Carol,
I am delighted that you could be at Doug's ordination and I'm so glad he shared his text. Perhaps he'll put it here too. Sometimes it feels like a downhill slide and sometimes it's really upness that one feels, climbing or no.
I just talked to the head of HR here in the libraries and she said the guy in the Provost's Office about has the details ready to send me the letter or form or whatever to shift from active duty (if you'll forgive a military analogy, if *I* will forgive a military analogy) to sabbatical on January 1st of 2009. Soon, I have an appointment with someone in central HR about details but sabbatical actually keeps things going more or less evenly for 2009 as far as benefits go. It's more in 2010 (if I should live so long) that I need to shift to retirement benefits.
Ever onward with love and peace....
Sherman
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Passage/New stage of life
Dear readers,
I was proud to represent the Clarke family at Doug's ordination on September sixth. Mom and Dad would have been so proud! (Some say they felt their spirits in the church. I bet Mom was crying with a mother's pride.) Doug's "testimony" (or whatever you call it) spoke of his upbringing in Alfred and in the First Alfred SDB church. Guess what, surprise, surprise, he included a bunch of history. I learned a thing or two that I did not know about my "baby brother" and I know all of you would have too, for most of us were not there when he was growing up. It was moving to see Pastor Ken Chroniger and others from the Alfred Station Church participate in the "laying on of hands". I do not know all the names, so I will not try to list them. It was an honor to have Pastor Camenga (chief of the Bd of Ed) speak from our pulpit. Pastor Pat was "glowing" afterward as leader of the service. In a way, this is a "coming of age" for Doug, a passage if you will. I am glad that I was able to be there in person and wish everyone else could have been too.
Love you,
Carol
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
It's about time . . .
Well, siblings, our father was the last elder of the 1st Seventh Day Baptist Church of Alfred, New York, but Tim Bancroft will be considered for ordination as an elder, in October. A month before that, your youngest brother is going to be ordained a deacon (on September 6th). I'll be asked to give a testimony, and there will be some other speechifying and music and so on, and you're all invited if you'd like to come.
My ordination will simply mean that all the things I have been doing on behalf of the church for years, will be affirmed, at least in some respects, by the membership of the church and the surrounding S.D.B. churches. It means I may be asked to help with serving communion, which Jeanette already does as a deaconess, but I have not done before. It also means I'll be part of the Advisory Board, which serves to advise the pastor and support her. Maybe now the board will have regular meetings, as they are supposed to do. But I won't get started on that . . .
I think you all know that, although Jeanette and I continue to work for, and be a part of, the Alfred church, we have had our misgivings about continuing to be a part of both the local congregation, and of the denomination, because of the narrowing of minds therein. We've also had our frustrations with being treated badly at times, but we continue to hope that our efforts will mean that Ian will have the company of like-minded S.D.B.s with whom he can carry on in Alfred, or at least he will be able to point to his own history there and see something positive.
Many times over the years of my life, I have been asked if I have ever considered being a pastor like our father. I've often replied that I have never given it much consideration, and I have only done so briefly, and infrequently. I never felt called to be an evangelizer, but I have often said that I like company. I never felt called to be on that sort of pedestal of piety and single-mindedness that seems to be expected of a pastor, even though I've sometimes felt that I could do it better than some who have tried to be my pastor. I'm not that sort of shepherd, but Jeanette and I have tried to draw people into the circle of our congregation and to make it a real circle of trust and love, in spite of doubts and misgivings.
Our father's evangelism was not overt, but exemplified what I've heard several people say was what they liked best about S.D.B.s, and that is that they didn't try to ram their religion down your throat. They just live(d) it.
I also hope that we can preserve and promote the kinds of loving, liberal values that our father and mother exemplified. Especially in these times, I believe that our world needs the kinds of gentleness and openness that Mom and Dad practiced. I don't want any of us, nor our children or grandchildren, to be doormats, as I'm afraid our father and mother were at times, but I am certain that the attitudes of entitlement and self-aggrandizement that we all see in the society around us, need to be challenged and balanced.
I hope that my ordination and our continued participation can help in that process.
My ordination will simply mean that all the things I have been doing on behalf of the church for years, will be affirmed, at least in some respects, by the membership of the church and the surrounding S.D.B. churches. It means I may be asked to help with serving communion, which Jeanette already does as a deaconess, but I have not done before. It also means I'll be part of the Advisory Board, which serves to advise the pastor and support her. Maybe now the board will have regular meetings, as they are supposed to do. But I won't get started on that . . .
I think you all know that, although Jeanette and I continue to work for, and be a part of, the Alfred church, we have had our misgivings about continuing to be a part of both the local congregation, and of the denomination, because of the narrowing of minds therein. We've also had our frustrations with being treated badly at times, but we continue to hope that our efforts will mean that Ian will have the company of like-minded S.D.B.s with whom he can carry on in Alfred, or at least he will be able to point to his own history there and see something positive.
Many times over the years of my life, I have been asked if I have ever considered being a pastor like our father. I've often replied that I have never given it much consideration, and I have only done so briefly, and infrequently. I never felt called to be an evangelizer, but I have often said that I like company. I never felt called to be on that sort of pedestal of piety and single-mindedness that seems to be expected of a pastor, even though I've sometimes felt that I could do it better than some who have tried to be my pastor. I'm not that sort of shepherd, but Jeanette and I have tried to draw people into the circle of our congregation and to make it a real circle of trust and love, in spite of doubts and misgivings.
Our father's evangelism was not overt, but exemplified what I've heard several people say was what they liked best about S.D.B.s, and that is that they didn't try to ram their religion down your throat. They just live(d) it.
I also hope that we can preserve and promote the kinds of loving, liberal values that our father and mother exemplified. Especially in these times, I believe that our world needs the kinds of gentleness and openness that Mom and Dad practiced. I don't want any of us, nor our children or grandchildren, to be doormats, as I'm afraid our father and mother were at times, but I am certain that the attitudes of entitlement and self-aggrandizement that we all see in the society around us, need to be challenged and balanced.
I hope that my ordination and our continued participation can help in that process.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Just wanted to let you know
If you're getting this in an e-mail, it means I've added your name to the distribution list, so any time there's a new post, you get it by e-mail, too. But I just instituted this, so there are other posts you won't see unless you go to the blog. If you don't want these to come by e-mail, let me know.
Doug
Doug
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Talk about Connections!
So, you all know I went to C.B.'s memorial. One of the speakers is the new owner of H.O.B. Hill (what H.O. and Hannah Burdick reserved for themselves, after donating land for Camp Harley Sutton), Sheila Flanagan. In her remembrance, she spoke of having been C.B.'s student back in 1975, as a freshman at A.U. This all was after Cathy had told me she knew Sheila as an A.K.O. sister, but I had not yet met her (unless I did back in 1975-76, when I was a freshman at A.U., also).
I talked with Sheila after the remembrance formalities were done, and she told me how C.B.'s sons, Peter and Chris, and daughter Anna, would have just thrown almost all of her things away. Sheila told them to just put most of them at the farmhouse. She agreed to show me anything that might be of value to me, after I told her of our family connections. We got along famously, immediately. We weren't sure that we remembered each other from our freshman year, but agreed about everything we discussed.
The next day, at the burial of C.B.'s ashes, I read a poem I had composed (and is posted here at the blog), and chatted with Anna and Peter and C.B.'s sister, Judy. Then Dan Seiss-Rain, who I remembered being a student in Environmental Studies right after I graduated from A.U., came over to talk with me. Since my poem had mentioned connections to C.B., he asked if I might know where his grandfather and other family members were buried. I inquired who they were, and he told me his grandfather was Addison Scholes, and I told him he had been best friends with our Uncle K. when they were young. With some help from Keith Rogers, I took him to the Scholes graves and left him alone, but I had gotten his e-mail address and so on.
Next, I went with the other folks from C.B.'s graveside service, to Ben and Robin Howard's house, which most of you would remember being Gordon and Helen Ogden's. I chatted with the Burdicks and few others, and then Ben engaged me, at length, in conversation. We had always had warm conversations before, but always brief. This time he told me that he had learned quite a bit from my Bergren Forum presentation on Alfred S.D.B. history, and it went from there. As a result, I may begin going to his Zazen sessions, and we agreed to take a walk up the hillside to look at the property currently owned by our church, that I had suggested might be a nice spot for a Zen temple. It's above the end of Green Street, up behind Kappa Psi, which I understand has been purchased by Alfred State College for use as a welcome center, and has no street access. It has a nice view, and might be just fabulous for Ben's group.
All of these connections have helped my sagging spirits, so I wanted to share them with you.
I talked with Sheila after the remembrance formalities were done, and she told me how C.B.'s sons, Peter and Chris, and daughter Anna, would have just thrown almost all of her things away. Sheila told them to just put most of them at the farmhouse. She agreed to show me anything that might be of value to me, after I told her of our family connections. We got along famously, immediately. We weren't sure that we remembered each other from our freshman year, but agreed about everything we discussed.
The next day, at the burial of C.B.'s ashes, I read a poem I had composed (and is posted here at the blog), and chatted with Anna and Peter and C.B.'s sister, Judy. Then Dan Seiss-Rain, who I remembered being a student in Environmental Studies right after I graduated from A.U., came over to talk with me. Since my poem had mentioned connections to C.B., he asked if I might know where his grandfather and other family members were buried. I inquired who they were, and he told me his grandfather was Addison Scholes, and I told him he had been best friends with our Uncle K. when they were young. With some help from Keith Rogers, I took him to the Scholes graves and left him alone, but I had gotten his e-mail address and so on.
Next, I went with the other folks from C.B.'s graveside service, to Ben and Robin Howard's house, which most of you would remember being Gordon and Helen Ogden's. I chatted with the Burdicks and few others, and then Ben engaged me, at length, in conversation. We had always had warm conversations before, but always brief. This time he told me that he had learned quite a bit from my Bergren Forum presentation on Alfred S.D.B. history, and it went from there. As a result, I may begin going to his Zazen sessions, and we agreed to take a walk up the hillside to look at the property currently owned by our church, that I had suggested might be a nice spot for a Zen temple. It's above the end of Green Street, up behind Kappa Psi, which I understand has been purchased by Alfred State College for use as a welcome center, and has no street access. It has a nice view, and might be just fabulous for Ben's group.
All of these connections have helped my sagging spirits, so I wanted to share them with you.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Something for C.B.
Her mother calls
him “Cousin” and
flatters a wee lad.
A young boy wishes
he could play tennis
as she and Dad do.
A teenager repairs,
paints and mows;
her trust helps him grow.
A college kid winters
in tipi, mid-meadow;
her message: “far out”
stomped into snow.
To Mass(Achusetts) and back he takes her;
her blizzard trial’s a frightening reminder,
but she lets him get her home safely.
An old student sits as
her student, and finds HIS
“Place in HER Universe”.
To see what filled her book.
this man need only look
to HIS parents’ declines.
An aging man knows
if she said you had a book in you
NOW is when to get it out of you.
Time doesn’t come;
it mostly just goes;
regret wastes more time,
as any WOman knows.
So now, with all the others
a “faithful relation”
waves salutation:
Goodnight, my dear cousin.
Good night.
copyright 2008 G. Douglas Clarke April 25, 2008
him “Cousin” and
flatters a wee lad.
A young boy wishes
he could play tennis
as she and Dad do.
A teenager repairs,
paints and mows;
her trust helps him grow.
A college kid winters
in tipi, mid-meadow;
her message: “far out”
stomped into snow.
To Mass(Achusetts) and back he takes her;
her blizzard trial’s a frightening reminder,
but she lets him get her home safely.
An old student sits as
her student, and finds HIS
“Place in HER Universe”.
To see what filled her book.
this man need only look
to HIS parents’ declines.
An aging man knows
if she said you had a book in you
NOW is when to get it out of you.
Time doesn’t come;
it mostly just goes;
regret wastes more time,
as any WOman knows.
So now, with all the others
a “faithful relation”
waves salutation:
Goodnight, my dear cousin.
Good night.
copyright 2008 G. Douglas Clarke April 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Time for an update!
Hi siblings and so on!
I recently posted something on my Facebook profile, that had come to me: "The saddest thing about living is to lose the ones you love, and to awaken to the attrition of kindred souls."
This is something that has been wearing at me for years, little by little. And now with our cousin, David Winton Clarke, dying; then a 1976 classmate (Jim Comes) dying just before his fiftieth birthday, this past week. Then, in the background (for me, at least) Dan Fogelberg (who wrote some wonderful music that accompanied me in my teens and twenties) and Arthur C. Clarke, whose short stories and books were my favorites in earlier years, died recently.
Then, just in the last two days, we've learned that Warda Vincent Mauro (a little older than Dad, former Alfredian, church member from a distance, etc.) died. On top of all that, we've learned that our cousin, Carol Burdick (CB) has pancreatic cancer, and likely won't live long, perhaps only a few months.
All that has affected me, but at least I am happy to say "Happy Birthday" to Cathy, and to tell you that Jeanette's car has a nearly-new engine in it and will get its body repaired this week. Now if we can get it paid off and get some good years of driving out of it . . .
Anyway, CB looked frail when I went to her book-signing a week or so ago, and someone told me only a few days later that they heard she had terminal cancer. Today, Donna Rogers told us that CB had told her so, herself. She evidently was quite matter-of-fact about it, as I would expect. So, if you want to say anything to her or ask her anything, I suggest you do so, pronto. If you need her address, I'm sure that if you address correspondence to CB, Pondhouse Inhabitant, Camp Harley Sutton Road, Alfred Station, NY 14803, it will get there.
I still have, saved on the answering machine, the message she left when she learned that Dad had died. Unless my memory has failed me, she said: "Doug, I just learned about your father, and I just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry. [voice cracks] He was a wonderful man. And he would NOT approve of my crying now . . ." I have never felt terribly close to CB but we have always been cordial and I really enjoyed taking her "A Place In The Universe" class (on environmental literature). She wrote in my copy of her book "Haps and Mishaps" something to the effect that I've been a loyal cousin and she likes that, and likes me.
One thing I was quite fond of, back when I was in my late teens and early twenties, was to watch CB and Dad play tennis on the courts near South Hall. They would meet early in the morning and just go at it, not angry and competitive and not just whacking the ball around, either. They both played well, moved well, and had genuine fun doing it for the exercise and the time to talk, I think. They seemed to be very evenly matched, but I couldn't keep up with Dad: he seemed to stay mostly in the middle of the court and return everything I sent his direction.
Back to the present, Sherm and I have been talking about when he might "retire" to Alfred, what part of "33" he would inhabit, and what we might do with the rest of the house (like sell used books, and/or rent rooms). Maybe this year, maybe three or four years from now?
I'm working on my outline and PowerPoint presentation for the April 24th Bergren Forum, which will be part of the Alfred Bicentennial series of events. Jeanette worked extra hours the last few weeks, earning "extra" money on a project, and starts tutoring a pregnant student for two hours after school, every day, this week. Ian starts his mentorship with Betsy Brooks soon, learning how to catch (in mist nets) songbirds, measure and weigh and band them. I'll be taking him up to the Lake Ontario shore to a banding station so he can help Betsy set up nets, and he should get a chance to at least observe raptor banding in April, during the peak migration period. I'm thrilled that Betsy was eager to do this with him, and LOVE that I get to learn stuff and go along, too!! He's been saying for years that he wants to work with animals and invent stuff, so I thought this would be a great start, even if he ends up working with alligators later on, because he'll develop real skills, developed at an early age, and build on the obvious ability he has with animals.
We're waiting for winter to let go of us, so we can start working on the house more readily, not have to be so concerned with weather and road conditions, and so Jeanette's joints won't hurt so much. The CPAP seems to be helping her get better rest, but her mask is not optimized yet, so she's not getting the full benefit. Antibiotics pretty well took care of my infected gum, but I'm flossing and brushing and water-picking and rinsing and using a syringe with salt water, to keep from losing a tooth to bone degeneration. Jeanette has lost some more weight and Dr. Coch is working with her to get her A1Cs down to better levels (related to diabetes), and she may need knee surgery before long. I'm trying to exercise more regularly, so I've been skiing a few times and Ian and Nicky and I took a two-hour walk today, and may have found bear tracks!
Anyway, we hope you're all well, and that you'll be in touch soon!!!!!
Doug
I recently posted something on my Facebook profile, that had come to me: "The saddest thing about living is to lose the ones you love, and to awaken to the attrition of kindred souls."
This is something that has been wearing at me for years, little by little. And now with our cousin, David Winton Clarke, dying; then a 1976 classmate (Jim Comes) dying just before his fiftieth birthday, this past week. Then, in the background (for me, at least) Dan Fogelberg (who wrote some wonderful music that accompanied me in my teens and twenties) and Arthur C. Clarke, whose short stories and books were my favorites in earlier years, died recently.
Then, just in the last two days, we've learned that Warda Vincent Mauro (a little older than Dad, former Alfredian, church member from a distance, etc.) died. On top of all that, we've learned that our cousin, Carol Burdick (CB) has pancreatic cancer, and likely won't live long, perhaps only a few months.
All that has affected me, but at least I am happy to say "Happy Birthday" to Cathy, and to tell you that Jeanette's car has a nearly-new engine in it and will get its body repaired this week. Now if we can get it paid off and get some good years of driving out of it . . .
Anyway, CB looked frail when I went to her book-signing a week or so ago, and someone told me only a few days later that they heard she had terminal cancer. Today, Donna Rogers told us that CB had told her so, herself. She evidently was quite matter-of-fact about it, as I would expect. So, if you want to say anything to her or ask her anything, I suggest you do so, pronto. If you need her address, I'm sure that if you address correspondence to CB, Pondhouse Inhabitant, Camp Harley Sutton Road, Alfred Station, NY 14803, it will get there.
I still have, saved on the answering machine, the message she left when she learned that Dad had died. Unless my memory has failed me, she said: "Doug, I just learned about your father, and I just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry. [voice cracks] He was a wonderful man. And he would NOT approve of my crying now . . ." I have never felt terribly close to CB but we have always been cordial and I really enjoyed taking her "A Place In The Universe" class (on environmental literature). She wrote in my copy of her book "Haps and Mishaps" something to the effect that I've been a loyal cousin and she likes that, and likes me.
One thing I was quite fond of, back when I was in my late teens and early twenties, was to watch CB and Dad play tennis on the courts near South Hall. They would meet early in the morning and just go at it, not angry and competitive and not just whacking the ball around, either. They both played well, moved well, and had genuine fun doing it for the exercise and the time to talk, I think. They seemed to be very evenly matched, but I couldn't keep up with Dad: he seemed to stay mostly in the middle of the court and return everything I sent his direction.
Back to the present, Sherm and I have been talking about when he might "retire" to Alfred, what part of "33" he would inhabit, and what we might do with the rest of the house (like sell used books, and/or rent rooms). Maybe this year, maybe three or four years from now?
I'm working on my outline and PowerPoint presentation for the April 24th Bergren Forum, which will be part of the Alfred Bicentennial series of events. Jeanette worked extra hours the last few weeks, earning "extra" money on a project, and starts tutoring a pregnant student for two hours after school, every day, this week. Ian starts his mentorship with Betsy Brooks soon, learning how to catch (in mist nets) songbirds, measure and weigh and band them. I'll be taking him up to the Lake Ontario shore to a banding station so he can help Betsy set up nets, and he should get a chance to at least observe raptor banding in April, during the peak migration period. I'm thrilled that Betsy was eager to do this with him, and LOVE that I get to learn stuff and go along, too!! He's been saying for years that he wants to work with animals and invent stuff, so I thought this would be a great start, even if he ends up working with alligators later on, because he'll develop real skills, developed at an early age, and build on the obvious ability he has with animals.
We're waiting for winter to let go of us, so we can start working on the house more readily, not have to be so concerned with weather and road conditions, and so Jeanette's joints won't hurt so much. The CPAP seems to be helping her get better rest, but her mask is not optimized yet, so she's not getting the full benefit. Antibiotics pretty well took care of my infected gum, but I'm flossing and brushing and water-picking and rinsing and using a syringe with salt water, to keep from losing a tooth to bone degeneration. Jeanette has lost some more weight and Dr. Coch is working with her to get her A1Cs down to better levels (related to diabetes), and she may need knee surgery before long. I'm trying to exercise more regularly, so I've been skiing a few times and Ian and Nicky and I took a two-hour walk today, and may have found bear tracks!
Anyway, we hope you're all well, and that you'll be in touch soon!!!!!
Doug
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