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| Enchanted Peace is budding already. |
Duties abound in life, requirements that can be delayed and yet they must be fulfilled. Taxes will soon be demanded. The Post Office will line up cars near midnight on the right date. This act of oblation strikes me as funny each year, because the returns arrive at the tax centers as mountains of paper. I asked one pro, "Do you mark returns which are officially late by a day, days, a week?" He responded, "No, we are too busy sorting them as they arrive." The imaginary late penalty brings in the sheaves.
So there are always chores like this, and we enjoy complaining about them. I enjoy rewards that overshadow such burdens as taxes, tax preparation, license bureau lines, and county taxes. However, the rewards of life easily counterbalance the chores.
I went outside to check on Charlie Sue's playtime. We played catch, which I imagined was "Fetch!" but she understands it as "Take away!" She seldom brings back the ball but loves to leave it somewhere else or even hide it. I make aggressive moves at her to inspire leaps and runs. Doggy Day Care clients get concerned and makes a racket. They all want those orange balls. The large and small dogs on the south fence, Porchi and Dustmop, stay quiet and hope for some action. Dustmop sits between the front legs of the Great White Great Pyrenees. Porchi wants a finger combing. Dustmop wants to chase Charlie's ball along the fence.
Porchi likes to stand up at the fence so we can have some positive discussions. He loves to be praised for being so good, so handsome, so intelligent. He responds and tries to hug me at shoulder level, above the fence. He adopted the noise-making hard ball that I donated to one of the children. He loves that ball, just as the little boy did (but not Charlie Sue, who favors them small and orange). Today he let Dustmop sit between his enormous front legs.
The gardens are the most fun when they are just starting to wake up. The last cluster of daffodils bloomed in a group, to decorate someone's house. Roses are already budding (Enchanted Peace) so the blooms will be on the altar and in cul-de-sac homes, in two weeks.
Mints are rampant already, because they provide food for the bees, spreading in many directions.
Some people talked me into teaching Greek again. I am looking forward to it on Zoom. I enjoy what most seminarians fear and loathe. Did I fall out of the high chair when reaching for Gerber's? I do not know, but Greek has always been a source of great happiness. My first Greek New Testament was a used Westcott and Hort, my second the Augustana College's United Bible Society GNT. My third and best is the Traditional Text, often named the Stephanus, available online from the NIV's website, Bible Gateway.
I am going to post Greek New Testament lessons without having a precise schedule. I like having Reformation Seminary lectures on Tuesday and Thursday, 11 AM, but adding a third appointed Zoom seems risky for schedules and time. What's a seminary without Greek?
Due to Mushroom Management, kept in the dark, I do not know the future about Old Testament classes. But who does? I think higher education people will scare one another to death, and they will see significant declines based on overdoing online and traditional classroom degrees. I have two classes now and another one scheduled, which is very good. As people might imagine, I enjoy those courses and get great responses from dedicated Christians, more than a few grandparents.
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| Veterans Honor |
