Daily recap

I got up this morning and fixed myself a bagel and a cup of hot chocolate. I took a shower and a couple of aspirin for back pain, and headed off to church. Since J was still suffering from a lame leg, she did not pick up Alya but instead accompanied me as I went to Church of the Restoration (CoR). As we drove up, Gail was sitting in her car. We all got out of our vehicles and went in to the church. We played through our piece twice before the service began. When the time came for us to perform, the playing of Castle House Rag went well. I thought we played the best we ever had since we have been playing specials for CoR. Gail and I recorded Castle House Rag on video. It can be seen now on YouTube.

After the service was over, we headed back to Sand Springs. We drove through the KFC drive thru and got a chicken meal for J. We went by the house and J went inside and ate, while I drove on to Broken Arrow for a meeting of the Tulsa Coalition of Reason. We met at Bill Dusenberry's house. There were eight of us at the meeting. We talked about plans for the upcoming National Day of Reason on May 6. We intend to set up a table covered by a tent in a park in downtown Tulsa and distribute literature. (I may post more about this meeting on another blog.)

After the meeting was over, I drove to Furr's Cafeteria for lunch, although it was about 4 pm by that time. I had two pieces of Talapia, two rolls, corn, carrots, okra, turkey and dressing with gravy, cranberry sauce, a piece of chocolate cake, ice tea, and ice cream.

When I got home J was ready to go pick up Ayla and go to the Methodist church's Family Life Center (south of the river). Eventually the church plans to have all of its facilities on this property, which is about one mile from out house. The current facilities (sanctuary and classrooms) are all on the north side of the river. The church was having a chili supper this evening. Many styles of chili were available. There were also many desserts offerings.

I have delayed buying tomato plants this year. But with the price of tomatoes being what they are, I should probably go ahead and do it. My only hesitancy comes from the uncertainty of my back problem. I will be seeing my back surgeon in a couple of days and will know more then.

Correcting errors on blogs. While viewing a post, make sure you are scrolled all the way to the top of the screen. Click on the orange symbol that looks somewhat like the letter "B", right before your screen name. It should have an orange background. On the new screen click "edit." This will bring up a screen which lists your postings. You will have a choice of "view" or "edit." Click on "edit" and make the desired changes. Then click on publish post, and the changes should be made.

Daily happenings

It is Saturday. The second Saturday of the month is the time we get together for Secular Singers. So at 2:00 today I was at Gail's to play piano while the others (and sometimes myself) sang. I was the first to arrive. Gail and I went immediately to her piano to practice the piece we will be playing tomorrow at CoR. Soon Randy arrived; Bea was overburdened with other obligations and had to beg off. Once again, there were just three people for Secular Singers. I suggested we suspend Secular Singers until September. The other two agreed. It is sometime like pulling teeth to get others to participate in activities.

I have received three responses to my calling attention to the contradiction between two verses in the Bible, namely, I Kings 4:26 and II Chronicles 9:25. Each explanation differs from the other two. My wife J (she won't let me refer to her by name; therefore the initial) says the variance is due to the use of differing number bases - a different way of counting. We in this country are accustomed to counting in base 10. Number totals would look different in, say, base 7 or base 2. She majored in math in college.

Marti, on the other hand, points out that there is no contradiction in the two verses in her New International Version. And she is right. I own a copy of the NIV and checked for myself. The two verses agree completely. But this raises another question: How did the quote from the KJV which dates from 1611 and refers to forty thousand stalls of horses get morphed into four thousand stall of horses in the NIV, which dates from the twentieth century. It is as if the publisher was aware of the contradiction and decided to bring the two verses into agreement by fiat. This is conjectural on my part, but it is one possible explanation. Marti also points out that the number 4,000 is most likely not meant to be explicit. It is a number rounded, say, to the nearest hundred. The actual number could have been 4021 or maybe, 3978. But still, that is quite a way off from 40,000.

Galen took a close look at the Hebrew in both verses and discovered that there is a slight difference in the Hebrew words for "stall." He says our translations may contain "translation errors because the translators were not perfect, but the original manuscripts do not contain errors or contradictions." Of course, the original manuscripts are no longer extant. All we can say is, maybe yes, maybe no.

This raises the question of why, if God went to the trouble to inspire the original writers, he did not also do the same for the translators work? Did he not anticipate this problem?

I thank my three respondants for taking the time to mull over this problem. Thanks also for not getting together to get your stories "straight" before sending them to me.

Poetry group met tonight

Today we went to the grocery store, again. We went on Thursday and bought our produce. Today we went back and bought boxed and canned items. We might go back tomorrow to get meat and frozen items, or we might wait until another day. You see, both J and I are ailing. I have a back problem (my spine, I suspect). J has a problem with her right knee. We both hobble around. I manage to get around okay with aspirin.

The first thing we did today was go to Spoon Drug store where we bought a Neoprene Slip-On Knee for J. Then we went by the library to see if they had a certain book by Lewis Carroll. The book happened to be checked out. I ended up printing out the four poems for tonight's poetry group meeting at Border's.

There were six people at the poetry meeting tonight. Gail, my duet partner, is the leader of the group. We invited the other people present to come to Church of the Restoration on Sunday to hear us play a piano duet. The subject of tonight's meeting was Lewis Carroll. He is best known as the author of Alice in Wonderland, but tonight we looked at some of his verse. Piece's such as "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and "The Mad Gardener's Song" were read and talked about.

We understand that the store on 21st Street, where we meet, will be closing. We will need to find another location to hold our poetry reading and discussion sessions.

Hyechka Spring Luncheon

Our outing today was the Hyechka Spring Luncheon, which was held at All Souls Unitarian Church (in Emerson Hall). Emerson Hall is the name of the fellowship hall of the church. The room includes a stage on which sits a grand piano. The program started at 10:30 this morning; we left a little after 1 pm.

The entertainment began with three students from Clinton Middle School. Three students each gave a solo performance on flute, trumpet, and cornet. Next came the performance of two pieces on piano. Don Ryan, piano instructor at Oral Roberts University, executed the pieces flawlessly. He played two pieces from Schumann's Fantasy Stucke: "Des Abends," and "Aufschwung."

In keeping with the theme of "The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring," Elizabeth Curtis, mezzo soprano, sang three selections by Gilbert and Sullivan taken from The Gondoliers, Ruddigore, and HMS Pinafore.

Closing out the program was a lengthy piano duet performed by Tamerlane Rozsa and Dorothy McFadden. It was Schubert's "Fantasy in F minor, Op. 103."

Today's luncheon consisted of a salad of spring greens with roasted vegetables with balsamic vinaigrette, chicken breast with bearnaise sauce on a bed of spinach, scalloped potatoes. Dessert was bread pudding with bourbon sauce. The beverage was ice tea or coffee.

Accompanying us today was our daughter-in-law, Jennifer.

Rehearsing for Sunday

Today Gail and I rehearsed for our part for the Sunday morning service on April 11. We also recorded a YouTube video, but we will have to wait until we get our computer back from the shop before I upload it. We will be playing "Castle House Rag" written by James Reese Europe.

I did not do much else today. I had a nap this afternoon and then went to the library. I took some materials back to the library and checked out two books for J.

Here is a question for all you Bible scholars out there: How many horses did Solomon have?

First Kings says 40,000; but Second Chronicles says 4,000. Compare 1st Kings 4:26 to 2nd Chronicles 9:25. This certainly looks like a contradiction to me. Did a zero get added to the number in the first citation? Why do they not say the same thing? If we had only the first verse, everyone would swear Solomon had 40,000 horses. If we had only the second verse, everyone would swear he had 4,000. But since we have two conflicting verses, we are left to wonder.

Easter Sunday

There was no service at CoR today. I stayed in the house while J went to church. Drumming was canceled also. I went back to bed after having been up for just a couple of hours. I feel better in a reclining position than walking around.

Nick invited us over for a late lunch this afternoon. Luke and Ayla were here this afternoon. Gary and Jonathan were there also. Adra was not feeling well and had left for home earlier. We had ham and broccoli salad with rolls. We got back home around 5:30 and watch the evening news.

There is a trailer for the movie we watched last night on the Internet. Google "Whatever Works" and you can see it, if you are interested. I thought it was a great movie.

A surprise for Movie Night

There were 11 people at Movie Night tonight at the Bradleys. The movie we watched was Whatever Works, written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a movie from last year. I was unaware of the movie before seeing it tonight. There is some great dialogue in the film. I will have to see if I can buy a copy and watch it again.

There will be no service at Church of the Restoration tomorrow. I am going to try to stay in and rest. My back is still giving me problems. I must have something out of place in my spine. I feel fine as long as I am seated, but whenever I get up (and especially when I walk) I have pain in my hip on the left side or pain in the main muscle in my upper left leg.

Using the laptop tonight

Tonight I am using the laptop computer to make this entry in my blog. Our other computer is in the repair shop. I expect to lose a lot of data on the other computer when I get it back.

This evening (actually yesterday now), we went to the Methodist church for the Good Friday service. It was dark in the sanctuary. All the lights were out. There were 14 candles plus one at the front of the sanctuary. I forgot what the significance of the number 14 was, but the one additional candle was to represent Jesus. It was a somber service. No one spoke as the congregants left the building.

The mood could be described by the phrase "Things are not so good." The story of the crucifixation was told again. Yet, two and a half days later, as the story has it, Jesus is out and about, lacking the encumbrance of a physical body, meaning he did not have to stop and take a leak ever so often. I suppose that means he did not have to eat or drink as well. That could be seen as either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you look at food.

Nick played his clarinet as the bell choir rang their bells. After the whole thing was over, we went to Braum's. We each had an ice cream cone. Then we came home.

Keystone State Park

We went out to Keystone State Park today. I picked up the receipts for the walking club. This evening we went to Nick's and babysat while Nick and Jen went to bell choir rehearsal at the church.

J spent the day, for the most part, working on the computer. I think we have a trojan horse virus. If I fail to post in the near future, we are trying to get rid of the virus.

I got an appointment to see Dr. Rapacki in April. My back problem persists. The worst thing about this is it prevents me from getting exercise. We might try to do a volkswalk in the near future, just to see how well I can do walking.

Church hopping and new music

Today is Tuesday and we tried out another church in the "Journey to Easter" series of programs. Today's service was held at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. If that sounds familiar, it is because we were there last Saturday for the memorial service for Frank Ford.

Today's service was the reading of a booklet on the 14 Stations of the Cross. The minister read the top half of the page. Then one of 14 lay people from the congregation read the bottom part. There was no music in the program. Once the service was over, we went to the fellowship hall where various soups were available for lunch. I had a bowl of soup and a brownie for dessert.

On the way back to Sand Springs, we stopped at the Pratt Library. Some DVDs had come in for me: "New York, I Love You," "Angels & Demons," and a DVD on U.S. geography. I also checked out two books of music: "The Tony Award Songbook" and "The Great Big Books of Children's Songs."

Once home, we decided to go to Moody's jewelry in Tulsa. J needed to have her rings resized. She left two rings at the store, and then we went to Saied's Music on Yale. To my surprise, the store has expanded its piano duet sheet music selections. Before the area for duet sheet music was about 2 feet by a foot and a half. Now the piano duet sheet music has its own separate area, which is more than double the previous space. I was like a kid in a candy store looking over the new music. J was waiting for me in the car. I told her I would be back in ten minutes. So I hurriedly looked over the music and picked out two books. The first book is "The Joy of Duets" and it contains 34 selections. The second book is from the "In Recital" series published by FJH Music. It contains eight selections, including Debussy's "Claire de Lune, " Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and the spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

Weekend happenings

This morning I attended the service at Church of the Restoration on Greenwood. The sermon was one written by A. Powell Davies and is from 1946. Betty Morrow read the sermon. The special music was sung by Mary Rounds. There were nine people present today.

Following the service, I drove to Wendy's and had a bowl of chili and a Dr. Pepper. Then I went to the Atheist Meetup at the Fontana Center. There were 20 people there today. After the meetup was over, I stopped by Wendy's and had a small chocolate Frosty.

Then I drove to Joe Price's house for drumming. Instead of going by my house in Sand Springs to get my drum, I borrowed a drum from Joe. He has a couple of extra drums. We drummed for a little more than an hour. There were just three of us there today.

F & F at China Star in Sand Springs

The Food and Fellowship gathering for March was held today at China Star, which, in my opinion is the best place in Sand Springs to eat out. The all-you-can-eat buffet was just $6.49. There was lots of good food to choose from. The China Star buffet is a make over of a McDonald's building from years gone by. McDonald's has since built a new building closer to an off ramp from highway 412; but when we moved here 24 years ago, we often came here to eat. Since then, more restaurants have opened in Sand Springs, giving us more dining out options. A new IHOP restaurant is supposed to open sometime this fall.

After we had eaten, several of us went to the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church for a memorial service for Frank Ford. It is a beautiful church located on a lake. From where I was seated I could see University Towers, the building in which Barbara Frey lives. Barbara is visible in the photo above, wearing white with green trim. The old gent on the end with the white mustache is Larry Hicks. (I took the picture.) Although Frank was not a member of HAT, he had many friends in HAT who shared his political perspective. (Somehow I managed to get this picture on here twice. If I delete one, it may delete the other one also. I'll leave it as it is.)

What happened today

It is late, but I will try to recap today's events.

The morning got started by Gail coming over to practice piano duets with me. It was an enjoyable two hours.

Then in the afternoon, as usual, I took a nap. My call to Dr. Rapacki's office made around 9 am was never returned. I will wait until Monday and call again. It only hurts when I walk. I suspect I have a disk which has come out of place and is pressing on a nerve. It does not hurt at all while I am sitting; when I get up to walk is when I notice it.

Nick and his family came over tonight. They brought supper with them -- turkey stew. After they left, we watched our favorite TV programs; NOW and Bill Moyers's Journal. On another channel at the same time NOW aired was Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. I watched it later on the Internet.

And now for a quote from Queen Jane's Version. This is Matthew 7:12:

I can sum up this whole thing by reciting the "Golden Rule" of the prophets: "Treat others like you want them to treat you," for it embodies the give-and-take by which people really get along in this world, the rule of the natural society in which humankind has learned what it takes for people to coexist with each other, with or without laws, civil or 'divine'.

It took a bit of searching to find a verse which my Christian friends would find non-offensive. But, who knows, they may take offense at this translation, anyway. Other parts of this translation are sure to offend.

Walking

I decided to see if I could walk today. The last time I went walking was on March 5. We went to TCC and got on the walking track. It was not long before the pain in my left leg grew. After 20 minutes of walking, I stopped. The pain is like it was back in 2006. In the morning I will talk to the people in Dr. Rapacki's office and see what they recommend.

There is no pain while I am seated. It is when I am standing and trying to walk that the pain begins.

Bible study in high schools

I was reading an article on teaching the Bible in high schools. The following is a paragraph from that article:

The Christian Bible has had an influence on art, culture, music, and writing. These Bible study courses will merely provide history on how the Bible has influenced Western civilization. The Christian Bible will also be used as the textbook and it does not matter which version is used. Students may bring their own Bibles from home.

If I were taking such a course, I would use Queen Jane's Version as my translation of choice. This translation, which was published just over ten years ago, is the work of Douglas A. Rankin. Subtitled The Complete and Uncensored Translation for a New Millennium, it is a monumental work. Scattered throughout the text are 24 pictorial icons which call the reader's attention to certain themes which recur in the text. The book is published by Emporia Press of Dallas.

Piano at COR

I got a call from Edna, the church pianist, this morning. She wanted to change the date for playing the piano duet from this Sunday to April 11. That is OK with me; it will give us more time to practice. I sent an e-mail to Gail with this information. We plan to play "Castle House Rag" by James Europe Reese.

I took a look at www.free-scores.com this afternoon and printed a solo piece with the title "Minute Rag." You can both hear it played and view/print the sheet music on the site. I like the sound of it, but it is written in the key of B natural -- not the easiest key to play in.

It has been a while since some of my friends have updated their blog. Perhaps they are having computer problems.

Another church visited

Today we went to Mission Christian Church in our weekly trek to area churches in the Journey to Easter series. Following the service we went downstairs and had a bowl of soup and a couple of cookies. On the way back home we stopped and bought a brisket sandwich (which we shared) from Papa Pat.

This evening we attended the session on reading non-fiction at Central Library. The speaker was from OSU and was quite interesting.

This day's events

Normally on Monday morning I am playing duets with Gail, but this week we have postponed our practice session to Friday. Gail is to take her mother-in-law back to Texas today. I did practice my part on the duets this morning. Our duet at Church of the Restoration has been rescheduled for next Sunday.

Around 1:00 pm we went grocery shopping. The pain in my left leg was such that I had to sit down for a while. After about 10 minutes of rest, I was able to rejoin J in doing the shopping. Once we got home, I brought the groceries in to the house while J put away the items needing to be refrigerated or frozen. Then I went to the bank to transfer some money from one account to another.

The big news right now is the passage of the health care reform bill. There is a lot of opposition to the bill in Oklahoma. One poll I saw showed a quarter of the population favoring the bill while three quarters were in opposition. This is in spite of the fact that Oklahoma is a very relgious state. You would think that a bill which increased medical coverage would be welcomed by Christians. The bill also prohibits turning people away due to pre-existing conditions. The bill has the look of being written by Christians. Yet so many Christians oppose the bill. What irony! It's the old "I've got mine. You get yours, Jack" kind of attitude for which Oklahoma is so infamous. What accounts for this hardheartedness?

I finished reading the account by Harriet Jacobs written back in the 1850s of her experiences growing up as a slave in the South. After spending seven years in a cramped garret, she escaped to the North. Eventually, someone "purchased" her and set her free. It is a harrowing tale of close escapes, even when she lived in the North. Her "master" came looking for her; and, if he could have found her, he could have forced her back South due to the Fugitive Slave Law.

This evening we began watching a new series from The Teaching Company. It is "The Art of Reading." We viewed the first lecture tonight, and it looks promising.

Final video viewed

Tonight we viewed the final video in the 36-part series from The Teaching Company titled "Philosophy of Religion." It was an excellent series.

I also read a few more pages of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. I should have the book finished by tomorrow.

Betty called this morning to let me know that church service had been canceled. I had decided already that I would stay in. I don't know if drumming met today, but I sent Joe an e-mail telling him I would be staying in.

I did not leave the house at all today, except to take the trash cart to the curb. Our trash gets picked up once a week on Mondays. What with all the snow on the ground, it was a struggle getting the trash cart to the curb.

Site meter restored

When I converted my blog so as to allow others to sign on as followers, my Site Meter disappeared. Today I restored the Site Meter, and I hope it is working. Site meter allows me to get an idea of just who is looking at my blog. It is free. Adding it to a blog is not too difficult. If you read this blog regularly, why not sign on as a follower?

Ayla just came in with a tooth that came out. She had it in a pill box, showing it around. Her parents should be here soon.

More snow

Today played out about the way I expected it to. It was blowing snow as I looked out the front door. No volkswalking. No geocaching. No HAT meeting. It was a stay inside kind of day.

The only time we got out was in the morning when we went to Braum's for milk, eggs, orange juice, and a few other items. We retreated back to the house after shopping at Braum's and stayed inside the remainder of the day. It is nice being retired.

We gave up on going to Pryor because of the weather. I phoned a friend in Pryor to let him know that we would not be going there.

I phoned Randy, who must have been out, and talked to his wife. It was about 10 am. I decided to go ahead and cancel the humanist meeting set for 2 pm that afternoon. Randy called back later and said the same thing. I called Barbara and told her the meeting had been canceled. I could tell she was disappointed by her tone of voice. She was going to say a few words about Frank Ford who passed away recently.

I was enjoying my afternoon nap when the door bell rand. It was my son who brought Ayla to our house to overnight with us. She and Nanna have been enjoying one anothers company. Nanna braided Ayla's hair tonight. I played piano tonight.

We are supposed to get more snow tonight. It should melt away fairly soon though.

Richard Maule's picks

Richard is a HAT member and a retired educator. He reminds me a lot of Bob Newhart. I wish I could talk Richard into doing a Newhart skit for us sometime. Here are his picks:

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther
On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Candide by Voltaire
The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Fun in Sapulpa

Today we went over to Nick's house and picked up our two grandchildren and went on an outing with them. Our first stop was Sonic, where we bought lunch for the four of us and took it with us as we continued on to Sapulpa. We went to the playground there in the downtown area. We were not the only ones who had the idea to take children to play there. I saw at least two day care vans parked in the parking lot across the street. The place was packed with kids. It was so packed, we had to share a picnic table with another group. We scarfed down our food (a sausage and egg burrito for me) and then the kids returned to playing.

After spending an hour at this playground area, we decided to go to another location I was familiar with. This second area was also crowded. We stayed there about an hour and then left for Sand Springs (about 10 miles away). We got the kids safely back to their home, and we returned to our home. After chasing Luke and Ayla around the playgrounds for two or three hours, I was ready for a nap.

It looks like we are in for some more winter weather. The temperature has already plummeted. Some or all of my weekend plans may change. We were going to Pryor to do a volkswalk and some geocaching, but that is probably off. Also, the HAT meeting scheduled for 2 pm will probably be canceled. Church service for Sunday morning may be called off, as well. From 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected in the area.

Gail and I were set to play a paino duet on Sunday at the church service. That could be pushed back a week. I don't like getting out and driving through the snow. I would just as soon stay indoors.

Evening activity

This evening we went to the Campus Grill for dinner. This was actually our second dinner, since we had our first dinner around 4:30. We thought it best to eat at that time and then eat again at the Campus Grill around 7:30. I think Taco Bell refers to it as Fourth Meal. My Fourth Meal was light -- just a cup of chili with a Dr. Pepper.

There were 14 of us there. The event was the Atheists Mid-Month Social. The conversation was lively and interesting. Ages ranged from 30s to 60s. There were about as many women there as men.

On the way home, we were blocked by a train at 33rd West Avenue. I drove on down to W. 51st St. and crossed over the tracks there. W. 51st St. is just one block south my house but about five miles east at that point. So I proceeded west and had driven about four miles when I noticed flashing emergency lights. Due to the darkness, I could not see what lay ahead. The road was blocked off. I had to pull into a drive and turn around and make my way over to 41st St. When we got home, J checked the online news and read that there had been a fatal vehicle accident at that place.

Scans are OK

We went to my radiologist this afternoon to get the results of the scans I had taken last Tuesday. He said the scans looked OK. There was no change from the last scans taken a year ago. That was a relief, especially if you had seen some of the sad cases sitting in the waiting room.

Walking

I hope to get back to walking soon. I still have discomfort when I walk right now. Maybe tomorrow I will feel better and can go for a walk. J says I have overdone walking and should walk no more than forty minutes on any day. I had been walking three miles a day and sometimes four miles. The last time I walked was Friday, March 5.

Tomorrow I go see Dr. Uy and get the results of the scans I had on Tuesday.

Tonight we watched two episodes from "The Philosophy of Religion" course. I also watched last Friday's Bill Moyers' Journal, which I missed due to being with the poetry group. Next month we will read and discuss poetry written by Lewis Carroll.

Food & Fellowship luncheon

We just got back from the Humanist Food and Fellowship luncheon at White River Fish Market. There were just four of us there today. That beats Secular Singers last Saturday, at which there were just three of us. Perhaps we need to cut back on the frequency of meetings. I am considering suspending Secular Singers until September, if participation continues to wane.

Scans and a Library Program

We got up early this morning (that is, early for us) around 7 am and was on our way to St. John Medical Center for scans by 7:45. I checked in and soon my name was called to go back for a CT scan. It was quick. It took only about five minutes. I returned to the waiting room for a few minutes, and then my name was called for the MRI scans. The MRIs took about 30 minutes. About 20 minutes into the MRIs, the technician gave me an injection of a contrast agent. Then he finished up the remaining 10 minutes with more scans. I go to Dr. Uy this Thursday to get the results.

This evening we attended a program at the Central Library. The program began at 7 pm and was titled "Read Smart." Tonight's workshop was "Why Read? The Reasons We Read." The series was to begin last Tuesday, but due to illness of the speaker, an English professor from TU, the event had to be canceled. We learned tonight the speaker who was to speak March 9 has cancer. The event actually began tonight with what was originally scheduled to be the second part of the four-part series. The event was well attended with 30 to 35 people present. The focus of tonight's session was on fiction. The facilitators (two librarians) began by asking why we read. The group came up with more than a dozen reasons for reading. Many hand-outs were available for further reading.

Next week's session is titled "How to Read, Part Two: Nonfiction and Other Texts." The facilitator is from OSU and will speak on how to more effectively read a variety of nonfiction texts.

Vanessa's picks

Vanessa Adams-Harris is the Office Assistant at Church of the Restoration. Here are her five picks:

The Koran
From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin
Lucy: The Beginnings of Mankind by Donald Johanson
Native Americans
The Oxford Dictionary

Marilyn's picks

Marilyn Clarke has been a longtime member of HAT and is currently the chapter vice-president. These are her picks:

Thinking Animals by Paul Shepard
The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
The Pursuit of Loneliness by Philip Slater
The World I Made for Her by Thomas Moran
Love and Its Place in Nature: A Philosophical Interpretation of Freudian Psychoanalysis by Jonathan Lear

Betty Morrow's picks

I am afraid I put Betty Morrow through some anguish to come up with just five titles. She said it would have been much easier to choose 100 than just five. I feel that way, too. I have already had some second thoughts about my choices. Should we do this again next year, we all might have different choices. Here are Betty's choices:

The Complete Shakespeare
The Historical Jesus by John Dominic Crossan
From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin
When Corporations Rule the World by David Korton
Anti-Intellectualism in America by Richard Hofstadter

Mary's picks

Mary Rounds is another one of my friends from Church of the Restoration. She selected the following five books.

Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul by Jane Roberts
Conversations with God (numbers 1, 2, and 3) by Neale Donald Walsch
Autobiography of Frederick Douglass
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Joy's picks

I saw some of my friends at church today. I asked them about the five most influential books they have read. Here are Joy Avery's.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Way of Life by Lao Tzu
Singing the Living Tradition (Unitarian Hymnal)

Blog conversion now allows followers

I have converted my blog to allow readers to sign on as a "follower" of this blog. When I started this blog, having "followers" was not an option. I have converted this blog to make it possible to now have followers. So if you would, take a moment and sign on as a follower. Thank you.

I went to church this morning. There were just six of us there. I checked with Edna and arranged for Gail and myself to play a duet next week. I think we will be playing "Castle House Rag" by James Reese Europe. Today's talk was titled "Celebration of Women's History." The talk was given by Mary Rounds. Next week the service will focus on Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. The book can be read for free on the Internet. It can also be downloaded free to your Kindle. I downloaded a copy to my Kindle and will try to get it read by next Sunday.

I got a call from Joe Price this afternoon. He called to say drumming was being canceled.

My back has gradually gotten better. At least I think it is good enough to resume walking. I am scheduled to have scans of my brain this coming Tuesday.

Mary Spangler's picks

Mary Spangler chose the following as her five favorite books.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Gail Storey's picks

Gail's five books are the following:

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Sandra Edwards's picks

Sandra Edwards chose these as her five favorite books:

The Way by Lao Tzu
Existentialism by Jean Paul Sartre
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Summa Theologicia by Thomas Aquinas
The Works of Meister Eckhard

Mike's picks

Mike is a pseudonym. Sometimes I call him Mike, because, well, he looks like a "Mike." He fits my Platonic ideal for a "Mike," you could say. His real name is nothing like "Mike."

Having said that, here are Mike's picks:

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Bible
The Art of Living by Epictetus as interpreted by Sharon Lebell
Airborne by William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Suzi Bechtole's picks

Here are the works selected by Suzi Bechtole:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
The Autobiography of Ben Franklin
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

Larry Roth's picks

Larry has chosen the following five books as his picks:

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan
Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry
by David Alexander
Doubt by John Wolf

Brian Hill's picks

The books selected by Brian are the following:

The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon
Future Shock by Alvin Toeffler
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud
This Hallowed Ground by Bruce Catton
Mirages of Marriage by Lederer and Jackson

Bill Dusenberry's picks

Bill Dusenberry responded with the following selections:

The Portable Nietzsche by Walter Kaufmann
Candide by Voltaire
The Bible
The Power Broker by Robert Caro
The Case for Compulsory Birth Control by Dwight Engle

Rod's picks

Rod Paruch has selected these as his five favorite books:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
The End of Faith by Sam Harris
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Winter World by Bernd Heinrich

Marilyn's picks

Marilyn Goodman has selected these as her top five:

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
The Worldly Philosophers Robert L. Heilbroner
The Earth is Flat by Tim Harford
Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives and Corporate Greed in Iraq by T. Christian Miller

Kathy's picks

These are the top five books for Kathy Coleman:

The Bible
Six Studies in the Scriptures by Charles Taze Russell
Lectures of Robert Green Ingersoll
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

A visit to the Honda dealership

Today we took our 2008 Saturn to Joe Marina Honda for the scheduled Auto Butler treatment. it was our first time there. The Saturn dealership has closed up shop, but the Honda place was right next door. We were there about an hour while they service techs did what they do. There was no charge for whatever service they performed.

While waiting on the car, I read my Kindle. I read some articles from the lastest issue of The Nation. Then I accessed the George Eliot novel I have been reading, and about that time my phone rang. My car was ready.

On the way home, we stopped at Red Lobster for lunch. J had a gift card with a few dollars left on it. We finished that off. I had a salad and some scallops which were bacon wrapped and marinated in something peach/bourbon flavored. It was scrumptous. For dessert we had a piece of chocolate cake with ice cream.

A storm with high winds is supposed to pass through the state this evening. I thought I had better get this written before we lose electricity.

Today's events

Today we went to the First Presbyterian Church for the "Countdown to Easter" program. There were about as many people there as we saw at the service last week at the Catholic Church. The meal, though, was better. The meal consisted of sliced roast beef, a baked potato, salad, and a chocolate chip cookie. Tea was the beverage.

The church has the typical Protestant church look -- a symetrical white building, a steeple, and the whole complex sits high atop a hill overlooking the town. I think the service next week is to be at the Lutheran church.

I phoned the library and got a copy of "I Got a Gal from Kalamazoo." They sent it to me by e-mail, and I printed it here. I might use that piece at Secular Singers this weekend.

Tonight was supposed to be the first in a series of four lectures at the Central Library on reading and literature. However, tonight's lecturer got sick and had to cancel. I just happen to notice a news report on the Tulsa World web site about three hours before the event was scheduled to start.

Tonight we watched lecture number 30 (out of 36) in the series on Philosophy of Religion.

Also tonight I subscribed to the magazine The Nation. It will be delivered wirelessly to my Kindle whenever an issue is published. In the current issue, I read a piece about the retirement of Bill Moyers in April. He will leave a void that will be almost unreplaceable.

Catching up

I need to catch you up about the events of the weekend. Quite a few things have happened since last Friday.

On Saturday, I attended the first meeting of the Tulsa chapter of Freedom From Religion Foundation. The meeting was held in the home of Bill Dusenberry and Jackie Martin. If you are interested in knowing about that meeting, see http://www.ffrftulsa.blogspot.com/.

That evening was Movie Night at the Bradleys. We watch a double feature: Sick Around the World and Julia. The first feature was a documentary which compared America's health care to that of other nations around the world. America is not in the top ten for length of life, but we have a high rate of infant mortality. While our country has some of the best care available, it is not available if you have a high deductable or are poor. If you are poor, you would be better off to live in another country. Several other countries have a system of universal health care which is supported by taxes. For example, in England you can go to the doctor and even be admitted to the hospital and have no bill to pay. Forty-six million people in this country have no health insurance. Too many people are dying for lack of insurance. Call an insurance company and ask about medical coverage, and they will ask if you have any pre-existing conditions. If you do, good luck getting insurance from them.

The second feature we watched was Julia. It is set in the 1930s and is the story of two women and their experiences just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.

On Sunday, I went to Church of the Restoration. There were seven people there for the service. In a couple of weeks, Vanessa (church secretary) will be leading a discussion of the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. I found out today that the book can be read on the Internet for free. I downloaded a copy to my Kindle and also sent an e-mail to the church to let Vanessa know the book is available on the Internet.

After church I returned home for a bite to eat and then left for our billboard on the west bank of the Arkansas River. The billboard reads: "Are You Good Without God? Millions Are." There were five of us there for an interview for Channel 8. Only two of us appeared on camera: Randy and Bill. The interview was aired on the 5 pm news and again on the 10 pm news. The interview can be viewed (for a while, at least) on http://www.ktul.com/. I am visible in the background for a fraction of a second.

After meeting with the reporter, I went to Braum's and had a chocolate shake. I then went to Joe Price's house for drumming. It was Joe's 62nd birthday, March 7. Joe was born just one day before I was. Joel, the Price's son-in-law, arrived, and we went over two drumming sets we have been practicing for several weeks.

Gail came over to practice piano duets this morning. We had another productive session as we worked out some tricky rhythms in a couple of pieces. We recorded Spanish Dance for YouTube, but I think we can do better than what we did today. We might try again next week, or we might move on to record another piece.

This evening we attended a symphony concert on the campus of Tulsa University. Gail and Glenn were there. We also saw a few other people we know. After the concert, we went to the Campus Grill and each had a pulled pork sandwich.

Marti's picks

Marti is a special person in my life, from decades ago. She teaches at Southwest English Institute in Shawnee. She works at getting international students up to speed with the English language.
Her picks are:

A Voice In The Wind by Francine Rivers
Agatha Christi mysteries
This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
Christy by Catherine Marshall
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Brief summary of day's events

We went to Lake Keystone and walked the 5 K volkswalk there. I am still having trouble walking. I have pain in my left leg. It sometimes feels as if the leg is going to collapse. I suspect the problem is in my back (specifically the spine). I get tired easily. It is a good thing I am retired, otherwise, I would have to take off work. I have scans set for March 16. These are a follow-up to the brain surgery I had in 2007.

The last time I saw my back doctor regarding my back, he said if the pain comes back to call in and they would schedule a MRI for me. I will probably have to do that. I will try to wait until the scans of my brain are taken. J thinks the tumor is growing back. I think the problem is in my back.

We watched lecture number 29 today. It is titled "Discourse in an Intentionalist Paradigm." There are just seven lectures left in this course.

We went grocery shopping this afternoon. It is good to have that out of the way for a while.

Galen Greenwalt's picks

Galen is a preacher from southern California. I have known Galen since 1966 when we both worked at a religious retreat in the mountains outside Santa Fe, NM. Since that time, we have moved in different directions religiously. Does one choose these directions, or are there elements in life that call us to do the things we feel compelled to do?

Galen listed several books and I have redacted his selection as follows:

The Bible
Papillon by Henri Charriere
This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
Who Moved My Cheese by Spenser Johnson
The Shack by William P. Young
The Journey by Billy Graham

If anyone wishes to make modifications to their list of books, let me know.

John Cother's picks

John is a retired educator from Mississippi. We went to high school together and were good pals. Here are his picks:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Divine Evil by Nora Roberts
Fear of Spiders by John E Cother

The last title is John's own book.

Vicki's picks

In response to my request to learn your favorite books, I have heard from my beautiful cousin from Houston, Vicki. Here are Vicki's picks:

"The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore
Blood and Money by Thomas Thomspon
Fried Green Tomotoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
Suds in Your Eyes by Mary Lasswell
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
The Collected Works of John Grisham

Thank you, Vicki.

Wherever you are from, be it El Reno or Elkhart, please tell me what your five favorite books are, and I will post your reply on my blog.

Favorite Books

I am asking my readers to let me know of their top five favorite books. These books may change with time. What I want to know is what are your five favorite books as of today. You may post your favorite books on your blog or you may send me an e-mail listing them.

To start things off, I am listing my top five favorite books (in no particular order):

Language in Thought and Action by S.I. Hawakawa
The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski
Atheist Universe by David Mills
The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

I hope to hear from you soon.

Graven images

I will say up front that I like graven images, despite the Biblical prohibition of them. And nobody can do graven images as well at the Catholic Church. Today we visited St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Sand Springs as part of the week-long observation of Lent. (Except they don't call it Lent, but something else (Countdown to Easter) in order to accommodate one denomination.)

Anyway, there is quite a change in appearance in a Catholic Church, as opposed to a Protestant Church. I think the first thing that strikes one is the presence of statuary. There is not a lot of statuary at St. Patrick's, but there is a noticeable absence of statuary in the Protestant Churches in the area. They are big on candles, too, at St. Patrick's. I must have seen at least a hundred candles today.

The minister gave a sedate talk, which was thankfully short. A dynamic speaker, he was not. The entire service lasted no longer than 20 minutes, including the singing of three hymns.

After the service the gathering moved downstairs into the fellowship hall for a meal of beef stew. This portion of the event lasted at least 40 minutes. Most of this time was spent waiting in line to be served. The hall was packed. The Methodists were probably the largest group there. Few Baptists and Catholics were there.

After leaving St. Patrick's, we paid the city utility bill at city hall, and went by the post office to mail a letter. From there we went to TCC to walk. I walked just thirty minutes today, quitting early due to a pain in my hip. I suspect this pain is related to my back problem. It feels similar to the pain I experienced prior to my back surgery in 2007.

After returning home, we watched the next lecture in the Philosophy of Religion series.

Start of a new week; Favorite books

Knowing that Gail would be coming over for piano practice this morning, we were at the post office around 9:00 am to pick up our mail and have delivery resumed. Then we went by our CPA and picked up our tax papers. On the way home, we went through the drive-thru at Braum's and got a couple of sausage and egg biscuits. We brought them home and ate them. I had just enough time to take a shower before Gail arrived. However, I forgot to shave. Oh, well.

Duet practice went well. We hope to perform again at Church of the Restoration soon. We still haven't made the video we have been talking about. Maybe next week.

For lunch, we went out to the Crescent. I had a chicken salad sandwich with potato salad.

We came home and I took a nap. Later, we watched the news. Then we viewed two more lectures from "The Philosophy of Religion" series. Next, we watched "Bill Moyers Journal" on the Internet. We missed the program from last Friday while we were visiting my parents in Springfield.

I am going to ask my friends to post on their blog their five favorite or most influential books. I will do the same. If you do not have a blog, then send me an e-mail. I will post the responses I receive on this blog. So start thinking about it, and when you have come up with your five titles, let me know.

We return from Springfield

On Wednesday, we left for Springfield. The traffic on I-44 was not bad. We bypassed the area where a hole opened up on a bridge on I-44 by taking the Creek Turnpike south around Tulsa. We arrived at my parents' apartment that afternoon. We arrived back in Sand Springs tonight.

On Saturday, we went geocaching. We found eight caches while there. Most were in the shopping center near Glenstone and Primrose. Had it not been so cold, we would have gone on a volkswalk.

Saturday night we watched a YouTube video of a man playing "Whispering Hope," using nothing but a blade of grass. Imagine what he could do if he had access to some real instruments.

Also on Saturday, we looked at the sheet music at Springfield Music, but I did not see anything new.

I am pretty tired from this trip. I will write more later after some rest.

I visit Dr. Uy's office

I had an appointment today to have blood drawn at Dr. Uy's. The blood will be analyzed to see if I will be able to have an MRI and a CT scan of my brain. This is a test you have to have if you are 60 year old or older. They should phone me with the results tomorrow. If the blood work says I am ok, then I will have the MRI and CT scans done the week of March 15.

On the way home, I stopped at a Family Dollar store and bought some large manila envelopes (10 X 13). We drove then to Lake Keystone and picked up the receipts for the walking club. As we were headed home, I realized that I was overdue for an oil change in the 2008 Saturn. I drove to Wal-Mart and got an oil change. I had to miss the evening news, but I guess the world will get along without me knowing what happened today.

I got news via Tulsa World web site that Sarah Palin will be coming to Tulsa to speak. She will be part of the Glenn Beck program to be held at the convention center.

Piano and errands

This day began with Gail coming over for our weekly practice at the piano. We had a good practice going over many of the songs that we have been playing.

Then we got out and ran some errands. We went by the bank and deposited a check. Next we went to the library and turned in several books. We went by the post office to turn in a hold mail request for our address. We took our tax papers to our CPA who does our taxes. We went by Nick's and dropped off a magazine that Ayla left at our house. We went walking at TCC, but walked only two miles today. We stopped at Chinese Express and got two take-out orders. We took them home and ate about half of each order. The reminder went into the refrigerator.

Daily wrap-up

I went to church this morning. I was going to sign the membership book, but I also needed to be at another location a half-hour after the service was over. The service today was on Black History Month. The hymns we sang were "Eyes on the Prize" and "Dancing Sarah's Circle." I might join next month, or, due to an unusual circumstance, I might quit going altogether. Once the service was over at 12:30, I hit the road. I needed to be at Garnett and 71st at 1:00 pm. Our meeting was at Panera Bread. I got there right at 1 pm. The meeting room was still being used by the previous group. After a wait of ten minutes, the group vacated the room.

The meeting was an organizational meeting of the Oklahoma Progressive Coalition, a liberal political group. There were 14 people present for this meeting. We talked about organization for the two hours. I got two phone calls while at the meeting: Randy called to let me know our interview with Channel 8 was postponed due to the rain. The Channel 8 cameras were to shoot some of us in front of our (Tulsa CoR) billboard on I-44. The second call I received was from Joe Price, our drumming leader. He said that he and his wife were not feeling the best, and they were calling drumming off for today.

At 3:00 pm we had to vacate the meeting room for another group. I got in my car and drove to Furr's Cafeteria. I had turkey and dressing, and two kinds of fish, carrots, corn, a roll, garlic bread, fruit salad, a piece of chocolate pie, and a glass of tea. After eating, I came home.

Volkswalking in Ft. Gibson

Today we drove to Ft. Gibson for a volkswalk. Ft. Gibson is just to the east of Muskogee. It took just over an hour to get there on the Muskogee Turnpike from Sand Springs. Ft. Gibson is the oldest town in Oklahoma.

It was foggy as we left home. In fact, it was foggy all day. There was not much fog in Ft. Gibson, but when we returned home, we noticed the fog was still around.

There were two options for today's volkswalk: a 5 K and a 10 K route. We choose the 5 K route. 5 K is equal to 3.1 miles. However, I figure we walked at least 4 miles due to some confusion along the route.

There is a nice visitor center there. The original fort has been reconstructed and is open for touring. The museum has many items from the heyday of the fort.

The UP railroad runs right by the fort, and we saw several trains today.

I had checked out the geocaches in the area before leaving home. I found two which were on the walk route. Later we found two more which were outside the walk route. The first one we found was titled "Here Lies Mr. Martin," Martin, the Chief Justice of first Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation, is buried on the grounds in an above ground encasement. The second cache we found in a park. The micro was hanging in a cedar tree. The plastic tube is tied to a branch. After finishing the walk, we drove to "This Old House Once Knew My Granny." The coordinates led me directly to where the cache is hidden. Sometimes the coordinates are off by a little, but these were right on. The cache here was in a jar, making it a small cache rather than a micro.

The other cache we found is a virtaul cache. With virtual caches you are seeking information to e-mail back to the cache owner. This cache is inside the National Cemetary at Ft. Gibson. There are thousands of graves here, each with its own small white marker. I wish I had taken my camera to get a picture. We drove through the cemetary for a while, gazing at the thousands of markers. I thought that many have come before me and many have left before me. Just as I had no memory of the thousands of years that preceded my life, I will have no memory (or knowledge or awareness) of anything following my death. Anyone who is alive at this time is, for all intents and purpoes, immortal. Once you die, you will never be aware of having been alive. I would like to live long enough for signals from another civilization out in the Cosmos to be received on earth. While life in the Cosmos is exceedingly rare, there are literally millions of galaxies out there, each with untold thousands of solar systems in them. I think it is just a matter of time until contact is received from another far off civilization.

We had lunch today at Badlands Restaurant, across the street from the fort. Barbecue is their specialty. We both had pork sandwiches. I paid two dollars extra and got a piece of catfish. J paid two dollars extra and got a salad. It is not a bad place to eat.

We went to a fifth cache site, but did not pursue that cache as it required going through rough terrain and weeds.

My total finds for the day was four. This was my first volkswalk for this year, and was number 234 on my lifetime total. My number of geocache finds is at 262 now.

Some words on the health care crisis

Today I found the following e-mail in my inbox:

(Printed in Yukon Review, Feb. 20, 2010, by Carol Ruth)

If 45,000 people died this year as a result of terrorist attacks, Americans would respond with anger. If another 20 million were injured, citizens would march in the streets until politicians stopped the terror, retaliated, and provided care for the victims. Demands would be made for the slaughter to stop. Our fellow citizens would not die without a fight.

If 45,000 more died the following year, Congress would have long been forced by popular demand to focus on the protection of our citizens. Americans would insist Congress ignore lobbyists and concentrate on the good of the people. No expense would be spared in developing the finest fighting equipment possible; we would happily pay to train multitudes of the best fighters the world has ever seen.

If 45,000 additional people died the third year, prayer vigils would be held frequently in every city, town and village to pray to stop the madness. Every church leader would focus on the victims and demand a stop to the slaughter and pain. We would understand and share the agony of others; we would be furious if the attacks were not stopped.

If 45,000 more died in a succeeding year, anyone who said that the costs of were not worth it to put an end to the madness would be rightfully deemed a traitor. We would draw and quarter any politician who fought against the ending the pain of our fellow citizens. Those who made money off the misery of others would be called war profiteers. We would indict any politician who accepted money of anyone whose bottom line overrode the survival of the citizens.

Big events capture our attention, but the slow drawn out pain of our friends and neighbors escapes the nations undivided attention. It should be just as shocking as a terror attack that, according to Reuters, every year 45,000 Americans die due to lack of health care, most of it caused by a lack of health insurance. America may have the best health care system in the world, but it is not protecting every citizen. Millions suffer needless pain or bankruptcy because an illness wipes out everything they have and leaves them in debt for the rest of their lives. According to Business week, only about half of Americans receive medically recommended care for chronic or fatal conditions.

45,00 terrorist deaths would cause constant media attention. Yet, every twelve minutes an American dies from lack of health care, while millions more suffer in silence. Corporate owned media frequently discusses the costs of care and ignores the pain. Other industrialized countries have taken up the challenge and provided health care for all. As a result, the life expectancy in those countries is as high as 84 years, while the American life span at 78 years ranks below Bosnia.

The health care of almost everyone under age 65 is tied to their work. When someone loses his or her job through no fault of their own, that person is doubly penalized because they usually lose their health care as well. The system is also skewed when the sickest among us are the least able to hold down a job or to purchase health insurance. Health care should be separated from our work or age just as surely as defense is available to all.

Health care should be focused on healing the sick and keeping everyone well rather than the bottom line. Just as Nero fiddled while Rome burned, disaster will always strike when leaders ignore the pain and suffering and focus instead those who only worry about their personal gain.

------------------------------------

How can people just ignore the pain and suffering, and yes, death, that results from embracing the status quo? Powerful monied interests are deceiving the public on the subject of health care.

Another slow day

It must sound like a broken record by now, but today we got up and had breakfast and went to the TCC Fitness Center and walked three miles. On the way home, we stopped at Homeland and got a bag of lettuce and one tomato. We come home and fixed a salad with chicken left over from a day or so ago.

Then we drove to the carwash and had the car washed. We swung by the library and then returned home. We got out the touch up paint and touched up a couple of spots on the rear bumper where we had chipped the paint while loading luggage into the trunk.

In the afternoon, I went to Roary's and got a haircut. After dinner, I swept and mopped the kitchen and dining room floors. A few years back, we had these two floors relaid in ceramic tile.

Tonight I loaded some coordinates in my GPS receiver in anticipation of doing some geocaching tomorrow.

Music at the Mansion

We attended a program today at the Tulsa Historical Society. We saw and heard two young ladies performing on the harp and flute. Some of the time it was harp and concertina. The program lasted for about an hour, perhaps a little longer. We also looked at a display on Tulsa of the 1940s.

On the way home we stopped at the Subway on 21st St. and had our usual sub. Next we went to the post office box for HAT. There were a few pieces of junk mail there. We stopped at TCC on the way home and walked four miles on the elevated track.

From there we trucked it on home and have been inside ever since. I missed my afternoon nap again today, and I am about ready to drop from fatigue.

Busy day

We had a busy day. So busy that we did not get around to going to TCC to walk.

We got up this morning and I fixed blueberry pancakes (with the assistance of the head cook). I had an appointment at my dentist to get a crown seated. After about a dozen times of putting it on and taking it off (and making two lucky saves when the thing almost went down my throat), the crown finally got seated. It was now 11:00 am. I had an 11:20 am meeting to make in Tulsa. We were going to drop off some library books in Sand Springs but skipped going to the Charles Page Library to save time.

We arrived at the White River Fish Market about 11:25. Gail and a couple of others were already seated at a table for the February ALGAE gathering. ALGAE is an acronym for "A Little Group of Atheists Eating." There were seven people at the luncheon, including one first-time attendee. There were seven of us there: Larry, Dave, Don, Gail, Marilyn, J and myself. I had the broiled seafood platter. WRFM has the best scallops. I love them dipped in butter. After we ate, we sat around for conversation.

It was about 1:45 pm when we left the restaurant. We went to the credit union and withdrew some money to make the final payment on my hearing aids. We went by Dr. Shirk's office, and gave them the check. Next we drove by the location where contra dances are held. Gail and her husband attended the last time the group met. I am hoping the J and I will be able to attend next time. The group meets once a month. If you are not familiar with contra dancing, go to YouTube and search for "contra dance lessons."

We had time remaining before the 3:00 pm showing at the Circle Cinema and went to Saied's Music Store on Yale. I noticed they had some new music for piano duo. I bought two pieces: "A Little Bit of Bach" and "Fiddle Faddle."

Next we went to the Circle Cinema. We got there early, so we went next door to the Kendall-Whittier Library. We read today's Tulsa World there.

We went across the street to the Circle Cinema. We saw Bill D. and his wife Jackie M. as we were going in. The movie we saw was Creation. The movie explored the conflict between Darwin and his religious wife. After reading the manuscript, Darwin's wife consents to the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species. At the same time as Darwin was mulling over his life's work, Alfred Russell Wallace had reached the same conclusion as Darwin. Wallace's paper on the subject was just twenty pages long; Darwin's was 250 pages long. The death of Darwin's young daughter (appears to be about 10 in the film) is a major event in his life.

We returned home in time to see the evening news. J went to the Methodist church for Ash Wednesday services while I stayed here. As she was leaving the church, she phoned me to see if I would like to meet her at the Crescent Cafe. I said yes. We met there and had dinner together.

Slow day

This entry will be brief. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage casserole, we went to the Fitness Center. We walked four miles today.

After we got in our walk, we drove home and had lunch. J went to Roary's and got her hair cut. I stayed here and read the Epstein book. There was going to be a discussion of the book, but I received an e-mail telling me that the discussion has been canceled.

I realize my lack of religious orthodoxy disappoints some of my friends and relatives, but I really have no choice in the matter. If you had been in my shoes for the last four decades, you would have a better understanding of my worldview.

From "Good Without God"

The following is a quote from the book Good Without God.

"...Humanism is also a warning that we cannot afford to wait until tomorrow or the next life to be good, because today -- the sort journey we get from birth to death, womb to tomb -- is all we have. Humanism rejects dependence up faith, the supernatural, divine texts, resurrection, reincarnation, or anything else for which we have no evidence. To put it another way, Humanists believe in life before death.

Activites of the day

We began the day with Gail coming over for piano practice. Ayla, my granddaughter, had spent the night with her Nana. Ayla especially likes Gail. She hero worships her. So it was a treat for Ayla to be here when Gail arrived. Periodically, Ayla would come in to the living room and chat with Gail.

Following our two-hour practice, we went to Ayla's house and picked up Luke. Then the four of us went to McDonald's for lunch. Luke and Ayla played on the indoor playground equipment. They played for quite a while. Then we took them back to their house. Next, we went walking at the Case Center. There is an indoor walking track above the gym floor, but I do not like it as well as the track at TCC. I walked only two miles today. Not knowing we were going walking when we left, I did not bring my MP3 with me.

I have not had a nap today and am starting to feel tired. I might go to bed early tonight.

Daily wrap-up for February 14

I went to Church of the Restoration this morning. There were 10 people there. I think Barbara will be returning to the church. She was very disappointed in a number of things about the church and seemed to indicate she would not be returning. However, today at the Congregational Meeting following the service, she volunteered to serve on the board in the "at large" position. I might actually join the church soon, too. I have been attending there for a few year. I found out today that many there thought I was a member, but I have never signed the membership book. They need all the help they can get. I might be able to convince some of my humanist friends to start coming. We definitely need more members. I looked on the roster today and saw 21 names listed. Two of the members I had never met before were there today.

There are a couple of members who do not live in the area who send large sums of money to keep the church going. Were it not for them, the church most likely would have folded by now.

I took Barbara home. She had caught a ride to church with Joy, but Joy had to leave early to be at the ballet. Joy asked me if I could take Barbara home, and I agree to.

On the way home, I went through the drive thru at Taco Mayo. I got two beef soft tacos, Mexicali rice, and refried beans. I ate that as my lunch and then left for Joe price's house for drumming. There were four of us there: Joe and Lou, Joel, and myself. Joe had some news for us. He had been contacted by the library to see if we would like to perform at one of their weekday noontime performances along with a troup of belly dancers. We would be providing the rhythm for the dancers. This would occur in May, if all goes well.

On the way home, I stopped at Dollar General and bought a birthday card for Gail, whose birthday is tomorrow. I watched the news and "Life (Part 2)" and took the trash cart out to the curb. I played the piano some in anticipation of our weekly practice session tomorrow.

Below is a link to a new movie about Charles Darwin. It looks interesting. I am going to try to go see it.

http://creationthemovie.com/trailer/

Hyechka event

This Saturday, we got up and threw on some clothes and went to the Fitness Center for our morning walk. While walking, I listened to music by Handel: Water Music and Royal Fireworks Music. Following those selections, I listened to some Dave Brubeck. We came home and had lunch.

After lunch, I took another long nap. Naps are so good, so refreshing.

This evening we went to an event held at All Souls Unitarian Church. There is a music lovers group in the city known as Hyechka. They sponsor performances throughout the year, usually at the Mansion on Peoria. Tonight's theme was "Love's Old Sweet Songs: Music of the Roaring Twenties." The dinner tonight was a benefit for Hyechka philanthropies. Several acts performed.

The day in review

We had a busy day today. We went walking at TCC. I walked three miles. Then we left and stopped at Subway and got a five-dollar footlong sub. We got a black forest ham sandwich, with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and bell peppers. J does not like bell peppers, so she let me have hers. We took the sandwich home and ate it.

We went to the library and turned in some movies and books and checked out a few books waiting there for me. That afternoon, we wrote out some checks to pay some bills. We went over our bank statement and got that caught up. We went to WalMart and bought some strawberries and chocolate dippng sauce. We came home and J fixed the strawberries and chocolate for our gathering at the Bradleys.

At 7:00 pm we went to Border's Bookstore for the meeting of the small poetry group. Gail is currently the leader of this group. Tonight we looked at the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe. I read "The Raven," and Gail read "The Bells." There were six of us there, including J who does not normally attend. J was with me since she wanted to go to Randy's for the celebration of Darwin's birthday. We, including Gail, had to leave early to arrive at Randy's. We were late, of course, since both events started at 7 pm.

After we arrived, Randy presented the Planned Parenthood representative with a check for $300 raised among local freethinkers. I took pictures of the presentation. We are hoping to get one in the newspaper. The PP rep spoke of the various kinds of services provided by PP. The husband of the rep was there. He will be a part of the Chautauqua in June. He will be portraying Robert E. Lee on one of the nights.

The Days of Our Lives

Below is a link to a web site which will, among other things, calculate your age in days. It tells me that I have lived 22,621.9 days. The site will calculate for you your age on other planets.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/age/index.html

TAM February social

I took this picture at the TAM mid-month social held at Campus Grill in Tulsa.

Wintry weather bypasses us

I guess we got lucky today for the Thursday snowstorm missed the Tulsa area. Gail came over this morning, and we played piano duets for two hours.

After lunch I stretched out on the bed and awoke two hours later. That was quite a nap. Hope I will be able to sleep tonight.

Tonight we went to the TAM mid-month social gathering. I will try to post a picture I took at the gathering. Some of the regulars were there: Bill D. and Bob H. were there. The others were people I had met just once or twice or not at all. There were about nine people there. We talked about many things, including veganism, and the brain. Kym has her doctorate (in some area of neurobiology) and she is not yet 30. Toby is a dedicated vegan and spoke about how he became a vegan and what all it entails.

A Trip

Tuesday afternoon we took an out of town trip. We looked at the roads Monday, and decided a Wednesday morning business trip (for J) might be a problem. We decided to travel Tuesday while the roads were clear, then use it for an excuse to celebrate an early Valentine's Day.

Finding no motels actually close to the conference center, we got the closest motel we could find. That ended up being a motel three and a half miles away. We drove around a little getting familiar with the town, and ate at a local "Mom and Pop" that had generous portions for the price. We were both stuffed by the time we left, and we passed up dessert.

Wednesday morning, I drove J. to her meeting, then relaxed in the motel room watching TV. At noon I met Jan and we took advantage of the college cafe, but I do not recommend the place. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich, but had trouble finding much chicken salad between the slices of bread. Instead of saying "Where's the beef?", I was saying "Where's the chicken?"

That afternoon I visited the library, and read my Kindle until J was ready to head out of town.

We missed the rush hour traffic across Tulsa by using the Creek Turnpike. We use that turnpike often and find it saves time even when it may be a longer trip.

After supper, J and I went to a showing of a Darwin video at All Souls Unitarian Church. The room was packed once again as it was last week. Following the showing of the DVD, there was a brief discussion. Next week, the plan is to discuss the book Good Without God.

J and I are tired, but we had a nice trip.

More snow arrives

I went out to the mailbox to get the mail around 9:00 this morning. It was spitting rain but there was no sign of snow. By 9:30 the rain had changed over to snow, and it was snowing fast. We got a heavy snow for three hours, and then it stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Gail called from her cell phone when she was just four or five miles away and said she was turning back for home.

Fortunately, the snow did not stick. The ground was too warm. I got out and went to the library and the post office at the tag agency. I got an e-mail from Gail asking to reschedule the practice. She will be coming over Thursday morning now.

We went to TCC and walked three miles today.

I spent some time this afternoon trying (unsuccessfully) to find the sheet music to a song written by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. The title of the piece is "Cabin on the Hill." I checked my favorite music-by-mail site, Sheet Music Plus, but did not see it there. I called Saied's Music in Tulsa, and they could not find it in any of their collections of music. I checked with the Tulsa Library, and had no luck there. The lyrics can be found on the Internet, but not the musical notation. If any of my readers out there have any ideas on finding the music to this song, please let me know. The song is track 2 on the album "16 Biggest Hits, Flatt & Scruggs."

How much will it snow?

It looks like we are in for another round of winter weather. The weatherman says we could get up to six inches. We will know by this time tomorrow.

Today I went to Church of the Restoration. I took highway 64 up to the Gilcrease Museum Road. I took the Museum Road to Pine. I go this way to avoid the road construction around downtown Tulsa. From Pine I go straight to Greenwood, turn right, and the church is just a block down the street. It was another slender group today: seven altogether.

Betty Morrow read a sermon written by Suzanne Meyer. Suzanne died recently. Her memorial service will be this Wednesday at Hope Unitarian Church. She was living in Wyoming (?) if I remember correctly. She was a minister there. Prior to that, she lived in Tulsa. She wrote some great sermons. Betty has read several of hers to the congregation before.

Following the service, I went to Braum's on Gilcrease Museum Road for lunch. J said she was going to take Luke and Ayla out for lunch. She also went to Braum's, but the one in Prattville (as south Sand Springs is known). I had a grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and a peanut butter and fudge shake. I usually get chocolate when I order a shake, but I saw a sign promoting the PB and fudge shake, so I got that instead. It was okay, but I think I will stick with chocolate.

I got a call from the Prices. They were not well and called off drumming for today.

Ayla spent the afternoon here. We took her home around 5 pm.

We also watched another lecture in the series we have been watching. The lecture was on the teleological argument for God.

Looking at my appointment calendar, I can see I have a busy week ahead. Of course, plans could change if we get a lot of snow.

Monty Python film shown at Movie Night

Right now the weather here is much better than the weather in Ohio, Virginia, and the D.C. However, another winter storm should be here by Monday. I am ready for this winter to be over.

This morning we went to the Case Community Center and walked three miles. That gives me 20.5 miles for the week. We managed to go walking every day since Monday. I probably will not go walking tomorrow. I have church in the morning and drumming in the afternoon.

We picked up Ayla this afternoon and went to McDonald's and ate. Ayla played on the indoor playground equipment.

My letter was published in the Tulsa World today. The last time I checked, it had received 40 online comments.

Tonight was Movie Night at the Bradleys. We watched Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life." Gail had a prior commitment and thus was not able to play a duet. Following the film, we moved back to the Bradleys' living room and had a free-wheeling (and lengthy) discussion, mostly pertaining to the sorry state of the country at this time. There were eleven people in attendance.

Following the gathering, I took Barbara back to her apartment. I returned home. Everyone had gone to bed; that is, Ayla and her grandmother.

Roundup of events

We began our day by watching another lecture in the series on Philosophy of Religion. Then we went grocery shopping. That took a couple of hours. After we got back home and put away the groceries, we changed clothes and drove to the Fitness Center at TCC West and walked three miles. I have walked 17.5 miles this week. We managed to get to the Fitness Center every day this week. We might go walking in the morning, but I don't know right now.

After walking we returned home and had a fish dinner with scallops. Scallops are my favorite food item. The best scallops are found at White River Fish Market in Tulsa. They almost melt in your mouth. Red Lobster has good scallops, but I prefer those at WRFM.

In the mail today I received the current issue of Sheet Music Magazine. I spent some time at the piano tonight playing several of the pieces. Some of the pieces in this issue which I like are "Heliotrope Bouquet," "Love's Been Good To Me," "Great Balls of Fire," and "The M.T.A." The issue also contains two interesting jazz pieces: "Upside" and "Patternesque." The magazine is published four time a year, and in addition to publishing 18 or so songs per issue also includes instructional material to improve your playing. The novelty song "Why Do They Play Here Comes The Bride (When They Should Play There Goes The Groom)" is also found in this issue.

This has been a strange winter. It looks like we might be in store for some more snow starting Monday. I will be glad when Spring gets here.

Labyrinths

I have had an interest in walking labyrinths for a few years now. On occasion, we have walked a few. There are two I can remember in Oklahoma. One in in Norman and the other is in Tahlequah. There also was a temporary labyrinth set up in a church in Tulsa that I walked once. The labyrinth in Norman in in Reaves Park, and the labyrinth in Tahlequah is at Sancta Sophia Seminary (a religious retreat) a little ways outside of Tahlequah.

What got me thinking about labyrinths is an article I read in a magazine called The Current. According to the review of the book, Oklahoma Labyrinths - a Path to Inner Peace by Gail Peck, the author cites 70 labyrinths in the state. I checked a web site I used to look at (Grace Cathedral in San Francisco), and noticed that the labyrinth locator at the site now list more labyrinths in Oklahoma than the last time I looked at the site, which was probably five years ago.

I ordered a copy of the book from Amazon. My son, Nick, gave me a gift card for $50 for Christmas. This was my first time to use the card.

I have a VHS tape which I used to show my friends about labyrinth walking. Proponents of labyrinth walking claim the activity has spiritual dimensions. I have walked six or seven labyrinths but have not noticed anything spiritual about them. I suspect a lot depends upon the walker's prior experiences. But I continue to walk one whenever I come across one. Other cities in Oklahoma have labyrinths including Oklahoma City, Ponca City, Tonkawa, and Shawnee.

We did our usual walk at TCC today - 4 miles. Stopped again at Subway on the way home and had a Black Forest ham sandwich. We ate it there and read the newspaper while we were in the store. We later went to the bank and deposited some money in Luke and Ayla's savings accounts and paid our annual fee on our safe deposit box. Then we went to the library and I picked up some books which had come in for me.

What happened today?

First, we went to TCC and walked three miles. On the way home, we stopped at Subway and bought a five-dollar Black Forest Ham footlong sandwich, brought it home and ate it.

At 3:00 pm Gail arrived and we played piano until 5:00 pm. I watched the news at 5:30 and then we left at 6:30 for All Souls Unitarian Church to watch a DVD of Richard Dawkins on Charles Darwin. We actually saw two DVDs (45 minutes long) of Dawkins talking about Darwin. The second DVD deals with the subject of altruism. Tonight was the first part of a three part series on Darwin. The next sessions are on Feb. 10 and Feb. 17. The theater will filled to capacity. Extra seats were brought in to accompany the overflow crowd.

Afterwards, we stopped at La Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant on Peoria, for our evening meal. For less than seven dollars we got a gigantic chicken burrito which we shared.

Recapitulation of today's happenings

Well, you are probably thinking we did a lot today from the title of this post, but you would be mistaken. Today was pretty much like yesterday and several other previous days.

We went walking at TCC. I did four miles today. Then on the way home we stopped by the Springs Village shopping center where Papa Pat had his smoked meats truck parked and bought two pulled pork sandwiches. We took the sandwiches home and ate them.

I got a call from the newspaper, checking to verify that I was the writer of a letter I sent in for publication. I confirmed my authorship of the letter. I assume it will show up in the paper soon.

We were going to go grocery shopping, but thought we should give some attention to the snow on the roof. So we used the ladder to get up to the roof and removed some chunks of ice which had accumulated in the gutters.

Tonight while my better half watched "Lost" on TV, I watched some instructional videos (from YouTube) on the computer. The videos were on playing the ukulele. I would like to learn how to play the uke. I have a cheap soprano uke which I bought from WalMart. I find the most difficult thing about playing it is fingering the chords without muting strings that are supposed to be open. There are several instructional videos available on YouTube, and I watched a few of them tonight.

Some melting today

Today, following breakfast, we watched two lectures from the course "Philosophy of Religion" (on DVD) taught by James H. Hall of the University of Richmond. We listened to "What Constitutes Good Evidence" (lecture 8) and "Why Argue For the Existence of God?" (lecture 9). We listened to lecture 8 yesterday, but since I received three phone calls during the half-hour lecture, I wanted to hear it again.

In the afternoon, we went to TCC and walked the indoor track. I was hoping to walk four miles, but was interrupted after three and a half with a request to go home.

We had a good bit of melting of the snow today; however, much snow remains. I know what it is like to go three days without electricity. That happened to us in December of 2007. The house did not get cold. I guess the greatest hardship was being without all those things that use electricity to operate: lights, television, garage door opener, CD player.

I spoke with Gail on the phone, and we are going to get together for piano duet practice on Wednesday afternoon this week.

Food and Fellowship with Friends

Here are two pictures taken by Kathy Warren at our January Food & Fellowship meal at Billy Simms' Barbecue Restaurant in The Farm Shopping Center. There were 17 people at the event. We took several tables and lined them up so we could be together.

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.