So, Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.  You did well with the two of us.

Now that the weather is nice, I actually enjoy taking Toby on walks.  We’ve seen all kinds of fun things.  This morning, we bumped into a guy confidently clipping lilac blooms off of a tree inside the fenced yard of a vacant house that is for sale.  He quickly switched from confidence to sheepishness but didn’t stop.  It was awesome.

Toby is twitterpated with his new girlfriend, who lives a couple of blocks away.  Her name is Missy, and she wants nothing to do with Toby; the neighborhood girls who own Missy, though, have already held a marriage ceremony for the two of them, so I don’t know that poor Missy has any choice in the matter.  Toby has never growled at another dog in his life until a dog walked by the yard in which he and Missy were playing.  He immediately jumped in between the nice, calm dog who was minding her own business and Missy and turned into crazy ferocious Toby.  Missy walked right around him and went to greet the other dog.  Ah, the joys of unrequited love.

I also discovered a mutant dandelion.  Now that it’s in bloom, it just looks weird.  When it was budding, however, I thought it might take a limb off if I got too close to it.  My flowers look WAY better (as you can clearly see in the top picture).

Phil Robinson
1923-2008

Phil Robinson was a retired pastor who ran the world’s only jar museum.  He had recently decided to close the museum to focus on his health concerns; the article about the closure and upcoming sale of the collection was in my hometown’s paper the morning that Mr. Robinson passed away.  The museum’s closure is a loss to anyone visiting Muncie, and Mr. Robinson’s death is an even greater loss to the community.  His life was – and is – a wonderful story, and he will be missed.

In the Fall of 2008, we hope to
begin offereing an
SAT Preperation Class
This class will be taught using our own
[School Name] Teachers

Would you pay to send your high school students to this class?

Wheaton College is a faith-based institution that has historically taken strong stands on issues that matter, like social justice, as well as on issues that, as it turns out, matter not a whit, such as dancing.  Recently, however, it seems to me that the hills Wheaton is choosing to die on are ones upon which I shudder to tread.  A great professor was forced to resign because he converted to Catholicism.  Another well-respected professor was let go for failing to “integrate faith and learning,” which boiled down to (as near as I can tell) that he taught evolution in his anthropology classes.  And now Dr. Gramm. 

I love Wheaton College dearly and it is because of my deep gratitude and appreciation to the institution that I must express how disappointed I am about this decision.  I understand why they made the decision they did, and I find it consistent with their Statement of Faith and the more recently drafted Community Covenant.  I have nothing but respect for the President, Provost, and Board of Wheaton, many of whom I consider friends.  But somehow I hoped for a different interpretation: for better things from my alma mater.  I had hoped that they would rally around Dr. Gramm in his time of need, that this would be an opportunity for unexpected grace and redemption, that those with sin would be unable to cast a stone.  Likewise, I hoped last year that Wheaton would have relished the opportunity to become more ecumenical without betraying their Protestant history, to recognize that Catholicism is a legitimate and worthwhile part of the Christian faith. 

Maybe I have become liberal in my old age.  All I know is that I am truly glad that Dr. Gramm was a part of my life, and I have wept over his broken marriage, his sorrow, and the future Wheaties who will miss out on learning from him.

*Would you like to work for a company who’s employees come first*
*Would you like to work for a company were Quality and Customer Service is our Biggest Priority*

Toby turns 1 today!  He got his first haircut last Saturday, and really looks quite dapper.  It’s a big change from his normal dreadlocks, though.  We are so happy to have such a good little dog.

Stephens at sun-down the following day, in the hope that he too might be favoured with a vision of Lilith.
During this time she frequently inquired whether her features really were not beautiful enough to be copied for the countenance of a goddess, and when he eagerly assured her of the fact, made him swear that he was not deceiving her with flattery.
Neither Bias nor Myrtilus had ever been allowed to remain on shore; but, on the whole, the slave protested, Myrtiluss health, thanks to the pure sea air on the Hydra, had improved, in spite of the longing which often assailed him, and the great excitements to which he was sometimes
exposed.
There had been anxious hours when Hannos father and brothers visited the Hydra to induce her captain to make money out of the captive sculptor, and either sell him at a high price or extort a large ransom from him; but Bias had overheard how resolutely Ledscha opposed these proposals, and represented to old Satabus of what priceless importance Myrtilus might become to them if either should be captured and imprisoned.

I’m hired.

Isn’t that the best thing you’ve read all day?

A student mentioned in class that he saw Maya Angelou on a television show last night.  Another student said, “Who’s she?”  The first student responded, “She’s an African-American woman, except she’s just African.”
2 notes on this: First, this class had just finished studying Angelou’s poetry.  Second, Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

A co-worker had a question about the internet.  She had typed in the address “person@website.org” and nothing came up in her browser. I explained that it was an e-mail address, and to get to the website, one would need to type in the website address itself. She said, “Oh, ok,” and proceeded to type in “www.person@website.org”. Needless to say, she didn’t get anything that time either. I walked over and told her to type in “www.website.org,” to which she responded, “But that’s not the website that they told us to use!” I explained that it was an e-mail address, not a website. She threw up her hands and said, “Well, then why did they tell us to use it if we had questions?”

Sigh.