July 13, 2012 For my recent birthday Grandson William presented grandpa a T-shirt proudly announcing: NEW YORK STATE (2012) Boy’s Niagara District Qualifiers AAU BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP. Listing on the T-shirt are Boy’s 5th grade to 11th grade qualifying teams, included is William’s Boy’s 6th Grade (Syracuse) East Side Hoops. William’s mother reported to Grandpa that East SideContinue reading “WIN WITHOUT BOASTING – LOSE WITHOUT EXCUSES”
Author Archives: profbartling1
FOURTH OF JULY THEOLOGICAL MUSING – A “RELAXED” VOCATIONAL CALLING
How approach my role as American citizen on national Independence Day? Often we may become distracted from our vocation as citizen in context of political divisiveness and pressing economic and social issues. How place my calling as citizen in a more liberating and “relaxed” context to celebrate more fully that citizenship? That depends, in my view, on the spiritual underpinnings ofContinue reading “FOURTH OF JULY THEOLOGICAL MUSING – A “RELAXED” VOCATIONAL CALLING”
THE ART OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING
June 19, 2012 A new computer made the transfer of files from the old computer to the new necessary. In that process I came across a file dated 2/17/07. Curiosity was aroused by the title: Phebe Hanson Document about myself. It reads: “Written January 2004 at Gloria Dei Lutheran church. Phebe Hanson, a prominent Minnesota poetContinue reading “THE ART OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING”
Celebrating Four score and Four Years
For me, reaching four score and four years evokes a doxological response. Sustained by grace and upheld through radical surgery the past eighteen months have provided sharpened meaning for and grateful savoring of life. Surrounded by proven friendships and cultivating new relationships at our Becketwood Cooperative home enriches life. My mate of three score years, six childrenContinue reading “Celebrating Four score and Four Years”
SEWING “THREAD AND STUFF” – NOSTALGIC DOWNSIZING
On the front coffee table my eyes focused upon an array of some 75 spools of thread exhibiting together lustrous rainbowlike colors of the spectrum. Inquiring as to the reason for this display my wife Ruth informed she was in the process of downsizing sewing supplies. Sorting through a box titled Thread and Stuff spoolsContinue reading “SEWING “THREAD AND STUFF” – NOSTALGIC DOWNSIZING”
ATOMIC FISSION : “IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD?”
May 8, 2012 An article in the summer 2012 Washington State University Magazine titled The Atomic Landscape arrested my attention. Discussed is the WWII Manhattan Project and the development of atomic bombs. Hanford Nuclear Reservation in South-Eastern Washington on the Columbia River is where successful atomic fission resulted in building atom bombs. Hanford is in close proximityContinue reading “ATOMIC FISSION : “IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD?””
CURE FOR ACADEMIC EXAMINATION PARALYSIS/ANXIETY
April 30, 2012 An Octogenarian Plus Four recalls himself as a grade school lad wonderfully coordinated athletically but little interested in the life of the mind or academic pursuit. His anxious mother would say in asides: “Er kann nicht lesen (German – ‘He can’t read’. His teachers, it is recalled, almost yearly, it seemed suggested that,Continue reading “CURE FOR ACADEMIC EXAMINATION PARALYSIS/ANXIETY”
TEPPANYAKI GRILL AND SUPREME BUFFET – Twin Cities Growing Ethnic Diversity
Recently we came upon the Teppanyaki Grill & Supreme Buffet (2216 E Lake St Minneapolis) , purportedly Minnesota’s largest buffet. Located in the Midtown/Phillips area of Minneapolis, one of the city’s most ethnically diverse sections, features Asian-Japanese cuisane. Introduced after WWII tappanyaki restaurants and buffets specialize in Western influenced food.
PANAMA/CARIBBEAN – CHINA’S ECONOMIC CLOUT
Recently a phone conversation with a Comcast help desk technician regarding a laptop problem led to a discussion regarding Panama. He had spent three years in Panama as a radio communications expert. My inquiries regarding the United States’ role in Panama elicited the response that the U.S. role is minimal and that of China paramount.
PANAMA CANAL – THE CULEBRA CUT
April 7, 2012 Prior to our recent trip to Panama preparation involved reading David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas: The creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914”. What riveted my attention was McCullough’s description of a vast and unprecedented feat of engineering. My imagination was stimulated to view and understand the working of the “largest (engineering)Continue reading “PANAMA CANAL – THE CULEBRA CUT”
The Bartling Scholarship 