May Thoughts I

When I left law teaching on Dec. 31, 2006, many of my friends wondered if I would be able to support myself in the ensuing months and years. The jury is still out on that one, but I have discovered, as 2007 moves into the Summer months, that the less I am concerned about looking for means to make money the more opportunities have come my way. To be clear, however, most of the challenges or tasks that come to me have no dollar signs written on them. Occasionally, however, something or someone with dollars comes by, and I try to help them and keep myself afloat. It also helps that the markets have been up lately--a fact that President Bush really hasn't effectively taken credit for since the issue he has made as the litmus test of his Presidency hasn't been going well for him.

But so many things have been going on for me in my intellectual agenda in the last five months (and so many other things loom), that I need two essays just to review what has occupied me in this time. The variety of things keps me focused, engaged, and humble; I am constantly amazed at the effort, care and time people put into things that haven't even crossed my radar screen. Here are many of the things that move/have moved me: (1) Four or more essays per week on upcoming Lectionary (Scripture) readings; (2) Study of words in preparation for the National Senior Spelling Bee in Cheyenne on June 16; (3) Writing on animal phyla and the Linnaean classification system in honor of Linnaeus' 300th birthday; (4) Drafting of a long memorandum on an aspect of the Oregon aggravated murder statute for a death penalty case currently being tried in Multnomah County, OR; (5) learning about the complex world of brain tumors and the innovative yet highly-praised blood brain barrier disruption chemotheraphy being done at the Oregon Health and Sciences University, therapy that Medicare has just decided not to pay for after having paid for it for more than a decade; (6) study and comment on a screenplay written by a church friend. Then, in the next few months, I will be returning with eagerness to the world of autism and the law, especially the problems that families have in negotiating some of the legal pitfalls when their autistic kids become autistic teens and autistic college students and beyond. Along the way, too, I want to do some work on particle physics. Why? Well, there is a story there, but I will defer it to below. Then, finally, I am keeping up with my Italian but often in more fits and starts than I would like. This is in addition to some of the other writing that I do on this website.

Going into Some Details

When I finished my law teaching, I decided it was time for me to get back into daily Scripture study and writing. After all, my Ph. D. is in the history of religions: early Christianity (i.e., New Testament), and I haven't used this training or knowledge much in the last decade. The Revised Common Lectionary texts give me a means to do this. I have discovered that the lectionary isn't as "common" as the name claims, yet it is a good place to begin. And, my writing is "useful" to the degree that pastors and others stop by the pages to gather some insights or fodder for their own preaching/teaching. On at least four days of the week, then, I work through the Greek and Hebrew texts of the passages, sometimes read relevant commentaries or other "helps," think through my own thoughts on the passages and then put together accessible essays that exposit the texts. Everyone should have at least one important literary source that provides some of the deep rhythms of his/her speech and thought. It can be Shakespeare, Dante or, for that matter, the Wizard of Oz. The Bible has functioned that way for me. Its cadences, words, phrases, and thought patterns have provided me images and words for my own speech. I don't know how long I will write on the Scriptures, but they provide me insight each time I go to them.

Particle Physics ??

When the Nobel Prizes were announced in various disciplines last year, I decided it would be a goal of mine to try to understand what it is that these prize-winners actually did to win the prize. So, on that occasion I wrote an essay on Mohammed Yunus (winner of the Peace prize) and the Grameen bank. Just recently I decided it would be a good idea to begin to probe the background and discoveries of people who had won the Prize in various discipines. Since I won the "laboratory science" award at my high school in 1970 (even though I think they made a mistake in giving it to me), I felt it was time for me to "re-flex" some of my science muscles, especially in physics. Then, an idea came to me. I recall my friend and colleague Walter Englert from Reed College days (where I taught from 1982-88) describing to me how one of the physics professors at Reed, David Griffiths, had a reputation of being able to "teach physics to gerbils." David apparently explains things so simply and clearly that his physics colleagues outside of Reed at first wanted to disown him--I suppose because if someone shows your field as accessible and easily understandable, then people might "lost their respect" for it. Well, David has triumped over time and has written three physics textbooks which are used in colleges and universities across the country. I don't have time to read it right now, but I am already shaking with excitement about the possibilitiy of reading his 1987 book on particle physics. I surely want to know not only where all those tiny particles have come from, but how we know they are there, how the discovery of particles evolved, what good it is to know they are there, etc. I look forward to learning from David's book.

Well, this is just getting me started. Let's continue this in the next essay.

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