I spent New Year's Eve in the hospital with just one thing on my mind.
You have to understand that I had never been a patient in a hospital in my life (since being born). So when I went in to Brackenridge Hospital on December 28th for surgery on my spine, I was nervous. After suffering with lower back pain for a few years and having tried all the non-surgical options, I sought the advice of a neurosurgeon. He showed me that the condition of the L4-L5 disk was degenerating and would continue to do so. It could not be repaired, it needed to be removed and replaced with some material that would harden and fuse the L4 and L5 vertebrae together. This surgery is typically now done from the front on the body, involving the services of a vascular surgeon to make the opening and move the blood vessels away from the spine so the neurosurgeon can do the repair to the spine.
My surgery was scheduled for noon on the 28th. Janis and I arrived at the hospital as requested at 9 AM. There was mostly waiting before I was wheeled to the pre-op room. This is where you meet the anesthesiologist, get an IV started, and so on. When it was time to go I got a shot of something in the IV that took effect before we were 10 feet out of the pre-op room and I didn't remember a thing until I woke up in my room. I must have awakened a bit in the recovery room, but I don't remember it.
Janis stayed with me in the room Friday night -- besides that I don't remember much until Saturday morning. That's when PT came in to get me out of bed. I had no idea it was going to hurt THAT much to go from lying to sitting the first time. But that was the only time I experienced any serious pain in the hospital. We walked about 20 feet down the corridor -- I felt nauseated and weak. We went back. Lying back down wasn't as bad as getting up! I got up again Saturday afternoon with much less discomfort -- and walked farther.
To be released from the hospital I had to do several things. First, I had to show I could get out of bed by myself -- I did this on Monday. Second, I had to be able to get by on oral pain medications -- Sunday or Monday this happened. Third, had to get the catheter out -- Sunday, I think. The fourth and final sign of progress was to pass gas. This is medically necessary to show that the bowels are functioning following the surgery. By Monday evening, this still had not happened, though there were rumblings.
I was alone in the room on New Year's Eve--Monday night. I may have had the TV on. I don't remember. Then at 8:40 PM it happened -- the fourth sign! I immediately called Janis with the good news! She understood! I then called the nurses station and asked them to put this event into my chart. The next day, New Year's Day, 2008, I would be released to go home.
Perhaps there will be a new New Year's Eve tradition at Cook Acres!?!
Monday, January 07, 2008
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
New Life
We planned our vacation to Virginia at the wrong time. Janis anticipated the birth of Storm's foal for so long, and when we planned to be gone the week of May 21st, we didn't actually think about the fact that this was at the same time as Storm's due date. But when the vet indicated that probably she would be late, Janis relaxed a little.
We flew out on Sunday, the 20th. On Monday, while at a restaurant in Harrisonburg, VA, Janis received a call from Kelsey that Storm was in labor. The foal was born shortly thereafter. All is well. Except that every time the phone rings, Janis jumps, and the first words out of her mouth are "Is everything OK?"
So far, everything is great!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Tribute to Guster
Guster died today.
Guster, shown here with Kelsey in her high school senior picture, was Kelsey's first dog. Her sister, Ashleigh, saved up and bought him for her for Christmas in 2004. He was a highly intelligent, extremely lively and wonderfully enjoyable Boston Terrier.
He started having convulsions yesterday morning. The vet thought it was the onset of epilepsy, but the medication didn't help. None of the other larger vet clinics in our area thought they could help. And so he was put to sleep today.
He leaves a large hole in our family, and especially in Kelsey's heart.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Bluebonnets and Grandkids
Erin and Jackson came for a week's visit. We got this pictues of Adreyene and Jackson on Tuesday night (April 3) the night before Jackson and Erin flew back to Virginia. 
It was great to see Jackson (he'll be 4 on the 12th) since we hadn't seen him for almost a year. And it was just as great to see what fun he had with this cousin.
It was great to see Jackson (he'll be 4 on the 12th) since we hadn't seen him for almost a year. And it was just as great to see what fun he had with this cousin.
.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
"Good-bye My Old Friend"
This is the text of my Toastmasters speech from today
It was a warm June day in our nation’s capital. The delicate pink blossoms had all faded and fallen from the many cherry trees surrounding the heart of Washington. The sun beat down on the throngs of mourners who had lined up outside the Capitol building to pay their last respects to the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Regan.
Quietly taking his place in that line was an elderly man in a conservative blue suit. Unremarkable except for the distinctive birthmark on his bald pate, he drew little attention to himself as he wiped the perspiration from his well-known brow. This, of course, was Mikhail Gorbachev, who had flown in from Moscow to offer condolences to Nancy Reagan and to pay his last respects to his old adversary.
As he approached the flag-draped casket, he bowed his head in respect. He then reached out and gave the casket a tender pat and said something quietly, which some standing nearby said sounded like “До свидания, мой старый друг – Good-Bye, my old friend.”
That the two men had become friends is as certain as it is astounding, considering how their relationship began. After their first meeting in 1985, Gorbachev remarked to his aids that “Regan is a real dinosaur.” For his part, Reagan saw Gorbachev as a “die-hard Communist.” Not a promising beginning.
But we get ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up a bit. When Ronald Regan became president in 1981, Leonid Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, having succeeded Nikita Krushev in 1964. His health was failing and he died in 1982 and was succeeded by Yuri Andropov, another aging hold-over from the Stalin years. He lived only until 1984 and was replaced by yet another of his contemporaries, Konstantin Chernenko, who lived only until March of 1985.
All three of these leaders of the Soviet Union had exchanged correspondence with Reagan, much of it related to reducing nuclear arms. But little progress had been made. Bi-lateral talks in Geneva were stalled. In January, 1985 at the beginning of his second term, Regan had invited Chernenko to a summit meeting in Washington. When he died two months later, his replacement, young and energetic Mikhail Gorbachev, eagerly accepted the invitation, but suggested a neutral site. And so the summit was set for November, 1985 in Geneva.
There is no doubt that Ronald Regan had plenty of shortcomings. But he was not short on optimism or confidence in his ability to sit down with anyone and find a solution to issues they were facing. And so he desperately wanted to get away from his handlers and have some one-on-one time with Gorbachev. During a break on the first day of the summit, Regan invited Gorbachev to take a walk outside in the fresh air. On the walk the two exchanged frank if opposing views on several subjects. Regan invited Gorbachev to Washington to see America for himself – and in turn he invited Regan to Moscow – both invitations were accepted. Though no specific progress was made on arms reduction, they issued a joint statement that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought,” and they set the stage for two future summits.
One of the major sticking points was Regan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, known popularly as “Star Wars,” a program to deploy an anti-missile defense in space. Every time they met, Regan and Gorbachev did a little dance over SDI. Regan would insist that the program was purely defensive. Gorbachev would argue that it could be used offensively. Regan would disagree, Gorbachev would say it opens up an arms race in space. And so on.
In early 1986 the negotiations in Geneva continued with out a breakthrough. The prospect for a hoped-for summit in Washington, during which a major treaty would be signed, was looking rather bleak. Gorbachev proposed a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland with hopes that he and Regan could produce a breakthrough on a nuclear arms agreement. As the summit opened on October 11, Gorbachev proposed drastic cuts in all classes of nuclear weapons. Regan agreed. Then Gorbachev told Regan this is provided the US confines SDI to the laboratory. As the time of the summit was drawing to a close the two met privately, while all their aids waited for them. When Regan and Gorbachev emerged from their meeting, their long faces told the story, Regan had not relented on SDI and Gorbachev would not go forward with his proposal.
The summit at Reykjavik was widely viewed as a failure, but the two world leaders continued their dialog through correspondence, both committed to finding a way to reduce nuclear tensions. The correspondence between the two leaders continued throughout 1987 – finally the Soviets agreed to reduce intermediate nuclear weapons without insisting on the US dropping SDI. Gorbachev came to Washington and on December 8, 1987 the two countries signed the INF treaty, for the first time reducing actual numbers of existing nuclear arsenals.
It was a small step, but a decisive one. The Senate ratified the INF treaty on May 27, 1988, two days before Regan arrived in Moscow for a summit. No new treaties were signed at that summit, but Regan addressed a huge crowd of students at Moscow State University, declaring “We do not know what the conclusion will be of this journey, but we’re hopeful that the promise of reform will be fulfilled. In this Moscow spring, the May 1988, we may be allowed that hope: that freedom, like the fresh green sapling planted over Tolstoy’s grave, will blossom forth at last in the rich fertile soil of your people and culture.”
And freedom did blossom in Russia and Eastern Europe. Gorbachev introduced unprecedented freedoms in the Soviet Union. In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and by the end of 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved.
These developments, marking the end of the cold war and the end of nuclear tension between the two great superpowers, is largely the story of two men. Two men who viewed the world so differently, but who found a way to make that world a safer place. Adversaries, indeed. But respected adversaries, and in the end, friends.
It was a warm June day in our nation’s capital. The delicate pink blossoms had all faded and fallen from the many cherry trees surrounding the heart of Washington. The sun beat down on the throngs of mourners who had lined up outside the Capitol building to pay their last respects to the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Regan.
Quietly taking his place in that line was an elderly man in a conservative blue suit. Unremarkable except for the distinctive birthmark on his bald pate, he drew little attention to himself as he wiped the perspiration from his well-known brow. This, of course, was Mikhail Gorbachev, who had flown in from Moscow to offer condolences to Nancy Reagan and to pay his last respects to his old adversary.
As he approached the flag-draped casket, he bowed his head in respect. He then reached out and gave the casket a tender pat and said something quietly, which some standing nearby said sounded like “До свидания, мой старый друг – Good-Bye, my old friend.”
That the two men had become friends is as certain as it is astounding, considering how their relationship began. After their first meeting in 1985, Gorbachev remarked to his aids that “Regan is a real dinosaur.” For his part, Reagan saw Gorbachev as a “die-hard Communist.” Not a promising beginning.
But we get ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up a bit. When Ronald Regan became president in 1981, Leonid Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, having succeeded Nikita Krushev in 1964. His health was failing and he died in 1982 and was succeeded by Yuri Andropov, another aging hold-over from the Stalin years. He lived only until 1984 and was replaced by yet another of his contemporaries, Konstantin Chernenko, who lived only until March of 1985.
All three of these leaders of the Soviet Union had exchanged correspondence with Reagan, much of it related to reducing nuclear arms. But little progress had been made. Bi-lateral talks in Geneva were stalled. In January, 1985 at the beginning of his second term, Regan had invited Chernenko to a summit meeting in Washington. When he died two months later, his replacement, young and energetic Mikhail Gorbachev, eagerly accepted the invitation, but suggested a neutral site. And so the summit was set for November, 1985 in Geneva.
There is no doubt that Ronald Regan had plenty of shortcomings. But he was not short on optimism or confidence in his ability to sit down with anyone and find a solution to issues they were facing. And so he desperately wanted to get away from his handlers and have some one-on-one time with Gorbachev. During a break on the first day of the summit, Regan invited Gorbachev to take a walk outside in the fresh air. On the walk the two exchanged frank if opposing views on several subjects. Regan invited Gorbachev to Washington to see America for himself – and in turn he invited Regan to Moscow – both invitations were accepted. Though no specific progress was made on arms reduction, they issued a joint statement that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought,” and they set the stage for two future summits.
One of the major sticking points was Regan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, known popularly as “Star Wars,” a program to deploy an anti-missile defense in space. Every time they met, Regan and Gorbachev did a little dance over SDI. Regan would insist that the program was purely defensive. Gorbachev would argue that it could be used offensively. Regan would disagree, Gorbachev would say it opens up an arms race in space. And so on.
In early 1986 the negotiations in Geneva continued with out a breakthrough. The prospect for a hoped-for summit in Washington, during which a major treaty would be signed, was looking rather bleak. Gorbachev proposed a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland with hopes that he and Regan could produce a breakthrough on a nuclear arms agreement. As the summit opened on October 11, Gorbachev proposed drastic cuts in all classes of nuclear weapons. Regan agreed. Then Gorbachev told Regan this is provided the US confines SDI to the laboratory. As the time of the summit was drawing to a close the two met privately, while all their aids waited for them. When Regan and Gorbachev emerged from their meeting, their long faces told the story, Regan had not relented on SDI and Gorbachev would not go forward with his proposal.
The summit at Reykjavik was widely viewed as a failure, but the two world leaders continued their dialog through correspondence, both committed to finding a way to reduce nuclear tensions. The correspondence between the two leaders continued throughout 1987 – finally the Soviets agreed to reduce intermediate nuclear weapons without insisting on the US dropping SDI. Gorbachev came to Washington and on December 8, 1987 the two countries signed the INF treaty, for the first time reducing actual numbers of existing nuclear arsenals.
It was a small step, but a decisive one. The Senate ratified the INF treaty on May 27, 1988, two days before Regan arrived in Moscow for a summit. No new treaties were signed at that summit, but Regan addressed a huge crowd of students at Moscow State University, declaring “We do not know what the conclusion will be of this journey, but we’re hopeful that the promise of reform will be fulfilled. In this Moscow spring, the May 1988, we may be allowed that hope: that freedom, like the fresh green sapling planted over Tolstoy’s grave, will blossom forth at last in the rich fertile soil of your people and culture.”
And freedom did blossom in Russia and Eastern Europe. Gorbachev introduced unprecedented freedoms in the Soviet Union. In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell and by the end of 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved.
These developments, marking the end of the cold war and the end of nuclear tension between the two great superpowers, is largely the story of two men. Two men who viewed the world so differently, but who found a way to make that world a safer place. Adversaries, indeed. But respected adversaries, and in the end, friends.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Ice Days
January 2007 will be remembered as the month of the great American ice storm. Here in central Texas we get hardly any winter (usually). But this is Tuesday evening and the end of the 3rd day we've all been here together at home because it was too dangerous to travel. (Well, Janis went to work on Monday morning at the hospital before the roads iced over, but other than that, we've been here.)
It had been raining already a few days when the cold air hit on Monday. So everything was already soaked and then started to freeze. Once the air got cold enough to get the road surfaces below 32, it was pretty much a done deal that Central Texas was going to shut down. Some people at Maxwell Locke & Ritter went to work on Monday, but not me. Fortunately we now have high speed Internet access here at the house, so I can access and manage our network at the office from home. I spent quite a bit of time on Monday helping others get onto our network servers remotely for the first time or solving other minor problems. It was interesting for a while, but one does get tired of just sitting at the desk on the computer all day.
It actually got worse on Tuesday (today) so that the office was actually closed and nobody went in today. The temperature stayed below freezing all day and the precip continued to fall. Now it's falling frozen rather than freezing on the road, but the base of ice is there and staying there until we warm up.
It seemed that fewer people tried to work today, or maybe had fewer problems, because the demands for my attention today were minimal.
Forecast for tomorrow is for more frozen precip ending around midday. Might get up over freezing briefly tomorrow afternoon, and then we should start to warm up on Thursday.
So its another day at home tomorrow. ACC is closed again tomorrow, so my evening class, which was to start, will have to wait until next week.
Looks like a two-day week at the office. : - ) Boy, I can't wait for the weekend!
It had been raining already a few days when the cold air hit on Monday. So everything was already soaked and then started to freeze. Once the air got cold enough to get the road surfaces below 32, it was pretty much a done deal that Central Texas was going to shut down. Some people at Maxwell Locke & Ritter went to work on Monday, but not me. Fortunately we now have high speed Internet access here at the house, so I can access and manage our network at the office from home. I spent quite a bit of time on Monday helping others get onto our network servers remotely for the first time or solving other minor problems. It was interesting for a while, but one does get tired of just sitting at the desk on the computer all day.
It actually got worse on Tuesday (today) so that the office was actually closed and nobody went in today. The temperature stayed below freezing all day and the precip continued to fall. Now it's falling frozen rather than freezing on the road, but the base of ice is there and staying there until we warm up.
It seemed that fewer people tried to work today, or maybe had fewer problems, because the demands for my attention today were minimal.
Forecast for tomorrow is for more frozen precip ending around midday. Might get up over freezing briefly tomorrow afternoon, and then we should start to warm up on Thursday.
So its another day at home tomorrow. ACC is closed again tomorrow, so my evening class, which was to start, will have to wait until next week.
Looks like a two-day week at the office. : - ) Boy, I can't wait for the weekend!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Of Friends and Fingerpainting
Several years ago on New Year's Eve, I was at odd ends with no plans. I think that Janis was working that night. On the afternoon of the 31st I got a call from my friend, Mark Roberts, inviting me to their house for New Year's Eve. I was glad to have something to do, and the Roberts are fun to be around. They had three young kids at the time, I think maybe that year they were 9, 7, and 5, but I could be off a few years.Mark and I travelled to Almaty together in 2002 to teach at CALTC. We have known each other since we moved to Georgetown in 1995. They are a fun family.
I stopped by Walmart on my way over to get some snacks to add to the evening's festivities and happened by the arts and crafts aisle, where I spied the fingerpaints. "Fingerpaints!" I thought. That would be fun. So I grabbed some and some paper along with the snacks. A lot of people wouldn't be happy to see a guy walk in with fingerpainting stuff when they have a bunch of young kids, not wanting the house messed up. But Mark and Therese thought it would be fun. (Therese is an artist in her own right, so she saw the creative potential.)
We did have a good time fingerpainting that night, and the mess was easily cleaned up.
The next year the Roberts hosted New Year's Eve again and this time the invitation featured fingerpainting as one of the evening's activities. It has become a family tradition with them. They fingerpaint every year on New Year's Eve.
The Roberts family moved away from Texas this year to Grand Island, New York. We hear from them occasionally. I was surprised to receive an envelope from them yesterday with these two works of art and a note that said "We think of you every New Year's Eve now as we continue the fingerpainting tradition."
It's kind of special to have created a family tradition for another family, and very special to be remembered fondly for it.
Oh, yes, almost forgot. The second picture is by Tim, whom Mark and Therese adopted from Kazakhstan a couple of years ago. Now they have four fantastic kids!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
I have what? Something written on my forehead?
When I was in Almaty, Kazakhstan in May, I missed the next to the last week of my Russian class back in Austin. I looked for some small souveniers to take back to my classmates. While checking out at the grocery store, I spied packs of gum, labeled "Хубба Бубба" (Hubba Bubba) -- I had to get some to share back home. Hubba Bubba bubble gum has been around for a long time, and to see it transliterated into Russian for some reason seemed really funny to me. I bought several packs of gum and brought it back home.I didn't really try to read the rest of the package, but my Russian instructor, Joe Liro (aka Professor Pancake) noticed written on the package the following: Наклейка внутри. The word "внутри" means "inside." Hmm . . . Something is inside the package beside the gum, but what was it? The word "клей" means "glue or paste" -- something "sticky" -- aha! Наклейка is a "sticker"! And here is a scan of the sticker that was inside my pack of Hubba-Bubba. The little guy in the sticker is asking, "I have what? Something written on my forehead?" And that is what is written on his forehead. Do you find this humorous? I do! If you do, congratulations, you have not lost the sense of humor you had as a child! I'm told that women tend to lose it and men tend not to, which explains why men find find slapstick humor like The Three Stooges funny more often than do women.
I had one other pack of Hubba-Bubba. That sticker had a kid with his head down on his school desk apparently asleep and the conversation bubble over his head said, "Я не сплю, я думаю."
What's written on your forehead?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Russian Keyboard
A few years ago I bought the software to allow my keyboard to type in Russian. Even though there is a free Russian keyboard included with Windows, its the standard Russian keyboard with keys arranged in ways that make it hard for someone used to the QWERTY keyboard to find them. This software has worked great up to recently when it has started to misbehave. At first it would switch not to the phonetic keyboard but to the standard Russian keyboard when using the hot keys to switch from English to Russian. More recently it has been causing the computer to lockup when switching languages.Finally yesterday I had had enough. I knew that there have been keyboard layout design programs around for years, but the last one I tried to use was difficult to learn and I gave up. So I googled for help. I found a free keyboard layout designer from Microsoft and downloaded it. The program allowed me to import the standard Russian keyboard from my computer and then rearrange the keys to the phonetic arrangement I was used to. (Russian "a" is on the "a" key; Russian "ф" is on the "f" key, and so on. This program then creates a .msi file that you install and presto, you have your new keyboard layout.
I've uninstalled the program I bought and am just using Windows language-switching. No more lock-ups when switching languages. Hooray! (Ура!)
By the way, if anybody who's used to the qwerty keyboard wants to get the keyboard layout I made, just let me know, I'll send it to you.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Am I Lucky or What?! -- Toastmasters Speech
You already know about this from my post of a few weeks ago, but here's how I put these events together for a speech from the storytelling manual at Capital City Toastmasters.
Storytelling Manual, Project #2, Let’s Get Personal, August 9, 2006
“Am I Lucky or What!?” 6-8 minutes
I’m going to tell you a story that I’ve already told to several friends. The variety of reactions I’ve gotten to this story is fascinating to me. Let’s see what your reaction will be!
When I was in Moscow in June to perform the wedding ceremony for my good friend Masha and her American groom, I made quite a few new friends. At the reception I got to talking to a 20-something young woman named Lyudmila and her brother, Andrey. I learned that their older sister, Evelina and her husband, Kostya are currently working on graduate degrees at Baylor University – yes, our Baylor, just up the road in Waco. I gave Lyudmila my contact information and urged her to contact me and tell me how to get in touch with her sister. Besides being a friendly guy, I’m always looking for friendly Russian speakers with whom to practice my language skills.
I was thrilled when, a week or so after I got back from Moscow, I heard from Lyudmila and subsequently communicated with Evelina and Kostya. We discussed getting together sometime and then somehow the subject of rodeo came up. They had been in Texas for 2 years and never been to a rodeo – “Horrors!” I declared. “You have to see a rodeo!” And as luck would have it the Taylor Rodeo was coming up in a couple of weeks and they agreed to come to dinner beforehand and then go to the rodeo with us.
The most important decision about this evening was, What to fix for dinner? Since this is Texas, it seemed appropriate to grill out. Steaks would have been perfect, but we already had hamburger patties, so burgers it was! Burgers, coleslaw, beans, chips – a good American meal. To internationalize it a bit, I visited Sasha’s Russian Gourmet Deli and purchased Xalva and Kvas. Xalva is a kind of dessert that I first ate in Kazakhstan – like a lot of things, it looks disgusting but is actually quite sweet and delicious. It’s made from sunflower or sesame seeds that are pulverized and formed into something that would pass for a rock if you saw a hunk of it in the forest – but it flakes apart with a fork and is eaten with the fingers. Yummy. Kvas, on the other hand, is a beverage that looks good – looks exactly like root beer, but is really quite disgusting. It’s made from bread – somehow – and Russians LOVE it, why they love it, I cannot imagine. Evelina and Kostya loved the kvas and xalva and seemed pretty pleased with the burgers as well.
At 7:15 we took separate cars to the Taylor rodeo, which is just 20 minutes away. We got there in plenty of time for the first event, saddle bronco riding. Explaining the events and watching Evelina and Kostya enjoy them was a lot of fun for me. I felt like an ambassador of Texas goodwill. My personal favorite event is “mutton-bustin’.” You know this one? Where little kids cling to the backs of sheep, with the last one to fall off the winner. The most exciting event was the bull-riding. It is at once the most difficult and dangerous event of the rodeo, and as such is saved for last.
Near the end of the bull-riding, Janis’ cell-phone rang. I could tell from her expression that it was something serious. When she got off the phone the first thing she said was, “Everything is OK, . . . . but . . . “ You know the “but” is coming. There had been a fire at our house, but it had been contained to the deck. We needed to get home, so we said our good-byes to Evelina and Kostya and headed home.
Here’s what happened. Sometime after 7:15 the grill with charcoal still hot got knocked over. I suspect that one burger that lost its grip and fell onto the charcoal was putting out an aroma that enticed one of our normally perfectly behaved dogs to go after it and tip over the grill. Nobody was at our house, so nobody noticed that at some time the deck began to smolder and burn. But around 8:30 a young man who used to live in our area and now is a firefighter in Liberty Hill was driving up our road and saw the flames. He pulled in, found nobody home, called 911 and extinguished the blaze with our garden hose. A south breeze had blown the fire to within 3 feet of the back door, but amazingly the house was completely unaffected by the fire, except for the deck.
It was shocking to see the hole, about 6 feet across that had been burnt into our deck. And yet how much worse it could easily have been.
And it is at this point in the story that we get the variety of reactions. Most of my friends from work say, “You were sooo lucky!” But you know, for some reason, I didn’t feel lucky. I didn’t know what to feel. I was glad the house didn’t burn down, I was sad that the deck, which I had built myself was ruined, but I didn’t feel any of this very strongly, I wasn’t sure how to feel.
At church we got different characterization of this event. Most of our church friends said some variation of, “Well, thank God the house didn’t burn down.” Or “Somebody was watching out for you.” This is the theologically correct characterization for a Christian. All good things come from God. But was this particular event, the fireman who drove up our road just at the right time a “special” act of goodness toward us? Certainly there is nothing about us in particular to attract such benevolence. Why does my house get spared a fire and whole villages in southern Lebanon get bombed out of existence in roughly the same period of time?
There is no logic to explain this.
Why can’t I just be happy about this? My house didn’t burn down. I am happy, I just don’t understand, “Am I lucky, or What?!”
Storytelling Manual, Project #2, Let’s Get Personal, August 9, 2006
“Am I Lucky or What!?” 6-8 minutes
I’m going to tell you a story that I’ve already told to several friends. The variety of reactions I’ve gotten to this story is fascinating to me. Let’s see what your reaction will be!
When I was in Moscow in June to perform the wedding ceremony for my good friend Masha and her American groom, I made quite a few new friends. At the reception I got to talking to a 20-something young woman named Lyudmila and her brother, Andrey. I learned that their older sister, Evelina and her husband, Kostya are currently working on graduate degrees at Baylor University – yes, our Baylor, just up the road in Waco. I gave Lyudmila my contact information and urged her to contact me and tell me how to get in touch with her sister. Besides being a friendly guy, I’m always looking for friendly Russian speakers with whom to practice my language skills.
I was thrilled when, a week or so after I got back from Moscow, I heard from Lyudmila and subsequently communicated with Evelina and Kostya. We discussed getting together sometime and then somehow the subject of rodeo came up. They had been in Texas for 2 years and never been to a rodeo – “Horrors!” I declared. “You have to see a rodeo!” And as luck would have it the Taylor Rodeo was coming up in a couple of weeks and they agreed to come to dinner beforehand and then go to the rodeo with us.
The most important decision about this evening was, What to fix for dinner? Since this is Texas, it seemed appropriate to grill out. Steaks would have been perfect, but we already had hamburger patties, so burgers it was! Burgers, coleslaw, beans, chips – a good American meal. To internationalize it a bit, I visited Sasha’s Russian Gourmet Deli and purchased Xalva and Kvas. Xalva is a kind of dessert that I first ate in Kazakhstan – like a lot of things, it looks disgusting but is actually quite sweet and delicious. It’s made from sunflower or sesame seeds that are pulverized and formed into something that would pass for a rock if you saw a hunk of it in the forest – but it flakes apart with a fork and is eaten with the fingers. Yummy. Kvas, on the other hand, is a beverage that looks good – looks exactly like root beer, but is really quite disgusting. It’s made from bread – somehow – and Russians LOVE it, why they love it, I cannot imagine. Evelina and Kostya loved the kvas and xalva and seemed pretty pleased with the burgers as well.
At 7:15 we took separate cars to the Taylor rodeo, which is just 20 minutes away. We got there in plenty of time for the first event, saddle bronco riding. Explaining the events and watching Evelina and Kostya enjoy them was a lot of fun for me. I felt like an ambassador of Texas goodwill. My personal favorite event is “mutton-bustin’.” You know this one? Where little kids cling to the backs of sheep, with the last one to fall off the winner. The most exciting event was the bull-riding. It is at once the most difficult and dangerous event of the rodeo, and as such is saved for last.
Near the end of the bull-riding, Janis’ cell-phone rang. I could tell from her expression that it was something serious. When she got off the phone the first thing she said was, “Everything is OK, . . . . but . . . “ You know the “but” is coming. There had been a fire at our house, but it had been contained to the deck. We needed to get home, so we said our good-byes to Evelina and Kostya and headed home.
Here’s what happened. Sometime after 7:15 the grill with charcoal still hot got knocked over. I suspect that one burger that lost its grip and fell onto the charcoal was putting out an aroma that enticed one of our normally perfectly behaved dogs to go after it and tip over the grill. Nobody was at our house, so nobody noticed that at some time the deck began to smolder and burn. But around 8:30 a young man who used to live in our area and now is a firefighter in Liberty Hill was driving up our road and saw the flames. He pulled in, found nobody home, called 911 and extinguished the blaze with our garden hose. A south breeze had blown the fire to within 3 feet of the back door, but amazingly the house was completely unaffected by the fire, except for the deck.
It was shocking to see the hole, about 6 feet across that had been burnt into our deck. And yet how much worse it could easily have been.
And it is at this point in the story that we get the variety of reactions. Most of my friends from work say, “You were sooo lucky!” But you know, for some reason, I didn’t feel lucky. I didn’t know what to feel. I was glad the house didn’t burn down, I was sad that the deck, which I had built myself was ruined, but I didn’t feel any of this very strongly, I wasn’t sure how to feel.
At church we got different characterization of this event. Most of our church friends said some variation of, “Well, thank God the house didn’t burn down.” Or “Somebody was watching out for you.” This is the theologically correct characterization for a Christian. All good things come from God. But was this particular event, the fireman who drove up our road just at the right time a “special” act of goodness toward us? Certainly there is nothing about us in particular to attract such benevolence. Why does my house get spared a fire and whole villages in southern Lebanon get bombed out of existence in roughly the same period of time?
There is no logic to explain this.
Why can’t I just be happy about this? My house didn’t burn down. I am happy, I just don’t understand, “Am I lucky, or What?!”
Something on my Mind
Go ahead, make the obvious observation that I'm a bird-brain. We had quite a few animals around here before Janis mentioned that one of the nurses at work had a cockatiel she needed to give away to a good home. We only have five dogs, three cats (the two inside cats are de-clawed), three horses, and a pig, but no bird. We've actually never owned a bird in 31 years of marriage, and so, of course we took the bird.
For the first several days, Hollywood, our new cockatiel, was pretty shy. But he does love to get out of his cage and for the past few days he's mounted the shoulders of Janis, Ashleigh and Kelsey. This afternoon when I got home he was on the dining room table interacting with Janis. When I went into the kitchen, he flew in there and perched on the ceiling fan (powered off, of course). Twice while I was fixing something for dinner I heard unexpected fluttering near my ears and ducked. Janis said I should be more calm because "Hollywood seems to like you." I brought my snack into the living room, and Hollywood followed. Watching me from the living room ceiling fan, Hollywood seemed to size up the possibility of landing on my head. I was prepared for him and sure enough here he came! After enjoying the view from my head for a while, he moved onto the computer keyboard, at which he pecked for quite a while.
Now he's on Janis' shoulder. Ansel, Janis' cat, is watching him at close range with great interest. So far, the dogs and cats simply seem curious about Hollywood.
Stay tuned for further developments
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Of new friends, festivities, fire on Friday
It was going to be an exciting day, but turned out to be even more exciting.
The Taylor Rodeo started yesterday, Friday, July 14th. Janis and Ashleigh rode their horses in the Williamson County Sheriff's Posse Mounted Drill Team to start the festivities. All of that, plus the rodeo itself went as planned.
I had invited Evelina and Kostya Petrenko along with their friends Dennis and Natasha to join me for dinner before and then for the rodeo itself. Evelina is the eldest sister in a family of six siblings, out of which I had met two -- Andrey and Ludmila in Moscow in June at Nathan and Masha's wedding. And having found out that Andrey and Ludmila have a sister in Waco studying along with her husband at Baylor, I got in touch with them. Their friends Dennis and Natasha are from the Ukraine.
Here's a picture of the four of them (from the right, Dennis, Natasha, Evelina, Kostya) -- also notice Kelsey with Adreyene and Kelsey's friend Bobby off to the left. Evelina also posted on her blog some pictures from the rodeo and from visiting our "farm" beforehand.
Near the end of the rodeo we got a cellphone call from Ashleigh, who had gone home already -- the fire department had just left our house. It seems the charcoal grill with hot coals still in it had gotten tipped over onto the wood deck and started the deck on fire--while no one was home. This might have happened shortly after we left for the rodeo at 7:15. Sometime around 8:30 a passing motorist, who just happened to be a firefighter for the Sam Bass Fire Department, saw the fire and took the initiative to stop and investigate. Finding nobody home, he got the garden hose and was able to extinguish the fire. He also called 911 and the Weir VFD responded right about 9:00.
Our passerby, we learned, is named Jason Pierce. Check his page on the Sam Bass Fire Department web site.Thankfully, the fire did not reach the house! There is a 6x6 foot hole in the deck now, and of course the grill is destroyed -- but, oh my, how much worse it could have been. The insurance adjuster will come, I hope, on Monday and then we can get on with rebuilding the deck.
Friends, festivities, and then fire. What if it had been Friday the 13th and not the 14th?
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Moscow!!!
On the day I arrived in Moscow, I went downtown and walked around. The sun was setting only around 10:30 pm while I was there. This photo was taken about at dusk. I'm standing on a bridge over the Moscow river, looking at the Kremlin. You can see clearly one of the Kremlin towers and in the background one of the 4 ancient churches that stand inside the Kremlin walls.I was in Moscow primarily to officiate at the church wedding of my friend Masha and Nathan. The wedding took place at a charming little church located within an old cemetary in the eastern part of Moscow. The wedding was beautiful and meaningful. It was a bilingual wedding as we had those who only spoke English, only Russian, or both. The service was conducted in English with an excellent interpreter translating into Russian. Afterwards was a very nice reception in a different part of town.
Besides officiating at the wedding, I spent my time sight-seeing and visiting. I stayed with Sasha and Ira -- brother and sister-in-law of my friend, Vladimir, in Austin. They have a spare room (a real luxury in Moscow) and gave me the run of the apartment. They were gone to their summer cottage (dacha) from Friday to Monday night, so during that time I felt like a real Muskovite with his own place. It was fun.
I got good at riding the Metro (subway), ate some new foods, made some new friends, and saw some beautiful sights.
Now, to plan the next trip back!!
Friday, June 09, 2006
In Moscow
I arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, June 7th at about noon. Masha and Nathan (bride and groom for Saturday's wedding) were there to meet me. We grabbed some lunch at the stolovia (cafeteria) and talked for an hour and then waited for Vanessa (Masha's friend from D.C.) to arrive. Vanessa had trouble with her luggage and so she was late coming out to find us, but after she did we all rode the marshrutka (shuttle bus) to the closest Metro stop and then rode the Metro together. Nathan, Masha and Vanessa all got out at her stop and I rode on to the station where I changed lines and then rode on to my stop in southwest Moscow.
I had a little trouble finding Sasha and Ira's apartment, but did finally and when I did, they were not home! It was nearly 5:00 and I expected Sasha to be home. I decided to try to talk to a neighbor (the apartment entrances are in clusters of 4 on each floor, and often these people if they live in the same place a long time, become good friends with their neighbors). One neighbor answered the door and I succeeded in communicating in Russian who I was and what my problem was regarding finding Sasha. He made some calls and then he got the key to Sasha's apartment and let me in! Hurrah! I was a little concerned that Sasha's dog -- a beautiful big German Shepherd would not remember me, but if he did or didn't at least he didn't attack, we greeted each other (he smelled my hand) and then all was well.
Sasha and Ira came home by about 6:15, and we had a nice reunion.
This post is coming from an Internet Cafe in the underground mall next to Red Square. I'm almost out of time, so further posts and (I hope) some pictures will follow.
I had a little trouble finding Sasha and Ira's apartment, but did finally and when I did, they were not home! It was nearly 5:00 and I expected Sasha to be home. I decided to try to talk to a neighbor (the apartment entrances are in clusters of 4 on each floor, and often these people if they live in the same place a long time, become good friends with their neighbors). One neighbor answered the door and I succeeded in communicating in Russian who I was and what my problem was regarding finding Sasha. He made some calls and then he got the key to Sasha's apartment and let me in! Hurrah! I was a little concerned that Sasha's dog -- a beautiful big German Shepherd would not remember me, but if he did or didn't at least he didn't attack, we greeted each other (he smelled my hand) and then all was well.
Sasha and Ira came home by about 6:15, and we had a nice reunion.
This post is coming from an Internet Cafe in the underground mall next to Red Square. I'm almost out of time, so further posts and (I hope) some pictures will follow.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
No Trip to KZ Next Year
I got the official word today that East-West Ministries International has decided to cancel the 2006-2007 version of their normal school-year institute, CALTC, where I have been teaching, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I'm not surprised. Ivan, one of the Russian-track teaching assistants had hinted that this decision might be made. And indeed, the student enrollment had declined in each of the past five years to just 9 students this year. This time off will give the Central Asian leadership time to consider the needs for pastoral training in their area and various methods they might use to meet these needs.
But for the time being, seems my trips to KZ have run their course. Thanks again for your support.
But for the time being, seems my trips to KZ have run their course. Thanks again for your support.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Home again!
Following a day of souvenier shopping and resting on Saturday, I flew home on Sunday. Since one gains 11 hours returning home, Sunday was actually 35 hours long. And it felt like it as I sat on airplanes for 6, 9, and 2 hours flying to Frankfurt, Chicago, and Austin. With some time in between to enjoy the Frankfurt and Chicago airports.
I'm now in my second day of recovery from jet lag and I think in one or two more I'll be recovered. Thanks to all who supported and prayed for this trip.
I'm now in my second day of recovery from jet lag and I think in one or two more I'll be recovered. Thanks to all who supported and prayed for this trip.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Friday Evening in Almaty
Here are my friends, Dana (sounds like Donna) and Barzhan (sounds like Barzhan) at a little indoor/outdoor cafe not far from the faculty apartment. We met for dinner on Friday night and had a very nice visit together. I first met Dana 4 years ago when Mark Roberts and I travelled to Almaty together. Mark had met Dana earlier and invited her to one of our student dinners. (That evening Mark and I laughed harder than anyone in the history of the world and afterwards Dana has always been known as Crazy Dana in our family.) She and Barzhan met and got married a little over a year ago, and now are expecting their first child. After dinner we took a stroll down Rozabakieva Street to a store where they insisted on buying some candy and tea to send home with me to our family. Nice time, good friends!
Mission Accomplished
Student Teaching was the order of the day for Friday. With just 8 students it was possible to assign each one a 20 minute slot to present the sample lesson that they had worked on all week. To a person, they all did a great job. I'm not just saying that, because I was their teacher, but they really all did super. Two taught in a classroom setting and then the rest taught as in a home group as pictured here.After each teaching session we spent time as a group discussing the things the presenter did well and any suggestions for improvement.
By the time we finished all of the student teaching there was just 15 minutes left to review for their final exam, which will be administered on Monday morning (after I'm safely back in the States -- an excellent strategy!).
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Thursday Night in Almaty
Four days of teaching are now complete. Most of today was spent watching and discussing the film, The Miracle Worker. It's a 90 minute film, but we had to stop frequently to explain what was going on, especially if there was a period of intense dialogue. As always, the film's powerful emotional impact was not lost on these prospective teachers, despite the language barrier.
Tonight was the second of two student dinners. Two students with their wives and combined four children joined me along with an interperter. We had a nice time of the home-cooked meal. And then enjoyed a rousing game of "spoons."
Here are a few pictures from class and from dinner.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
May Day dinner with the Leytner Family in Almaty
Here from left to right are Valentina, Sasha, Levin and Galina. These are the Leytners with whom I had dinner on Monday night.I went back to their house after teaching on Tuesday because I had forgotten my Penn State cap there. I thought I would just drop by and pick up the cap, but of course, they insisted I stay for a bite to eat. Then Levin and I walked a few blocks to the mall where he needed to get milk, and I found a video store and purchsed a couple of Russian/English videos to aid my oral comprehension of Russian.
Teaching went well on Tuesday. The students seem to be grasping the lesson planning ideas I'm giving them.
Here is one of our students in the classroom test driving one of the wooden cars that I brought to give to orphans and other needy children.
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