Rub-a-Dub

I'm going away (from the internet) for a while

2008-07-24T01:35:00.001-07:00

I do not anticipate posting anything on this blog for about a week. Play nice while I'm gone. There is plenty of food in the pantry. Feed the stock. Don't forget to gather the eggs and milk the cows. And don't eat up that whole barrel of white sugar in the pantry.

A New Blog

2008-07-23T00:52:00.000-07:00

Fr. David Lowell, who is one of the best preachers I've ever heard, is blogging about his activities at Raphael House, a homeless shelter for families in San Francisco.

Birds of a Feather

2008-07-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

You might remember some time ago when I encouraged the delegates to the Republican Convention to not nominate Sen. McCain but nominate Gov. Jindal. Well, it seems that other conservatives had similar ideas. But this is something I hadn't thought of: Jindal as Veep. Pretty cool. The only problem is that for 4 or 8 years, he has to toe McCain's line and will be re-branded from exciting true economic and cultural Conservative (in the American context) to namby-pamby centerist deal maker. But if it keeps The Wicked Man from being elected I'm all for it.

Requiem

2008-07-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

18 July 2008, 11:55
Mass media review: "Requiem for the Romanovs"

Russia today called to mind the events of July 17, 1918 - 90 years ago - when the last Russian czar, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their children were executed. The country still remains deeply divided about the communist period. Will Lenin's tomb be moved?

A single tear. It welled up, then fell from the corner of one of the principal soloist's eyes, glistening as it ran down her cheek.

She was a young Russian woman, dressed in a white gown, and she was performing here tonight at the world premiere of a "Requiem Concert" in Russia's largest church, Christ the Savior, in a commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the execution of the last Russian Czar and his family - Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their four daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria, and Anastasia, and their son, Alexei - on the night of July 17, 1918.

In her weeping, the soloist was not alone. Many of the more than 2,000 people who filled into the concert hall of the largest basilica in Russia, the Church of Christ the Savior, bombed by Stalin and rebuilt in the 1990s, wept openly as they listened and watched the tragedy of the last Romanovs unfold.

Outside, a summer rain fell.

The story of the last days of the Romanovs is well known. Czar Nicholas II, embroiled in a terrible war with Germany and Austro-Hungary, decided to abdicate his throne on March 15, 1917. Without a single strong leader, Russia was soon in political turmoil. Out of the turmoil, the tiny but compact and single-minded Bolsheviks emerged as Russia's new rulers toward the end of 1917.

Nicholas and his family were soon placed under house arrest. They gardened, read books, prayed. Then, in the summer of 1918, on the evening of July 17, they were taken to the basement room of their prison, and shot to death. Their bodies were then burned.

Russia had made a clean break with its monarchical, and Christian, past.

The age of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" and of anti-Christian state atheism had begun.

For almost two hours this evening, a Russian orchestra and choir alternated with historical and scriptural readings, accompanied by a skillfully done video documentary containing never-before-seen footage from the time of the Russian Revolution, to meditate on the Romanovs, and on the communist persecution of religion in Russia which followed for 73 years (1918-1991).

The historical texts and music were by the Russian Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, bishop of Vienna, Austria, for the Russian Orthodox in central Europe. Alfeyev also participated in the performance, reading Scriptural passages in which the sufferings of Christ seemed to foreshadow the sufferings of his followers in communist Russia.

The Russian voices soared majestically, filling the hall. The images projected on the screen showed the last days of the Romanovs - and moved the soloist to shed a tear...

The Vatican's current representative in Russia, Papal Nuncio Antonio Mennini, an affable career Church diplomat who has labored for the past two years in Moscow to build a relationship of trust between Rome and the Russian Orthodox, was present in the front row throughout the performance. Also present were a number of Russian political leaders, but not the counrty's highest leadership.

I sat next to Mennini, and when the final crescendo, a cry of faith transcending all suffering and death entitled "Come, let us worship," concluded, in the quiet instant before the crowd erupted with applause, Mennini, who had seemed hesitant about the whole affair at the outset of the performance, turned slightly toward me and spoke a single word: "Bella!" ("Beautiful!").

That is sufficient commentary: the performance was beautiful.

But it was more than that.

It was a cultural and socio-political watershed for the Russian Orthodox Church in post-communist Russia, stating the case more forcefully and persuasively than ever before that Russia needs to acknowledge, and repent, of the crimes of her communist past in order to build a new, post-Soviet Russia.

The performance was woven of somewhat contrasting elements, containing aspects of a concert (that is, a purely cultural event) and of a religious service (the Scripture readings, the location - inside the largest church in Russia).

But there are two things which especially stand out about tonight's performance.

The first: the sheer density of the emotion.

No one can contemplate the bloody murder of four lovely, educated, refined, innocent girls, and their young brother, without a shudder. This sense of horror is multiplied by the sense that the children in some way represented the nation itself. The czar "incarnated" the "essence" of the Russian nation, according to the monarchical thinking of the age, and his children were thus the "future" of the nation. To see them live so vibrantly, and then see their lives snuffed out so brutally, would bring a tear to many Russian, and non-Russian, eyes, and did.

Sound, sight, and moments of silence tonight combined to create a sense of being transported back in time, back to the World War I period, of being "eyewitnesses" to acts of terrific brutality and terrible barbarism. (There were moments in the film footage showing the actual execution of prisoners by pistol shots to the head.)

So this was not simply a musical performance, but a multi-media "tour de force."

The archival material uncovered by a team of Russian researches in recent months concerning the life and last hours of the Romanov family includes rare century-old photographs and film footage.

These images, particularly the smiling or pensive faces of the four daughters and the frail son, displayed on a enormous screen behind the orchestra, seemed to bring the viewer into direct contact with Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei.

The orchestral music, the voice solos and choruses, and the photos and films gripped the audience.

This meditation on the murder of a family became a first-hand experience of a tragic injustice which unfolded inexorably before the audience, ending with shocking images of the children's lifeless bodies being burned and buried.

The second remarkable thing about this Requiem: the meditation does not end with the death of the Romanovs in 1918.

It is not focused on the last Czar alone, and on his family, though the anniversary of their deaths provided the occasion for the Requiem.

Rather, the performance continues after the deaths of Nicholas and Alexandra and their children, right through the 1920s and 1930s, examining the tragic consequences for religious faith in Russia of the victory of the communists: the hundreds and thousands of Orthodox priest, nuns and laypeople imprisoned and executed - and the many Catholics also arrested and killed. (This was mentioned in the performance.)

Thus, this performance transcends Russia's royal family, and takes up in a compelling way the "great question" of Russia's choice and and destiny and suffering during the 20th century.

In this sense, the Requiem is far from a "nostalgic recollection" of the "good old days of the czars."

Instead, it is a searing socio-political critique of the atheism and persecution of religious belief central to Russia's communist regime.

In this performance, therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church sets forth a powerful, emotionally compelling case for public recognition on Russia of the crimes of the Soviet period (the performance was blessed by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexi II, although he did not personally attend, reportedly because of meetings with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Cyprus, who is visiting Moscow in these days).

The orchestra was directed by a Russian general, Valery Khalilov, and was comprised of musicians from the Russian Armed Forces. This suggests that the Russian government gave its blessing to this Church Requiem for the last czar.

But Russia, like every country, is not simple, and Russia today remains deeply divided about the course it should take in the 21st century. And many around the world are watching with interest and concern as Russia seeks its way.

Though the Russian Orthodox Church is resurgent (near the end of the performance are the words: "We believe that Russia today is recovering by the prayers of all the new Russian martyrs, both named and nameless, and that faith is being restored on the whole territory of our great country"), there still remains a strong communist current in Russia, at least 15% of the population.

The communists tend to be defensive about the "Soviet time" and resist calls to "close the book" on that period of Russian history (as some Church spokesman have urged).

I spoke today about the concert, and about Russia, with the head of the Publishing Council of the Moscow Patriarchate, Father Vladimir Soloviev, the principal sponsor of the event.

"Russia stands at a crossroads," Father Vladimir told me. "We are struggling to decide what our national attitude will be toward our communist past. For example, there are some who argue that we should remove Lenin's body from his mausoleum beneath Red Square, at the center of Russia, and re-name those streets and subway stations in our cities which commemorate communist leaders.

"I personally think we should do this. We cannot fully celebrate our great national festivals on Red Square as long as Lenin's mausoleum stays in Red Square. Let it stay anywhere else, but not in Red Square.

"But not everyone in Russia agrees with us," Father Vladimir continued. "There are many who remain nostalgic for the communist time, many who were trained in Marxist doctrine to disdain and hate the Church.

"Russia is not a unified society, not yet. We are divided.

"This is why we chose to organize this Requiem Concert. This is not a liturgy, not a Church celebration, but a cultural event. We want to participate in the cultural debate in Russia today, and make our case.

"And that is a case we feel we can win. It is the case for Christ, for Christian values, for family values.

"Among the primary aims of the communists was the destruction of the family. Lenin was opposed to the family.

"And as we proceeded forward with this project, we realized that the suffering of one family, the family of Nicholas and Alexandra, the father, mother, son and daughters, all executed, could remind us of all families, and that recalling the death of the Romanovs could be an important moment for Russian society. All families need the Church, and the Church needs all families. And we think the members of the royal family, in their martyrdom, should become the official patrons of the family in Russia."

Father Vladimir said his Publishing Council is now preparing a number of new projects in defense of traditional Christian and family values, and he stressed that the Russian Orthodox Church is open to collaboration on these projects with Catholics, Protestants and all men and women of good will.

"The Russian Orthodox Church has never been closed in on itself," Father Vladimir said. "We have always been open to the outside world, to sharing our faith with others and to receiving from others the gifts of their insight and faith."

The Moscow Patriarchate, in preparing tonight's Requiem Concert, was supported by two American groups: the Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Urbi et Orbi Communications, the publisher of "Inside the Vatican" magazine. To support this concert, Urbi et Orbi received donations from Cardinal William Keeler, the retired archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland, and two American Catholic laymen, Lawrence Neuhoff of Dallas, Texas, and Charles Parlato of New York, New York.

At a reception after the Requiem, Russian Orthodox Church officials publicly thanked the Bradley Foundation and Urbi et Orbi for their support, and awarded representatives of both the highest award the Russian Orthodox Church can bestow on any layman, the Order of St. Daniel.

Bishop Hilarion concluded tonight's Requiem for the Romanovs with these words: "The horror of a national tragedy could not destroy the hope for a breakthrough to light and the inspired certainty that the triumph of evil would be fleeting, and would be followed by a bright future, by growth in spiritual perfection, by restoration and revival. The heroism of the martyrs of the 20th century contains a reflection of the future Kingdom which is transfiguring everyone and everything to live in peace through Christ."

Labyrinths and the Holy Prophet Elijah

2008-07-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

After working at packing things up all day the boys needed a break. I took them to get gelato in downtown Palo Alto and to Borders where they looked at kids books while I bought how-to book for tile, bathrooms, and plumbing (for work).

We parked the car near All Saints Episcopal Church, and Anselm wanted to walk the labyrinth. So, Anslem, Basil , and I walked the labyrinth. After 15 seconds Basil just ran to the center and said "I win!" But Anselm and I walked the whole thing. For 2/3 of it I was thinking, "What in the world does this have to do with Christianity" but then I realized what was going on: There is only one path and it is narrow. It is not a straight line to the goal. Often it seems like the walker is justgoing around in circles. At times it seems that the walker is farther away from the goal than he was a few steps earlier. But as long as the walker is on the path he is getting closer to the goal, it just doesn't always seem like it.

What does this have to do with the Holy Prophet Elijah? Well, consider the following:
1. Being in the northern kingdom, Israel, with its non-davidic king and alternative temple (to say nothing of Baal worship), he was in the Old Testament equivalent of a schizmatic church. (On the outside of, or, perhaps, on the outer ring of the labyrinth)
2. But God still used him. (moving toward the goal)
3. But he had to hide out near a brook and be fed by ravens, and then in Lebanon to be fed by a widow. (going in circles)
4. God used him to defeat the prophets of Baal. (moving toward the goal)
5. But he had to run, and then he despaired under a juniper tree. (seeming to move away from the goal)
6. Finally, he was taken to Heaven in a chariot of fire, throwing his mantel to Elisha, who's are the first relics recorded to be miracle working. (Not only attaining the goal, but helping others get there, too.)

Well, in addition to packing stuff to move today I did manage to tell the boys and Athanasia the whole story of Elijah from memory. They enjoyed it. I can thank my Dad for teaching me those stories. Elijah was his favorite Old Testament personality and he preached many sermons on Elijah's life. I really miss hearing my dad preach.

Also, it bugs me that some of us Orthodox are Old Calendar and some of us are New Calendar. I wish we were all on the same calendar So we could all celebrate this Saint's day together. I'd be happy with a compromise. I'll subtract 7 if you'll add 8. Or is it that I need to add while you subtract? See, I don't even know that.

I hate moving

2008-07-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

That's all. I like where I am moving to. I just don't like the act of moving. At the end of this day my living room is full of boxes. Only half the stuff that was put away in cabinets or on shelves in in the boxes. I still have more to do tomorrow and the next day.

Saturday Soundtrack: The Older I Get the More I Understand

2008-07-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Glenn Campbell didn't write this song, and he was the third to record it. But he is the one who made the song popular1n 1974. When I was a kid I didn't know what it was about. I thought it was a happy song about Porter Wagoner, the only person I'd ever seen dressed up in those sparkling cowboy suits. (My Dad liked watching the Porter Wagoner Show as well as Hee Haw on the television machine.) But it, really, isn't a happy song; beaten down by a life compromise and washed-away horizons, a man still harbors fantasies of fame, even thought he knows fame only brings "cards and letters from people I don't even know."

In the early morning hours

2008-07-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

About 2 in the morning there was a knock on the door. I answerd it with a baseball bat in my hand. It was the boy from earlier. He was crying. He had changed clothes. He said he was sorry. He thanked me for calling the paramedics. I asked him if he talked to the police and he said he had. I told him that the paramedics had taken Brenda to the hospital. He said he knew that, and thanked me for calling them. Then he shook my hand and took a step to leave and said, "goodnight,Sir". He was still crying. I made the sign of the cross over him, said, "God bless you", and closed the door.

I wonder if he still snorting "blow"?

2008-07-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

In the current issue of the New Yorker it is reported that Obama spoke these words just 8 days after 9/11.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others.
Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics.
Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair. We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent.
Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores.

Grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance? Bin Ladin is poor? The college educated terrorists were ignorant? What planet is Obama from? They have taken their wealth and education and have turned passenger liners into missiles, and shoes and cars and people into bombs.

Obama thinks that if terrorists just knew how much pain they caused they would not want to be terrorists any more? Is he nuts? These are not little kids carelessly playing with matches. They are terrorists precisely because they know the pain they can cause. They are the weak saying I am strong. They have beaten their plowshears into swords and their pruning hooks into spears. And they are coming after us.

Obama spouts unbelievable, suicidal madness just 8 days after 9/11. Please, someone kill me if this man is elected. Oh, wait, probably someone will; a terrorist.

And what do embittered children in in Latin America have to do with Muslim terrorists attacking New York and Washington, D.C.? Clearly, as late as 8 days after 9/11 Senator Obama was still enjoying "a little blow".

The Police Just Left

2008-07-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

About 2 hours ago I heard a girls voice outside. She was moaning and laughing. It sounded sexual and I just ignored it and kept packing. THen she started yelling and swearing. And I heard a boy say, "Come on, Brenda".

I looked out the window and saw a very high 14 or 15 year old girl trying to hump the leg of a panicking 14 or 15 year old boy as he was trying to pull her toward the street. I went outside asked who he was (I thought he looked like one of the boys who moved in across the courtyard last week.) and who she was and what she had taken. He said "She'll be all right. I'm taking her home right now." I said, "No, I'm calling 911. I reached for my phone but it wasn't there. He started begging me to not call 911. I took her away from the boy when she fell. She grabbed me and tried to kiss me. I turned her around so she wasn't facing me. She smelled like sweat, sex, and vodka. The whole time she was screaming. Basil and Anselm Samuel followed me out of the aprtment. I told Basil to go back in the apartment, I told Anselm to go tell one of our neighbors to call 911, and told the boy to sit down until the police arrived. He said "Please, sir, please. I'm taking her home."
"No. Sit down. She's too sick to go home. What did she take?"

Anselm came out with a neighbor carrying a cell phone. "What's happening", The neighbor asked. I said, "Lena, call 911" then the boy ran off into the night.

We got the girl on the ground and she kept trying to trow up but couldn't. She kept calling for the boy and repeatedly screamed, "O my God". Then she started hyper ventilating and trying to masturbate.

The police and paramedics were here within 2 minutes of the 911 call. I went back inside to take care of the boys and try to explain what was going on. Then I popped "Santa Clause is Comming to Town" into the computer. And my little boys were hypnotized. They paramedics strapped the girl to a gurney and started an IV while the police tried talking to her but she only spat on them and kept yelling. The police located the boy and the paramedics whisked the girl off to the E.R.

I am moving just in time.

My Mother to My father

2008-07-18T16:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my dad had to travel for his work. He had a lot of board meetings, sometimes trips to missions in Haiti and Jamaica. When my Mom could not go with him because of her work as a school teacher, she would hide notes to him tucked into his suit pockets, folded into his pajamas, rolled up inside his shoes. Dad said the other preachers traveling with him would tease him about it. Every morning they would ask, "Did you get another letter from Bunny?" I think they were envious. Their wives didn't send love letters to them.

When my Dad died I took all of his sermon notes, at least those he had kept after he retired. Among the sermon notes (I am reading through them) I found this poem from my mother that he kept.

When nighttime draws her curtains
And pins them with a star,
And tucks the little sunbeams out of site-
I think of you, my darling,
No matter where you are
And pray that God will keep you through the night

St. Elizabeth the New Martyr of the Communist Oppression

2008-07-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've never been sure how to convert Old Calender to New Calendar, but I think this is the day Old Calendarists, such as the Patriarch of Moscow, celebrate the great victory of the New Martyr Elizabeth. I don't know much about St. Elizabeth other than what I learned six years ago in a book about her relative Holy Empress Alexandra the Passion Bearer. What I remember is that this devoutly Lutheran German Princess (and niece of Queen Victoria) was married to a Russian grand duke. After her marriage she remained Lutheran (Though she did venerate an icon once by doing a polite curtsy.) for some time, until she had examined the theology, history, and practice of the Orthodox Church. When after some years she decided to become an Orthodox Christian her noble husband, who had never asked her to convert, began to weep with tears of joy and thanksgiving.

When the Elizabeth's husband was killed by an anarchist's bomb (Terrorism is nothing new.) she became a nun and used her wealth to start convents and orphanages. With the nuns of her convent she went to the front lines to nurse the wounded soldiers fighting in the 1st World War.

When the God-hating Communists sized power they threw St. Elizabeth down a mine shaft together with some other Russian nobles. When the prisoners were heard singing the prayers the Communists threw hand grenades into the shaft. The next day Orthodox Christians retrieved the relics of these Martyrs, just as we retrieved the relics of the Holy Martyrs during the Roman persecutions. What they found was that St. Elizabeth had received her crown while tying bandages, torn from her habit, on the wounds of her fellow Martyrs.

Her relics, along with those of a nun named Barbara, who, I think, also died in the mine shaft, were smuggled to Shanghai, China, pursued by the Communists the whole way, and from there, by ship, to Palestine. Most of the relics are in the Church of Ss. Mary and Martha on the Mount of Olives. I don't know how or when but a fragment of a bone of St. Elizabeth was brought to San Francisco and is set in an icon on the south wall of the nave of Holy Trinity Cathedral.

In a cathedral full of icons and relics it is difficult to get to all of them to venerate them and pray. But I always venerate St. Elizabeth's relic. I suppose the reason for my affinity for her is obvious. Like me, she carefully examined Holy Orthodoxy before she left her Protestant faith, but she remained on good terms with her Protestant family.

Squeeling Brakes

2008-07-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

The old manager of the townhouses we are moving to is not out yet. We were supposed to pick up the keys tomorrow but he won't be gone until Tuesday. That means there is only Wednesday and Thursday for the carpenter to put in a wall, the painter to paint, and the carpet to be cleaned and dried before next Friday, which is when my boss (who is on a cruise in Alaska at the moment) wants us to be on site. I don't see how it is going to happen. Thankfully, this screw up isn't my fault. Stil very excited about the move and the opportunity.

Al Gore Must Hate This News. (And I Love It.)

2008-07-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings, loyal readers.

The Global Warming Desk just received the following news alert from the home office in Firebaugh. (I bet you didn't know we had a home office around here. Neither did I until a few minutes ago. I'm still not sure its needed. Seems like just another useless level of management to me. But, I guess, everyone needs a job to go to in the morning.)

"The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming." (Read the whole story.)

In 5 years we all will look back at this time and feel deep embarrassment. Well, I won't. And you won't. And Al Gore, who makes a nice living by frightening people, won't. But all of those people who have fallen for the global warming lie will feel like... Hmmmm, what was it P.T. Barnum said?

The Choice is Clear

2008-07-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

This Just In from the Needless Fear, Oops! I mean "Global Warming" Desk.

2008-07-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

"Normally, Anchorage has 14 or 15 days in the summer that reach the 70-degree mark, Albanese said. This year, there have been two. And the city didn't see 70 at all until July 2. That threshold typically comes in early to mid-June, according to weather records." (Read the whole story from the Anchorage Daily News)

Moving Progress

2008-07-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

Mail is set to be forwarded.
Movers have been contracted.
Internet is set to be switched to new address, where my employer will pay for it.

This Day's Activities

2008-07-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Woke up, got dressed for church. The boys and I dropped Athanasia off so she cold get some work done on a project. Then we went on to church. We go there late. Which meant that Anselm couldn't serve in the Altar. Whch meant that I wold have to manage them both alone. Basil is hard. All he wants to do is run and talk and play. Anslem is easy. He is content to observe the liturgy, walk around and venerate relics and icons, light candles, etc. Unless he is with his little brother. Then they kind of feed off of each other in a sprial of choas. So we turned arround and came back home. I was already feeling bad, like I was a horrible excuse for a Chiristian when Basil said he wanted to go to church. But I know that five minutes after arriving at church he'd want to leave. I don't know. He does okay with the prayers at home. Maybe only take him to church on feat days when there is so much commotion no one will notice the tremendous struggle to keep him quit and still. Athanasia and I have talked about taking turns staying home with Basil. But that doesn't seem right. Nothing really seems right.

Other events of this day:

Got a flat tire.

Got tire fixed (Warranty!!!)

Took stuff to Goodwill.

Bought a new bed for our new townhouse.

Worked with Anselm on reading/memorizing Genesis 1. (Not as much progress as I had hoped.)

Watched a really good movie on netflix.

Morning Prayer

2008-07-12T13:21:00.001-07:00

We bless thee, O God most high and Lord of mercies, who ever workest great and mysterious deeds for us, glorious, wonderful, and numberless; who providest us with sleep as a rest from our infirmities and as a repose for our bodies tired by labor. We thank thee that thou hast not destroyed us in our transgressions, but in thy love toward mankind thou hast raised us up, as we lay in despair, that we may glorify thy Majesty. We entreat thine infinite goodness, enlighten the eyes of our understanding and raise up our minds from the heavy sleep of indolence; open our mouths and fill them with thy praise, that we may unceasingly sing and confess thee, who art God glorified in all and by all, the eternal Father, the Only-Begotten Son, and the all-holy and good and life-giving Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. (A morning prayer of St. Basil the Great)

Land of Opportunity

2008-07-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about this country, and California in particular is that a person can do anything. I have recently been taking some classes from the College of Community and Public Service at the University of Massachusetts, where the professors seem. universally, to be convinced that "the system" is stacked against the little guy. Thankfully, my classes were full of 30 to 50 year old students who have spent their careers in the private sector. For the most part part, they agreed with me on the imprtance of Liberty and the hazards of regulation.

Another time, about 15 years ago, I was taking a business ethics class at San Jose Stae University. Most of the students in the class had escaped, as small children, from communisim in Vietnam and China. Most of their parents were small business owners. They knew the value of Liberty. So, when the professor (who had only ever worked as a teacher in government schools) tried two nights a week for the entire semester to convince the students that government-set production quotas, minimum wage laws, and agriculture market orders (which have noting to do with markets) were good things these students became very angy. My favorite moment in that class was when a young man said, with a think Vietnamese accent, "All of this is un-American." If i remember correctly he was majoring in accounting. I hope he is successful and that his opinion has not changed.

Today, I read something about another immigrant from Asia. This particular woman came here on a ship as a young girl and now sits in President Bush's cabinet.

"My sister fell ill during the ocean journey," she told me on a recent afternoon in her spacious office, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. "Seventeen hundred nautical miles, there were no doctors on board and my mother sat up for three nights and three days, just continuously soaking my sister's body, little body, with cold water" to break her fever.
"So I see opportunities in this country, perhaps, in a slightly different way. . . . America really is unique," she says. "It's really a land of meritocracy, where it doesn't matter where you were born, who you know. If a person works hard, most of the time . . ."
"On this last point, Ms. Chao's words trail off, as the current state of the economy seems to be weighing on her mind. There is widespread speculation that the economy could soon slip into recession as the country sheds jobs and faces a slumping housing market. Still, Ms. Chao points out that the national unemployment rate remains below where it averaged in the 1990s (5.5% today versus 5.7% last decade). "People forget that," she says." (Read the whole story)

Moving Right Along

2008-07-12T00:41:00.000-07:00

We met with the owner of the property management firm today. I like him a lot. I got some questions answered. Importantly, when do we move in? Answer: We'll pick up the keys on the 18th and start moving then. We gave 30 days notice on our current place a a few hours ago. (Oh! I have so much work to do. I am glad school is over for a few weeks.)

We dropped the boys off at kidspark before the meeting. It is expensive but handy. It is pretty difficult not knowing anyone nearby whom we can call to watch the boys for a couple of hours. But the boys had fun at kidspark. In fact, they asked if they can go back tomorrow.

A neighbor gave me a Universal No. 301 meat grinder. My wife says I have to wait until after we move to start making sausage. I can hardly wait. I've already found a local supply of sausage casings.

We saw a movie

2008-07-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

(Short Circuit - stupid plot) + (Flood story - God - water) + Soilent Green + (2001:A Space Odyssey - monkeys) + (The Love Boat - Isaac) = WALLE

It was so good I cried.

Fires

2008-07-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

California still has more than 300 forest fires burning. But we have also had more than 300 fire fighters seriously injured. Fire fighters from other States are helping us. (Thank you, Nevada. ) The California National Guard, the State militia (I bet most Californians are surprised to learn we have a Militia), and even prisoners have been ordered to fight the remaining fires. The air in the San Francisco bay area is still "unhealthful". Please, pray that God will send us cold, fog, and rain.

Monasteries in Boston

2008-07-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have to go to Boston next May, but we do not want to spend a ton of money on a hotel. We'd rather our money go to support a monastery. Do any of my kind readers know if there are any monks or nuns in or near Boston who would allow a married couple to spend two or three nights with them?

The Semester Is Over, Time To Pack

2008-07-10T02:00:00.000-07:00

I just emailed the last assignment of the semester to the professor. Six weeks of staying up till 2, 3, and even 4 in the morning are over. I have earned 6 units in six weeks and am glad it is over. Just in time, too, because it looks like I have to start packing to move.

Athanasia and I are going to be the managers of a 25 townhouses in the middle of Willow Glen. We applied about 2 weeks ago. We interviewed last week. The background check was done on on Monday. Yesterday they called to let us know we got the job. We go in on Friday to complete the new-hire paperwork.

It is difficult to explain how happy I am to be moving to Willow Glen. It is one of the most walkable places in Silicon Valley. We have often talked to each other about how much we wished we could live there. And now we shall.

My son will be able to walk to school (a California Distinguished School, one of the top 5% in the State), we will be a short walk from scads of restaurants, bookstores, including Hicklebee's a fabulous children's bookstore,4 coffee shops, a frozen custard stand, a dry cleaner, and a real barber with a real barber pole and those huge chairs and a couple of old guys who just hang out and talk all day. There is a beautiful park with a bowling green. And there is also an amazing candy store that sells every kind of candy imaginable.

I am astounded by how generous God is to me. He gives me everything I want.