Standing tall

Here I am dressed nicely. Notice the curl on my forehead. The date on the back of this picture reads October 24, 1951.

Alabama snow

On the sled going clockwise are Jackie, Linda, Dale, and myself. I do not know who the adult is.

Alabama snow

This photo was taken February 1, 1951. I can be seen wearing cowboy boots on the left side in front. Next to me is Dale. Behind me is Jackie, and next to Jackie is Linda and her dog.

June HAT meeting

The June HAT meeting was held this afternoon at the Genealogy Center, starting at 2 pm. There were 16 people present for the meeting. Details of the meeting will be posted later on the HAT blog. After the meeting adjourned, we took Barbara Frey back to her apartment. Then we returned home. J phoned Nick to see if Ayla wanted to spend the night here. The answer was a definite YES. We drove over to Nick's and got Ayla and returned home with her.

In a few minutes we left for Braum's where I had a grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and a Dr. Pepper. J and Ayla got their meal of choice.

After eating, we returned home where I began posting pictures from many years ago.

Touchdown in the laundry

Photo taken in 1951.

Easter Sunday, 1951

This photo was taken on Easter Sunday, 1951.

Digging for diamonds

Here I go exploring in December 1949.

The guys

In this photo are (L to R) cousin Don Nerren, our grandfather, G. L. Nerren, cousin Bobby Hallford, and the kid with his tongue hanging out is me. This photo was taken in 1949.

Volkswalk this morning

I went volkswalking this morning. The walk was held in Tulsa. I chose to do the 5K walk. The weather was warm as I started and was getting hot as I finished. The walk started in a park along Riverside Drive. Then it went over to the river and following the river south for a short distance. From there it went down to the River Spirit Casino and then the trail went past the praying hands at ORU. The walk finished up back at the start point.

I was soaked with sweat as I drove back home. J did not go with me today. She did not want to get out in the heat. I did not see Nick or any of his family there either.

View from the backside

I am in a park but I have no idea where the park is located. Could someone help me out on that one? The date on the back of the picture reads "July 1949."

With Easter eggs

Here I am with a basket of Easter eggs. I can't say where this photo was taken.

With ceramic chickens

Here I am accompanied with some ceramic chickens. I do not know the location of this photo. The date on the back says it is September 1951.

On steps

Here I am seated on the back steps of the Andrews house in Carbon Hill, AL.

Hammering away

This picture was taken on the back steps of the Andrews house. Yes, I am left handed.

Message on back: "I still like a hammer, Daddy." Photo taken in Carbon Hill, Alabama, c. 1950, on the back steps of the Andrews house. This photo was most likely mailed to my father who was in the army in Korea.

June 1953

The only thing I know about this picture is that it was taken in June 1953. Who is the person standing behind me?

Raking leaves with Jackie

One of the fondest memories of my time in Carbon Hill is playing in the leaves with my friend Jackie. We would rake up a pile of leaves and then dive into them.

Four generations

This picture was taken at a family gathering in Carbon Hill around 1949. The four adults are (L to R), my father, Paul James Nerren, born 1922, George Luther Nerren, Jr., born ca. 1919-1920, Erasmus Lafayette Nerren, and George Luther Nerren, Sr. E.L. Nerren is the father of G.L. Nerren, Sr.

The three boys are (L to R) my cousin Bobby Hallford, son of Kathryn Nerren Hallford, my dad's sister, myself, and my cousin Don Nerren, son of G.L. Nerren, Jr.

Topsy Turvy Tomatoes

This is a picture of my topsy turvy tomato plant. It is hanging on the east side of the house. It gets a lot of morning sun but not much evening sun. I may have to move it later on. Notice where the plant made a U-turn after being placed in the planter. In the background you can see my other tomato plants along the fence. This plant produces Roma tomatoes.

My garden

My garden is looking good. My tomato plants are growing, but they haven't produced any fruit yet. Same goes for the pepper plant and the cucumber plants.

This afternoon we stopped by the produce market set up along Second Street. We bought some peaches, which we ate earlier tonight. While I was out, J called me and asked that I stop by Braum's and get a container of whipped topping in the pressurized cylinder. We also bought a couple of tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers, and a watermelon.

Earlier today we had lunch at the White River Fish Market. The conversation was mostly about astrophysics. I did not say much -- just listened to J and Dave exchange ideas. There were only three of us today, so I think we will suspend for the summer and try again in September.

Looking pretty for daddy

On the back side of this photo in my mother's handwriting is "he calls himself looking pretty for Daddy and I couldn't get him to do any other way." Photo taken May 21, 1951. This picture was sent to my father who was in Korea. The Frisco main line is in the background.

Daddy Ed and Momma Ed

John Edwards and his wife (Daddy Ed and Momma Ed). I am standing in front of Mr. Edwards. Mr. Edwards worked for the railroad. He had an outdoors job riding the rails on a motorcar. He was a section foreman and it was his job to keep a section of track (20 to 25 miles) in good condition. One day, years later, a train ran into Mr. Edwards's motorcar and knocked it into him. He ended up in the hospital and never fully recovered from his injuries.

Update June 17: The Edwards had four daughters. Starting with the oldest they are: Tempe, Mary, Leona, and Isolene. Leona died in her 30s of cancer.

Taking off shirt

I appear to be taking off my shirt in this picture. Notice the cowboy boots.

God is watering my garden

As I was sitting at my computer, I heard the rolling thunder move in. We went out on the back porch to observe the drainage of the rain. It appears the drain spout at the northeast corner of the house is plugged up. After it quits raining, we will check that out. The good news is that I won't have to water my garden tonight.

With football

Here I am with a football sitting on the front of a car. License plates back in those days were simpler than the ones of today.

Blowup from other picture

This image is a blowup from the other image posted today. I still can't figure out what I am holding in my hands. Any ideas?

Update June 17: I heard from my father that I was posing like a big bear. My hands are shaped like a big bear with claws showing.

Showing something

Here I am holding up to the camera something between my thumbs and index fingers. Notice the house in the background.

Back from Springfield

We have returned from a brief trip to Springfield. Since Vicki, my cousin from Houston, was visiting my folks, we decided to make a trip to Springfield to see her. They had been to Branson where they saw two shows.

We ate well on this trip. First, we ate dinner at Golden Corral Monday evening, and then around noon today we ate lunch at Price Cutter on East Battlefield. Coming down we spent the night at the EconoLodge in Miami. That evening we ate at The Stonehill Grill in Miami. The next morning, we had the breakfast provided by the motel. It was pretty good. I had a Belgian waffle and scrambled eggs and sausage links and apple juice.

With Linda's dog

This is a picture of me with Linda's dog. It was taken in July of 1951.

Ole Smiley

I remember the day my mother took me to the school house to get my picture taken. I was about three years old at the time.

Update June 17: My dad informs me that it was my grandmother, not my mother, who took me to school to have my pciture taken (at age 3). My grandmother worked in the school cafeteria at this time.

On the laptop

I am using the laptop tonight to post this entry to my blog. We spent the last few hours touring some places from our past by using the site: www.vpike.com. My mother and dad and my cousin Vicki from Houston took a look at some places around Carbon Hill and Nettleton and reflected about the past. Using the vpike site you are able to get a ground level view of many places. Give it a try by typing in your childhood home address and see how it looks now.

Last night I tried using my Kindle to post to my blog, but I never could get it to work.

Tonight we ate supper at Golden Corral. I was prudent and did not overeat. I got in two miles of walking by walking the third floor corridors.

Ayla overnights with us

Ayla is spending the night with us, as is her usual practice on Saturday nights. In the morning she and Nana will go to their church, and I will go to mine. I have posted a few more pictures earlier today. These pictures are in no certain order.

This evening we went to Chautauqua again. Tonight was the final program in the five-day program. Tonight's speaker was "Robert E. Lee." The performer was Ted Kaschel. I took a picture of Ayla with "Robert E. Lee."

On the way back home, we stopped at Sonic for an ice cream treat.

With Uncle Floyd

Here I am with my Uncle Floyd in a photo from 1951. I am not sure about the location, but I would guess Carbon Hill.

With Uncle Benny

I am doing a lot of speculating with this image. I think I am sitting on the knee of my Uncle Benny (Henry Andrews), a brother of my mother's, who lived in Michigan. I think the picture was taken at the rear of the Andrews house in Carbon Hill. This picture was taken in October 1951, according to the information on the back.

Mowing the grass

There is only one thing written on the back of this photo: the number 49. I am guessing that is to show this photo was taken in 1949. I would assume the picture was taken in the summer, what with the lawnmower being out. That is me pushing the lawn mower, or probably just pretending to push the mower. I would be about a year and a half old at this time. I do not know where this picture was taken.

Note: I learned that this picture was taken in my front yard in the first house we lived in in Nettleton. In the background is a cotton gin. The auto was our first car.

Birthday party in Nettleton

This photo was taken in the front yard of the duplex we lived in during our second stay in Nettleton, Mississippi. Here I can be seen in a striped shirt. My mother in the woman with the dark hair to the right. Just above my mother's head can be seen the back side of the house of the Edwards, known as Daddy Ed and Momma Ed to me. They had several daughters who would baby sit with me. Nettleton is about 15 miles from Amory. Go on up the highway another 15 miles and you come to Tupelo.

As the road rises in the distance it comes to a crossing with the Frisco Railroad. This is the main line between Memphis and Birmingham. It runs in front of the Edwards' home.

Poetry Group

Our yard man came by today and mowed our front and back yards. The grass seems to have grown very fast recently. I mowed it just a few days ago and now it was needing to be cut again.

Tonight the Poetry Group met at Border's Bookstore. There were seven of us in attendance. We began at 7 pm and went until about 9 pm. We did something different tonight. Rather than choosing a poet from the anthology we have been using, tonight we each selected two of our favorite poems and read them to the group. I choose two poems by my favorite poet, Philip Appleman. Both poems are based on characters from the Old Testament: Noah and Sarah. In fact, the titles of the poems are "Noah" and "Sarah." Both are lengthy poems taking ten to fifteen minutes to read.

David liked this new procedure so well that he suggested we do the same thing next month. I'm glad he did. I love the oral reading of poetry. I think next month I will read a poem by former poet laureate of the U.S., Billy Collins. The title is "Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes." What other poem should I read? What is your favorite poem?

Easter outfit

Here I am in my new Easter clothes. Note the basket of eggs to my right. On the back of this picture in my mother's handwriting is "This was made early Easter morning, and from the look on his face I'd say it was to[o] early."

On tricycle

Here I am riding on a tricycle. The information on the back (in my mother's handwriting) reads, "Daddy, this smile is just for you. Danny" This is one of the photos my mother sent to my dad who was stationed in South Korea in the early 1950s.

Update June 17: This was not an ordinary tricycle. It was something called a jockeycycle. The seat would rise and fall as I pedeled, as if on a horse. My dad wrote saying "You literally rode that horse to death. You could really get up a good speed."

Early photo

This is a picture of me either trying to stand up or looking to see what was between my legs. It was taken in May 1949. I was 14 months old at that time.

Fifth birthday

Here are two photos taken on my fifth birthday. The photos are similar but not exactly the same. I am in the striped shirt on the right. These photos were taken in Nettleton, Mississippi a few months before we moved to Tupelo. I do not remember who is with me in these photos.

Update June 17: On the left is Charlie Farrar. Next to him is Billy Farrar. Charlie Farrar became a pharmacist and lived in Columbus, MS.

Chautauqua Redux

This afternoon we took Luke to the library for a library program. A firetruck with three firemen arrived shortly after we got there. The firemen were part of the program. They explained that they were on duty and might have to leave if they got a call. As the spokeman explained what to do in case of a fire, a call came in and the crew turned on the siren and made a hasty departure.

Inside the building the kids listened to Miss Connie give a presentation of some kind. I sat in the library while the program was going on reading a magazine.

Tonight we again went to Chautauqua. A three-piece band was playing music as we arrived. The crowd was smaller tonight. We saw Joy from my church who sat next to me.

Tomorrow night "Clara Barton" will speak. She is the Unitarian who founded the American Red Cross. I will probably miss that presentation since I have another commitment.

On the way home, we stopped at Sonic. J got a hot fudge sundae, and I got a strawberry sundae.

I will have more pictures to post tomorrow.

Birthday party

This picture did not turn out very well, but at least the people in the picture are recognizable. A greater problem is my memory. I have manipulated the image with software to increase the contrast. I am seated in the center of the seven boys. On the left is my sister, Paula. Her image can be seen in the portrait above the sofa.

I am in the center of the boys (just below the left side of the photographic portrait). Two down to my right is Pete McMurry, my best friend while living in Tupelo. The boy seated on the right end of the couch is a kid by the name of Raymond (?). I can't remember his last name.

On my left side is Jimmy Shirley (?) and on my right next to me is John Arthur Tomlinson (?). I could me mistaken in identifying some of these people. Please let me know if I have misidentified any of these people.

I am guessing this picture was taken at my eighth birthday party. That would be the only occasion for having so many friends over to the house. Imprinted in the border of the picture is "JUL 56." My birthday is in March, but it was probably July before the roll of film was processed.

A doctor visit

I went to see Dr. Rapacki this morning. He asked about my back pain, and I told him that the steroid injections had reduced the pain so that it is now about 10 to 15% of what it had been. I am doing well enough now that I would not consider surgery. He said that I could have had the brain tumor from an very early age He mentioned age three. It could have been growing for decades. When I had back surgery, something caused it to "kick in" (my words, not his) and that's when I almost died. A tumor the size of a tennis ball was removed from my head. I am getting by fine at this time. He said if the pain gets worse to let him know.

On the way home we stopped at the Crescent Cafe for lunch. The place was packed today. I had the usual: a mushroom and swiss cheese burger with potato salad as my side dish.

Luke is spending the night with us tonight. Ayla was here until her father came by and took her home. The two of them spent a few hours this afternoon playing in the pool on the back porch.

We did no go to Chautauqua tonight.

Snow scenes from Carbon Hill

Carbon Hill, Alabama does not see a lot of snow. Here I am playing in a snowfall of just an inch or two. This picture was taken in February 1951. The remarks on the back of picture read: "As you know, that old Bo-hunk on the sled and Dale & dog in the background. Dale is Rose's little boy."



Here I am again on the sled. You will recognize the dog from the previous picture. The remarks on the back read: "This is Danny & Linda and Danny was just about ready to come in the house. He said, "I cold Mother."

Once again, this picture was taken a month before my third birthday. Linda appears to be eating snow. I have no idea who Linda is.

You should be able to enlarge the picture by clicking on it.

Out and about this Tuesday

We began this day by getting up early and going over to the Katy Trail and walking two miles. On the way to the trail, we stopped at Sonic and got a breakfast burrito which we split. After the walk, on the way home we stopped at Braum's and each got a sausage and egg biscuit. It was about 8 am at this time. We looked for a newspaper but could not find one.

Afterwards we went home and later went by the bank for some cash and then on to the library. From there we crossed over the river to pay the utility bill at City Hall. Next we went to the post office and bought some stamps. We went to the grocery store and bought some non-refrigerated items. Then we went to Roary D's where J got her hair done. While she was getting her hair done, I read the newspaper. After leaving Roary's we went back to the store and bought refrigerator items. Then we came home and put everything away.

In the afternoon, we both took a nap. This evening we attended the first Chautauqua performance of the season. It was held under a big tent on the campus of OSU-Tulsa. The character being portrayed tonight was General Stonewall Jackson. There are five characters in all for this Chautauqua. We saw Gail and Glenn there tonight.

Review of the day

This day began with Gail coming over for piano duets. We played some of the new music I bought last week and the two pieces we will be playing at Restoration on July 4: "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "The Washington Post March." The two patriotic pieces are coming along quite well. We also played Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze" and Averre's "The Rag-Weed Rag." We went through the Joplin collection of four pieces for the first time today.

While Gail and I were finishing up our practice, J was in the kitchen preparing a fine lunch of chicken and dressing and baked sweet potato. For our evening meal, we went out to Subway and got a five dollar footlong (Black forest ham on whole wheat bread, toasted with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumber) and shared it.

I have posted a few pictures from my early years, and I expect to post more in the days to come.

In Carbon Hill

Trendsetter. Here I am wearing my cap in the current style back in the early 1950s.

Here is a picture of me taken in Carbon Hill, Alabama, May 1951. I am wearing the cap of my uncle Floyd. Notice the late model auto in the right of the picture.

Humanism service today at Restoration

The Humanism service today at Restoration went well. We are going to try to have a humanist led service every couple of months or so. There were six people from our chapter there today, which provided a boost in attendance for the congregation. My talk was about 15 minutes long. The special music would have been better had Joy and I rehearsed more than the few minutes right before the service. Unitarians and Humanists have much in common. I think each group will be an asset for the other.

New link

If you had trouble viewing the French mime/magician, here is a YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdtm0NN_UUQ

Pictures from my childhood

Here are four pictures taken during my early years. Beginning with the upper left and going clockwise: Here I am posing with some fake chickens. This picture was taken in September 1951. The next picture was taken in November 1950. It must have been a cool day. The location is Carbon Hill, Alabama.

The next picture was taken on March 8, 1951, my third birthday. On the back in my mother's handwriting is written "Mother I want to pose for Daddy. Can you beat that?" That's quite a pose, is it not? The last picture was taken on Easter Sunday, 1951. The image is a bit blurred. Can you see the Easter basket and a couple of eggs in the basket? I am guessing this photo was taken in Carbon Hill also.

You can enlarge the image by clicking on it.

Another ho-hum day

We went to Staples this morning and took with us a credit for $30 which we received in the mail for turning in ten ink cartridges. I was going to get a new keyboard, but the only kind they sell are the wireless keyboards, which cost more than the kind which connect using a cable. My present keyboard has been used so much that the letters on some keys have worn away.

So, instead, we bought some paper and other items. We also turned in another ten cartidges while there.

Back in Sand Springs, we went to Riddles and bought another six bags of mulch. I mowed the back yard this evening.

I played the piece I will be playing this Sunday at church. I also played a few other pieces.

Events of the day

Today we bought some mulch and mulched the tomoto plants. They still appear to be on life support. The cucumbers appear to be holding their own and the pepper plant is the same. We placed the (Roma) tomato plant in the topsy-turvy, filled it up with potting soil, hung it up and watered it.

It will soon be time for Chautauqua (in Tulsa) and the OK Mozart Festival (in Bartlesville). Also, my couisin Vicki from Houston will be visiting my parents. They will be going to Branson and will take in a show or two. I hope to go to Springfield for a day or two while she is here and see her.

I also worked a little on my talk for this coming Sunday at Restoration.

Sinkhole opens beneath interstate highway

This morning we went over to Nick's and picked up Ayla and took her to the library. While she attended the children's program, I read the newspaper and looked at a book. Afterwards we had lunch at the Crescent Cafe. Then we returned Ayla to her house.

In the afternoon, a friend of mine, Steve Nunn, came by to go over Sunday's program at church. This Sunday is Humanist Sunday at Restoration. I will be delivering the message and others will be doing their part. I will also be playing the piano as Joy plays her guitar. Handel's Sarabande in D minor is the selection we will be playing.

I think my tomato plants are in trouble. They don't look too healthy. They appear stressed. They have not grown any since they were placed in the ground, and some of the leaves have turned yellow. I mixed up some plant food and applied that to the plants. We made a trip over to Home Depot where I bought one more tomato plant and a bag of potting soil and a topsy-turvy container. You pour the water in at the top and the plant grows out the bottom.

As we were going over to Tulsa, we noticed the traffic was moving slowly across the Arkansas River bridge. We came back via 71st St and Highway 75. When we got near the junction of Highway 75 and I-44, we noticed the highway patrol had blocked off 1-44 at that point. We knew something was up.

Watching the evening news later on that night, we learned that a sinkhole had opened up beneath I-44 near Lewis Ave. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The highway department spokesman said the highway would reopen tomorrow afternoon.

Which is the real head?

Click the link below to see an amazing performance. Don't be put off by the French language; most of this is mime.

Which head is real? Which head is the puppet?

http://www.gyornet.eu/mozim/szobor/video.swf

June 2010 Calendar of Activities for Freethinkers

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Sat., June 5, 7:00 pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 5607 E. 54th St.

Sun., June 6, 11:00 am
Humanist Sunday at Church of the Restoration, 1314 N. Greenwood.

Wed., June 16, 11:20 am
ALGAE luncheon, White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.

Sat., June 19, 2 pm
HAT Chapter Meeting at Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard.

Sat., June 26, 11:30 am
Food & Fellowship at Chopsticks, 6193 E. 61st.

Sun., June 27, 1 pm
Tulsa Atheists Meetup, at Agora Coffee House in Fontana Center.

If an Atheists Mid-Month Social is scheduled, I will notify the list of the day and time.

Questions? Call Randy (622-6975) or Dan (798-3629)

My Sunday

After five years of attending Church of the Restoration as a "chronic" visitor, today I joined the church. The service today was one of remembrance, especially remembrance of two members of the church who left this life in the past year, Jewel Hines and Betty Anne Davidson. I never knew Jewel, as far as I can remember; but I did know Betty Anne. Betty Anne was a liberal activist in the Tulsa area. I can distinctly remember her greeting me one day at church. I can still see her face. The next thing I knew, I was reading her obituary. She was taken by cancer. She was about my age.

Today's service was led by Vanessa Adams-Harris. The title of the message was "This Do In Remembrance Of Me." Vanessa read an essay she had written a couple of years ago based upon her childhood memories.

The service next Sunday will be on Humanism. I selected the hymns to be sung and informed the pianist, Edna, about them. They are "This Little Light of Mine" and "We Would Be One." There are more parts of the service (Announcements, Chalice Lighting, Affirmation, Children's Story, etc.) to be decided upon. The special music selection will be a piano/guitar duet. My friend Joy Avery will accompany me on guitar. We have not yet selected the music to be played.

Luke and Ayla spent the afternoon with us. We took them home about 5 pm.

The Shecklers (Marti's daughter and son-in-law) have a new baby boy. We watched a new video on the Sheckler's blog tonight.

Volkswalking again

We went volkswalking again today. This time we walked near LaFortune Park in Tulsa. The walker has a choice of three routes. We took the route which goes through a neighborhood adjoining the park. This was our third YRE for this half of the year. It was a hot day. My car said it was 93 degrees. After we finished, we went to a nearby QuikTrip for something to drink. We also got a corndog each as a snack.

After returning home, we went out to Lake Keystone to pick up the receipts there. There had been 22 walkers walking the YRE at the lake since I last had collected the money.

Next, Nick and Jen came by and left their little ones with us as they went to the movies and out to eat. They came back a few hours later and got Luke and took him home. Ayla is staying overnight with us. She will be going with Nanna to church in the morning.

Getting back into volkswalking

I'm feeling pretty good now. Today we went to Promenade Mall and did the volkswalk inside the mall. That is three circuits on the ground level and three times around on the second level. While up on the second level we stopped at the Food Court and shared an order of barbecued chicken on rice. As we were walking away, we passed by the Chick-Fila venue where someone was passing out samples of yogurt with shredded peaches mixed through it - a free dessert.

Today was the first time I have walked any significant distance since by back problem came on back on March 5. I'm not sure how long the effectiveness of the steroid injections will last, but I'm living each day as if it were my last. Today's year-round walk went a distance of 3.1 miles. So far this year, I have walked three of the club's YREs (year-round events). The club sponsors seven YREs. One is in Bartlesville, and one is in Galena, KS. The rest are nearby.

There are five schedules volkswalks in southern Oklahoma over the Memorial Day weekend. I had hoped to travel to those cities and do the walks, but J reminded me that Ayla has a birthday party at the Dobbs on Sunday. Besides, I need to be at church to plan the service for June 6 with Rosemary. The theme of the service will be Humanism.

After we finished the volkswalk, we went back to the car and drove north on Yale Ave. I pulled in at Saied's Music. I visit the store about once a month. I looked at their selection of duet music for piano. They had a lot of music which I had never seen before. I bought three books of duet music. The first book is titled Dixieland Duos and contains the piece "Tiger Rag." The next book is Have It Your Way and contains the piece "Traveling the Allegheny Road." Finally there is Joplin Ragtime Duets, which contains "Heliotrope Bouquet," "Magnetic Rag," "Peacherine Rag," and "The Ragtime Dance."

When I got home I checked the library's web site to see if I had any books to pick up at Pratt Library. There were seven there waiting for me. I drove to the library and got my books.

A two-cart day at the grocery store

We finally made it over to the grocery store today. We were getting low on food. In fact, we bought so much today that we had to have two carts.

I am feeling well enough now to resume volkswalking. We were going to do the walk inside the Promenade Mall, but since it was getting late we decided to put it off. The steriod injection I got two weeks got rid of 95% of my pain. I have not been able to tell that the injection I got yesterday has had any effect yet.

We have been sharing kitchen duties lately. Tonight we are having talapia on rice. I will be fixing that shortly. J will handle the reminder of the meal.

I heard from Rosemary by e-mail. She and I are going to organize a program on humanism for Church of the Restoration, Unitarian Universalist. The program will be presented on June 6. Rosemary has presented some excellent programs in the past. Restoration is a multi-racial congregation.

I get a second injection today

Today we arrived at St. John M.C. to receive the second and last injection of steriod. The doctor asked how the last injection was doing, and I told her it had relieved about 95% of the pain. I feel good enough now that I would be willing to go about my life without any problem. Only occasionally do I get a reminder that the potential for pain is still there.

This visit went smoother than two weeks ago. Once again there were about two dozen people in the waiting room, but once I checked in, I was called to go to, what I would call, a holding area. While there they prepped me for the procedure. An IV connection was inserted into the top of my right hand. I answered some questions. Then while lying on my back on a bed, I waited for a half hour. Then a nurse wheeled me to the procedure room. The IV connection was hooked up, and I went to sleep (more or less). I do remember being wheeled to recovery after the procedure was finished. In the recovery area, I felt at peace (being in a drugged state). I was there about 30 minutes, and then a nurse transferred me to a wheelchair and wheeled me outside to the parking lot on the seventh floor. J drove up and I got in the car. We took off for Sand Springs.

Back in Sand Springs, we stopped at the Crescent Cafe for lunch. When we got home, I could still feel the effects of the seditative. I took a long nap to sleep it off.

After I got up, I went out back to water the tomatoes, cucumbers and pepper. I also helped J erect a canopy tent which we had bought the previous day at Atwoods.

J got a call from Ayla who was aware she had birthday presents waiting for her here. (Today is her birthday; she's now 7.) She wanted to know if Nanna could bring them over to her house. We got the presents wrapped and drove over to Nick's. I took my camera and shot several pictures. We did not stay long. It was dark even by the time we left our house. We got home in time to watch the 10 pm news.

Genealogy projects

We began the day with a trip to our new dentist in Sapulpa. It was like stepping back in time a few years. He does not have the latest in technology as does Dr. F. For example, we had x-rays of our teeth taken. They use actual film, whereas Dr. F has digital x-rays which are instantaneous. The equipment appears to be older than at Dr. F's. In all, it took longer for this visit than in the past with Dr. F. Dr. B. said we both have a cavity, which we will get fixed later.

We made a trip to Atwood's where we bought a patio table and chairs plus a canopy tent. We were going to get some mulch, but we thought we could get a better price at a later date.

On our last trip to Springfield, my Dad gave me a book about my genealogy. I have several pictures I have acquired from my mother and my cousin Vicki of relatives from way back when. I spotted a book, Digitizing Your Family History, while I was at the library today. I checked it out. I plan to scan the pictures I have and put them on the web for whomever may be interested in viewing them. I will set up one for the Nerren side of the family and one for the Andrews side of the family.

Most of the people in the pictures are people I do not know. How soon we are forgotten once we die! Countless millions lived their life, died, and are now utterly forgotten. I am now in the autumn of my life and expect to join the ranks of the forgotten by the year 2100, if not before.

Busy day; scans canceled

Well, we had a busy day today. First, we took the ailing Saturn to Same Day Auto Repair to get it checked out. If you read yesterdy's entry, you know about the problem I had with it. The problem turned out to be with the serpentine belt and too much play in the path it travels. The belt was replaced along with the belt tensioner for a total of $362.65. That includes labor, of course.

On the way home from dropping off the car at SDAR, we stopped at Braum's for a sausage and egg biscuit. We also got a half gallon of milk.

Gail arrived around 10 am and we played piano duets for a couple of hours.

Wondering about the scans I was to have on June 8, I phoned Dr. Rapacki's office and left a message inquiring about the second set of scans. As it turns out, I do not need the second set of scans after all. The original scans I had last March were ordered by Dr. Uy, a radiologist. Dr. Rapacki's computer is set to remind his staff if so much time passes without scans beng ordered. Since my scans were ordered by Dr. Uy, and not Dr. Rapacki, the folks in Dr. R's office thought it was time again for scans. That's good news.

Here at the house, we have a wooden fence at the back of our property. Some time ago we bought three gallons of stain to restain the fence. We did that today. We also put out the plants we bought about a month ago.

I need to get the notes I took from Sunday's TAM meeting and post what happened at that meeting on another blog.

Busy day

Today turned out to be a busy day. First, I went to Restoration this morning at 11:00 for the service. I've noticed that a couple of the regulars have not been there for the last few Sundays: Larry and Rosemary. The last time I talked to Rosemary, she was complaining about her back. I don't know about Larry. He was attending regularly, and then he was gone.

We did have one visitor this morning. My friend, John, from the Humanist group came. I figure if we can get five HAT members attending, we might use this core group to present some programs. Right now, we have (in addition to myself), Barbara, Larry, John, and Steve. This could be our core group, right there, assuming that all are as enthusiastic about this project as I am. Barbara stayed home today because she is soon to be a great-grandmother. She wants to be alive when the great grandchild comes. She has an implanted pacemaker and thinks she doesn't have long to live.

The service today honored Margaret Fuller, one of the original New England Transcendentalists from the nineteenth century. She was also a Unitarian.

After the service was over, I high-tailed it over to the Agora Coffee House (some 8 to 10 miles away) , getting there just before the beginning of the Atheists Meetup. On the way there, I heard an awful racket coming from the engine compartment. I turned off the AC, and the noise stopped. I'm afraid my air conditioner is shot. I will take the car in to Same Day Auto Care tomorrow morning and have them check it out. J has already told me that if it is the AC, we might as well get another car, rather than spend a thousand dollars on repairs. The car is already 13 or 14 years old.

I arrived just before the meeting started. I took notes which I hope to put up on the meetup site tomorrow. The meeting lasted for two hours.

I went to Wendy's and ordered a large chili with a Dr. Pepper. I phoned J to tell her about the car. I had already called Joe in the morning, knowing that with the indexing project I am working on, I could not do everything.

It's time to turn in now; I will need to rise early tomorrow to take the car in. On the way back, we might stop and get a sausage biscuit at Braum's and then it will be time for Gail to arrive for piano duet practice.

Food and Fellowship gathering

This morning we passed up eating at Catfish Row and Fred's Diner in favor of La Hacienda on Peoria Avenue. Seated across from us was Dave Tinney and Richard Maule. There were 11 people there in all. We had two conversations going at the string of tables we had put together. I prefer one round table like we had at Chopsticks. There usually one person at a time speaks and everyone else listens. When you have a seating arrangement like we had today, you get multiple conversations going.

We had the chicken burrito. It is so large that one serving is enough for two. Imagine two people eating for less than seven dollars.

Richard told me about something called "Radio Lab" which I will look into. It is some kind of broadcast which he likes. It was Richard who told me about Mr. Deity (http://www.mrdeity.com/) which I enjoy a lot.

After the meal and the conversation, we came home and I resumed working on the index. I should have more to write about tomorrow.

School Awards Program

Today was awards day at Central Fine Arts Academy in Sand Springs. We were there because our granddaughter, Ayla, a first-grader, received an award. I think, in fact, everyone there received an award. There must have been 300 awards given out. It took two hours to give out the awards.

When I got back home, I resumed work on an index. I worked on it all afternoon. I finally took a nap around four or five in the afternoon.

While in Springfield, my Dad recommended I read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. As soon as I finish the index I'm working on, I will download the book to my Kindle and start reading it. Is there any chance I could get my Dad, or any other person of the Christain persuasion, to read, say, Atheist Universe by David Mills?

A new issue of The Nation, dated June 7, came into my Kindle tonight.

Back in town

We drove over to Springfield, Mo. Wednesday morning to visit my parents. On the way, we stopped at Exit 4 near the state line and ate at Wendy's. I love their chili. We got back on the road and drove on in to Springfield, arriving around 2:30 pm. While in Springfield, I picked up my e-mail. I had a message from the publisher I'm working for right now. They asked me to make some changes to the index I sent them a few days ago.

Before going to bed, I used my Kindle to post an entry to my blog. That was a first for me. The Kindle is a mere 6" x 8" by 3/8". Using it instead of a computer took longer, but it worked.

We got up this morning and loaded up the car and hit the road. Passing by Joplin, we decided to stop at Red, White, and Blues, a barbecue restaurant on Rangeline. I usually get barbecue, but today I got the catfish. J got barbecue.

After lunch, we got back on the road and drove on in to Sand Springs. We had two days of mail in the mailbox, but there really wasn't much there.

I had wanted to hear Franky Schaeffer speak at the Interfaith Alliance meeting tonight (held at All Souls), but I needed to do some work on the index, too. I stayed home and worked on the index.

Oil change

This afternoon I got the oil changed in my 2008 Saturn Aura. I went to Same Day Auto Repair. I asked the guy at the front desk if the technician could reset the Oil Life indicator. He said no problem. It did not take long to get the oil changed. On the way home, I discovered that the Oil Life indicator had not been reset. I called the shop when I got home, and the guy confessed that the technician had forgotten to reset the indicator. I tried to do it myself, but I could not get it to work. So, I went back to the shop, and the technician did what seemed like the same thing I had done unsuccessfully, but with him it worked. I'm not much of a mechanic.

This evening we went to the 60th floor of the old City of Faith building. There is a great view from the top of that building. You could see for miles and miles and miles. The occasion was a CPCU dinner. We had Chicken with mashed potatoes, squash, carrots, bread, and iced tea. For dessert we had chocolate cake.

I went by the library. A video I had ordered was there waiting for me to pick up. It is "Coco Before Chanel." Inhale long and slow. Tonight I watched "2012" on DVD.

We eat at Rib Crib

The day began with us going to the church and dropping off a cake for a reception following a funeral. Once that was done, we went to Braum's for a sausage and egg biscuit each. While there we read the morning paper.

We returned home before Gail came over for two hours of piano duets. We are working on a program for the Fourth of July. Thus far we have the following pieces we are working on: The Stars and Stripes Forever, Washington Post March, and Yankee Doodle Variations.

We got our lawn mowed today. We had a break in the rain and took advantage of the window of opportunity.

Tonight we had supper at the Rib Crib, a barbecue restaurant on the other side of the river. I had the all-you-can-eat ribs with baked beans, and potato salad. I think I downed about eight ribs. I was no longer hungry by the time I walked out of that rib joint. Rib Crib was having a promotion involving Relay For Life which is sponsored by American Cancer Society.

Bad day at church

I went to church this morning expecting some sort of service, but when 11:00 came around there were just three of us there. There was Edna, the pianist, Mary, the lay leader, and myself, the congregation. The service did not make. No one had the heart to go through the motions. We just sat around a while and then left. I guess too many people had other things they had to do this morning. (Compare this to the humanist meeting yesterday which had 17 people.)

Anyway, I sent an e-mail to Vanessa (the church administrative assistant -- assistant to whom? I wonder) who was in North Carolina doing one of her one-woman performances, lamenting the failed service. There is some hope that our HAT group can come to the rescue, so to speak. We have two members who are willing to speak to the congregation (Marilyn and Herb), and I have an essay by Isaac Asimov which would make an excellent talk. Gail and I could play the piano. I figure one sure way of getting people there is to give them a role in the service. One person could take on the Chalice Lighting, another could read the Affirmation, one could read the Children's Story, called "A Story for All Ages," even though there are no children in the congregation; another could give the "Welcome," everyone could take part in the Candle Lighting, and someone could read the Closing Words. I figure if so many people have a role in the service, they are more likely to come as not.

After I left, I went by the grocery store and bought a sack of bagels and two boxes of Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation cocoa mix. That is what I have been eating for breakfast lately -- a bagel and a cup of hot chocolate.

Once I got back home, I spoke with Steve Nunn on the phone. Steve had said he would be attending CoR. I learned he had gone by the church shortly after I left. We chatted on the phone for a while and then Steve suggested we get together to talk about matters face to face. Steve is a member of HAT. Steve is in favor of forming an alliance between HAT and CoR. Steve came over and we talked for about 20 minutes before I had to leave for drumming. Steve is a kind of unpaid community organizer. He is always recruiting neighbors to take part in local activities. It is good to have Steve on my side.

I left for drumming and was about 15 minutes late getting there. I had called Joe to tell him I would be late. We did our drumming, and then I headed home. I tuned in to the news and learned that some headway was made on stopping the leaking oil in the Gulf.

After the news, I took J to WalMart where we bought a few things.

Healthwise, I'm still holding up pretty well. If I could just keep feeling this well, I would not need to visit with Dr. Rapacki again.

HAT meeting today

Today I went to the HAT meeting held at the Genealogy Center on Harvard. The meeting started at 2 pm and went on until past 4 pm. There were 17 people there today. I wrote up what happened and posted it on the HAT blog. Anyone interested may go to the HAT blog and read about the meeting there.

After the meeting was over, we drove to Nick's and picked up Ayla and went to the Crescent Cafe for dinner. I had a mushroom and swiss burger with a Dr. Pepper. J had fried shrimp, and Ayla had scrambled eggs and pancakes. Ayla is spending the night here with her Nanna.

We were eating during news time. There are TVs in the restaurant, but you could only see the pictures. I could tell from the pictures that the oil spill is still gushing oil into the Gulf. It appears the efforts to cut off the flow of oil has not suceeded. The slick continues to grow.

Today's activities

Our first event of the day was a Tulsa Town Hall which was held at the Performing Arts Center. It was raining, and that may explain why the crowd was down somewhat from other TTH events we have attended. Today's speaker was Dr. Rufus Fears, professor at OU in Norman. He is a good speaker and talked to us about the early leaders of this country: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Mason, Morris, and others. He spoke without notes and included anecdotes from the lives of these men which made his talk come to life.

I had heard him before on CDs of the lecture series Books That Can Change Your Life made by The Teaching Company. It is a series of 24 lectures, each about a famous person and what they wrote. Please contact me if you would like to listen to this series. He spoke without a single note and kept the audience captivated for over an hour.

When I got home, I finished up a list of HAT members with relevent info (street address, phone numbers, etc.) and took the list to a copy shop and had 25 copies made. I will distribute the list tomorrow at the HAT meeting.

This evening, I went to the monthly poetry group meeting at Border's Bookstore. There were just four of us tonight: Sandra, David, Mary, and myself. We read poetry by William Collins, Thomas Gray, Christopher Smart, and William Cowper. I read Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." Gail, the backbone of this group, was away on vacation. We decided that next month we will choose two of our favorite poems and read them to the group.

Storms Rake Tulsa Area

There were some freaky storms in the area this morning. They were very spotty -- a bit of damage here, more damage over there. Large areas in between were untouched. We dodged the bullet here on Spruce in Sand Springs.

High winds toppled utility poles in Tulsa, resulting in power outages in Tulsa. The schools were closed as a result.

This afternoon, Luke and Ayla visited us while their parents went somewhere.

Tonight we watched a movie on DVD. It was an old movie from back in the 50s or 60s. It starred a young Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal. The title was "A Face in the Crowd." The main character in the movie, Lonesome Rhodes, discovers he has the ability to manipulate the public and does so as he rises to the top.

Medical Day

We arrived at St. John Medical Center this morning by 9:30 for my 9:45 appointment. We check in and discovered there was no record of my having an appointment for 9:45 or any other time that day. The receptionist gave me a couple of papers to fill out. I filled them out and took them up to the desk. Soon I was called to the window where someone took my insurance information. I was told to have a seat and some minutes later my name was called. It was probably about 11:00 am. by this time.

I was taken back to another room where I was preped for the procedure. An IV connection was placed into a vein. It wasn't connected to anything, but it was ready to go. I was told someone else was ahead of me, and I would have to wait about 20 minutes. There were two nurses waiting on me. Both were named Paula.

After about 20 minutes someone wheeled me to another room. We passed by a large window on the southeast corner of the seventh floor. It gave me a good view of that part of town.

Once we got into the procedure room, there were three people there, all women. Dr. Morgan talked with me a bit. She said there were two ways to go about the procedure. She explained them both and left it up to me to decide. I picked one and then rolled from the bed on to the operating table. I was told to hold my arms out front. My underwear was pulled halfway down my rear end. I felt something cold rubbing my lower back. The next thing I remember I was laying on my back regaining consciousness. I was still a bit groggy. Someone helped me into a wheelchair and wheeled me out to the parking area on the seventh floor.

J was driving the car. We returned to Sand Springs, stopping at the Crescent Cafe for lunch. Once we got back home (around 1 pm), I went to bed and slept until around 4:30.

The nurse said it would take 2 to 5 days to feel the benefits of the injection, but I already am feeling much better.

Nature's Wrath Visits State

We experienced rough weather in the state tonight. Storms hit between 4 and 6 this evening. According to one report, there was a swath of destruction from south of Tecumseh over to Highland Road. Altogether, five people lost their life. Tractor-trailer rigs were overturned and traffic on I-40 between Shawnee and OKC came to a halt for a time.

Meanwhile, back in Sand Springs, I was out returning books to the library. As I was returning to my car, I spotted what I thought was a rock in the tred of my front right tire. Using my car key, I tried to flip it out. However, it was not a rock but the head of a nail. Take it out and the tire would most likely deflate. Instead, I drove to Wal Mart where I had purchased the tires. I had a road hazard warranty on the tires when I bought them. Unfortunately, the nail was too close to the sidewall to be repaired. I would have to get a new tire. The tire was pro-rated by wear, so it only costs about $30 for a replacement. I got an oil change while there as well.

I went to bed right after the evening news and slept to just a few minutes ago. My back is still giving me problems, and nothing feels as good as being stretched out in bed.

Performance goes well

I am feeling better today. It used to be I felt the best when I first got up and slowly declined throughout the day. Now, when I first get up is the time I feel the worst, and I slowly feel better as the day goes on. I can tell the disc is still out of place, but maybe I am getting used to it. Anyway, I go the St. John's for the steroid injection on Wednesday. In the meantime, I am trying to take it easy. The disc which has slipped out of place is aggravating the nerve which runs along the disc.

I went to Church of the Restoration this morning. I had hoped that some of my humanist friends would be there. We had talked about forming a partnership between HAT and CoR, in which each entity supports the other, but today was not the day. There were just the usual suspects in the congregation. Actually some of the regulars were not there. There were seven people there today: Gail and myself, Mary, Betty, Larry, Vanessa, and Edna.

The special music went well. Gail and I opened with Alexander's Ragtime Band, followed by Champagne Rag. As the service closed, we played I'll Wait For You and Black Hawk Waltz. (Imagine the quotation marks where they should be. I'm tired.)

Following the service, we went back to the room across from the kitchen where we had salad, baked beans, egg custard, and fried chicken.

I had my phone on vibrate during the service, and I felt it vibrate. J had called. I phoned her back, and she said they would be at Nick's to celebrate Luke's birthday. (Tomorrow is actually his birthday, but since everyone was free Sunday afternoon, that is when we celebrated it.) There were nine of us there. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Luke.

Ayla's recital day

My granddaughter, Ayla, played her annual piano recital today. Considering she is a first grader, she did very well. She played her piece from memory and played it flawlessly. She had a good sense of the piece as a whole. It sounded very polished.

The entire recital lasted about an hour and a half. Afterwards, cookies and punch were served. There were about 30 students in the recital.

Next we went to WalMart where we bought a birthday present for Luke, whose birthday is May 10. Then we took Ayla to her house to get some things for her overnight trip to Nanna and Papa Dan's. She ate her dinner at McDonald's where there is an indoor playground. She is very social and takes to other kids right away. She has never met a stranger.

While I was a home, I worked on my indexing job. I reached the end of the mark-up phase yesterday. I have about a dozen pages left to enter into my indexing computer program. Then I will start editing it.

Also, tonight I went over the pieces we will probably play in church tomorrow. I don't know how much they will want us to play, but we have seven pieces ready to go, beginning with Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Getting ready for Sunday

As you know if you are a regular reader of this blog, plans were for Gail and myself to play a special for church this Sunday. Then I got a call from Edna asking if we could do several pieces this Sunday. I said yes. When I told Gail, she suggested we get together for another practice. This afternoon was that practice -- a full 2 and a quarter hours of playing duets. We worked on seven pieces in an effort to come up with a program for Sunday. We poured our hearts into this practice, so much so that afterwards I fell asleep watching the news and then took a long nap later.

The day began with a trip to the grocery store. I was quite fatigued by the time we got home. However, my back seems to be getting a bit better. I am scheduled to go to the hospital for an epidural steroid injection next week. I will be glad when I can get back to walking.

Slow day

This was a slow day for me, which is OK. I don't need to be pushing it. When I first got up this morning, I was having a lot of difficulty walking. Sitting was no problem, and lying down was all right. It is just trying to move around that is difficult.

I spent most of the day indexing. I think I will be ready to start editing the index tomorrow or the next day.

We watched a movie on DVD tonight. I checked it out from the library. The title is The Secret Life of Bees. I had no idea what it was about, but it turned out to be a very good movie. I would recommend it to my friends.

After watching the movie, I returned it to the library. There was a book there waiting for me. It was Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was a gift from France. What event in American history gave France the resolve to make the statue and give it to the United States? Answer: The assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

I am feeling better tonight, at least better than I felt this morning. My doctor said that sometimes these thing just go away on their own. I hope that's the case with me.

I visit my neurosurgeon

At 11:00 this morning we were at the office of my neurosurgeon. He came in and said "You have a disk herniation." This is the same surgeon who operated on me in 2007. That time he operated at L5 for the same problem. The problem disk this time is L4.

He asked if I had a pain management doctor. I said no. He recommended Dr. Morgan, whose office is in with his. The office was out to lunch. I left a message for them to call me when they got back. Doctor Rapacki suggested I get a steroid injection and possibly a second one if the first one does not work.

Next we went across the street to the Olive Garden. I had the Seafood Alfredo. It has a lot of shrimp and scallops in it. Then we came home.

Soon I was at the library. I had books to turn in and books to check out. Then I went by the bank and got some cash. When I got home I took a phone survey for Olive Garden which will give me a $4 discount next time we go there.

The person from Dr. Morgan's office called to schedule a steriod injection next week on Wednesday. They also told me to stop taking pain medication until after I have the injection. I had been taking 6 to 8 aspirin a day for the pain. So far I am doing okay without medication.

This evening we transferred the plants I bought yesterday into containers. We have four tomato plants, three cucumber plants, and one pepper plant.

The Day in Review

This morning I took my spouse to the doctor's office. Her right leg has been bothering her at the knee and she wanted a medical opinion. The doctor gave her an ointment which helped considerably.

On the way back home, we went by the post office box where HAT gets its mail. The box was empty.

We decided next to go to WalMart and get an elastic brace for her leg. We looked at the equipment for support of knees, elbows, etc. and bought an adjustable knee brace and an elastic knee brace. When we got to the car, she tried them on. The Medium elastic brace was too tight. I went back into the store and returned the item, and then bought an XL brace. It fit just right.

We stopped at Riddle's Plant Farm on the way home, and I bought a few tomato plants and cucumber plants. They are sitting on the back porch right now. Maybe I can get them in the ground tomorrow.

I got a call from Edna, the church pianist, this afternoon. She wanted to know if Gail and I could play several selections next Sunday, instead of just one. I told her we could. It sounded as if there will be no speaker, just music. Then I sent Gail an e-mail informing her of the change. Gail and I will be getting together this Friday afternoon to select and rehearse the additional songs we will play.

This evening we went to the auditorium at the middle school for a musical program put on by the kindergarteners. Our grandson, Luke, was among those performing.

Lunch at the Crescent Cafe

The day began with Gail coming over for a couple hours of fun playing piano duets together. We will be playing at Restoration this Sunday morning. Our selection will be Glenda Austin's "A Little Bit of Bach." This will be a change of pace for us. Heretofore, everything we have played has been ragtime. We're branching out.

After Gail left, J and I went to the Crescent Cafe for lunch. We both had deboned fried chicken pieces. I had some potato salad. Before we left, I ordered a piece of chocolate pie. We brought it home and ate it later.

In the afternoon, we worked on fixing a trash can ... the kind you step on a lever at the bottom and the lid opens up. We spent about an hour trying to rig it so that the lid would open as the foot pedal was depressed. We never could get it to work. I guess we will lift the lid by hand until we can get another trash can.

I spent most of the evening indexing. I got an e-mail from the managing editor. She said they want a nine-page index, run-in style. I said I thought I could have the index done by May 17. Right now it is more than half way done.

Today's happenings

Today being Sunday, I went to Church of the Restoration. Attendance was about 30 -- a bumper crop of devotees. The reason for the jump in attendance is a youth group from Topeka was on a trip, and our church was one of the stops. They spent Saturday night in the sanctuary. There were five or six adults and the remainder were teenages. They had attended the service at All Souls prior to coming into our sanctuary.

The group had visited a museum in north Tulsa which tells about the Race Massacre of 1921, in which several blacks (dozens? hundreds?) were killed. Much of north Tulsa was torched. Many businesses were destroyed, including the famous black Wall Street area of Tulsa. The grounds on which our church stands was part of the destruction. The rage even took to the air as people with private planes circled about trying to shoot innocent blacks on the ground. Many blacks fled the city never to return.

From here the group is to travel on the OKC and visit the Bombing Memorial. Before returning to Topeka the group will have visited the Trail of Tears Museum in Tahlequah. Several of the youth took part in our service by lighting a candle during the "joys and concerns" part of the service. In fact, all of the candles were lit during this part of the service. It took quite some time just to get through this portion. It is a good thing the speaker did not speak a long time.

Barbara was at church and asked if I was going to go to Herb's in the afternoon. Herb had called a meeting to discuss some matters relating to HAT. I told her I was intending to go, and she asked if she could ride with me to the meeting.

We stopped at Arby's for lunch and then went on to Herb's. There were seven people there: Ron, Randy, John L. Herb, Barbara, Marilyn, and myself. We talked about matters ranging from the formation of committees to a review of the bylaws. The meeting lasted a long while. Herb had prepared a sheet with seven items for discussion.

When I got home (just before news time), I noticed the yard had been mowed and the hedges trimmed. Our new yard man had been here. I hope to hear something from my doctor tomorrow regarding the MRI I had taken last Thursday.

Next Sunday, Gail and I will be playing at Restoration again. We will work up our piece tomorrow for Sunday.

Review of the day

This morning we went to Braum's for breakfast. We had the usual -- a sausage and egg biscuit with Coffee (for J) and orange juice (for me). While there, we read the paper. We returned home and I resumed indexing the book I am working on.

This evening, we went to the Bradleys for Movie Night. Gail and I played "Castle House Rag," and I gave Gail the primo part to a new piece we will be working on. It is Schubert's "Fantasy in F minor." I got the music from a CD Sheet Music disc I own. There are more than 1,100 pages of music on that disc. At $20 a disc, I consider it a bargain. Then we watched the movie, which was "Capitalism: A Love Story" by Michael Moore. We had seen it before, but I was glad to see it again.

Freethought Calendar for May

May 2010 Calendar of Activities for Freethinkers

Sat., May 1, 7:00 pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 5607 E. 54th St. showing of a film will follow playing of “Castle House Rag” by our piano duo, Gail and Dan.

Sun., May 2, 2:00 pm
HAT Planning Session, at Herb’s house, 3414 E. 85th Pl.

Wed., May 12, 7:00 pm
Tulsa Atheists Mid-Month Social, Campus Grill, 3148 E. 11th St.

Sat., May 15, 2 pm
HAT Chapter Meeting at Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard.

Wed., May 19, 11:20 am
ALGAE, White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan Rd.

Thurs., May 20, noon
Contest deadline for “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.” Mail your drawing to HAT, P. O. Box 571127, Tulsa, OK 74157. Winners will be recognized at Food and Fellowship gathering.

Sat., May 22, 11:30 am
Food & Fellowship at La Hacienda, 4518 S. Peoria.

Sun., May 23, 1 pm
Tulsa Atheists Meetup, at Agora Coffee House in Fontana Center

There is a possibility a meeting will be held (in the first full week of May) at Bill Dusenberry’s to discuss action to be taken in regard to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” May 20.

Due to low attendance, Secular Singers is suspended for the summer. We will resume in September, provided there is sufficient interest.

Questions? Call Randy (622-6975) or Dan (798-3629)

Lifeline Screening

Today we went to Broadway Baptist Church for a health screening. There were fewer people there than I remember the last time we got a screening. It could be the economy has a lot to do with that. I think that most people do not go to see a doctor until they have symptoms. Today's screening could be called preventative medicine. We are supposed to get the results within 21 days. One of the tests checked for AAA. I am concerned about this because my Dad has this condition. All the tests were given in a period of about 30 minutes.

We picked up things out of the back yard to get ready for the man who will be mowing our grass. We also went to the library. They had some books for me, but since I'm indexing a book right now, I did not pick up any books. They will hold the books a few more days before sending them back to their library of origin. I hope to pick them up before then.

Our dishwasher was delivered and installed today. We went through the drive-thru at Wendy's after the medical tests and got lunch which we brought home to eat. As we drove up, we saw a pickup in our driveway with our dishwasher in the bed. He had not called before coming by, but he said he had not been there long. He installed the dishwaher and left. Our new dishwasher runs quietly.

I discovered today that I have the sheet music to Schubert's "Fantasy in F minor," which I heard played recently at a Hyechka meeting. The music is on a CD Sheet Music disc titled "Piano Duets: The Ultimate Collection." All I had to do was print it out.

Two of my favorite TV programs aired their final episodes tonight: "NOW" and "Bill Moyers' Journal." Moyers is retiring. His reporting is irreplaceable.

MRI today

Today we went to St. John's Hospital to get an MRI. It took longer to have the MRI taken of my back than it did to have the MRI of my brain about a month ago. We were at the hospital for about two hours. After it was over we went down to the cafeteria, but found that it was closed. We went to a nearby Wendy's. There I got a bowl of chili and a Dr. Pepper. Afterwards we got a chocolate Frosty, which we split.

Darlene, who lives across the street, has a man who mows her grass. He came over and looked at our yards (front and back) and offered to mow ours for $35. We said okay. He said he would mow our grass this Friday or Saturday. Tomorrow we are gong to have some medical tests run at Broadway Baptist Church. For $139 each we get five tests run. They check for AAA and a few other things. We last had these tests about five years ago.

The man who is going to install our new dishwasher is supposed to come by in the afternoon. I hope we get back from Broadway Baptist in time.

Review of the day

We ate at Rib Crib for lunch today. Then went went grocery shopping.

My page proofs arrived today, and I began working on another book. This book is only about 170 pages long.

There is not much to write about tonight. I will try to get a good night of rest and get up tomorrow morning and start indexing. I do have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow at St. John Hospital in Tulsa. Maybe that will give me something to write about tomorrow.

Out and about in Tulsa

We were out and about in Tulsa today. The first place we went was Sears at 21st and Yale. There we picked out a new dishwasher. The installer will call us Friday and arrange to install the new dishwasher and haul off the old one. Next we went to Red Lobster for lunch. J had the Sailor's Platter and I had the stuffed flounder. After lunch we went to Staples and turned in ten empty ink cartidges. They should be sending me a check for $30 for the used cartridges. I also ordered a 12-pack of hot pink highlighters which I use in my indexing work. Dumbarton Oaks will be overnighting page proofs for my next indexing job. They should arrive tomorrow.

When Gail was over yesterday for our weekly piano duet practice, we decided to play "Castle House Rag" for Movie Night at the Bradleys this Saturday. We have also been asked to play again at Church of the Restoration on May 9. We are planning on playing Austin's "A Little Bit of Bach" on that occasion. The piece showcases themes from the music of J. S. Bach.

I would like to get back to volkswalking again, but the results of the MRI I am to have on Thursday will determine my next step. If the surgeon advises surgery, I will gladly do it. I need to get back to walking, an impossibility for me in this condition now. I feel fine as long as I am sitting down, but walking around is most difficult.

View from Drillers Stadium

This is a view of the field, officially known as Oneok Field. The character prancing around on the field is the mascot Hornsby.



This is the view from Drillers Stadium near downtown Tulsa. We watched a game last Saturday evening from an upper deck along the third base line. Dinner was catered for the corporate guests. Birdzerk was the entertainment.

Busy Sunday

I had three events to attend today and they were back to back. Actually they overlapped a bit.

First, was Church of the Restoration. Today was Poetry Sunday at Restoration. I read "Noah," a poem written by Philip Appleman. It has some humor as well as some somber portions. It runs about 10 minutes in length.

As soon as the service was over I was out the door and on the way to the Agora Coffee House, venue for the Tulsa Atheists Meetup. I arrived about 1:10 pm, but the meeting had not started. Leading the group today was William Poire, a dynamic young leader about thirty years my junior. Also present and taking a leading role was Hilary McKinney, a law student at TU.

At today's meetup, Bill recommended we read an article in today's Tulsa World: "Let's Move Learning Online." According to Bill, online learning is the wave of the future. It is more effective and cheaper than the present system. You go at your own pace, and there is no bus transportation involved.

Following this meeting, I stopped at Wendy's for a quick lunch. There was a "crazy women" in line behind me who just had to tell me jokes. Example: Why did the orange stop at the bottom of the hill? Answer: It ran out of juice. She fired off five or six such jokes, and no one enjoyed them as much as the teller. She guffawed at each joke. I sat down and ate my chili and afterwards proceeded to Joe Price's house. I had called Joe to tell him I would probably be late. I arrive at 3:45 instead the normal 3:30. Joel was not there today. It was just myself and the Prices.

I got home in time to watch the 5:30 Nightly News. After I finish updating my blog, I hope to read some of the book I will be indexing in the coming days.

I don't think I mentioned I will be having an MRI on my back this Thursday. I am getting tired of the constant pain. I have been taking aspirin to lessen the pain. I have not taken any more Aleve since Dr. Rapacki said it leads to kidney failure.

Food & Fellowship and a ball game

The day began by going to the HAT Food and Fellowship gathering held at Chopsticks, a Chinese restaurant located at 61st and Sheridan. There were ten of us there. I took my camera and the waitress shot a picture of us all. If I like the photo, I will post it tomorrow.

One thing I learned at the Food and Fellowship is that the event we had planned for May 6 was called off due to the expense. I assume the tent will still be ordered. We have talked about getting a tent for years, but no action is ever taken on the matter. I will check with Randy to see if he ordered a tent (a $240 expense). It would not break us since we have about $1,500 in the treasury.

This past week I received another book to index from Dumbarton Oaks. The book is only 170 pages long. I have to wait until next Monday to see if the page proofs which were sent to me by e-mail do not change. It is an art history book.

Tonight we went to a baseball game at the new Drillers Stadium near downtown Tulsa. Tulsa played the Springfield Cardinals. We left early (after the 6th inning) while it was still daylight since we had a ten-minute walk to where we parked the car. The event was sponsored by an insurance society to which J belongs. Dinner was provided, which consisted of various barbecued meats with varioius side dishes. It was a catered event.

Tomorrow is poetry Sunday at CoR. I am looking forward to it.

A conundrum

¿uʍop ǝpısdn sƃuıɥʇ ǝʌɐɥ ʇsnɾ ı op ɹo ¿dn pǝxıɯ ı ɯɐ
Ah, this is better.

Cashing in cans

The local recycling place where we take our cans to be recycled was today (being Earth Day) paying double what they mornally do for aluminum cans. We took in two sacks and got 70 cents per pound for them. Next we went down the street to a drug store and bought a bottle of vitamins.

We had lunch at Subway and also went by the library.

I heard from two of my readers who were upset with what I had written about the Bible. When you write something that cast doubt on the reliability of the Bible, some people find that threatening. If the Bible is wrong on some points, then the bible may be wrong on anything. Without the reliability of scripture, all of Christianity is open to doubt.

What if there is no afterlife? What if this life is all there is? What if you never again get to see loved ones who have passed on? Showing that the scriptures contain errors makes these questions relevant.

If you are interested in the subject of errors in the Bible, let me recommend the web site whose link is found below:

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/

There are many ways to use this resource. Under "Highlights," you will see a list of 14 topics. Click on "contradictions" to view contradictions.

Slow Tuesday

We went grocery shopping today, and that's about all we did. It is hardly worth signing on tonight. I hope that tomorrow I hear from Dr. Rapicki's office regarding the MRI I will be taking. Until I get that done, I don't plan to do much.

Blood test

This morning we went to St. John Medical Center for me to have blood drawn and tested as a prelude to having an MRI done. We thought we might have to wait a long time, but the wait was short and we were out in a very short period of time. Before leaving the hospital, we went down to the cafeteria and ate breakfast.

We drove back home and have been here ever since. Around 5 pm Nick, Ayla, and Luke can by. Nick left Luke with us while he took Ayla to her piano lesson at Mrs. Hopper's. Neither J nor I are getting around very well at this time. Tonight we watched the MSNBC special program "The McVeigh Tapes." Today was the fifteenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Uneventful Sunday

Ayla spent the night with us Saturday evening. When J got up she noticed that Ayla was missing. She came looking for her in the back room where I was reading. She asked if know where Ayla was. I said I did not so we went to the front bedroom where Ayla had been sleeping; but she was not there. We found her in the dining room with a big dollop of peanut butter on a spoon. She had silently gotten up and went to the kitchen for food.

J and Ayla got dressed and left for church. Soon I also got dressed and left for my church. There were only five peo0ple there today. There was Edna, the church pianist; Mary, the lay leader; Betty, the speaker; and that left just Larry and myself. I guess you could call us the congregation. Had I not gone today, the congregational attendance was have declined by 50%.

I had no meetings this afternoon; even drumming was canceled. I have been inside ever since I got back from church.

We might look at another Bible question, since I do not have a lot to write about today. The question is: How did Judas die? The writer of Acts (1:18) says, "(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out." Compare that to Matthew 27:5 which reads "So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself."

I ask you, my readers, which account do you accept? The one in which he falls and burst open, or the one in which he hangs himself?

Trip to Ponca City

We drove to Ponca City Friday afternoon for a volkswalking and geocaching trip. It was not our best trip. We looked for three caches, but found none.

We ate dinner at Enrique's Mexican Restaurant at the Ponca City Airport, but I was disappointed in the restaurant. I had heard many favorable comments about Enrique's, but the experience was a let-down. The table at which we sat was not a stable table. It rocked back and forth. The chips were so greasy, they were translucent. I had the No. 1 combination plate, which allowed me to sample three foods. The food was good, though. The place is very popular. We had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated.

After we ate, we drove on in to Ponca City. We saw a cluster of motels in the south part of town. I pulled in to a Super 8 motel and got a room. Our room was, to put it bluntly, crappy. There was little shelf space for toiletries. The shower had a two-inch diameter drain with no guard covering it. You drop something down that hole, and it is gone forever. We stuffed a washcloth in the drain just to make sure we did no lose anything.

I had asked for a room with either a king or queen size bed, but all they had was rooms with double beds. I stretched out on the bed next to the window, and noticed that even with the curtain closed, you could see out the window by looking at the bottom of the curtain. If I could see someone standing outside the window, I figured they could look in and see me. So J and I slept together in the other bed.

We noticed strange smells at various times in the night. We had asked for a non-smoking room, but I have to wonder how long it had been a non-smoking room. The walls were thin, and around a quarter after four in the morning, someone out on the walkway had a coughing fit. From the sound of the coughing, I would say the poor soul is not long for this world. I got no more than three hours sleep last night.

When our cell phone alarms went off this morning, we got up and showered and got dressed and made our way to the start point. Dorothy Brown was working the start table. We talked to her a bit and then headed out on the walk. We did not know how long we could walk, but we were determined to find out. We managed to walk two kilometers before pain got the better of us.

On Friday, I received the paperwork to have blood drawn to see if my body will be able to get rid of the contrast agent used during the MRI I will be having. Monday, I will go to a Regional Medical Lab to have the blood work done. Then I will wait until I hear from Dr. Rapacki's office as to where we go next.

We got back to Sand Springs in time for me to get a short nap before leaving for the HAT meeting at the Genealogy Center on Harvard Ave. There were twelve people there today.

Lazy day

We had some plans for today, but we opted to stay at home instead of getting out. The two activities we passed up were Music at the Mansion and the Tulsa Atheists Mid-Month Social. Instead of going to the music program, I took a nap. Instead of going to the TAM Social, I mowed the back yard.

My back problem is much better. The methly pred pack works wonders. It is some kind of a steroid. I expect the pain to make a return visit sometime after the pills run out. I hope to hear tomorrow about the MRI which has been ordered for me.

I made a trip to the library today, returning three items and checking out three other items. One item waiting for me which had come in was a DVD titled "American Betrayed: How Government and Big Business Bring Ruin to America's Infrastructure." While at the library, I phoned in an order at Chinese Express. I went by the restaurant and picked up the order: lemon chicken for J and orange chicken for myself. I took it home and that was our dinner. I put half of my order in the fridge. I will eat it for breakfast in the morning.

After dinner I got out the lawn mower. I noticed the gas can was empty. We made a quick trip to the local QuikTrip and got it filled up. I was able to get the back yard mowed with a minimum of discomfort. In the evening I read e-mail and then watched some MSNBC.

Review of the day

First, I should report that I feel pretty good today. The methyl pred pack has relieved most, but not all, of the pain. I did have to take an aspirin this evening, but that is all I had to take to, in effect, make the pain go away.

We began the day by going to Braum's for breakfast where we both had a sausage and egg biscuit. We took a look at the paper while we were there. We had to hurry home because I am taking medicine. There are two pills that I am supposed to take at breakfast. Next we went to the tag agency. They have a small post office inside the agency where we mailed some insurance papers to get reimbursed for some medical expenses.

Once we returned home, I looked at the responses I had typed up several weeks ago in answer to eight questions posed to me by Galen. I made a few alterations and then e-mailed them on to him.

I helped J fix supper tonight, and then we watched the news on TV. I had seen a promotion of a program on OETA. Two members of the state legislature discussed some issues in the news. I watched that.

I have not heard anything yet concerning the MRI I am supposed to take.

I visit my doctor

The big news for today is my visit to the back doctor, but since I posted nothing yesterday, I will back up and begin with Monday. Gail is getting ready to go on a trip with her husband to St. Louis and did not come over for piano duets yesterday. She will be gone for two weeks. I still played piano, but I concentrated on solo pieces.

One bit of news from Sunday is that Vanessa Adams-Harris expressed some interest in having a Humanist group within the church. It would be great if we could do that. Some of the HAT folks might also like to take part in a Humanist program of some type. We will see what we can arrange.

In the evening Nick came over. He left Luke with J while he took Ayla to her piano lesson. They also stayed for dinner.

Today we went to see Dr. Rapacki. I described my symptoms to him, and he ordered a MRI for me. He also gave me a prescription for a methlypred pack. The last time I had a back problem, he prescribed methlypred and I got immediate relief. I hope it works as well this time.

There are some volkswalks coming up this weekend I would like to do. On Saturday there are walks in Ponca City and Perry. I will probably have to miss those due to the HAT meeting scheduled for Saturday. On Sunday, walks are scheduled to be held in Prague and Guthrie.

On the way home we stopped at the computer repair shop and picked up our computer. It has been re-arranged. I think everything is still there (I saw the file I'm going to send to Galen), but things are in different places. Imagine if you went on vacation and when you returned home all of your things had been moved to another location within the house. Right now it is hard to find things. Our first priority was locating Sky Index, the program I use to index books. My next indexing job is due to arrive around May 1, and I want to be ready for it.