NOW: 2020 UPDATE–WHAT’S UP, FRIENDS?
You may believe you look, feel, think, swim &/or smell just as you did 60 years back–but you’d better not bet on it, so this page is especially dedicated to you now. It differs from the News page in being less about reporting life events & more about sharing snapshots of your mind, life, & feelings–the kind of things that keep us ticking & suggest something of who we’ve become heading into the last stage(s) of our lives.
Time’s such a strange bedfellow with past, present & future often changing places with each other, s0 aspects of News, Memories & Reflections, Musings, Posts, Comments & Updates overlap enough to jump from page to page. Please submit your entries–in the BODY of an email (not an attachment for now)–, c/o bodlibrary2020@gmail.com, with “NMH1960” on the subject line. (Indicate the page you’d prefer it on, if there is one).
This page, meanwhile, with George Banziger as moderator, invites your contributions (on any themes).
VALUES Exchange–(suggestions from George)
Values Page — Here are some preliminary thoughts on a values page–hoping not too heavy for a first entry…. Your feedback…?
Two issues I’m seriously involved in during these times are: climate change and the political polarization in our country. They are related. I accept what the vast majority of scientists are saying about climate change (seas warming, rising, becoming more acidic, glaciers disappearing at alarming rates, extreme weather, etc.). A colleague and I have developed and offered a session on the science of climate change at a local high school. I am co-leader of the local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby. CCL is a national (and indeed international) organization committed to advocating for bipartisan legislation on climate change. (Our chapter has established a relationship with our conservative Republican congressman, who is listening to us although not yet on board with HR 763, Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.)
I am also a member of another national group, Braver Angels (formerly Better Angels)…dedicated to bringing together red and blue voters to seek common ground through civil discourse. I have been a participant in two of Braver Angels training sessions that were offered in the past year through CCL.
I am curious if other MH 1960 classmates have similar interests and shared values.
P. S. Sheltering-in-place
Most of us have been in some version of “sheltering in place” for the past 5-6 months. One way to update each other (since many of us have not made any connections in 60 years) is to describe what we have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic. Among many other activities, I have been tending to my organic vegetable garden , most recently harvesting cherry tomatoes, purple potatoes, and cucumbers (I try to grow nutritional vegetables). I have more time for this pursuit than in previous years because so many meetings & events have been canceled. I can share some of my other activities when others chime in. Am I demonstrating lessons learned from the MH work program in these gardening pursuits?
One of the first words I learned in Latin I at MH was agricola. I questioned why this noun had a feminine ending but was masculine–one of the many experiences that provoked my lifelong interest in psycholinguistics. Any thoughts…?
Photo: “Agricola George holding cherry tomato (which may not fit well on your cheeseburger but is more nutritious than ones that do).”
~~~George Banziger, Marietta, Ohio
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[Though George may be one of our most trustworthy classmates, some may wonder if that youthful fellow shown in the photo could possibly be him now, or is he pulling our leg with a shot of grandson wearing his hat & pinching his tomato? –Yours Crudely]