Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Jesus Diet

On Maundy Thursday, we gathered at the Family Life Center about a mile from the house.  The meal was the kind of diet that Jesus ate: nuts, raisins, apricots, dates, grapes, and fish.  The beverage was water.  Soft drinks were not around in that time.

This morning, I went to the worship workshop held at Restoration.  For almost three hours we went over every aspect of the morning service.  Joy was asked to volunteer to be a greeter to greet visitors.  The church pianist, Edna, also plays for Vernon AME church, which is down the street from Restoration.  She usually arrives just before the service starts.  It was decided that it would be nice to have some piano music for about ten minutes prior to the service starting.  I volunteered to play during that time.

The "Welcome" which had been coming around the middle of the service was moved up to the top.  The children's offertory was eliminated, in favor of having a collection bowl for coins which can be used at the beginning of the service.  The service used to end with the extinguishment of the candles.  Now music will be added as we exit.

Photos

 
This is a picture of the exterior of the library in Springfield, MO. 
 This library was not here when we moved from Springfield in 1986.
 
 
 
Here is a view inside a coffee shop within the library.
 
 

Here we see a couple of the stacks.  To the left is the teens area.
 
 

Inside the periodicals area is an exhibit on Route 66.


 
This picture and those below were taken on a volkswalk in Tulsa. 
Here we are looking at the 23rd St. bridge.
 
 
 
  
There are two paths along the west side of the river. 
One is for pedestrians; the other is for bicyclests.
 
 

This is the view underneath the 23rd St. bridge.
 
 
 

Here we see the west side of the 23rd St. bridge.  The two paths
become one, but the two areas are separated by stripping.
 
 

Here is another view of the 23rd St. bridge.
 
 

The tall cylindrical building is the University Club tower.  On election night in 2008, we watched news coverage from Barbara Frey's apartment on the 20th floor.  The building has been in the news recently as it was the scene of a murder.  A woman pushed her husband through a window, and he fell 17 stories to his death.


This is a view of the Arkansas River.  Due to the drought,
the river has dried up considerably.  Tire tracks are visible in this view.
 
 
 
 
Here is another view of the University Club tower.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The week in review

Last Sunday I went to Church of the Restoration at 10 am for the Religious Education hour.  Following that was the service at 11 am.  Vanessa was in charge of the service.  I had no meetings after church, and I came on home.

The next day, Monday, was duet rehearsal day.  We looked at some of the new music I bought while in Springfield.  Some of the pieces we played were The Pink Panther, Raiders of the Lost Arc, and I Got Rhythm.  (I'm leaving out the quotation marks to save time  because I'm lazy.)

On Tuesday evening, we went to the southeast campus of TCC to hear two concerts: the TCC Band and the TCC Symphony Orchestra.  We have a friend, Patty Mandrell, who plays percussion in the band.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Piano practice

Last Monday we were in Springfield and I had to miss my weekly piano practice with Gail.  We rescheduled the practice for Friday.  Because Gail had a tight schedule, she invited me to come to her house for today's practice.  I put my music in a canvas tote bag and drove to her house, about 20 minutes away in Tulsa. 

I bought some new music while in Springfield, some of which I took with me.  We also played the piece we are hoping to play at the next Humanist Sunday service.  We played from a new book some pieces by John Williams.  We finished up with Dvorak's Slovanic Dance No. 4.

Gail has three dogs who were excited to see me.  They sniffed and licked with abandon.  After a while, they settled down.

Nick got back from Colorado today.  Ayla is spending the night with us.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

A trip to Springfield

Last Sunday we drove to Springfield, MO and visited my parents and my sister.  We came back to Sand Springs on Wednesday.  We took Paula out to Wal Mart where she did her grocery shopping.  My parents are still doing well at age 90.  Dad no longer drives due to macular degeneration.  Well, almost no longer drives.  He gets out a little bit, now and then.

Tonight we went to the Oklahoma Observer Discussion Group.  There were five of us there.  I asked that between now and the next meeting that the participants contact a person in government and express the view on some issue.  I read two letters I had written in the last month -- one to my Congressman and the other to the Governor.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

A volkswalk and a HAT meeting

The title above pretty well sums up what I did today.

First we drove to the River West Festival area which was the start point for the monthly volkswalk sponsored by the Tulsa Walking Club.  After registering, we proceeded south along the west bank crossing the river on the 23rd St. bridge.  Then we went north to the 11th St. bridge where we crossed back over to the west bank and came back to the start point.  In all, it was 3.1 miles.

In the afternoon, we went to the HAT meeting at the Genealogy Center.  There were eight people present for the meeting.  It lasted for two hours.  Afterwards we ate dinner at the nearby Villiage Inn.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A Concert at TCC

Tonight we went to the TCC Southeast campus for a concert.  We heard the TCC Madrigal Show Choir, a Jazz Combo, and the Jazz Band.  The program began with two French madrigals, followed by two English madrigals.  Next was Hava Nagila, an Israeli folk song.  Last was Joyful, Joyful by Beethoven.

The TCC Jazz Combo performed Paul Desmond's Take Five.  Also performed was Charlie Parker's Yardbird Suite.  The TCC Jazz Band played music by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Count Basie.

We drove on the Creek Turnpike, avoiding the traffic of Tulsa.

Quoted

“We atheists lead happy lives, never concerned with the-dying-and-burn forever-in-hell nonsense. We know better. We enjoy happiness with our friends and neighbors and ignore all the greed and rituals that pay the parasite priests. Let them wallow in their medieval superstition while we enjoy all the wonders of our God-free universe.”

—Harry Harrison

Friday, March 08, 2013

Will you support research for Life Extension?

It seems that achieving a method of stopping and reversing aging is not out of the question.  If you would be willing to sign a petition to make research on aging a priority, then click on the link below and add your name to the petition.
 

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Day's activities

Today J and I went to a Lutheran church in Tulsa which was hosting a Hyechka performance.  First an organist played a few pieces on the church's organ.  Next the Hyechka chorus sang three or four pieces.  Closing out the program was a performance by Vicki Smith on harp.  Our reason for attending was our friend Gail Storey was one of the singers in the chorus.  We also saw and sat with Gail's sister Shirley and their friend Patti.

This evening we went to TU and heard Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow.  She spoke to a full room at the student center.

Friday, March 01, 2013

Week in Review

This week I saw my neurologist and got the results of the scans I had taken recently.  All is well.  There was no change since the previous scans taken in 2011.  My next scans will be in 2015.

We drove to Springfield on Wednesday and drove back on Thursday.  Paula said that after my parents are gone that she might want to move to Sand Springs.