I recall only two overarching boyhood dreams. The first (probably more fantasy than dream) was to be a professional baseball player-especially one in the image of New York Giant Mel Ott. Didn’t we even share the same given name? During the baseball season I would hurry home from school, dig into the sports page of the newspaper and look at the stats for Mel Ott. Someday only the last name would be changed. That dream, of course, died young.
My second dream was to be Lutheran parochial school teacher-just like my dad. That was a wonderful calling. Dad was one of the most respected persons in our entire rural community. He was a TEACHER. People asked for his opinion. He wore a white shirt, tie, coat and freshly polished black shoes to school-every day. When boys who had graduated from Zion Lutheran school went off to serve in World War II the one person they made sure to write letters to was my father. Since he was also the church’s organist and choir director he played a major role at every wedding, funeral, baptism, anniversary. He even directed the brass band on a special bandstand at the annual school picnic. Lutheran schoolteacher, that was my dream. I never even considered any other option.
Thus I was shocked once (and only once) when my mother startled me (I must have been about 6 years old) when she looked at me with loving eyes and asked, “Melvin, are you sure you want to a Lutheran school teacher? Surely there must be some better option!”I now know that she asked this question out of a specific reality. It was during the depression and the congregation had been unable to pay dad his salary. We have even become dependent upon her more affluent brothers and sisters for clothes and extra food. Also there had been some conflict ion the congregation and some unkind things had been said about my dad. Mother spoke tome out of genuine mother’s love. I explained to Mother that I had only one dream and was hanging on to that. She never again suggested an alternative and loved and supported me throughout my career and even told me she was proud to be my mother.
As I now look back to that dream of some eight decades ago I affirm that it was a good dream- and the realty of my career far exceeded my wildest dreams.
*NOTE: This is one in a series of six blog entries related to a presentation I will make at the 2010 Lutheran Education Association National Administrators Conference in New Orleans in February 2010.
Following that my blog will again be more in the All Things Considered category.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Pat Robertson and Other Religious Figures
Well, Pat Robertson has done it again. He asserted that the terrible hurricane which hit Haiti is the result of a pact the Haitians made with the devil long ago and that deal made long ago to sell their souls in return for freedom from the French has now come back to strike them with unimaginable devastation.
This kind of logic and religious belief is not new for Mr. Robertson. He has, of course claimed that Florida hurricanes of 2004-05 were because Disney had Gay Day at its Parks. Katrina was brought down by God in anger over the sins of Bourbon Street. Even 9-11 was essentially self-inflicted and sent by an angry God.
Naturally, I do not lay these disasters at the feet of a vengeful God. Rather the God whom I worship sees people hurting and suffering and weeps and calls us to reach out in compassion and sacrificial care.
Yet there is more. I think this is a time for leading spokespersons of the Christian faith-and especially those with an evangelical leaning to publicly and insistently speak out. They should say, “Pat Robertson does not reflect Biblical (and especially Christian) thinking or dogma. He is wrong.” Authentic Christianity points to a God with a special heart for those who hurt, and who mourns in sympathy with all who suffer loss and pain.
While I ask the Christian leaders to do this in connection with Robertson, I make a similar appeal to leaders in the Muslim world in their response to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. I would hope that every time an Islamic terrorist claims to take or attempts to take innocent life in the name of God and hope for eternal blessing, that leaders in that world should proclaim loud and clear, “This is not what we believe. This is not the Islam which we preach.”
Let us all, if we must speak in the name of God, speak of a God who calls us all to strive for peace, prosperity and a reverence for life.
This kind of logic and religious belief is not new for Mr. Robertson. He has, of course claimed that Florida hurricanes of 2004-05 were because Disney had Gay Day at its Parks. Katrina was brought down by God in anger over the sins of Bourbon Street. Even 9-11 was essentially self-inflicted and sent by an angry God.
Naturally, I do not lay these disasters at the feet of a vengeful God. Rather the God whom I worship sees people hurting and suffering and weeps and calls us to reach out in compassion and sacrificial care.
Yet there is more. I think this is a time for leading spokespersons of the Christian faith-and especially those with an evangelical leaning to publicly and insistently speak out. They should say, “Pat Robertson does not reflect Biblical (and especially Christian) thinking or dogma. He is wrong.” Authentic Christianity points to a God with a special heart for those who hurt, and who mourns in sympathy with all who suffer loss and pain.
While I ask the Christian leaders to do this in connection with Robertson, I make a similar appeal to leaders in the Muslim world in their response to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. I would hope that every time an Islamic terrorist claims to take or attempts to take innocent life in the name of God and hope for eternal blessing, that leaders in that world should proclaim loud and clear, “This is not what we believe. This is not the Islam which we preach.”
Let us all, if we must speak in the name of God, speak of a God who calls us all to strive for peace, prosperity and a reverence for life.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Horror:Lutheran School Finances
For centuries Lutheran school around the world have been blessed by the outstanding commitment, skills, and sacrifices of their administrators. Each year their task becomes more complicated. Today’s Lutheran school administrator and especially also the preschool administrators need to manage not only academic excellence and Christian distinctiveness but also public relations, buildings, heightened parental expectation, ever changing regulations, public health issues-and finances. And when it comes to finances some meet the challenge exceedingly well. Other cannot cope and end up with horror stories
The Lutheran preschool director from New Jersey was in tears as she spoke with me on the phone She had consistently withheld all FICA (Social security, income tax etc.) payment from her staff. However she had never sent in those funds to the appropriate government agencies She had needed the funds just to keep her much loved school functioning. The day of reckoning came when she heard from the IRS. First, she cleared out her own personal bank account in an effort to keep her school alive. That was not enough. She knew she had to report the situation to her Church officers, When they would find out, she was sure she would be fired. She reported, was fired and the school was closed
The national offices of the Lutheran Church asked me to pay a visit to the Lutheran school in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Something down there didn’t seem to be going well. I was happy to investigate. After all this school is one of the oldest Lutheran schools in the Western Hemisphere. I was pleased with what I found, good teaching-learning. The top citizens of that island were sending their children to this school. The principal was new. Finally I asked him if there were any significant problems. He hastened to explain. “You see, “ he said I have been withholding FICA payments but have not sent them in to the USA Government to which we are accountable for them and now I have received word from them of our delinquency. I don’t even have the money for the base amount, much less for the deferred interest penalties.” .I asked him if his school board had a plan to deal with this. He replied, “Oh, no. I haven’t told them yet. There is a meeting with them tonight and I was hoping you would tell them this story and give us directions for solving this problem.” At the end of the term the school closed.
But the saddest of these horror stories took place in New York. The school was large and excellent. Teachers ,pupils and families were all cared for. Learning was taking place. Self-esteem was being built. So I was startled to get a telephone call shortly after midnight. One of their best teachers (a single mother ) was calling. She was calling from her hospital bed-and she was devastated by two terrible pieces of news she had just received, First she had been diagnosed with a fatal disease with a very short life expectancy. Secondly, the hospital finance department had called to tell her that her medical insurance was not in effect because the school had not submitted the monthly premiums. As she was trying to cope with this , another though flashed in to her mind . “I wonder if the school has sent in the pension and retirement fees they had deducted from her monthly salary.These were critical for the survival of her daughter. She said she knew it was after midnight but she wondered if I could do any thing about at once and come to the hospital to give her some hope.
To my (and her dismay ) we learned that , in fact , the school had sent in neither health premiums nor retirement deductions for over a year !
I grieved deeply at her Memorial Service only a short time later.
A bit of good news in the midst of it. I contacted our wonderfully caring and competent attorney Howard lapel and he got right on the case. Together with his associate they got the Internal revenue Service to drop all interest and penalty charges and arranged for time payment of the balance. And the Lutheran Church at the national level came through in a very compassionate way to assist with the medical bill and survivor benefits.
The lesson has been relearned; when finances are not handled appropriately the results create incredible horror stories.
The Lutheran preschool director from New Jersey was in tears as she spoke with me on the phone She had consistently withheld all FICA (Social security, income tax etc.) payment from her staff. However she had never sent in those funds to the appropriate government agencies She had needed the funds just to keep her much loved school functioning. The day of reckoning came when she heard from the IRS. First, she cleared out her own personal bank account in an effort to keep her school alive. That was not enough. She knew she had to report the situation to her Church officers, When they would find out, she was sure she would be fired. She reported, was fired and the school was closed
The national offices of the Lutheran Church asked me to pay a visit to the Lutheran school in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Something down there didn’t seem to be going well. I was happy to investigate. After all this school is one of the oldest Lutheran schools in the Western Hemisphere. I was pleased with what I found, good teaching-learning. The top citizens of that island were sending their children to this school. The principal was new. Finally I asked him if there were any significant problems. He hastened to explain. “You see, “ he said I have been withholding FICA payments but have not sent them in to the USA Government to which we are accountable for them and now I have received word from them of our delinquency. I don’t even have the money for the base amount, much less for the deferred interest penalties.” .I asked him if his school board had a plan to deal with this. He replied, “Oh, no. I haven’t told them yet. There is a meeting with them tonight and I was hoping you would tell them this story and give us directions for solving this problem.” At the end of the term the school closed.
But the saddest of these horror stories took place in New York. The school was large and excellent. Teachers ,pupils and families were all cared for. Learning was taking place. Self-esteem was being built. So I was startled to get a telephone call shortly after midnight. One of their best teachers (a single mother ) was calling. She was calling from her hospital bed-and she was devastated by two terrible pieces of news she had just received, First she had been diagnosed with a fatal disease with a very short life expectancy. Secondly, the hospital finance department had called to tell her that her medical insurance was not in effect because the school had not submitted the monthly premiums. As she was trying to cope with this , another though flashed in to her mind . “I wonder if the school has sent in the pension and retirement fees they had deducted from her monthly salary.These were critical for the survival of her daughter. She said she knew it was after midnight but she wondered if I could do any thing about at once and come to the hospital to give her some hope.
To my (and her dismay ) we learned that , in fact , the school had sent in neither health premiums nor retirement deductions for over a year !
I grieved deeply at her Memorial Service only a short time later.
A bit of good news in the midst of it. I contacted our wonderfully caring and competent attorney Howard lapel and he got right on the case. Together with his associate they got the Internal revenue Service to drop all interest and penalty charges and arranged for time payment of the balance. And the Lutheran Church at the national level came through in a very compassionate way to assist with the medical bill and survivor benefits.
The lesson has been relearned; when finances are not handled appropriately the results create incredible horror stories.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Horror Story:Home
Breakfast at our home in Hong Kong in the early sixties was probably like breakfast in many homes; kids and adults gotta eat, everyone needs to be properly dressed for work and school with lunches packed and milk glasses drained. And it's time for morning prayers. In the midst of all this I suddenly heard a scream from nine-month-old son Tim. He had gotten away from the table and was on the floor. He had discovered the basket of washed and dried clothes waiting to be put away. Inside the basket he had found a wire coat hanger. In the process of playing with it he had managed to get the hanger hook lodged between his eyeball and his eye socket. Amidst his screams he was frantically swinging the hanger back and forth. I picked him up and slowly withdrew the hanger.
Then it was off to the emergency room, always a nightmare. When we arrived we saw what we always saw at street clinics – a line of persons waiting that stretched to the end of the block. Never one wanting to claim any special treatment I held Tim in my arms and went to the end of the line.
However, in only a matter of minutes a staff person was there and invited us to the head of the line. My desire to see my son treated speedily overcame my reluctance to accept special treatment because of my “foreign status”.
The doctor examined the eye. He noted a gouge in the eyeball, but said that it was not too deep. He applied some antibiotic ointment, assured us that he saw to it that it got to the bottom of the gouge and sent us home
Tim’s eye healed well. But there are still moments when in my mind’s eye I see that hanger being shaken, attached to Tim’s eye socket. And the horror returns.
Then it was off to the emergency room, always a nightmare. When we arrived we saw what we always saw at street clinics – a line of persons waiting that stretched to the end of the block. Never one wanting to claim any special treatment I held Tim in my arms and went to the end of the line.
However, in only a matter of minutes a staff person was there and invited us to the head of the line. My desire to see my son treated speedily overcame my reluctance to accept special treatment because of my “foreign status”.
The doctor examined the eye. He noted a gouge in the eyeball, but said that it was not too deep. He applied some antibiotic ointment, assured us that he saw to it that it got to the bottom of the gouge and sent us home
Tim’s eye healed well. But there are still moments when in my mind’s eye I see that hanger being shaken, attached to Tim’s eye socket. And the horror returns.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Books
It was a wonderful Christmas. The midnight service was inspiring. Christmas brunch perfect. The roads were safe for travel. The whole family (with one lone exception) had gathered from all across the USA and even the four from England had arrived. Gifts were being opened (from the oldest person to the youngest- a nearly 100 year old family tradition). I noticed a pattern (How could anyone ignore it!) Everybody on the list was giving and receiving books. I pulled out my pad and listed the titles (here re-recorded in alphabetical order).
A Rule Against Murder; Awakening; Confederates in the Attic; Coders at Work:Reflections on the Craft of Programmers; Complete Poems of Yehuda Amichai; Crimes in the City; Crocodile Tears; Der Kuntz daz Flirten; Fix-It and Forget It-Lightly; Godel,Escher, Bach:An Eternal Triangle; Godel’s Proof; Great Short Stories of Herman Melville; Have a Little Faith; How Zen Became Zen; Keep The Faith; Of Blood and Sorrow; Sayings of the Buddha; Slow Cooker Cookbook; Stones into Schools; The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis; The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes; The History of Chocolate; The Iliad; The Last Lion;The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy; The Magician:Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Feanel; The Name of This Book is Secret: The Odyssey; The Outliers; The Truth Sayers; The Workshop Book. (Obviously the other 42 new titles entered into a Kindle are not included)
What a gift. All the worlds of mystery, drama, religions, science, philosophy, cooking, poetry; math-they are all there.
I find myself surprised that I am such a reader. It was not modeled for me in the home or early years. I do not recall my father ever reading a book other than the Bible, Bible Commentaries or devotional literature. My mom was not a reader. (How could she be with 9 kids and no automatic clothes washer?) In my little 2-room grade school there was no library. Yet I was taught to read and to enjoy books and for that I am grateful. My life, my mind, my faith, my insights continue to be illuminated by books.
Of the making of books (and now of blogs) there is no end. Thank God.
A Rule Against Murder; Awakening; Confederates in the Attic; Coders at Work:Reflections on the Craft of Programmers; Complete Poems of Yehuda Amichai; Crimes in the City; Crocodile Tears; Der Kuntz daz Flirten; Fix-It and Forget It-Lightly; Godel,Escher, Bach:An Eternal Triangle; Godel’s Proof; Great Short Stories of Herman Melville; Have a Little Faith; How Zen Became Zen; Keep The Faith; Of Blood and Sorrow; Sayings of the Buddha; Slow Cooker Cookbook; Stones into Schools; The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis; The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes; The History of Chocolate; The Iliad; The Last Lion;The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy; The Magician:Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Feanel; The Name of This Book is Secret: The Odyssey; The Outliers; The Truth Sayers; The Workshop Book. (Obviously the other 42 new titles entered into a Kindle are not included)
What a gift. All the worlds of mystery, drama, religions, science, philosophy, cooking, poetry; math-they are all there.
I find myself surprised that I am such a reader. It was not modeled for me in the home or early years. I do not recall my father ever reading a book other than the Bible, Bible Commentaries or devotional literature. My mom was not a reader. (How could she be with 9 kids and no automatic clothes washer?) In my little 2-room grade school there was no library. Yet I was taught to read and to enjoy books and for that I am grateful. My life, my mind, my faith, my insights continue to be illuminated by books.
Of the making of books (and now of blogs) there is no end. Thank God.
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