I hope everyone had a joyous and restful Christmas. Our house was full again, for the first time since 'Ribfest' in June. We had seen our son Nate and his wife Alicia and 'Mister B' in Pittsburgh, when we drove out for an early Christmas in the middle of December. Our daughter Elizabeth and her husband Eric arrived from Iowa City on the Friday before Christmas, bringing Buddha, their French Bulldog puppy. Annie flew in from New Jersey on Sunday, and we had Margaret and her husband Nathan and little Elijah over from Waterman several times, including on Christmas Day. So it was like a big house party, and we had a lot of fun. We went to breakfast at Egg Haven, the Eaton Family get-together at Uncle Jim and Aunt Beth's in Pecatonica on Christmas Eve, mass on Christmas Day, the girls went to the movies, we did all the things that make our holiday. Lots of good food and drink, and a lot of laughs.
Now we have New Year's Day to look forward to. That's a very different sort of holiday than Christmas, because it's more social and doesn't have the element of worship associated with it, although it is a Holy Day of Obligation. I've always liked New Year's because it means getting a fresh start, which sounds like an awful cliche but is in fact quite true. It seems like there are always a lot of things about myself that I'd like to change and do differently, and New Year's gives me the incentive to become a better person. With the exception of Elijah, who entered our lives in January, I wasn't much of a fan of 2012. I hope 2013 is a better year, for all of us.
One thing I'll definitely be doing on New Year's Day is watching the NIU Huskies football team play in the Orange Bowl. We live in DeKalb County, and NIU is only a few minutes away. People here are very excited about the Huskies crashing the BCS this year. There's a big 'chip on our shoulder' element to it, because so many of the media elite are contemptuous of the Huskies, and think they don't belong in a BCS bowl game. A local gas station had a sign posted telling ESPN to 'Suck Our Oranges!' I got to see a couple of games last season, with my sons-in-law, so I've become kind of a fan. It would be a great boost for the whole community if the team did well. Go Huskies!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas Gets in the Way...Thank God
I got in trouble once for suggesting something that I thought would make our lives easier. We have a small alcove in our living room, a nook formed by the outside walls and the fireplace. I thought it would be a great idea to put the Christmas tree in there when we put it up the first week of December. It would fit just right, and that would get it out of the way of all the other furniture, and we wouldn’t have to walk around it for a month. Sounded like a winner to me.
We went ahead and did it, but I was the only one who supported the change. Everyone else in the family, the kids and my wife, hated the new placement of the tree with great passion. They preferred the old way, in which the tree (and piles of presents) sat virtually right in the middle of the living room, in front of the outside windows. We’ve never done it differently since.
Christmas is almost here again, and I’ve been thinking about why the placement of the tree is so important. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the FUNCTION of Christmas to be disruptive. The Christmas tree just reflects that role.
Think about it - we spend so much of our lives devoted to our schedules and routines, especially in the areas of getting and spending. We know where we’re going at every moment. We have to make a real effort to keep things in order, because only order will help us get through the day. Then, with beautiful regularity, along comes Christmas. All of a sudden, we’re spending more than we ought, we’re talking to people we barely notice the rest of the year, we’re getting together with relatives we almost never see. We cram our houses full of lights and gaudy bric-a-brac, we make special desserts and treats we don’t really need, and we stay up much longer than we should. And right in the middle of everything is that big fat Christmas tree, taking up so much space that we can’t see around it. And that’s just the way it should be, because we need the break from stifling routine. We need to see those people and eat those delicious, fatty cookies. We need to go to church and the office party. The routine will always be there waiting for us, after the New Year.
Christmas, it’s a pain. And God bless it.
We went ahead and did it, but I was the only one who supported the change. Everyone else in the family, the kids and my wife, hated the new placement of the tree with great passion. They preferred the old way, in which the tree (and piles of presents) sat virtually right in the middle of the living room, in front of the outside windows. We’ve never done it differently since.
Christmas is almost here again, and I’ve been thinking about why the placement of the tree is so important. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the FUNCTION of Christmas to be disruptive. The Christmas tree just reflects that role.
Think about it - we spend so much of our lives devoted to our schedules and routines, especially in the areas of getting and spending. We know where we’re going at every moment. We have to make a real effort to keep things in order, because only order will help us get through the day. Then, with beautiful regularity, along comes Christmas. All of a sudden, we’re spending more than we ought, we’re talking to people we barely notice the rest of the year, we’re getting together with relatives we almost never see. We cram our houses full of lights and gaudy bric-a-brac, we make special desserts and treats we don’t really need, and we stay up much longer than we should. And right in the middle of everything is that big fat Christmas tree, taking up so much space that we can’t see around it. And that’s just the way it should be, because we need the break from stifling routine. We need to see those people and eat those delicious, fatty cookies. We need to go to church and the office party. The routine will always be there waiting for us, after the New Year.
Christmas, it’s a pain. And God bless it.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thumbs up for the 'Bagginses'
I've seen 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' twice now, once with each of my Nates. It's pretty long at 3 hours, and it's only the first of a trilogy. The look and feel of the movie matches 'The Lord of the Rings' very well, and I think that's the main thing the filmmakers were trying to accomplish.
Lovers of J. R. R. Tolkien's books are well aware that 'The Hobbit' is a much slighter, lighter story than the LOTR. It's not concerned with the end of the world, but with a bunch of little people that are going off on an adventure. There are small hints in the text and the footnotes that the world is not as it should be, and that evil is getting stronger, but nothing is too explicit. Peter Jackson and his colleagues have taken those hints, expanded them, and used them to tie this prequel to the LOTR.
Jackson and Co. have also brought in several other characters, such as Galadriel, that never appear in 'The Hobbit', and have given names to some of them, such as the King of the Woodland Elves, that never are named in the book. Some of that detail comes from 'The Silmarillion', and some from the various appendices that Tolkien wrote. I think that after 'The Hobbit' was successful Professor Tolkien realized he was onto a good thing, and started to expand his world as much as possible. That 'back story' forms a lot of the additional material in the films that purists will say is just filler.
To my mind, the biggest change in the film from the book is the motivation of the dwarf band. The movie has Thorin Oakenshield leading a bunch of freedom fighters, who are like the Jews banding together to reestablish their homeland after 1948. That sounds pretty noble, but it's not the way Professor Tolkien wrote it. In 'The Hobbit', the dwarves are primarily interested in getting their gold back - the wish to recapture their ancient kingdom under the Lonely Mountain is secondary. The big battle at the end of the book is ALL about the gold. Everybody wants a piece of it. I expect that the filmmakers were falling in with a modern sensibility which says that heroes should NEVER be motivated by greed. Profit is crass these days, right?
All in all though, I have to say I enjoyed the film very much. I always like a big, sprawling story with a lot of things going on, and Mr. Jackson and his colleagues certainly know how to deliver that. It's well worth your money, if you get a chance to see it.
Lovers of J. R. R. Tolkien's books are well aware that 'The Hobbit' is a much slighter, lighter story than the LOTR. It's not concerned with the end of the world, but with a bunch of little people that are going off on an adventure. There are small hints in the text and the footnotes that the world is not as it should be, and that evil is getting stronger, but nothing is too explicit. Peter Jackson and his colleagues have taken those hints, expanded them, and used them to tie this prequel to the LOTR.
Jackson and Co. have also brought in several other characters, such as Galadriel, that never appear in 'The Hobbit', and have given names to some of them, such as the King of the Woodland Elves, that never are named in the book. Some of that detail comes from 'The Silmarillion', and some from the various appendices that Tolkien wrote. I think that after 'The Hobbit' was successful Professor Tolkien realized he was onto a good thing, and started to expand his world as much as possible. That 'back story' forms a lot of the additional material in the films that purists will say is just filler.
To my mind, the biggest change in the film from the book is the motivation of the dwarf band. The movie has Thorin Oakenshield leading a bunch of freedom fighters, who are like the Jews banding together to reestablish their homeland after 1948. That sounds pretty noble, but it's not the way Professor Tolkien wrote it. In 'The Hobbit', the dwarves are primarily interested in getting their gold back - the wish to recapture their ancient kingdom under the Lonely Mountain is secondary. The big battle at the end of the book is ALL about the gold. Everybody wants a piece of it. I expect that the filmmakers were falling in with a modern sensibility which says that heroes should NEVER be motivated by greed. Profit is crass these days, right?
All in all though, I have to say I enjoyed the film very much. I always like a big, sprawling story with a lot of things going on, and Mr. Jackson and his colleagues certainly know how to deliver that. It's well worth your money, if you get a chance to see it.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Along with the rest of the nation, I'd like to extend my deepest sympathy to the families who lost loved ones in the senseless attack at Newtown, Connecticut. I can't look at pictures of the little victims without being wracked with grief myself, so I can hardly imagine what the survivors are going through. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
How to get Started...
So, now it's time to turn a fresh sheet and begin again. Seems like people don't write diaries or journals these days, they keep a blog. I kind of like the idea of 'self-publishing' in this way, so I thought I'd take a stab at it. I enlisted the help of my trusty writing buddy, my daughter Margaret Rice, and she helped me set up this blogspot. She's a talented writer and an old hand at blogging, and has always shown more discipline to keep writing than her dad, so I thought she'd be a good resource. Her blog, in case you haven't seen it, is at www.sometimesyoujump.blogspot.com.
A few words of self-description: I'm a 53-year old man who's lived all his life in Northern Illinois, except for a 3-month study semester in England when I was in college. The love of my life is a beautiful woman named Kathy, who has put up with me for 31 years. We have 4 kids and 2 lovely grandsons. I worked for many years in a variety of jobs for a major data-processing company, but lost my job to downsizing several months ago.
I promise (mostly to myself) to use this spot to post at least once a week, more if possible. I'll try to keep things clean and non-offensive, but I should probably warn you now, there will be Christian/Catholic content. If we genuinely try to live our faith, it's pretty much impossible not to talk about it. So please bear with me, even if my thoughts are not your thoughts. We'll talk again soon.
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