Weather, work and computers

We got another inch of rain last night -- accompanied by long periods of rolling thunder and constant lightning. We didn't lose power and it didn't sound like any of the lightning was nearby, but it did go on forever.

Yesterday was a long day at work. One reason I feel like I am always behind at the office is that I do more than just Joe's legal work. For example, he is president of the Sauk County Chapter Wisconsin Right to Life, and although I assume they have a secretary, I do a lot of his correspondence for that. Recently he needed to send out about twenty Thank You notes to people for staffing the booth at the Sauk County Fair, and he decided that what he wanted to do was start a database so that he could do this as a form letter, sort who had helped with what and so on in the future. Which means he wanted Michael to do a database.

This is not a major thing -- I did stuff like this all the time for Retreats International on a larger scale -- but it is the sort of thing that does take time away from preparing pleadings, Financial Disclosure Statements, and so on. So I suggested I come in on an afternoon and that I be allowed to do that and nothing else so that it could get done. He agreed. I also decided to use some of the afternoon to get Evelyn's guardian ad litem billing done, because billing is another thing that takes time and never seems to get done if I am trying to do other stuff at the same time.

It took longer than anticipated. No reason, really. Given his work-style -- write a letter, then after it is printed, decide to change it a few times... -- I should always build in an extra 50% on my estimate. But we got it done, and I also finished the billing for Evelyn's work for Sauk County, so it was a productive afternoon. I was pooped by the time I got home, though. One of the things I enjoyed about this job when I took it was I didn't sit around waiting for something to do. But every now and then, it would be nice to get a break in the action. Usually I am hard at it from the time I arrive until the time I leave.

Sunday when we were in Madison, I picked up a flyer at Best Buy that had a great deal on a notebook computer. After hemming and hawing for a couple of days, I decided to splurge, but then I found the same computer PLUS a printer/copier/scanner, a router for the net and security software for the same price at Circuit City. For the Best Buy deal, I would have had to drive back to Madison because they wouldn't ship it, but Circuit City gave me more stuff and would ship it for under four bucks. I also have to send in for the rebate, which I would not have had to do for Best Buy, but I am saving a two-hour drive plus gas. So I caved and the new one will be on its way. Now I have to deal with the new Vista operating system... And I won't be able to spend any more money until Christmas! (Not true, but you know how cheap I am.)

Sunday

So it looks like there is a possibility that the Brooklyn Broccolos will spend Thanksgiving here, which would be great. Last year we had Thanksgiving over with Rich and Peggy, although it was on Saturday when Rich's family came down. The Screnocks will probably provide a turkey, so the more the merrier.

The rain continued through the night, and we had a much-needed inch and three-quarters by the time it stopped this morning.

Tom came back last night from the Kimballs all a-dither over the house they are building in Utah. Eleven thousand square feet of house and another ten thousand or so of "barn", for lack of a better word. As you may gather, Chris did all right for himself.

There being nothing going on this afternoon in Sauk County, we decided to go to Madison and hit some bookstores and so on. To our disappointment, a recently-discovered and liked Chinese place was not open. It wasn't clear if that was because it was Sunday or if it has gone out of business. So to the food court we went for chicken teriyaki.

I got a book on writing and a new copy of the Tao Te Ching -- a Chinese spiritual classic that I love but keep giving away. Tom fiddled around with wind chimes for a while and then decided not to get any. Instead we bought a little television to replace the failing one that I watch while riding the exercycle in the exercise room -- AKA the basement. I really have to start getting more exercise and watch what I am eating! Then when Vince and Kristin come in November, I can eat what I want for that weekend at least.

Soggy Sabbath

Well, we finally got some rain today -- a fairly steady rain all afternoon. I don't imagine it has amounted to more than a half inch, but every little bit helps these days. And maybe it will continue into the night and even tomorrow.

Tom went to Chicago (Evanston) yesterday to keep Chris Kimball company and to give Linda a bit of a break. She will be going to Europe for a week at the end of the month to collect one of their boys, and Tom will be staying with Chris while she is away. I think this was partly a dry run so that he has a sense of what sorts of things Chris might need. Sounds like he is moving along, but it is a slow road to recovery from such traumatic surgery, even for someone as active and fit as Chris.

On the critter front, this morning I saw a doe and a fair-sized fawn in the back yard. On the way into Reedsburg I saw the elk herd, but I hear by way of the grapevine that the elk ranch may be going out of business. I do know that they no longer offer the tours they once had. Sitting out on the front porch watching the rain, I saw that the hummingbird feeder was empty. I didn't intend to do anything about that, but after a couple of birds came by to check up on it, I broke down and refilled it. Later one of the juveniles came by. It drank so long and steady that I think I could actually see the level going down in the feeder.

As for the human feeder, although I made a meatloaf for dinner tonight, I see that the Firehouse Pizza place that closed downtown has reopened up the road from us a bit. We have seen the "Coming Soon" signs for a while and today it looks like they are actually open for business. This is the best pizza we found around here, and I hope that is still the case in their new location.

Not that either of the old men in this household need to be eating too much pizza...

Where you live

The bridge collapse in Minnesota struck close to home because Minnesota is next to Wisconsin, but more importantly, I know people who live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Helen, Jay and Tom and Helen's foster son John and his family all live there.

The trial of Eric Hainstock held more interest than many others because the trial took place across the street from where I work and I know people who know people involved.

Flooding or drought in Texas concerns me because most of my family lives there.

When the steam pipe in New York explodes, I have family there.

When Katrina hit, lots of Carmelites -- including my dear friend Anthony Morello -- were affected by it.

Every time I read about another bomb in Baghdad, I think of Jean Sleiman and wonder if he's okay. I know a number of families here who have members fighting in Iraq.

A recent report about the murder of an American priest in Kenya makes me wonder about the safety of Steve Payne and Gene Wehner and Chuck Gamen and Dennis Geng, all people I have lived with in monasteries in America.

I am amazed at all the places that I have friends because of where I have had the opportunity to live. All the places where the news is more than news.

I have lived in Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Arkansas, Mexico, Washington, DC, Boston, Rhode Island, Maryland, St. Louis, Wisconsin, Illinois. I have friends in Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Iraq, Italy, Ghana, Ethiopia, Ireland, Tanzania, South Africa, Vietnam, Canada, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Croatia ... Not to mention Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, California, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio ...

The news means more when it touches people we know.

Here is an old story:

Once upon a time the heathens wanted to make fun of the Torah, and of the rabbis. They asked one another:

"Are all rabbis as kind as, Hillel? Are all Jewish teachers as good as Hillel? Are all rabbis as patient as Hillel?"

So one of them said:

"I shall go and find out." He came to Shammai, also a famous rabbi, and cried:

"Your Torah, your wonderful Torah--I can learn it while I stand on one foot. Rabbi Shammai, you teach it to me while I stand on one foot." You see, he was just making fun of the Torah.

Now what do you suppose Shammai did? Do you think he had patience with a man who was making fun of the Torah? Who ever heard of learning the whole Torah while standing on one foot? The rabbis had spent all their lives in studying the Torah and even then they were not sure that they knew all of it.

Rabbi Shammai took a stick and shouted angrily:

"Get out of here, you scoffer! Do you think I have time to waste on people who mock our holy Torah?" The heathen ran away. He thought he would go to Hillel and see what Hillel would do.

All out of breath, he came to Hillel's home. Hillel thought the man had come for something very important. So Hillel said:

"What is the matter, my good man?" And the heathen answered:

"Teach me the Torah while I stand on one foot."

Of course Hillel, too, saw that the heathen was scoffing, but calmly and patiently he said:

"You want to learn a great deal quickly, don't you? Very well, I shall teach you the Torah while you stand on one foot. This is our Holy Torah: 'What is hateful to you, do not do unto others.'"

The heathen forgot that he had come only to jeer.

"Does it mean that the heathens and the Jews and all of us are brothers? Does it mean that we must be kind to one another like brothers?" asked the heathen, wonderingly.

"That's it, my son. That's the meaning of the whole Torah. All the rest is only an explanation of that. Go, go, my son. Go and study it," said Hillel kindly.

"When may I come for another lesson?" asked the heathen humbly.

I once said that if someone asked me to teach them the Good News while they stood on one foot, I would say, "God loves us. And there's only us. No them."

Knowing some of them in all these places helps me realize there is no "them" -- only us.