I'm Just Visiting This Planet

So this semester I've been sick more than any other semester since I started teaching in Spring, 1985.  I lost TWO WEEKS to two different stomach viruses, one more virulent than the other.  And I'm starting to think that, at my age! I need to take really really good care of myself. I'm feeling at loose ends, behind and not caught up in anything except my coursework at Princeton Theological Seminary -two courses down and four to go for my Certifcate in Theology and Ministry-sounds good, doesn't it? Plus there's band practice at Mike Risko Music School -yes, my "bluegrass band" meets every Monday night. And I'm still working-counting the days till the semester is over.  Last class, May 6th, followed by finals. And as we say in Brooklyn, "so how's by you?"

Not!  I'm done.  I've had enough. And today we expect another, oh, three inches or so.  That yardstick says 18 inches-that's how much snow has fallen in February.  You know it's bad when your generator company sends an e-mail to remind you that it is "imperative" that you dig out so that there's three feet clear around your generator. And yet....it's so beautiful!  The trees were covered with ice yesterday morning and they glistened. I put on snowshoes (yes, snowshoes) to fill the bird feeders.  Both the birds and I were happy that I did-we had goldfinches, crows, black capped chickadees and blue jays at the feeders.  Good for all of you-there can't be much to eat out there in this weather.  I don't even begrudge the crows. And yesterday, in the midst of all this winter, we saw a robin fly over the car.  Heaven only knows what that robin is eating. Spring isn't far away!

So the holidays are over.  We've taken all the candles out of our windows, and tomorrow we'll take the tree down. I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring.  So far here's what I know: that I'll be playing lots of fiddle music and I'll be studying for my Ce rtificate in Theology and Ministry through Princeton Theological Seminary. Eastman VL205 So the picture on the right is my new fiddle. A beauty, from Eastman Strings with a slightly flattened bridge, which is what makes a violin a " fiddle ."  Unlike classical violin players, I want to be able to play two strings at the same time-that's how fiddlers are able to adapt different bowing styles, like shuffle bowing (which is what I'm learning now.) It sounds really wonderful.  A big shout out to Mike Risko at Mike Risko Music School where I've been taking lessons since July.  Mike worked with his Eastman rep to get me a great violin, all set up as a fiddle. Starting January 3...

But it is!  And it's back to school time, for me and for my students.  Tomorrow is convocation and the beginning of the school year at Pace University .  And I'm almost ready to go back.....my own classes ended last week, my fiddle lessons resume in two weeks, and, well, it's that time of the year! Best of luck to everyone for whom September represents the beginning of the new year, and l'shanah tovah to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah , as we enter 5773. Anne and I will be joining my father, sister and brother-in-law in Dayton Ohio for my dad's 379 Bomber Group Reunion.   At 91, he must be among the few surviving WWII vets from his squadron,  the 525th.  My sister and brother-in-law have been to these reunions before, but this will by Anne and my first. And I begin my 28th fall semester, the second half of my 29th year at Pace University.  And this December I will mark my 44th year of working, pretty much non-stop since college-a few breaks ...

Right?  It is for me.  I completed one on-line course (New Testament) at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary towards my coursework to become a Commissioned Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) this spring. Now I'm taking two courses-Old Testament and Polity.  Everyone knows (or thinks they know) what goes on in the Old Testament class, but very few people have a clue about what polity is. Let me just say that both my Old Testament and New Testament professors have us reading The Bible for Dummies .  This book has given me a new respect for "the dummies" series.  I have Religion for Dummies and have found that helpful; The Bible for Dummies is written by two theologians and it is good-simple and to the point. Polity is the procedures by which the Presbyterian Church USA runs-it's what keeps us, if you will pardon the very bad pun, an "organized" religion.  Two weeks into the course and I already have renewed respect for those who o...

December 21 came and went, and the world is still here.  But 2012 is nearly over.  A time to look back and see what was accomplished, what was left undone, and what's next. I got my Medicare card, so Medicare is "next" for me.  And I'm thinking about retiring, so that's another "next," but not until "next" year.  Putting off the inevitable, I guess. And I got called to jury duty, so I know I'll be spending part of January at the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. My sabbatical was filled with surprises: surprise surgery, surprise Sandy.  Not enough rest and not enough done (there's never enough done, I'm afraid- Jennifer Louden has tried to instill in all of us Conditions of Enough but I'm always upping the ante). Winding down a 40+ year career is much harder than I thought it would be.  Twenty eight of those years have been at Pace University, 17 years on the downtown NY campus and now 11 on the Westchester campus.  Fou...

I can hardly wait to see what November brings. First there was my hand surgery, which went quite well, thank you very much.  Now it's occupational therapy twice a week and silicon taped to the scar to get the swelling down. So that was on September 24th, and two weeks later we drove down to Asheville, North Carolina for a few days to visit the Villages at Crest Mountain , an eco-friendly sustainable community under development. For lots of reasons we think this won't work for us, so it's "back to the drawing boards" in our search for where we live when I retire. We got back from Asheville on Saturday, October 13 and more or less resumed our routine (such as it is) for a very short period of time before we started hurricane preparations, which included things such as planting garlic (which is hard if you are trying not to get your bandaged hand dirty) and buying a one burner propane stove. We were prepared for a few days without power; we lost power aroun...