Will I have a bed on November 8?

I feel adventurous. This feeling doesn't come around very often - maybe that's a good thing since I'm on the downhill slide to senior citizenry. Nevertheless, the cause is due to my own time mismanagement. I am attending a conference the second week of November out of town, and guess what I forgot to do? That's correct - I forgot to make hotel reservations where the conference is being held. Now there are no rooms available at that particular hotel.

So I went online in search of area hotels. I'm not extremely familiar with this part of the state, and although I found many places listed, I'm not sure what's closest to the location of the conference. I gave up fairly quickly, and I think I'm going to just wing it. That's right, I'm going to drive up there and just see what's available WITHOUT a reservation. I'm sure my husband who never would consider such a plan will sorta freak out, but I'm not worried. I'm optimistic about the endless possibilities...hopefully, I won't end up in the bus station or in my car, but, I'll let you know how it works out. Here's a thought-I can ask my sister, who loves internet research to do some hotel shopping for me. There's an idea...

A Russian concert experience

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I've been a little weary. But I notice my brother, who has sorta been through the fire this last week is posting. What a good example he sets!

Tonight my son and I attended the Wichita Symphony Orchestra concert. We have season tickets again this year, and I enjoy it very much. Of course, going with Dan is always an adventure. He's really the classical music specialist of the family. This evening as I listened to Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini", Op. 43, I admired the guest soloist, Lilya Zilberstein. She's a Russian pianist now living in Hamburg, Germany and what an extraordinary talent! The second half of the concert was the "Symphony No. 5 in D Minor", written in 1937 by a modern Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich. Take note of this, from the description in the concert program: "Emotional release comes in the form of a Scherzo. Here, Shostakovich's wry, sardonic sense of humor comes through, possibly taunting his worse critics." Did you know that Shostakovich had a wry, sardonic sense of humor? It's amazing what music communicates to the listener. I'm glad I read the entire description of this symphony before I heard it played - it was an amazing work.

The other work played, which I just wanted to briefly comment on, was one I had never ever heard of. It was called "Iron Foundry", composed by Mosolov. In 1926-1928, Masolov, a Russion composer, wrote a ballet called "Steel". It was intended to highlight the surge of industrialization going on in the Soviet Union during that time. "Iron Foundry" is a piece from this ballet. During this amazing piece you can close your eyes and imagine a steel factory, with all the noise from the machinery coming at you loudly and discordantly. The orchestra uses percussion and dissonant violins to create this illusion. I noticed one of the percussion players waving a large piece of sheet metal, which added even more realism to the experience. It was an odd piece, but one I won't soon forget.

'The Great Mattress Maneuver"

Characters:
Father
Mother
Daniel
Joshua
Rebekah
Tiffany
Michael

Setting: The house, Sunday afternoon, 1:30. Father and Mother are on the road, traveling back from a weekend away.

Prologue
Daniel: Mother, I'm way too tall for a twin bed. I would like a full sized one.
Mother: Yes you are tall. However, you will not be able to get a full sized box spring upstairs to your room. Remember, our stairs has a 90 degree turn from the landing.
Daniel: I can do it!
Mother: No you can't. Please do not attempt this, it will result in failure.
Daniel: I can do it!

ACT 1
Scene 1
Daniel: It's a Sunday afternoon and I have nothing to do. I think I will buy a new full sized bed.
Joshua: OK! I can help!
Rebekah: Huh?
Scene 2
Daniel: Hi Michael and Tiffany! I'm going to buy a full size bed! Can you help carry it in?
Michael and Tiffany together in unison: We'd love to help!
Scene 3 (At the Furniture Store)
Tiffany: How much do you mark this stuff up?
Furniture store man: 25 to 75%.
Daniel: I'll take this one!

Act 2
Scene 1
Daniel: (Surveying back of pickup) Woo hoo! Look at this great new bed!
Rebekah: Can you get that up the stairs?
Daniel: It has a 5 year guarantee!
Tiffany: Can you get that up the stairs?
Joshua: It's got quilting!
Scene 2
Michael: (huffing and puffing) I don't think it's gonna go up.
Joshua: (huffing and puffing) No can do, man.
Daniel: (huffing and puffing) We MUST get this up the stairs!
Mother: (answering cell phone) Hello?
Rebekah: You should see what's going on here!
Mother: We're turning around and going back to Branson.
Scene 3
Daniel: It's not going up the stairs!
Tiffany and Rebekah: We told you so.
Joshua: It's a GREAT mattress.
Michael: I'm a fireman. I will come up with a plan. Do not worry.
ACT 3
Scene 1
Michael: So, if we can't get it up the stairs, we have to find another way INTO the room. Hmmm. Oh, look, a second story window! It goes right into the room!
Daniel: Here's a ladder!
Michael: Let's remove the entire window! From the house! The frame and all!
Tiffany and Rebekah: Are you CRAZY?
Joshua: What a great idea!
Daniel: I am too tall for a twin bed, you know.
Scene 2
Joshua: (pointing to window) So, how do we hoist the box spring up there?
Michael: Get a rope! Get them wimmen upstairs! Get ready to push!
Rebekah: Huh?
Tiffany: It's easy! We'll tie the rope around the box spring. The boys will push it up the ladder from the ground. We'll pull it from the upstairs opening where the window used to be and haul it inside! It'll be great!
Rebekah: Huh???????????
Scene 3
Tiffany and Rebekah: PUSH!
Michael, Daniel, and Joshua: WE ARE! You pull harder!!!
Scene 4
Rebekah: Look at this carpeting! You tracked in mud everywhere! Look at this! Clean it up!! Before mother gets here!
Mother: (answering cell phone) Hello?
Rebekah: Where you are?
Mother: I'm pulling in the driveway.
Rebekah: SHE'S PULLING IN THE DRIVEWAY!
Scene 5
Mother: Look! See mud and shoe tracks on carpeting!
Father: Look! See Michael hoisting the window back into opening!
Joshua: Look! See our problem solving skills in action!
Michael: Look! See how this window will just barely fit back in here!
Tiffany: Look! See what these Neanderthals did!
Rebekah: Look! See what these Neanderthals did!
Daniel: Look! I've got a new bed!

Postlude
Rebekah: (to Daniel and Joshua) Get in the car. Go to Dillons. Rent a "Rug Doctor". Get all the cleaning supplies. Bring it home. Clean up this mess on this carpeting. Return the rug doctor.
Daniel: Ok.
Joshua: Ok.
Mother: The mud is nearly gone. I am happier.
Father: The window is back in. The Cowboys will beat the Patriots. I am happier.

Note: Final score: Patriots 48 Cowboys 27
THE END.

Canon in D through my head

We just got back from a weekend spent near Branson - and because we've discovered an inexpensive "jewel" of a place down on Indian Point, we had a wonderful time. I would never in a million years actually STAY in Branson. This little place on Indian Point, Hunter's Friend, is well worth the time and trouble it takes to get there. It is NOT a 4 star motel. We met two of my brothers and their wives there - and although some had problems with weak shower flow, some had problems with lumpy mattresses, some had problems with noisy neighbors for awhile, it STILL is great staying there in order to avoid the Branson madness. 35.00 a night. How do you beat that?

We did see "The Haygoods", a high energy musical group of 7 brothers and 1 sister who entertained us exceedingly well. Check out their videos on YouTube. The "Canon in D" is worth it, even if it takes awhile to download on a slow connection. I LOVE Dick's 5 and 10 store in Branson-stocked with more than 40,000 items (the affable sales clerk told me) in what seemed to me like about 1000 square feet, maybe less. The excursion train was kinda cool. Lots of trees. As one brother enthusiastically commented, "If you've seen one tree, you've seen 'em all..." And dinner at the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks was the highlight of the trip for me. What a wonderful time! Very good food. Very good service. Very nice atmosphere. Very conducive to visiting. Very wonderful live violin music. Very good coffee. Just VERY GOOD. (In case you hadn't noticed those adjectives before.)

So I'm back home, went to an inservice today on emotional disturbance. You know you're back to reality when you get to do that the very next day after coming home from a weekend vacation.

Reason #3

Continuing on with the third reason: "My Bubble, My Rules"
According to author Lynne Truss, one of the great principles of manners, especially in Britain, is "respecting someone else's right to be left alone, unmolested, undisturbed." She calls it the concept of distinguishing between public and private space, and, stating the the cell phone is by far, the biggest catalyst in blurring the lines. Anytime, anywhere, we can listen in on one-sided conversations where anything is the topic-business arrangements, lunch menus, criminal activity, and why someone doesn't like one's mother-in-law. The title for Reason #3 came from Bart Simpson, who one time explained his boorish behavior by stating, "Hey, it's my bubble, my rules." When we're out in public, we're in our own little bubble, in our own little world, and in our own little world, our own rules govern our behavior. So what if I am having a disagreement with my spouse over whether to invite his sister to Thanksgiving. You get to be part of that too, whether you want to or not, because I'm having this conversation behind you, at the checkout line in Dillons. The ironic part of this is that if I said anything, you'd tell me to mind my own business. Well I'm SORRY. You made it my business when you encroached upon me with your what should have been private discussion of why you can't stand your sister-in-law. Truss says it used to just be CIA agents who walked around with earpieces and "preoccupied, faraway expressions, regarding the little people as irrelevent scum. Now...it's nearly everybody."

My son works for a major auto parts supplier. He went with us to a funeral home Thursday evening to pay respects to a family who unexpectedly lost a loved one on Tuesday. We were there visiting for 30-45 minutes and during that time, he had his cell phone turned off. After leaving the home and getting back into the car, he turned it on and found that in that length of time, the store had called him 8 times. I was aghast. And grateful he thought to turn it off.

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I've been busy at both schools this week. In this job, a lot of unexpected, unplanned things come up, and you often cannot stick to what you had planned to do when you arrived at work that morning. Then, you get that "I'm behind" feeling, which is a major cause of life stress - I have an outbreak of painful canker sores on my lip which I think, are in part triggered by that stress. It's not just me, my sister-in-law was telling me yesterday that she spent 5 days at her job trying to clear her desk. My husband has a job where the phone rings multiple times in an hour-he used to keep track of the number of phone calls in a day and it was not unusual for him to get 30 or more in an 8 hour day. It's all about dealing with interruptions, isn't it! When I think about interruptions, I think about the gospel of Mark. Read through that book in one or two sittings some time, there are only 16 chapters. Note the number of times Jesus was interrupted, either when He was teaching, walking somewhere, going to church, praying, eating, or speaking with someone. And note His reaction to the interruptions. I had a friend who once told me that interruptions are opportunities for ministry. What do you think?