My first appointment with Curtis Birky went well. He seems educated, articulate, and intelligent. I spent most of the time answering questions he asked me. Questions like what three words would you use to describe your mother? (“minister’s wife, highly socialized, and quick to blame herself” the last mentioned because it is something I also do). For my Dad, I answered “Intellectual in a non-intellectual environment, life long journey towards liberalism, and typical male lack of intimacy tools with other males”)

Birky got me thinking about my family of origin again. I felt like we connected pretty well. He DID recognize Ed Friedman and was impressed that my brother Mark and I attended a weekend of Friedman presenting his ideas together. He gave me some tools developed by Aaron Beck to do some basic anxiety and depression self eval. It’s my homework for our next visit in two weeks to fill them out.

I also met with Jen and Rhonda yesterday. Jen and I had a good meeting (as usual). She told me that she thought my post gospel improv Sunday was a good thing. I had wondered because the congregation laughed after it. She said she thought the laugh more of an acknowledgment of it than finding it silly.

I told her that Calvin Hampton’s priest occasionally substituted an organ improv for the entire homily.

We agreed that we weren’t there yet, but I suggested maybe after we get the new organ.

I had a ball playing duets with Rhonda.

She brought a lovely 4 hand version of Haydn’s first symphony. We played entirely through it. She even allowed me to do some of the repeats (I like repeats….. Pablo Casals said that Bach repeats were important). Thank you, Rhonda!

I have been admiring the design of the Greek text I am working from. They use a passage from Aristophanes very cleverly to introduce verb tense. In the first section, the main character of the play, The Clouds, says that yesterday he was sleepless. The notes in my independent study guide asked what tense must the verb be after “yesterday.” Then two sections later, he has the same character ask his son if he will love him tomorrow. So of course the verb the son uses will be in the future tense. Then the son tells the father that he WAS listening, he IS listening, and he WILL listen to him.

Someone was on their toes when they found this section to introduce tenses and also be simple enough to be in a relatively early chapter in the text. Cool beans.

Eileen was going through her old Facelessbook messages recently and found one from 2014 that she had missed. Steve Frayer has messaged her. He was in her fifth grade math/science class at st. Damian’s in 1981. Recently he had found a book she had given him which she had inscribed to him. He remembered her fondly and wondered what had happened to her since then. He also remembered taking music classes from me and the fact that I had a harpsichord in the classroom. But Eileen was the star in his eyes for sure. He is now married (to another guy) and serving (somehow openly) in two Detroit parishes as the musician. Eileen and I quickly “friended” him.

He’s on the right. I love shit like this.

Memorial in Alabama Will Honor Victims of Lynching – The New York Times

Stevenson is doing good work. High time to make our shameful past more visible.

Why ‘The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore’ will be missed – LA Times

 Larry Wilmore Talks Nightly Show Cancellation, Making White People Uncomfortable | Vanity Fair