Becoming Bernard

With the arrival of Christmas last week Monday, so too were we at the front end of a rather long stretch of unseasonably cold weather.  Most days the high temperatures have struggled to be in the single digits.  During the Christmas season we often use the garage for storage.  No doubt that this time the garage is sufficiently cold, to the point that items have froze.  Lucky for me the beer is in the basement.  What I realized is that this year, unlike past year,s I now have a tendency to put on a coat to go to the garage. This made me think of my Dad, who my mother referred to by his middle name Bernard.  I realized I am becoming Bernard.

The cold garage has frozen some left over wine, along with soup my spouse made with turkey carcass left over from Christmas dinner.  There are trips to the garage to get cookies, now frozen, and to dispense with garbage and recyclables.  My Dad would seldom go to the garage in cold weather without a coat and/or a hat.  This even tough the garage where I grew up is insulated, so it does not get as cold as fast as the garage where I currently reside but is not insulated.  It is not like he could not stand the cold.  As a young adult during WWII he went through the Battle of the Bulge, where he spent a few days hiding in a culvert for many days after being fired upon by German troops  who had gathered for the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge; he grew up farming in the cold of the Midwest; and while he almost always wore a hat, rarely did he wear one covering his ears.  As a young child, I would often see him wearing a fedora, and not the kind with drop down ear coverings.  He often would comment to us that he went bald from having to wear a hat to keep his head warm during the cold winter on the European continent for 1944-1945.

As he would grab a coat to either put on or fling over his shoulders as he would prepare to venture into the garage or make a quick trip outside, we were there to snicker.  Of course comments were made, too.  No one was above the ability to be picked on by the kids in our family, neither Dad, or Mom.  Although the youngest was the one who may have most been above being picked on.

As I have been on vacation for the past week, I find myself becoming like Bernard.  I have found myself putting on a coat and hat to make the trip to the mail box when up to this year I would just run out without over clothes. I also have found myself putting on a coat to make a trip to the garage to gather cookies, or for some other reason.  So, I wonder was it turning 60, or the fact that for some reason I find myself unable to run as fast as I did last year?  Or, maybe I would rather take the time to be comfortable on the ventures rather than get chilled.

The chill is hard to get over sometimes, particularly when you think the house is 67 degrees when it turns out it was actually a few degrees lower.  A little trial on Thursday and Friday using varied thermometers in the house shows a two to three degree temperature differential from the thermostat reading to that on the gauges less than three feet away.  Going for my daily walk, I decided this year for the first time, to wear long johns for my legs. My Dad would be happy to see this, as he would often comment to us children to put on our long underwear, which we seldom did.  After all, how many children actually take the suggestion of their parents?

However, it goes beyond winter and coats, hats and long underwear.  I also am very near sighted, and remove my glasses to read small print or look at things up close.  I found it rather trying to work on the speaker wires to our receiver last week.  Add dark conditions, the inability to pull the receiver all the way out and my eye sight and you have a perfect storm.  I am not the only one I see doing this. One engineer at work uses his I phone camera as a magnifying glass.

Wearing the long underwear came at the suggestion of my wife.  Of course, I have been walking much of this week at sunrise, the coldest part of the day.  While cold, I hoped to avoid the which I find more bothersome than temperatures.  Showing the affect of wind, I would rather put up with a minus five degree temperature, than a temperature in the teens, with a wind that produces a wind chill of minus five.  So, yes perhaps the cold weather is starting to affect me more than in past years. With a windchill warning until noon yesterday, I waited until early afternoon to take my walk, and it actually fairly pleasant with the sun.

While my Dad was younger than I currently am when he would put on his coat and hat to venture into the garage or a quick trip outside, he is probably smiling that I have some sense, regardless of how long it took to arrive.  Parents are not always wrong. 

Happy New Year, and stay warm.  Cold weather predicted to at least next weekend.

Fourth is not last but the Middle

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on the first Sunday of Advent, titled, "First Sunday", which you can find here.  We are now to the fourth, and last Sunday of Advent.  All of the other Sunday's of Advent had a full week in which to ponder meaning and significance.  However, the fourth Sunday seldom has that opportunity. This year it really does not even exist.  The fourth Sunday of Advent is like a middle child.

Shepherds' Field Church, Beit Sahour, Palestine

I know all about being a middle child.  As families have gotten smaller, the middle child experience is going the way of the dodo bird, or having a nice snow cover for Christmas.  That is true of this Fourth Sunday, which also happens to be Christmas Eve.  American penchant for hurrying things has us always moving things to be earlier and earlier.  Many Americans celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day.  Celebrations seem to begin earlier on Christmas Day, too.  It was not too long ago at my work that we only got off 1/2 day as a holiday on Christmas Eve, but that has changed to all day.  Of course, we as a nation may be more mobile, and a full day allows persons to travel.  Christmas Day is one of the days of highest attendance at movie theaters.  It is not just the secular.  I recall years ago the first mass for Christmas Eve was Midnight Mass, but that has changed.  First it was 10:00 pm, and gradually moved to our local church has its first mass being at 4 pm.  Few parishes still have a midnight mass.  When I was young I recall midnight mass being so crowded that the aisles were full of people standing.  With mass beginning at 4:00 pm, the Fourth Sunday of Advent will come to a close, with not even a candle lighted for the evening dinner.

Cave excavation and chapel at Shepherd field

What this all means is that the Fourth Sunday of Advent is really second fiddle to Christmas Eve.  I can fully appreciate the need to accommodate celebrations with different parts of a family.  That gets me to the middle child.  They (we) are the ones (at least me) that not only wore hand-me-downs, but also hand-me-ups.  Between older and younger siblings, they are the ones that are caught in the middle.  Let me put it this way, middle children are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the family.  Can that be a good thing?  Yes, I think it tends to help shape us and perhaps make us more resilient.  Although resiliency can be earned in other ways.

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

Being a middle child is about the opposite of being the Third Sunday of Advent.  That Sunday even has its own different colored candle, which is said to give special recognition with it having a special name as Gaudete Sunday.  This gives hope to us middle children.  The purpose of advent, adapted from the Latin adventus (coming or visit), is to prepare for the coming of Christ.  By now most, but the best procrastinators, have purchased and wrapped gifts.  The houses have likely been decorated for a few weeks.  I will do some preparing tomorrow, helping decorate church for the Christmas season, which last 12 days.  By Tuesday, when I take my daily walk I am sure, as in the past, I will see some Christmas trees having been placed outside.  The American idea of moving fast and faster means little contemplation of the true meaning of Christmas.

Recognized location of the birthplace of Jesus Christ
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

Each person has different events and even if we experience the same events, there would be different interpretations.  That is the way it is with Advent, and with Christmas.  We each will interpret  and get out of it what we want, or really what we put into it.   The Fourth Sunday of Advent is still here, for a few hours, and while it may be in name only, what follows is the main event, the joy of Christmas, where, as Linus said to Charlie Brown,  that a Savior was born this day in the city of David.  Christmas is about many things, but it is about giving; after all, God so loved the world that he gave his only son.  While Jesus was not a middle child, I think he can find the humor in being one, and how that can relate to something like the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Merry Christmas!

Photos by author, April 2013

Celebrate

For some reason it seemed shocking to me when a co-worker mentioned on Wednesday morning, the day before my 60th birthday, that I had spent more than one-half my life working for Fitchburg. While I know that fact, I wondered why I was taken aback at its mention. I think it was the pure nature of the statement in which I recognized some level of my life moving on. Or, it could have been related to the fact that two evening meetings on Tuesday kept me at work on Tuesday from 6:45 am to 11:45 pm. Having started work the next day, Wednesday, at 6:45 am, I think a tired mind and body may interpret things differently than a rested one.

Wednesday, December 20, was my last day at work for the year, and while my goal this year of not having lost any vacation time was not met, I was closer than in any past year. When I arrived at work early that morning, I saw a Happy Birthday sign hanging over my office door. I then realized that is the reason a staff member, Susan, who assists with Plan Commission meetings was engaged in talking to a citizen at 11:45 at night rather than packing up and leaving to get home. She wanted to hang the sign up. As I entered the office card was on my desk, congratulating me on my 60th birthday. Fittingly the card said: 60? That's not Old ... That's Retro. Which is Very Cool by the Way." It was my coworkers way of picking on me being so behind the times that I am ahead of the times. Retro is cool. They especially like my flip phone. Yet it gets better, as I was coming back from the copy room I saw one of our city clerk staff dropping treats off at our floor. Having had a long night, I forgot about bringing treats in for my birthday, so thinking it was treats for Christmas, I jokingly said, “Ruth, thanks for bringing in treats for my birthday." It was only later when more appeared that I was told that this was in fact for my birthday. Ruth brought in cheese cake bars, and gingersnaps, Susan, who was up late at the meeting with me last night had a husband who made brownies for her to bring in, and Anna, the city forester, brought in chocolate beet cake with homemade whipped cream. They thought 60 is an age to recognize, and decided to celebrate this event.

It turns out Susan was only being nice to the citizen when as she was leaving the meeting room she noted to him how he had stuck around for the whole meeting. She did not think she would be engaged in a fifteen minute conversation, as who would not want to get home at that time of night. Later in the morning the director of the Senior Center and the social worker brought up their packer of information they give out to senior citizens. The social worker even included her business card which is, they said, the size of a cell phone. In pulling out my flip phone to show how much larger the business card is than my phone, they had a laugh at my plain simple phone. They had a good laugh. The business card is large to fit the large print for senior eyes.

As I celebrate my 60th birthday tomorrow, I was appreciative that persons thought my birthday was significant enough to celebrate. It was a nice end to the work year, for a community that I have worked for over half my life.

Depart

Many years ago my Uncle was having a conversation with my Dad about Dad's military service during WWII.  Dad never talked much about his military service, and I only recall my Uncle getting a few pieces of information.  However, there was one thing my Dad said that day struck me such that I recall it to this day.  When my Uncle asked why he did not pursue a career in the military my Dad responded, that he liked the work he had done, but did not like army life.  My Dad was in the Counter Intelligence Corps, and I have written previous blog posts, particularly one dealing with Battle of Bulge, which began on Dec. 16, 1944.  However, this post is not about my Dad or the Battle of the Bulge, it is about a few, now former co-workers. 

Last Thursday evening I was at a going away party for the city's Transportation Engineer who I had the privilege of working with for many years.  As I departed the party, and was driving home, I realized I had to come up with a topic for this week's blogpost.  Something she (the Transportation Engineer) said that evening, made me think of the remark my Dad had given to my Uncle years ago.  She commented how well she liked her work (and many of those with whom she worked),  yet,  she found it necessary to leave the employment of the city. She left, but not because of the work. 

Unfortunately, this was the second going away party in the span of a week. One week earlier was the going away party for the Director of Public Works/City Engineer.  While his tenure was not near as long as that of the Transportation Engineer, he was knowledgeable and was a good fit.   Add to this, an Environmental Engineer who departed in late January, and you have the departure of three engineers in less than one year.  That is quite a number when the total of employed professional engineers is only five.  Add to that the departure of an Engineering Technician in October, and you have four staff in one department that have taken on employment opportunities elsewhere. The sad part is that they were all dedicated and more than capable workers in their fields.  Also, since the end of October, the City Attorney, who I had the pleasure of working with for about 15 years, retired, as did the Police Chief (who began as a patrolman about 40 years ago.  One can discern the turnover in key positions.  During the City Attorney's retirement get-together for cake in the Community Center, a  co-worker noted that I need to stay more than eight years to break the Police Chief's record.  I jokingly noted that the job would probably kill me before I reached that age.  I then suggested that they could store my corpse with my desk chair in the freezer at the Senior Center and wheel me out during the week. She replied that they could push me down to meetings, but then noted that I "would not say anything... but its not like they listen to you anyway."   It is not like the three engineers who departed this year left for retirement--all are generation Xer's and moved on to other positions.  I suspect the push factor was likely greater than any pull factor. Events transpired to provide them a desire to leave.  I know it was a difficult choice for the Transportation Engineer, and probably the other two. Employees want to feel valued and know that they are making a difference.

The Transportation Engineer was the only person from work with whom I was friends with on the social media site Facebook. Now, there will be none.  The two of us developed a strong professional relationship especially over the past few years, through joint efforts on a few key projects: an update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, an intra-city transit study, and more recently the working to get a Ride Share program started. She is more than an engineer, she is a great, friendly, expressive and community-minded person.  If one person embodies the season of autumn it is her.  We would have fun together musing about her favorite season.  She wore clothes for the season.  She appreciated my comments about her Lumberjack outfit. (I was equal opportunity on my comments, referring to the Public Works Director, who liked black, as Johnny Cash.)  Fittingly, she wore this outfit on Thursday, her last day of work with the city. I appreciated her counsel and input on varied planning decisions, and learned a great deal about transportation, particularly regarding bicycle lanes and pedestrians. She valued all modes of transportation equally.  She was not the typical transportation engineer.

This past Monday it felt odd to walk by the empty office of the Public Works Director/City Engineer.  Tomorrow it will be even more strange to walk not only by that empty office, but Ms. Lumberjack's former work station right outside the door to that office.  I am not sure how many realize what has been lost, and why.  The US Army struggled 73 year ago to find its footing to thwart the last gasp German offensive, and so will those of us affected by the loss of not only good, decent co-workers, but friends, need to regain our footing. I wish them the very best as they pursue their new positions.   Thursday evening as I bade farewell and best wishes, she commented that she reads my blog posts. I hope she stuck through this one. There will be no other Lumberjack as a transportation engineer.  

The Desert

When we hear the term desert I am sure images of sand and sand dunes probably come to mind. There is, however, a variety of deserts. Many years ago a then town Board Chair for the Town of Delton referred to pine plantations as pine deserts. The implication is that mono-culture is not very good. There is something to be said for bio-diversity. To the eye a desert is barren, and our thoughts turn to its lack of life and the difficulty of survival not only due to heat and sun, but little water. Most of us can relate to this image of a desert. But, deserts contain more than meets the eye, or our first impression.  This is the case with John the Baptist.

Burial place of the head of John the Baptist

John is present in the Gospel reading of this second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2017. Here is a man clothed in camel’s hair, with the reading noting the detail of him wearing a leather belt. This scripture passage lists locusts and wild honey as his main diet. If one were to think of a modern day American version, it is likely the guy that lives in a van down by the river. To get an image of John the Baptist, beyond his clothes and diet, think how a person would look after having spent a great deal of time in the desert.  His skin would b e wrinkled and leathery from the desert winds and sun. His hair and beard would have been long and unkempt, and probably full of sand.  He is not the man one would tend to think highly of, at least from first impressions. He ws an eccentric that one would try and avoid.

Rock on which the first temptation of Christ occurred

Jesus undertook a two day walk from Jerusalem to the Jordan River, and it is in that river where he was baptized by John the Baptist. John was likely a member of the Essene group, a group of strict observing Jews who lived in Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.  The Judaean desert lay east of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and extends to the Dead Sea.  Jesus spent a great deal of time in this desert. His parable of the Good Samaritan takes place on the path between Jerusalem and Jericho. After his baptism by John in the Jordan River, he fasted for forty days and nights in the desert of Judea.  During this time, the devil tempted Christ on a mountain just outside Jericho. I traveled through this desert in April 2013.

Place of Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
Jordan

As I traveled through the desert, my mind turned to the time of Christ and I imagined what lie would be like in such an environment.  But, more recently I wondered how each of us has our own desert, at some point in our life.  This desert can be doubt, vanity, hubris, or a prejudice that blinds our mind and action to better things. These thoughts or prejudices can leave us barren. We form first impressions--and these may well guide us, but they could also misinform us. We put up our guard to avoid the true situation. Last week while in Bangladesh, Pope Francis made note that “The presence of God today is also called Rohingya.” It does not matter if it is a refugee, a poor soul seeking help in the food pantry. Yet, there is the spiritually poor, those souls who regardless of wealth, who go about their lives with little intent on engaging Jesus Christ.  Or, to use a more common term the "poor in spirit.”

Excavation of Essene Settlement at Qumran

The Judaean desert in some respects has changed from over 2000 years ago, but in others it is probably very similar. Its nearby communities have spread further into its sands, the Bedouins have generators and antennas, and paved roads have replaced trodden camel paths. Yet, the wind still blows the sand, and wind erodes the rock. The desert can be a positive, to turn thoughts to what is really important, not unlike what the desert hermits and monks have done for centuries.  Can we see it as a metaphor for ourselves, particularly during those times when our hearts, and minds look to prejudice, hubris, or first impressions?  When that occurs, it is a time to reflect on John the Baptist and his preaching on the arrival of Christ. If we think, and act, and do service for others we find that underlying life in our deserts will provide vital diversity to who we actually are.

Jericho Monastery of the Temptation of Christ

Photos by author in April 2013

First Sunday

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  Advent has four Sundays.  The fourth and last Sunday of Advent this year is Christmas Eve.  Many persons celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, which for all intents and purposes can render the last Sunday of Advent meaningless.  The idea of Advent is to take time for prayer and reflection in celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ.  Fr. Eric Hollis, OSB after writing about how differently Advent can be viewed, and practiced, followed that discussion with this sentence:  “But for the lucky ones Advent will be a time of renewal that reminds us of an inner transcendence that we all share.”   

Advent Wreath

It is ever increasing that Christmas is no longer a Christian holiday in much of the West.  It has become, like Easter,  more a secular than a religious holiday.  The old saying used to be that Church parking lots were full only on Christmas and Easter, but in some denominations that is no longer the case.  As the national overall numbers and percentage of Nones (those with no religion) increase  so too will the religious nature of the holiday continue to decrease.  For example, today while driving in to and from Madison for some Christmas shopping, the radio station had Christmas music playing, but I heard not one song with even a hint of a religious theme.  The effects of are harried Christmas can also be seen in the comics, as two photos from today's Sunday newspaper attest.  As secularization continues to occur at some point the religious nature of this day will be recalled only through old texts and old hymns.  No longer recognized for its original intent, it will have a new meaning of a day devoted to the consumer culture.  Christians may be back to worshiping in what will be a modern day version of a catacomb.  Yet,  Christmas is actually going full circle; after all long before Christmas there were pagan celebrations. 

Earth Rotation around Sun

No one on earth really knows the actual date of Christ’s birth.  Early Christians tied their celebrations to past Roman events, and in this situation placed Christmas near the Winter Solstice.  First celebrated on December 25 in the fourth century (336 AD) under the reign of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire, the purpose was to tie the holiday to common pre-Christian festival times.  The festival of Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn the god of agriculture, would be a one month long Roman celebration in the month of December.  Also during a similar time was a Roman festival to honor children.  As an aside, I once recall my youngest sibling asking our Mom why their is no Children's Day...to which she replied "Everyday is children's day." The Romans must have thought otherwise.  Christmas would become permanently celebrated on December 25 by action of Pope Julius I.  Yet, other celebrations were not uncommon in the far reaches of Europe at this approaching time of year.  This time of year, with short days in the northern hemisphere, meant that the harvest was in.  In addition, and more importantly, y Christmas, beer fermentation (or mead) would have been completed.  But, in Roman times t made sense for the growing Christian community to tie itself to such festivals and cultural occurrences.  Christians were part of a larger whole, and this allowed a more even assimilation.  No drastic break from long standing cultural traditions.  

Advent Calendar

Advent is a time of anticipation for the birth of Christ.  Romans looked forward to Saturnalia, a pagan but not dissimilar experience.  Such anticipation is meant to heighten the appreciation of the coming event, and to add even more joy to celebration of what recognized as the day of Christ’s birth.  Without an increased awareness does the celebration have as much meaning?  The unusual gives meaning to an occasion.  If the day was like any other than it really is not special.  Advent is meant to make Christmas special.  But, the consumer and secular nature of western culture  gives a different level of preparation.  We are engrossed in decorating, parties, baking, and shopping.  Now, this is not to say to avoid all things festive, but rather to do so in appropriate moderation.  But, yet, the stress that relates to the western preparation for Christmas is really the best reason to recognize the true purpose of Advent.  

WI State Journal, 3 Dec. 2017

Let me finish by borrowing a writing of Fr. J Kirby, who, on this date wrote about what he calls zombie Christmas.  To him the zombie Christmas is a found in the wider activities occurring in our wider culture.  The victims, he says have become detached and apathetic to the realities of Christmas.  His proposed remedy is one many secularists and the None may well find disconcerting,, let me quote him:  

The answer is simple and can be found in precisely what is in jeopardy, namely, the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the higher spiritual sentiments that are given through it. By reinvesting our attention and energy into the things of God and the elevation of our souls, we will find a resuscitation within us and retrieve again the life-giving joy of human existence and of this holiday season.

That is one reason why advent is important--to connect us to something beyond ourselves. The joy, hope and love associated with the birth of Christ 2000 years ago need not be relegated to hymns and old books. We simply need to resurrect its meaning in our minds and in our souls.

WI State Journal, Dec 3, 2017, notice the eyes in the second to last frame

 Images from Google, unless otherwise noted