I received an email from my former teacher at Notre Dame yesterday. He occasionally sends out emails to former students regarding jobs and other stuff. This email was about a job as music director for a parish in Chicago I have noticed before. The church is The Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer in the Hyde Park/Kenwood neighborhood. If I was in the market for a job, this is one of the rare gigs that I would be interested in. It is similar to my present gig with the exception that they have instituted better liturgical reforms. The music seems to be similarly diverse and of high quality.
Eileen usually tells me she is game for change whenever opportunities like this arise. But I’m not looking for change in my church work. I’m happy at my present gig. I would like living in Chicago. But I’m pretty sure Eileen wouldn’t.
We talked about the alterations to our present home we have been thinking about yesterday. Part of this is finishing off the back roof to stop the leak in the kitchen and completing the heat tape project we began in the dead of last winter. Also we want to fix the upstairs bathroom. But in addition we are thinking of adapting this house so that we can live on one floor in our old age. I called the roofer and the electrician and Eileen emailed a contractor friend of her family.
So I guess we’re not thinking of moving. Heh.
For some reason this morning I have been thinking about the friends I have had over the years who have lost interest in our friendship. I have to wonder how I have contributed to this loss. Realistically I know that most times I am not a big factor in these kind of changes. I can think of a couple instances where friends have cut off contact to me in anger. But usually it’s more like people drift away and lose the habit of connecting.
Lately I seem to have been reconnecting with beauty. When we were in California I was impressed with the breath taking beauty of the mountains where my son lives east of L.A. Just this past weekend when we drove to Mears, Michigan I noticed the way the pale Michigan colors streak the landscape in rain and create a beautiful picture of trees, grass and crops.
I have fallen in love with some music this week as well and this is related to this feeling of reconnecting. A Scarlatti piano sonata, some organ music of Bach and, just yesterday, another unusual organ piece (A Trumpet Tune) by Calvin Hampton.
This interests me because I realize that it is me that is keeps changing and evolving, not the landscape and not the availability of beautiful music. Perception and awareness are everything I guess.
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House Shuts Down Its Page Program – NYTimes.com
Sort of sad to see this historic institution discontinued.
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Groups Call for Scientists to Engage the Body Politic – NYTimes.com
New efforts to inform public policy with non-partisan science. Interesting to find out about scientists who are now or have recently been members of Congress.
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Police raid Milan offices of Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s | World news | The Guardian
Italy reacts a bit differently to S & P’s outrageous behavior. This is from a few days ago.
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The Transformation of Michele Bachmann : The New Yorker
Heard the author of this article on the radio yesterday. Bookmarked to read. Frightening to hear about Bachmann’s influences, especially Francis Schaeffer who seems to have advocated violent overthrow of the U.S. Government due to its “secularization.” He is a writer I have read.
Schaeffer’s son, Franky Schaeffer, wrote a book I sometimes point out to people.
Francis is a apologist for extreme Calvinism and fundamentalism. Franky support his dad’s views for years before leaving that church, converting to Orthodox Christianity and becoming an astute critic of his former faith.
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The Green Earth Girl » Blog Archive » No-Pasta Zucchini Lasagna
I was surprised when Eileen linked this recipe on Facebook. On questioning her I found out that she hadn’t noticed how it relies on eggplant as well as zucchini. Not really her favorite veggies. Darn. It looks pretty good to me, but I hate to make stuff that I know she won’t go for.
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Misha Glouberman’s Terrible Noises for Beautiful People
This is Chairs are where the people go guy. I bookmarked it to read but haven’t done so yet.
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I am sorry about not talking to you sooner about your house. I do have a layout on the first floor that may be useable. I have had other matters on my mind, and have neglected contacting you. Any way, I will put this together and send it to you.
Ray…I was afraid you might read this blog post and think about your layout project. Please don’t worry about the drawings. Eileen hasn’t mentioned them to me and I only think of them when you mention them. Of course we would be interested in seeing what you came up with, but I hate to take advantage of the expertise of friends…. Hope you’re having a good summer.
Dent Davidson, the, apparently, former musician at SPR is an acquaintance of mine. We work on the Blessings Project together. I’ll see him next week in San Francisco. He moved to Chicago for the SPR gig. And e used to work with the bishop before the bishop was the bishop. He is, IMHO, a very fine musician who has a solid grasp of the directions church music should be taking. I saw him a few months ago and heard no mention of his departure. He also is a friend of a parishioner’s daughter.
Wow. How bout that? Cool.