The Habitat
Bunch Bishop Dwenger High
They came to Pontotoc from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. There were fourteen
of them, students and teachers from Bishop Dwenger High School, a Catholic
school with an enrolment of 1064 students. A similar group from the same
high school was here during Spring Break, and the most recent group included
five, two sponsors (Casey and Katie) and three students (Amanda, Jamie and
Ben) who had made the trip during spring break. They brought with them Nora,
Lea, Doug, Matt, Jill, Joe, Megan, Jen, and Andy.
They came as volunteers to work on three houses under construction by Pontotoc
County Habitat for Humanity, houses in the new Circle of Hope Subdivision
just off Clark Street. The work they did might be described as humanitarian,
for their efforts will make it possible for three Pontotoc County families
to one day live the American Dream to own a home which provides decent,
affordable housing.
Volunteers such as these from Bishop Dwenger High School, college students
who arrive here as volunteers participating in Habitat’s collegiate
challenge program, as well as groups of skilled volunteers from other regions
of the country provide a valuable service for the local chapter of Habitat
for Humanity, International. They pay their own expenses to get here and
are responsible for their breakfast meals and lunches. In turn, the local
Habitat affiliate recruits local churches, organizations, and individuals
to prepare or provide evening meals for the groups of volunteers, and the
affiliate provides sleeping accommodations, usually arranging for the volunteers
to use the family life facilities of one of the area churches. In addition
to providing physical labor, volunteer groups also make a monetary donation
to the local affiliate.
While it may sound like the local affiliate is the chief beneficiary, it
must not be forgotten that the volunteers are rewarded as well. Volunteers
from outside the state of Mississippi get a generous dose of Southern
Hospitality, which is priceless, all while enjoying something of a vacation
away from home. Plus, they gain valuable experience in housing construction
as well as important social skills by interacting with one another and with
those who welcome them here.
As I review the names of the volunteers, I have an advantage over most of
those who read this newsletter, in that I can put a face with a name and
for the most part am able to remember something specific about each volunteer.
The two sponsors, Casey and Katie, are teachers at Bishop Dwenger and are
both younger than thirty. Casey teaches classes in Theology and Katie teaches
French. Each has the leadership qualities and organizational skills necessary
to make a successful road trip with a group of energetic teens. Casey sports
a crew cut hairstyle with a close cropped goatee and mustache. While it’s
easy to draw Casey into a conversation, his sometimes solemn and introspective
look is probably intimidating to the shy or timid individual. Katie makes
conversation easily, and her blue eyes and quick laugh are added assets.
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Casey Ryan |
Jamie Black, Amanda Lyon |
Amanda, whom I have previously noted in an earlier article as being like
my niece, Felicia, especially with regard to her personality, did little
to change my impressions of her on this most recent visit. And, like Felicia,
she showed once more a tinge of jealously if my attentions were dominated
by one of her peers, such as Nora.
Nora quickly found southern speech to her liking and spent a lot of time
working on developing a southern accent. She got pretty good at pronouncing
"sweet tea," with a southern drawl, and much to my consternation, took great
delight in mispronouncing other words, such as Tupelo and kudzu. I made the
mistake of mentioning Elvis to her and was thereafter erroneously identified
by Nora as a childhood friend of Elvis.
Matt and Joe are brothers. Matt brought along his guitar, which he used to
serenade a couple of the girls at the table where I ate on Wednesday night.
Joe was introduced to me as Matt’s brother, which marked him unfairly
for the rest of the week in my mind as being secondary, and that’s probably
the reason I don’t recall anything special about Joe, though I’m
certain he’s as unique as all the rest.
Andy had blondish curly hair, the only guy with such, and it was easy for
me to remember his name. Doug wore glasses and had dark hair. I memorized
the names of all the students on Tuesday night, but Doug was the one whose
name I could not remember when I joined the group again on Thursday evening.
Doug also plays a pretty mean game of Ping-Pong.
Lea, I was told, has a beautiful singing voice. I asked her what she liked
to sing and where. She told me she enjoyed singing in church. While I
didn’t hear her singing voice, she wrote Barbara and me a thank you
note in which she promised, "Maybe next time."
Jill was cute and quiet, or at least quiet compared to some of the girls
in the group. I think she was one of the youngest as well, which might account
for her not asserting herself more strongly.
Jen, like Jill was blonde and cute, but she was older and more assertive.
I found myself spending more time with Jen and Nora than I did with Amanda,
which prompted Amanda to comment, "Wayne, I feel betrayed!"
Jamie and Megan are writers, but I didn’t discover that until their
last night here. Jamie has a blog, which is a personal Internet webpage.
Blogs allow users to express themselves and interact with others on the Internet
who have similar interest. Megan was the editor of Bishop Dwenger’s
online school newsletter.
I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know this group of
youngsters and am complimented by their interest in my family and this community.
There’s probably a small group of high school students somewhere in
America that’s more mature, better behaved, more committed to helping
others and having a good time in the process, but I’ll wager such a
group will be hard to find.
There’s a possibility some of this group will be back this fall, as
Casey strives to form another group of volunteers and bring them to Pontotoc
to work on Habitat houses, but some, who were seniors this year will be enrolled
in college.
Washing
Surprise What's In Your Washer
I receive a lot of phone calls during the course of the average week. Most
calls are from store retailers or persons working in a supermarket who need
help with something pertaining to technology. The questions I'm asked range
from the procedural "How do I…?" and the quizzical "What makes…?"
to the sometimes frantic, "When can you be here?"
Perhaps the most unusual question I've been asked all year was the one by
my wife just a few days ago, though it had little to do with technology.
Imagine my surprise to answer my office phone and hear my wife's first words,
"Wayne, why is there a jar of Prego in the top of the washer?"
It was a question I should have expected, but having forgotten I had put
the Prego in the washer, I was caught off guard, and the best I could answer
was, "Well, it's part of a grand experiment of mine."
The full explanation for readers of this newsletter is slightly more involved.
First of all, the agitator in our aging washing machine doesn't work as well
as it once did. It still agitates, but it does so less vigorously than it
should. I don't wash clothes often, or I'd probably have noticed the problem
sooner, but a month or so ago, I observed the agitator was not functioning
properly. It would agitate strongly for a stroke or two, then resume a gentle
motion for several seconds before agitating strongly again. Though the washer
is mechanically weak, it and the detergent do the work expected and clothes
come out clean. So, there hasn't been a great urgency to have Durwood Young
look into the agitator problem.
Secondly, our washer is made by Whirlpool, and the agitator of this particular
model has a detergent dispenser mounted on top of the agitator. The dispenser
has a plastic cap fitted on it, so at first glance one might not even notice.
But, if one lifts the cap, the dispenser is clearly visible. I suppose, the
manufacturer dreamed up the device as a means to evenly distribute washing
powder after the wash cycle began.
Thirdly, I accidentally discovered the agitator worked better if I pressed
down with the palm of my hand on the top of the dispenser when it was in
a wash cycle. However, it's not practical to stand alongside the washer with
the lid raised in order to press down on the agitator to make it work better.
The weight of a couple of bricks would probably be sufficient to keep the
agitator functioning properly, but there's not a good way to keep the bricks
balanced on the agitator.
Finally, while Barbara and Sarah were having a high-old time in New York,
it occurred to me to try placing a heavy object in the dispenser. My first
trial, a 14.5 oz. can of green beans, fit completely inside the dispenser
but didn't produce the desired results. After searching the pantry for heavier
cylindrical shaped object, I picked up a jar of spaghetti sauce and tried
it. It was too tall, but it fit inside the dispenser. The dispenser's cap
would not fasten, but with the washer's lid closed, it wouldn't fall off,
either. The spaghetti sauce, at two pounds six and ounces, was not heavy
enough to replicate palm-pressure, but it helped the agitator function better.
I don't know if I'll have the washer fixed by the time of the backyard fish
fry in July, as I'm saving my pennies for the party, but if you want to check
the laundry room when you're here, feel free to do so. You may just find
a jar of Prego Spaghetti sauce sitting in the top of the washer.
New York Visit
Sarah Shares Sunday Experience
Barbara and Sarah have recently returned from a four-night stay in New York
City. They had a wonderful time and a truly educational experience.
My dad's younger brother, Lamar Carter, has lived in New York for the past
forty years or so. He graciously prepared a schedule of entertainment, dining,
events, and sights for the three of them to enjoy.
I hope between the two tourists, I’ll be able to share several of their
adventures through their respective writing talents. This week, Sarah shares
one of their experiences.
The Cloisters - by Sarah Carter Brown
On Sunday, Uncle Lamar took Barbara and me to see The Cloisters, located
within Fort Tryon Park. The Cloisters is referred to as the medieval
outpost of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, overlooking the Hudson River.
An impressive overlook of the Hudson River was one of the first stops on
our tour. Barbara and I liked to think of Uncle Lamar as our private tour
guide. Just for fun, I Googled "The Cloisters" and "Unicorn Tapestries" and
found some pretty good photographs for those who are interested in Medieval
Art. There is an impressive panoramic view of the terrace overlooking the
Hudson River.
The interlocking cloisters are reconstructions of five French monasteries.
The nucleus of the collection was formed by the private collection of American
sculptor, George Grey Barnard. Barnard had purchased medieval sculpture and
architectural elements from French farmers and local French magistrates who
had acquired works of art abandoned after the French Revolution. Barnard's
collection was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with funds donated
by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The Cloisters was erected between 1934
and 1938 on the site also donated by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
The cloister of old was a monastery devoted to religious seclusion, however
it is also defined as an open colonnade running along wall of buildings,
which faces a quadrangle. Gardens, chapels, and rooms filled with sculpture,
tapestries, books, ceramics, metal works, stained glass, and even burial
boxes carved from stone make up the various collections we saw.
I was particularly taken with the Unicorn Tapestries, which were woven in
Brussels about 1500.
The tapestries depict the hunt and capture of the unicorn. I stood admiring
the craftsmanship and thought of Judy Rutledge who shares a love of needlework
with me. Perhaps somewhere in our ancestry we share a gene for needlecrafts.
If Judy had been with me, we probably would have come home and started looking
for a loom.
We also viewed the Nine Heroes Tapestries, which show heroes from ancient
Hebrew and Christian history. Of course, I cannot recall a single tapestry
from this series. It is amazing that we saw so much in such a short time
that some details are lost from my memory.
I do remember the Campin Room because a tour group was receiving a lecture
on the renowned triptych of the Annunciation by Robert Campin, which is contained
in that room. Campin painted the piece about 1425 and Mary is depicted in
the fashion of that time period and not her real life period. The room also
contains domestic furnishing from the late Middle Ages. The thick doors and
latticed windows caught my attention.
The Fuentiduena Chapel is a mid-twelfth-century apse from the church of San
Martin at Fuentiduena (Segovia) with twelfth-century sculpture from Austria,
Spain, Italy, and the Meuse River.
The Romanesque Hall consists of four stone portals from French churches ranging
from the mid-twelfth-century through the mid-thirteenth century. It has Spanish
frescoes from that time period and French and Italian wood sculpture from
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Lastly, we viewed the Cuxa Cloister, which has twelfth-century elements from
the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, located in the Pyrenees.
It also has early Gothic sculpture from France and is a typical cloister
garden organized with crossed paths and a central fountain. The garden contains
both medieval and modern species of plants. I was able to recognize some
basil. I left this area determined to start an herb garden during my retirement
years.
The only drawback was the lack of air-conditioning at The Cloisters.
Several fans were set up, but it was terribly hot. I remember telling Barbara
that the last time I was that hot was when Daddy made me pick cotton. For
someone who hates to sweat, much less have other people see me sweat, I think
I held up pretty well. I would love to spend an entire day touring The
Cloisters during cool weather.
We did not get to tour every section because of time constraints. We were
on a pretty tight schedule in order to get back to the Lincoln Center in
time for the matinee performance of A Light in the Piazza, but that
is a story for another time.
Bodock Beau
Lines From Leno
The king of late-night comedy is Jay Leno. Surely, Letterman fans will dispute
the claim, but I prefer the brand of humor Jay serves.
Jay Leno.... Well the big story, the Los Angeles Police Department
announced they will no longer arrest famous people who break the law. What's
the point? .... I bet Russell Crowe wishes he threw that phone at
somebody in Los Angeles, huh? .... The three big areas for job openings
in California over the next decade are computer technicians, medical researchers
and district attorneys. That's what they need. .... Here's an interesting
statistic -- according to "Cosmo", over 30% of men between the ages of 18
and 34 still live with their parents. These men are known as "Star Wars"
fans. .... Major heat wave in India -- 122 degrees today. It was so
hot people in India were sweating like Americans waiting to hear if their
job is being outsourced to India. .... A top Taliban member said today
that Osama bin Laden is alive and well, which is great because that means
we can still kill him. .... McDonald's has announced they're going
to start selling their own skateboards and bikes. Apparently they feel our
kids have gotten so fat and lazy now, the only way to get them to a McDonald's
is to roll them in.
Borrowed from The Federalist Patriot
05-25 Chronicle
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