I retired six weeks ago...or was it six years ago....no, it was six
weeks ago. "I think that I shall never see...A poem lovely as a
tree".... I relay this verse not because I love poetry....although I
used to be Rod McKuen's biggest fan...but because had I not at least two
weeks of raking leaves so far I may have gone crazy. By the way...did
you know that Joyce Kilmer was a guy....Joyce was his middle name as his
first name was Alfred. Alfred?...I guess I don't blame him. Anyway, in
desperation for things to do I have recently thrown myself into Bach as
a last resort! My mini-boom is at my ear as I type. I don't know fugue
from fudge but I must say these tunes are every bit as good as everyone
has always said.
I write semifacetiously here. I do know the difference between fugue and fudge. I just prefer fudge. And I have indeed 'thrown myself' somewhat into Bach. And his music is as wonderful as it is acclaimed to be. The following is part of a post from 2010. The last paragraph is the key. We can throw ourselves into many things...politics....fitness....and music... there are important responsibilities and wise pastimes and good deeds and enjoyments....but there is only one thing that should be all-consuming....only one thing that is 'living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning (of) the thoughts and intentions of the heart.'
Aaah Tabletalk
There was a movie a few decades ago, a comedy, where a man was trying to impress a young lady who was very cultured. Advice given to him was that if the topic of classical music came up, just say Aaaah...Bach and that may get him by. If Old English Heroic Epic Poetry is ever brought up to me in a conversation, I may just say Aaaah...Beowulf. I read Beowulf in high school. It was a great learning experience. I learned how to read thousands of words straight through and not understand a single thought they conveyed.
I once held a fancy for a young lady in college who was very cultured, in fact she taught Theater Arts 101 as a grad student. This may have been the beginning of my actually... studying....for I signed up for the class and devoured the textbook to impress her. I even took an acting class and went to plays....Aaaah...Moliere! The peak of my impressing her was when I cleared up a long standing mystery at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. We were working there for a few weeks, actually just rummaging through the stored old materials of the historic Playhouse for anything that the Pitt library's Special Collections could use. During a tour of the building I correctly identified King Edward VIII out of a dozen characters in an old Al Hirschfeld caricature mural, an answer that had up to then eluded even the director. This young lady looked at me in amazement and said..."You're Smart!" But alas, I'm not cultured. I guessed correctly for I knew it was either the king, later the Duke Of Windsor, or Dagwood Bumstead....Aaaah Blondie! I'd rather go to a Three Stooges marathon than a ballet. I read everything I had to through high school, but I didn't really read it. But I've since had a metamorphosis, Aaaah...Kafka!
Reformed theologian, pastor and teacher R. C. Sproul, through his Ligonier Ministries, publishes a monthly devotional/Bible study called Tabletalk, the name taken from Martin Luther's work of the same title. This booklet comes to our house early so I'm usually a little bit ahead of schedule. Today I was reading the July 15th offering and the Bible verse to be considered was Joshua 1:8.... This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous....
I write semifacetiously here. I do know the difference between fugue and fudge. I just prefer fudge. And I have indeed 'thrown myself' somewhat into Bach. And his music is as wonderful as it is acclaimed to be. The following is part of a post from 2010. The last paragraph is the key. We can throw ourselves into many things...politics....fitness....and music... there are important responsibilities and wise pastimes and good deeds and enjoyments....but there is only one thing that should be all-consuming....only one thing that is 'living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning (of) the thoughts and intentions of the heart.'
Aaah Tabletalk
There was a movie a few decades ago, a comedy, where a man was trying to impress a young lady who was very cultured. Advice given to him was that if the topic of classical music came up, just say Aaaah...Bach and that may get him by. If Old English Heroic Epic Poetry is ever brought up to me in a conversation, I may just say Aaaah...Beowulf. I read Beowulf in high school. It was a great learning experience. I learned how to read thousands of words straight through and not understand a single thought they conveyed.
I once held a fancy for a young lady in college who was very cultured, in fact she taught Theater Arts 101 as a grad student. This may have been the beginning of my actually... studying....for I signed up for the class and devoured the textbook to impress her. I even took an acting class and went to plays....Aaaah...Moliere! The peak of my impressing her was when I cleared up a long standing mystery at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. We were working there for a few weeks, actually just rummaging through the stored old materials of the historic Playhouse for anything that the Pitt library's Special Collections could use. During a tour of the building I correctly identified King Edward VIII out of a dozen characters in an old Al Hirschfeld caricature mural, an answer that had up to then eluded even the director. This young lady looked at me in amazement and said..."You're Smart!" But alas, I'm not cultured. I guessed correctly for I knew it was either the king, later the Duke Of Windsor, or Dagwood Bumstead....Aaaah Blondie! I'd rather go to a Three Stooges marathon than a ballet. I read everything I had to through high school, but I didn't really read it. But I've since had a metamorphosis, Aaaah...Kafka!
Reformed theologian, pastor and teacher R. C. Sproul, through his Ligonier Ministries, publishes a monthly devotional/Bible study called Tabletalk, the name taken from Martin Luther's work of the same title. This booklet comes to our house early so I'm usually a little bit ahead of schedule. Today I was reading the July 15th offering and the Bible verse to be considered was Joshua 1:8.... This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous....
