The day I’m supposed to begin writing The Teachings. Alas, I’m still in Texas, doing the grandparent thing. There’s also stock trading to work on.
This morning I baked two loaves of banana bread (out of the over now and very good); got a roast on (veggies still to be done); made three stock trades—or maybe it’s four; loaded and started the dishwasher; and washed dishes by hand.
I still have a mountain of paperwork to go through—the stuff the kids never seem to get to. And I need to run by the hardware store and pick up something for the house, something I will then have to work on.
So I don’t think I’ll get to The Teachings today, not unless it’s in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. I may do a little then, just to say I started today. Wednesday, however, January 15, will be my real start day.
I almost forgot that today is my day to blog. I had said that I would next blog about my writing goals for 2020. Here it is after noon, and I just remembered this.
Fortunately, I did spend some time this week thinking about those goals, writing them out, thinking some more, writing them out again. I believe I’ve settled on a few goals that I think are doable. At least I’m willing to make them public and work toward them. I’ve divided these into two categories, call them primary and secondary. Here are the primary goals.
Write and publish The Teachings. This is book number three in my church history novels series, though it will be the fourth one written. It fills the gap between Doctor Luke’s Assistant and Preserve The Revelation.
Make corrections to Acts Of Faith and re-publish it. As I’m going through the teaching process, I keep finding little errors that need correcting. A couple are bigger than little. I actually plan on doing this next week. I have someone willing to promote it but I’ve asked him to hold off until I make the corrections.
Write and publish the next book in the Documenting America series. This will most likely be Run-up To Revolution.
Finish and publish “Tango Delta Foxtrot”, the next short story in my Sharon Williams Fonseca series. In fact, the story is written and in the final editing process. I’ve been slowed trying to incorporate comments from my critique group. I need to make some final decisions and run with it.
Help a fellow writer get her next book published. In fact, I may have completed that this morning. I made a tweak to the cover and uploaded everything to Amazon KDP. The review so far has said the proof copy is ready to order, so it will most likely be found acceptable.
As to the secondary goals, here they are.
Complete the genealogy book Stephen Cross of Ipswich. This has been on the shelf for several years. As I recall it was more than 75% done. I hope soon to dust it off in a month or two and see where I left it.
Write an article for Voice of the Martyrs magazine and submit it. An idea has come to me for this and I don’t want to let it drop without seeing where it could go.
Write and publish another Bible study. I have five studies already developed and taught which could serve for this, and one that is gelling in my mind. I’m not sure if or when this will happen, but I like the idea.
Begin writing Volume 3 of The Gutter Chronicles. I have the outline mostly done. Maybe I’ll get to this, maybe I won’t. For sure I won’t if I dong get it in the goals.
I think that’s enough. If I get through my primary goals, and one or two secondaries, I’ll feel really good. I’ll update on occasion as the year winds on.
I’m still working on my annual goals for 2020. I’m just not sure of what I’m going to attempt this year. So, I’m going to start on goals for January. That’s a short enough time frame I should be able to project 30 days ahead. Here are my goals.
Blog twice a week, on Monday and Friday. I’ve been fairly successful blogging at this rate, and feel confident I can achieve this.
Finish producing a book for a writing friend. This project is well along. I might finish it today; if not, it should only be a day or two from now.
Edit my short story “Tango Delta Foxtrot”. The story is finished, and I’m in the editing process. My critique group hasn’t particularly liked the plot, but I don’t know how to change it. Whether I can accomplish this in January is a little iffy.
Attend writing group meetings as much as possible. My travel schedule may make it impossible to attend one, but hopefully I’ll be at the other.
Start my next book, tentatively titled The Teachings. This will be book 3 in my church history novels series. I plan on starting this later this week. Writing will take several months.
Finish a proof-reading of Acts Of Faith and republish a corrected version. I’ve proofread about a third of it and found more errors than I like.
Create a PDF version of Acts Of Faith: Leader’s Guide in 8.5×11 inch format. This is a brief task that should be no problem to complete.
I think this is enough. I’m writing this Friday evening to post on Monday morning. It’s possible I’ll add an item or two.
The writing of this book was finished in December 2018. Editing took some time, and I didn’t publish it till May 2019.
One year ago I entered the world of retirees. It was unchartered territory for me. I knew I had more than enough interests to stay busy, but how would I structure my days? What would I accomplish? Would it be more or less than I wanted to do? How would writing and stock trading and property upkeep and a dozen other things vie for my time?
At that time, in January 2019, I did not write a blog post about writing goals. It was all too new. I didn’t know what I could accomplish in my writing. I had recently completed the first draft of Adam Of Jerusalem and I was letting it simmer while the Christmas busyness was in progress. So that would be on the table early in the new year. But what else would I accomplish?
I think I will start this year on An Arrow Through The Air by three posts about goals. First will be what I accomplished last month, then will be a look-back at the whole year, then will be a look-ahead to 2020 and what I hope to accomplish. I’m still thinking about the new year, so this schedule will give me time to think some more.
I last posted about goals at the end of October, for November. Not sure why I didn’t do a December goals post. Here’s what I said for November, and how well I did on them over a two-month period.
As always, blog twice a week on Monday and Friday. I may have to write some ahead and schedule their posting. I did fairly well on this. Some of them I did write ahead of time for later posting. I missed one day in each month.
Attend writing groups. One group is considering adding a second meeting in the month, so it might be three instead of two meetings total for the two groups. I attended every meeting available. One was cancelled. Another was a time to wrap books as Christmas presents to go to a middle school. It was a fun time.
Finish Tango Delta Foxtrot. I think this is about two hours of writing. Surely I can do that. I finished this, and gave it to my critique group (Scribblers and Scribes of Bella Vista). Waiting on a full range of critiques, but initial response, but for installments and for the full document isn’t good.
Finish reading in two books that are research for The Teachings. This is quite doable. I’m not reading all of Josephus—just enough to know about a certain action in Jerusalem at the beginning of the war in 66 a.d. Yes, I got this done. From Josephus I have selected the dates and locations for certain scenes. From the other book I have a good idea of the composition of The Didache. From the two I’ve made an outline. When I sit down to work on it, probably next week, I hope it starts to flow.
Finish the Leader’s Guide for Acts Of Faith. This should be doable, in the original concept only. I’ll be working toward publishing it in December, most likely as an e-book only. Another thing finished. I received some feedback about potential changes that would have taken time, but decided not to make them. For now this is an e-book, but I’m planning on making a PDF in 8.5×11 format to give to people who ask.
So, two months of reasonably good accomplishment. Hopefully this will continue into January 2020.
It was sad, it was sad, it was sad when the big ship went down…. We used to sing that in boy scouts.
Through miscellaneous readings, and history-type TV shows, I know a fair amount about the Titanic disaster. I had never read a complete book on it, however. I bought The Titanic: Disaster of a Century by Wyn Craig Wade. I had seen this on a bookshelf somewhere, read a few pages in it during an idle moment, and decided it would be good to have. Amazon is my friend, and I soon had a new copy, purchased with a gift certificate.
The book did not in any way prove a disappointment. It was originally published in 1980, before the discovery of the wreck later in that decade. This was an updated version, published as a centenary edition in 2012. Mr. Wade had died in the meantime, and his daughter, Barbara Wade, completed and published this updated edition.
It starts with the news that the Titanic had struck ice and was in trouble. It followed the early reports: first the bare news of contact with ice, followed by reports of damage, followed by reports of all souls rescued and being brought to Halifax, followed by reports that Titanic was being towed to Halifax with all souls on board, followed by the Titanic sank but all souls were on another ship heading for New York.
The book spent a long couple of chapters on this, showing the lack of information and disinformation. Eventually the rescue ship, the Carpathia, arrives in New York and the truth becomes known, how 2/3 of the souls aboard had been lost, how the lifeboats had not been fully loaded, etc.
Into this steps the senator from Michigan, William Alden Smith. He rushes to New York City with a subpoena for J Bruce Ismay, president of the White Star Lines and one of those rescued, who was hoping to skedaddle back to England and avoid an American inquiry. The chapters moved into the hearings held, first in New York then in Washington DC. Through these hearings the story of the disaster came out.
I thought that was an interesting literary technique by Wade. Rather than follow the ship from its points of departure in the British Isles, it concentrated on the decisions that contributed to the disaster. How the crew hadn’t been well trained and didn’t know the ship. How a lifeboat drill had been cancelled the morning of the last day. How ice warnings conveyed by other ships had been noted and ignored by the captain who had never had a bad thing happen in 40 years at sea. How various vessels responded to Titanic’s SOS. How unregulated wireless “traffic” hindered rescue attempts and news forwarding. How the Californian was within sight of Titanic but did nothing to help, their captain apparently not really understanding what was going on.
The book is well-written, well-organized. I enjoyed it immensely, and read the 318 pages in thirteen sittings. I give it 5-stars, and will likely do a review on Amazon.
Is it a keeper, however? I have too many books, and need to begin to get rid of some. I’m not yet ready to get rid of this, however. I’ll pull another book from the shelf, one I’m sure I’ll never re-read, let it go, and keep this.
Not the best devotional book I’ve read. Not sure whether I’ll keep it or not.
This will be a short review. Born the King: An Advent Devotional, is the Advent book published by our denominational publishing house for use this year. Our pastor preached a sermon series by that name, and we were all encouraged to purchase the book and read along.
I purchased the book, but didn’t start on time. Getting a few days behind, I finally read a couple of chapters out loud to Lynda. The chapters are short: two pages (though in a 10 point font), with two pages of worksheets afterward. I could tell Lynda wasn’t enjoying it, and neither did I. So I quit reading aloud and put the book aside. Later I picked it up and read a week of devotionals at a time, finishing it Christmas morning.
I’ll say this as nicely as I can: It wasn’t my favorite devotional book ever. In fact, I didn’t like it. Maybe it’s just too hard to write an Advent devotional and come up with new material. As a result, the writer (in this case writers, a husband and wife pastor couple) try too hard, and the book isn’t all that meaningful. To me, it wasn’t meaningful.
Maybe it was the way I read it, a week at a time instead of each day. Maybe it was that I didn’t do the exercises for each day. I’m not sure what it was, I just didn’t like it.
Normally I keep these yearly Advent devotional books, thinking I’ll go through them again someday. Except I never do. I’m not sure what I’ll do about this one. In the spirit of decluttering, I should put it in the garage, on the donation pile. Possibly I’ll put in in the row of devotional books in the living room. Possibly.
The storage area for Christmas decorations, opposite The Graveyard, is in slight disarray this time of year.
I’ve written about decluttering before. It’s an on-going process here at Blackberry Oaks (the name I’ve given to our property, a name no one else in the family seems to like or is willing to adopt). Most of what we’ve done is relatively minor stuff: getting rid of a few empty boxes; taking garage sale stuff that didn’t sell to the thrift store; etc.
Last week and into the weekend, however, I did something a little more major. In our basement storeroom is a dark nook, set off from the rest of the storeroom by a 6-foot long job in the concrete wall and two book cases at right angles to it, is an area I have never had a name for, but which I think I’ll dub The Graveyard.
At the front of The Graveyard were two boxes with Christmas wreaths and another box of some candle holders. Behind it was a stack of computer boxes. The Apple boxes I knew had our old C-II from the Kuwait years. The other boxes I wasn’t sure what was in them. Then, there were a couple of large cardboard boxes. One I knew was for our first digital TV, the 32-incher we bought in 2008 and were still using. I guess we kept that thinking that if we ever moved, it might be best to pack the box back up in the original container. Yeah, that’s a good reason to keep the box. It’s out of the way.
Well, as we had our family Christmas over Thanksgiving, our son bought us a new digital TV. It’s a smart TV, 49-inches, yet it takes only a little more footprint and square footage than the old one. The box for this one went to the garage. We’re still trying to learn how to use the smart TV, but that’s a story for another post.
Last week, around Monday, I took a look at The Graveyard and decided we could do without that old TV box. We would be going by the recycling center the next day, so I decided it was time to let go of it. As I pulled it out, I saw that we also had the box from the TV stand for that old TV, a stand that it once again sits on in The Dungeon, waiting to be hooked up. Well, obviously I didn’t need to keep that. Both of those boxes went up to the garage, into the minivan, and, the next day, to the recycling center along with the new TV box and some other stuff.
How freeing that was! Much of our clutter is empty boxes, saved for whatever reason we need them. But these particular boxes clearly had no future use.
Much better organized. Smaller, all items showing. Now need to get rid of the Apple 2C. Any takers?
But there, in The Graveyard, I also found, not just our old Apple computer, but an equally ancient desktop, perhaps also from Kuwait. I’ve been slowly giving up the old computers for recycling, after having someone get the data off of them. I thought I knew where they all were, so finding this one buried behind unneeded boxes was a surprise. It’s now moved to a place where I stage getting rid of computers. Also back there was a dead printer—dead because whatever computer it was used with is no longer in service. It’s also moved to the electronic recyclables staging area.
Once these things were removed, I was able to organize the few things left to be where I can see them. I gathered all the loose wreaths and hung them. Also, I was able to move the free-standing bookcases back a little further into The Graveyard to make that space smaller and make the main part of the storeroom bigger. You can see what the result was.
Decluttering is far from over, In fact, in some ways it’s seems we’ve just begun the task. But this feels good. Real good. Next will be the remaining old computers and other electronics. Then, what’s next? Maybe some real stuff will depart this household.
I write this on Thursday, December 19, 2019, for posting on Friday.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump. Passions are running high on both sides. One FB friend I never would have suspected is FOR impeachment, mainly on the charge of obstructing Congress. I have debated him on FB, saying the president has no obligation to cooperate with those who are trying to remove him from office.
In past similar situations, thinking mainly of Nixon, he also defied Congress. Congress took him to court and asked that the SCOTUS fast-track the process. In compliance with the court, Nixon handed over the subpoenaed items, they showed he had indeed committed crimes, and he would have been impeached had he not resigned.
That’s not what Congress has done here. They have subpoenaed Trump for documents and witnesses. These have not been produced. Rather than go to court to have them enforced, they just impeached him.
In the debate with my friend on FB, another friend said Trump had already committed impeachable offenses and he offered a video of Robert Reich from April 5, 2017 as proof. While I have no respect for this former Cabinet member, I decided to listen to his video to see if I may have overlooked anything. Reich suggests four impeachable offenses at that time, with a fifth one brewing. Let’s look at them
One: Trump is “unfaithfully” executing his duties as president by accusing his predecessor, President Obama, of undertaking an illegal and impeachable act, with absolutely no evidence to support the accusation.
Sorry, Mr. Reich, but no one appointed you of what is or is not faithful or unfaithful execution of office. It is unfaithful execution to criticize your predecessor? Give me a break. This is ridiculous.
Two: The Constitution forbids government officials from taking things of value from foreign governments. But Trump is making big money off his Trump International Hotel by steering foreign diplomatic delegations to it. And will make a bundle off China’s recent decision to grant his trademark applications for the Trump brand, decisions Chinese authorities arrived at directly because of decisions Trump has made as president.
Is Trump “steering” business to his hotel? Or are foreign delegations using it because it’s a good venue in Washington DC? Is Trump donating the profits from that hotel to charity? Hardly impeachable. And, as to China, has any president in the last 100 years been tougher on China than Trump? Reich, your argument doesn’t hold up.
Three: Trump’s ban on travel into the U.S. from 6 Muslim countries, which he initiated, advocated for, and oversees—violated [the free exercise of religion clause].
The courts struck down that travel ban and it wasn’t enforced. How can it be impeachable when Trump complied with the court? Again, Mr. Reich, that’s ridiculous. I also point out (since you don’t seem to know this), that there are some 30 Muslim majority countries. If travel from individuals of six of those were banned, then travel from individuals from 24 of them was allowed. That’s hardly against the free exercise of religion.
Four: Trump’s labeling the press the “enemy of the people” and choosing whom he invites to news conferences based on whether they’ve given him favorable coverage, violates [the freedom of the press provision of Amendment 1].
What Reich is saying is the president cannot criticize the press. How did this criticism prevent them from doing their job? It didn’t. They were still free to publish. He denied them an audience. Guess what, Mr. Reich, the First Amendment doesn’t grant the press an audience. The president is free to give interviews to whom he wants to.
Five: Evidence is mounting that Trump and his aides colluded with Russian operatives to win the 2016 presidential election—which Reich says meets the definition of treason.
Reich was so wrong on this, where to begin? Several investigations failed to find the alleged collusion. The evidence mounted against this. If this took place, it happened while Trump was a candidate. Do you really think a president can be impeached for things he did before he was president? I think not.
I’ve never liked Reich, never thought he had the country’s best interests at heart. Now I’m sure of it.
One of my copies of the Federalist Papers. Yes, I bought it used, to have at the office. This copy stays in the sun room; my other stays in The Dungeon.
As we deal with impeachment of the president in 2019, we have few precedents to base a position on. Impeachment has happened only twice, and would have occurred one other time had not the president resigned.
What is an impeachable offense? What was on the Founders’ minds at the Constitutional Convention? How would they approach it today? The place I always turn first on Constitutional issues is the Federalist Papers. What did Madison, Hamilton, and Jay have to say concerning this?
A well-constituted court for the trial of impeachments is an object not more to be desired than difficult to be obtained in a government wholly elective. The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated political, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.
The delicacy and magnitude of a trust which so deeply concerns the political reputation and existence of every man engaged in the administration of public affairs, speak for themselves. The difficulty of placing it rightly, in a government resting entirely on the basis of periodical elections, will as readily be perceived, when it is considered that the most conspicuous characters in it will, from that circumstance, be too often the leaders or the tools of the most cunning or the most numerous faction, and on this account, can hardly be expected to possess the requisite neutrality towards those whose conduct may be the subject of scrutiny.
Federalist #65, by Alexander Hamilton
I don’t find this particularly helpful. Or, rather, it’s helpful, but not very comprehensive. Impeachment is a political process. Because the president is immune from being charged criminally while president, so that he/she wouldn’t be continuously harassed in office, impeachment by the House, trial by the Senate—resulting either in acquittal or conviction, resulting in removal from office, and then charging and trial by the courts. That’s the process, but for what can the president be impeached? I just went through the entire Federalist Papers, searching for “impeach” and other related terms. I’m surprised at how little is included. They include much discussion of why the Senate is the right body for impeachment trials. But, as far as discussions on what is and what is not an impeachable offense, I find very little, except what I’ve quoted above from Federalist #65.
An additional source is James Madison’s notes on the Constitutional Convention. I just went through those notes, looking for discussion on what is impeachable, and I found this.
The clause referring to the Senate, the trial of impeachments agst. the President, for Treason & bribery, was taken up. Col. MASON. Why is the provision restrained to Treason & bribery only? Treason as defined in the Constitution will not reach many great and dangerous offences. Hastings is not guilty of Treason. Attempts to subvert the Constitution may not be Treason as above defined. As bills of attainder which have saved the British Constitution are forbidden, it is the more necessary to extend: the power of impeachments. He movd. to add after “bribery” “or maladministration.”
Mr. GERRY seconded him.
Mr. MADISON So vague a term will be equivalent to a tenure during pleasure of the Senate.
Mr. Govr. MORRIS, it will not be put in force & can do no harm. An election of every four years will prevent maladministration.
Col. MASON withdrew “maladministration” & substitutes “other high crimes & misdemeanors agst. the State”
On the question thus altered
N. H. ay. Mas. ay. Ct. ay. N. J. no. Pa. no. Del. no. Md. ay. Va. ay. N. C. ay. S. C. ay. Geo. ay.
James Madison, Notes on the Constitutional Convention, for September 8, 1787
This gives us a little more to go on. The original clause on impeachment was for treason and bribery. Mason of Virginia wanted to add “maladministration” as a reason for impeachment. What, exactly, is maladministration? I interpret it to mean “doing a bad job” or “not doing a good job”. In other words, incompetence or malfeasance.
The summary of the debate, somewhat spare in Madison’s words, was that maladministration would never in fact be used as a reason for impeachment, and the correction for maladministration is elections.
Facing rejection of his motion, Mason changed the motion to add “other high crimes & misdemeanors”. In other words, for crimes other than treason and bribery. This seems to me to be more or less the same as felonies and misdemeanors—things that would result in being charged in criminal court if not the president.
Others think the word “high” applies to both crimes and misdemeanors. If that were the case, the bar would be a little different than my interpretation.
The question now comes down to whether the impeachment of the current president meets the constitutional definition. Alas, I’ve already exceeded a reasonable word limit for a blog post, and will have to answer that in a future post. I may post earlier than my normal schedule.
Unlike my parents, we don’t have a dedicated space for stashing reused paper for future use.
I don’t know how many families made this a practice. Possibly every family who had parents who came of age in the Great Depression did this. I’m talking about re-using wrapping paper from one year in future years.
Yes, wrapping paper used to wrap gifts. For children.
Our storeroom shelves have many Christmas decorations, but not re-used wrapping paper.
As far back as my memories go, which might be to 5 or 6 years old, we always unwrapped our gifts in a way that minimized damage to the wrapping paper so that it could be used again. We gently slid a finger under the Scotch tape, removing it with the hopes of not damaging the surface it had been attached to, then folded it underneath the paper so the loose end wouldn’t do more damage. Do this with every piece of tape on the package. Remove the paper. Set it aside. Take some time with the gift. Go on to the next one. Repeat.
By the end of the day, the papers were all stacked and brought to the basement and put on a shelf.
On the other hand, we have plenty of Christmas decorations we no longer use. Will have to clear them out someday.
The next year, whenever anyone, parent of child, wrapped a present, they went first to that shelf in the basement and looked for a used piece of paper. Try to get one that’s not bigger than you need, and of course not smaller. Use it again. Go on to the next present.
The new tradition. Who put a wooly mammoth in my Christmas village?
Year after year this was our practice. I imagine each year our parents bought at least one new roll, but mostly we used the old paper. Sometimes you would be given a gift on Christmas day and recognize the paper. “Oh, I remember last year I used this paper to wrap….” Each year some papers would get smaller and smaller as you trimmed away damaged places or—heaven forbit—you couldn’t find a piece the right size and used one way too big and cut it in two.
Even ribbon and bows were reused in my childhood. We still do that with bows, but not ribbon.
This was actually a fun part of our Christmas traditions.
Of course, I wasn’t able to continue that into adult life. Oh, I still unwrap gifts in that manner, but I never forced my children to do the same. I tried, and to some extent they did it. But we didn’t have a whole shelf in the basement or storeroom dedicated to used Christmas paper.
Time marches on. We have new traditions now when the kids come home. There’s the hidden Chex Mix that they have to find somewhere in the house if they want to have any. The last few years there’s been the Christmas village that has all sorts of toys added to it. Grandpa protests, but not too hard. It started years ago when our oldest grandchild added a toy rock to the village, and it’s expanded from there. The last year or two I hid that toy rock, but not too much hidden. They found it and added it to the village.
Christmases past, present, and future. Memories were and are being made, and recalled and enjoyed over and over.
