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  A Baby Disher!
After church on April 2nd, after Thomas
had returned from China on March 30th, we were sitting around a
table in Larson Hall at UPC, listening to Susan relate details
about the opening of her new
women's clinic
in the U District. She was recounting how they'd been
looking for a pregnant woman so that Susan could train her
nurses on the ultrasound equipment. Annie interrupted and
said, "And we found one." After a pause, Jean put two plus
two together and made the connection that they were announcing
Annie's pregnancy.
The initial due date was estimated as
December 3rd. Susan said December 9th in honor of Jean's
birthday. I will add my prediction of Thanksgiving Day.
Certainly, our firstborn will look like she's carrying a turkey
by then.
 I
was very pleased, but surprisingly calm about the news. Prayers
had been answered. Only a bit later did the thought of becoming
a grandfather come to mind. So, we finally have an urgent need
to baby-proof 1228 99th Ave NE. I expect we'll make that (house
construction and cleanout) the summer project that has been put
off for so many years.
2 Years,
3 Months Between Range Visits
On April 1st, my friend Wayne Polmer (see below) invited me to the West
Coast Armory range where he is a member. We shared a lane
and shot our pistols for two hours. I found I brought way
too much ammo.
I had added a
scope to my Smith & Wesson Model 686+ .357 magnum, but
had wondered, after the fact, if this had done more harm than
good. But the results were awesome. This gun, the
pride of my collection, was an accurate shooter before.
The scope only improved its accuracy, as it helped me see the
targets more clearly. Shooting .38 Specials through it
also saved money over the .357 rounds.
If someone wonders how
fanatical I am about this potentially expensive interest, the fact that my last
range visit was over twenty-seven months ago, should cause them
to relax.
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  Saturday Morning Men
Our Saturday men's Bible study group is much
smaller than when I joined it in 1989.
(I was a visitor to the
group in 1981.) And, at 62, I remain the youngest in the group.
Pictured above, from left to right, are:
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♦ Ned Freer is a retired banker.
He lives in Medina, and is a graduate of USC.
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♦ Wayne Pommer, 74, a retired
electronics technician from Issaquah, and a UW graduate. He was on
the top floor of Terry Hall during the April 1965 earthquake.
He's a ham radio operator, musician, and Republican Party loyalist.
I first met Wayne and his wife when they were students in my summer
classes at Bellevue Presbyterian back in the 1990s.
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♦ Dr. John Ulvila of
Bellevue is a retired physician. He is well-read and
knows the Bible well. A graduate of the University of Montana
and the UW School of Medicine.
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♦ Bob Wright was a Boeing
engineer. He was one of 3 or 4 men who would drive in from the
Emerald Heights Retirement Community in Redmond. He has only
recently begun attending again since he had been caring for his late
wife. Nancy and I knew Shirley from my summer teaching at
EHRC. Bob is the only member not to have email. He's
such a gentle fellow.
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♦ Dr. Bob Whitford is a Purdue
graduate, and a retired engineering professor (and Presbyterian Lay
Pastor), most recently from Alaska. He is a Bible teacher
himself, and my backup when I am off at a Saturday Bellevue
Christian sporting event.
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♦ Below Ned is Tim Stonich. His
is officially retired as a Junior High Principal. He continues
to serve as a substitute administrator or teacher when needed.
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♦ And across
from Tim is his good friend Warren Berger. The two seem
inseparable. Warren was let go by Microsoft, but is currently an
executive with Red Box, the video rental company.
 Paracord
On!
I believe my season of acquisition has just
about ended.
It's just too easy to bid on eBay. In about two months, I've bought
around 4000' of paracord, including the 1000' spool of maroon, SPU's
main school color.
The six bracelets pictured are all of the
"Trilobite" weave. I know a few basic useful weaves and knots.
I'm not in a hurry to master this hobby. It's a fun substitute for
other ways to pass the time.
It wouldn't surprise me if someday I have the
chance to share this craft hobby with grandchildren.
I've slowed my reading of both British Naval
fiction and Bible, due to both fatigue and being too busy. I
continue my sports photography, including walking 10 miles at the King's
Invite on April 22, and another 10 at the BCS Invite.
Should I live so long, I hope to someday return
to my early 1980's hobby of drawing Northwest Indian Art pieces, once I
retire.
 
Easter
2017
Annie colored Easter eggs and she
let me hide the majority of them. We enjoyed a rare sunny day.
I learned this month that about 3 in every 4 years,
Easter and Passover occur in the same week. And our Easter and
Orthodox Easter lined up this year.
Nancy met Julie Adams on Easter morning at UPC
and invited her to our Easter lunch at Susan's. We seem to always
have at least one non-family member at her table.
 
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 Bits and Pieces
♦ On the
27th, my main PC crashed and one of my four Nikon D300 cameras died.
Surprisingly, the next day I removed the off-brand battery from the
Nikon and it was back in business. Cheered by this, I turned on
the ailing computer and it booted up just fine. (Hallelujah!) I quickly
backed it up just in case it decided to shut down again. Alas, at the
BCS
Invite track meet on the 29th, my
crown fell out for a fourth time! Now I really must get a second
dental implant.
♦ Ross Stewart, my Dean,
stopped by my office on the 28th and asked for advice on marketing the
new PPE major (Politics, Philosophy & Economics.) After I satisfied that
query, he raised a surprise issue. Dr. Caleb Henry had proposed we
add an advanced Microsoft Excel class, with me as the instructor.
Three annual sections were wanted. This is something I had long
advocated but had not taken the initiative to promote.
I emailed my thoughts to Drs. Henry and Stewart. We'll see what
come of this.
 ♦
I continue to debate my avocation
as a sports photographer. It is
so time consuming, yet so many folks appreciate the effort. Issues
like grandfatherhood, added teaching both at SPU and for the church, and
just getting my daily work done, weigh on my thoughts. But then I
get great shots that bring me joy, and I wonder.
♦
We finished Acts 17 on Saturday,
April 29.
My Quotes from April
“Give me six hours
to chop down a tree and I will spend the first
four sharpening the axe.”
“Character is like
a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is
what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
― Abraham
Lincoln
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