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It's Not Because I've Had Nothing to Say

30/4/2019

Yeah, I've taken another longer-than-usual hiatus from blogging. So much is happening, and I've been busy not commenting on it here. Below, however, I have some observations about recent developments on the local Green front.

This post is completely lacking in links, because I'm not feeling sufficient enthusiasm to find pages to link to. If you want more information about stuff referenced herein, look it up yourself.

Just Another Lazy Unemployed Person—Moi? Kinda.
Unemployment may give me more time to blog, but it has also knocked me off the routine that I had developed. In my office at the university, I could hammer out chunks of bloggage between and around my various duties. Then I could edit them so they didn't read like something I hammered out between and around said duties. I can do that at home, too, but I'm having trouble adapting to the new circumstances.

With domestic business and job hunting to attend to during the day, I also don't consume what had become my regular diet of podcasts and news analysis videos. It's been several weeks since I last listened to a weekly installment of Jeremy Scahill's Intercepted, for example.

Remembering George—and Also Don

16/4/2019

This post is a quick sequel to last week's on the loss of Dr. George Reiter, but it also shines a light on the recently completed life of fellow First UUer Don Smith.

More than 100 people made it to the Bruce Chapel at the University of Houston yesterday afternoon, during the work day, for a memorial tribute to George. It was, in an odd way, a happy occasion, a welcome opportunity for many of the guests to get together for something other than a protest. The happiness was tempered more than a little bit by the shocking news of the devastating fire at Notre-Dame de Paris.

Unknown Facets
Memorial services have multiple purposes benefiting the bereft, but one purpose other than collective grieving that get little mention is opportunity to learn more about the life and works of the deceased. In George's case, those who have known him for any length of time know that he was a professor physics, but we might not know (and George was not the type to bend one's ear about it) the importance of his research or his unusual but effective teaching style.

Also, despite knowing George for just north of two decades, I had never known until yesterday what a demon he was at tennis and racketball. He may have urged and fostered cooperation toward achieving peace, harmony, and justice, but on the court he was all about the competition. Is this a contradiction or inconsistency in his personality? Others may see it that way, but no, not really. His colleagues who described his competitive streak hastened to emphasize that it helped his doubles partners and opponents improve their game rather than abandoning any hope of beating him and quitting in despair.

Missing George

8/4/2019

Dr. George Reiter passed into sweet nothingness last Saturday, 30 March. He had a rather sizable glioblastoma diagnosed last year, and after months of treatments it finally won the battle. Even after aggressive chemo and radiation, George died with the familiar tufts of hair still on the back of his head.

David Wager called me that morning to let me know that George was slipping away, and that his wife Deb Boynton Shafto could use some company at the house. Before I could get there, David called again to say that George was gone.

It's Not Because I've Had Nothing to Say

Remembering George—and Also Don

Missing George

DBC Sez...

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