirmation. Confirmation does not exist in Orthodoxy. It is a custom within certain synagogues. This is similar to the confirmation done by Christian churches and this is where the idea came from.
MARRIAGE:
In Biblical times, engagements were one year which gave time to arrange things.
Hoopa - Marriage canopy symbolizes marrying couples first home together.
The bride and groom don't see each other for one week before the marriage day so the groom goes into the bride on the day and identifies her as the bride. Then in Traditional Jewish congregations, thick cloth is thrown over brides face so thick she can't see through it. She has to be led by her family to the altar. In Traditional ceremonies also, the bride walks around the groom 3 times and the groom does the same around the bride. This tradition is not as commonly practiced now.
Seven blessings are said during the marriage ceremony. These blessings do not have to be said by a rabbi. Anyone can say them as long as all the legal documents are signed. During the ceremony, Katuba is given by the groom to the bride. This is a legally binding contract. It tells all the things (worldly goods) the groom grants the bride and how he plans to support her. Katuba makes Jewish divorce more difficult even if the couple is granted a civil divorce. If all does not go well, the husband promises a "get" to tell what the wife gets when they split up. In Israel, this is a real problem because there is only Orthodox rabbis there and they often refuse to remarry women if they don't have a "get".
In Reformed Judaism, Katuba is not legally binding. It is a statement of love for one another. So Reformed Jews recognize civil divorce. In Orthodox, Katuba is legally binding and is so much so that, if lost, the couple can't live together until a new one is drawn.
Mazel Tof means good luck.
Smashing of glass in cloth napkin is done at marriage ceremony (usually the glass is a light bulb). This is done as a reminder that the Temple is still in ruins and we still have an unredeemed world. Jews keep looking for the Messiah to come. The smashing of the glass is not law but it is custom that is deeply rooted. Right after the marriage ceremony, the newly married couple try to spend some time together alone.
There are written rules that give the number of times the couple has to have sexual relations. It is often based on the husband's profession. He can't change his profession without his wife's permission because of this rule. I. E. he can't change a profession to one that requires more sexual relations or less sexual relations.
MIKVEH:
Important in Jewish life cycle. It is a ritual bath. The Mikveh (bath) has to have a certain proportion of fresh water. It is used in conversion ceremonies. It is symbolically a very spiritual event and can be very powerful. There are 7 steps down into the bath. Seven is a holy number and is used often in the Jewish faith. The convert is dunked 3 times completely and someone makes sure even all the hair goes under the water.
DEATH:
Jews believe in redemption and resurrection. Many stories of redemption and resurrection in Jewish liturgy.
Jews do not embalm or view the deceased. They are buried usually within 24 hours in pine coffins since all must be able to go back to the earth. The body is ritually purified. No one except a Jewish person is allowed to handle the body after death. Everyone, rich or poor, is buried in a white cotton shroud. Everyone has the same kind of funeral. There can be no artificial anything and even all nail polish and makeup is removed from the body by a special group of people who help with preparing the dead for burial. This is the highest form of mitzveh since the dead can never repay you for the help you give to them after death. Mitzveh means obligation. The family often literally buries their dead relative before the funeral. There is something in the Torah about rending garments and people pin a ribbon to their clothing which the rabbi goes around and tears or cuts as a way of meeting this requirement.
Shiva lasts 7 days for the closest relatives of the deceased. Shiva means the number 7. During this time, the community is supposed to do everything for the family after the funeral is over. Those who are in Shiva often go walk around the block at the end of seven days in order to show the community they are re-entering society.
There are 30 days of mourning but this is not the same as Shiva. Some relatives death, such as parents, are mourned for one year. Obligated to say Kadesh??? which means thanks to God. Jews believe no one is pure enough to go directly to God so go to Gehena - a kind of Purgatory. The purpose of Kadesh is to shorten your relative's time in Gehena.
On anniversary of the death, family goes to Temple and say Kadesh. Now, since so many Jews had no relatives during holocaust, the whole congregation stands in for the family and everyone says Kadesh for the deceased at this anniversary of death service. In addition, four times per year prayers of remembrance are said.
Kohane - can't be around a dead body. So the first thing Jews settling in a city must do as a community is establish a cemetery. They must have consecrated ground. Used to be only could be used for Jews. Now, as in Charlotte, there are sections where interfaith families can be buried beside one another.
5/24/09
2009/05/24
Quiet day. Went to church, Sunday School, breakfast, Just Fresh, then home. I saw a pretty dish garden at Just Fresh but did not get it. I have accumulated several plants over the past two weeks and think I need to take care of the ones I have right now and leave the others stay at the store - unless I find a (mostly) white African Violet. I do want one of those if I come across one. Today, I have sat at the personal computer a long time looking up this, that, and the other or messing with emails. Tomorrow is Memorial Day and we plan to go to the YW since it is open and then try the grocery store and maybe a couple of the stores in Park Road Shopping Center, then home again. I wouldn't mind going to Hallmark for about 10 minutes at least. Not much on our plate for the next 2 days. That is good as Don and I both need a little bit of a break from all the running around with deadline items.
I know this is big news but my watermelon from Saturday is not the best I have had so I hope to get another one tomorrow with better luck on being a good one. So far, this is the only one I have had that was disappointing so maybe I will actually do better next time. I just feel bad that Don carried this thing upstairs and now I already want another one but it is a big deal to me to have some good melon available right now.
I will put something on Milo's blog as it has been a while and he has done a few things of note.
I know this is big news but my watermelon from Saturday is not the best I have had so I hope to get another one tomorrow with better luck on being a good one. So far, this is the only one I have had that was disappointing so maybe I will actually do better next time. I just feel bad that Don carried this thing upstairs and now I already want another one but it is a big deal to me to have some good melon available right now.
I will put something on Milo's blog as it has been a while and he has done a few things of note.
5/23/09
2009/05/20, 05/06, 04/29 Taste of Judaism Sessions 1, 2, and 3
Don and I signed up for some Introductory classes in Judaism called Taste of Judaism at Temple Beth-El. We started in late April and finished this week. They were two- hour sessions and I think there were only three of them. We have now signed up for Introduction to Judaism which has eight one-hour sessions. We have enjoyed them all but I think the first session was the best.
Don asked for my notes so here they are and they are a little lengthy but I know I will forget if not written down soon.
4/29/09: The first Session: It was taught by Rabbi Micah Streiffer. He said Judaism is about Torah (learning), Worship, and Acts of Kindness. The synagogue is a place of prayer, study and gathering or community. The core components of Judaism are God, Torah, and Israel (meaning the people of Israel). The first five books of the Bible are the most important . These books go up through the death of Moses and tell the story of the foundation of who the Jewish people are. All the subsequent books draw their authority from the first five books.
Temple Beth-El is a reformed congregation which is a liberal brand of Judaism. There are other authoritative books that the Jewish people use. One is the Midrash (means to search) which is a series of books. Jewish people do not have denominations but they call their different "brands" streams. Orthodox is one stream and Reformed is another. Orthodox believe the Bible was written by God and Reformed believe the Bible was written by humans but was inspired by God. Another written authoritative book is the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
Adam means human being and Adama means earth. God made the first human. There is a connnection between humans and earth. We came from the earth and we should care for it. Also , we were created in God's image . We can make choices. In Judaism, humans are higher than angels because humans can make choices and this is a Godly ability.
Rabbi means teacher. Jews repent on the Day of Atonement which is Yom Kippur. There are several high holy days and Yom Kippur is one of them (comes in the fall of each year) and Rosh Hoshana is another (also in the fall of the year). Rosh Hoshana comes first and Yom Kippur comes second.
Chet means sin in Hebrew and it means missing the mark.
Mit' veh - bringing holiness into the world.
Jews are supposed to pray three times per day as a tradition. To pray is to self-judge. Jewish people are a liturgical people - traditional prayers are a part of something larger. And Jews do personal prayer.
Interesting aside: There is a new Jewish Prayer Book used by the Reformed Jews. It gives English translations of the Hebrew prayers but still opens from what we think of as the American back of the book and the pages turn toward the front. This prayer book is blue, is brand new, contains the prayers in Hebrew and in English, and has made the prayers more gender neutral. The children in Jewish school are still required to say the prayers and learn them in Hebrew. The rabbi found the new prayer book in the room and showed it to us from his desk. We did not handle it but I always meant to ask to see one (didn't though).
YHWH: No vowels - this is the unpronounceable name of God.
5/6/09: Second Session: Rabbi Judy Schindler. Think of Judaism as a triangle with God at the top (there are 70 faces of God and 70 faces of Torah). God is many things: judge, healer, etc. God is eternal and is connected with our very breath. (If you try to pronounce YHWH, it is a breathy sound so the connection with breath is made this way.) Torah, The Hebrew Bible is another point on the triangle. Tanach is 1. Torah (5 books of Moses), 2.Prophets and 3. Writings (Psalms, Ruth, etc). Should always be studying Torah.
It is okay to challenge God in Judaism. Aaron Zeitlin has poetry about this. Torah can mean the first 5 books or the whole Hebrew Bible. Or it could mean the oral Torah - Oral Torah is where the Midrash, Talmud came from and all of it can be Torah if you are trying to be holy in your life. Torah is God and Torah is living concepts. Mitzveh means good deed but actually means commandments. There are 613 commandments in the Torah with 365 don'ts and 248 dos. The first one is "Be fruitful and multiply" because Jews need to multiply. Fruitful does not have to mean having children. To teach a child is also being fruitful and can be more fruitful than having the child. Some Jews go to their rabbi for permission to stop having children. There are 3000 years of commentary on this one verse.
613 Mitzvo (commandments) and the Orthodox believe in them all. Reformed Jews have a problem with them. About 300 involve animal sacrifice which is no longer necessary since the destruction of the temple. Jews believe the Torah was divinely revealed and divinely inspired. We do all struggle with the commandments but still believe strongly in them. Conservative Jews go to rabbis to determine what to do but Reformed Jews make their own decisions. There are also commandments between people. These are our ethics. Basic Jewish thought is that Good leads to good and Sin leads to sin. We strive, therefore, to obey even in minor things.
5/20/09: Third Session: Rabbi David E Powers: Rabbi Powers was retired I believe and he told us his father was born Catholic and converted. He seemed to think Catholics gravely misled, or at least that was my impression.
Muhammed called Jewish people "People of the Book" because they take their Scripture so seriously.
Rabbi Powers talked about Jews in community which is a very important concept to the Jewish tradition/faith/culture. There is discussion of the importance of community in ancient and in modern texts. The Jews see themselves as God's people. You are a covenant people and in covenant with each other and with God. They believe all Jews whether born at the time or not were at Mt. Sinai when Moses brought down the Torah from the mountain. Christians call their covenant with God the New Covenant or New Testament. Deuteronomy 29:9-14 is read at Yom Kippur as it is such an important passage and belief to the Jewish people.
Numbers 13: 9-13 Word and fact can be the same. So some believe it is dangerous to say something because then it might happen. This is an ancient belief. King Barak (some Bibles call him Balak) summoned Balaam to put a curse on the Jewish people. Numbers 22:5, 6 and 23:11. So King Barak hired a prophet to curse the Jewish people and this belief that saying things would make them come true was the foundation of that practice. (Numbers 22:5 and 6) He (Barak or Balak) said (to Balaam, the prophet) " A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people , because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed." Then Numbers 23:11 and 12: Barak(Balak) said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them." He (Balaam) answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth!"
There is a passage that says "There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations." This is again a passage about the Jewish people being set apart from others and this idea/concept can be a source of pride and a source of anti-Semitism. Jews still tend to live near one another but it is not as distinct as in past times where Jews really did live to themselves. Nowadays it is hard for a Jewish person to have no contact with others but in past times, that is the way they lived. Still Jews do tend to live close to temples/synagogues and this puts them in communities near one another and set apart somewhat from the rest of the world.
Later Rabbinic Texts: Mishneh (Hebrew for Second Torah): Quotes from this are:
1) Do not separate yourselves from the community.
2) All Israel is responsible for one another (This is why Jewish charities are so successful).
3) If I am not for myself, who will be for me. If I am for myself alone, what am I.
Jewish sacred Texts:
Shabbat says to do all this in community:
1) Study in the house of study daily. In other words, do not study alone. Tradition says there must be 10 in a group to make the study meaningful.
2) Welcome the stranger.
3) Visit the sick.
4) Rejoice with the bride and groom.
5) Accompany the deceased to their rest.
6) Pray with sincerity.
7) Make peace between one person and another.
Tradition says worship service must have 10 people. Reformed does not pay as much attention to this as orthodox or conservative.
God did not just give written law, he gave oral law as well and Shabbat came from this oral law. Shabbat comes from post-Biblical literature but it has the weight of Torah. Shabbat is derived from Torah, not added to Torah.
Synagogue is where the individual soul and the community are joined (Rabbi Alexander Schindler, 1991).
Rabbi Powers proceeded to give examples of Jewish prejudice in America starting with Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) who said the Jews were poor and would be a burden and they should be encouraged to leave. The Dutch East India Company responded that the Jews had provided them with money (they were stockholders) and had helped them take Brazil so the Jews would stay if they wished. George Washington said to Let the Jewish people continue to merit and enjoy the good will of other inhabitants, as though they could earn their way into community. He used a conditional phrase about merit and he talked of them as a group, not as individuals.
Someone in class said all Jews would recognize the initials, MOT, as being a Member of the Tribe.
(Added 7/13/09) I believe this is the class where a question came up about men wearing a yamulke (skull cap) sometimes spelled yamaka according to some web sources. The rabbi said there is no law concerning the wearing of yamulke. It is just a hat and there are no rules about it. Wearing these by men is primarily something that has become a tradition and it is identified with the Jewish people. But it is every person's choice as to whether they wear them.
Important laws around community are:
1) Ahavet Rea: Love your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:18) Care for one another and love your neighbor as yourself.
2) Hospitality - Hachnasat Orchim. You can't leave as a guest until getting food. Insults host if you do not partake in food.
3) Bikku Cholim - Visit the sick.
4) Respect the elderly, Hidur P'nay Zakayn, Leviticus 19:32 "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old."
5) Deuteronomy 16:20: Tzedakah (means charity in Hebrew) stands for social justice. Deut 16:20 "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
6) Shalom (Peace) "Be as sons of Aaron"
7) Honoring the dead, K'vod Ha-met. Very important work by the Jews toward one another. Someone sits with the dead person at all times. They bury dead quickly and do not look upon their bodies in order to afford them respect and allow them to keep their modesty.
8) Comforting the bereaved - Nichum Avelim - Jewish law says when you go to house of mourning, sit with them in silence. If they speak to you, then you can respond. Shivah is 7 days of mourning and meals are sent in by neighbors to the bereaved.
9) Acts of loving kindness (Gem'lut Chasedim). World is sustained by Torah, Worship and Acts of Loving Kindness. Jews are a kinship group and they feel the pain of other Jews.
10) Communal worship - tradition says pray 3 times per day in groups of 10 or more. Most synagogues do not do this any more but tradition says to do this. Sacred is communal worship.
11) Talmud and Torah - Study the Torah meaning the entire Hebrew Bible.
Institutions of Jewish community are:
Synagogue is a
house of assembly (it is social)
house of study (it is a place for education)
house of prayer (it is liturgical)
Today there are Jewish schools, Jewish community centers, Jewish Hospitals, Jewish libraries. and national Jewish organizations. There are kosher foods in grocery stores with a symbol with a U in the center of a circle.
Mikveh means hope and tells of a ritual bath which is used to remove ritual uncleaness. This bath is taken by a woman after her monthly cycle. Men can't touch woman during this time until 7 days after the cycle according to Jewish law. Else the man becomes unclean.
Rabbi Powell talked some on circumcision and ritual sacrifice as well as Kosher butchers and he named a number of national organizations and movements that are particular to the Jewish people.
Don asked for my notes so here they are and they are a little lengthy but I know I will forget if not written down soon.
4/29/09: The first Session: It was taught by Rabbi Micah Streiffer. He said Judaism is about Torah (learning), Worship, and Acts of Kindness. The synagogue is a place of prayer, study and gathering or community. The core components of Judaism are God, Torah, and Israel (meaning the people of Israel). The first five books of the Bible are the most important . These books go up through the death of Moses and tell the story of the foundation of who the Jewish people are. All the subsequent books draw their authority from the first five books.
Temple Beth-El is a reformed congregation which is a liberal brand of Judaism. There are other authoritative books that the Jewish people use. One is the Midrash (means to search) which is a series of books. Jewish people do not have denominations but they call their different "brands" streams. Orthodox is one stream and Reformed is another. Orthodox believe the Bible was written by God and Reformed believe the Bible was written by humans but was inspired by God. Another written authoritative book is the Talmud, the book of Jewish law.
Adam means human being and Adama means earth. God made the first human. There is a connnection between humans and earth. We came from the earth and we should care for it. Also , we were created in God's image . We can make choices. In Judaism, humans are higher than angels because humans can make choices and this is a Godly ability.
Rabbi means teacher. Jews repent on the Day of Atonement which is Yom Kippur. There are several high holy days and Yom Kippur is one of them (comes in the fall of each year) and Rosh Hoshana is another (also in the fall of the year). Rosh Hoshana comes first and Yom Kippur comes second.
Chet means sin in Hebrew and it means missing the mark.
Mit' veh - bringing holiness into the world.
Jews are supposed to pray three times per day as a tradition. To pray is to self-judge. Jewish people are a liturgical people - traditional prayers are a part of something larger. And Jews do personal prayer.
Interesting aside: There is a new Jewish Prayer Book used by the Reformed Jews. It gives English translations of the Hebrew prayers but still opens from what we think of as the American back of the book and the pages turn toward the front. This prayer book is blue, is brand new, contains the prayers in Hebrew and in English, and has made the prayers more gender neutral. The children in Jewish school are still required to say the prayers and learn them in Hebrew. The rabbi found the new prayer book in the room and showed it to us from his desk. We did not handle it but I always meant to ask to see one (didn't though).
YHWH: No vowels - this is the unpronounceable name of God.
5/6/09: Second Session: Rabbi Judy Schindler. Think of Judaism as a triangle with God at the top (there are 70 faces of God and 70 faces of Torah). God is many things: judge, healer, etc. God is eternal and is connected with our very breath. (If you try to pronounce YHWH, it is a breathy sound so the connection with breath is made this way.) Torah, The Hebrew Bible is another point on the triangle. Tanach is 1. Torah (5 books of Moses), 2.Prophets and 3. Writings (Psalms, Ruth, etc). Should always be studying Torah.
It is okay to challenge God in Judaism. Aaron Zeitlin has poetry about this. Torah can mean the first 5 books or the whole Hebrew Bible. Or it could mean the oral Torah - Oral Torah is where the Midrash, Talmud came from and all of it can be Torah if you are trying to be holy in your life. Torah is God and Torah is living concepts. Mitzveh means good deed but actually means commandments. There are 613 commandments in the Torah with 365 don'ts and 248 dos. The first one is "Be fruitful and multiply" because Jews need to multiply. Fruitful does not have to mean having children. To teach a child is also being fruitful and can be more fruitful than having the child. Some Jews go to their rabbi for permission to stop having children. There are 3000 years of commentary on this one verse.
613 Mitzvo (commandments) and the Orthodox believe in them all. Reformed Jews have a problem with them. About 300 involve animal sacrifice which is no longer necessary since the destruction of the temple. Jews believe the Torah was divinely revealed and divinely inspired. We do all struggle with the commandments but still believe strongly in them. Conservative Jews go to rabbis to determine what to do but Reformed Jews make their own decisions. There are also commandments between people. These are our ethics. Basic Jewish thought is that Good leads to good and Sin leads to sin. We strive, therefore, to obey even in minor things.
5/20/09: Third Session: Rabbi David E Powers: Rabbi Powers was retired I believe and he told us his father was born Catholic and converted. He seemed to think Catholics gravely misled, or at least that was my impression.
Muhammed called Jewish people "People of the Book" because they take their Scripture so seriously.
Rabbi Powers talked about Jews in community which is a very important concept to the Jewish tradition/faith/culture. There is discussion of the importance of community in ancient and in modern texts. The Jews see themselves as God's people. You are a covenant people and in covenant with each other and with God. They believe all Jews whether born at the time or not were at Mt. Sinai when Moses brought down the Torah from the mountain. Christians call their covenant with God the New Covenant or New Testament. Deuteronomy 29:9-14 is read at Yom Kippur as it is such an important passage and belief to the Jewish people.
Numbers 13: 9-13 Word and fact can be the same. So some believe it is dangerous to say something because then it might happen. This is an ancient belief. King Barak (some Bibles call him Balak) summoned Balaam to put a curse on the Jewish people. Numbers 22:5, 6 and 23:11. So King Barak hired a prophet to curse the Jewish people and this belief that saying things would make them come true was the foundation of that practice. (Numbers 22:5 and 6) He (Barak or Balak) said (to Balaam, the prophet) " A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people , because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed." Then Numbers 23:11 and 12: Barak(Balak) said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them." He (Balaam) answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth!"
There is a passage that says "There is a people that dwells apart, not reckoned among the nations." This is again a passage about the Jewish people being set apart from others and this idea/concept can be a source of pride and a source of anti-Semitism. Jews still tend to live near one another but it is not as distinct as in past times where Jews really did live to themselves. Nowadays it is hard for a Jewish person to have no contact with others but in past times, that is the way they lived. Still Jews do tend to live close to temples/synagogues and this puts them in communities near one another and set apart somewhat from the rest of the world.
Later Rabbinic Texts: Mishneh (Hebrew for Second Torah): Quotes from this are:
1) Do not separate yourselves from the community.
2) All Israel is responsible for one another (This is why Jewish charities are so successful).
3) If I am not for myself, who will be for me. If I am for myself alone, what am I.
Jewish sacred Texts:
Shabbat says to do all this in community:
1) Study in the house of study daily. In other words, do not study alone. Tradition says there must be 10 in a group to make the study meaningful.
2) Welcome the stranger.
3) Visit the sick.
4) Rejoice with the bride and groom.
5) Accompany the deceased to their rest.
6) Pray with sincerity.
7) Make peace between one person and another.
Tradition says worship service must have 10 people. Reformed does not pay as much attention to this as orthodox or conservative.
God did not just give written law, he gave oral law as well and Shabbat came from this oral law. Shabbat comes from post-Biblical literature but it has the weight of Torah. Shabbat is derived from Torah, not added to Torah.
Synagogue is where the individual soul and the community are joined (Rabbi Alexander Schindler, 1991).
Rabbi Powers proceeded to give examples of Jewish prejudice in America starting with Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) who said the Jews were poor and would be a burden and they should be encouraged to leave. The Dutch East India Company responded that the Jews had provided them with money (they were stockholders) and had helped them take Brazil so the Jews would stay if they wished. George Washington said to Let the Jewish people continue to merit and enjoy the good will of other inhabitants, as though they could earn their way into community. He used a conditional phrase about merit and he talked of them as a group, not as individuals.
Someone in class said all Jews would recognize the initials, MOT, as being a Member of the Tribe.
(Added 7/13/09) I believe this is the class where a question came up about men wearing a yamulke (skull cap) sometimes spelled yamaka according to some web sources. The rabbi said there is no law concerning the wearing of yamulke. It is just a hat and there are no rules about it. Wearing these by men is primarily something that has become a tradition and it is identified with the Jewish people. But it is every person's choice as to whether they wear them.
Important laws around community are:
1) Ahavet Rea: Love your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:18) Care for one another and love your neighbor as yourself.
2) Hospitality - Hachnasat Orchim. You can't leave as a guest until getting food. Insults host if you do not partake in food.
3) Bikku Cholim - Visit the sick.
4) Respect the elderly, Hidur P'nay Zakayn, Leviticus 19:32 "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old."
5) Deuteronomy 16:20: Tzedakah (means charity in Hebrew) stands for social justice. Deut 16:20 "Justice, justice shall you pursue."
6) Shalom (Peace) "Be as sons of Aaron"
7) Honoring the dead, K'vod Ha-met. Very important work by the Jews toward one another. Someone sits with the dead person at all times. They bury dead quickly and do not look upon their bodies in order to afford them respect and allow them to keep their modesty.
8) Comforting the bereaved - Nichum Avelim - Jewish law says when you go to house of mourning, sit with them in silence. If they speak to you, then you can respond. Shivah is 7 days of mourning and meals are sent in by neighbors to the bereaved.
9) Acts of loving kindness (Gem'lut Chasedim). World is sustained by Torah, Worship and Acts of Loving Kindness. Jews are a kinship group and they feel the pain of other Jews.
10) Communal worship - tradition says pray 3 times per day in groups of 10 or more. Most synagogues do not do this any more but tradition says to do this. Sacred is communal worship.
11) Talmud and Torah - Study the Torah meaning the entire Hebrew Bible.
Institutions of Jewish community are:
Synagogue is a
house of assembly (it is social)
house of study (it is a place for education)
house of prayer (it is liturgical)
Today there are Jewish schools, Jewish community centers, Jewish Hospitals, Jewish libraries. and national Jewish organizations. There are kosher foods in grocery stores with a symbol with a U in the center of a circle.
Mikveh means hope and tells of a ritual bath which is used to remove ritual uncleaness. This bath is taken by a woman after her monthly cycle. Men can't touch woman during this time until 7 days after the cycle according to Jewish law. Else the man becomes unclean.
Rabbi Powell talked some on circumcision and ritual sacrifice as well as Kosher butchers and he named a number of national organizations and movements that are particular to the Jewish people.
2009/05/23
Don and I stay busy every moment but the weeks seem sort of alike. Monday through Wednesday, we are busy every moment from morning to evening. On Thursday, Don goes to a men's group at church and I go to the Y while he is there. Around 1:30 or so, we are usually done and can rest a little or take care of our houses. We try to pack in as much as possible Monday through Thursday so we can look forward to a little respite on Friday. We are getting into a spate of medical appointments lately, although these are mostly the annual normal stuff that life has no matter what. The trouble is sometimes one appointment leads to some sort of follow-up appointment so they multiply.
On Monday or Tuesday, Don sometimes lets me out at a shopping center so I can browse around independently and then he picks me up 2 or 3 hours later. I love doing this as it is real freedom for me. I have been visiting a garden center near Blackhawk Hardware and I get plants or pots for plants I already have. There is a lady there named Mary who has learned to recognize me and Don and she is so impressed that Don took her picture the first day I shopped there. Mary was so helpful that when I picked out a plant the other day, she told me there was a healthier one in the shop and she went and switched it out for me. I really do like her tremendously. She lets me leave what I get with her and then Don goes by and picks up what I bought later in the day. I usually leave this shop and go to Hallmark or Michaels to browse a bit and then go on to the grocery store to do that shopping for the week. I haven't bought much other than plants to date. I did buy a couple of cards at Hallmark the other day but I haven't found anything all that appealing at Michaels.
I just pray every day that my sight continues to improve so I can drive someday but I am so very grateful that I can read and I am enjoying that and the crosswords daily. Until I can drive, the independent shopping excursions are among the highlights of my week.
I am also back into doing some plants and spent time yesterday re-potting a bunch of them that looked a little root bound. I really love my 3 African Violets and hope I can get them to live and bloom. I want one that is mostly white with a tinge of color around the edges but don't know if I will have luck in finding that or not. I will look this weekend at Just Fresh, the only place I have had any luck finding African Violets this year.
We are also taking introductory classes in Judaism at Temple Beth-El and are enjoying finding out about Judaism from people who really know the subject (various rabbis are sharing the teaching responsibilities). These go on for another 8 weeks on Wednesday nights. We are also continuing with our Year Through the Bible with our own church and are reading the Bible every chance we get. These usually have Monday night sessions but will be less frequent during the summer. In addition, I signed up for a Tuesday five-week session at church on "God in the Crucible," a series of sermons on apartheid in South Africa and other similar subjects around prejudice and the harm it does. This one will be taught by our summer intern and I am looking forward to reading and hearing the content. The author is a professor at Duke Divinity and this is a book taught there. Archbishop Tutu wrote the Epilogue to the book and I certainly did enjoy his speech at UNC's graduation ceremonies. I wish the book had been available on Kindle but it wasn't. If it had been, I could already be reading it.
Grayson, my cat who does not know he is a cat, is coming out of his shell finally. He lets me know that he wants a little love and petting and he just possesses my favorite blanket whenever he sees it not in use. Milo is a little disconcerted by all this and seems to retreat to a little pink "tub" that I got upon leaving the hospital. He is a tight fit for the tub but he seems to love it so I keep it in the bedroom so he can sleep in it if he wants. He is in it right now, sound asleep. Gray, on the other hand, woke me up for his mid-night snack. There is dry food available all the time but this is not what he wants. All I know is this 3 and 4 a.m. feeding stuff is a habit he needs to stop. No wonder I need to go to bed at 8 or 9 in the evening. I survive on a series of naps more than on any real sleep.
PBS did a 3 hour show on "The Kennedys" this week and I really enjoyed it . It reran all night one night this week and I recorded it on DVD. I am having fun with the DVD selecting certain things to record. I did a recording of "Gone with the Wind", "Rudy", "Big", "Apollo 13", and am looking for other things I might want to have on DVD for viewing when I want to . I think I saw that "Dr. Zhivago" is on soon so I put a reminder on my calendar to record it when it is on.
Going back to bed now to continue my napping.
On Monday or Tuesday, Don sometimes lets me out at a shopping center so I can browse around independently and then he picks me up 2 or 3 hours later. I love doing this as it is real freedom for me. I have been visiting a garden center near Blackhawk Hardware and I get plants or pots for plants I already have. There is a lady there named Mary who has learned to recognize me and Don and she is so impressed that Don took her picture the first day I shopped there. Mary was so helpful that when I picked out a plant the other day, she told me there was a healthier one in the shop and she went and switched it out for me. I really do like her tremendously. She lets me leave what I get with her and then Don goes by and picks up what I bought later in the day. I usually leave this shop and go to Hallmark or Michaels to browse a bit and then go on to the grocery store to do that shopping for the week. I haven't bought much other than plants to date. I did buy a couple of cards at Hallmark the other day but I haven't found anything all that appealing at Michaels.
I just pray every day that my sight continues to improve so I can drive someday but I am so very grateful that I can read and I am enjoying that and the crosswords daily. Until I can drive, the independent shopping excursions are among the highlights of my week.
I am also back into doing some plants and spent time yesterday re-potting a bunch of them that looked a little root bound. I really love my 3 African Violets and hope I can get them to live and bloom. I want one that is mostly white with a tinge of color around the edges but don't know if I will have luck in finding that or not. I will look this weekend at Just Fresh, the only place I have had any luck finding African Violets this year.
We are also taking introductory classes in Judaism at Temple Beth-El and are enjoying finding out about Judaism from people who really know the subject (various rabbis are sharing the teaching responsibilities). These go on for another 8 weeks on Wednesday nights. We are also continuing with our Year Through the Bible with our own church and are reading the Bible every chance we get. These usually have Monday night sessions but will be less frequent during the summer. In addition, I signed up for a Tuesday five-week session at church on "God in the Crucible," a series of sermons on apartheid in South Africa and other similar subjects around prejudice and the harm it does. This one will be taught by our summer intern and I am looking forward to reading and hearing the content. The author is a professor at Duke Divinity and this is a book taught there. Archbishop Tutu wrote the Epilogue to the book and I certainly did enjoy his speech at UNC's graduation ceremonies. I wish the book had been available on Kindle but it wasn't. If it had been, I could already be reading it.
Grayson, my cat who does not know he is a cat, is coming out of his shell finally. He lets me know that he wants a little love and petting and he just possesses my favorite blanket whenever he sees it not in use. Milo is a little disconcerted by all this and seems to retreat to a little pink "tub" that I got upon leaving the hospital. He is a tight fit for the tub but he seems to love it so I keep it in the bedroom so he can sleep in it if he wants. He is in it right now, sound asleep. Gray, on the other hand, woke me up for his mid-night snack. There is dry food available all the time but this is not what he wants. All I know is this 3 and 4 a.m. feeding stuff is a habit he needs to stop. No wonder I need to go to bed at 8 or 9 in the evening. I survive on a series of naps more than on any real sleep.
PBS did a 3 hour show on "The Kennedys" this week and I really enjoyed it . It reran all night one night this week and I recorded it on DVD. I am having fun with the DVD selecting certain things to record. I did a recording of "Gone with the Wind", "Rudy", "Big", "Apollo 13", and am looking for other things I might want to have on DVD for viewing when I want to . I think I saw that "Dr. Zhivago" is on soon so I put a reminder on my calendar to record it when it is on.
Going back to bed now to continue my napping.
5/21/09
2009/05/06 Progress on Eyes from 2/3/09 to 5/6/09
(1) Before: Above- Right/Left
(2) After: Above- Right/Left
(3) Before:Above:Right
(4) After:Above:Right
(5)Before:Above:Left
(6)After:Above:Left
2/3/2009 and 05/05/2009 Range of Vision Pics
Before - RIGHT - After
Before - Left Eye - After
Before RIGHT/LEFT - Both -AFTER RIGHT/LEFT
5/7/09
2009/05/07 through 2009/05/10 Sun
http://www.clefhangers.com/clips/%5Bdemo%5DCarolinaInMyMind.mp3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5D-3xouu4#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-D2iES2uFg&feature=quicklist#
The above You Tube should play Carolina In My Mind once you hit the arrow in the middle of the screen. By the way, this set of Clef Hangers appear to be the same young men we saw this weekend. I recognize a good many of them. The top two addresses should play other Carolina songs as sung by the Clef Hangers. Just click on them to play the clips and then, when they are finished playing, click on your back button to come back to read the blog if you choose to read it.
UNC Graduation and Reunion weekend. Don had his (50th) class reunion. There was not a free minute anywhere to be had and I have never seen anything so well-coordinated and easy to maneuver. Buses to everywhere and at all times of day. We stayed in Granville Towers which is a high-grade dormitory. We had basically towels, sheets, a blanket and a pillow per bed provided. No tv. Towels weren't much to brag about. We never did figure out how to get connected to the internet on his Apple. But we didn't need the room much so it didn't matter. There was a private bathroom since we got both rooms in the suite. This meant a lot to me. We were able to get out much cheaper by staying here than by going to some of the higher priced places such as the Carolina Inn and we both thought it was worth it.
Thursday was check-in with no planned activities. We got there around 6-ish I believe and went to Franklin Street to look around. There was basically a drug store and a few restaurants open. The stores close down at 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Unbelievable. I wanted to go in Johnny T-Shirt so bad but no luck there and it opened at 10 a.m. the next day, just when the reunion activities were scheduled to begin. We did see that the Shrunken Head would open at 9 a.m. and it has the same or very similar Carolina merchandise so we resolved to be there at 9 and help them open for the day on Friday. On Thursday, we ate at the Carolina Coffee Shop since there is no more Rathskeller. (Non-payment of taxes 18 months ago closed them down we were told.) Chapel Hill will never be exactly the same to me with the Rathskeller and Intimate Bookshop both gone from the middle of town but so be it. I will just have to recover as I still love the place and feel like it is my home away from home. The food at the Carolina Coffee Shop was excellent and we filled up, then went to our rooms and watched a little of an NBA basketball game (Don brought a small tv), then slept.
On Friday, we went to the Shrunken Head where I racked up on new Carolina merchandise for myself. I got a really pretty bracelet for $8.95, a mug with an Old Well picture, a tasteful throw with UNC on it, and a bunch of post cards. It soothed my Carolina soul and it is my spending fix for a while for Carolina items. I could have found more but time was limited and so was money. The lady who runs the store said she had been in business for 45 years and on a football weekend, they get 20,000+ customers in one day. She feels like almost everyone in the state shows up at one time and they have to limit the number of people who get in the store at one time.
Then, we went to register for the reunion events. We registered for a luncheon (free for 50th reunion people so it is something to look forward to maybe) and 2 seminars on Friday, then a barbecue in the evening. The luncheon was good and we had some speeches and the Clef Hangers sang at the event. The Clef Hangers enthralled me as I had not heard them before. They are an a capella group that includes the Chapel Hill campus Chancellor as a member. The group also sang at graduation on Sunday and the Chancellor ran down a ramp to meet up with the group and sing with them before the graduation audience. I really loved it and think it shows real personality by Chancellor Thorpe. The Clef Hangers are absolutely professional and wonderful. Here is a Website about them:
http://www.clefhangers.com/
At the end of lunch, everyone sang "Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices" as we did at some event every day of the reunion events. It became our Carolina devotional of the day almost. In the evening, we went to a place that served barbecue (probably pork) or barbecue chicken. The barbecue was great with lots of time to visit with folks. Don knows lots of his fellow classmates so we had lots of folks to visit and I made real friends of a couple of them. We are going to continue to converse by email at least. Earlier in the day, though, there were seminars. We had to choose which ones to see as it was not possible to be at them all. We chose one on the waterways of the Outer Banks of NC where there were videos of a boat trip down the coast. Then I went to one on Thomas Wolfe as Don went to one on new media forms of today. Mine was really really good with a professor who loved his topic and who was very enthusiastic about it. He talked about Thomas Wolfe, the man, and what he means and has meant to UNC. He did not specifically discuss much about his literature. He said that Look Homeward Angel was once required reading for every UNC student but now, it is hard to get students to stick with a book of this length although he says that every student knows who Wolfe is and certainly every UNC leader knows. Our Wilson Library safeguards many Wolfe items and is doubly careful with them since the Asheville home of Wolfe burned down a few years back but has now been refurbished. But the original material is reduced because of the fire. Professor Flora was the seminar leader's name and he came later to the barbecue and I introduced him to Don. He was very personable and I told him I might join the Thomas Wolfe Society as it is not that much per year to be a member. Did you know the library is almost never used by students? Everything is now done on the internet. This was incredible news to me and sort of sad.
Then, still on Friday, there was a slide show narrated by Andy Griffith and another by Charles Kuralt, giving a nostalgic look at UNC mainly up to the 1970s and a little beyond. Those were some of my times at Carolina so I found it very interesting. Then later there was a fireworks display at the new baseball venue, Boshamer Stadium. The baseball stadium is new and is pristine and beautiful. The fireworks display was the prettiest we had ever seen with some of the fireworks centering right on a full moon and branching out with brilliant colors. The guy coordinating getting people seated and the start time of the display, etc. had his family there and his sons, Christopher and Joshua (there were 2 others who seemed to stay to themselves), talked with me a lot. Joshua seemed to be about 9 and told me his other brother's name is Isaiah and he wants a brother named Jeremiah. Quite Biblical I would say. He kept running around and asked me how much he could get to mow the entire stadium's grass. I told him not nearly enough as it might take him more than a whole week to mow with a regular mower. He's about 9 so this did not discourage him. He still wants to try and he wants to get paid too. Then the Clef Hangars sang again and again with the "Hark the Sound" for the crowd.
Saturday, we had a 7:30 a.m. breakfast where you could just go through a buffet and get all you wanted. We again visited with former classmates of Don's. Then Don and I went to find a Thomas Wolfe memorial (with an angel sculpture that is hardly recognizable as an angel) near Greenlaw Hall (Greenlaw was Wolfe's favorite professor at UNC in the 1920s.) In the Wolfe seminar the day before, Professor Flora said there was much debate on where to put the memorial with some wanting it in front of Wilson Library and others adamantly opposed to that. It was finally placed near Greenlaw (which is close to Lenoir Hall in case you ever want to go see it when you are in Chapel Hill). Then there was a seminar with students from various times to discuss how things were when they were in Chapel Hill vs. how things are now. There are major differences, let me say and I remember every single thing the 1969 reunion lady said went on "back then" such as NO MEN ON THE HALL EXCEPT ON MOVE-IN DAY. I could relate to the older folks version more than to the 2009 version of how things were/are. There was a female on the discussion panel who said she graduated in 1969 (another reunion group) and that she was in the first group of females accepted to the general college. This means she started in 1965 and graduated in 1969. I started in 1967 and graduated in 1971 so I was pretty close to being there with the first group of women to be allowed in Carolina's General College. This first group had only 125 females accepted. She said the ratio of men to women was at least 10 men to every woman. Incredible. There were no minorities to speak of. Incredible again. Now, we were told, the school is about 70% women and 30% men. What a turnaround. A little later, there was a seminar conducted by a political sort who is now a professor at UNC, Hodding Carter III. I think he was good but I was tired by this time and my mind could not stay on target to get some of his points. In the time between seminars, I visited the Student Stores and found a copy of "Look Homeward Angel." I read this years ago and found it slow go and depressing if anything. But after the enthusiasm exhibited for Thomas Wolfe by Professor Joe Flora yesterday, I wanted to give Wolfe's most famous work another try. Isn't it interesting what a little inspiration will do!
Then we went to a luncheon which elected new dignitaries for the General Alumni Association. There were long speeches and I was a little tired and restless but managed to get through it. Again with the "Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices," which I love by the way. Then Don and I had planned to go to the (also new) basketball museum but had to opt instead to go to the room and rest. I was just too tired to go traipsing around a big building. Everyone who did do it though were very complimentary of it and Don and I want to go see it sometime maybe during football season or in conjunction with a basketball game someday. I am very sorry I could not hold out for that. It is my only regret of the weekend and I think we can remedy that regret sometime in the next year. Besides my 40th reunion will be in 2 years and there might be another opportunity there.
The 50th reunion reception and dinner was Saturday night and we needed to dress less casually for that. We had steak and salmon, a nice change from the chicken at both the luncheons. Don had Bob Timberlake in his graduating class and Mr. Timberlake left all the reunion classmates in attendance a small picture in a frame with his signature on it. These were at the table and I wanted one too but did not qualify. Then Lou (her husband was a classmate of Don's) and I went out into the hallway to stretch our legs a minute and ran into George Hamilton, IV, a Grand Ole Opry country singer who also was in Don's class for one year. He came to entertain at the reception and Lou introduced me to him. He was very gracious and kind and I liked him immediately. Lou asked him if he would sing a song for the group and he said he planned to sing more than one. A little later, he was introduced and said to the whole group that if they ever came to Nashville to the Grand Ole Opry to ask to come backstage to see him. I am told by his classmates that he is completely serious with this invitation so I now want to go with Don to Nashville as I would love to go backstage at the GOO. He then sang Abilene, Out Behind the Barn, Forever Young (a Bob Dylan song), A Rose and a Baby Ruth, and talked about Little Jimmy Dickens (I remember mom talking about this character) and Patsy Cline (just a little). He said some people are disappointed when he turns out to be a country singer and not the movie actor, George Hamilton. Then, guess what, we sang "Hark the Sound" again. Don't get me wrong, I love "Hark the Sound" so I enjoyed every single note we sang of it. And I have fallen in love with the Clef Hangers. They are all cute as can be (and I think they know it too) and I love the music they make.
Sunday, the 50 year ago alumni were to march in borrowed robes across the football field at graduation. We had to be at the old Kenan Field House by 8:30 and they were to march around 9 a.m. We made it there and talked with Don's classmates for a long time until the guests (me and others with the classmates of 1959) had to go sit in a reserved area to watch them march. Thank goodness, the weather was a little overcast and cool, better for me than hot and sunny or rainy. The 1959 classmates marched as a group across the field and then the current graduates began to file into a section of the stands on the other side of the stadium from me. At first, it looks like 3 blue streams trickling down the steps on the other side of the stadium, then it develops into a sea of blue as they get to their seats in the stands. A Carolina student graduating on Sunday sang with such a beautiful voice. Don got her on a video with the camera I believe. Her name is Sarah Christine Dempsey, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts in English. Such a voice she has!!!
The main speaker was Desmond Tutu. HE WAS GREAT - a good speaker with a few humorous stories mixed in. He said he was in Michigan a little while ago and they were whining and crying because he was coming to see the Tar Heels who had beaten them so badly in the tournament. He also asked everyone to "give some claps for mothers" (meaning of course, applause) since it was Mother's Day and then he said "and maybe give some claps to Dad's too since mothers can't become mothers without a dad's help." Then he laughed and laughed at his own joke. People started laughing just at his laughter. He spoke of apartheid some but he mainly congratulated those in the "sea of blue over there" for their accomplishment in getting finished with their university degrees. I am very proud that UNC got Nobel Prize winner and Archbishop, Desmond Tutu. Duke wound up with, of all things, Oprah Winfrey, as a guest speaker.
Then the Clef Hangers who were sitting 2 rows in front of me and Don went onto the field and the Chancellor (who is a member of the Clef Hanger group) ran down a ramp, heavy robes and all, to join the Clef Hangers, and they sang "Carolina in the Morning." Then guess what song we ended with!! Yes, Hark the Sound. It was all so very beautiful. Many people, whose loved ones marched out early and then left the field, departed early before the speeches at this graduation since they had no one graduating. I reckon they wanted to beat traffic. As far as Don and I were concerned, they missed out on a really good thing and besides, we love welcoming new Chapel Hill Tar Heels into our huge and still growing Carolina family. Don and I got lucky anyway. We were able to get out of the stadium fairly quickly after the ceremonies were over and we made it onto a bus back to Don's car. I climbed those football stadium steps with NO trouble and really quickly. Don was behind me asking me to rest after we got about 75% of the steps behind us. Then we really had no trouble getting out of town.
We decided to go by Asheboro on the way back to Charlotte and ate at a Chinese restaurant there. It was a good meal and a great weekend. Can't wait for my own reunion in 2 years and hope there is another generation of Clef Hangers to hear at that time. But there won't be a George Hamilton IV or a Bob Timberlake, I don't think anyway. I don't know who the celebrities in my class will be. John Swofford is the only one I know who has gotten publicity over time. If he comes, I know Don and others will enjoy talking sports with him. Maybe we'll all get a DVD of a football game - or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5D-3xouu4#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-D2iES2uFg&feature=quicklist#
The above You Tube should play Carolina In My Mind once you hit the arrow in the middle of the screen. By the way, this set of Clef Hangers appear to be the same young men we saw this weekend. I recognize a good many of them. The top two addresses should play other Carolina songs as sung by the Clef Hangers. Just click on them to play the clips and then, when they are finished playing, click on your back button to come back to read the blog if you choose to read it.
UNC Graduation and Reunion weekend. Don had his (50th) class reunion. There was not a free minute anywhere to be had and I have never seen anything so well-coordinated and easy to maneuver. Buses to everywhere and at all times of day. We stayed in Granville Towers which is a high-grade dormitory. We had basically towels, sheets, a blanket and a pillow per bed provided. No tv. Towels weren't much to brag about. We never did figure out how to get connected to the internet on his Apple. But we didn't need the room much so it didn't matter. There was a private bathroom since we got both rooms in the suite. This meant a lot to me. We were able to get out much cheaper by staying here than by going to some of the higher priced places such as the Carolina Inn and we both thought it was worth it.
Thursday was check-in with no planned activities. We got there around 6-ish I believe and went to Franklin Street to look around. There was basically a drug store and a few restaurants open. The stores close down at 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. Unbelievable. I wanted to go in Johnny T-Shirt so bad but no luck there and it opened at 10 a.m. the next day, just when the reunion activities were scheduled to begin. We did see that the Shrunken Head would open at 9 a.m. and it has the same or very similar Carolina merchandise so we resolved to be there at 9 and help them open for the day on Friday. On Thursday, we ate at the Carolina Coffee Shop since there is no more Rathskeller. (Non-payment of taxes 18 months ago closed them down we were told.) Chapel Hill will never be exactly the same to me with the Rathskeller and Intimate Bookshop both gone from the middle of town but so be it. I will just have to recover as I still love the place and feel like it is my home away from home. The food at the Carolina Coffee Shop was excellent and we filled up, then went to our rooms and watched a little of an NBA basketball game (Don brought a small tv), then slept.
On Friday, we went to the Shrunken Head where I racked up on new Carolina merchandise for myself. I got a really pretty bracelet for $8.95, a mug with an Old Well picture, a tasteful throw with UNC on it, and a bunch of post cards. It soothed my Carolina soul and it is my spending fix for a while for Carolina items. I could have found more but time was limited and so was money. The lady who runs the store said she had been in business for 45 years and on a football weekend, they get 20,000+ customers in one day. She feels like almost everyone in the state shows up at one time and they have to limit the number of people who get in the store at one time.
Then, we went to register for the reunion events. We registered for a luncheon (free for 50th reunion people so it is something to look forward to maybe) and 2 seminars on Friday, then a barbecue in the evening. The luncheon was good and we had some speeches and the Clef Hangers sang at the event. The Clef Hangers enthralled me as I had not heard them before. They are an a capella group that includes the Chapel Hill campus Chancellor as a member. The group also sang at graduation on Sunday and the Chancellor ran down a ramp to meet up with the group and sing with them before the graduation audience. I really loved it and think it shows real personality by Chancellor Thorpe. The Clef Hangers are absolutely professional and wonderful. Here is a Website about them:
http://www.clefhangers.com/
At the end of lunch, everyone sang "Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices" as we did at some event every day of the reunion events. It became our Carolina devotional of the day almost. In the evening, we went to a place that served barbecue (probably pork) or barbecue chicken. The barbecue was great with lots of time to visit with folks. Don knows lots of his fellow classmates so we had lots of folks to visit and I made real friends of a couple of them. We are going to continue to converse by email at least. Earlier in the day, though, there were seminars. We had to choose which ones to see as it was not possible to be at them all. We chose one on the waterways of the Outer Banks of NC where there were videos of a boat trip down the coast. Then I went to one on Thomas Wolfe as Don went to one on new media forms of today. Mine was really really good with a professor who loved his topic and who was very enthusiastic about it. He talked about Thomas Wolfe, the man, and what he means and has meant to UNC. He did not specifically discuss much about his literature. He said that Look Homeward Angel was once required reading for every UNC student but now, it is hard to get students to stick with a book of this length although he says that every student knows who Wolfe is and certainly every UNC leader knows. Our Wilson Library safeguards many Wolfe items and is doubly careful with them since the Asheville home of Wolfe burned down a few years back but has now been refurbished. But the original material is reduced because of the fire. Professor Flora was the seminar leader's name and he came later to the barbecue and I introduced him to Don. He was very personable and I told him I might join the Thomas Wolfe Society as it is not that much per year to be a member. Did you know the library is almost never used by students? Everything is now done on the internet. This was incredible news to me and sort of sad.
Then, still on Friday, there was a slide show narrated by Andy Griffith and another by Charles Kuralt, giving a nostalgic look at UNC mainly up to the 1970s and a little beyond. Those were some of my times at Carolina so I found it very interesting. Then later there was a fireworks display at the new baseball venue, Boshamer Stadium. The baseball stadium is new and is pristine and beautiful. The fireworks display was the prettiest we had ever seen with some of the fireworks centering right on a full moon and branching out with brilliant colors. The guy coordinating getting people seated and the start time of the display, etc. had his family there and his sons, Christopher and Joshua (there were 2 others who seemed to stay to themselves), talked with me a lot. Joshua seemed to be about 9 and told me his other brother's name is Isaiah and he wants a brother named Jeremiah. Quite Biblical I would say. He kept running around and asked me how much he could get to mow the entire stadium's grass. I told him not nearly enough as it might take him more than a whole week to mow with a regular mower. He's about 9 so this did not discourage him. He still wants to try and he wants to get paid too. Then the Clef Hangars sang again and again with the "Hark the Sound" for the crowd.
Saturday, we had a 7:30 a.m. breakfast where you could just go through a buffet and get all you wanted. We again visited with former classmates of Don's. Then Don and I went to find a Thomas Wolfe memorial (with an angel sculpture that is hardly recognizable as an angel) near Greenlaw Hall (Greenlaw was Wolfe's favorite professor at UNC in the 1920s.) In the Wolfe seminar the day before, Professor Flora said there was much debate on where to put the memorial with some wanting it in front of Wilson Library and others adamantly opposed to that. It was finally placed near Greenlaw (which is close to Lenoir Hall in case you ever want to go see it when you are in Chapel Hill). Then there was a seminar with students from various times to discuss how things were when they were in Chapel Hill vs. how things are now. There are major differences, let me say and I remember every single thing the 1969 reunion lady said went on "back then" such as NO MEN ON THE HALL EXCEPT ON MOVE-IN DAY. I could relate to the older folks version more than to the 2009 version of how things were/are. There was a female on the discussion panel who said she graduated in 1969 (another reunion group) and that she was in the first group of females accepted to the general college. This means she started in 1965 and graduated in 1969. I started in 1967 and graduated in 1971 so I was pretty close to being there with the first group of women to be allowed in Carolina's General College. This first group had only 125 females accepted. She said the ratio of men to women was at least 10 men to every woman. Incredible. There were no minorities to speak of. Incredible again. Now, we were told, the school is about 70% women and 30% men. What a turnaround. A little later, there was a seminar conducted by a political sort who is now a professor at UNC, Hodding Carter III. I think he was good but I was tired by this time and my mind could not stay on target to get some of his points. In the time between seminars, I visited the Student Stores and found a copy of "Look Homeward Angel." I read this years ago and found it slow go and depressing if anything. But after the enthusiasm exhibited for Thomas Wolfe by Professor Joe Flora yesterday, I wanted to give Wolfe's most famous work another try. Isn't it interesting what a little inspiration will do!
Then we went to a luncheon which elected new dignitaries for the General Alumni Association. There were long speeches and I was a little tired and restless but managed to get through it. Again with the "Hark the Sound of Tar Heel Voices," which I love by the way. Then Don and I had planned to go to the (also new) basketball museum but had to opt instead to go to the room and rest. I was just too tired to go traipsing around a big building. Everyone who did do it though were very complimentary of it and Don and I want to go see it sometime maybe during football season or in conjunction with a basketball game someday. I am very sorry I could not hold out for that. It is my only regret of the weekend and I think we can remedy that regret sometime in the next year. Besides my 40th reunion will be in 2 years and there might be another opportunity there.
The 50th reunion reception and dinner was Saturday night and we needed to dress less casually for that. We had steak and salmon, a nice change from the chicken at both the luncheons. Don had Bob Timberlake in his graduating class and Mr. Timberlake left all the reunion classmates in attendance a small picture in a frame with his signature on it. These were at the table and I wanted one too but did not qualify. Then Lou (her husband was a classmate of Don's) and I went out into the hallway to stretch our legs a minute and ran into George Hamilton, IV, a Grand Ole Opry country singer who also was in Don's class for one year. He came to entertain at the reception and Lou introduced me to him. He was very gracious and kind and I liked him immediately. Lou asked him if he would sing a song for the group and he said he planned to sing more than one. A little later, he was introduced and said to the whole group that if they ever came to Nashville to the Grand Ole Opry to ask to come backstage to see him. I am told by his classmates that he is completely serious with this invitation so I now want to go with Don to Nashville as I would love to go backstage at the GOO. He then sang Abilene, Out Behind the Barn, Forever Young (a Bob Dylan song), A Rose and a Baby Ruth, and talked about Little Jimmy Dickens (I remember mom talking about this character) and Patsy Cline (just a little). He said some people are disappointed when he turns out to be a country singer and not the movie actor, George Hamilton. Then, guess what, we sang "Hark the Sound" again. Don't get me wrong, I love "Hark the Sound" so I enjoyed every single note we sang of it. And I have fallen in love with the Clef Hangers. They are all cute as can be (and I think they know it too) and I love the music they make.
Sunday, the 50 year ago alumni were to march in borrowed robes across the football field at graduation. We had to be at the old Kenan Field House by 8:30 and they were to march around 9 a.m. We made it there and talked with Don's classmates for a long time until the guests (me and others with the classmates of 1959) had to go sit in a reserved area to watch them march. Thank goodness, the weather was a little overcast and cool, better for me than hot and sunny or rainy. The 1959 classmates marched as a group across the field and then the current graduates began to file into a section of the stands on the other side of the stadium from me. At first, it looks like 3 blue streams trickling down the steps on the other side of the stadium, then it develops into a sea of blue as they get to their seats in the stands. A Carolina student graduating on Sunday sang with such a beautiful voice. Don got her on a video with the camera I believe. Her name is Sarah Christine Dempsey, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts in English. Such a voice she has!!!
The main speaker was Desmond Tutu. HE WAS GREAT - a good speaker with a few humorous stories mixed in. He said he was in Michigan a little while ago and they were whining and crying because he was coming to see the Tar Heels who had beaten them so badly in the tournament. He also asked everyone to "give some claps for mothers" (meaning of course, applause) since it was Mother's Day and then he said "and maybe give some claps to Dad's too since mothers can't become mothers without a dad's help." Then he laughed and laughed at his own joke. People started laughing just at his laughter. He spoke of apartheid some but he mainly congratulated those in the "sea of blue over there" for their accomplishment in getting finished with their university degrees. I am very proud that UNC got Nobel Prize winner and Archbishop, Desmond Tutu. Duke wound up with, of all things, Oprah Winfrey, as a guest speaker.
Then the Clef Hangers who were sitting 2 rows in front of me and Don went onto the field and the Chancellor (who is a member of the Clef Hanger group) ran down a ramp, heavy robes and all, to join the Clef Hangers, and they sang "Carolina in the Morning." Then guess what song we ended with!! Yes, Hark the Sound. It was all so very beautiful. Many people, whose loved ones marched out early and then left the field, departed early before the speeches at this graduation since they had no one graduating. I reckon they wanted to beat traffic. As far as Don and I were concerned, they missed out on a really good thing and besides, we love welcoming new Chapel Hill Tar Heels into our huge and still growing Carolina family. Don and I got lucky anyway. We were able to get out of the stadium fairly quickly after the ceremonies were over and we made it onto a bus back to Don's car. I climbed those football stadium steps with NO trouble and really quickly. Don was behind me asking me to rest after we got about 75% of the steps behind us. Then we really had no trouble getting out of town.
We decided to go by Asheboro on the way back to Charlotte and ate at a Chinese restaurant there. It was a good meal and a great weekend. Can't wait for my own reunion in 2 years and hope there is another generation of Clef Hangers to hear at that time. But there won't be a George Hamilton IV or a Bob Timberlake, I don't think anyway. I don't know who the celebrities in my class will be. John Swofford is the only one I know who has gotten publicity over time. If he comes, I know Don and others will enjoy talking sports with him. Maybe we'll all get a DVD of a football game - or something.
5/5/09
2009/05/05 Day's Events
http://lsm.smugmug.com/gallery/8118281_NNgne/1/529302163_NBue6
I am leaving this address here as Don and I tried to get some pictures of my range of vision tests on this blog but did not succeed. We'll try again some other time. Maybe this address will lead you to some of them. I haven't tried that yet and I doubt that will work either.
I wrote a lot on this blog earlier tonight but it has gotten lost. I must have hit the wrong button.
Today is Don's birthday and Cinco de Mayo. Since I have a degree in Latin American studies, I thought it appropriate to educate us all in the meaning of Cinco de Mayo so I looked it up on the web and got this synopsis:
A synopsis is that Don had a great birthday, hearing from lots of friends and family, some of the friends from long past and they are now also far away. I think it is a tribute to him that they still care enough to contact him on his birthday.
I gave him his gifts from me this morning and he loved them all. We spent a long time scrutinizing them. His biggest gift from me, a new drill, came as a result of his losing a drill last year that he really loved. We have looked and looked but no luck finding it until, (DRUMROLL) guess when - YESTERDAY. I called him yesterday and told him Marlene and I had found his lost drill but guess what I had for him for his birthday. To shorten the story, he now has two drills. One to spare is not a bad thing, right? I gave him a Snuggie Blanket. I absolutely love mine that Julie gave me at Christmas and i am hoping he will love his as well. (We won't be wearing it out in public but it really makes a great, warm blanket.) My cats love the one I have too so I have to insist every night that it belongs to me. And I gave him a new wallet. It still is not exactly what we are looking for but so far so bad on finding an exact replacement for the one he wore out about a year or so back. He also got taken out to a great lunch earlier this week by a member of our Sunday School class and he got an absolutely beautiful bromeliad from one of his children. I am so envious of that plant!!! I shouldn't say so out loud though.
Then I took him to Green's Hot Dogs (at his request I must say). We had a great time and ate all the bad stuff we could swallow in about 45 minutes there.
Then we went to get my range of vision 3-month checkup. To make a really long story short, my eyes have improved a good deal since 2/3/09 when we first tested them for range of vision. Also, I could read the eye chart much better, especially with my left eye. On the range of vision, even the areas that are still dark (vision is not there or is low) on the scatter chart they showed me are getting a lighter shade of black and some areas that were densely black in February are now gray or even white (good). There is some measurement that is made and the closer to 0 the better (and probably can go above 0, I don't know.) In February, my left eye was -11 and today it was -8, a really good improvement. My right eye was -18 in February and today it was -11, also a good improvement. But still the doctor says I am not even close to being able to drive yet. I want to really bad but not bad enough to take the risk.
Later on, there was a tremendous thunderstorm and the creek below where I live came out of its banks. It looked like a lake down there instead of a creek. But there was a rainbow that went along with the aftermath of the storm, so every cloud does have its silver lining.
I saw where Desmond Tutu is talking at the UNC commencement this weekend. I am sure the graduating class can be proud to have heard him. I don't know nearly enough about him but here is the Wikipedia address for info on him. I'll have to let my improving eyes read about him real soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu
All in all, a great day.
I am leaving this address here as Don and I tried to get some pictures of my range of vision tests on this blog but did not succeed. We'll try again some other time. Maybe this address will lead you to some of them. I haven't tried that yet and I doubt that will work either.
I wrote a lot on this blog earlier tonight but it has gotten lost. I must have hit the wrong button.
Today is Don's birthday and Cinco de Mayo. Since I have a degree in Latin American studies, I thought it appropriate to educate us all in the meaning of Cinco de Mayo so I looked it up on the web and got this synopsis:
A synopsis is that Don had a great birthday, hearing from lots of friends and family, some of the friends from long past and they are now also far away. I think it is a tribute to him that they still care enough to contact him on his birthday.
I gave him his gifts from me this morning and he loved them all. We spent a long time scrutinizing them. His biggest gift from me, a new drill, came as a result of his losing a drill last year that he really loved. We have looked and looked but no luck finding it until, (DRUMROLL) guess when - YESTERDAY. I called him yesterday and told him Marlene and I had found his lost drill but guess what I had for him for his birthday. To shorten the story, he now has two drills. One to spare is not a bad thing, right? I gave him a Snuggie Blanket. I absolutely love mine that Julie gave me at Christmas and i am hoping he will love his as well. (We won't be wearing it out in public but it really makes a great, warm blanket.) My cats love the one I have too so I have to insist every night that it belongs to me. And I gave him a new wallet. It still is not exactly what we are looking for but so far so bad on finding an exact replacement for the one he wore out about a year or so back. He also got taken out to a great lunch earlier this week by a member of our Sunday School class and he got an absolutely beautiful bromeliad from one of his children. I am so envious of that plant!!! I shouldn't say so out loud though.
Then I took him to Green's Hot Dogs (at his request I must say). We had a great time and ate all the bad stuff we could swallow in about 45 minutes there.
Then we went to get my range of vision 3-month checkup. To make a really long story short, my eyes have improved a good deal since 2/3/09 when we first tested them for range of vision. Also, I could read the eye chart much better, especially with my left eye. On the range of vision, even the areas that are still dark (vision is not there or is low) on the scatter chart they showed me are getting a lighter shade of black and some areas that were densely black in February are now gray or even white (good). There is some measurement that is made and the closer to 0 the better (and probably can go above 0, I don't know.) In February, my left eye was -11 and today it was -8, a really good improvement. My right eye was -18 in February and today it was -11, also a good improvement. But still the doctor says I am not even close to being able to drive yet. I want to really bad but not bad enough to take the risk.
Later on, there was a tremendous thunderstorm and the creek below where I live came out of its banks. It looked like a lake down there instead of a creek. But there was a rainbow that went along with the aftermath of the storm, so every cloud does have its silver lining.
I saw where Desmond Tutu is talking at the UNC commencement this weekend. I am sure the graduating class can be proud to have heard him. I don't know nearly enough about him but here is the Wikipedia address for info on him. I'll have to let my improving eyes read about him real soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu
All in all, a great day.
5/1/09
05/01/2009
Yesterday, 4/30/09, I fell down again. I was rushing to get onto the sidewalk at Park Road Shopping Center and I tripped over a water main handle where I guess someone had pulled the lid up and forgotten to put the handle back down flush with the sidewalk. I gathered a crowd around me as I was stunned at first. Don was parking the car and I didn't know if he had seen me fall. After a couple of minutes, I realized that all that hurt was my right elbow where I had skinned it up pretty much. I saw Don coming toward me as fast as he could and I shouted out that I had NOT hit my head. I was so grateful to have only a skinned elbow. My glasses were jarred askew on my face and my left hand had a little spot right in the palm where the skin had been laid back. Lots of people gathered round trying to help me out and I was too stunned at first to answer their questions but soon was able to tell that my biggest injury was my skinned elbow. Anyway, after resting on a bench for a few minutes, a lady came out of a nearby store with a wet cloth to help me clean up and then Don and I went toward a plant store behind Blackhawk Hardware. I browsed there a bit while Don picked up several spaghetti specials from Charlotte Cafe. Then, he came around and picked me up to take me home. Isabel wanted to talk when I went down to pick up the mail and I am afraid I scared Don again by not answering the phone when he called. Of course, the timing of his call would be while I was talking to a neighbor. What a day, but little harm done I think. At least little harm physically. There still might be some damage to mine and Don's psyches.
Today was doctor's appointments all morning - regular annual physical type stuff that took a little long in waiting time but is over now. I had the doctor look at my arm and she thinks regular Neosporin will do the trick from here.
Then Don worked on my pc which has been acting up a little lately. We think we have it going right now so I am using it normally to see what happens next.
On a way-more fun note, Don and I went to a Rams Club event earlier this week where Sylvia Hatchell, the women's basketball coach, Woody Durham, Roy Williams and Butch Davis (the football coach) spoke. Roy Williams was hilarious with some of his stories and someone even asked how he got talked into the guitar playing in his underwear ad. He said he agreed to spend one morning on making the ad after he found our Coach K and one other coach had also agreed to it. I guess you know, each coach was filmed separately and then put together somehow for the ad. Roy Williams was filmed first and the first thing they asked was that he put on briefs. He said no and they tried to convince him. He finally agreed to wear boxer shorts and the ending was to have been someone off camera saying, "Coaches, put on your pants!!" Heidi Klum was to be there also in her underwear and Roy Williams was to say, "We will, but Heidi, you're okay as you are." This did not make it into the ad, but evidently Roy had practiced the line in case. Everyone in the room died laughing as he demonstrated the line - more than once. He also said he has recruited a tall (6'7", I think, and 182 pounds) guy who is skinny, skinny, skinny. He said he often asks players to switch practice teams by changing color of shirt for practice to vary who they play against and what they are able to work on. He says the guys are sometimes so tired they have a hard time getting their new shirts on so Roy shouts out "The head goes in the middle hole, guys." He tried this with the new guy and the shirt fell to around his ankles.
On the way out , Coach Davis was right behind me and Don so Don asked him to allow a picture with me. I have a picture with Coach Davis with his arm around me. Good looking guy too. We really do go to all the home games and then some so I was able to make a little conversation with him. What utter fun!!! And it just made the evening that much greater for me.
Cats are doing really well. Milo now sits in the water that gets on the shower floor. He comes out a little too wet to pet but he doesn't seem to mind a bit. He is very loving to Don lately and even Grayson came out and sat next to Don's chair last night so Don could pet his head. Good going by all my guys!!!
Today was doctor's appointments all morning - regular annual physical type stuff that took a little long in waiting time but is over now. I had the doctor look at my arm and she thinks regular Neosporin will do the trick from here.
Then Don worked on my pc which has been acting up a little lately. We think we have it going right now so I am using it normally to see what happens next.
On a way-more fun note, Don and I went to a Rams Club event earlier this week where Sylvia Hatchell, the women's basketball coach, Woody Durham, Roy Williams and Butch Davis (the football coach) spoke. Roy Williams was hilarious with some of his stories and someone even asked how he got talked into the guitar playing in his underwear ad. He said he agreed to spend one morning on making the ad after he found our Coach K and one other coach had also agreed to it. I guess you know, each coach was filmed separately and then put together somehow for the ad. Roy Williams was filmed first and the first thing they asked was that he put on briefs. He said no and they tried to convince him. He finally agreed to wear boxer shorts and the ending was to have been someone off camera saying, "Coaches, put on your pants!!" Heidi Klum was to be there also in her underwear and Roy Williams was to say, "We will, but Heidi, you're okay as you are." This did not make it into the ad, but evidently Roy had practiced the line in case. Everyone in the room died laughing as he demonstrated the line - more than once. He also said he has recruited a tall (6'7", I think, and 182 pounds) guy who is skinny, skinny, skinny. He said he often asks players to switch practice teams by changing color of shirt for practice to vary who they play against and what they are able to work on. He says the guys are sometimes so tired they have a hard time getting their new shirts on so Roy shouts out "The head goes in the middle hole, guys." He tried this with the new guy and the shirt fell to around his ankles.
On the way out , Coach Davis was right behind me and Don so Don asked him to allow a picture with me. I have a picture with Coach Davis with his arm around me. Good looking guy too. We really do go to all the home games and then some so I was able to make a little conversation with him. What utter fun!!! And it just made the evening that much greater for me.
Cats are doing really well. Milo now sits in the water that gets on the shower floor. He comes out a little too wet to pet but he doesn't seem to mind a bit. He is very loving to Don lately and even Grayson came out and sat next to Don's chair last night so Don could pet his head. Good going by all my guys!!!
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