The Journal of Dr. Richard L. Sleight

DECEMBER 2005 EDITION 

Weight change in December, 191 to 193

After Annie and I had read the Christianity Today review of the new Narnia movie, Annie and I had this exchange.

Oh fudge.  Or turkish elight or whatever.  I do wish they'd had a Christian director or maybe that they'd put this out before LOTR--then there might not have been so much pressure in the battle scene department.  AND I really hope they don't make too many "adapted from the hit movie" books, but that people really are prompted to go back to the original books to meet the real Aslan.

Makes me wonder what LOTR fans felt like when those came out--I was glad not to have read those books beforehand.  Oh well. I hope we can still enjoy it :-)

                                                          ~Annie

Annie –

As far as Lord of the Rings goes – I cried when the opening shots of the Shire rolled.  They got it right – given that they had to cut much to fit it all even into 3 movies.  But LOTR was not a Gospel allegory.  Narnia is.  

Consider the Narnia movie  like one would judge the modern “worship” style.  The battle scenes are the guitars and drums (just as a big organ was “new” once).  The real test is did they get the Stone Table sacrifice and resurrection right?  Does Aslan really die -- and for Edmund?  

At least it sounds like they got Lucy “spot on” as the Brits say.  And isn’t Life itself a long Last Battle anyway?

-- Dad 

Now having seen the movie I can say I'm at least content with it.  The one word, however, that came to me to describe it, was not a real complement.  I found it "Disneyesque".   It was attractive and did justice to the Lewis allegory, but it did not wow me.  The tears I shed were only in the very opening scenes, in London, which weren't in the book.  They were shed for what was happening to the people of London, in "our world" enduring the hellish hail of Nazi bombings. There was the clearest picture of the sin in us for which Christ died.  I related most to Edmund.  I've known a witch and her Turkish Delight.  I've met Aslan by the other name He's known by here.

And speaking of Narnia, Annie and Jeannie had me take an online personality test to discover which character from Narnia I am most like.  It must be a valid test because it pegged me perfectly as Puddleglum.  "As Puddleglum the marshwiggle, you are very much pessimistic and paranoid! However, you're respected and trusted, and have a heart of gold."  

Nathanael Receives the BCS Spirit Award
 
Two years ago, as a junior, Annie received the BCS Spirit Award at homecoming. This month Nathanael received the award, selected by his classmates as the most deserving sophomore boy.   Here is their citation to him.

        Nate, your peers recognize you for always having a bright, cheery attitude and being friendly to everyone around you.  We appreciate your willingness to help others with homework.
        Thank you for your strong sense of leadership, school spirit and servants attitude.  We, as students, look up to you and want to recognize you for your gifts.

           Spirit Awards 2005
           BCS Students

On Getting Old
 
About 10 years ago I learned that retired San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana was younger than I was!  I felt suddenly old.  Now as the parent of three teens, and with a wife having hot flashes, I'm feeling old again.  But much of this "feeling" is health related.  I realize that Diabetes is not so much an illness as a self-inflicted injury.  It is combated best by diet and exercise, not by drugs.  And what was the defining moment when I realized I really was old?  When I was preparing to have a V8 and managed to shake well after opening.

Annie is Still Up to Her Old Tricks
 
Both Annie and Jeannie received straight A grades again this quarter.  Nathanael was close behind them.  This was the first time Annie checked her grades with trepidation since her competition in the SPU honors program is intense.

t.  I picked him up at BCS at 12:45AM when the team bus finally got back.  He had planned to carry his gear home since we only live five blocks from BCS.  But I was too anxious to hear how it went.  The best wrestling teams in the state are always east of the Cascades. At this "Power House" tournament, the BCS Vikings only managed 6th place, but Nathanael earned 2nd place at 130 lbs. His teammate David Del Moro also took 2nd, at 125 lbs.  These were the two top places for BCS.

Reflections on My Youth
 
At our annual SBE staff “White Elephant” gift exchange lunch at China Harbor restaurant, I was reminded of an event from my youth.  Jeff Van Duzer had asked each of us if we were one of the “cool kids” in high school.  I could not claim to be, but in my own way I was.  I was not on the football, basketball, or baseball teams but was a valuable member and eventual Captain of the Cross Country and Track teams.  I was surely not unpopular. I was in the “in crowd” by default. The real "jocks" knew I could do some things they couldn't. I recall a number of unique events. Back in Junior High, the gym teacher, Mr. Sterling, had me demonstrate tumbling I'd learned at the Fauntleroy YMCA gymnastics classes I'd taken on many Friday afternoons while growing up. In 12th grade I made presentations in both Language Arts and in a Sports Journalism class on my climb of Mount Rainier the previous summer.  That was special. Yet I recalled one decisive event where I crossed the line from “school nobody” to a somebody, at least in my own eyes.  It was winter trimester in the boy’s 9^th grade gym class and we were picking six captains for volleyball teams.  As a 7^th grader it had not been uncommon for me to be one of the last few to be picked for a team.  I was never the very last. What a horror that would have been to me!  Well, on this occasion, five captains had been chosen (you just needed a friend to shout out your name and be approved by the gym teacher, )  Then for captain #6 somebody yelled, “Sleight!”  It wasn’t me, honest, but I was probably yelling it on the inside.  Captain #1 got to choose first and then on down the line until Captain #6 got to make two choices. I chose Ray Wittmier (currently assistant chief for support services, UW campus police) and Rich Wissner, two of the taller guys in class and nice guys.   Then the choosing counted back down.  Our team which I had chosen proceeded to win every game that season.  I chose players not cronies. My athletic life, which had been modest up to that moment, began to turn.  And as a man thinketh, so is he.  In 10th grade I was a captain again when we chose basketball teams.  My career as a runner actually began in the spring of my 9th grade year, while still at Madison Junior High.  I began to run home daily from the Admiral District to Lincoln Park, nearly five miles.  That summer I ran 500 miles and won the first JV race of the X-Country season at WSHS in September 1970.

• One can complain about the lack of in-service training or one can provide it.  SPU puts a computer on every desk and provides training sessions perhaps once every five years on various software products. Since I had given a well received hour long class on PowerPoint to the SBE faculty, I thought it would be useful to offer it to staff across campus.  I enlarged it to a two-hour seminar and sent out an email to !Staffnet which would reach every staff member at SPU.  Before I had run an errand across the street and made a pot of tea, I had a full class signed up.  The class was hugely successful on December 21st with 36 staffers in attendance. 
• The Saturday Men's Bible Study has scheduled a first ever retreat for March 31-April 1, 2006.  Some things do change!
• And how was the Christmas holiday?  See for yourself at www.sl8.com/Christmas05/.
• All that talk about weight loss a while back seems embarrassing now.  I'm using Christmas week to start exercising again and to read a book titled Sugar Busters!  I can really get off track when I'm so busy at SPU.  With four classes to teach this coming quarter, I've got to be especially disciplined.