Back from vacation

We are back from a vacation to Sedalia, Mo.  We left Wednesday evening around 4:40 pm.  We drove to Nevada, Mo. and got a room for the night at the Super 8.  There are several geocaches in Nevada, and we had just enough time to look for two before it got dark.  The first cache we looked for was on a caboose in a park.  We got some help finding the cache from a person who was familiar with the location.

The second cache was near the county courthouse.  There just happened to be a concert going on there with a crowd of a couple hundred out on the courthouse lawn.  As darkness fell, we had not found the cache.  But with so many people around, we did not check out every possibility.

The next morning, we got up and drove on to Sedalia -- a town of about 20,000 inhabitants. I took a lot of pictures there.  I will post some later.  There were plenty of people there for the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival.  This was our first year to attend the event.  It ran from Wednesday the 5th thru Saturday the 9th.  Some of the best ragtime piano players in the nation were there.

There were five performance venues going nonstop from 9am until 5pm each day.  The daytime piano playing was free.  Only the evening performances were ticketed events.

Due to the popularity of the event, lodging was sold out.  I had phoned motels looking for a room about a month prior to the Festival, but all were sold out.  We stayed in Sweet Springs, which is about 30 miles away to the north.

I had time to find two caches while in Sedalia.  We had pleasent weather while there.  We plan to go back next year.

Saturday afternoon, we drove to Springfield and spent the night at my parents' apartment.  We left Sunday afternoon and returned to Sand Springs.

Weather settles down

It appears the weather in Oklahoma has settled down for a while.  We have had a spate of rough weather.  Nearby Broken Arrow was hit with a tornado a few days ago.  Other parts of the state had it worse.

There is nothing new to write about.  I have been doing my usual activities.  Today I was the speaker at church.  I spoke about the book The God Virus.  It was written by psychologist Darrel Ray.

I will once again be playing piano for Edna on the 16th and 23rd.

It appears that I will once again be the speaker for Humanist Sunday in July.  I'm not sure yet what my topic will be.

I am continuing my walking regimen.  I am somewhere around 160 miles for the year so far.  I had to miss the last couple of volkswalks.  I should go out to Keystone Lake and do the year-round walk there a few times.

Reflections on a bad week for Oklahoma

Some two dozen people lost their life earlier this week.  Most of them were residents of Moore.  An additional several hundred sustained injuries from the tornado -- a tornado at one point 1.3 miles wide which stayed on the ground for 17 miles.  Several hundreds of homes were destroyed and many more suffered damage.

It is such an event as this that makes the atheist wish there were a god who could and would intervene on behalf of the victims.  But alas, there was no help from above.  If you value your life, don't pray for a miracle -- build a storm shelter.

This morning, we had our May Food and Fellowship gathering.  In attendance were David, Mark, Lisa, Randy, Dawn, Marilyn, Barbara, Gail, Jan, and Dan.  We ate at La Hacienda on Peoria.

Earlier this week I posted another duet video on YouTube.  Search for "Gail and Dan at piano" if you would like to view it.

We dodged a bullet tonight

May is a bad month for tornadoes.  Tonight three super cells developed near OKC.  They were headed up I-44 toward the Tulsa area.  They fizzled out before getting here.  I haven't heard yet if there were any fatalities.

Gail is expecting an important phone call tomorrow.  She asked if I would be willing to practice duets at her house.  So I will be going to her house tomorrow.

Quotation

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.   --Terry Pratchett

Reading / Playing / Walking / Cutting

Last night I finished reading a book by C. S. Lewis.  The title was The Great Divorce.  It is the next book for discussion by the Methodist Book Club.  It was to be the book for May, but for some reason the May meeting was canceled.  Thankfully, it was not too long.  It was written some sixty to seventy years ago, a time when it was acceptable to hurl insults at atheists.  Nowdays people are more tolerant of religious diversity.

On Sunday, Edna, the church pianist, had another commitment.  I filled in for her.  I played a ten-minute interlude, and then our minister was led in.  He was led in account he is blind now and must be shown the way.  Shown is not the right word.  He has to feel his way around.  He is familiar with the sanctuary, having preached there many time before the onset of his blindness.

Vanessa had told me that the closing hymn would be "Over My Head," but she had not informed me of the opening hymn.  I suggested "Lift Every Voice and Sing."  She said she had been thinking about that hymn, too.  So that was our opening hymn.

Gail and I provided the special music, which was Gershwin's I've Got Rhythm.

Following the service, four of us engaged in hand-drumming.  I brought my two drums, and the church had two drums.  It was the first time I had drummed in a couple of years.  The four of us were myself, Vanessa, Gerald (the minister), and Hagi. I had to leave after ten minutes to get to a birthday party for Luke, my grandson.

At the birthday party for Luke, there were nine people.  We had fried chicken and potato salad for lunch.

The next day was Monday, and Gail drove over for our weekly practice.  She is considering going to a hospital in Denver in hopes of getting more information about her lung condition.  She has seen two doctors in Tulsa.  Both said it would be too dangerous to do a lung biopsy.

Today I cut the grass in the back yard.  We have taken so much out of the backyard that it is possible to cut it quickly.

Some recent photos

This picture was taken inside the Red Barn Cafe and Hen House Bakery in Mt. Vernon, MO just a few miles west of Springfield  We had dinner on the way to Springfield.  They had a good amount of business.

We got up one morning and looked outside to see sleet covering the car.  This was May 3, 2013.

Here is another view of the sleet covering many objects.  It snowed all day May 3 in Springfield.  Very little stuck to the grass.

This is a view inside our living room.  The object covered up in the background is my piano.  We had to cover up everything and move any items near the windows toward the center of the room in preparation for the installation of new windows.

A visit to Target

Today we went to the Target store at the Tulsa Hills shopping center.  On our last visit there a couple of months ago I saw a bookshelf which I thought might be good for my piano music.  Presently, I am using a shelf I built myself some twenty years ago.  I used it for my magazines for several years, but decided to use it for my sheet music a few years ago.

The storage unit I built is six feet high with nine shelves about 14" square.  Since I am constantly buying new music, I ran out of space a year or two ago.  We went over to Target to buy the shelf, but they had none in stock.  In fact, they discontinued the item.  We checked at Lowe's, also in Tulsa Hills shopping center, but found nothing to our liking there.  We returned home without making a purchase.

We came back from another extended stay in Springfield, MO on Sunday.  I had to miss church.  It was Humanist Sunday and Joy Avery gave the talk.  Edna, the church pianist, will not be able to be at church this coming Sunday.  I plan to fill in for her.

Back on Easter Sunday, my father fell and broke his hip.  Thus the many trips to Springfield.  Dad is at home recuperating now.

Yesterday, we had all the windows (except the laundry room) in the house replaced.  The new windows look nice.  The crew of four worked from about 7 am to noon.

Piano and medical matters

I was on the way to the post office today when my phone rang.  It was Gail.  Gail's mother-in-law is staying at Gail's house due to her (the mother-in-law's) fragile nature.  Gail invited me to her house to practice piano duets today.  She wanted to stay close to her phone (landline) since she was expecting a call from her doctor.  I said I would be there at 1 pm.

I showed up at the Storey residence at 1 pm.  Gail's mother-in-law, Ruby, was there, along with a caregiver and Gail's husband Glenn.  We talked some about my father's condition and about the trips we have been making back and forth to Springfield.  While I was there, Gail's doctor office called with the date of an appointment for Gail.  This is the phone call she has been expecting for the past few days.

Sometime ago, we, the Storeys and the Nerrens, took a road trip to Ponca City for the purpose of eating at a world-famous restaurant at the Ponca City airport by the name of Enrique's.  It is a Mexican restaurant.  We talked about doing the same thing again this year.  We might even search for a geocache while there.  There is a labyrinth in the city which I have never walked. 

If you would like to search for geocaches in your area, go to www.geocaching.com and type in your ZIP code and take a look at your area.

Poetry Sunday

Back to my blog.  I’ve been away for a while and have neglected to update this blog for several days.  It’s time for an update.

We returned home from Springfield after another extended stay.  In some ways going back to Missouri is like returning to civilization after a period in the wilderness.  After all, Oklahoma did not become a state until 1907, decades after Missouri became a part of the union.

I went to church this morning, having missed the last two weeks.  As part of the revised Sunday service procedure, I now play piano in the minutes before the service starts, while the church pianist, Edna, makes her way to the church.  Edna is also the church pianist for another church which has an earlier service time.

Today was Poetry Sunday.  Several of us read poems for the service.  I read “O, Kharma,
Dharma, Pudding and Pie” by Philip Appleman.

There have been a couple of big changes in my life this month.  The first involves my parents in Springfield.  I’m afraid I can’t say any more about this at this time.

The other big change involves a health scare for Gail, my partner of some eight years in playing piano duets.  She is undergoing medical tests.  We have not played together since March.  She had lung cancer two years ago.  We fear it is coming back.

To Springfield and back

We took a trip to Springfield, Missouri and stayed eight days.  We got back home on Monday, April 8.  The reason for the lengthy stay will have to be withheld.  Suffice it to say that both of my parents are still alive.

Monday evening was the date of the Methodist Book Club.  We uniformly agreed that the selection for April was a dud, with the exception of Kat.  I found the humor of the book to be juvenile.  The author of the book is Jenny Lawson, and I think her favorite word is "fuck."  The book's title is Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir).   Next month the selection is by C. S. Lewis.  The title of the book is The Great Divorce.

I have had to miss the last two duet practice sessions.  Maybe I will be home next Monday.

I got my hair cut on Tuesday.  I was a bit overdue for one.

The Jesus Diet

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

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

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

Photos

 

This is a picture of the exterior of the library in Springfield, MO. 

 This library was not here when we moved from Springfield in 1986.

 

 

 

Here is a view inside a coffee shop within the library.

 

 

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

 

 

Inside the periodicals area is an exhibit on Route 66.

 

This picture and those below were taken on a volkswalk in Tulsa. 

Here we are looking at the 23rd St. bridge.

 

 

 

  

There are two paths along the west side of the river. 

One is for pedestrians; the other is for bicyclests.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Here we see the west side of the 23rd St. bridge.  The two paths

become one, but the two areas are separated by stripping.

 

 

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

 

 

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

This is a view of the Arkansas River.  Due to the drought,

the river has dried up considerably.  Tire tracks are visible in this view.

 

 

 

 

Here is another view of the University Club tower.

The week in review

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

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

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

Piano practice

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

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

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

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

A trip to Springfield

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

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

A volkswalk and a HAT meeting

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

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

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

A Concert at TCC

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

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

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

Quoted

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

—Harry Harrison

Will you support research for Life Extension?

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

 

http://signon.org/sign/presobama-fund-life-extensio