Hello once and again! I'm writing from the top of Ian's car, where I am enjoying the beautiful fall weather. It's just beginning to get a little chilly, and the air is starting to develop an edge. It's been perfect weather to be outside. We've been balancing study with sport, trying to keep up with our school while we still take time to enjoy God's green earth. We get most of our math done in class, to the point where study outside isn't entirely crucial, but music is another matter. Music theory requires constant attention and application or we forget it by the next week.
This week started off pretty slowly except for the frisbee on Monday. The next day, we were back in class for music with Caleb. He's pushing us a little harder now that we have a concert coming up, and we're also getting into some more difficult music theory. Mrs. Bortin's housekeeper, April, has been joining us for music on Tuesdays. We really enjoy having her in class; her input is always helpful, and when we play instruments or sing, she's strong in her part.
In and out of class, she's become an honorary member of our fellowship, so when she told us that she was playing in an orchestra on Thursday night, we told her we'd be there. In the two days between, we had an assignment to finish: our business plan. By the time Thursday afternoon brought our deadline, we had a decent stack of papers to turn in. Mrs. Bortins went over it with us and helped us make it excellent. A burden lifted, we celebrated with music at the community college where the Moore County Philharmonic Orchestra was playing, with April as first violin.
About half of us showed up to the concert, and we were glad we did. April was fantastic, and after she finished, William suggested we get frozen yogurt. Ten minutes later, we were adding toppings to delicious cups of chilled goodness in downtown Aberdeen. Our taste buds tickled and the night still young, someone suggested we take our gathering to the park, which we gladly did. We were standing around, talking, after ditching our shoes to run in the grass, when a police officer showed up and informed us that the park is closed after dark. He had a lot of questions to ask about our bare feet, but he eventually let us leave, waiting until the last of us had pulled out of the driveway before he followed and went his own way. That concluded the festivities of the night, but was only a start to a few days of madness.
We had a guest the next day, a man by the name of James Nickel, a respected mathematician and author. Before he talked, however, Pastor Skogen led devotions for a solid hour, and Caleb and Mrs. Bortins split the morning between them. The pastor joined us again for lunch, when we had rotating discussion questions and pizza. When we finished, Mr. Nickel finally took over. He had a lot to tell us, and it was a bit overwhelming at first. Eventually we got comfortable asking clarifying questions, and we were able to keep up. Still, by the time he ended, we were mentally exhausted, and needed something to pick us up.
We didn't have anything going on that afternoon, so nearly all of the fellowship gathered at a local field and played another game of frisbee, this time in daylight and without the hinderance of pavement. We played hard for two and a half hours, barely pausing to rest. A few of us are still limping. It was a good afternoon. Caleb's wife and daughter watched the whole thing, along with Mrs. Bortins and our guest. We cleaned up and went back to the main house to hang out with Mr. Nickel. Afterwards, we had dinner and a fire, and almost everyone watched movies, either at the Bortins' or the villas.
Before we went to bed, David organized another game of ultimate. Because we had an extra hour and a half before class on Saturday, he proposed we get up and play an intense game for our morning exercise. With a great deal of persuasion, he managed to get a commitment from fourteen people. The next morning, twelve showed up, and it was on. We played for an intense hour and quickly cleaned up before devotions with Pastor Skogen, arriving awake, excited, and very satisfied.
Mr. Nickel had a lot to talk about. He was an interesting man, obviously well read and passionate about mathematics. His passion was different from Mrs. Bortins, who takes absolute delight in the numbers and structure of math. Mr. Nickel showed us a much wider view, looking into the philosophy and history behind mathematics and mathematicians. He showed us where a lot of modern mathematics came from and why. Digging deeper, he uncovered aspects of God's character in algebra and calculus. It was another exhausting day, but we learned a lot of things which we'd never heard before.
He took a few hours after lunch, and a final hour of questions just before dinner. Some of us stayed behind to continue talking with him, and others wished him farewell and went home. He hails from Washington state, but rather than flying back, he decided to ride the train up to New York and over the top of our country. This route allows him to see another corner of the world and to spend some time with people he otherwise wouldn't meet. It must have been a good trip.
So we took ourselves to bed that night and got ready for church the next morning. We made our way from the villas at one time or another, all but a few who felt like their Saturday morning respite had been interrupted by an early class. The church choir was meeting its new director that morning, so a few of us left much earlier to get to choir. Pastor Skogen was in fine form, preaching the end of Ecclesiastes and trying to instill the fear of God in us. After church concluded, and we'd had a healthy dose of socializing, we returned to the villas, where most of us worked on papers due to Caleb on Tuesday. Midway through the afternoon, Alec crashed through my front door, held up two pairs of boxing gloves, and announced that he'd finally brought them home. Without a second thought, a few of us gathered behind the houses and enjoyed a rigorous bout of boxing. We explored unknown talent and unexpected skill for a half hour and returned to our studies, breaking again to practice frisbee for the next big game we play. It's so hard to focus when we have this beautiful weather. One by one, we leave our papers, either done or merely waiting for completion on Monday.
The beginnings of our weeks are hardly ever worth mention. The next day, we dragged ourselves to class and pursued physics for a few hours. We've made it through sixteen pages of exercises since we started, two weeks ago, and Mrs. Bortins wanted to show us what we've accomplished. She quizzed us on what we knew, and we all surprised ourselves. Finally, before lunch, she told us the final plans for the week. She's traveling to speak in Washington D.C., so we're having an extra few music sessions while she's gone. A few fellows went with her to stay, some to the airport and from there, elsewhere, and plenty of fellows are using this time to visit their families. They left after music on Tuesday. A faithful remnant remain.
So we retire to bed and look forward to Wednesday. We've been learning the Hallelujah chorus, an acapella doo-wop, and a few songs to play as a group. We'll be practicing these tomorrow, and I'm sure it will be a good morning, and a good week.
Until next time, your servant,
Barnabas Holleran
No comments:
Post a Comment