No church today

We both received phone calls informing us that our respective churches had canceled services for today. There is plenty of snow outside. I phoned Gail to cancel our Monday practice. We will reschedule later. Gail said that she and Glenn were about to go walking. Brave souls are they; however, it did not feel so cold as it looked. There was very little wind.

I managed to drag the trash cart out to the curb. It gave me a chance to get outside. It is good to get outside when you are snowed in. We have had more snow this year than in any recent year I can recall. I can remember several winters when we got no snow at all. I also cleared the snow off the '96 Saturn parked on the driveway.

We watched a lecture from the series "Philosophy of Religion" which I bought from The Teaching Company a few months back. It is an interesting course. I took a course by that title forty years ago at SMSU. However, I had already lost my childhood beliefs in a personal god by that time.

Quick and easy way to peal a potato

Here is a tip on pealing potatoes which I wish I had known about earlier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo

Today is Thomas Paine's birthday

Although he left us a couple hundred years ago, I want to recognize the birthday of Thomas Paine. Paine was a hero during the American Revolution. His pamphlet, "Common Sense," inspired many to take up arms in the revolution.

To freethinkers he is best remembered as the author of The Age of Reason. A quote from this book follows:

Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon, than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my own part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel.

Snowed in

We never lost power, but it was not a day for getting out. I walked out to the mail box, got the mail, and walked back to the house. That is the extent of my travels for today. We have, I'm guessing, about a half foot of snow. The poor pine tree in the front yard has branches bent low due to the weight of the snow. Our other tree, the bradford pear, was lost in the ice storm of 2007. I hope our pine tree makes it through this winter.

The consequences of this storm did not quite live up to the dire predictions of the weather prognosticators. It could have been worse. We never lost power, knock on wood, and I'm hoping the worst is over. We saw videos of cars which slid off the roads. I was thankful to be inside a warm house while all this was going on.

Howard Zinn dies

Here it is 10:35 pm and we still have electricity. Yoo-hoo.

A hero of mine died on Wednesday. His name was Howard Zinn. He was a radical historian. He wrote A People's History of the United States. Here is a YouTube clip on him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehc3V1g5pm0&NR=1

He was born in 1922 and left us just yesterday. May he RIP.

Circling the track

Here I am circling the walking track in the TCC Fitness Center. This picture was taken last week. There are three lanes: walking, jogging, and running. Today I walked four miles here. I did not walk yesterday since I had dental work and was advised to not go walking.

.

I guess we are ready for the freezing rain to come. We are stocked up with food and have no appointments which require our being away from home. I just hope the electricity does not go out. Last time we went through an ice storm, we were without power for three days. Others in the Tulsa area were without power for an even longer period of time. This might be the last time I blog for a few days if we do lose power.

Mind, Mood & Memory

Mind, Mood & Memory is a newsletter which is published monthly by Massachusetts General Hospital. Each issue is just eight pages long, but it is full of the latest research findings on aging. Accompanying each issue is a single sheet of "Brain Games." On the front side is WordMorph, Sudoku, and a Word Search puzzle. On the back side is a crossword puzzle. The newsletter is aimed at people who are 50 and beyond.

Reading the February 2010 issue, I discovered a web site which is a good source of puzzles of various kinds. The URL is given below:

http://www.lumosity.com/

Click on it and try out a few of the games. The are fun, plus they may help you stave off Alzheimer's.

Also of interest to baby boomers is the OETA TV show "Life (Part 2)," which airs on Sundays at 6 pm. Each week a different topic related to aging is explored.

Preparing for bad weather

We began our day by going to TCC and walking three miles. We came home and showered. Soon Gail arrived for our weekly piano duet practice. She left shortly after noon, and then we had lunch, a nap, and later we watched the evening news. Following the news, we went grocery shopping. We want to make sure we have enough food on hand in case we have another blizzard. The weathermen are talking about the possibility of power outages due to freezing rain. We now have enough food laid by to stay inside for several days. I also bought a bag of votive candles for lighting.

ABC news interview of Greg Epstein

Click on the link below to see an interview with Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=9650818

Music Sunday at Church of the Restoration went well this morning. There were eight people present for the service.

The Atheists Meetup at the Agora Coffee House at 1 pm drew 33 people. Barbara went with me. Afterwards we stopped at Wendy's for a snack. I should have taken my camera with me, but I had a tote bag full of things for COR and did not think about my camera.

I missed drumming tonight due to the length of the TAM meeting.

I'm sure many people have a birthday on this day. If you are one of them, I want to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Events of the day

Today was our day for the January Food and Fellowship gathering. By our, I mean the Humanist Association of Tulsa. We had 17 people there today. We met at Billy Sims Barbecue in the Farm Shopping Center. The restaurant is small; so our meeting there was a real benefit to the business.

We picked up Barbara, one of our members who is 84 years old, and gave her a ride to the gathering. Her daughter and son-in-law recently moved here from California and are living with her while trying to find work. Her other daughter and son-in-law suffered a misfortune when the young man had a stroke. He is still in the hospital as I write this.

The quote by Epicuris I posted a few days ago pretty well summed up the problem of the coexistence of God and evil -- a problem in philosophy that goes by the name of theodicy. My wife resolves this problem by saying that while God would like to ease the suffering of humans, he is not able to change things for the better. That is, God is not really omnipotent. He looks down on the suffering (think of Haiti) and would truly like to do something to ease the pain but is lacking in the ability to achieve that end.

From my point of view (naturalism), the world works exactly as if there is no god. A lot of unfortunate things happen to people, and there is no god around to intervene, to set things right, to ease the suffering. It has always been that way, and wishful thinking is only that -- wishful thinking. I remain open to contrary evidence, should any present itself. But so far, none has.

Preparations for Sunday

We began our day by going to the TCC Fitness Center and walking 3.5 miles. Yesterday's walk was interrupted by a fire drill. I walked only 2.5 miles yesterday. So to make up what I missed yesterday, I added on a half mile today. That makes nine miles for the week.

We have a Food & Fellowship planned for tomorrow, so I might miss walking tomorrow.

This afternoon, Gail came over and we practiced several pieces we will play this Sunday at church. We got eight duet pieces in shape for this Sunday. I later talked with Joy and Mary. They both agreed to take part in the music service this Sunday. I cut back to six the number of pieces Gail and I will play.

The titles of the pieces we plan to play are :

Wade in the Water
The Ancient Lantern
Birch Tree Rag
The Water is Wide
Irish Air
Broadway Lights

Joy will be playing guitar and singing "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" and "Amazing Grace." Mary will be singing "Cry Me a River" to my piano accompanyment.

A visit to the audiologist

Today I saw my audiologist, whose office is located in the physicians' building across the street from Hillcrest Hospital. We got in quickly. She made some adjustment on my hearing aids and they are working better now. The visit lasted about an hour.

Hearing aids are a big business in this area. You see ads for them constantly on TV. Former radio and TV personalities often go to work for hearing aid companies, making commercials for their products.

I get the church newsletter online. I looked at it today and saw that the program for next Sunday read "Music Sunday" and it had my name where usually the name of the speaker is found. Apparently they are expecting Gail and me to do the entire program. I forwarded the program to Gail and asked by e-mail if she would be able to do a larger program? I will call her in the morning to see what she has to say. I'm not sure how doing two selections of special music grew into being in charge of "Music Sunday." I will be willing to do a program of six to eight pieces, if Gail is.

We're back from Springfield

We have returned to Sand Springs after a brief trip to Springfield, MO to visit my parents. This is the first time i have blogged since Sunday, I guess. All I did on Sunday was post a quote. So I should have a lot to write about, if only I can remember everything which has happened.

Let me back up to last Sunday. We had a larger than usual crowd at Church of the Restoration, if you can call eleven people a crowd. Vanessa, who was two years old at the time Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, read the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Being a news junky, I recall hearing the original speech. We also sang "Life Every Voice and Sing," now widely regarded as the Black National Anthem. The words to this song were written by James Weldon Johnson, who also wrote "God's Trombones."

Following the service I sat in on a board meeting. Seven people were at the board meeting. It seems, and this is only a slight exaggeration, that everyone who attends the Sunday morning service is on the board. Next Sunday, there will be a congregational meeting following the sermon, at which time the items discussed at the board meeting will be presented to the congregation and voted upon. The man who was the minister is still a member of the congregation and was present last Sunday.

I found this a little strange, but part of the protocol of the board meeting is that everyone present sings a hymn in unison.

The next morning was Monday, and Gail come over to play duets with me. Gail and I will be playing the special music at church next Sunday. We plan to play "Wade in the Water" and "The Ancient Lantern." We worked on "Spanish Dance," but we decided to wait until next week before making our video for "YouTube."

That afternoon, we got in the car and headed for Springfield. I drove the entire way. We stopped at the visitors' information center just across the state line into Missouri. There we looked for a geocache which we had looked for on our previous trip. We could not find it. We went on in to Springfield and talked with my parents in their apartment.

J assisted my Dad in cleaning up his computer. I played piano for my Mother. I played some hymns and some standards. We went out to eat that evening at the nearby Golden Corral. I ate too much, as I usually do there. We stayed the night in my parents' apartment. The next day for lunch we ate at Red Lobster. The food so so good. I had a broiled fish platter. There was supposed to be a cache cliose by. I looked for it but did not see it.

About 4:30 in the afternoon, we hit the road for Oklahoma. It was getting dark as we approached Joplin, so we pulled off and spent the night at the Super 8 motel. We walked to the nearby Denny's for our evening meal. When we returned to the motel we listened to the results of the senate race in Massachusetts. The race was an upset and may end the hopes of those who have worked for health care reform. Our health care system is broken and may remain broken for some time. I'm just glad I have insurance, but I know that 48 million Americans are without any health care insurance. It may be that those working for the status quo may win in the short run, but the avalanche of the uninsured will continue to build until on day it will break away.

The next day we continued our journey toward home. We stopped in Tulsa and joined a group of friends at the White River Fish Market. From there we went to Border's Bookstore and then to Office Depot and then home.

Epicurus quote

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?

Epicurus, BCE 341-270

HAT meeting at new venue

Today seems like a Sunday. That is because we had a HAT meeting this afternoon. For the last several years HAT has held its monthly chapter meetings on Sundays. We have now moved the meetings to a new venue at a new day and time. Instead of meeting at the Hardesty Library on the south edge of Tulsa, we now meet in a more central location at 2901 S. Harvard in the Genealogy Center of the Library System. Plus the room we meet in is a bit larger than the room we used at Hardesty. The new location is about six miles south and three miles west of our former location. Actually, we used to meet at the new location back when the building was owned by the Harmon Foundation. It was used by the Tulsa Philharmonic at that time.

We had a good turnout for today's meeting. There were 16 in attendance, if I remember correctly. I circulated a sign-in sheet, but have mislaid it. Otherwise, I would refer to it for the exact count.

KOTV, Channel 6, interviewed Randy recently concerning the billboard currently in place in Tulsa. The billboard says "Good Without God? Millions Are." The billboard can be seen as you travel west on I-44 as you go across the Arkansas River. We do not know when, or if, the interview will be aired.

Randy is continuing with his project of having member letters posted on the HAT web site. If you send in a letter for publication, be sure to send Randy a copy so he can post it also.

Richard told us about a hilarious web site called "Mr. Deity." I look at it ever so often to see what is new there. Check it out at http://www.mrdeity.com/. I would recommend that you begin by watching episode 1 of season 1. In light of the recent earthquake in Haiti, this one is most apopropriate.

We spoke briefly about the unfairness of allowing churches to go tax free, while every other business operation is taxed.

We discussed the move to teach the Bible as literature in the public schools. While this idea may look innocuous on paper, in practice it can be a can of worms. Everything depends upon the individual teacher who has the responsibility of teaching the course. In the hands of the wrong teacher, it can be used to proselytize students. And what Christian teacher is willing to ignore Christ's command to go into all the world and spread the gospel? Teaching this course would be a golden opportunity to do just that.

Richard also mentioned a program on Nova called "Archaeology and the Bible." He said it would be good for all students to see this program.

Randy spoke about the great feeling of love we in HAT have for one another. We get together frequently and know a lot about each other's lives. He is right. I have never felt so loved by a group of people as I do by those in our chapter. We are not just a chapter of the AHA; we are a community of like-minded people who enjoy each other's company. We love being together.

Herb brought up the idea of having shirts with printing on them saying something like "Humanist Association of Tulsa." We could wear the shirts to various community events, thereby advertising our chapter. Dawn mentioned an organization which prints shirts for something like $6.50 each. She will look into it and let us know.

We had a visitor today. Her name is Judy, and she is a retired teacher. We hope our group can fill a need in her life and that she will become a part of our group and help us grow.

Toward the end of the meeting, I read a poem by Phillip Appleman titled "Noah." I was gratified that the group applauded when I finished reading the seven-page poem.

These are the highlights of the meeting as I recall them. Feel free to add anything you remember in the "Comments" area below.

In other news, today I received a package from The Teaching Company. I had ordered DVDs of the course "The Art of Reading" a few days ago. The course guidebook begins with "We all know how to read, but how many of us know how to read well? This course is designed to encourage the habit of artful reading."

There are 24 half-hour lectures. Once I have viewed them, I will be glad to loan the course to anyone interested in watching it.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Poetry group met tonight

We began today by going to the TCC Fitness Center and walking three miles. That brings me up to 26.5 miles for the year on my walking.

At 11:00 am today we attended a memorial service for a lady from my church (Restoration) who died on December 20. The service was held at All Souls since it has a greater seating capacity. The lady was active in liberal causes (abortion rights, environment, etc.) in Tulsa, and the service was attended by about 200 people. She will be sorely missed.

Tonight was Poetry Group night at Border's Bookstore. There were six of us present. We read poetry by Tennyson. We read and discussed his poetry for two hours. Next month we will read and discuss poetry by Edgar Allan Poe.

A movie and a meal

We started the day by going to the TCC Fitness Center and walking three miles. J took my camera and shot a picture of me while walking. Actually she took four pictures, but none of them were very good. After we had our exercise out of the way, we made plans to see a movie.

We went to Sapulpa and saw It's Complicated, starring Meryl Streep, Alex Baldwin, and Steve Martin. It was a movie J had been wanting to see for some time. I did not find it to be too memorable. I would not recommend it, but J would.

Following the movie, we went to the Crescent Cafe for dinner. The prices are good at the Crescent. We both ate for under $15.

In the mail today, I received a box of five books from Dover Publications. One will be a gift for our son Nick who has a birthday on the 20th. It is a book on origami construction. The other four books are piano literature, mostly for solo piano. A portion of one book contains duets.

The music books contain music by (1) Satie, (2) Respighi, (3) John Field, and (4) a collection of 83 piano classics. Erik Satie and Ottorino Respighi are two of my favorite composers.

Where was God?

It is events such as the earthquake in Haiti that reconfirm in my mind that there is no God looking out for us in this universe.

Where was God when the earthquake struck Haiti killing thousands? Was it his day off? What sort of God would answer your minor request, while ignoring the tragedy taking place in Haiti?

No. Things like that just happen, as you would expect in a universe without a God. If there were a God, He would have most likely intervened. At least a Good God would have. Wouldn't you, if you had the ability of a God?

The last couple of days

Yesterday began with Gail coming over and playing piano duets with me for two hours. We had another good practice session. We are going to record a piece and put it up on YouTube next Monday, assuming we are not in Springfield. The piece we are going to record is "Spanish Dance" by Moritz Moskowski. There are already several recordings of the piece on YouTube. After next Monday, I hope there will be one more.

Yesterday I fell on the ice. J and I were going somewhere. I was about to put the key in the door to unlock the car when suddenly the next thing I knew I was staring at sky. The fall was over before I knew it had begun. Fortunately, I landed on my fat ass, which absorbed the shock of the fall. I was not hurt. The sun was starting to melt the ice, making it become slick.

Later that afternoon, we went to the TCC Fitness Center and walked three miles.

Today we went grocery shopping. That took a couple of hours and 250 dollars.

I am presently reading George Eliot's Scenes from Clerical Life. The book is a set of three stories. The first story concerns the Rev. Amos Barton. I reached the end of that first story this morning. There are two more stories in the collection. You can, should you care, follow my progress in the book on GoodReads.com. You might have to register; I'm not sure. The website is not the most user-friendly of sites. Sometimes important information is to be found in small type. I would like to invite my readers to sign up on Good Reads so that I can follow your progress as you read. I'm always interested in seeing what my friends are reading.

Church and drumming

This morning I went to Church of the Restoration. There were eight people there. Rosemary was the lay leader for the service. Her talk was on Kwanzaa. It was supposed to be delivered earlier, but the snow came a couple of weeks ago, and church was cancelled.

Drumming has been rescheduled for Sunday afternoons, starting at 3:30 pm. There were four of us there today. Joe and Lou, and their son-in-law Joel and myself were the only ones present.

As I drove into my driveway after drumming, J was backing out to take the grandkids home. I got out of my car and in to her car, and we drove the kids to their home.

I hurt the middle finger of my right hand yesterday trying to move a bench in the living room. I did not realize it was hurt until I saw the blood. I tore some skin on the last joint. It is healing up but is still tender when touched. I probably did not help matters any by going to drumming today.

Secular Singers met today

Today was the day when Secular Singers get together for our singing. We met at Gail's house at 2:00 this afternoon. We began with six "new" songs, that is, new for us. From the Peter, Paul, and Mary Songbook, we sang "Blowin' in the Wind," and "Pretty Mary." Next, from the Hal leonard collection titled "Feel Good Fun" we sang "Daydream Believer" and "A Lover's Concerto." There were two more songs we sang: "The Slender Mountain Ash" and "The Story of the Coachman." These last two may be unfamiliar to you. They are from "A Russian Song Book."

I played piano while the other three sang, for the most part. After we sang these six "new" songs, we sang a few from my collection of songs in a large three-ring binder. Some of these songs include "Joe Hill," "Hard Times in the Mill," "Just Say "No" to Religion," "This Land Is Your Land," and "He Never Returns." This last song (with lyrics rewritten) is based on a song by The Kingston Trio which was popular fifty years ago -- a song titled "The MTA Song," about a guy named Charlie who gets on a subway but never gets off.

We, along with the Dobbs, went to Nick's house tonight for a dinner of turkey soup.

I also received a copy by e-mail of an article sent by my friend Galen from California. Thanks, Galen.

Speaker and reunion

This morning we dressed warmly and made our way to downtown Tulsa to hear a Dutchman, Harm De Blij, speak as part of the Tulsa Town Hall series. The temperature was cold. As we drove to Tulsa, the reading on my dashboard was 9°.

To keep warm, I wore my new thermal underclothing given to my by cousin Vicki in Houston. I also wore the Tommy Hilfinger socks she gave me. The wind was light, so it wasn't too bad outside.

The speaker was first-rate. From the time he stepped out from behind the curtain, he spoke without using a note for close to a hour and a quarter. He was a geographer and knew his subject well. He kept the audience enthralled as he related his various experiences and talked about the importance of a knowledge of geography in understanding the world.

My attendance at the Town Hall was happenstance. My friend Bill had to be out of town, and he gave me his tickets. A half dozen speakers are selected each year for speak at Town Hall. Tickets are sold by subscription for something like a hundred dollars per season. Since Bill was going to be out of town, he gave me two tickets which Bill and his wife would have used had they been here.

On the way home, I noticed the temperature had risen to 15°. I left the house again, heading this time for Luby's Cafeteria, venue for the old retired railroader's monthly luncheon. This group gets together once a month to socialize with each other. Today was the first time I attended. There were 20 to 25 retired railroaders. I knew eveyone of them, since I had driven each of them about the train yard. Some of them had retired a number of years ago. Leroy was there, and I had not seen him in nine years.

The temperature is supposed to get down to 1° tonight. I hope our pipes do not freeze.

Roary cuts my hair

We are in the deep freeze in Oklahoma. The same can be said for much of the rest of the country. We are supposed to have two days of extremely cold weather and then some relief.

Could this be effects from global warming? Global warming does not mean a uniform increase in temperature throughout the world. Global warming shows its signs in erratic variations: hotter summers, colder winters, plus increases in floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.

We stopped at Dollar General to look for a birthday card for a close relative of mine. We picked out the card and paid for it. As we were at the checkout, a man in a car parked outside the store blew his horn. The clerk asked if I knew who the man was. I said no, as I had never seen him before. We concluded that he must have mistaken me for someone he knew. When I walked out the store, he (still seated in his car) started talking to me. I found out that he was handicapped and wanted the clerk to make a purchase for him. I did not think the clerk could leave the store, so I asked what he needed, He asked for some paper towels and a can of Pledge furniture polish. I told him I would go back in the store and buy the items for him. He gave me a ten-dollar bill. I bought the items for him and gave him the items and his change. He was very grateful and thanked me profusely.

Next we went to Eyemart Express and ordered two new pairs of glasses for J. While she was ordering glasses, I went to Roary D's for a haircut. The haircutting business has fallen on hard times, as has so many other businesses in this Bush recession. It you are out of work, you are not likely to spend money on getting your hair professionally cut. I think a lot of people are getting by with home haircuts. Roary used to have several women working in her shop -- four or five others besides herself. When I was getting my hair cut, there were two other employees in the shop, but they were idle. The place used to hum with business; now it is pretty quiet. I hope she can hang on and weather the downturn in business.

After I left the haircutting shop, I drove to Eyemart Express to pick up my spouse. The distance between the two shops couldn't be more than a quarter mile, as the crow flies. As I drove up I saw my beloved sitting in a chair waiting on me. I called her on my cell phone, however the purse she carries is all but soundproof. I had to walk into the store to get her attention.

In the afternoon, we both went to the TCC Fitness Center and walked. I did three miles today.

This day summarized

Well, today was another ho-hum day. We did manage to get to out to the Fitness Center and walk three miles. Then it was back home. We washed clothes and dishes today. We got caught up on household chores, thinking that a power outage this evening might be a possibility.
Water lines are breaking all over the place due to the low temperatures. If we lose water, we have some bottled water on hand.

The lows tonight are expected to be in the teens, and then the next day the forecast calls for zero to be the low. Wind chills tomorrow are supposed to be in the negative numbers.

Tomorrow I will see if I can find something to write about. There is not much going on right now.

Out and about

It was another cold day today with temperatures in the twenties. J had an appointment at Roary D's to get her hair cut. We went there first, and I sat in the waiting area while J got her hair cut. After the haircut, we went to Tulsa to see Dr. Shirk about my hearing aids. She was having computer problems with her software. She called a tech who talked her through a certain procedure. We were there for almost two hours.

On the way home we stopped by the BNSF office to see if they had any 2010 calendars. The man who handles the calendars was not there at the time. Carol gave me a flip calendar. The kind I want to get has all twelve months on a large sheet of posterboard. Next we went to the HAT box at the West Tulsa post office, and I picked up the mail for HAT.

Then we returned home and haven't ventured out since.

I watched some TV tonight. First was the NBC Nightly News. Then I watched Wheel of Fortune, NOVA, and finally a program on Human Emotions. It was quite interesting. The next segment will be on OETA tomorrow night. I managed to read another chapter of Scenes From Clerical Life today.

One day sounds pretty much like the next, does it not? When it warms up some, I will get out and try to do something worth writing about.

Going for a walk

My day began with Gail coming over to practice duets with me. She had sent me a e-mail on Sunday saying she had recovered from a cold, which she speculated she had picked up from her husband Glenn. We had another good practice session which lasted for two hours.

In the afternoon, I took a nap. When I got up, it seemed like a good time to go for a walk. We drove to the West Campus of TCC and paid the fee to use the fitness center for the spring semester. We were on our first lap of the walking track when J's phone began chiming. It was Jennifer wanting to know if we could keep Luke while she took Ayla to her piano lesson. So we headed back home. On the way out, I asked the person working there what time they closed that night. She said 8:30.

Shortly after we got back to the house, Luke arrived. He played games on J's lap top computer while Ayla took her lesson. We watched the news and had supper. After supper we headed back to the Fitness Center. Upon arriving, we noticed that the door was locked. It was shortly before seven. Someone came to the door and said that they close at seven.

We decided to drive over to the Case Center and walk there. As we walked in the door we saw a sign saying that the gym would be unavailable to use due to some organized basketball games. However, I noticed people up on the walking track. There were a dozen or more people there walking. J wanted to go home, but I wanted to get in some walking. We compromised and walked for thirty minutes. I had my MP3 player with me, but J was afraid I would get hit in the head with a basketball and asked that I not wear it. So I put it away.

It is supposed to be bitterly cold the next few days. I hope we return to mild weather soon.

This day's events

I began this day by driving to the Case Community Center where I walked three miles on an indoor track suspended above a basketball court. I sometimes walk at the CCC when the TCC track is closed. I also noticed that the Case is open on Sunday, whereas the TCC track is not. The Case track is a bit further to drive to get to as it is on the north side of the river. I live on the south side of the river.

Today there were about ten people walking on the track. The track is divided into two lanes. The track as TCC is divided into three lanes. There are fewer people using the track at TCC since a fee is required. The Case track is open to all.

On the way home, I got a call from Barbara who gave me an update on her son-in-law who suffered a stroke a few days ago. He is just 50 years old and is now paralyzed on his right side. Barbara asked for a ride to movie night tonight.

I stopped by the library on the way home and picked up a book by George Carlin, Last Words. As I got into my car I got a call from Gail. We had practiced on Wednesday and were ready to perform The Water is Wide as a piano duet at Movie Night tonight. Gail said it was her turn to be sick. We put our performance on hold.

We went by and picked up Barbara this evening and drove on to Movie Night at the Bradleys. I told the group that Gail was sick and unable to play. There were seven of us there. The film we viewed was The Complete Plays of Shakespeare performed by the Reduced Shakespearean Company. It was a 90-minute comedy routine. I found it pretty funny.

January 2010 Calendar

January 2010
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Jan. 2, 7:00 pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.

Sat., Jan. 9, 2:00 pm
Secular Singers, Storey House, 4630 S. Victor Ave.

Sat., Jan 16, 2:00 pm
HAT chapter meeting
NOTE: New meeting location, date and time. Meetings during 2010 will be held at the Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard (across from Fellowship Congregational Church). This is the same location where HAT met prior to the Hardesty Library.

Wed., Jan 20, 11:20 am
ALGAE luncheon Join us at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan Rd., for a seafood lunch.

Sat., Jan. 23, 11:30 am
Food & Fellowship, Billy Sims Barbecue at Farm Shopping Center, Sheridan and 51st St.

Sun., Jan. 24, 1:00 pm
Tulsa Atheists Meetup, Agora Coffee House, Fontana Center, Memorial and 51st St.

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Questions? Contact Randy at 622-6975 or Dan at 798-3629.