Last night Mer and I went to CVCA’s annual auction. This is CVCA’s largest fundraiser of the year, and the school goes all out for the event. Every year there is a theme; we’ve had a 50s theme, a Hawaiian theme, a New York theme, a fairy-tale theme, and more. This year’s theme was exciting for me and Mer – it was an Italian theme, including lots of Italian food!

The small army of volunteers transforms the main hallway and the two gyms of CVCA into a fairly elegant banquet hall. The large gym is set up with tables for people to eat at, and silent auction items ring the gym. The smaller gym, which is next to the big gym, is set up with the check-out computers (and the reason I get to go to the auction every year), as well as the food. CVCA has students staff the event as servers, and uses members of the strings group to play music in the small gym.

It is a fun evening, and the food was fantastic this year – I stuffed myself with two very full plates of Italian food (which I love). The actual auction is an interesting thing – there a few high-end items that Mer and I can’t even begin to bid on (there are resort vacations that go for thousands of dollars), but there are many items that are under 100 dollars. Auctions bring out an interesting side to Meredith. Usually, she rarely spends any money, but auctions hit two of her buttons: she likes to support good causes, and she is competitive. So, she usually goes around the room and bids on about a dozen items, knowing that she will not get them all. This year, I bid for the first time as well. We made out all right. We picked up some gift certificates for spa things (hair and facial), restaurant gift certificates, a small home gym (my fault), and a nifty gift for our niece which we now need to get to her somehow. In all, we bought $700 worth of stuff for $350 (thank you, tax refund!). And, it all goes to helping to keep CVCA’s tuition down, so good fun all around!

Last Saturday, Mer and I started the day off in a mellow way by sleeping in, and then going to Friendly’s for breakfast. I had never thought about if a place I go for ice cream served breakfast, but they do, and we had a two-for-one coupon, so our food was on the cheap. Yum!

We continued the mellow theme through much of the day, taking time to listen to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!, a favorite Saturday pastime.

In the evening, we went to Actors’ Summit theater to see Golda’s Balcony, a one-woman show about Golda Meir. Not to my credit, I had no idea who Golda Meir was. Now I know! For those who do not know, Golda Meir was a strong supporter of having a Jewish state, and became the Israeli Prime Minister in the early seventies. She was Prime Minister during the 1973 Yom Kippur war, which Israel was losing early on, and Golda made the decision to load 25 atomic bombs onto planes to end the war. This convinced the U.S. to supply Israel with needed supplies, and they turned the tide of the war without using the atomic weapons.

The play started with Golda as an old woman, telling us (the audience) about her life story. She kept changing time frames quickly, always skirting around the question of nuclear weapons until the end of the play. Every time she got to the recollection of giving the order to load the bombs, she would change topic. In this way, in about 90 minutes, we went through her life story. I thought this worked really well; it kept my attention. I had guessed that Golda was skirting around the topic of the bomb, but it was still a moving moment when she talked about the decision.

I have to admit that I like getting my history in these ways. I’ve liked all the historical plays we’ve seen at Actors’ Summit (ones on Feynman, Bohr, Truman, Darrow, and more).

However, this play is apparently not for all audiences. One of my students was there. Her thirteen-year-old mind’s summary of the play the next day was “that play about that strange lady doing those boring things.” I told her she might think differently in twenty years.

 My goal this winter was to try to get to 10 mph on the treadmill, with a goal of breaking 19:00 in a 5k race. It looks as if that will probably not happen, at least this year. After about 5 months on the treadmill, I could not take it anymore and started running outside again. That is fine as it goes, but it is harder to work on speed outside. I maxed out at 9.7 mph on the treadmill this year, and I’m still hoping to break a 19:30 5k time – I’ll have to see how it goes.

First, I have to get back in shape! Because of spring break, and then being sick, and then being busy, I had not run for three weeks until this morning. I went at a fairly easy pace, and ran about 4.3-4.4 miles today. I did okay, but it always amazes me that months of training can go away for short periods of time. My lungs hurt for much of the run, and my legs were quite tired at the end. I’m sure I’ll be okay again within a week or two of running, but I’m not sure the 19:00 5k is going to happen this year. Maybe next year!

Tonight I went to Ombudsman’s last class in his twenty-week-long course on the book of Isaiah. We started last fall, and took some time off for December, but we met twenty times (as a class – I think I made seventeen of the classes). Craig is working on his Master’s degree in Biblical Studies, and he spent an entire class just on Isaiah, so he did a great job of teaching the book. Some of the things I took away and want to remember:

– God offers his rest if we trust in him. Frantic activity on our part does not offer rest.
– Prophecy happens in a cycle of patterns, so that a prophecy can be “fulfilled” more than once.
– Isaiah tells us who God is and what he wants, over and over.
– God has always been looking for servants who want (God’s) justice and righteousness. This is heavily concerned with the treatment of the poor and powerless.
– Judah only escaped (with delayed) punishment with Israel because of Emmanuel – “God with us”; only because God chose to extend grace to Judah (not because they earned better treatment).
– God offers salvation – not the world (consider Hezekiah finally trusting in God instead of Egypt and God then turning the Assyrian army away).
– Although God calls his servants to strive for justice and righteousness, in the end God must establish these things himself. That is the basis for the promises that Isaiah makes – God himself will do them.
– God will make things right, but in his own timing, not ours.

What a great class. Props to Ombudsman for a lot of work and dedication (in addition to a full-time job, growing family, grad school, and various ministries).

I really need to get back on the blogging ball. I have been unusually busy of late, but hope things will calm down over the next week or so. I especially need to blog about the spring break Habitat for Humanity trip that Mer and I went on with students a couple of weeks ago. But, it is currently late in Matt-time, so that rather lengthy entry will have to wait for a few days.

About a month or so ago, I started taking Dobro (resonator guitar) lessons. I wanted accountability, and lessons make me practice. I am super-pleased with how things are going. I’m able to play most chords in songs that I like (think Fake Books, where you get the words and chords). I’ve learned three different right-hand picking patterns. My teacher has been impressed, and for whatever reason decided that my “assignment” for this week should be to write a song. I have played around with writing songs before, with little luck (I’ve managed a chorus or two, but never a whole song). I figured I’d give it a go. Last Friday, I was making calzones and listening to John Gorka. Gorka loves to write songs with double/multiple meanings, so it got me thinking. I started thinking about the idea of losing your life in the busy seconds that can make up a day, so I wrote down phrases that I thought would communicate that. Then, on Saturday, with the help of a rhyming dictionary, I put the ideas into verse form. Finally, today, I set everything up to a few chords. It is far from a masterpiece, but I’m happy with it for a music lesson assignment. Here is the text (and chords) of the song:

In This for Life

G                   C

Don’t want to die in the seconds

   D                   G

Living on the edge of time’s knife

   G                   Am

Much more meaning beckons

   D              G

‘Cause I’m in this for life

   G              D

Why do I wake up alarmed?

   C                           D

Got a full day and schedule

   G                  D

With my work I am armed

  Am                      D

Extra time’s just residual

G                    
D

I always want all that’s due

    C               D

Staying busy is the key

  G                      D

Just looking for things to do

   Am             D

Instead of things to be

   G                   C

Don’t want to die in the seconds

   D                   G

Living on the edge of time’s knife

   G                   Am

Much more meaning beckons

   D              G

‘Cause I’m in this for life

G                      
D

No direction – I’m a rover

   C                                            D

Think everything comes by the sweat of my brow

G                     
D

I don’t want to be left over

Am                   D

Lose the future in the now

G                       
D

I’m not looking for a mean

     C                      D

Grasping life is ethereal

  G                            D

Don’t want simple scene after scene

Am                          
D

Life is more than a serial

   G                   C

Don’t want to die in the seconds

   D                   G

Living on the edge of time’s knife

   G                   Am

Much more meaning beckons

   D              G

‘Cause I’m in this for life

   G                   C

Don’t want to die in the seconds

   D                   G

Living on the edge of time’s knife

   G                   Am

Much more meaning beckons

   D              G

‘Cause I’m in this for life

Last Monday was March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day. Every year that I have worked at CVCA, I have danced a reel in the cafeteria during the two lunch times. A few years ago, I included CVCA’s assistant headmaster in the fun (he’s a big hit) for part of the dance. This year, I was happy to show off the Ceili Club during the festivities.

I had six members of the Ceili Club dance “The Fairy Reel” in each lunch, then immediately followed them with me and the assistant headmaster doing solo reels. The students did a fantastic job. They managed to dance well in an unfamiliar space that was also crowded. I was tremendously proud of the kids. Several people told me throughout the day how much they enjoyed the show. I’m also hoping that will help pique interest in the club next fall, since I’ll be losing a number of seniors. Nice job, Ceili Club!

Last Thursday, we had this year’s second Royal Fools improv show at CVCA. I’m always nervous before a show, but I was also anxious for the kids – we had over 70 people at the December show (a record for us), and I was worried that we would not have as good a crowd and the Fools would feel disappointed. With about 5 minutes to go to the show, things were looking so-so; we had about 30-35 people, which was average for last year, but looked pretty empty (we can seat about 65 in the library). Happily, more people came in right at 7:00, and we had another full room (about 65-70 people).

This was a  good audience, too – they were full of energy, and they were shouting out suggestions so loudly that I was having a hard time picking out individual suggestions. The Fools responded well to the crowd and had a really good show. I do not remember shows fully – I’m too anxious about the show and too often thinking ahead to what is next for me to remember everything, but some things I do remember:

– turning the suggestion “senioritis” into the act of being really old (what a great twist!)
– getting both “musical” and “Shakespeare” as suggestions for genres in Genre Rewind (a scene about trying to discover the meaning of life from the walls while in bathroom stalls)
– expert advice on how to avoid alien abductions
– pantomime of being in a political office to buy hats while getting stung by killer bees
– a Foolish Idol song about a letter opener and the harm it can do
– a political debate where one candidate came out so strongly on the issue of pirates as to admit that he was one himself, and that, if elected, he would steal everything

The show went about an hour and fifteen minutes, and as far as I could tell, the audience had a really good time. I had several people that night and the next day tell me that they enjoyed it. We should have one more show in May and then wrap it up for the year. I hope we can finish as well as we have already been doing; that would be a great season.

Last Sunday (my, how the unblogged days go by!), Mer and I met up with Aunt Mary at Weathervane Playhouse in Akron to see Children of a Lesser God. Neither Mer nor I knew much of anything about the play. We had a colleague acting in the play (he was the one who told me about the production), and he had let me know that it was a play about deaf people at a school for the deaf. That was everything I knew about the play.

Without giving too much away, the play focuses on a teacher at the school who can hear, and a 24-year-old deaf woman who works at the school who has refused to learn to speak. They do eventually fall in love and marry. The play tells their story and the stories of a few people around them.

The set of the play was simple, but it worked – a few platforms and a chalkboard were enough to portray a classroom, a house, an office, a living room, and more.

The acting was fine, and the play was signed as well – either the actors signed themselves, or, for a few of the minor roles, onstage interpreters signed for the actors. I love sign language – it is a beautiful and elegant way to communicate, and it added to the production.

My only complaint about the play was not the production – it was the play itself. I found that I did not get into the two main characters; they were not bad people, but I just found that I did not sympathize with them. I’m not even sure why – my best guess is that both characters were strong and stubborn, and it frustrated me that their problems largely came out of that.

On the plus side, it did make me think about the deaf and how they communicate. One of the issues of the play was asking if the deaf should have to learn to read lips and learn to speak so they can communicate with the hearing world. It is an interesting question, and at least for me, I answer it with the same view as when people want to force immigrants to learn English. I don’t think the deaf should be forced to learn to speak (and I don’t think immigrants should be forced to learn English), but I do think they have to be prepared for the consequences. The deaf should not expect the hearing to learn sign language any more than Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, etc. speakers should expect most Americans to learn other languages to communicate. If a deaf person wants to only know sign language, that is fine, but that person needs to realize that most of society will be closed off by that choice.

So, it was a worthwhile afternoon, if only to make me think more about the challenges deaf people face every day.

After months of trying, I finally made it to pro level in Wii baseball. I beat a pro team 4-2, and got to a rating of 1062 (1000 is pro level). I find Wii baseball almost exhausting. I still have trouble hitting splitters, and I am always second-guessing my pitch selection. I rarely get strikeouts, and rely heavily on my defense (which is computer controlled). I’m also pro level at golf and tennis, and I have great confidence in those games. Baseball refuses to get to a confident level for me. I may very well be back down in the bush leagues before long (you can lose points if you lose to teams), but for one happy night, I’m a pro in three different games.

On Tuesday, Mer and I (and four other chaperons) headed out with 150 seniors and juniors to go the short distance to Actors’ Summit theater to see Macbeth. We filled the theater; it was nice to have just our kids in the theater. The production went a little over two hours, and the students did very well, all in all. A few of them started whispering the “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly” speech that they had memorized, but a quick glance from teachers cut that short. They also started getting a little restless in the last 15 minutes or so (including one girl next to me who had the giggles through much of the ending sword fights), but on the whole the kids did really well. They did laugh quite a bit at seeing Macbeth’s head on a pike at the end of the play (the head was clearly fake), but I can’t blame them for that – it takes going to theater for awhile to get used to scenery and props being suggestive instead of photorealistic.

As for the play, it was excellent. The set was simple, but effective – there were two sets of curved stairs on either side of the stage. Actors could enter or exit at the top of the stairs or go under them. This allowed for the witches to disappear under the earth, or for Lady Macbeth to be seated on a dais/throne. It worked very well.

The acting was great all the way around – they had many experienced actors on stage, with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth played by the co-artistic directors of the theater, real-life husband and wife Neil and MaryJo.

The “wow” part of the play was the vision for the witches. Neil (who also directed) decided to have the witches be on stage every time something bad was happening. It was as if they were actively driving the evil of the play. It was fantastic. So, they were on stage as servants when Lady Macbeth read the letter from her husband that the king was coming to the castle. They were on stage holding the imaginary dagger in front of Macbeth during the “Is this a dagger I see before me” scene (it was brilliantly played). They shielded Fleance from the murderers while Banquo was being killed so that Macbeth would not succeed. They even came on stage at the end of the play to surround the new king, Malcolm. Since Banquo was supposed “to beget kings,” we know that Malcolm cannot last as king either, so the witches appear to indicate the start of another cycle of violence (it reminded me of the end of the movie Beowulf in that way). I had never thought of the witches as so active in the play, and it worked really really well.

After the play, we loosed most of the kids on the local restaurants (on bus of students went to a McDonald’s so we would not overwhelm the local eateries). Mer and I went with two other teachers to Old Whedon Grille, where there were six students eating. It was about 1:00 or so, and we were the only people in the restaurant (10 people total). It surprised me, then, when it took about 40 minutes to get our food. It was okay – we had good fellowship rolling along in talking about the play and all, but the time pushed us so that the dessert addicts among us could not get anything sweet after the lunch.

Everyone made it safely back, so it was a great trip! Certainly a nice break from the work-day routine.