The Passing of First Semester

First Semester, born August 24, 2006, entered into rest on January 12, 2007 at Terre Hill Mennonite High School. Surviving is one sibling, Second Semester, Terre Hill.

All first semester papers, projects, and exams have been graded. Quarter and semester grades will be calculated on Saturday (We [the editorial we] hope all students have passed their English classes this semester). Second semester begins on Monday.

THMH now has one teacher who has celebrated his 60th birthday. (Mr. Isaac -- if you are wondering)

Another class of sophomores is getting legal driving privileges (some on the first attempt and some later).

We (not the editorial we) are set to complete two years of mortgage payments on this house within the next month. Has it already been two years since we moved? Has it only been two years?

Another Bible quizzing season begins with the first quiz in two weeks.

Winter has finally arrived, I think.

It is 2007 and I figured out when I was in third grade that I would be OLD by the year 2000. I guess I was right. I am old in the eyes of a third grader. In fact, I am 7 years past being old. I guess that makes me older than old.

I wonder how many mortgage payments I have made for eternity?

When the winter of my life finally comes, having passed the course of life will be more important than any student passing an English class or a driver's test or winning a trophy in quizzing.

I'm glad I've lived longer than First Semester. And if I live to be older than older than older than old, it will have been a life of blessing and fulfillment.

Star's Arrival!

Star arrived at his new home yesteday. The new owners are quite delighted. We are quite thankful!

Across Country

Star arrived in southern California this morning at 12:03. Now, he has to travel to northern California to his new home.

Colt Update

Star left the area about midnight Monday night. As of today, he was in Kansas City, Kansas.

Still Going!

Well, the saga of the colt goes on! We took the colt to UPS only to discover it was too large to ship. So, it came back home to be repacked.

We measured, and calculated, and measured and calculated again. We checked freight rates and decided that was a last resort. We considered a quick trip to California over Thanksgiving, but didn't think we would make it back to work in time. Finally, we decided we could do it UPS, but there is not even a quarter inch to spare.

After taking the colt off his base, drilling holes to sink bolts in his feet into the bottom of the box and raising the one end of the box 3/4 inch over his ears, and cutting holes for the points of his ears, we finally got a box constructed. He is totally wrapped in bubblewrap and covered with a lauan box that is screwed together.

UPS says 165 dimensional inches. We have the box 39" L x 43" H x 20" W. That is exactly a total of 165 dimensional inches. We will try again on Monday. We hope this time it actually begins its journey!

The new box is significantly smaller than the original one. We spent an evening and all day Saturday repacking. We earned anything we get out of the deal. Clair was rather generous in arranging the deal, but it certainly hasn't been easy money.

Before we sell another horse on ebay, we will be wiser in stating shipping fees. I think it will be "buyer arranges for shipping" or "local pick up only."

The Colt is Going, Going, Gone!

More than a year ago Mary's brother-in-law had a colt that died several days after it was born. He had a full-body mount made of the colt. The colt made its rounds from living room, to feed mill, to basement.

Now, a year after he has it back from the taxidermist, he was ready to sell it and get it out of the way. A family with ten children needs all the room in the house without having a colt take up a few cubic feet. We listed it on ebay for him and it actually sold for more than he said he wanted out of it.


Saturday Mary took a big box and packing supplies to their house and packed the colt for shipping. The children said goodbye to the horse and then helped her pack him up. One of the little boys said, "I will never forget this horse!"

Now, the colt is packed and ready to be shipped. Monday it will begin its journey to California.

The Pursuit

Oh, the interesting things one sees along the road! Last week a local farmer was selling pumpkins. They attracted a lot of attention with their sign. Was it intentional? Did a child paint the sign? Or, was it a very dutchified adult who did it ignorantly?

Sometimes I need to restrain myself from correcting people's errors. In the last week we received two invitations that said, "YOUR INVITED." Now, I would like to know what an "invited" is. The possessive pronoun implies that I own one--whatever it is. Is it something I can carry with me or is it something that I will need my trailer to haul? Is it something that will last for years or is it perishable? Just what is an "invited?" This morning at church, the superintendent was having devotions and several times in 15 minutes used grammatical errors such as yous can . . . .

I failed. OK. Maybe I didn't have an opportunity to teach the farmer who is selling pumpkins jeap. And maybe I didn't have an opportunity to teach the one person who told me I have an invited. But the other one was from a former student who should know better. She passed all of my classes and, if I remember correctly, was on the honor roll at school. This is a person I would like to correct, but that may be the end of the existence of my "invited." The superintendent is also a former student. He is another person I would like to correct. But I certainly cannot go through life correcting all of my former students' writings and speech for incorrect grammar. I failed in teaching them to correct their own grammar. So, what can I do to change that in the future? I suppose that will be my pursuit until I retire.

To Camp or Not to Camp?

To camp or not to camp, that is the question.

I want to bed last night in 30 something degree weather inside a tent inside a sleeping bag with a second sleeping bag for added warmth. It was a bit breezy. I was chilly. I didn't sleep very well. Every time my nose peeked out from the pile of covers and got cold, I was awake again.

Who gets crazy ideas to camp the end of October? We were with the Motley Crew this time. It was warm when we planned the camping trip. We tried to live in denial that it was going to get cold; but when it came time for packing, we loaded a pile of covers and braved the cold. This morning it was about 32 degrees and we didn't mess around long getting a fire going again.

To camp or not to camp? Camp--but pick a slightly warmer weekend!

Admitting Defeat

We recognized years ago that neither of us likes to clean. It has always been one of those chores we both dread, but we both know it has to be done occasionally. As a result, our house has suffered and we along with it. After we moved, I started cleaning the upstairs one week and the basement the other week, but that schedule, too, died along the way. At rare times, the mess gets too bad and we dig in and clean. However, it becomes an all-day affair. I won't clean if she has become distracted by something in the organizing process. That statement is true for both of us. Hence, one or the other is voluntarily being distracted while waiting for the other to get back to the business at hand.

This week we have admitted defeat and hired a cleaning lady. She is only coming once a month and cleaning the upstairs and the office area in the basement. We PLAN to clean the rest of the basement and the whole house the weeks she isn't coming, but at least we know our house will be cleaned once a month by someone who enjoys cleaning. That is improvement.

An Evening to Sit and Relax

One morning this week a coteacher was leading in faculty devotions. He mentioned in his devotional that rather than do what he knows he should do in the evening, he likes to sit and relax for the evening after he get home from school.

That started my mind wondering what it is like to be able to sit and relax for an evening. I was trying to determine HOW a person sits and relaxes for an evening. I wondered, "What does a person do when he sits and relaxes?" But, then I had the startling thought that maybe he doesn't do anything. Is that possible? Maybe he reads? But when was the last time I read anything just for the pure pleasure of reading? I suppose people do that sometimes.

Maybe what I need is to hire a fulltime housekeeper to keep the house clean, have a nice hot meal on the table when I come home from work, do the laundry and return the clean things to my bedroom. If I were really fortunate, maybe she would even mow that lawn and keep the flowerbeds and garden weeded. Maybe then I would have the time to sit and relax for an evening.

I can only guess that is why my coteacher married a wife.

No Man is an Island

Following Floyd's spectacular win of the Tour de France, the Landis family was mobbed by camera-lugging reporters , well-wishers, neighbors, friends, and strangers. People called, drove by and blew the horn, stopped for a visit. Reporters were at their house Sunday morning before they left for church. They followed Paul & Arlene to church where Floyd's brother Bob told the reporters, "We are here to worship. You are welcome to come inside and worship with us, but your equipment stays outside." When Paul & Arlene returned home, there were 15 reporters waiting for them at the door. Reporters swarmed the property until after 11 PM and returned Monday at 6:30 AM. Paul, Arlene, and Floyd's sister Charity tried to be gracious with the reporters, but the youngest sister, Abby, quickly tired of the publicity and tried to avoid them. They hoped in a day or two the publicity would fade and they could go on with life. However, then came the doping allegations and with them more reporters. The reporters became rude and demanding. The Landis family was eventually forced to leave their home because the reporters were not allowing them to function.

This whole experience is a better object lesson on the consequences of our choices than I could ever imagine. Regardless of whether they approved of Floyd's choices or not, the Landis family has to deal with the consequences of his choices. Whether it is fame or shame, they have to deal with the reporters. They did not choose to be on the front page of the local newspaper almost every day this week--but that is where they were. They did not choose to be interviewed on national television--but as a result of Floyd's choices, they were interviewed every day. Whether Floyd is guilty or innocent, is not the topic of discussion here. Whether we like the consequences or not does not make any difference. The choices others make have an impact on our lives. The choices we make have an impact on others lives.

As John Donne stated in Meditation XVII, "no man is an island."

Thoughts on the Tour de France

I was trying to decide if I should write this before the end of the race or wait until I know who is wearing the yellow jersey in Paris. I opted for before.

Floyd Landis has made his bid on the yellow jersey. He went to France to win the race, and he has put forth his best effort. Whether he wins the Tour de France or not, is not the most important thing.

What has Floyd gained by becoming the American favorite to win the Tour? He certainly has more money than I will ever have. He has more fame than I will ever have. He's been on more magazine covers than I would ever want. He has seen more of Europe than I will probably ever see. He is certainly more physically fit than I am. He has an outstanding determination. He doesn't let pain get in the way of meeting his goals. I respect Floyd for his determination and perserverance.

But what has Floyd traded for all of this? He doesn't see many of his longtime friends or family very often--maybe once or twice a year. His hobby has become a job. After retirement from cycling, what skills does he have to take up another occupation? Most importantly, his relationship with God is something he doesn't discuss. He avoids the issue. He laughs and changes the subject. The Tour de France is going well for him at this point and he may win, but will he win the race that is much more important than the Tour de France?

There is a group of people not unlike the riders in the Tour. They have determination to reach the lost of the world in city, village, or country. They perservere through years with very little evidence of the work they are doing, but they are planting seeds. They give their lives to meet a goal. Few know who they are. They may not know each other. They own very little. They will be forgotten in the eyes of the world, but the contribution they make in reaching the lost will have rewards that will last much longer than a yellow jersey.

Dissertation Milestone

One thousand sheets of paper and an ink cartridge later, the dissertation is in the mail again. The last two weeks have been kind of crazy as I focused on rewriting chapters 4 & 5 in just over a week. An e-mail arrived from my chairman on July 10 with his comments so I could get started. The rest of the packet arrived on July 12. I entered a time of seclusion with my nose to the computer and very few breaks for anything else. Over the weekend I enjoyed taking two days off and then Monday morning I was back at the computer by 6 A.M. Yesterday I began the long process of printing out 4 copies of the complete manuscript. I had two reams of paper and a brand new ink cartridge. This morning as I was printing out the last 100 sheets or so, I ran out of ink first and had to run to Office Max for another one. Then, I was a few sheets short on the paper. Thankfully, there is paper in a print shop, and I could finish it and get it packaged for mailing. The trip to the post office was not an inexpensive one since I mailed it express mail. The very apologetic postal service worker socked me $41.30 with a promise that it will arrive in Florida by tomorrow noon.

Sometimes I wonder why I ever started this ordeal, but I am sure I will be glad to have accomplished it when the misery fades into the background.

Odd Lots & Motley Crews

Friends can be such complex creatures. We are friends with two groups of single ladies: the Odd Lot and the Motley Crew. The Odd Lot is an odd accumulation of friends that someone has asked, "What do you have in common?" Certainly our differences may be greater than our similarities. The Motley Crew is also a group of friends with many differences.

Who would ever name a group of friends either the Odd Lot or the Motley Crew? Does the name indicate a low self-image? Possibly. I think that when I hear one of the ladies say she used to beg God to just make her normal. But what is normal? Does the name indicate a feeling of not being accepted? Possibly. I think that when they ask if we really want to hang out with the Motley Crew.

Are these friends lacking in value? Certainly not! Are they unaccepted? Again, certainly not! Each of their lives and personalities have value. I hope I can encourage each of them to be all God created them to be. They are, indeed, unique--just like everybody else.

One week post school year

So what does a teacher do over the summer?

Beginning last Thursday I set to writing the last chapter of my dissertation. Problem #1 -- How do you finish something like that? I wanted to write FINIS at the end, but I didn't think my committee would allow something like that. Tuesday afternoon I was ready to print the thing out once again. Problem #2 arose -- the printer kept printing garbage in the middle of a page and sending the rest of the page onto another page. Finally I went to school and used the printer there to print out 820 pages (four copies of 205 pages). The next stop was the post office. Do you know how much it costs to send 8lbs and 14 oz. of paper express mail? Too much! And I still have a bill from the school for using the printer there.

Yesterday I was back at school beginning the process of getting ready for another year. I have extra to do because I am getting all new textbooks next year. Today I am supposed to be housecleaning my bedroom. Actually it was on my agenda for January and I am only now getting it done.

So what does a teacher do in the summer? All the things there was no time for during school.