Karl Jung, King Lear, Mrs. Job, Mrs. Chapman, and the California fire

I'm starting over again on this one. Lost my first try. And wouldn't you know it, 'cause that's basically my theme. Jung's "opposites." I'm sure it's not the way he would say it, but every once in a while I/we just have to yield to the opposite. Lately, that's what's been going on for me. I just want to retreat into passively reading and pull away from all that socially conscious activity. Oh, I can't really do that, and I have been following through on things that have already captured me. There's doing my share to get the write-a-thon going at church for Amnesty International, and a bit of follow through on our intention to establish some kind of restorative justice program at the Presbyterian church up the street from me. And meetings with students whose theses I'm advising.

Of course, I can't leave Mrs. Job behind.  Right now (for a price) someone at iUniverse is examining her carefully to be sure she conforms to Chicago style. Next (for a fee) someone else will proofread her. I don't know how long it will take before I get feedback on that. Something in me -- perfectionism? the need to be right? -- had me going through her several times with a fine-toothed comb before sending her off on that next adventure. Not too bright, huh? I suppose it's like cleaning the house before the cleaning crew comes to be sure they don't find too much dirt, hoping, on the other hand, that they'll find something, so the money isn't paid out in vain. The next phase will be covers, front and back, and marketing. I've collected some really nice blurbs for that back cover. When will she be available for purchase? I don't know. Next time I'll be more knowledgeable about the process.

And why mention King Lear? Back when I was a Sophomore at Connecticut College (for Women, way back then) I got a B+ on my King Lear paper in the Shakespeare course, with the suggestion that I should become a Psychology major. I've never been sure whether that was a subtle put-down, but whatever, a psychologist I am and have been. But now, in pulling back, I've tried to act out the dream of sitting in a comfortable chair, reading for the fun of it. Of course, the first thing I do is fall asleep, but waking I have been doing some reading. I've have found that I can use Amazon.com's wish list to keep track of what I'm interested in getting to, and it does pay off for them, as in the gift certificate I got for my birthday. So, of the three I received recently, the first I opened was Paul Brians' Common Errors in English Usage. Amazingly, I didn't fall asleep. Instead, I spent an hour reading through from "a" through "d" of what is intended to be a reference book.  I guess that's what happens when you've been raised in a family where dinner table conversation was about the use of language (along with some religion and a smattering of politics.) So, I'm thinking. maybe I am at heart an English major. But then I started in on Foster's How to Read Novels Like a Professor, and found myself reading only the first sentence of each paragraph. So much for being mis-directed by my Shakespeare teacher.

About Mrs. Chapman? -- My landlady when I taught at the University of Vermont and dated Lou. In fact, she was one of the three non-family members at our little wedding. Somehow I thought she would go on forever being my Vermont friend, but on October 23 she died at home at the age of 100 after a brief illness of three weeks. I miss her. 

Life is a journey, and I feel a little sad about the fact that my parents will never get to see the DVD my son-in-law is putting together of photos from the 1955 trip I took with them to Sweden and Denmark, complete with reading from my mother's diary. Sometimes I wish I believed they were still watching my life here.

And the California fires? I'm happy to say that my friend in Santa Barbara escaped damage to her home, though it hit pretty close to her.

Oh yes, How is it that I have this time to retreat from the world? It turns out that one of the first places people save money when there's a downturn in the economy is on "luxuries" like visits to a psychologist. Here's where one of Lou's sayings comes into play. "Turn a Defeat into a Victory." And so, I'll enjoy this down time before the holidays arrive.

A Wave of Calm

Tomorrow is the day. You who know me well are aware that I've been pretty neurotic about this whole thing. I don't know when anything has seemed more important to me than this election. I really believe it is a major determinant of our nation's direction. But today, listening in the car to the CD of Friedmans "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," I realized that the direction for the future is inevitable no matter who's elected. In focusing on reducing our addiction to oil - which we have no choice but to do -  we'll be tapping into all the other important issues: climate change, rational foreign relations, potential for peaceful solutions, economic growth and justice, poverty reduction, and even women's protection. Did I miss anything?

And listening to discussions on public radio, it seems clear that real gaps in our education system have been revealed in the work-up to these elections. I mean -- real gaps, not just passing standardized tests. Out of that recognition I hope there will come some real solutions. I think of my brilliant CC classmates who couldn't share their knowledge in the public schools because they hadn't taken "methods" courses. People like them could contribute so much! I know, 'cause I remember finding excitement in American History sitting in the sand at Ocean Beach learning from my friend Justine. And when it comes to college, call me old fashioned, but I powerlessly rebelled during my teaching career as the curriculum moved away from basics during the first two years and into premature (I thought) commitment to a major. Oh,oh. I could go on...

There's more on the positive side: what excitement this campaign period has engendered!  It's been awful, but the excitement and commitment in itself is a blessing.

Oh, let's not forget Tina Fay. Think what it will do for Tina's career if Palin is elected. I'm glad for Tina, though, that she has so much talent, 'cause I'm not voting for her Palin future.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at what I do. That includes scraping, scouring, and scrubbing at Lisa and Jan's lovely new/old home in Williamsburg, VA,  last week and getting Mrs. Job ready for the next round.

All in all, life is good. And thanks for all of you who continue to accept this blog from me.

But I am very sad that Obama's grandmother didn't survive to see the outcome of this election. Sometimes life has strange timing.