Today, we got up early (for us) and went to an elementary school where my grandson attends fourth grade. We were given a donut and a cup of orange drink and listened to some of the students read.
Once we got back, I went walking. I did my usual 3-mile stint.
In the video I was surprised to hear Hamilton admit that the Bible has errors. That is something you don't often hear from a Christian.
Here is the link to the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL31pUOUw_U
Whoever it might be was persistent for he rang the bell a second time. Not knowing who was outside the door, I went to the door and said "Who's there?" loud enough so that the visitor could hear me through the door. The visitor made a short reply, but I could not make out what he said. I turned on the porch light to illuminate the area.
I proceeded to the window to see if I could get a view of the visitor. I went over by the piano hoping I could get a good view of the doorbell ringer. I saw the person -- a male, caucasian, about 25 to 30 years old, and rather swarthy looking -- standing in front of the door. It was no one I had ever seen before. He rang the bell once again.
By this time my wife was on the phone calling the police. The 911 center dispatched a patrolman, but he was in north Sand Springs when he got the call. The visitor decided to return to his vehicle parked in the street with motor running and lights on. There was also a second vehicle parked in front of our house, but it's lights were off. I could not tell if it was occupied.
The visitor got in the car and made a U-turn and proceeded south on 51st St. and disappeared into the night.
A couple of minutes later the police arrived. The patrolman came to the door and spoke with us. The patrolman just missed the visitor by two minutes.
After the visitor and policeman were gone, I noticed our neighbor was getting something out of his car trunk, or maybe he was putting something in it. As soon as he closed the trunk lid, he went inside his house. The time was a quarter until two.
We slept uneasy the rest of the night. When I got up at 7:15 this morning I notice the second car, the one parked in front of our house, was gone.
We were left to wonder what this whole incident was about.
I have been listening to some new music, that is, music that is new to me. William Bolcom's "Three Ghost Rags" I find quite interesting. Bolcom was born in 1938, and I haven't checked to see if he is still living. His first ghost rag is titled "The Graceful Ghost." Thanks to Scorser.com, I was able to print a copy. It is a bit tricky to play as it begins with five flats and then transitions to six flats and then back to five. Another piece I am working on is titled "Twelth Street Rag." Gail still comes over on Mondays for duet practice. In September, she will be away. I will have to come up with an alternative or play a solo. I am also the speaker that day for the service.
My son Nick came over today to work here. His internet service was down and he needs the internet to do his job.
Presently, Ayla is with us. She will stay here overnight, and we wil return her to her parents tomorrow.
Walking is going well. I have walked 12 miles this week. Yesterday, instead of walking at the Salvaton Army gym at noon as I usually do, I walking in the evening at River City Park. There is an ideal place to walk in the park. The walking trail is marked for distance. Starting at "0" by the Case Community Center, you can walk to the 1.5 mile post and turn around and walk back. It is about 3 or 4 miles to get there, as opposed to the 1 mile distance to the Salvation Army. Sometimes there are a lot of people at the park. They have soccer fields, volleyball courts, horseshoe areas, bike riding areas, and a skateboard facility there. However, when I walk there a usually few people around. Much of the trail is on the banks of the Arkansas River. Across the river is the BNSF rail line. I usually see a train or two while I walk.
Since I last posted here, Tulsa has hosted the FreeOK event for this year. It was held in the Convention Center again. Hundreds of freethinkers came from around the area to hear freethought speakers. My favorite speakers this year were C. J. Werleman and Steve Wells. I am currently reading a book by Werleman titled Crucifying America. Wells is the author of the well-known (at least among freethinkers)The Skeptic's Annotated Bible. The book is a great resource. I downloaded it recently to my tablet; however, I wish I had a conventional paper copy. It is the kind of book that a freethinker might use frequently in discussions with Bible believers.
I am currently reading "12 Years a Slave." The book was made into a movie. I have not seen the movie, but I might see if I can rent the DVD. The book is fairly short as books go. I downloaded it to my tablet. The Methodist Book Club is reading this book as one of its next selections. The other selection we are reading is "The Man Without a Country" by Edward Everett Hale. I finished reading it last week. The book club meets again next Monday.
We were busy the entire time in Springfield. Neither my mother nor sister drive. Only my dad drives, but with macular degeneration coming on, he does not get out very often. We made trips to K-Mart and the library. Dad treated us to a dinner at Rib Crib one evening.
Today at church, one member told us about her grandson, 31 years old, who had a sudden illness. He was sick for two days and then died. The subject of today's talk was Woody Guthrie. We sang this "This Land is Your Land." The talk was given by Joy Avery.
On Saturday, we had our monthly Food and Fellowship gathering at La Hacienda on S. Peoria. Due to road construction, access to businesses along that stretch of road has been hampered. The road was opened up just this week. I hope we benefitted La Hacienda by eating there. We usually have 8 to 10 people attend our Food and Fellowship gatherings.
After the F&F gathering, we went by the church. A Democratic group had rented the building for an ice cream social. We stopped by for a half hour.
Most of the music at Scorser is dated, but that's fine. I prefer the older pieces -- Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Debussy, Ravel, all the classical composers. Scores can be downloaded for piano, as well as ensembles of various instruments.
The other site, free-scores (be sure to include the hyphen), has a lot of classical composers as well as modern composers who are hoping to make a name for themselves. First you will see a selection of instruments. I click on "piano." Then you will see various types of music: ragtime, new age, waltzes. Click on the type of music you are interested in. The score will appear on your screen and then you can print it. You can also hear much of the music before you print, if you desire. Even links to some YouTube videos are available.
Today Dad took us to the Rib Crib on Campbell Ave. It is in a new location. The former location on Sunshine has closed. The new Rib Crib is not far from the old one. It is across Campbell from Maschino Hardware. It shares a parking lot with Price Cutter grocery. I ate ribs, and they were very good. The potato salad, baked beans, and corn on the cob were also excellent.
I had to miss Poetry Group tonight as we were on the road at that time, but I'm sure they got along without me.
Here are the cucumbers harvested today from my garden. The cup gives some perspective to the vegetables.
I usually get up between 6:00 am and 9:30 am. I sleep fairly well at night, usually going to bed around midnight.
One of the first things I do in the morning is take my synthroid pill. This pill (synthetic throid) supplements my thyroid glands which do not produce a sufficient amount of thyroid for my body.
Next I go to the kitchen to find something to eat. This morning I had a cup of hot chocolate and a fiber bar. I also ate a cup of yogurt. Some mornings I drink orange juice instead of hot chocolate. Occasionally, I have scrambled eggs and sausage, but more often than not, I just eat a fiber bar.
Next I read the newspaper if it's a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Those are the only days we get the Tulsa World. If the mail has arrived, I will go through the mail.
At some point in the morning, I usually go to the Salvation Army to walk. I usually walk an hour. During the summer the SA serves as a day care for kids. The time for walking is noon to one while school is out of session.
I enjoy working two puzzles on my tablet. At some time in the day I can be found working to solve "7 Little Words" and "Bonza." Both are word puzzles in which you take word fragments and put them together to form words. I also enjoy playing "Montezuma Blitz."
Lunch is usually a sandwich or leftovers from supper the previous day. We watch the "News on 6" while eating.
In the afternoon, reading (currently reading Human Destiny is to Eliminate Death), playing piano (currently working on "Endless Love," "Ashokan Farewell," "Last Date," "Gabriel's Oboe," and "Planxty"), or napping (ZZZZZZ) is what you will find me doing. At 5:30 pm I always try to watch the NBC "Nightly News." I take my evening meds at this time.
I go out back to check my garden following the news. I have some tomato plants and some cucumbers growing out there.
At 8:00 pm I try to watch "The Rachel Maddow Show." At 10 pm I watch one of the local news programs, usually channel 8.
This is pretty much my daily routine, except for Sundays. On Sundays, church activities consume most of my mornings.
First, we went to Springfield. My Dad had some doctor appointments. He also has macular degeneration and his eyesight is poor. We drove him to the doctor. We left Springfield for Sedalia on Thursday. It was raining heavily as we left. We had reservations at the Comfort Inn in Sedalia for that evening and the next. We checked in that evening. The occasion for the visit to Sedalia was the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival. The festival started on Wednesday and ran thru Saturday. Friday was the only day we attended.
There are five venues around town at which ragtime music is performed constantly from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. These are all free. In the evenings there are ticketed concerts ($30 per ticket) at various venues.
For our evening meal on Friday we went to a nearby Applebee's. We placed a to go order. I wanted to get back to the motel to see the evening news. While waiting for our order, I recognized the location as being one where a geocache was hidden. Although I did not have my GPS receiver with me, I decided to look for the cache anyway. After about 10 minutes of searching I happened upon it.
After eating our ribs from Applebee's, we went to the evening concert. The concert that evening was devoted to the music of James P. Johnson. James P. Johnson was a famous stride pianist in his day. (Another famous musician around that time with a similar name was James Weldon Johnson, who wrote God's Trombones.)
Several well-known (at least to ragtime enthusiasts) performers played piano at the festival. Two who performed Friday night were Stephanie Trick and Jeff Barnwell.
Saturday morning we left for Troy, about 40 miles northwest of St. Louis. The rain was coming down in torrents. The weather on Friday had been fine, though. As we got closer to Troy, the weather started clearing up. We stopped at a McDonald's in Warrenton for a bite to eat and to repack the car. (Leaving the motel, we had just thrown things in the backseat.)
We went to Kay and Jim's farm a few miles north of Troy. Jim gave me a tour of the farm, showing me his sheep and large garden. We also went to the hen house where Jim goes everyday to gather up six dozen eggs. Jim likes to experiment with new seeds to grow exotic plants.
We spent the night in a motel in Troy and next morning ate at Denny's. We were joined by Rick, another brother of J.
Then we hit the road again, bypassing St. Louis on our way south to Cape Girardeau, where yet another brother of J's lives. We arrived that afternoon. We briefly searched for a geocache but didn't find it. We went with Kenny and Donna to Delmonico's Restaurant. They have a fabulous buffet to which we helped ourselves. We spent the night in the Pear Tree Inn.
The next day (Monday) we drove back to Springfield. We were going to have lunch at Hillbilly Junction, a semi-famous landmark in those parts, but we discovered that they had gone out of business. We suspect that new road construction left them too isolated to attract business. It's too bad, for they had some really good food there in the past.
We spent the night in Springfield at my parents' apartment. The next morning, we returned to Sand Springs.
On May 17, I had to miss the HAT meeting. We were on the road coming back from Springfield, MO.
On May 18, a Sunday, we held our monthly discussion based on Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States . We take a chapter a month. The chapter we discussed was 17. Much of the time period was in the 20th century -- times that I lived thru. The next chapter is on the war in Vietman.
On Wednesday the 21st we went to a meeting of OK Votes. This is an effort to turn out the vote organized by Democrats. The meeting was held in the historic Campbell Hotel along Route 66 in Tulsa. Inside the Campbell Hotel is Maxxwell's Restaurant. That is where we dined that evening.
On Saturday the 24th we had our monthly Food and Fellowship gathering. This month we met at Cardigan's on S. Lewis. Most everyone had the crabcakes.
The next day was Sunday. At church we had the dedication of the canvas labyrinth. It is about 20 feet in diameter. We have the objective of building a permanent labyrinth on the church lawn. Rev. Debra Garfinkel is leading the effort to get the labyrinth built. I have been walking labyrinths for 15 years or so.
Also at Church of the Restoration, we have switched to having breakfast instead of lunch on Sundays. Last Sunday Gail and I played "Gladiolas Rag" by Scott Joplin. Marilyn Clarke was the speaker. She spoke about the Tulsa Sponsoring Committee.
Next month Gail and I plan to play "America," from West Side Story.
On Tuesday, May 6, there was a program at Mark Twain Elementary School for students enrolled in the Reading Partners program. My student was not there that day. It turns out he had failed to get the needed permission from his parents to attend.
The next day, May 7, we attended a program at All Souls Unitarian Church on climate change. The speaker was former Oklahoma governor David Walters. Walters was governor in the early 90s. He now runs an energy company.
On Friday, May 9, I went to the Poetry Group at Barnes & Noble bookstore. We decided last session would be the final session to use our current text. Next month we will focus on Robert Frost, specifically poems from his collection titled North of Boston.
I have been a member of AAA for a long time. I got out my card and gave them a call. Within 30 minutes someone had arrived to give me a jump. The AAA man checked the battery and said it was time for a new one. He had a battery with him and I bought it. He took out the old battery and replaced it with the new one. Soon we were on our way back home. While all this was going on, J and Ayla were shopping at Ross.
I am the speaker tomorrow at Restoration. My subject is the American Civil War, part 2. Gail and I will play two duets: "The Water is Wide," and "Birch Tree Rag."
Last Tuesday, a week ago from today, we were driving back to Sand Springs from Tulsa and decided to stop at McDonald's for some breakfast. I went through the drive-thru. As I was getting our order, the cup of hot coffee ended up in my lap and ran down my left leg. It was hot enough I got second degree burns from the coffee. We went inside the restaurant and filled out papers on the incident. Then we went to Urgent Care in Sand Springs where I was given some ointment. The only place I got blisters are on my left foot. I took the week off from walking.
Last Monday (yesterday) the Methodist Book Group met at Mazzio's. We ate and talked about The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. Next month we will discuss To Kill A Mockingbird.
In other news, we returned today from Springfield. We drove there on Wednesday, following J's doctor appointment.
I had the church piano tuned last Tuesday. It was the first tuning for the piano in several years. It was needing it pretty bad. Gail and I are paying for the tuning.
We went to Springfield on the 31st of March and come back on April 2. The next day, April 3, a piano tuner came and tuned my piano. It had been two and a half years since it was last tuned. He charged $115. I am going to have the tuner tune the church piano on the 15th of this month. Gail and I will pay for the tuning. I don't think the church piano has been tuned since I have been attending Restoration, which is about 8 or 10 years.
On Friday, April 4, I drove out to Keystone State Park to check on the YRE the walking club has there. We had 20 walkers for the first quarter of the year. That is not bad considering how cold the winter was.
Last Sunday was Humanist Sunday at Restoration. Our speaker was Marilyn Clarke. The title of her talk was "Permanently Temporary." Gail and I played a piano duet by Robert Vandall titled "Tucson Toccata."
In the past we have had a potluck dinner following the service. This time we served breakfast instead. We will continue with the breakfasts on Humanist Sunday for a while. We had nine people attend the breakfast.
