Zack to the hoop

Zack was just named Marshall Middle School's MVP for the 7th Grade team. We are proud of him of course.

Nate - 3rd report 3-26-2005

Mae Sot (or Tak? I can't figure out which is the town and which is the county? city?)

it is very hot and the boys complain ("It's hot!") though less frequently today than yesterday...

I am on break from the family right now - it is 3 in the afternoon and they all went to a waterfall - I am taking some alone time - chillin by the pool, maybe a nap...

doing pretty good all things considered...

love you

Nate

[NOTE: This photo is one I found on the Internet using Google Images and searching for "Mae Sot" - Steve]

2nd Report from Nate in Thailand 3/24

hi folks -

hope all is well -

now we are in Tak, in Mae Sot, at the Mae Sot Central hotel - it is hot and I got my first mosquito bite of the trip -

oops sounds like we are about to leave for the S.P. restaurant where I will have something with cheese.

much love

Nate

Waiting for a Mouse?

Sometimes Nightshade hopes that Sally will attach a mouse to her laptop computer...

Kathrin, Josh, Sally Jan 2006 In Front of Josh's Workplace

Nate is off to Thailand again

For a couple weeks

I Asked for Wonder

from rabbi Abraham Heschel, I Asked for Wonder [read aloud at end of telephone conference call of Exec. Committee of Friends Assoc for Higher Ed]

Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living. It is all we can offer in return for the mystery by which we live. Who is worthy to be present at the constant unfolding of time? Amidst the meditation of mountains, the humility of flowers - wiser than all alphabets - clouds that die constantly for the sake of God's glory, we are hating, hunting, hurting. Suddenly we feel ashamed of our clashes and complaints in the face of the tacit glory in nature. It is so embarrassing to live! How strange we are in the world, and how presumptuous our doings! Only one response can maintain us: gratefulness for witnessing the wonder, for the gift of our unearned right to serve, to adore, and to fulfill. It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.

Quote a day

I thought it would be fun to share
favorite Quotes if anyone wants to?

Here is one of mine:

" I'm fed up to the ears
with old men dreaming
up wars for young men
to die in." - George McGovern

ps. that was during Vietnam era
now its Young men and Young
women. Bets Stewart

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY TO EVERYONE!
HOPE THE WIND IS AT EVERYONE'S BACK
AND THE BLESSINGS CONTINUE IN ALL
YOUR LIVES! BETS

Memorial for Tom Fox

Tom Fox's body was found 3/10/2006. He was one of four volunteers working in Iraq as part of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) who were abducted in Iraq on Nov. 26, 2005.


[Tom Fox appears 1st on the left in this set of photos of the 4 abductees. The other 3 are still captive.] He was a well-known and respected member of the Quaker community in the greater DC area. He and his family participated actively and often in the camping program.

Excerpt from the Release:
"We Mourn the Loss of Tom Fox"

"... an outpouring of action for justice and peace would be a fitting memorial for Tom. Let us all join our voices on behalf of those who continue to suffer under occupation, whose loved ones have been killed or are missing. In so doing, we may hasten the day when both those who are wrongly detained and those who bear arms will return safely to their homes. In such a peace we will find solace for our grief. "

Full text:http://www.cpt.org/iraq/response/06-10-03statement.htm

Tom Fox wrote in October (quoted in CPT Website Nov 30, 2005):

"It seems easier somehow to confront anger within my heart than it is to confront fear. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right then I am not to give in to either. I am to stand firm against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm against the soldier. Does that mean I walk into a raging battle to confront the soldiers? Does that mean I walk the streets of Baghdad with a sign saying "American for the Taking?" No to both counts. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I am asked to risk my life, and if I lose it to be as forgiving as they were when murdered by the forces of Satan.

"Standing firm is a struggle, but I'm willing to keep working at it. "

For more of Tom Fox's own writings, see his blog at:
http://www.waitinginthelight.blogspot.com/

Lots of links to related Websites:
http://electroniciraq.net/news/2211.shtml

What a Day!

Here in Maryland we are having the most amazing Saturday!

Those of you in California have weather like this more often than we do, I think.

It's 75 ish, I am sitting on the back porch occasionally looking up from my laptop computer, wearing shorts and listening to Bach's B MInor mass on my iPod. From this vantage point all's right with the world.

While Steve was out walking earlier, I had the mass on as close to full blast as it would go. He said he heard it all the way down the block. I said, "Great!" Often the music we hear in our yard comes from the cars parked waiting to pick up MOntgomery College students. I feel like I'm working toward balance in the universe by playing this glorious music instead of very heavy bass hip hop. "Not that there's anything wrong with that...."

Kathrin left early this morning to go to a camp meeting in Philadelphia. They'll decide who to offer counselor jobs to this summer. She's very excited about the prospect of lots of new counselors. I was impressed that seemed exciting to her. I thought more about having to bring newbies along and what sort of effort that would mean. But in this, she's more generous of spirit than I would be.

Who knows what the weather will be tomorrow or next week. Snow is possible, I suppose. But today it's perfect and lately I'm trying hard to subscribe to the "be here now" philosophy of life.

Let's Keep Working on Our Meds!

"You'll enjoy the way these interact with over-the-counter medication."

Spiritual Quote

"We are all affecting the world every
moment,whether we mean to or not. Our
actions and states of mind matter, be-
cause we are so deeply interconnected
with one another. - Ram Dass

Maybe this can be the world's goal.Bets

Bush Backward Countdown Clock

Sorry, there doesn't seem to be a way to accelerate this clock.

Lightening Up a Little - My Favorite Libation (Except Fresh-Squeezed OJ)

Religion, Science, & Psychotherapy

Religion has historically been the language for people to talk about the things that mattered most to them, aided and abetted by the arts. Science has become the language that has helped people to know what they wanted to know, and get what they wanted to get. Psychotherapy has to occupy the difficult middle ground between them, but without taking sides. Since it is narrow-mindedness that we most often suffer from, we need our therapists to resist the allure of the fashionable certainties.
From:
Above is the last paragraph in "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Measure" By ADAM PHILLIPS, New York Times p.13 February 26, 2006

A film by Eugene Jarecki "Why we fight"

I think this is a movie all of us who have not seen
Why we fight, should go see it. If we really love our
freedom. Bets

Long Beach photos from Lynn

Gilbert family LA love

My mom and I are currently in Los Angeles visiting Lynn and allowing her a few nights in a real bed with a real shower over this lovely Presidents' Day Weekend. Yesterday, we we went for tea at the Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena with Grandma Dorothy, Gary, Noelle, Grace and Lucy. It was an odd little shop- half casual tea cafe, half flower shop, all moderately elegant tchatchkes. The food was excellent and the conversation pleantiful as we loitered for a solid two hours, catching up on eachother's lives. I let Lucy loose with my cameraphone, so she captured some lovely images of the event, none of which managed to include Grandma or more than one person at a time, so I will post my favorites and the picture I took of Grace and Lucy together.

Back at Grandma's house I set up a shortcut link thing for her to more easily post on here, so hopefully we will hear from her soon (hint hint, Grandma, hint hint)!

Love to all.

Mrs. Henderson Presents (R)

Give yourself a treat - don't miss this movie!

2006 Oscar Contender
BEST Performance by a Leading Actress
BEST Achievement in Costume Design
Mrs. Laura Henderson (Oscar nominee Judi Dench) may be a widow but she is by no means going to spend the rest her days playing bridge. The Windmill Theater becomes her game and the infamous showman Vivian Van Dam (Bob Hoskins) becomes her partner and fiercest opponent. The Germans are bombing London but the roar of the Windmill is all that can be heard, as Laura convinces Lord Cromer (Christopher Guest) to allow her actresses to be the one thing no one could ever imagine: Nude. Brought to its knees by war, what "Mrs. Henderson Presents" brings a nation to its feet in applause. (UK, 2005, 103 min, MPAA Rating: R)
Official web site: http://www.mrshendersonthemovie.com/
Movie trailer: Click Here (requires Quicktime)