Dear Family and Friends,
My overview of this past week has been affected in the past couple of days by great sadness and concern for the family of Rodney J. Guilbeaux, Jr., the father of my spiritual director, Denise Donahoe, and the father of our new counselor at St. Louis, Gisele Puckett. Mr. Guilbeaux lived a full and rich life and died at 80 this past week. The funeral was on Saturday morning, and I was able to attend with my friend Joan Vallee-Rettke. That funeral was one of celebration of a man well-loved and a life well-lived, and I was touched by the entourage of his grandchildren who accompanied his casket into the sanctuary for the service. The shock in this is that the very next day, something very tragic happened to one of those grandchildren. Adam Puckett, Gisele's middle son who was married and in his twenties, died in a ski accident on a river in Baton Rouge yesterday afternoon. I can only imagine the shock to his parents and to the entire family based on my own shock at hearing about it. Please hold this family in your heart and in your prayers. Their sorrow must be overwhelming.
I also just had a conversation with my friends Jean-Jacques and Daniele Sicre in France. I spoke with Jean-Jacques first to offer him my condolences at the lost of his brother, a cardiologist, who died at age 52 in his sleep while he was on holiday in the south of France in August. I then called Daniele, who is spending a month in the French Alps recuperating and enjoying the view of Mont Blanc every morning, and she spoke of how strong her sister-in-law is in facing this loss. She, too, is a doctor, and they have five children, ranging in age from 25 to 16. Daniele's mother is also having difficulty. She's in the hospital right now having stints placed in her arteries. Please also hold this family in your prayers.
My trip to China has had many twists and turns and has receded into the background with all of this, but let me tell you how it's looking to me now. Three conversations have changed the course of my plans, and turning to the Bible for direction has cinched my decision. The first person I spoke with last Tuesday was Charlotte McCallum, an LaTaaps mentor teacher at a local middle school. Jackson Schrumpf, one of Ray's best friends, hooked me up with Charlotte. He'd mentioned her to me the first time I mentioned China because Charlotte was a missionary in China for two years--2000-2002--teaching English at a university over there. In actually speaking to her last week, I was instantly taken with her candor and her generosity. I felt, in this first conversation, like I was talking to an old friend. I'm seriously considering taking her up on her invitation to accompany her to China in June after school's out. She has been on a People to People Ambassador trip herself with students, and she gave me feedback that caused me reconsider--about things that didn't happen that were scheduled and about the price. She feels the price is steep, knowing the cost of things from a personal standpoint.
The second person I spoke with was a representative of the People to People program. She returned my call on Wednesday, and I was able to ask her my long list of questions that I'd written down. In that conversation, I found out that I had been recommended for this delegation as an executive--not as an educator. That concerned me, and the more I thought about going on a trip in which I'd have to wear business clothes the whole time bothered me, especially after my conversation with Charlotte in which she told me that most Chinese people have only two changes of clothes. I also tried to look up the airlines this woman said I would be flying over to China on, and I can find no record of it. I don't know what that means. Surely she was mistaken or something, but anyway, I'm rethinking going to China for the first time under these auspices. This is especially after I spoke to the third person who could answer some questions. Freddie Ann Reagan has just returned from one of these People to People Ambassador trips this past week. She went to Russia for a meeting of physical therapists. I haven't spoken to her at length yet, but she indicated to me that her trip was completely a professional trip with little or no sightseeing. She was in meetings and visiting physical therapy establishments the whole trip. Again, this information has swayed my decision against going to China in a professional delegation on Women in Society. I just think I would end up frustrated and disappointed that I didn't get to see much of the sights of China after going all the way over there.
Turning to the Bible, as I said earlier, cinched this point of view. When I asked God to help me clarify my thoughts, the passage that I was turned to was the story of David and Goliath. I read it and the accompanying commentary thoroughly the other night before I went to bed, not at that time really understanding what God was trying to tell me. But the next morning, in a flash of understanding, I got it... In that story, David is advised to put on heavy armor to go into battle against this major opponent, Goliath, but he opts to take it back off. It is heavy and very uncomfortable. He decides to go into battle against Goliath trusting in God and taking only a slingshot and a few smooth stones as ammunition. As I'm sure you know, he successfully knocked Goliath face down on the ground with a stone to his forehead. My flash of understanding was that I should not go to China this time dressed in armor (business dress), but I should go much more simply (in Berkenstocks and capris) and slay Goliath (China, I guess) on a personal level, trusting in God. I take this advice to heart, and I'm hoping this week to actually meet Charlotte face-to-face and determine whether a trip with her would be feasible. What she described over the phone sounds even more up-my-alley than the People to People trip, and I'm very excited at this prospect. I'm hoping that maybe Charlotte will also be open to my sister Debbie's going with us. Debbie's expressed that interest.
My bathroom project got accomplished this past week. Ted told me that it would take about two days, and it did. They started first thing Wednesday morning, which thankfully was a day off for me, but I had several things on my agenda that still got done. Ted helped his helper, Danny, replace the faucet on my sink first thing. Thank God they didn't have to turn the water off at the curb this time. The new one was in place very quickly. Ted's other helper, Tracy, was put in charge of taping everything, removing shelving, etc., and then painting. He's not the most detailed person nor nearly as meticulous as I would have liked, but I figure, at least it wasn't me doing this work. I'm just pleased to have the ceiling lime green and the walls and cabinets a bright white. I've asked Ted for some touch-up paint, and the next time my brother Lee comes over, his project will be to get the cabinet knobs done right. (He always wants projects when he comes over, and now I've got a new one for him.) Abbakadabra has been very interested in the new things in my bathroom. (See Photos #1 & #2) She likes the way the new rug slides when she comes running in there, and the ribbon shower curtain is very entertaining. I like that these new things match better with the old tile on the wall in there. I didn't want to totally redo this room. I wanted to keep the retro-fifties-looking sink and just recaulk the tub basically. I'm overall pleased with the results.
I had a full week of teaching last week, which meant my class met three times for 70 minutes each. In recent weeks, this schedule hasn't happened due to holidays and hurricanes, so I really appreciated getting as caught up and I could be with my curriculum. Just a little while ago, I finished evaluating college admissions essays that my students turned in on Friday. What a pleasure it was to read them and to know these girls better. They turned in two essays each, and each one of them painted a new picture of who these young women are and where they've already been, what they've already experienced and seen. This is a new addition to my formal assignments in AP English this year, at the request of Gisele Puckett, and I'm so glad to have done it. In the past, I've given out an EssayEdge packet to give the students some guidelines about writing these admissions essays, and I've offered support if they wanted it from me, but it was never a formal, graded assignment before. It will always be from now on--just because it gives me such insight into these students' lives and because I think I can make a difference in the quality of editing they really need to be competitive.
Our discussion of John Updike's "A & P" was the most productive and deep of any I've had in the past seven years. There's something unusual happening in my class of all girls this year. There's a bond that's forming that's producing more candid and open discussions, and I'm finding it very gratifying as a teacher. This story narrated by a nineteen-year-old store clerk who ogles three girls who wonder into the store in bathing suits became clearer to me through the eyes of this batch of students. They put themselves in the girls' place and delivered insights, as a result, that could be written up in a journal. I'll be very interested to see what they've done with their composition assignment to analyze tone and relationships in this story. I will get those papers tomorrow.
I went to the District Theresians meeting in Lafayette last Tuesday. All four of us from Lake Charles were able to go together. That's part of the draw for me in being a representative--getting to know these women both coming and going for that 75-mile trip and breaking bread with them before the meeting. (See Photo #3) Wanda Benoit is our new leader in this organization, and she led the meeting well. We were done in less than an hour with a very detailed agenda. I loved the new room where we met with couches lining the walls. It gave the feel that we were all in an intimate circle together. I hope we continue to use that room. I had the idea for article for the district newsletter to get everybody's input on the retreat that we attended in July at Antique Rose Ville. I'm glad I got some input that night because nobody else has emailed me with theirs. I plan to sit down and write that piece later this week.
Wednesday while the renovation on my bathroom was underway, I had many places to go and many things to do. I am so grateful to Denise, my spiritual director, for making time for me with all that was going on with her dad that morning. She also helped me clarify my feelings about this trip to China, and it was very helpful. From her office, I popped back home to see how things were progressing, and then I headed over to my church for the PrimeTimer's luncheon. I'm so glad I went. I enjoyed the company (See Photo #4), but I really enjoyed the spiel that Ron LeLeux, the mayor of Sulphur, gave to us about how God has moved in his life. He's a poet and a very funny man. I loved the way he told stories on himself from the past and shared so much from his heart. I saw him again on Saturday at Denise's dad's funeral. Both he and Lake Charles' mayor, Randy Roach, were there to honor Rodney Guilbeaux.
After Ron LeLeux's talk, I popped home again and then went to a jewelry-making lesson at Cassie Ames' home. I had made a necklace out of rhodonite semiprecious stone beads back in July, and due to circumstances, Cassie wasn't able to have a class to teach us to make earrings until this past week. I ended up with a very dainty pair with just a few beads, but I like the way they came out. (See Photo #5)
I had my quarterly meeting with Ann Knapp, my Merrill Lynch adviser, on Friday. Since our last meeting, I have paid off the loan that was pledged against part of my CMA account so that it's now possible for me to buy and sell within that part of my portfolio. With that ability, Ann is helping me to get a more balanced and diversified portfolio. I feel that I am in good hands. As Clerk of Session at my church, she was also the one who called me to see if I would accept nomination to be an elder for my church in the coming year. I had already thought about that possibility and considered what it would entail, and I told her I would accept. We'll see where God is leading me in that.
I had been weighed and measured at Curves on my way to Merrill Lynch. My weight is creeping up on me again. It's scary to even think about growing out of my beautiful wardrobe. So I'm taking the Curves Challenge again and going on a diet. It began today, and so far, so good. I'll be cutting back on carbs big-time again, and I pray that this does the trick. I also intend to get over to Curves to exercise more regularly than has been happening in recent weeks. When Judy Guidry weighed and measured me, actually I was only one pound heavier than two years ago, but my measurements were all up. Exercise will definitely help with that. I hope to be toned back up in no time. As soon as I get this letter off this afternoon, I'll head over there.
Before Mr. Guilbeaux's funeral on Saturday, I attended my MITE investment club meeting at the Pitt Grill in Sulphur. (See Photo #6) I didn't eat the breakfast, but I did enjoy the meeting. We looked at Florida Light and Power and Travelers Insurance as possible buys and decided to turn them down. We, too, are trying to get a balanced and diversified portfolio, and it's a learning experience for me to research a stock. I'm glad Ann Knapp helps me so readily and well with that.
Sunday the choir was lively and bright with our uplifting "Sing a New Song." As Rev. Fred went about defining the word "shrewd" in his sermon, I was thinking about how I'm asking my own students to look deeply into the connotations and denotations of the examples of diction that we encounter in the stories we're reading. There is so much to know about a word that's not apparent at first hearing or first glance. To be "shrewd" can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing, but to be a "shrewd saint" is probably a good thing.
In the afternoon, I went to help put together health kits for victims of Hurricane Felix in Central America. The Friend Ships is getting ready to make a trip of mercy down there to help the people affected. My role yesterday was also to take pictures, of course! (See Photo #7 & #8) This is where I was when Barbara Dupont called me to tell me about Adam Puckett's accident.
Again, please hold all of these people in your hearts and prayers. That includes my friend Cissie McLeod, who has also just been in the hospital after a scare with her heart. There's not a day goes by since I lost Ray that I don't think about the fact that we never know what's around the next bend.
I hope we all have a better week ahead...
With love and blessings, Linda
"Whatever you do may seem insignificant,
but it is most important that you do it."
--Gandhi
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