This year I haven’t had the chance to read as much as I’d like to, but I am approaching thirty books for the year. Since it’s the end of the year and everyone else is writing year-end and decade-end lists, I thought I’d add my own humble voice to the cacophony. So here, dear reader, are my favorite books of 2009. To clarify, these are the books I read in 2009–not books that were published in 2009. That sort of list would be far too relevant.

Runner-up: The Undertaking by Thomas Lynch. ★★★★ (finished April 18).

I don’t generally go in for nonfiction, but Lynch’s work is thought-provoking and poetic. He is a poet who also runs a cemetery, so death and dying are concepts that he lives with daily. It is no surprise that he has much to say on the subject.  The chapter “Uncle Eddie, Inc.” is a tour-de-force wherein Lynch asks a lot of questions about death, abortion, and suicide:

For if we live in a world where birth is suspect, where the value of of life is relative, and death is welcomed and well regarded, we live in a world vastly more shameful, abundantly sadder, and ever more perilous than all the primitive generations of our species before us who were sufficiently civilized to fill with wonder at the birth of a new life, dance with the living, and weep for the dead.

The book is easy to read, profound, and even funny at times. I got a lot out of it.
10. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. ★★★★ (finished April 23).

The Power and the Glory is the tale of a “whiskey priest” in 1930s anti-Catholic Mexico, who is hunted simply for being a priest. The irony (and power) of the book lies in the priest’s struggle to understand his faith vis-a-vis his overwhelming sense of shame. He has to fall to understand grace and love. The next best thing was the way Greene weaves minor characters in the plot throughout the book and then brings them all back in the end, showing how their lives have altered after their encounters with the whiskey priest. It shows the caliber of Greene’s writing ability and vision. This was my second trip through a Greene novel, and I will be back for more.

9.The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. ★★★★ (December 5).

Having just finished reading Ovid (you’ll notice its absence from this list), I was in the mood for a page turner. I had been meaning to read Doyle for a long time, and I’m glad I spent some time with him and his famous sleuth. No, Baskervilles is not a perfect novel by any means, but it is engaging, gripping and–dare I say it–fun! My only complaint is that Holmes isn’t around enough in this one. The story is always better when Holmes is front and center. There were enough characters to keep one guessing, at least for a little while, and even after you find out who the guilty party is, Doyle has one or two more tricks up his sleeve.

8. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. ★★★★ 1/2 (March 8).

I remember this book fondly. Room is a terrific novel that is executed extraordinarily well. Forster’s plot is well structured, and his prose–his prose!–is superb. He is able to render scenes, dialogue, and description with equal alacrity and depth. The characters are all very intriguing, especially Lucy, the protagonist. Forster’s stylistic prowess is even more enjoyable because with it he takes the reader to beautiful places (Florence and rural England), and the reader absolutely sees what he evokes. Forster also employs narrational flourishes I’ve never seen before and liked.
All this excellent workmanship carries a simple love triangle plot. Bonus: it’s only 199 pages!

7. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. ★★★★ 1/2 (August 11).

This book is wonderfully conceived, well written, and enthralling. The time travel element automatically makes a book more challenging to organize and arrange well; Niffenegger orchestrates her novel brilliantly. There are so many beautiful, poignant moments. The relationship between Clare and Henry is always powerfully and movingly evoked. Niffenegger’s style is lush and deep. The characterization is excellent. The plot is complex and gripping. I loved reading this book and was always loath to put it down. There are a few regrettable elements, but overall it is fantastic.

6. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. ★★★★★ (June 7).

I read The Imitation for ten months, so I’m afraid I lost a lot of my sense of the totality of the book. I can say that God met me several times in its pages, and what is better than that?It was my devotional reading for most of that time, and it serves that purpose fairly well. There is a special blessing that comes with reading the works of authors from centuries past. Their world was so different from yours, so they have thoughts and ways of putting things that you do not. Thomas à Kempis is supremely devout and humble in his approach to God, which I need a lot more of. I learned a lot from his example and passion for the faith.

5. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. ★★★★★ (July 30).

This will sound weird for nonbelievers, but I reread Merton because God told me to. I didn’t know what to read, so I prayed about it. “Read Thomas Merton,” said the voice in my mind.

“I meant what novel should I read,” I clarified.

“Why did you ask if you weren’t going to listen?” So I read Merton, and I am so glad I did.  This is a powerful memoir recounting Merton’s coming to Catholicism and then a Trappist monastery, but it is also so much more. Merton writes about Spiritual matters with clarity, depth, and power because he knows the Lord God and knows Him well.

More importantly (for me anyway) was that God had a lot to tell me in those pages. I was frustrated by life at the time, and I desperately wanted direction. I remember reading one passage where Merton writes about how God guided him via a path he couldn’t understand so Merton would learn to trust. I knew I was going through exactly the same thing.

4. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis. ★★★★★ (February 28).

Perelandra blindsided me. It is the second in Lewis’ space trilogy, and I definitely did not expect it to be so spectacular. There are two things that make Perelandra exceptional in my view. The first is the world Lewis evokes in the book. It is incredibly creative, well thought-out, and complete. It is also extraordinarily vivid.

The second, and best, aspect of the book is its philosophical and religious engagement. The protagonist, Ransom, travels to Perelandra (Venus) while its still in its Edenic state. He eventually realizes he’s been sent there to keep it from falling into sin. There are several compelling sections where Ransom argues against the Unman about good and evil that held me spellbound. There is also an amazing passage that bridges the gap between Calvinism and Armenianism, which I loved. Lewis has a mind that can grasp at the enormity and complexity of God better than any author I’ve read.

3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. ★★★★★ (February 18).

Yes, I read it. All of it. War and Peace is renowned as one of the greatest novels for good reason. I was most impressed with the novel’s scope and characterization. This novel is immense, and I’m not talking about pagination only. Tolstoy takes on so many disparate topics and somehow manages to fuse them into a cohesive book. Amazing. As for the people who live in these pages, they are myriad and deep. Sure, there are a few flat characters, but many characters are engaging because they are in flux constantly. You like and dislike the main characters as they change, but they do not bore.

Is every page exciting? Certainly not. Tolstoy goes on about history far too much for my taste, especially at the end. However, the novel is on par with the best books of all time, and it was on my “lifetime reads” list. It’s rewarding to finish a book like that, even if it did take me three months.

2. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut. ★★★★★ (June 9).

Had it not been for Chambers, this would have been my best read of the year. Vonnegut melds humor, gravitas, entertainment, and meaning in an astounding and complex way. I’ve read nothing like it.

The story is of Billy Pilgrim, a WWII veteran who comes unstuck in time. The narrative jumps around in Billy’s lifespan, and he experiences different moments in his life and jumps to others. Billy’s life is an interesting one: he is in WWII at the bombing of Dresden, gets unstuck in time, is abducted by aliens (the Tralfamadorians) and put in their zoo. Vonnegut uses all these disparate experiences (and some other, more pedestrian ones) to make profound insights and humorous commentary alternately.

Fascinating, funny, engaging, and never dull. I loved it. I wanted to reread it as soon as I turned the final page.

1. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. ★★★★★ (still reading).

It is somewhat of a surprise to me that a book of devotions is the best book I’ve read this year, but I couldn’t choose any other. Chambers is my daily companion in my walk with God. He is the sort of companion who keeps saying things I need to hear but don’t want to. He challenges me almost every day. Time and time again, he has convicted me of wrong in my own life, shown me who God is, shed light on complex topics, and given comfort. He is imminently quotable; I’ve underlined practically every other line.

My Utmost came recommended to me by everyone who had ever read it. Now I add my voice to the choir of people who cherish this book. I’ve used Chambers as inspiration for writing in my class, and he has been my masthead quote on this blog several times. I’ll finish the book on December 31, as each day has its own devotion. I know I’ll return to it soon.

And now, one of hundreds of highlighted passages from my copy: “There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.”

There you have it. If you’ve read this entire blog post, I salute you! I hope these recommendations are of use to you, and I look forward to more reading in 2010.

Last year the wife and I never got around to carving pumpkins, and I regretted it. We had much fewer trick-or-treaters last year, and perhaps it was because we didn’t have the usual pumpkins to welcome the kiddies in unusual clothes. This year, I made it a point to have our pumpkins early so we could carve them, and Monday we did! As usual, J showed me up in terms of detail and overall skill, but I maintain that there is something to be said for the “less is more” aesthetic. Also, I’m not as good at carving as J is…

Here I am posing with my pumkin, which is an angry Cyclops with sharp teeth!

And here is J with her half-creepy, half-happy witch! You can almost hear the cackling.

Lucy was kind enough to pose with my pumpkin.

This is how they will be displayed on Halloween night. Mine looks more like a Cyclops now.

Close-up of the witch. Eh hee hee hee hee!

Close-up of my Cyclops. You can really see the detail work there. Oh yeah, it was complicated to carve, let me tell you.

We discovered that J's pumpkin cast a nifty shadow on the wall when it was lit. Cool, no?

Mine also cast a silhouette, but it isn't as cool as J's. It does look creepier, however. "I'm keeping an eye on you!"

And here is my lovely lady with her creation.

Surprisingly, the pumpkins dried out pretty quickly, so they are now outside getting snowed on to restore their moisture. We hope the white stuff will be gone by Saturday night, but if it’s not, we get to keep all the candy. Hmm…

Happy Halloween!

The wife and I changed things up a bit last weekend and actually went to the cinema! That is unbelievable already, but we went even further and saw a movie that had just come out, viz. Where the Wild Things Are. J loves the book by Maurice Sendak (I like it, too), and Paste had it as their cover story for last month’s issue. In other words, we were interested. I was more than a little skeptical of a feature-length movie made from a children’s book consisting of only a few sentences; however, the film is quite enjoyable and its emotional power comes from psychology.

There were several things that I was leery of going into the movie. First, I hoped that the producers and director wouldn’t stray too far from the original book, and they did not. The only departure that bothered me was that instead of going upstairs to bed and imagining the forest growing up around him and then getting on the boat to the island, Max runs away from home and gets on his imaginary bark. I loved the idea of creating a new world in a familiar place. Still, this is a small complaint. Of course there are other departures such as the wild things having names and pretty much everything that happens on the island, but I knew there would need to be much added content. I think the movie captures the spirit of the book fairly well.

Another concern I had going in was that the monsters would disappoint me. Would they look right? Would they be silly? Annoying? What would they sound like? In this facet, the film did not disappoint at all; I loved the wild things as they are rendered. They have adult human voices and do not sound goofy, which is important. Max’s imaginary world is real to him. The look of the monsters is incredible–they look just like the book. I was able to sympathize with them and care about them, but they remain scary and dangerous too.

My largest worry was that once Max got on the island, the action would be boring and/or absurd. It isn’t (mostly). The plot on the island with Max and the wild things is quite good–powerful at times. Max meets these enormous creatures who scare him. He eventually befriends them and is crowned their king via some fast-talking. He quickly realizes that his job as king is to make all of the wild things happy; they have feuds and rivalries among them. Max promises peace and happiness, and things go along swimmingly for a while. But soon he finds out that he cannot please them all; he is a just a kid.

Max’s relationship with the wild things is the most interesting aspect of the movie because one can see a part of Max in each monster. The wild things are projections of different parts of Max’s psyche. KW resembles Max’s sister who has friends besides Max but still loves him. Alexander is the smallest monster, and the others never listen to what he says, just as Max feels he is ignored in real life. Interestingly, Max, too, ignores Alexander for most of the film. Douglas is the more rational side of Max–the Horatio to Carol’s Hamlet. Carol, Max’s best friend (and my favorite monster from the book), is almost a second Max; he feels deeply and loves his friends, but when he loses control of his emotions, he is out of control and dangerous. The other monsters seem like parents or naysayers at times.

The emotional power of the movie comes from watching Max try to make these monsters–these pieces of himself–get along. He loves them all (excepting the Bull, maybe), and it hurts him that he is powerless to heal the rifts among the monsters. Wild Things forces the viewer to see things through the eyes of a child. Max wants so badly to avoid the things that hurt him and others, but he is incapable of control. It reminded me strongly of the times when I was upset as a child and wanted to make things “right”–right as I saw it, of course; but that is not life. We long for understanding and acceptance, yet when we find it we don’t know how to sustain that joy. We hurt each other. In that way, Max’s struggle in this movie and in the book is everyone’s struggle.

Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there. As in the book, Max realizes this pretend world he’s created is too much for him to govern; he sails home where his mother is waiting for him with a warm dinner. He finds peace in his mother’s love. No, he cannot control himself or life, but at least he knows someone loves him.

The movie is well made and enjoyable to watch. I would not take my children to it were I a parent. There are parts that would be scary for kids, and the psychology of the movie is its strength; I do not know if kids would understand it. Then again, children love the book, which features so many similar themes. Maybe I’m underestimating what a child is capable of understanding. In any case, it is a movie worth seeing, though I don’t think watching at home on DVD would subtract too much from the experience. ★★★★ (of five)

Last Saturday was the first Saturday I had off from work in a very long while. In fact, excluding a sick day and the PTO days I took because I was out of town, I literally cannot remember the previous Saturday off of work. Needless to say, it was a Godsend. Perhaps almost as needless to say, Colorado is a beautiful place to be in the fall, and a hike with the wife was in order.

We set off a tad too late in the day (we were tired and slept in), but that didn’t matter because the day was sunny and cool. I chose Breckenridge as the spot where we would recreate this time. The trail I found was the hike to Mohawk Lake/Continental Falls. My wife loves waterfalls, so I knew this would be a good choice. I was also excited to eat some yummy food at a Breckenridge restaurant after the hike was over. The trail we took is just south of Breckenridge off Highway 9. It is 3.5 miles one way and has a 1700 foot elevation change. That is a lot.

Commence photo essay:

This is what our trail looked like for the first two miles or so. It had just snowed recently, so the path was slippery. J wore hiking shoes; I wore worn-out tennis shoes. Advantage: J. Perhaps this picture doesn’t show the incline in the trail; we went up pretty much the entire way. The woods were beautiful in the snow, however.

After the first two snow-strewn miles, we came across this beautiful meadow/pond. Perhaps you might call it a wetland? In any case, it was beautiful in the early afternoon sun after all the shade we had been in. This view is basically west and toward our destination, give or take.

This is the view a little to the left of the photo above. The brightness of the sun shows in the haziness of the photo.

This bird we first encountered at the same spot as the two pictures above. We were snacking a bit and having some water, and this bird was not shy about begging. He flew at me a couple of times. He then proceeded to follow us for the rest of the hike, popping up sporadically. I was not a fan of this guy after a while.

Part of our motivation for this hike was to see the autumnal foliage. Here is a lovely example.

Another reason why we chose this hike was to see the abandoned log cabins. This is the first we saw; it’s about three miles in. It was hard to fathom building such a domicile at that particular location and planning to live there. Crazy.

Here is J crossing the threshold.

A bit farther along, we came across this rock formation that reminded me of something out of The Lord of the Rings. Naturally, I posed nobly on it. We then discovered that this is actually a part of the trail, and we climbed over it and went on.

As we got higher, the view became more spectacular. Here we are beginning to rise above the tree line, and the whole valley is coming into view.

Just before the lower falls, we came across three more abandoned cabins. This one looks like it is used occasionally by hikers. There is a stove of sorts in there and a sign-in book. Another hiker was kind enough to photograph us.

Lower Continental Falls. Perspective is hard to gain here; the falls are at least twenty feet high here, and there is a lot of rushing water roaring by. These are some of the best falls we’ve seen since Yellowstone.

Here are the upper falls. Again, they are quite sizable and gorgeous. It was well worth the trip to see them.

We thought there would be more to see, but we had to make a steep ascent to get higher. It’s so steep that there are cables from an abandoned mill that are provided to help one climb up. I am demonstrating.

The remnants of the old mill. Again, it was surreal to imagine someone constructing a functioning mill way up there. There is something about ruins that gives one pause.

We climbed to the top of the rise to see the source of the falls. It wasn’t too great. The view back over the valley, however, was amazing, as you see. If you look closely (or if you had a higher quality version of this picture), you can see Breckenridge to the upper left just over the ridge next to the pine tree on the left.

After we saw all that, we had to hike down. The sun was setting by the time we got all the way back to our car. It took us an hour less to hike back down, partly because the snow had melted a little by then. However, it felt like forever. It was splendid to get back into our car and make for Breckenridge. We ate dinner at an Italian place; then, we bought chocolates and a cookie from local treat shops before heading home. It was a great day.

By the way, the hike we took is rated “moderate.” If you’re an average hiker, “moderate” means “difficult.” If you’re someone who climbs 14ers every other weekend, “moderate” means “moderate.” I’m just giving you the heads-up.

Due to the abundant generosity of my parents, I have in my possession an iTunes gift card with a fair amount of money on it that I got for my birthday. ITunes gift cards are wonderful things. They say, “You’ve been wanting that music for a while now; go buy it!” And buy, I will. I already know some albums and songs I’m going to buy (Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone comes to mind), but I could use some ideas, too.

That’s where you come in, dear reader. What are some of your favorite albums, artists, and/or songs? Tell me about the music you don’t want to live without, and, if you know me, the music I probably don’t have. What are those desert island albums for you? I will check out your suggestions as I see fit, and–who knows?–maybe I’ll add some of your favorite tunes to my humble collection. Also, argue persuasively: tell me why you love this music, what makes it great, and anything else you’d like to say. Of course, if you’d rather not, you may ignore this prompt altogether.

If all of the above sounds too much like an assignment (I think it probably does), please excuse me. I’m still getting accustomed to being a professor. However, I value your input, and I know my musical knowledge is somewhat limited.

Let the music play!

This year, J and I have gone through a lot of setbacks that I won’t bother to list. We all go through such times, I know. One disappointment for me was applying for a teaching job at a local college where I had been working as a writing center tutor. They basically told me, “No teaching experience, no way,” and I gave up. However, J encouraged me to give it one more go.

So it was that I called another area college* just to see if they had anything available that could give me teaching experience. I left a voice mail that sounded something like, “I was wondering if you had any teaching jobs open or even just a chance to TA and gain some experience.” A day later, to my surprise, I got a phone call from the school informing me of an opening for teaching freshman composition and how to apply. Fast forward two weeks and two interviews, and I have my very first class teaching English composition!

Classes start Monday, and I have a lot of preparatory work to do, including arranging a syllabus and laying out assignments. I got the books we’re using today and look forward to perusing them. I ran errands all over the place today to get myself integrated into the system over there, locate my office, figure out where my classroom is (my classroom!), and turn in all of the perfunctory paperwork. I feel like I’m being tossed into the deep end, sure, but I know how to swim. And it has been a very hot day.

I want to thank everyone who wished me well and/or prayed for me this year as the wife and I continue to stumble our way through this crazy existence. I am definitely blessed to have this opportunity, and though it will be challenging, I’m excited to get started. I know I’m going to grow a lot this semester, and I hope I can help my students grow, too. This small success is all the sweeter because I’ve had to go through some hard stuff to get here. Hmm, maybe I should learn a lesson here…

*I withhold the name of the school for privacy reasons, just in case. However, it wouldn’t take much detective work to figure it out if you really want to.

J and I were privileged to have my siblings and their respective significant others at our house this last week. We did a lot of great stuff together, some of which I may blog about later, but I begin with the last thing we did: Justin’s and my ascent of Mt. Bierstadt. My brother had been talking about hiking of 14er almost since we began planning their trip out here. I admit I was leery at first. I worried I was not fit enough to attempt it, and I had no idea what sort of challenge it would be. I did some research and found a 14er that was purportedly one of the easiest to summit: 14,060-foot Mt. Bierstadt, which is about an hour and a half away from Denver. We planned to go with K’s new beau Joe (not to be confused with Beaujo’s pizza, which is delicious), but lack of sleep and other schedule conflicts pushed the hike to Monday–the morning he and K were flying out.

Justin and I got up early for two reasons: 1. It’s always smarter to hike in the morning due to unpredictable, inclement afternoon weather, and 2. We heard the road leading up to Guanella Pass (where the trailhead is) closes sporadically due to road construction. This rumor turned out to be true, contrary to any of the information found on the web. For those would-be hikers of the mountain, the road on the east side of the pass closes from 8-11am, and 1-3 pm as of July 6, 2009. You have been warned. We made both time windows, as it turned out, which was wonderful.

We got to the trailhead and started our hike right at 8:00 and summited at 10:10, which I still can’t believe. We hiked 3.5 miles up 2,850 feet in just over two hours. Whew! I’m not sure I recommend this pace. If you’re hiking anywhere, go at the pace that suits you; stop when you need to. My bro and I are in relatively good shape (he much more than I), and we have long legs. On the descent, we left the top at right around 11:00 and were at our car by 12:30. Yep, going down was much easier, though it was harder not to fall.

The trail itself is pretty decent. I heard two different accounts of people who got lost taking a phantom trail that goes right (south) away from the main trail. Justin and I saw no such path. There are a few miniature side trails, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what the main trail is. At first, the path descends gently until you cross a stream (there’s a small footbridge made of two logs), then it gets progressively rockier as you go up. Surprisingly, there is not an absurd amount of swichbacks, though there are many; the path goes straight up quite often (read: you quadraceps will hate you). Since we went in July, there wasn’t a lot of snow left, but we did cross a couple of snow fields. Toward the top, you climb over piles of boulders without any real trail to speak of. The final ascent is another rockpile. It was the hardest hike I’ve ever taken, but it was worth it. Picture time!

Looking southwest from Mt Bierstadt. I've never seen so many white-capped mountains in one place.

Now looking west. Those two peaks in the middle are Gray's and Torrey's, which are two other popular 14ers.

This is the view to the southeast. That flat expanse in the distance is South Park. A man we met on the top could identify the Collegiate Peaks beyond that.

Now we're looking north at Mt. Evans, which dominates the view of the front range from Denver. That lake a few thousand feet down is Summit Lake, I believe.

Hail the conquering heroes!

This is the US Geological Survey medallion at the summit.

The view down the mountain to Guanella Pass Road. Our parking lot is the cement blip up and to the left of the lake.

The penultimate boulder pile. As you can see, some people slid down through the snow rather than hike that bit again.

Justin nobly surveying the beautiful valley. We're pretty far down the mountain now.

Mt. Bierstadt from the parking lot. Yep, I stood on top of it.

If you’re thinking about hiking a 14er in Colorado and want one that’s doable, I definitely recommend Bierstadt. We didn’t need any gear to get to the top–just a jacket, water, some food, and determination. Hiking boots are also highly recommended; my treadless sneakers weren’t much help on the snow. There is a lot more information and larger pictures of the route and the surrounding area at 14ers.com.

Posted in Life and Such Tagged: 14ers, Colorado, family, hiking, mountain photos, mountains, Mt. Bierstadt, outdoors ]]> http://ahabsquest.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/summiting-mt-bierstadt/feed/ 5 Nathan Bierstadt02NW Bierstadt03N Bierstadt04S Bierstadt05E Bierstadt01N&J Bierstadt06medallion Bierstadt07parking Bierstadt08boulders Bierstadt09justin Bierstadt10fullview http://ahabsquest.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/what-word-is-your-town/ http://ahabsquest.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/what-word-is-your-town/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:28:57 +0000 Nathan http://ahabsquest.wordpress.com/?p=911 ]]>

One of the many interesting tidbits in Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love occurs in the first section while she’s in Italy. She loves Rome, but can’t figure out why she feels she doesn’t belong there. One of her Italian friends tells her a theory of his. He says every city has a one-word motto that describes it; it’s the word that most of the citizens are thinking about at any given moment. Rome’s word, he says, is sex. Gilbert feels that this explains her out-of-place feeling because she is avoiding romantic encounters at the moment. Then she muses about what words fit other towns. New York is achieve, she says, and Los Angeles’ word is succeed.*

This got J and me thinking. What words would we use to describe towns we knew? I thought long and hard about Denver, and the word I came up with was activity because that’s what people here care about most. Denverites ski, golf, hike, ski, camp, raft, ski, play sports, go drinking and ski. One never hangs out with people in Denver; one always must do something (I hate this fact, by the way). I asked J what she thought Denver’s word was, and she said–completely independently of me, mind you–active. I think we nailed that one.

After that, we thought about Cedar Rapids, IA, where we grew up. This was much harder for me, and I couldn’t think of anything. J suggested work, which I initially objected to. However, she pointed out that in CR, everyone views work as a necessity. If you don’t have a job in CR, people wonder what you’re doing.** Cedar Rapidians go to work, they come home and work on their houses, and their hobbies require work. All of which has made the wonderful citizens of CR durable, dependable and pragmatic people. Pragmatic was the second word J suggested for CR.

I really like the idea that one can understand any given place if one knows the mot juste. Like all abstract, metaphorical and fun ideas along the lines of this one, I’m not sure how important or valuable the perfect word theory is, but it made me wonder what other people would say about their towns. If you feel like it, I’d love to hear what word you’d use for your hometown and why.

*I apologize that I couldn’t use quotes in this section, but I have Gilbert’s book on CD only.

**This may have changed with the recent economic recession.

Last Tuesday, J, Lucy and I got back to Denver after our first planned trip of the summer. We visited Cedar Rapids to throw a baby shower for our dear friend E, and we saw other friends and family as well. As always, it is a blessing to be back in our own home, but the trip was delightful, too.

We left Colorado last Wednesday night (6/10) after I got off of work and drove the seven hours to Lincoln, NE. Oh, Nebraska, I’m sure you’re a fine state full of nice people, but for me in my state of affairs, you’re often a hindrance. Also, your scenery leaves something to be desired, namely scenery. I forgot that we lose an hour on the way east, so we arrived at our hotel at 2:30 am.

After a brief, ineffectual rest, we left the following day (6/11). The drive from Lincoln to Omaha and then through most of Iowa isn’t too bad. We were also blessed to have Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Eat, Pray, Love along with us on CD. We spent the remainder of the trip listening to it and got to Cedar Rapids in the afternoon. We stayed with J’s folks this time, and they did a wonderful job of making us comfortable. They had redone a bedroom upstairs and purchased a double bed with our visit in mind! Thanks! We dined with them (mmm…roast) and headed over to D&E’s house, where we stayed up far too late talking about anything. We were so glad to see them, we didn’t mind a second consecutive night of going to sleep late.

On Friday(6/12), J and I split up our day. She stayed with her family all day working on preparations for the baby shower. I had the enviable task of spending time with friends.  I was at D&E’s for a while, and then we drove across town to Nate’s (soon to be former) apartment. N&A had set up an excellent buffet of junk food snacks–chips and dip, jalapeño poppers, and mozzarella sticks. I also had the joy of playing my first game of Cities and Knights of Catan, which is Settlers ratcheted up three notches. I loved it! It helped that I won, of course… Then there was some time for Super Smash Brothers on the ol’ N64. Hanging out with Jason also made this afternoon special, as I rarely have the privilege of his company. After that, I at dinner with my parents at Ruby Tuesday and then watched the Penguins win the Stanley Cup (w00t!). It wasn’t enough time with my folks, but we’re glad we get to see them next month.

Saturday (6/13) was the shower. After some final preparations in the morning, I drove back to D’s house for more video games and chatting. It was also wonderful to see my old friend G after so many years, and I met his beautiful wife and daughter. After the shower was over, everybody came back to D&E’s and spent a lovely evening there. The barbecue was delicious, and there was far more food than our company could consume in a given night, which we all know is the hallmark of a great Midwestern meal. N&A graced us with their attendance. Jason and JL brought their daughters over, and it was a joy to spend time with them. D’s dad was also present, and E’s mom and sister-in-law rounded out the company. The day ended sitting around the outdoor fireplace, talking, laughing and watching the stars come out.

The following day (6/14), we celebrated the birthday of J’s dad. We had a slow morning and then ate steaks that Dan H cooked. Juicy. After homemade ice cream with German chocolate cake–yes, I’m serious–we enjoyed a quick visit to Grandma and Don’s house. Then we drove J’s brother back to his place in Cedar Falls. It was good to have a chance to catch up with him. Then we ate out with Jessi and Dan H at Granite City, which I had never been to before. I thoroughly enjoyed the Cuban sandwich I had, and we were glad we had a chance to devote some time to them.

Monday (6/15) was lovely. We hung out with D&E all day. We ate at a diner, talked a lot, enjoyed more Dutch Blitz (I lost; D won), played some Mario Kart 64, and took Lucy for a walk. We closed out the day playing miniature golf at Airport National Golf Course. I had no idea they had such a nice putt putt course! It was an ideal Iowa summer night: cool, bright orange sunset, lovely green rolling hills all around, and me winning in mini golf (I beat E by 3 strokes). But of course that day was more than its activities. It is always wonderful and restorative to be with such good friends. We really wished we didn’t have to leave the following day, but I guess it’s better to have a visit that leaves you wanting more.

Tuesday (6/16) was spent driving back across the green, undulating fields of Iowa, through the taupe-colored and increasingly boring plains of Nebraska, and back into the rocky soil of the Centennial State until we could see the Front Range again. J and I listened to much more Elizabeth Gilbert, which was enjoyable and passed the time well. We set a new record that day for fastest time between Cedar Rapids and Denver: 11 hours, 35 minutes, including four stops. It was good to be home (it always is), but we immediately missed our loved ones who were and are once again over 800 miles away.

Thinking back through this too-short excursion, it’s amazing how many wonderful, caring people we have in our lives. Everyone was so generous to us! It was a pleasure to be back in CR again, and J and I cannot wait to see all of you again, whenever that occasion arises.

The other shoe finally dropped the other day, and it fell heavily. I received my fifth and final rejection letter from my alma mater, so I won’t be attending any PhD program this coming autumn. To be honest, I felt rather stoic about it, though it is a dream deferred. I had already given up hope a few weeks back. It didn’t feel like I was going to get in. The head of the department kindly offered me the opportunity to find out why I was rejected (read both sarcastically and sincerely); I’m going to take him up on it later.

So, what now? That’s what J and I were thinking. We’d been waiting for months to find out what our lives would look like and had been putting lots of potential plans on hold for too long. The immediate question we faced was, do we stay in Colorado? The longer I am away from the Midwest, the more I miss it. I like its sensibility and sincerity. However, the Centennial State has factors working in its favor also: we both have jobs, we know (some) people, and we might be able to purchase a house. For those reasons, we’re staying in the greater Denver area, at least for a few more years.

As for me, I do not intend to work at the bank any longer than necessary. It’s not a terrible gig, but it’s hardly my vocation. I’m going to try to get an ad junct position at a local college if I can. I know some people there already, and, as we all know, it’s not what you know…

Sure, it’s disappointing to be turned down, but perhaps it’s not so bad. It’s very difficult to get a job in higher education these days, so maybe a wait will help me in the long run. This will be especially true if I can publish a bit and get some teaching experience in the meanwhile. We’ll keep you updated on what’s happening out here. Thank you deeply for all the prayers, wishes, and kind thoughts that were sent our way recently, and for those of you who can/wish to, you’ve got some extra time to come visit us. There are one or two cool things to do, I hear. Oh, and there are mountains.