{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Memories on jabel", "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2021/97100.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://jabel.blog/", "feed_url": "https://jabel.blog/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/06/16/a-talk-with-the-ancestors.html", "title": "A talk with the ancestors", "content_html": "

Hey, ancestors, I want to talk to you about mom. You all know she’s in assisted living and on hospice care now. She knows the end is in sight, though we can’t judge the distance. I think she felt that nearness yesterday after a visit with one of the hospice folks. I called her last night. She’s afraid she’ll die and go to Hell.

\n

We know that fear is groundless, but she very much does not. I feel a bit useless to her here because, although I can speak that language, my words don’t carry a lot of weight since I’m not a Christian in any way she recognizes. So I’ve encouraged her to talk to one of her preacher friends and the hospice chaplain.

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At the moment, the thing I most want to do is rage against the evils of religion. I want to put down that voice inside telling me to be patient and fair. I don’t want to be fair. The devil is real and I know a few of his names. I want to curse all of them, from the daintily-dressed, incense-scented priests to the sweaty, screaming backwoods preachers. All of those with cruel hearts instilling hell-belief in pious, trusting, fearful souls.

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… But I wait, and the rage passes. Now I’m just sad and tired.

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The prospect of death is the true test of any worldview. I’ll do what I can to comfort her, and call on others with more credibility to talk to her. But what if, in a moment of sincere openness, she asked me what I had to offer in the face of death?

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Images, really. Instincts. That feeling when something opens in me and beauty closes my mouth and quiets my mind.

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So fluffy, right? Some of you are rolling your eyes at me. Look, I’m willing to be wrong; some of you—sure as hell—were wrong in your lifetimes.

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When I think of you, ancestors, I imagine some of you as still sleeping; perhaps you recently passed through the ordeal of death and need some rest. I imagine some of you as the restless dead, who may have died suddenly or unjustly and are not yet willing to accept what has happened. I imagine some of you in sorrow, regretting the words, actions, or choices of your life. I imagine some of you taking those sorrowful ones by the hand and cooing comfort as you lead them toward healing. I imagine some of you as the mighty dead: ancient, fully healed ancestors who exercise authority with a benevolent watchfulness.

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I do not imagine any of you burning. The thought would be ridiculous if it wasn’t so gruesome.

\n

Ancestors, I have not taught my daughter hell-belief. Rather, I have told her it is a cruel idea. I have told her that if anything lies at the heart of the universe, it is love. If I have my way, mom will be the last of our line to have her final days darkened by hell-belief.

\n

Ancestors, go to her now. Meet her in memories and dreams. Draw her out of this darkness and calm her fears. May she hear your voices again as you call her onward.

\n", "date_published": "2026-06-16T13:12:07-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/06/16/a-talk-with-the-ancestors.html", "tags": ["Memories","Animism"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/06/16/thinking-back-on-my-phone.html", "content_html": "

Thinking back on my phone call with mom last night, how she was cried, worried she would go to Hell. Remembering a line from an old David Bazan song: “I discovered Hell to be the poison in the well.”

\n", "date_published": "2026-06-16T08:37:14-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/06/16/thinking-back-on-my-phone.html", "tags": ["Memories","Music"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/06/04/the-future-is-always-unknowable.html", "content_html": "

The future is always unknowable but sometimes its impenetrability is tangible. As I plan for my mom, I have literally no idea how her life will proceed. My accountant brain wants to lay out the possibilities. Yet at every approach to the granite block of the future, it gently but firmly tells me no.

\n", "date_published": "2026-06-04T08:41:08-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/06/04/the-future-is-always-unknowable.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/31/one-week-ago-at-about.html", "content_html": "

One week ago, at about this time of day, our lives went topsy-turvy. I took mom to the ER for treatment of a serious fall and it became clear as we’ve stayed with her this week how weak she has become. That, plus several other issues, have resulted in her qualifying for hospice care. We’ll also be moving her into assisted living in the coming days.

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I’ve had so many surreal, hard conversations this week. Rachel has been amazing, pushing herself past her comfort zone in physical care and pushing me past my comfort zone in those difficult conversations.

\n

It’s shocking how fast everything has changed. “Trust the unfolding” has become my mantra.

\n", "date_published": "2026-05-31T06:58:02-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/31/one-week-ago-at-about.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/26/now-that-offices-have-reopened.html", "content_html": "

Now that offices have re-opened, it’s been a day of phone calls and a visit to a new doctor for mom. Note-taking, list-making, and plenty of stress. On the way to the doctor I thought, “I’m trusting the strong powers.” At which point I drove past a handmade roadside sign: “We are not alone.”

\n", "date_published": "2026-05-26T15:52:10-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/26/now-that-offices-have-reopened.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/13/godspeed-gordon.html", "title": "Godspeed, Gordon", "content_html": "

This morning I was watching Gordon White’s tribute to the recently-departed Peter Carroll. I’ve never read any of Carroll’s books and I doubt I ever will. I was watching for the same reason I read or watched nearly everything Gordon produced: you never knew when he would drop some jewel of knowledge or practice. He ended the video with a prayer that Carroll would be seated as an ancestor of practice.

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I switched over to my email app and saw an “Announcement” email from Gordon’s Rune Soup community timestamped just moments before. Gordon had died while travelling in Peru. Shock doesn’t begin to describe it. I would guess he’s about my age (though he will always be remembered as forever 27 😉) and he was so full of plans for new work and ideas for the community.

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Everyone here knows about the influence Wendell Berry has had on my life. I haven’t talked as much about Gordon–mostly because I never imagined I’d be talking about his work in the past tense for many years to come. Also because the material he covered isn’t something many people here would seem to have much interest in; in fact, some folks might have little patience for it. (If you’re one of the latter, please don’t tell me. I am emphatically not in the mood.)

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Rune Soup started as a blog, then a podcast, then a membership community centered on the Western esoteric and magical tradition, including eventually animism and indigenous shamanism. I’m not sure when I discovered it–probably a decade or more ago? I think my first encounter was when I first came across the term “animism” as a contemporary worldview and not just an insult hurled at indigenous communities by racist anthropologists. I was fascinated by the idea and searched Twitter for it. Many of the folks discussing it had #RSPM in their bios. More digging, and I discovered that hashtag referred to Rune Soup Premium Membership. Down the rabbit hole I went. I started listening to the podcast, reading the blog, and following all of the #RSPM accounts. I joined the membership some time later. I quit for a time but then re-joined in late 2020.

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I didn’t always agree with Gordon–and the great thing about him was he never presented himself as a spiritual teacher demanding to be followed. He was irascible and extreme sometimes. He was also astonishingly smart and had an ability to draw together ideas and practice in ways that will not soon be matched.

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I’ve never really been what would be called a magical practitioner, especially in the ways that were most prominently discussed in Rune Soup (grimoires, etc.). What Gordon did for me was re-enchant the world. He exposed me to ideas that have become fundamental to who I am, animism being only one of them. And, as one person said in a remembrance this morning, he got me to pray again–and that’s no small thing. He helped me find a way to re-engage Christianity. That engagement would not satisfy traditional Christians, of course, but it has been vital to me.

\n

Gordon has been one of the most important, ongoing teachers of my adult life. I’ve cried more over his death today than I would have expected. The work will go on, of course, but he himself is irreplaceable. His combination of gifts will be deeply missed by me. It’s absurd that he’s gone. It’s way too early, and there’s too much going on.

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But, in a very Gordon move, I will quote Lord of the Rings: “A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”

\n", "date_published": "2026-05-13T12:09:26-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/13/godspeed-gordon.html", "tags": ["Memories","Longer writing"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/12/a-game-no-one-wins.html", "title": "A game no one wins", "content_html": "

“The man with an experience is never at the mercy of the man with an argument,” said the Holiness preacher. This line keeps coming back to me this year.

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It can and did indicate anti-intellectualism. I prefer to frame it, however, in terms of anti-rationalism, the critique of the idea that the rational mode of thought is, or at least ought to be, the clearest path to truth.

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Fresh out of Holiness churches during my cage stage Lutheranism, my parents, Rachel, and I were having Sunday dinner. I recall saying something about how Lutheran theology covered so much more of the Bible than Holiness teaching ever did. I mentioned the verse, “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” and described the theology of confession and absolution.

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My dad was not impressed. In turn, I challenged him to tell me what he thought that verse meant. He struggled, and I pounced, “You can’t just ignore whole sections of the Bible. That’s the problem with the Holiness churches.” He got angry and stormed off.

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To my shame, I did not realize until some time later what an ugly thing I had done. I had humiliated him and—because this always spikes the punch—I had done so in an act of religious superiority. Ain’t no high like self-righteousness.

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By the standards of intellectual warfare, I had won; in every way that mattered, I had lost. I was playing a game—and let’s not fool ourselves: intellectual argumentation is a game—while my dad was holding the life preserver of his experience. He had come so far from his origins in an alcoholic home. He revered his in-laws like saints, and their religion was good enough for him.

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I was a young punk who thought I had found the truth. I put on theology like a suit of clothes: well-tailored, pressed, and respectable.

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Looking back now, I see how the simple faith—riddled with however many contraditions you care to name—held by my dad, grandparents, and who knows how many others of my ancestors, carried them through hard times my 25 year-old self knew nothing about. He was never at my mercy.

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I imagine myself watching that moment in the dining room, whacking that young punk on the back of his too-full head with one hand and catching my dad with the other. I don’t know what I’d say, except to insist that the one should stay and the other should shut the fuck up for a minute.

\n", "date_published": "2026-05-12T11:07:49-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/12/a-game-no-one-wins.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/10/prophesy-son-of-man.html", "title": "Prophesy, son of man", "content_html": "

We were visiting with my in-laws this evening, talking about all sorts of things. Eventually the conversation turned to our worries about caring for my mom. My mother-in-law had been talking about her experience caring for a relative when, at one point, she launched into the most powerful two-minute sermon about trust in God I’ve ever heard. I had tears in my eyes. If she would have made an altar call, I would have responded. And I’m not sure how much I’m joking when I say that.

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There was such power in what she said, built as it was on hard-won, battle-tested experience. I felt myself being lifted up into it. And I believe every word of her testimony, even if I would frame it differently; my theology, such as it is, can accommodate her experience. But in that moment, my theology and theories and ideas were chaff in the wind of the Spirit blowing through that house.

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That (I am pointing emphatically) is what matters. That is what passes through the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil. Right now I am pushing away my instinct to frame that experience inside an idea. Rather, I am thankful simply to have been there. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth.”

\n", "date_published": "2026-05-10T18:46:35-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/10/prophesy-son-of-man.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/05/07/me-and-dad-me-and.html", "content_html": "

Me and Dad
\n\"\"

\n

Me and Darcy

\n\n", "date_published": "2026-05-07T18:35:21-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/05/07/me-and-dad-me-and.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/04/30/this-is-the-sort-of.html", "content_html": "

This is the sort of bread Rachel turns out on a random Thursday. She’s gotten so good over the last couple of years.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2026-04-30T13:13:25-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/04/30/this-is-the-sort-of.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/04/08/day-trip-to-the-shrine.html", "title": "Day trip to the shrine of St. Mother Theodore Guerin", "content_html": "

Today I’ll be driving through southwestern Indiana’s coal country and then up to the Terre Haute area to visit St Mother Theodore Guerin. As is my tradition with these trips, I will be listening to old episodes of Weird Studies. Sets the right mood, since these trips are almost always centered on some religious or “weird” place.

\n

8:12am

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First stop of the day at Camp Olivet. This creek is where I was baptized. It’s where many (most?) of the area’s Holiness folks were baptized. They baptisms always happened on Sundays after morning service. Someone would go into the water to chase off the snakes while Joe started singing “Shall We Gather at the River?”

\n\"\"\n

9:26am

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Stop 2 in Linton. It’s bigger than I remember it being. More businesses and chains than I expected. The main reason I stopped was a donut sign. Yes, I’ve already had breakfast. Shut up.

\n\"\"\n

10:32am

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Stop three in Prairie Creek, founded in 1816. I’m now in an area of Indiana I’ve never visited. I took this picture of a barbershop because it caught my attention. And the tree, well just look at it.

\n\"\"\n\"\"\n

11:19am

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Arrived at St Mary-of-the-Woods campus. Beautiful place.

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On the way here, quite by surprise, I passed the federal prison which has held and executed a number of notorious criminals, like Timothy McVeigh. Disturbing place to see or, rather, feel. A prison like that on the south side and a saint’s shrine on the north: Terre Haute, you’ve got some kind of nexus thing going on.

\n\"\"\n

That’s St. Mother Theodore Guerin, the saint whose shrine I’m visiting today. She’s worth reading about if you’re not familiar with her. There’s a nice exhibit before you enter the shrine proper that tells the story of her life. Her casket is in the center of the shrine on a dais. Benches are set all along the walls with a votive candle stand at one end and three bone relics in a frame on the other.

\n\"\"\n

The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a beautiful heap of Indiana limestone. The marble inside is nice too. Brings to mind a Lawrence County limestone story: The rich bosses of the quarries wanted their headstones to be imported marble because limestone was too common; the workers had the limestone headstones. I prefer the latter. Dump the bosses off your back.

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I arrive just in time for Mass so I slip into a back row and stay until the distribution. I think that’s the first church service I’ve attended in twelve years!

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There are several lovely statues, shrines, chapels, and grottoes all over campus.

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2:40pm

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Final stop of the day in Worthington. The diner is good. Alas, no cherry pie.

\n\"\"\n

6:32pm

\n

Shaping up these trip notes. It was a good day. While I really enjoyed the drive, there weren’t a lot of places of interest to stop along the way. I came across a few antique/junk stores but they were all closed. Nevertheless, St. Mary-of-the-Woods and the St. Mother Theodore shrine were worth the trip.

\n\n", "date_published": "2026-04-08T18:57:12-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/04/08/day-trip-to-the-shrine.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/04/08/a-neighbor-cut-down-what.html", "content_html": "

A neighbor cut down what appeared to be a perfectly healthy, mature maple on Tuesday. In response, Rachel is planting three serviceberries and one juniper. Answer foolish destruction with a quadruple investment in future life.

\n", "date_published": "2026-04-08T17:17:05-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/04/08/a-neighbor-cut-down-what.html", "tags": ["Memories","Gardening"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/04/04/just-saw-a-sixtysomething-man.html", "content_html": "

Just saw a sixty-something man, no shirt, huge eagle tattoo spreading from shoulder to shoulder, chasing after a little dog calling, “Here, Cookie! Come here, Cookie!”

\n", "date_published": "2026-04-04T17:16:31-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/04/04/just-saw-a-sixtysomething-man.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/04/04/working-on-a-project-for.html", "content_html": "

Working on a project for a neighbor but I need one final measurement from inside his house. I keep looking over to see if he’s up and about. Reminds me of when I was a kid and the neighbor always opened their door when they were home, which was my signal that I could go ask Timmy to play.

\n", "date_published": "2026-04-04T08:57:21-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/04/04/working-on-a-project-for.html", "tags": ["Memories","Workshop"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/03/20/my-background-and-the-strange.html", "title": "My background and the strange world of \"total work\"", "content_html": "

Mentioning “total work” earlier today has me thinking again about how strange our contemporary work culture seems to me. Strange, I think, because I never really came through the usual acculturating institutions.

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A bit about my background. I come from a working class lineage, through my grandparents and beyond. Well, that’s being generous about my dad’s family, which might be better described as “working-when-not-drunk class.” There are some professionals here and there among the aunts and uncles and cousins but my direct line is all laborers, secretaries, and cooks (not chefs!). My mom worked in entry-level medical and clerical jobs. My dad worked at the French Lick hotel in the bad old days, before it was restored by the Cook family. He also worked on the railroad before a disastrous accident that ruined his back. Eventually he got a HVAC certificate at Ivy Tech and worked a few years at a local HVAC company (whose owners moonlighted as a Southern Gospel quartet) before getting on at the Ford factory in its declining years. He worked there until his death; it moved to Mexico not long after. I resonate with Wendell Berry’s disdain for James B. Duke because I feel the same way about Bill Clinton: unforgetting, unyielding contempt because of what he and his rich friends did to my family and community.

\n

I was encouraged to get an education, in the practical “get a good job” sense. They were excited for me when I started on the pharmacy track at Butler University. Alas, organic chemistry and romance ended those hopes: I quit after my sophomore year because Rachel was the only future that mattered. I started looking for delivery jobs simply because I liked the delivery job in high school. That led me to interview for a shipping and receiving job (delivery adjacent!) in a small manufacturer. While I was interviewing, the guy said “You know, we just had an office job open up today and I think you’re better suited for that.” Swallowing my offended feelings, I accepted an accounts receivable job.

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At some point I had put my name in the lottery for a job at the Ford factory. While I was working in AR at the manufacturer, I got a call from Ford. (Rachel, was that call actually offering me the job or only offering me an interview? My memory is fuzzy, as usual.) At that point in the factory’s history, they weren’t really offering the full-time, union-benefits jobs. You could work your way into those but a job at Ford/Visteon was no longer a guarantee of a solid, middle-class living. My dad didn’t love the idea of me working in a factory, especially since it no longer offered a secure future. My pastor also thought I should “do something more” and encouraged me to finish my degree. I turned down Ford/Visteon and started night classes in accounting. Why accounting? Because I was working in accounts receivable. Imaginative, right?

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Eventually my employer closed the manufacturing business and I got a job at a big nonprofit doing data entry in the accounting department. I eventually finished my BS in Accounting, slowly worked my way up in the accounting department, took several more classes, became a CPA, became the assistant controller and then interim VP of accounting for a few months before I quit and took my current, intentionally downsized job. Embrace downward mobility, as I told a friend recently.

\n

One of the main reasons I embraced downward mobility was contemporary work culture. As I mentioned before, and as you can see from my history, I’ve never been a product of the right acculturating institutions. I didn’t graduate from the sort of “b-school” that had alumni networking events; it was the sort of school that advertised on daytime TV for people who were “unemployed or underemployed, or looking to turn their career around.”

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I don’t read business books and I don’t listen to podcasts instructing me on how to be a “people leader.” I don’t admire CEOs or entrepreneurs (quite the opposite). I steadfastly refuse business lingo. The goals and lifestyles of those who are successful in this work culture are utterly strange to me, like I’m visiting another planet. For this I am thankful.

\n

Despite my occasional dream of a liberal arts education, my actual educational experience has been eminently practical. Years ago I said I was a white-collar worker with a blue-collar heart–and I think that’s more true than ever. That’s not to say I didn’t pick up some affectations along the way. For a long time the “do something more” idea remained a part of me and I thought of myself as an aspiring intellectual. Thank God that’s over. I’m still scraping off some barnacles here and there but I’ve made peace with who I am and, more importantly, where I come from. In true second-half-of-life fashion, this work of reclamation is the task that matters now.

\n", "date_published": "2026-03-20T10:08:26-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/03/20/my-background-and-the-strange.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/03/13/last-night-at-the-shelter.html", "title": "Last night at the shelter", "content_html": "

It was a good night at the Men’s Warming Shelter. Papa John’s donated a lot of pizza and everyone loves pizza night. Plus, choice of chicken or beef nachos. And pop, which we don’t always have.

\n

We were also celebrating two birthdays, which meant ice cream and cupcakes. One of the birthdays was for the shelter’s top volunteer. He’s invested untold hours in the men, both at the shelter and driving them to job interviews and doctor’s appointments. He’s counseled and chastised and loved them all. Thanking everyone for helping him celebrate his 75th birthday, he said—arcing his hands as if shooting a basketball—he’s entering the fourth quarter and, while he’s not able to play quite as well as he did in the first three quarters, he’ll play until the end.

\n

The energy was good last night. Not that it’s ever bad, but last night as I was washing dishes I could feel it crackling. Every table was full of talk. Frequent laughter.

\n

I wanted to write this down to remind myself and others that, however grim the headlines are, there are warm, bright moments happening everywhere, all the time.

\n", "date_published": "2026-03-13T06:59:06-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/03/13/last-night-at-the-shelter.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/27/im-really-looking-forward-to.html", "content_html": "

I’m really looking forward to summer this year. At the old job, I was consumed with audit work from July through September. At the new job, however, the audit is much smaller, and I have very few tasks related to it. I’ll be able to help Rachel more with the garden!

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-27T08:56:08-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/27/im-really-looking-forward-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/25/tara-couture-we-always-lived.html", "content_html": "

Tara Couture: “We always lived in a peaceful home, something I think of as the most important element in a home.”

\n

As someone who has lived in both a contentious home as a child and a peaceful home as an adult, I can tell you it is very important. I’m so grateful for what Rachel and I have built.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-25T08:15:25-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/25/tara-couture-we-always-lived.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/23/one-evening-several-days-ago.html", "content_html": "

One evening, several days ago, a squirrel was eating at the feeder outside the window, the golden light on its fur. I decided against photographing it because I knew squirrels don’t stay anywhere long. Now I sit here remembering it. The image isn’t as clear as a photograph but the feeling remains.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-23T19:45:05-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/23/one-evening-several-days-ago.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/23/dont-take-yourself-so-seriously.html", "title": "\"Don't take yourself so seriously!\"", "content_html": "

I always hated it when people told me not to take myself so seriously. Hated it. I’ve always been a painfully sincere person who wants to do the right thing. I heard that advice as suggesting that I was ridiculous for taking life seriously. And, to be fair, some people did mean that.

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But now, as fifty approaches, maybe I begin to understand. Over the past ten years I can see more clearly the ways I pose and cope—and how others do the same. I see the pain hidden beneath these behaviors.

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Does this mean I should not expect better of myself and others? Certainly I should. These behaviors have real consequences.

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But this is what we do, isn’t it? It’s ridiculous and wrong and very, very human. It’s funny, in a way.

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If I laugh at it, it’s not a mocking belly laugh. It’s not a joke that says “look at you!”—rather, “look at us!” It is half amusement, half compassion.

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So on a morning of big, complicated feelings I look at my coping instinct with amusement and compassion and I’m able to dial it down a few percentage points. Silly old bear.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-23T08:33:51-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/23/dont-take-yourself-so-seriously.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/18/hooray-its-woodland-crocus-time.html", "content_html": "

Hooray! It’s woodland crocus time! Always the first thing to pop up in our yard.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2026-02-18T10:20:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/18/hooray-its-woodland-crocus-time.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/15/when-even-the-holiness-people.html", "title": "When even the Holiness people think you’re strange…", "content_html": "

Erik Davis reminded me of Finis Jennings Dake today:

\n
\n

My favorite relic of those months is a version of the King James Bible I picked up at a Christian bookstore at a strip mall near the coast. The store, which I visited a number of times and was more important to me than any particular church, was one of the many nondenominational Christian shops that popped up in the 1980s, paralleling the New Age stores of the era with their spiritual lifestyle blend of books, cassette tapes, bumper stickers, statues, jewelry, and inspirational wall art.

\n

The Bible in question, which I still own, was a more old-school affair: a faux-leather-bound copy of the Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible. On its thin scritta pages, the 17th-century King James prose was copiously, almost talmudically broken down with over 35,000 notes and commentaries crammed into side columns and myriad appendixes. Its author was one Finis J. Dake, a Pentecostal evangelist from Missouri who, after violating the Mann Act in 1937, became the first Pentecostal to publish a scriptural reference work on anywhere near this scale. Imagine a listaholic fusion of Jack Chick and Charles Kinbote, the deranged literary critic who animates Nabokov’s Pale Fire, and you would not be far off.

\n
\n

My dad had one of those. In fact, I may have been the person who bought it for him. Even for us self-taught, Spirit-drunk fundamentalists with a rainbow coalition of bizarre ideas, Dake was a bit out there. He was never openly promoted. The people who read him tended to discover each other, like Freemasons noticing each others’ rings. We’d be deep into our Sunday night fast food burgers when someone would say, “what do you think about the pre-Adamite world?”

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-15T14:38:23-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/15/when-even-the-holiness-people.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/07/a-drive-around-amish-country.html", "title": "A drive around Amish country", "content_html": "\"\" \n

Rachel and I drove around the Amish settlement in Daviess County today and came across this guy spreading manure. (Poor quality, I know.) It was still cold today but the strong sunshine felt like a promise.

\n

After looking around the Odon Locker, we walked across the parking lot to a shop with a sign saying something about Amish goods, with the requisite buggy image. Turned out to be one of those faux Amish shops meant for tourists and church ladies. There’s a certain style of religious kitsch that you always find in these places. Signs made to look hand-lettered that say things like “gather” or “it is well with my soul.” Cookbooks with pictures that are typically described as “quaint.” A little section for the men with beard balm displays and shirts that say “Man of God.” You know that “wine mom” aesthetic you see at wineries? This is the evangelical version of that. We took one step inside the shop, looked at each other, and walked back out.

\n

We visited more genuinely Amish/Mennonite stores in the country south of Odon. Groceries stores and variety shops and a shoe store that sells so much more than shoes. You can tell these places are meant to be the sort of place that sells everything one of the plain folk might need: groceries and bulk goods, herbal remedies, and copies of Ausbund, Luther’s German Bible, Rules of a Godly Life, and Raber’s Almanac.

\n

The kitsch shops are frustrating because they represent that malignant power of the marketers to sell you the form of godliness while denying the power thereof. It’s fashion for those whose values run skin-deep.

\n

The more substantial lesson we can learn from the Amish is the power of life under vow. I’ve been considering this a lot lately because it is a hard lesson, and one I’m not quite sure what to do with yet. Thankfully, it is neither marketable nor available for sale.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-07T18:10:21-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/07/a-drive-around-amish-country.html", "tags": ["Memories","Amish and other Anabaptists"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/06/another-entry-in-the-series.html", "content_html": "

Another entry in the series “we’re more Appalachian than Midwestern”: I grew up hearing a lot of people calling all moths (not a specific species) “millers.” Apparently, I’m not the only one.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-06T13:04:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/06/another-entry-in-the-series.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/02/01/the-first-day-of-the.html", "content_html": "

The first day of the last month of true winter around here. This is always the month when I start getting antsy.

\n", "date_published": "2026-02-01T10:27:24-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/02/01/the-first-day-of-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/27/we-no-longer-have-a.html", "content_html": "

We no longer have a teenager in the house. Happy 20th birthday, Darcy!

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-27T08:08:37-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/27/we-no-longer-have-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/26/sometimes-you-have-neighbors-who.html", "content_html": "

Sometimes you have neighbors who help clear the whole neighborhood of snow. Sometimes you have people-who-live-in-the-neighborhood who clear a path from their front door to their car.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-26T11:23:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/26/sometimes-you-have-neighbors-who.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/26/a-lot-of-places-are.html", "content_html": "

A lot of places are closed today, including the credit union’s branches. I’ll be working remotely. Temperatures will be in the single digits F. So much snow. Bless all those folks working to clear roads and get everyone back up and running.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-26T07:43:51-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/26/a-lot-of-places-are.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/25/as-of-am-we-had.html", "content_html": "

As of 6am, we had ten inches. More is supposed to be on the way throughout the day. Good news: it is very light, dry snow. Easy to shovel.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2026-01-25T07:30:07-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/25/as-of-am-we-had.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/24/patience-in-the-face-of.html", "title": "Patience in the face of a snowstorm", "content_html": "

In The Amish Way, the authors describe patience as one of the key characteristics of Amish life. The lessons of patience are built into the structures of their lives—even the church services are three hours long, with one twenty-minute hymn that always precedes the preaching.

\n

I will admit to a certain amount of anxiety as we await the huge snowstorm to hit here. We’ve lived through worse, to be sure. Last night we were remembering one storm that hit early in our marriage. Snowed in for days in that little apartment. When I finally went out and began scraping off the car in preparation for returning to work, I could see alternating, geologic layers of snow and ice. But, as we concluded last night, we were too young and stupid to be afraid.

\n

Now I have an overdeveloped sense of what could go wrong. “What if … what if … what if?” While I’m aware of the irrationality of some of these fears, fear is not known for listening when rationality speaks. I know from experience that “talking myself down” only has a limited effect.

\n

More effective, I’ve found, is voicing those fears to someone who cares—in my case, Rachel. Simply acknowledging them to a sympathetic person takes the edge off. If the self is a system of selves, then trying to silence one of those fearful selves (perhaps, in my imagination, a little boy who feels insecure) only makes it yell more loudly. Allowing that fearful self to speak calms him a bit.

\n

I’m also trying to learn from the Amish. I am generally a patient person, though not always, of course. When the powers of nature exert themselves, it is natural to feel nervous. (Facebook makes it worse though. Shut that ding-dang app off for the next few days.) Like our ancestors have always known, it does no good to kick against the forces of nature. She will do what she wants, with no input from us. What is called for here is a patient bearing-with.

\n

There’s likely a lot of snow coming over the next two days. There’s certainly bitter cold already here, continuing for the next week. Nothing to do about it except to make reasonable preparations and wait, patiently, for it to pass. It always does, with Spring following on.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-24T08:27:05-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/24/patience-in-the-face-of.html", "tags": ["Memories","Amish and other Anabaptists"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/23/a-one-person-protest.html", "title": "A one-person protest", "content_html": "

“The Real Reasons Your Appliances Die Young,” via @isaacgreene. It’s not just planned obsolescence. It’s also

\n\n

The writer also says that useful lives of appliances may not have decreased as much as you’d expect. Her advice if you want repairability and durability is either go dirt cheap or high end.

\n

I’ve turned this into a blog post so Rachel will see it. (Hi, Rachel!) We’ve gone, what?, a year without a dishwasher now? Rachel flatly refuses to buy appliances that don’t last, especially when they’re not essential. She’s also mad about tariffs. So she has been washing dishes by hand ever since the day she left Lowe’s in a huff. Now and then I ask her if she’s ready to give in. “No,” she says with a flinty eye. “At least not until Trump is out of office.”

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-23T15:11:53-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/23/a-one-person-protest.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/19/farewell-joe.html", "title": "Farewell, Joe", "content_html": "

Today we’ll be burying Rachel’s grandpa Joe. With his death, all of our grandparents are gone. Rachel said this week, “Everyone moves up a notch in the pecking order now.”

\n

Joe had an enviable death. He was visiting with Rachel’s dad and another friend of his. It had been a really good day. He had been looking at the calendar of day trips put on by his assisted living facility, planning to go on one. His friend had arrived to take him out to an early supper. Rachel’s dad was there to help them out. Joe had on his western shirt and asked his friend to get his cowboy hat. Rachel’s dad said, “You look nice! Let me get a picture.” So he took one, turned to show it to Joe’s friend, and heard Joe make a snoring noise. Rachel’s dad assumed Joe was playing some kind of joke (being a lifelong jokester), turned back to look at him, and knew his dad had died. A nurse was fetched, some attempts to rouse him were made, he made a couple more snoring sounds, but it was over. Though it was quite a shock to Rachel’s dad and Joe’s friend, it could not have been more gentle and peaceful.

\n

He died sitting in his chair with his legs crossed and no one moved him. The immediate family quickly gathered. The team from the mortuary was slower to arrive. By the time they did arrive, the siblings were all sitting around, talking to each other, with Joe still sitting in his chair, to all appearances asleep. The guy wheeled in the gurney and looked around, very confused. “Am I in the right room?”

\n

As others remarked, Joe would have been very pleased to know he played one final joke on that poor guy from the mortuary.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-19T08:49:18-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/19/farewell-joe.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/16/fyi-the-nightly-blessing-is.html", "content_html": "

FYI: The nightly blessing is defusing the lock anxiety.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-16T21:00:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/16/fyi-the-nightly-blessing-is.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/16/hoosier-hysteria.html", "title": "Hoosier hysteria", "content_html": "

Here in the heart of IU country, it would be hard to overstate the excitement about the football championship game on Monday. It’s been building all season. I am perpetually uninterested in sports, but even I started watching as they neared the end of the regular season undefeated.

\n

For those who don’t know: Indiana University has traditionally been a basketball and soccer school. As of two years ago, they had the highest number of losses for any Division 1 football team in history. Apart from a very few years, they’ve always been varying shades of bad. But they got a new coach, Curt Cignetti, two years ago and he initiated a stunning turnaround. Though they did well last year, this year has been amazing. They’re one game away from being the undefeated college football champions.

\n

I was in the dentist’s office this morning and I could hear the hygienists all asking their patients if they’re going to be watching the game. Everyone everywhere is asking everyone they meet if they’ll be watching the game. The answer is, unanimously, yes. At our staff meeting this morning our boss asked us for score predictions, with promises of a prize for the closest answer. Everyone is wearing IU gear. An elementary school child got nationwide attention for writing to the Indiana governor asking him to give schools a two hour delay on the Tuesday morning after the game. He decided to leave it up to individual corporations–and a few are doing it. There are reportedly enormous lines on campus for the free rally towels they’ve been handing out before each game. These are just a few things that have come to my (again, typically uninterested) ears. I’m sure there’s much, much more.

\n

It really is great fun, especially in a time of grim news. I’m glad I’ve been keeping up with it in recent weeks. It’ll be one of those things that people around here will remember for many years to come.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-16T11:28:52-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/16/hoosier-hysteria.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/15/no-sunday-sales.html", "title": "No Sunday Sales", "content_html": "

This morning I read a section in The Amish Way discussing the prohibition of business on Sunday and it reminded me of a similar practice in the Holiness churches I grew up in.

\n

The Holiness people lived by a strict set of behavioral and clothing rules they called the holiness standards. Not Amish-level strict, but they made folks noticeable. These were (nearly) universal and violation of the standards was considered sin.

\n

There were also some disagreements between churches about rules considered at the level of holiness standards—wedding rings, for example. Jewelry was universally held to be sinful. Some folks made exceptions, though, for wedding rings. Fellowship was typically continued in the spirit of “agree to disagree.” At the same time, while some of the strictest churches would fellowship with some of the less-strict ones, they might not allow members of those less-strict churches on their pulpit (also known as the “platform” in other churches).

\n

(Aside: Rachel and I were not married with wedding rings. When we left those churches, we bought first a cheap JC Penney set and then a set from a divorced friend. We wore them for a few years but we never had an emotional connection to them. And they were uncomfortable. So for the last several years we’re once again ringless. In all those ringless years, not a single woman has tried to pick me up! So strange!)

\n

So there were universal standards and standards about which there was disagreement. There were also “personal convictions.” These were matters of conscience for an individual, and were not to be imposed on others. Depending on the person and the strength of the conviction, they may or may not have believed that it was a matter of sin if they failed in them. A classic example here is the refusal to eat in a restaurant that severed alcohol.

\n

Another example was “Sunday dealing,” a.k.a., buying or selling on the Sabbath. For people who held this conviction, it also necessarily entailed the refusal of Sunday work. There were also some people who refused to work on Sunday but would certainly go to Long John Silver’s after church. Let a thousand flowers bloom.

\n

The ban on Sunday dealing was always a minority position in my time there and I suspect it is held by even fewer now. I don’t say this with any blame, simply with interest in how these things change over time.

\n

Though taking a day off the money economy probably wouldn’t be the worst thing…

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-15T09:24:55-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/15/no-sunday-sales.html", "tags": ["Memories","Amish and other Anabaptists"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/14/good-news-the-vet-confirmed.html", "content_html": "

Good news: the vet confirmed that Ralph has already been spayed. (Yes, her name is Ralph.) Further news: the garage cat has become a basement cat. Every day Rachel opens a ground level window to let Ralph come and go at will, and then shuts her in at night. She isn’t allowed upstairs (yet).

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-14T09:06:04-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/14/good-news-the-vet-confirmed.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/13/a-couple-of-changes-to.html", "content_html": "

A couple of changes to my work routine this week:

\n
    \n
  1. I’ve started walking to work every day. Just short of fifteen minutes one way, so I can get in almost an hour of walking per day.
    2. \n
  2. I start working two days a week from home, beginning Thursday.
    3. \n
\n

I’m very thankful to be in a job that allows for this.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-13T18:19:25-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/13/a-couple-of-changes-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2026/01/05/the-ups-and-downs-of.html", "content_html": "

The ups and downs of a new job. Last week I had a discouraging day. Today was difficult but, in the end, I wrestled a reconciliation into submission and learned a lot.

\n", "date_published": "2026-01-05T19:09:36-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2026/01/05/the-ups-and-downs-of.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/31/thanks-to-some-past-discussions.html", "content_html": "

Thanks to some past discussions here (can’t remember who or when exactly), I’ve been intending to get my beloved Timberland Chelsea boots re-soled, rather than replacing them. I took them into Crane’s Leather shop and he said my boots were built only to be disposed. Can’t re-sole them. Disappointing.

\n

I asked him to show me a few that could be, and I settled on a pair of Chippewa. I considered some Red Wings but they would have been at least $50 more and, in the end, I’m cheap. So at least now I have myself a pair that can be repaired rather than replaced. And if Crane’s ever goes out of business, there’s always the Amish.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-31T17:21:06-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/31/thanks-to-some-past-discussions.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/30/well-that-was-a-discouraging.html", "content_html": "

Well that was a discouraging day. Just when I felt like I was getting the hang of the new job, I screwed up half a dozen ways in a single day. I told one of my co-workers, “I promise I’m a good accountant!” 😂 I just ate my weight in taco salad so things are looking up.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-30T17:58:52-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/30/well-that-was-a-discouraging.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/29/a-nightly-benediction.html", "title": "A nightly benediction", "content_html": "

Growing up, I watched my dad check the door locks every night–and I picked up the habit from him. I’m probably worse than him, actually. I have my theories about why we each acquired this compulsion, which I won’t get into here. And though I don’t know where the clinically compulsive line is, I’m probably too close to it.

\n

Besides, it sucks as a nightly ritual. This morning it occurred to me that this whole thing needs a reframing. Beginning tonight when I check the doors, I’m going to move away from that mild anxiety toward a nightly blessing. A far better way to end the day.

\n

Bless this house,
\nBless these doors,
\nBlessed are those
\nwho walk these floors.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-29T08:38:37-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/29/a-nightly-benediction.html", "tags": ["Memories","Poetry by me"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/28/the-look-on-rachels-face.html", "content_html": "

The look on Rachel’s face when I said, “I just subscribed to Plough magazine”…

\n

“There’s a whole magazine about plows? And you’re subscribing?” 😂

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-28T11:05:41-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/28/the-look-on-rachels-face.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/24/last-night-one-of-darcys.html", "content_html": "

Last night one of Darcy’s friends told her our house has “chill vibes.” I take that as a great compliment and recognition of what we’re trying to do here. One of my weekly prayers to the house spirit is, “may all friends be welcomed and all enemies turned away.”

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-24T08:07:17-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/24/last-night-one-of-darcys.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/22/we-have-a-christmas-tradition.html", "content_html": "

We have a Christmas tradition of visiting the West Baden Springs Hotel and the French Lick Springs Hotel, both classic, beautiful spots. The first picture is of the West Baden hotel, which locals generally know as the Dome. Always beautifully decorated at Christmas. The second picture is by Darcy.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-22T16:57:29-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/22/we-have-a-christmas-tradition.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/21/happy-yule.html", "content_html": "

Happy Yule!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-12-21T21:12:34-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/21/happy-yule.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/20/last-year-we-had-goat.html", "content_html": "

Last year we had goat kebabs for Yule and we want to do that again this year. Last year we couldn’t find already-ground goat so I sorta-kinda got it done with a cleaver and blender. Today I drove all over Bloomington and finally found properly ground goat, so it should be even better this year.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-20T14:06:27-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/20/last-year-we-had-goat.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/08/today-i-help-carry-to.html", "content_html": "

Today I help carry to his grave a small and angry man. He abused his children when they were young, manipulated and demeaned them as adults. He was the pope of his own exacting and graceless religion, not having darkened the door of an actual church in a half-century. He would arrive in heaven believing it was his due, with a thing or two to say to God about the management of the universe.

\n

May his ancestors work him over. May his children find peace.

\n

As Rachel said, all the choices of his life led to the loneliness of his death. Live so as to be missed.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-08T08:44:22-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/08/today-i-help-carry-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/06/ralph-the-garage-cat.html", "title": "Ralph, the garage cat", "content_html": "\"\"\n

Meet Ralph, our garage cat. He started showing up a few months ago. His hair was terribly matted and had to be painful, so one day we caught him and shaved off the matted bits. He wasn’t happy about it, but maybe he appreciated it because he started showing up regularly, especially once we started feeding him.

\n

As winter approached, we set him up with a bed and heated mat in the (detached) garage, plus a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases. We like having him around.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-06T16:32:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/06/ralph-the-garage-cat.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/12/04/a-month-of-dumbing-down.html", "title": "A month of dumbing down my smartphone", "content_html": "

Almost a month ago, I dumbed down my smartphone. Here’s my report.

\n

The immediate effect was about a one-third reduction in my overall screen time (my iPhone and iPad taken together), so even retaining some of the time-waster apps on my iPad made significant progress. This is because:

\n
    \n
  1. The iPad cannot be used comfortably in bed, meaning I’m futzing around online less before going to sleep.
    2. \n
  2. The iPad cannot be used at work without raising, ummm, concerns with my boss. While I wasn’t wasting a lot of time on my phone at work, it wasn’t zero.
    3. \n
  3. As expected, this means that I mainly use my iPad at times when it’s “okay” to waste a bit of time, e.g., sitting at home.
    4. \n
\n

A few weeks ago, I was looking over the books I had read this year and it’s an embarrassingly small number. I’ve been reading much more over the past month. To be fair, though, that may be due to the change in seasons, i.e., I always read more in the winter.

\n

I did not track how many times I picked up my phone before and after the change, but I feel like it is far less. I leave it behind more often without noticing.

\n

It hasn’t caused any serious inconvenience. Because it’s still a smartphone, I can use it for work-related tasks that would be more difficult (not impossible) with a true dumbphone.

\n

It’s happened a few times that I wanted to look something up but couldn’t. The solution is easy enough: set up a reminder to look it up later.

\n

While I was never the worst screen addict, I was too easily slipping into distraction when I could have been doing something better. (Note: not “more productive”–that’s a fool’s game. “Better.") So with minimal inconvenience, I have decreased screentime and increased reading. I call that success.

\n", "date_published": "2025-12-04T08:45:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/12/04/a-month-of-dumbing-down.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/11/28/the-new-job-has-me.html", "content_html": "

The new job has me working on Black Friday for the first time in a quarter-century. (This is adequately offset by the addition of a few bank holidays to my calendar.) Going to be a quiet day people-wise but I’m covering for a couple of co-workers so I should be busy. Headphones on, music up.

\n", "date_published": "2025-11-28T08:50:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/11/28/the-new-job-has-me.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/11/27/rachels-parents-have-a-really.html", "content_html": "

Rachel’s parents have a really cool limestone clock carved by Rachel’s great-grandfather. The timepiece is from a car of the era. Family lore says he used a hammer and screwdriver because it’s the only tools he had.

\n

\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2025-11-27T20:13:48-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/11/27/rachels-parents-have-a-really.html", "tags": ["Memories","Folk art"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/11/22/all-week-long-ive-been.html", "content_html": "

All week long I’ve been looking forward to organizing and cleaning the garage today. So what are your “boring old man” weekend plans?

\n", "date_published": "2025-11-22T08:14:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/11/22/all-week-long-ive-been.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/11/03/the-general-consensus-used-to.html", "content_html": "

The general consensus used to be (here in America) that the Christmas season began the day after Thanksgiving. As with so many other consensi, that is dead. Apparently it now begins the day after Halloween. By the time I retire it’ll probably begin mid-summer.

\n", "date_published": "2025-11-03T05:53:22-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/11/03/the-general-consensus-used-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/11/01/thyme-and-cabbage-soup-on.html", "content_html": "

Thyme and cabbage soup on the fire

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-11-01T12:06:28-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/11/01/thyme-and-cabbage-soup-on.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/31/final-trick-or-treater-count.html", "content_html": "

Final trick or treater count!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-31T19:06:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/31/final-trick-or-treater-count.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/31/rachel-says-happy-halloween.html", "content_html": "

Rachel says happy Halloween

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-31T15:58:55-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/31/rachel-says-happy-halloween.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/31/half-a-day-of-work.html", "content_html": "

Half a day of work, a haircut, and then Halloween fun begins. Should be a nice day for trick or treating tonight, plus it’s a Friday. I’ll use my clicker counter again this year and report back.

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-31T04:54:49-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/31/half-a-day-of-work.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/28/rachels-bread-making-just-gets.html", "content_html": "

Rachel’s bread making just gets better and better. Look at this perfect thing! It’s intended as a bread bowl but I’m just going to eat it with butter. Don’t tell her.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-28T17:11:53-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/28/rachels-bread-making-just-gets.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/26/the-jack-olantern-i-carved.html", "content_html": "

The Jack o’lantern I carved today and the pumpkin painted by Darcy last week. Bring on Halloween!

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-26T18:18:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/26/the-jack-olantern-i-carved.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/26/two-years-ago-today-i.html", "content_html": "

Two years ago today, I made a trip to some family graveyards with the intention of facing some old trauma. That was an important trip for me, in hindsight. If a sign of forgiveness is that the memory of wrong remains but without the emotional charge, then that has been accomplished in me.

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-26T13:21:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/26/two-years-ago-today-i.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/17/about-to-head-out-on.html", "content_html": "

About to head out on a day trip full of visits to sacred sites and tending to the dead in family graveyards. The midpoint of the trip will be the Christ of the Ohio statue, which not enough people know about.

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-17T07:04:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/17/about-to-head-out-on.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/15/today-was-our-annual-trip.html", "content_html": "

Today was our annual trip to Huber’s to pick a pumpkin for this year’s jack-o’-lantern. Beautiful, fun day. A lot of road construction, though, which added over an hour to the driving. Now we get comfortable and watch some Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

\n

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-15T15:56:11-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/15/today-was-our-annual-trip.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/14/rachel-and-i-went-out.html", "content_html": "

Rachel and I went out on our first date thirty years ago today! It’s for this reason—and all the subsequent fall family fun resulting from that day—that October has always been special for us.

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-14T08:13:56-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/14/rachel-and-i-went-out.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/12/we-also-put-up-our.html", "content_html": "

We also put up our Halloween lights today

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-12T19:05:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/12/we-also-put-up-our.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/12/backyard-fire-on-this-sunday.html", "content_html": "

Backyard fire on this Sunday evening.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-12T18:46:08-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/12/backyard-fire-on-this-sunday.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/11/my-mom-gave-me-this.html", "content_html": "

My mom gave me this roadside tchotchke last week. Looks to be from Columbus, Mississippi or Missouri, neither of which have a Lincoln connection as far as I can tell. But that’s part of the weird Americana charm, right? I have a long memory of it hanging in our garage, so I’ve hung it in mine.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-10-11T09:05:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/11/my-mom-gave-me-this.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/10/08/as-i-drove-by-the.html", "content_html": "

As I drove by the Landmark Baptist church near our house, I decided to refresh my memory on Landmarkism. I had a copy of Trail of Blood as a teenager and toyed with the idea of using some of its arguments to make a similar genealogy of the fundamentalist Pentecostal group I was in.

\n", "date_published": "2025-10-08T12:13:20-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/10/08/as-i-drove-by-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/09/21/im-making-persimmon-pudding-for.html", "content_html": "

I’m making persimmon pudding for an equinox meal today. There may be misappropriation of pulp going on here.

\n", "date_published": "2025-09-21T11:05:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/09/21/im-making-persimmon-pudding-for.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/09/19/this-looks-like-the-churches.html", "content_html": "

This looks like the churches I grew up in, with two differences:

\n
    \n
  1. We would not have had a baptistery. We did baptisms in a deep spot in a local creek.
    2. \n
  2. If we would have had a baptistery, we would not have jumped into it. We would have said that brother “got in the flesh.”
    3. \n
\n

Otherwise, totally us.

\n", "date_published": "2025-09-19T15:40:08-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/09/19/this-looks-like-the-churches.html", "tags": ["Memories","The Given Life (religious memoir)"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/09/10/another-sign-of-the-shift.html", "content_html": "

Another sign of the shift out of summer: we can hear the scrap yard a mile from here in the morning. Turns out, sound travels farther in cold temperatures.

\n", "date_published": "2025-09-10T05:30:35-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/09/10/another-sign-of-the-shift.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/09/05/one-of-the-things-ive.html", "content_html": "

One of the things I’ve learned since taking this new job is that the feeling of vague dread every time I think of work is not, in fact, necessary.

\n", "date_published": "2025-09-05T07:24:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/09/05/one-of-the-things-ive.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/09/01/rachel-darcy-and-i-visited.html", "content_html": "

Rachel, Darcy, and I visited the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum today. Pretty cool! Mostly it made me wish even more for a landscape filled with shrines.

\n", "date_published": "2025-09-01T12:45:56-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/09/01/rachel-darcy-and-i-visited.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/08/16/found-this-while-doing-some.html", "content_html": "

Found this while doing some research at the local historical society. I was on the cutting edge of technology in 1988!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-08-16T10:23:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/08/16/found-this-while-doing-some.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/08/15/at-the-new-job-im.html", "content_html": "

At the new job, I’m back doing work that requires a ten key. (I guess it’s not technically a ten key but that’s the term we always used for it.) So rather than using the one already at my new desk, I brought in the one I had from my old job. It’s probably twentyish years old. Fun!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-08-15T12:11:53-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/08/15/at-the-new-job-im.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/08/11/rachel-and-i-just-spent.html", "content_html": "

Rachel and I just spent an entertaining hour getting a bat out of Darcy’s room. The good news is that our neighborhood has bats! We even saw another one swooping just outside the window, perhaps concerned for his friend.

\n", "date_published": "2025-08-11T00:42:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/08/11/rachel-and-i-just-spent.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/08/04/new-job-starts-tomorrow-feels.html", "content_html": "

New job starts tomorrow. Feels like the night before the first day of school, right down to getting my backpack ready.

\n", "date_published": "2025-08-04T18:06:16-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/08/04/new-job-starts-tomorrow-feels.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/31/lots-of-feelings-today-like.html", "content_html": "

Lots of feelings today. Like everyone, I had plenty of half-assed and “good enough” days. And (as a co-worker would say) it’s accounting work; we’re not saving lives here. But, on the whole, I’m glad I can say I did the work with integrity.

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-31T16:05:38-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/31/lots-of-feelings-today-like.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/31/today-is-my-last-day.html", "content_html": "

Today is my last day after 24 years. I said some goodbyes yesterday and there will be a few more today. Still having a hard time believing it. And, dangit, there’s a $3,500 variance between the balance sheet and income statement that has me stumped and I may have to leave with it unresolved!

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-31T04:48:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/31/today-is-my-last-day.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/27/reminder-to-myself-in-the.html", "content_html": "

Reminder to myself in the low light of winter: strong sun on a patch of brown eyed Susans. Also: remember that it’s been hot as hell for weeks now and maybe winter would be a welcome break.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-07-27T11:39:33-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/27/reminder-to-myself-in-the.html", "tags": ["Memories","Gardening"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/22/going-through-a-new-door.html", "title": "Going through a new door", "content_html": "

I have a new job at my hometown credit union as the Accounting Manager. After twenty-four years at my current job, I put in my notice last week. My final day there will be July 31st. I start at the credit union a few days later.

\n

I’ve been working remotely since the start of the pandemic. About a month ago, my current org announced a change in their work arrangements that would have had me back in the office an average of four days a week. I did that ninety minute a day commute for 18 years and I don’t want to go back to it.

\n

I am extremely fortunate at the way this new job came about—and how quickly it came about. The office is five blocks away, which means that even though I’ll be in the office three days a week, I’ll have zero commute.

\n

This is not quite the way I envisioned this part of my career but it feels like the right next step. As Wendell Berry says, “we live the given life, not the planned.”

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-22T17:32:15-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/22/going-through-a-new-door.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/21/a-home-remedy-i-hadnt.html", "content_html": "

A home remedy I hadn’t thought about in years: baking soda and water mixed into a paste for bee stings. Actually, in my memory we used for any kind of sting.

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-21T09:54:37-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/21/a-home-remedy-i-hadnt.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/15/remember-those-ice-cream-cups.html", "content_html": "

Remember those ice cream cups with the paper lids with a tab and the wooden spoon?

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-15T18:31:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/15/remember-those-ice-cream-cups.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/08/something-i-dont-feel-like.html", "content_html": "

Something I don’t feel like I see much anymore: oncoming drivers flashing their lights to warn of a speed trap ahead

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-08T16:33:27-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/08/something-i-dont-feel-like.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/03/i-may-have-cut-the.html", "content_html": "

I may have cut the biscuits a bit thick.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-07-03T05:56:51-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/03/i-may-have-cut-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/07/01/memories-of-jimmy-swaggart.html", "title": "Memories of Jimmy Swaggart", "content_html": "

Jimmy Swaggart has died. He was a really big deal in my childhood. I went to one of his crusades in the early eighties with my parents. Mostly I remember being amazed seeing the guy on my television in real life.

\n

His end-times preaching scared me. He had a series of broadcasts on that subject which began with an ominous fist-shaped cloud on the screen. One day I saw such a cloud outside the window and flipped out. No one was home at the time and I was sure I had just missed the rapture. I called a couple of relatives and they weren’t home either. Finally I got hold of someone who was able to assure me I was not damned.

\n

I vividly recall his tearful confession of sexual infidelity. It was a shocking moment for me. Around that same time I started going to our local youth camp, which introduced me to a wider variety of preachers than my sleepy little congregation usually had. More strident ones also. My shock over Swaggart’s fall was short-lived after hearing from those preachers that he was a compromising backslider, who left the true faith many, many years ago.

\n

So … no particular point here. Just wanted to get these memories down on “paper” on the occasion of his death.

\n", "date_published": "2025-07-01T13:02:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/07/01/memories-of-jimmy-swaggart.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/06/21/happy-solstice.html", "content_html": "

Happy solstice!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-06-21T07:32:11-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/06/21/happy-solstice.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/06/18/one-of-the-best-things.html", "content_html": "

One of the best things in my life is Rachel’s bread. It’s been ages since we last bought bread from a store. This is honey oat whole wheat.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-06-18T12:08:25-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/06/18/one-of-the-best-things.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/06/17/ive-been-in-the-er.html", "content_html": "

I’ve been in the ER with mom since 7am today. Likely a bad episode of vertigo but they’re doing tests to make sure it’s nothing more. At one point, apropos of nothing, a voice I hadn’t heard before suddenly said “the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field.” It became quickly obvious that it was a woman reading to her husband. But the unexpectedness and the setting made it feel like a moment of grace in a tiring day.

\n", "date_published": "2025-06-17T12:57:09-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/06/17/ive-been-in-the-er.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/06/05/future-jeremy-if-you-ever.html", "content_html": "

Future Jeremy: if you ever get the “oh my, my lord” earworm again, this is its source. “Shooby” by Nicole C. Mullen

\n", "date_published": "2025-06-05T21:00:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/06/05/future-jeremy-if-you-ever.html", "tags": ["Memories","Quote posts","Music"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/06/03/this-morning-pumping-gas-at.html", "content_html": "

This morning, pumping gas at the station on the edge of our neighborhood, I felt again what I’ve sometimes felt over the past few years as I’ve turned toward my particular place, and learned to love it warts and all. One of Wendell Berry’s phrases came to mind: “it all turns on affection”:

\n
\n

For humans to have a responsible relationship to the world, they must imagine their places in it. To have a place, to live and belong in a place, to live from a place without destroying it, we must imagine it. By imagination we see it illuminated by its own unique character and by our love for it. By imagination we recognize with sympathy the fellow members, human and nonhuman, with whom we share our place. By that local experience we see the need to grant a sort of preemptive sympathy to all the fellow members, the neighbours, with whom we share the world. As imagination enables sympathy, sympathy enables affection. And it is in affection that we find the possibility of a neighbourly, kind, and conserving economy.

\n
\n", "date_published": "2025-06-03T08:25:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/06/03/this-morning-pumping-gas-at.html", "tags": ["Memories","Wendell Berry"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/28/april-vacation.html", "title": "April vacation", "content_html": "

I’m back to work after taking last week off–and I’m delaying dealing with all of these messages by writing this post. So what did I do?

\n\n", "date_published": "2025-04-28T09:27:26-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/28/april-vacation.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/23/darcy-took-some-photos-today.html", "content_html": "

Darcy took some photos today during our trip to Madison, IN. A great little town, if you’re ever looking for something to do for a day in southeastern Indiana. We usually go at least once a year.

\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-23T18:09:01-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/23/darcy-took-some-photos-today.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/22/chatgpt-make-us-look-like.html", "content_html": "

ChatGPT, make us look like we’re in a Studio Ghibli movie.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-22T17:56:26-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/22/chatgpt-make-us-look-like.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/22/if-all-goes-as-planned.html", "content_html": "

If all goes as planned, I’ll be visiting the (Wendell) Berry Center in Kentucky on Friday. I’ll probably also visit Port Royal, his hometown and the inspiration for the fictional Port William.

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-22T10:11:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/22/if-all-goes-as-planned.html", "tags": ["Memories","Wendell Berry"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/14/one-week-until-vacation-well.html", "content_html": "

One week until vacation. We’ll mostly stay around home. Maybe one day down to Madison, IN. Maybe a solo day trip. Mostly just not thinking about work.

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-14T07:03:09-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/14/one-week-until-vacation-well.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/07/i-got-a-handmade-straw.html", "content_html": "

I got a handmade straw hat from the local Amish community. My family and friends’ reaction has been … mixed. 😂

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-04-07T10:52:13-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/07/i-got-a-handmade-straw.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/04/the-night-of-a-thousand.html", "title": "The night of a thousand buckets", "content_html": "

So how’s climate change going for y’all?

\n

On Wednesday, April 2nd, a big storm rolled through the area. Thankfully, we were spared the worst of it. Many, many people–including folks in the area–were not so lucky.

\n

We went to the basement when the tornado warning was issued for our area at around 11pm. While we were down there, we found a few leaks. One was in the wall:\n

\n

And, bizarrely, one was flowing like a water feature up from the floor:\n

\n

We were able to put a bucket under the wall leak but there were also some prolific leaks in the back of the basement. A neighbor said his rain gauge measured 4.5" inches of rain over the course of that night, so there was a great deal of water flowing into our basement.

\n

Near the end of the tornado warning, our power went out–which means the sump pump stopped running. Once the warning ended, I started bailing out the sump pit and continued doing so until 2am, when the rain substantially stopped. I wouldn’t even want to guess how many gallons of water I took upstairs to the kitchen drain. (All drains in the basement just empty back into the sump pit!) The power came back on about ten minutes after I stopped bailing.

\n

Rachel then spent the next couple of hours sweeping the remaining water into the sump pit and using the shop vac on our water feature in the floor until it finally stopped flowing. The good news is that neither the furnace nor the water heater suffered any damage.

\n

The next day, Rachel and I felt like we had hangovers. But we bought a generator, which will help us make sure we can run the sump pump (and anything else) the next time the power goes out. We looked at battery backup systems for the sump pump but the generator will serve that need for the time being. We also have a plan for patching the leaks once we manage to get two dry days in a row.

\n

We’re increasingly thinking in terms of preparation, in case weather unpredictability increases due to climate change. We’ve never had a generator before, because it seemed mostly unnecessary. Now it feels judicious to make the investment. We’ll see.

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-04T13:48:15-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/04/the-night-of-a-thousand.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/03/were-all-okay-this-morning.html", "content_html": "

We’re all okay this morning. Thanks for the expressions of concern. No significant damage but it was a crazy night. I’ll tell the story when I get some time today.

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-03T06:25:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/03/were-all-okay-this-morning.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/02/power-is-out-i-get.html", "content_html": "

Power is out. I get to use my hurricane lamp! Also, we have plenty of candles around, being pagans. 😂

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-02T22:33:06-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/02/power-is-out-i-get.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/04/02/tornado-warning-so-were-all.html", "content_html": "

Tornado warning, so we’re all in the creepy basement for the next twenty minutes or so. I hope everyone stays safe tonight!

\n", "date_published": "2025-04-02T21:44:09-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/04/02/tornado-warning-so-were-all.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/27/rachel-just-reminded-me-that.html", "content_html": "

Rachel just reminded me that I had a Tabasco sauce tie collection in the early nineties. I loved loud ties in my teenage years. She thought I was cute. 😄

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-27T20:16:19-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/27/rachel-just-reminded-me-that.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/24/this-morning-my-yearold-mom.html", "content_html": "

This morning, my 78 year-old mom called to tell me she has the flu so I’ve been talking to the pharmacy and the doctor all morning to figure out what we need to do. And then I got pulled over on the way into work and given a warning for speeding. So the last three hours have been a hell of a day

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-24T08:44:02-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/24/this-morning-my-yearold-mom.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/23/come-and-get-it-i.html", "content_html": "

Come and get it! I used Kent Rollins’ recipe. So easy.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-03-23T07:16:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/23/come-and-get-it-i.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/21/solstice-ashes-have-been-spread.html", "content_html": "

Solstice ashes have been spread on the garden. Equinox fire is burning.

\n\"Auto-generated\n", "date_published": "2025-03-21T17:14:44-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/21/solstice-ashes-have-been-spread.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/20/i-didnt-get-to-have.html", "content_html": "

I didn’t get to have my Agent Cooper coffee and cherry pie at the diner I stopped at the other day. (They were out of cherry pie.) But Rachel took pity on me.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-03-20T13:56:46-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/20/i-didnt-get-to-have.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/19/our-town-had-a-successful.html", "content_html": "

Our town had a successful tornado siren test last week. Then, days later, we had a tornado warning as a ferocious storm came through and the siren didn’t go off. Then it went off randomly at just after midnight today, on a clear and lovely night. So all is going well here.

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-19T10:39:44-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/19/our-town-had-a-successful.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/18/resolution-fall-asleep-in-the.html", "content_html": "

Resolution: fall asleep in the sunshine more often

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-18T17:15:18-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/18/resolution-fall-asleep-in-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/17/visit-to-native-american-mounds.html", "title": "Visit to Native American Mounds", "content_html": "

I visited a few southern Indiana mounds last Friday. Taking the last visit first, I went to the Angel Mounds site in Evansville. I highly recommend it if you’re in the area. The indoor museum was recently renovated and the videos are all well done. I recommend that you visit outside of school hours (the place gets a lot of field trips) since it allows you to walk the grounds in peace and imagine the lives of the people. I won’t post any pictures because none of mine are as good as you can find on the site linked above.

\n

Angel Mounds is the site of a Native American settlement on the banks of the Ohio River; at its height there could have been a thousand people living there. It was abandoned in 1450 for reasons that are unclear. The mounds are man-made and, in this case, are structural—to elevate certain buildings. They are not generally burial mounds, as the others I visited that day.

\n

Sugar Loaf Mound in Vincennes was well maintained. A sign gives a phone number you can call for an audio tour. View of the mound from two angles:

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And a welcome reminder that this is a sacred site:

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Both Sugar Loaf and Pyramid Mounds appear to be natural (not man-made) mounds that were subsequently used as burial sites. Both are near the Wabash River.

\n

Pyramid Mound was a little harder to find using the maps app. I recommend inputting the coordinates from this site into your maps app and then navigating your own way there. The turn by turn directions will lead you wrong.

\n

This site was frankly a bit depressing. It is feet from a heavily used highway and was almost destroyed by that road’s construction. Thankfully they noticed in time that it wasn’t just a normal hill. It’s also very close to a noisy granary. There are piles of brush everywhere, maybe left over from the time when the road was built? In short, it was clearly neglected and had none of the peace of the other sites. It was a stark reminder of both past and present violence against Native American sacred sites.

\n\"Auto-generated\n", "date_published": "2025-03-17T11:22:01-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/17/visit-to-native-american-mounds.html", "tags": ["Memories","Local"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/16/ancestor-shrine.html", "title": "Ancestor shrine", "content_html": "\"Auto-generated\n

I’ve moved my ancestor shrine back downstairs where it can be in a more actively used part of the house. Left to right:

\n\n", "date_published": "2025-03-16T14:30:19-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/16/ancestor-shrine.html", "tags": ["Memories","Peasants"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/14/the-beautiful-wabash-and-francis.html", "content_html": "

The beautiful Wabash, and Francis Vigo looking like he’s just been surprised on the toilet

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-03-14T09:18:21-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/14/the-beautiful-wabash-and-francis.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/14/wheatland-in-one-of-those.html", "content_html": "

Wheatland, IN. One of those little southern Indiana towns with dilapidated structures that give evidence of past prosperity. Railroad tracks run right through the middle. This is farm country, so maybe a place where the area’s products left for market? There’s still a lot of semis running through.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-03-14T08:13:19-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/14/wheatland-in-one-of-those.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/14/setting-out-on-my-trip.html", "content_html": "

Setting out on my trip to Vincennes and Evansville mounds with the full moon ahead and pink sunrise behind. Feels propitious.

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-14T06:41:04-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/14/setting-out-on-my-trip.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/12/its-been-another-beautiful-day.html", "content_html": "

It’s been another beautiful day. Dark now, but the back door is still open. It’s good to hear kids playing in the neighborhood.

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-12T19:29:06-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/12/its-been-another-beautiful-day.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/11/its-a-beautiful-spring-day.html", "content_html": "

It’s a beautiful spring day here. Rachel is outside giving our pond its spring cleaning. I’m inside preparing a budget presentation. One of these things is more fun than the other.

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-11T09:42:26-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/11/its-a-beautiful-spring-day.html", "tags": ["Memories","Gardening"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/09/we-heard-a-hawk-call.html", "content_html": "

We heard a hawk call while we were doing some transplanting, looked up, and saw three(!) of them. Every time I see a hawk I think of the Robinson Jeffers’ poem title: “give your heart to the hawks.”

\n", "date_published": "2025-03-09T13:17:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/09/we-heard-a-hawk-call.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/03/03/well-the-fried-cornmeal-mush.html", "content_html": "

Well the fried cornmeal mush was okay. It was a little like trying to fry slices of jello. And it took a long time to brown up—probably because it’s mostly water. It was pretty bland, even with maple syrup, but that’s consistent with what I’ve always heard about it.

\n

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\n", "date_published": "2025-03-03T07:12:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/03/03/well-the-fried-cornmeal-mush.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/28/while-im-in-here-reviewing.html", "content_html": "

While I’m in here reviewing these reports, Rachel is outside having a blast and being ridiculously cute.

\n\"Auto-generated\n", "date_published": "2025-02-28T11:04:50-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/28/while-im-in-here-reviewing.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/27/day-trip-to-jasper.html", "title": "Day trip to Jasper", "content_html": "

Rachel had an appointment in Jasper, IN, last Friday so we made a day of it. Jasper is a pretty unique town in southern Indiana. While the area has a lot of German ancestry, Jasper is one of the few places where it has remained an ongoing identity.

\n

While Rachel was in her appointment, I went to Sturm’s hardware store, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. There’s a store dog, who raced toward me in a flurry of barks when I entered the store.

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It’s a crazy cluttered place–as all the most interesting places are. It’s often not even clear what is and is not for sale. Then there’s this spiral staircase in the middle of the store.

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Near the front there was a raised platform (“bullpen”?) with piles and piles and piles of catalogs behind, presumably where someone could have made an order for anything not in stock.

\n\"Auto-generated\r\n

Lunch was at Schnitzelbank, always a fun place to eat.

\n\"Auto-generated\r\n

I never finished the Wheel of Time series, but one phrase has stayed with me: “Glory to the builders.” It arises spontaneously when I’m looking a places like St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

\n\"Auto-generated\n", "date_published": "2025-02-27T13:58:42-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/27/day-trip-to-jasper.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/18/unexpected-of-snow-last-weekend.html", "content_html": "

Unexpected 2” of snow last weekend. Flurries right now. Temperatures below freezing all week. 2-4” more snow tomorrow. Flu rampaging the area. We are well and truly at the ass end of winter.

\n", "date_published": "2025-02-18T07:28:44-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/18/unexpected-of-snow-last-weekend.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/10/woke-up-this-morning-from.html", "content_html": "

Woke up this morning from a very disturbing dream AND with “Sh-boom” by the Chords playing in my head. I think I’ve been watching too much David Lynch.

\n", "date_published": "2025-02-10T19:31:38-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/10/woke-up-this-morning-from.html", "tags": ["Memories","Music"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/10/in-our-final-months-in.html", "content_html": "

In our final months in the Holiness church, the Spider Man movie and soundtrack came out. Rachel and I loved it. After church on Sunday nights, we’d roll our tv out of the closet (literally), put in the spider man dvd, go to special features, and watch this video over and over. Good, cheesy memories

\n", "date_published": "2025-02-10T19:12:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/10/in-our-final-months-in.html", "tags": ["Memories","Music"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/02/01/how-were-celebrating-imbolccandlemas.html", "title": "How we’re celebrating Imbolc/Candlemas", "content_html": "

Content warning: paganism

\n

This year, a few holidays fall into this weekend: Candlemas, St. Brigid’s day, Imbolc. Maybe they’re historically related, maybe they’re not—you’ll have to look into that for yourself. Today I’ll just be writing about our plans.

\n

At some point in the past twenty years, I found out about Candlemas and the associated practice of eating crêpes (possibly because of their sun-like appearance?). That sounded good to us so we’ve been eating crêpes by candlelight every Candlemas for a few years now.

\n

Over the past year though, Rachel and I have started making a more concerted effort to celebrate the quarter and cross-quarter days. The Wheel of the Year has historically been attuned to the seasons of the British Isles, so (like many others) we’ve been trying to focus our celebration on more local seasonal changes. Imbolc is generally regarded as a celebration of the first hints of Spring, and I believe we’ve found a couple of good ones.

\n

First, the beginning of February is roughly the beginning of sugaring season around here, when the sap begins to run and maple syrup production begins. So I’m going to attempt maple candy today using some local maple syrup. (Maple candy AND crêpes in one day? That’s a lot of sugar.)

\n

Secondly, Rachel is going to start a batch of seeds today, mostly for cool tolerant plants like leafy greens. She did this in February last year, so timing it with the holiday celebration seemed appropriate. She’s very excited about this. :)

\n

We’ll still be eating crêpes by candlelight. This year we’ve added a nice candelabra we found at a flea market. Candles are from a local maker using semi-local beeswax. The candles will be burned all day today and possibly tomorrow.

\n

Brigid/St. Brigid is not a large part of our celebration but Rachel did make a nice Brigid’s cross from horsetail growing in our little pond:

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I’ve enjoyed revisiting this essay from Rhyd Wildermuth from last year at this time.

\n

We’ll also have a fire out back at some point. (Any excuse will do.) Tomorrow’s weather is going to be especially nice, so we’ll also do a bit of outdoor spring cleaning, e.g., raking up sweetgum pods, straightening up the garage, cleaning up the area where we feed the birds.

\n

It’s going to be a good weekend. Bring on Spring.

\n", "date_published": "2025-02-01T11:02:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/02/01/how-were-celebrating-imbolccandlemas.html", "tags": ["Memories","Longer writing"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/27/happy-th-birthday-to-this.html", "content_html": "

Happy 19th birthday to this kiddo!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-01-27T14:43:14-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/27/happy-th-birthday-to-this.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/26/lovely-night-for-a-backyard.html", "content_html": "

Lovely night for a backyard fire

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-01-26T18:36:45-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/26/lovely-night-for-a-backyard.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/24/i-realized-this-morning-im.html", "content_html": "

I realized this morning I’m still 47. I’ve been thinking I’m 48 for…I don’t know…months now?

\n", "date_published": "2025-01-24T07:55:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/24/i-realized-this-morning-im.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/11/spring-mill-and-rachel-in.html", "content_html": "

Spring Mill (and Rachel!) in the snow.

\n

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\n", "date_published": "2025-01-11T14:37:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/11/spring-mill-and-rachel-in.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/10/the-view-out-our-front.html", "content_html": "

The view out our front door

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-01-10T21:17:34-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/10/the-view-out-our-front.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/06/the-winter-storm-seems-to.html", "content_html": "

The winter storm seems to have moved out at this point. This is one of those times I’m thankful to live in town rather than the country. Apparently the country roads are impassable. We’ve been under the highest level of travel warning for a day or so now.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-01-06T13:38:47-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/06/the-winter-storm-seems-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/05/some-pictures-from-the-neighborhood.html", "content_html": "

Some pictures from the neighborhood today. Rachel and I have been listening to the Telepathy Tapes for most of the day. While we’ve been listening, I’ve been playing solitaire. Haven’t done that in years, especially with real cards.

\n

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\n", "date_published": "2025-01-05T17:56:04-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/05/some-pictures-from-the-neighborhood.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2025/01/01/first-day-hike-at-spring.html", "content_html": "

First Day Hike at Spring Mill state park.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2025-01-01T10:35:47-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2025/01/01/first-day-hike-at-spring.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/28/ive-gotten-away-from-hiking.html", "content_html": "

I’ve gotten away from hiking over the past year—and I felt it today. It does me a lot of good in a lot of ways when I’m regularly in the woods. I’m going to get back to that.

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-28T16:53:23-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/28/ive-gotten-away-from-hiking.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/22/one-last-fun.html", "content_html": "

One last fun bit about solstice: all the ash from the fires yesterday will be sprinkled onto the garden in the spring.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-12-22T10:09:51-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/22/one-last-fun.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/closing-out-the.html", "content_html": "

Closing out the day with a campfire, the flame of which traces back to the spark struck this morning. It’s been a full but unhurried day, my favorite kind. Plenty of time to reflect on the year and consider the one upcoming. Plenty to be grateful for.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T18:54:58-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/closing-out-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/goat-kebabs-no.html", "content_html": "

Goat kebabs. No local farmer had ground goat available but one did have shoulder steaks. Me and a cleaver got it most of the way there and then a blender did the rest. Goat is associated with Yule, for reasons that aren’t very clear. We also have straw Yule goats we’ll be throwing onto the fire.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T17:40:27-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/goat-kebabs-no.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/looks-like-im.html", "content_html": "

(Looks like I’m live blogging Yule. 🤷‍♂️)

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T12:16:58-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/looks-like-im.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/dang-that-chili.html", "content_html": "

Dang, that chili was good. The recipe called for two pounds of ground beef, which felt excessive. We swapped one pound of ground beef for another pound of kidney beans. Perfect. Since we get our beef from a local farmer, it’s expensive—which in turn makes us a bit more sensitive to its overuse.

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T12:06:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/dang-that-chili.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/chili-is-cooking.html", "content_html": "

Chili is cooking over the coals. We went with chili because it’s easy to cook outside—which was more important to us than what we actually cooked. I used Kent Rollins’ recipe; Rachel has her own chili recipe but we went with this one because we’ve been enjoying Kent’s stuff lately.

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T10:20:21-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/chili-is-cooking.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/21/first-act-of.html", "content_html": "

First act of the solstice: light the Yule fire from flint and steel. I wanted to use that method because it is more bodily and patient than striking a match. This candle will be used to light all the other candles and the cooking fire today.

\n\n", "date_published": "2024-12-21T06:08:38-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/21/first-act-of.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/19/rachel-and-i.html", "content_html": "

Rachel and I are establishing a new holiday season tradition: playing gin rummy every evening with Christmas movies on in the background. It’s been so fun!

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-19T19:52:42-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/19/rachel-and-i.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/12/beans-are-cooking.html", "content_html": "

Beans are cooking!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-12-12T08:52:58-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/12/beans-are-cooking.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/10/ive-been-learning.html", "content_html": "

I’ve been learning how to cook with and maintain cast iron lately. The learning has been mostly from the goofy and charming Cowboy Kent Rollins. The goal is to do some outdoor cooking, especially for our upcoming Yule meal. We’ll see how it goes!

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-10T09:17:41-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/10/ive-been-learning.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/09/looks-like-ive.html", "content_html": "

Looks like I’ve been on micro.blog three years today. I was briefly on the service once or twice before that but I didn’t use the community aspect so it didn’t last. I’m glad I tried again because I’ve found some great friends and acquaintances here!

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-09T07:44:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/09/looks-like-ive.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/07/got-a-flint.html", "content_html": "

Got a flint and steel in the mail today and I’ve successfully made a small fire from it. The plan is to use it to make a Yule fire two weeks from today. I’ll practice a few more times. I recall an Episcopal priest’s repeated failures one Sunday and I’d like to avoid a similar episode.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-12-07T14:26:49-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/07/got-a-flint.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/12/01/we-got-all.html", "content_html": "

We got all festive today! This morning we cut our Christmas tree and decorated it. This is our second year with a live tree and I think we’re officially converts. We also set up a Yule space (pictured is the Yule log centerpiece). We’ve been looking into some Yule traditions and developing a plan.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-12-01T21:08:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/12/01/we-got-all.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/11/26/watching-the-turmoil.html", "content_html": "

Watching the turmoil of my 78 year old mom has made me utterly certain that the doctrine of eternal, conscious torment in hell preached by fundamentalist and evangelical Christianity is cruel. I live and breathe religion and religious ideas, but that one is dangerous and wicked.

\n", "date_published": "2024-11-26T17:04:27-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/11/26/watching-the-turmoil.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/11/23/going-to-the.html", "content_html": "

Going to the store on a Saturday with some small plumbing part in hand always makes me think of my dad. Of course, now I’m going to Lowe’s instead of the little hardware store in Oolitic but, still, a good memory. The smell and feel of those classic hardware stores was wonderful.

\n", "date_published": "2024-11-23T11:51:51-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/11/23/going-to-the.html", "tags": ["Memories","Quote posts"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/11/13/remember-when-i.html", "content_html": "

Remember when I built a house for our sickly neighborhood cat Morty? He came by on Halloween but we haven’t seen him since…

\n", "date_published": "2024-11-13T07:53:55-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/11/13/remember-when-i.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/11/03/came-across-this.html", "content_html": "

Came across this in my mom’s basement. I think everyone around here had this painting. Rachel’s family also had it and (when she was very young) she thought it was her deceased grandpa.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-11-03T10:29:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/11/03/came-across-this.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/10/31/halloween-is-easily.html", "content_html": "

Halloween is easily the best night of the year in our neighborhood. It’s like living in an 80s movie. I got a counter to keep track of the number of kids that came through.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-10-31T19:36:12-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/10/31/halloween-is-easily.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/10/27/i-am-a.html", "content_html": "

I am a Jack-o-lantern traditionalist: no stencils or fancy carving tools, just a pencil and a small knife. Here’s this year’s pumpkin.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-10-27T19:36:22-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/10/27/i-am-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/10/23/every-year-since.html", "content_html": "

Every year since Darcy was two, we’ve gone to Huber Orchard to get our pumpkin for carving. It’s one of our favorite traditions.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-10-23T15:05:28-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/10/23/every-year-since.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/10/21/the-private-property.html", "content_html": "

The private property on the northeast side of Murray Forest is being logged. I’ve spent most of my time on the other side. However, my special spot is, I think, just over the line into private land and now I’m worried about its destruction.

\n", "date_published": "2024-10-21T13:57:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/10/21/the-private-property.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/10/04/had-breakfast-with.html", "content_html": "

Had breakfast with the distinguished author today.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-10-04T08:47:48-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/10/04/had-breakfast-with.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/28/were-finished-with.html", "content_html": "

We’re finished with the floors for today. Now I’m sitting here in this upset of furniture waiting on Rachel and Darcy. There’s the most delicious breeze, stirring the wind chimes into a sound like singing bowls. All originating in a ferocious, deadly hurricane 750 miles south of here.

\n", "date_published": "2024-09-28T12:40:34-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/28/were-finished-with.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/28/two-rooms-ready.html", "content_html": "

Two rooms ready for sanding. Both have a rectangular section in the middle with an older finish. Like something semi-permanent was there at one time and someone finished the floor around it. A mystery. Also, we’ll replace that plywood patch by the window with some good flooring cut from a closet.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-09-28T11:56:42-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/28/two-rooms-ready.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/28/were-pulling-out.html", "content_html": "

We’re pulling out the carpet in the front half of the house today. In every project Rachel and I have worked on she has three essential tools: needle nosed pliers, a crowbar, and a butter knife. If it can’t be done with one of those three, she says, it doesn’t need to be done.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-09-28T07:12:57-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/28/were-pulling-out.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/27/rachel-is-repainting.html", "content_html": "

Rachel is repainting the front half of our house. All the books (plus some records and CDs) had to be moved to the dining room. Quite a pile! I’ll be taking this opportunity to thin the collection and rearrange them before reshelving when the project is done.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-09-27T09:49:31-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/27/rachel-is-repainting.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/19/tomorrow-rachel-and.html", "content_html": "

Tomorrow Rachel and I will have a slightly early equinox celebration. The persimmons I’ve been posting about will be part of it. Pictured below is the antique Foley food mill (technically a ricer) she used to process them. Also, she arranged some flowers from our garden inside a pumpkin.

\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-09-19T13:06:55-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/19/tomorrow-rachel-and.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/13/the-thing-about.html", "content_html": "

The thing about Rachel is, she doesn’t take long to decide on something—and then once the decision is done, it’s done. In the course of the last two hours, she’s decided we’re now tearing up all the remaining carpet downstairs and refinishing the wood floor underneath, plus painting the walls. 😂

\n", "date_published": "2024-09-13T11:25:01-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/13/the-thing-about.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/09/02/sierra-ferrells-harmony.html", "content_html": "

Sierra Ferrell’s harmony on this song takes me straight back to childhood in Trinity Pentecost Mission in Springville.

\n", "date_published": "2024-09-02T16:30:25-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/09/02/sierra-ferrells-harmony.html", "tags": ["Memories","Music"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/08/23/people-ought-to.html", "content_html": "

People ought to be warned about middle age. My daughter is 18 and needs help dealing with increasingly adult situations. My mom is 78 and is able to handle very little by herself anymore. Increasing pressure and responsibilities at work. I know it happens to everyone. Nevertheless, it’s a lot!

\n", "date_published": "2024-08-23T10:33:05-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/08/23/people-ought-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/08/16/today-is-darcys.html", "content_html": "

Today is Darcy’s first day on her new job at Bath and Body Works. It’s a new chapter for her!

\n", "date_published": "2024-08-16T08:13:36-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/08/16/today-is-darcys.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/07/20/on-a-solo.html", "content_html": "

On a solo drive through southern Indiana today. First stops: the Medora brick factory and the Medora covered bridge (longest in the US).

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-07-20T06:48:14-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/07/20/on-a-solo.html", "tags": ["Memories","Local"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/07/07/steve-robinson-on.html", "content_html": "

Steve Robinson on the death of his father. I know what this kind of conflicted memory is like. I’m grateful to him for honestly expressing it.

\n", "date_published": "2024-07-07T07:48:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/07/07/steve-robinson-on.html", "tags": ["Memories","Short posts"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/07/02/darcy-brought-me.html", "content_html": "

Darcy brought me two prayer cards from the Pisa Cathedral. One is for “Madonna di sotto gli organi” (Madonna under the organs–referring to the location of the painting), which mentions the painting’s escape from the cathedral fire in 1595. The other is for St. Ranieri, patron saint of Pisa.

\n

Translation of the prayer on the back of the Madonna card, via Google Translate:

\n
\n

Virgin Mary,

\n

Mother of God and of every man, who watches over Pisa and protects her, look at us who confidently turn to your maternal intercession.

\n

In your image, which escaped the devastation of fire and is venerated with love by the people of Pisa, you show us Christ your Son as the path that leads to the Father, as the light that shines in the darkness, as the brother and savior of those who seek truth and life. You who trusted God teach us to rely on his will and his providence: in our difficulties, give us strength; in our anguish, increase hope in us; in our sorrows, communicate your joy to us.

\n

May your help and your affection as a Mother support us on the path of the Gospel, because enlightened by Christ, light of the world, we bear witness to it to those we meet on our path and together we give glory to God who lives and reigns forever and ever.

\n

Amen.

\n
\n\"Auto-generated\r\n\"Auto-generated\n", "date_published": "2024-07-02T10:39:08-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/07/02/darcy-brought-me.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/07/02/darcy-is-home.html", "content_html": "

Darcy is home and we’re all very thankful. The Abels are not a traveling people. Rachel and I already knew this about ourselves but Darcy is discovering it also. She had some good moments but it was mostly a stressful experience for her, for various reasons.

\n", "date_published": "2024-07-02T10:21:45-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/07/02/darcy-is-home.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/06/28/now-having-contributedperhaps.html", "content_html": "

Now having contributed–perhaps unwisely–to election talk, I return to ignoring politics and focusing my attention on what is mine to do: long-distance parenting for the next three days, accounting at the end of the fiscal year, furniture restoration, and enjoying our Limestone Festival.

\n", "date_published": "2024-06-28T08:42:59-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/06/28/now-having-contributedperhaps.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/06/20/we-sent-darcy.html", "content_html": "

We sent Darcy off to Europe for 12 days this morning. (Spain then south of France then Italy.) That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Darcy was having second thoughts but we talked her through it. Once we parted, Rachel and I sat on a bench and cried for a good while.

\n", "date_published": "2024-06-20T16:48:01-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/06/20/we-sent-darcy.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/05/31/ive-been-pretty.html", "content_html": "

I’ve been pretty okay with this whole high school graduation thing but then Rachel sent me this pair of pictures and whew boy.

\n

\"\"\"\"

\n", "date_published": "2024-05-31T21:23:36-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/05/31/ive-been-pretty.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/05/23/today-was-launch.html", "content_html": "

Today was launch day for an endowment management system that a group of us have been working on for 18 months—and so far, so good. This is the third such system we’ve built over 20 years because there’s nothing on the market quite like it. Great system, well-managed project, but I’m glad it’s over!

\n", "date_published": "2024-05-23T19:59:35-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/05/23/today-was-launch.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/05/16/for-a-brief.html", "content_html": "

For a brief time in the spring here in the White River watershed, the redbuds fairly glow with their pale purple blooms. It’s one of the signs of the shifting seasons. You suddenly notice how widespread the trees are: all over the hillsides, along the roads. Who knew that those small trees–unnoticed for the rest of the year–were capable of such beauty?

\n

As I write this, our neighbor is having his healthy redbud cut down. Something about it making a mess on his roof. Suffice it to say we have very different ideas about trees.

\n

During that spring bloomtime, I can walk up my stairs and see the redbud framed in our bedroom window. It’s astonishing, every time.

\n

One day I had been changing clothes in our bedroom with the door shut. As I turned to leave, I was caught up by the light playing on the door. Later, I wrote the following:

\n

I reach to open–
\npause–the redbud behind me
\nglorifies the door.

\n", "date_published": "2024-05-16T11:17:32-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/05/16/for-a-brief.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/05/10/im-on-the.html", "content_html": "

I’m on the road today—driving from Salem to Paoli to French Lick to Loogootee, looking for old tools in junk shops and flea markets. Listening to the Why We Drive audiobook, appropriately enough.

\n", "date_published": "2024-05-10T11:36:45-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/05/10/im-on-the.html", "tags": ["Memories","Books"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/05/03/a-couple-of.html", "content_html": "

A couple of cops had a car stopped in front of our house last night around 2am. Probably a drug arrest, since they were searching the car. First thing I thought: they’d better not run because they’ll end up stepping on one of our plants. Thankfully, they did not.

\n", "date_published": "2024-05-03T08:41:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/05/03/a-couple-of.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/25/garden-fairy.html", "content_html": "

Garden fairy

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2024-04-25T17:40:52-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/25/garden-fairy.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/09/a-quick-video.html", "content_html": "

A quick video of the moment the eclipse happened at our house. You can hear some of the neighbors cheering.

\n

\n", "date_published": "2024-04-09T07:24:31-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/09/a-quick-video.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/08/lots-of-people.html", "content_html": "

Lots of people out walking and riding bikes. Beautiful day. Feels like a less hot July Fourth. We should have eclipses more often.

\n", "date_published": "2024-04-08T12:29:42-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/08/lots-of-people.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/08/the-head-of.html", "content_html": "

The head of Indiana’s DNR (who is also my neighbor) says all campgrounds and state park lodges are full. Guests from all fifty states and three other countries. So, plenty of people around–but the roads are quiet. People seem to have made the wise decision to get to their viewing site and stay put.

\n", "date_published": "2024-04-08T08:41:35-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/08/the-head-of.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/06/so-theres-an.html", "content_html": "

So there’s an eclipse coming, if you haven’t heard. We’re in the path of totality. In fact, we’re at the end of the zone where the darkness will last a full four minutes. It’s caused a bit of a hubbub.

\n\n

We don’t plan to drive anywhere until Wednesday. I do plan to do some walking though, to see how bad the traffic gets on some of the main roads. It might get a little crazy around here for the next couple of days—and I’m not looking forward to that. But I am excited about the eclipse itself!

\n", "date_published": "2024-04-06T17:23:16-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/06/so-theres-an.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/04/02/nearly-every-time.html", "content_html": "

Nearly every time someone mentions Eclipse Day (which I always imagine with capital letters), I think of this from Neil Gaiman.

\n", "date_published": "2024-04-02T07:20:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/04/02/nearly-every-time.html", "tags": ["Memories","Short posts"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/03/26/new-staff-member.html", "content_html": "

New staff member started yesterday. I think he’s going to be great.

\n

You know what’s not great? The fact that I’m back in the office for a few weeks to train him. The commute. Merciful heavens, the commute. 90 minutes per day of the worst of humanity, which brings out the worst in me.

\n", "date_published": "2024-03-26T06:50:45-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/03/26/new-staff-member.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/03/22/the-clearest-and.html", "content_html": "

The clearest and most disturbing realization I had after quitting Big Tech/algorithmic social media was that my mind had been colonized by the timeline. I thought about what it told me to think about, to the exclusion of what I may have pursued on my own, synchronistically and independently.

\n", "date_published": "2024-03-22T08:05:46-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/03/22/the-clearest-and.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/03/19/i-have-a.html", "content_html": "

I have a new staff member starting next Monday. I’m excited to have him join, not least because it’s a totally new position that will bring in some skills we’ve needed for a while. BUT, because of an HR rule that new staff must be trained in person, it means I will have to be in the office five days a week for several weeks. I’m trying my best not to get overly gloomy about this. It doesn’t help that I’m already in a very busy, high-pressure time as we enter the last two months of a two-year long re-write of our endowment management system. And we’ve just started budget construction for our next fiscal year–and it’s a new process. And we’ve reorganized the department. And we’re adding four new staff members. And we’ll go straight from deploying the new endowment management system straight into audit. And … and … whew, it’s a lot. I have no point to make here; just complaining.

\n", "date_published": "2024-03-19T07:23:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/03/19/i-have-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/03/06/my-grandpas-license.html", "content_html": "

My grandpa’s license plate. My dad’s tool box. He added the State Farm sticker; I added the Mortise and Tenon sticker.

\n\"A\n", "date_published": "2024-03-06T13:02:06-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/03/06/my-grandpas-license.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/02/19/ive-lived-in.html", "content_html": "

I’ve lived in different areas of Lawrence County for my entire life–but everything started in one particular town, Springville. That’s where my maternal grandparents lived their adult lives. Bud (real name Clarence but universally known as Bud) and Alta (pronounced AL-tee) were both born in the Kentucky counties of Wayne and Pulaski, respectively, but their families moved to the area for the limestone jobs. I plan to write more about them but first I’m working on getting the chronology of their early lives straight. In the meantime, suffice it to say that Springville is where their children were born and it is the place of my earliest memories.

\n

Two buildings come to mind today.

\n

First is the Trinity Pentecost Mission. (The Holiness people, bless them, weren’t always clear that their churches were Pentecostal, not Pentecost.)

\n

\"\"

\n

Grandpa helped build this church and served as Sunday School Superintendent for thirty years. I have the bell he used on those Sunday mornings.

\n

\"\"

\n

It’s possible that my great-grandpa was a preacher at this church but that is unconfirmed. I’m waiting to hear back from my uncle to see if he knows anything about that.

\n

My earliest memories at this church:

\n\n

Second is Springville Grocery. A picture as it is now:

\n

\"\"

\n

My aunt started this store many years ago. Maybe in the 70s? I remember it especially from the time when my grandparents moved from their little house in which my mom and aunts and uncles grew up to a trailer on the lot next to the grocery store. My guess is that my aunt owned that lot and helped my grandparents move there so they would be close by.

\n

I stayed with my grandparents a lot during childhood so I remember walking over to the store with a handful of pennies and nickels for candy. I don’t really have many specific memories about the store—just that it was a fixture and landmark during my childhood.

\n

I’m very glad to see that it seems to have taken on new life. I hadn’t been there in many years until very recently and they’ve added booths and hot breakfast. It looks like the sort of place the local retirees might gather. And, more relevant to us, they have become Springville’s source for locally raised meat and dairy products. Seeing my aunt’s store turn into a market supporting local agriculture is gratifying.

\n", "date_published": "2024-02-19T14:30:33-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/02/19/ive-lived-in.html", "tags": ["Memories","Local"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/02/11/this-morning-ill.html", "content_html": "

This morning I’ll be preparing the final tax returns for the beard products business I co-own with three friends. We had a decent year or two but it’s been effectively defunct for two years at this point. We’ve all been too busy and our interest waned over time.

\n", "date_published": "2024-02-11T09:17:15-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/02/11/this-morning-ill.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/31/its-pm-and.html", "content_html": "

It’s 7pm and that has come to mean one thing at the Abel house this winter: it’s time for tea and Azerbaijanians.

\n", "date_published": "2024-01-31T18:59:56-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/31/its-pm-and.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/27/eighteen-years.html", "content_html": "

Eighteen years!

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\n", "date_published": "2024-01-27T09:30:18-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/27/eighteen-years.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/26/poor-darcy-is.html", "content_html": "

Poor Darcy is spending her last day as a minor on the couch sick. Likely won’t be much better tomorrow. Her requested birthday celebration–getting her ears pierced, buying a lottery ticket, and going to that great Italian restaurant in Bloomington–will likely have to wait.

\n", "date_published": "2024-01-26T10:52:27-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/26/poor-darcy-is.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/16/so-my-daughter.html", "content_html": "

So, my daughter has an interest in doing some volunteer work before college–both in order to get some life experience and figure out what she’d like to do. Something like the Peace Corps. Does anyone know of good organizations or resources to find such organizations? Can be domestic or overseas.

\n", "date_published": "2024-01-16T08:48:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/16/so-my-daughter.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/09/the-big-winter.html", "content_html": "

The big winter storm is moving through our neck of the woods and the result is mostly relentless rain and gray skies. But maybe some snow on Friday evening.

\n", "date_published": "2024-01-09T09:52:09-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/09/the-big-winter.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2024/01/01/i-made-a.html", "content_html": "

I made a New Year’s lucky lunch of sausage and sauerkraut and black eyed peas. I got choked on it. Gonna be a good year!

\n", "date_published": "2024-01-01T12:02:14-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2024/01/01/i-made-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/12/04/the-holiday-party.html", "content_html": "

The holiday party at work did not go my way…

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-12-04T19:24:29-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/12/04/the-holiday-party.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/31/it-was-a.html", "content_html": "

It was a great time tonight, despite the unseasonably cold weather. (36F!) Every year we have hundreds of kids through our neighborhood. The number was down a bit this year but still more than expected. It’s truly a special thing we have here.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-10-31T19:38:36-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/31/it-was-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/31/happy-halloween.html", "content_html": "

Happy Halloween!

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-10-31T16:16:35-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/31/happy-halloween.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/31/appropriately-enough-for.html", "content_html": "

Appropriately enough for the opening of Allhallowtide, the print shop finished the scan of an 1864 letter written by my great-great-great grandfather–Private David S. Morgan, G Company, 49th Infantry, Union Army. I’ll be framing a copy printed on cardstock and keeping the original in an archival quality folder.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-10-31T12:42:37-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/31/appropriately-enough-for.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/29/i-decided-to.html", "content_html": "

I repeated a previous design this year. The star eye is a little lopsided so I’ve decided that’s him winking at you.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-10-29T18:55:53-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/29/i-decided-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/29/planning-to-carve.html", "content_html": "

Planning to carve a pumpkin today, so I’ve been looking at some of the ones I’ve done over the years. I know there are nifty tools and patterns and such now, but I still love the traditional Jack-o-lantern carved with a kitchen knife.

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\n", "date_published": "2023-10-29T09:11:09-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/29/planning-to-carve.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/26/i-did-some.html", "content_html": "

I did some grave visitation today ahead of Allhallowtide. I’ll be busy on the actual days and I have some local graves to visit this weekend, so today seemed like a good day for the not-so-local graves. Today’s route:

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What an absolutely beautiful day for a drive in the hills around Patoka Lake. The fall colors were delightful. A corner of Patoka Lake:

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I mentioned recently that I’ve been thinking about my dad’s side of the family recently. I never knew them well, for reasons that are obvious from that post. Some bad stuff came through that family line and a lot of my recent spiritual practice has been working toward understanding and integrating that pain and hopefully transforming it.

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It turns out that generations worth of my dad’s family are in two cemeteries: Crystal Community Cemetery and Bethany Union Chapel Cemetery. (The Find a Grave website has been invaluable, by the way.)

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Four generations worth of my paternal grandfather’s side are in Crystal Community Cemetery, all the way back to my great-great-great grandfather (b. 1834) who was a private in the Union Army in the Civil War. I have a letter from him that has been passed down the generations. (It’s at the print shop being scanned right now but I’ll post a picture when I get it back.)

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Three generations worth of my paternal grandmother’s side are in Bethany Union Chapel Cemetery. The oldest ancestor there was born in 1872 but there are others in nearby cemeteries which I did not have time to visit today. Another time, for sure.

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When I got to Crystal Community Cemetery, I was tempted to stand in the middle of it and say, “okay, y’all, who started this shit?” But I didn’t. I did talk to them all, particularly my paternal grandfather who I know did some bad stuff. I was very honest with him about my anger about what he did to my father.

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I was honest with my folks in both cemeteries, actually. But I also told them that I and my family are doing well, despite it all. Obviously I still have some things to work through (else why am I traveling miles to gripe at my dead grandpa) but, on the whole, the wounds are closing and I have decided to act in the role of healer, not victim.

\n", "date_published": "2023-10-26T17:56:30-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/26/i-did-some.html", "tags": ["Memories","Local"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/10/10/upick-i-pick.html", "content_html": "

U-pick, I pick, we all pick pumpkins. We’ve been doing this ever since Darcy was a baby. We’re not thinking about how much longer this tradition will continue now that Darcy is a senior…

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-10-10T15:37:47-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/10/10/upick-i-pick.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/09/17/following-on-from.html", "content_html": "

Following on from the “husbands in cars” memory: Rachel made a good point that our services were very demanding. If the “unsaved” husband actually went inside the building he could very easily have been targeted by the preacher. Maybe even named and called out. (It happened many times.) Ours was also a very emotional religion: men of that generation were commonly uncomfortable with such outward emotion, even if they inwardly believed.

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We had a point midway in the service (I don’t know how commonly this was done in other churches) where the pastor, or someone called up by the pastor, would open the floor for prayer requests. They could be spoken out by anyone in the congregation and then we would kneel (by which I mean knees on the floor, elbows on the pews—not any of those fancy kneelers the “formal” churches had) and pray for a few minutes. Many of those women would—every service, and for years on end—request prayer for their “lost husbands” or, even more commonly, “lost children.”

\n", "date_published": "2023-09-17T10:27:48-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/09/17/following-on-from.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/09/17/a-phenomenon-i.html", "content_html": "

A phenomenon I associate with country churches in my childhood: an irreligious husband waiting in the car while the devout wife is in church—either because she didn’t drive (this was fairly common in rural areas) or because the husband didn’t want her driving in the dark. Anyone else remember this?

\n", "date_published": "2023-09-17T09:24:52-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/09/17/a-phenomenon-i.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/09/10/i-saw-that.html", "content_html": "

I saw that today’s photo challenge word was “cycle” just as I settled in here at Taste of Belgium in Cincinnati for a Kwaremont, a beer designed for pro cycling fans. Named after one of cycling’s most famous hills, it has the same ABV as the hill’s average gradient.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-09-10T11:38:41-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/09/10/i-saw-that.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/08/09/sitting-on-the.html", "content_html": "

Sitting on my back porch during lunch break, I drifted to sleep while thinking about the back to the land movement—and was suddenly awakened by an incredibly loud, low-flying airplane. Yeah, that feels about right.

\n", "date_published": "2023-08-09T11:35:54-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/08/09/sitting-on-the.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/07/12/touring-the-luddy.html", "content_html": "

Touring the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering today. Maybe I’ll get to meet the AI that will eventually take my job…

\n", "date_published": "2023-07-12T09:50:26-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/07/12/touring-the-luddy.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/07/07/price-our-scrawny.html", "content_html": "

Price, our scrawny black cat, somehow got out of the house last Friday. (He’s done this before. He loves the outdoors and spends most of the summer laying in our screened-in back porch.) This morning he came strolling into the backyard and seems fine. I’d love to know what he’s been up to.

\n", "date_published": "2023-07-07T06:39:14-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/07/07/price-our-scrawny.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/06/24/darcy-in-todays.html", "content_html": "

Darcy in today’s parade with the color guard and marching band.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2023-06-24T18:52:29-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/06/24/darcy-in-todays.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/06/19/rest-in-peace.html", "content_html": "

Rest in peace, Murphy

\n", "date_published": "2023-06-19T14:04:47-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/06/19/rest-in-peace.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/06/16/its-been-a.html", "content_html": "

It’s been a rough week here with the sudden decline of our fifteen year old dog Murphy. Last weekend he seemed to be not quite right. He laid down on the floor on Saturday afternoon and never stood up again. His front legs seemed to have stopped working. We took him into the vet on Monday morning and she said it was likely a neurological problem. If it’s temporary inflammation, he should be better in a few days. If he’s not better, then it’s likely permanent.

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So we’ve been nursing him this week, waiting to see what will happen. He’s confused about why he has to potty into a diaper. He’s a good boy and he knows he isn’t supposed to potty in the house. He’s struggled to get up a couple of times but it’s just not working. It’s hard seeing him like this. Frankly, he doesn’t seem to be improving and it seems likely he will leave us on Monday. He’s been with us almost as long as Darcy has.

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\n", "date_published": "2023-06-16T09:43:56-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/06/16/its-been-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/05/26/i-found-out.html", "content_html": "

I found out this week that a high-stress accounting project I had spent months on was unnecessary due to technicalities in the accounting standards. It’s a bit annoying but mostly I’m happy because the pressure is suddenly off. Now the opening weekend of summer is looking more fun!

\n", "date_published": "2023-05-26T10:26:08-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/05/26/i-found-out.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2023/02/10/licensed-driver.html", "content_html": "

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Licensed driver!

\n", "date_published": "2023-02-10T19:13:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2023/02/10/licensed-driver.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/11/06/halloween.html", "title": "Halloween 2022", "content_html": "

It’s been a busy week—new staff member at work to train which requires time in the office—so I haven’t had a chance to post much this week. Here is a belated picture and video from our house on Halloween. Our neighborhood feels like an 80s movie on Halloween night. Literally hundreds of kids come through for three hours. Decorations everywhere. People (like me below) in front of their porches handing out candy. Our house has gotten a reputation for being one of the scariest in the neighborhood, which makes me particularly proud.

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\n", "date_published": "2022-11-06T09:10:39-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/11/06/halloween.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/10/14/fall-breakhuber-orchard.html", "title": "Fall Break: Huber Orchard and bottling day", "content_html": "

Rachel, Darcy, and I have been enjoying a week off from school and work. Mainly we’ve been getting a lot of work done—cleaning out the garage and basement, prepping raised beds for next spring, setting up grow lights.

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We’ve also had some fun. On Sunday night, Rachel and I camped out for the third consecutive week at Hardin Ridge.

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On Tuesday we made our annual trip to Huber Orchard and Winery to pick a pumpkin for carving. Darcy drove there and back, picking up several hours toward the required 50 hours for her driver’s license. She did a good job—particularly since on two occasions people pulled out in front of her and she had to slow down fast. She suggested that she deserved a bonus ten minutes credit for each of those incidents and we agreed!

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Later that night (again in continuance of the tradition) we watched “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and ate roasted pumpkin seeds.

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Yesterday I finally got around to bottling the Belgian tripel I brewed a few weeks ago. I hope the carbonation process won’t be affected by leaving it in the fermenter for that extra time. After taking the final gravity reading, it looks like it will come out to 6.3% ABV, which is low for a Belgian tripel. It’s been several years since the last time I brewed beer, so I expect I made a mistake somewhere along the line.

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\n", "date_published": "2022-10-14T07:16:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/10/14/fall-breakhuber-orchard.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/09/25/a-damp-but.html", "content_html": "

A damp but thoroughly enjoyable morning at Hardin Ridge. \"\"

\n", "date_published": "2022-09-25T07:01:33-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/09/25/a-damp-but.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/08/05/happy-th-birthday-wendell-berry.html", "title": "Happy 88th birthday, Wendell Berry!", "content_html": "

No one needs me to recount the greatness of a living legend like Wendell Berry. I’ll limit myself to describing his impact on my life.

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I heard of him about twenty years ago through the newsletter/website Christian CounterCulture. The first book of his I read was What Are People For?. \u2028

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But let’s back up for a second. As with many people, my intellectual life began in college. Up to that point, my thoughts and opinions were merely echoes of the adults in my life. In college I had access to a computer lab with an internet connection for the first time. I used that connection to read wild-eyed fundamentalist Baptist websites (which I won’t bother linking) and the anarcho-capitalist/libertarian website of Lew Rockwell. Reading those sites took my young, know-it-all attitude to a whole new level. I arrogantly dismissed my dad’s worries about NAFTA. Free trade was the answer to all of the world’s problems, said the college boy to the middle-aged factory worker. People just needed to retrain for the jobs of the future.

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Now back to Wendell Berry. Christian CounterCulture pried open my mind and dropped in What Are People For?. I was forever cured of libertarianism by the strong medicine of Wendell Berry:

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The danger of the ideal of competition is that it neither proposes nor implies any limits. It proposes simply to lower costs at any cost, and to raise profits at any cost. It does not hesitate at the destruction of the life of a family or the life of a community. It pits neighbor against neighbor as readily as it pits buyer against seller. Every transaction is meant to involve a winner and a loser. And for this reason the human economy is pitted without limit against nature. For in the unlimited competition of neighbor and neighbor, buyer and seller, all available means must be used; none may be spared.

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I will be told that indeed there are limits to economic competitiveness as now practiced — that, for instance, one is not allowed to kill one’s competitor. But, leaving aside the issue of whether or not murder would be acceptable as an economic means if the stakes were high enough, it is a fact that the destruction of life is a part of the daily business of economic competition as now practiced. If one person is willing to take another’s property or to accept another’s ruin as a normal result of economic enterprise, then he is willing to destroy that other person’s life as it is and as it desires to be. That this person’s biological existence has been spared seems merely incidental; it was spared because it was not worth anything. That this person is now “free” to “seek retraining and get into another line of work” signifies only that his life as it was has been destroyed.

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Wendell Berry would be my steady diet for years to come. I called myself an agrarian and even considered becoming a smallholding farmer. (Yeah, I tend to do that sort of thing when I’m overtaken by an idea.) Then I realized that I actually hated yard work, much less farming, and moved into town. I stopped reading him for a few years because any idea, singularly pursued, becomes distorted.

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I’ve come back to him over the past few years, especially his poetry. What I admire about him is the same thing I admire in all my heroes (because it represents my own aspiration): a consistent life, lived according to deeply-held, sincere principles.

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\n\n", "date_published": "2022-08-05T14:16:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/08/05/happy-th-birthday-wendell-berry.html", "tags": ["Memories","Wendell Berry"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/08/05/remembering-christian-counterculture.html", "title": "Remembering Christian CounterCulture", "content_html": "

I have mentioned previously that I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church — and I remained there until my brain completed development in my mid-twenties. It was a church that strongly emphasized separation from the “world” and enforced that separation by creating, as much as possible, a bubble around the members. We were constantly warned about the dangers of too much contact with people outside our church.

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And they were right! What finally broke the spell for me was encountering Christians who didn’t belong to my church. Christians who seemed every bit as devout and sincere as me, just without the cultishness. I learned about these other Christians first through Contemporary Christian Music, which was of course forbidden by my church. As embarrassing as that music is now in retrospect, it was my first glimpse into the wider Christian world.

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The second major influence was Christian CounterCulture, an email newsletter and website by Rob Schlapfer. If Contemporary Christian Music opened my eyes to the existence of other sincere Christians, Christian CounterCulture helped me discover a new intellectual world.

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How to describe Christian CounterCulture? I’ll give you my impression and experience of it with the caveat that 1. it’s been a while and my memory may be fuzzy and 2. I have a general knowledge of the history of evangelicalism over the past few decades but no expertise, not having ever been an evangelical (I went from fundamentalist to mainline).

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My impression was that Christian CounterCulture, which ran from 1999 to 2005, was an early voice of progressive evangelicalism/emerging church movement in the early 21st century. It was highly critical of the vapid evangelicalism of its time and advocated for something more intelligent, less slavishly “relevant” (which was evangelicalese for “pop culture but less sexy and fewer cuss words”).

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This was a perfect fit for me: it was critical of pop culture (which was a song in a genre I was very familiar with) while also being smart and sincere and substantive. It introduced me to Over the Rhine, which is still my favorite band. It introduced me to Wendell Berry, who holds a place in my personal pantheon. It introduced me to John Piper, who in turn led me to Reformed Christianity which led me to White Horse Inn which introduced me to Missouri Synod Lutheranism, which is where we went after leaving fundamentalism. And many other things. So, yeah, a major impact.

\n

I cannot recall how I discovered Christian CounterCulture. I do know that I had a boring job and an internet connection and I stumbled onto a lot in those days when the internet was young. It would have taken much longer for my world to open up if it had not been for the internet.

\n

In preparation for writing this, I googled Christian CounterCulture and Rob Schlapfer and came across his portfolio site. Scrolling through the screenshots, I was shocked to find that he had, at some point, included a 2011 tweet from me on the page.

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That absolutely made my day.

\n", "date_published": "2022-08-05T13:43:06-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/08/05/remembering-christian-counterculture.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/07/16/waiting-for-john.html", "content_html": "

Waiting for John Moreland

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2022-07-16T18:52:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/07/16/waiting-for-john.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/06/22/catching-up-vacation.html", "title": "Catching up: Vacation in California", "content_html": "

Happy belated solstice, everyone. We’re at the turn of the year – days start getting shorter and the heat really cranks up here in Indiana.

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I had good intentions of posting daily about vacation but obviously that didn’t work out.

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Flying to California

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San Francisco

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Transport to Monterey

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Monterey

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Carmel-by-the-Sea

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Travel home

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Since arriving home, we’ve all been sick but we’re getting better every day. It was a vacation of pretty steep ups and downs. I remain glad we went but I’m also ready to be home for a while.

\n", "date_published": "2022-06-22T13:48:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/06/22/catching-up-vacation.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/06/08/visiting-tor-house.html", "content_html": "

Visiting Tor House and Hawk Tower, home of Robinson Jeffers and his wife Una, was an amazing experience yesterday. I still can’t believe I was there, got to sit at his writing desk and climb to the top of Hawk Tower (second picture is the view of the Pacific from the top).

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\n", "date_published": "2022-06-08T10:56:56-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/06/08/visiting-tor-house.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/06/06/day-three-what.html", "content_html": "

Day three. What can you say about these god-trees, the redwoods?

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\n", "date_published": "2022-06-06T18:55:49-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/06/06/day-three-what.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/06/05/highlight-of-day.html", "content_html": "

Highlight of day two of our California vacation was the sea lions hanging out, watching the humans at Pier 39.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2022-06-05T21:17:34-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/06/05/highlight-of-day.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/06/04/california-vacation-day.html", "title": "California vacation day one: Travel hell.", "content_html": "

Holy crap what a day – and it’s still not over. The Indianapolis to Dallas flight was delayed by two hours. Once we finally landed in Dallas, we ran to the connecting flight gate but missed it by less than five minutes. Then we spent two solid hours in the American Airlines customer service line. But the good news is that there is a flight going to San Francisco at 10:45pm. At first we thought we were going to be stuck in Dallas for the night. So all is well. It’s going to end up being a very long day and we’ve had to rearrange our plans for Sunday and Monday but the vacation remains relatively intact.

\n", "date_published": "2022-06-04T19:43:52-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/06/04/california-vacation-day.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/05/23/in-response-to.html", "content_html": "

In response to Jean, sharing my favorite picture of the Oregon coastline from our (best) vacation (ever) last year

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Gray, beautiful Oregon coast evening. I’m on a short visit until Wednesday, but still popping into my microblog to post photos.

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\n", "date_published": "2022-05-23T07:38:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/05/23/in-response-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/05/16/waiting-for-an.html", "content_html": "

Waiting for An Evening with Neil Gaiman

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2022-05-16T18:44:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/05/16/waiting-for-an.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/05/10/pretty-excited-to.html", "content_html": "

Pretty excited to get confirmation of our tour of Tor House, the home of poet Robinson Jeffers, during our upcoming trip to California.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2022-05-10T12:15:35-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/05/10/pretty-excited-to.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/03/30/ive-kept-a.html", "content_html": "\nI've kept a very inconsistent journal since 2006, beginning with my first Father's Day. I wish I had written more consistently, but I still managed to get a lot down.\n

After reading this post by Patrick Rhone (others have also talked about this but I can’t find it right now), I decided that I needed to print whatever I really wanted to keep. So I collected my journals, a few social media posts, and some other miscellaneous writing into roughly equal documents. Then I printed them and created four saddle-stitched books. I’ve left them in a pretty rough-and-ready state because I like the DIY look.

\n", "date_published": "2022-03-30T16:15:18-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/03/30/ive-kept-a.html", "tags": ["Memories","Workshop"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/03/27/wrapping-up-spring.html", "title": "Wrapping up Spring Break", "content_html": "

After a couple of intentionally uneventful days midweek, we hit some of our favorites local spots on Friday. On Saturday, we went to the Van Gogh digital projection exhibit at Newfield’s. It’s impressive technology and definitely a unique museum experience. Worth doing once, anyway.

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We also walked around much of the rest of the museum. As with the digital projection, you can tell they’re trying to do something different by mixing together eras and geographical regions and leaving places for people to write down their reactions. Whether that is good or bad depends on your view of traditional ways of being an art museum.

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A Van Gogh on display on the way out of the projection area:

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Of course I love the religious art

\n\"\"\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2022-03-27T08:40:43-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/03/27/wrapping-up-spring.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/03/24/spring-break-thus.html", "title": "Spring Break, thus far", "content_html": "

This week has been Spring Break, which is why I haven’t posted much. We front-loaded the week with travel because the weather was predicted to be (and has turned out to be) pretty dismal.

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On Sunday we visited Madison, Indiana and, briefly, Clifty Falls State Park. Madison is a great little town with plenty of historic homes (like the Lanier Mansion), cool shops, and a riverfront park. Here I am along with two other guys with strollers waiting outside the shops. (There is a minor difference between me and the other two.)

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We stopped in at the inn at Clifty Falls and drove through the park. We decided not to hike because we were already tired and there was some hiking to come the next day.

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On Monday we visited Indiana Dunes State Park on the south shore of Lake Michigan. (Much of the south shore is - somewhat confusingly - also part of the Indiana Dunes National Park. It’s always amazing just how huge Lake Michigan is - and it’s not even the largest of the Great Lakes. It was a windy day, as you can tell:

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On Tuesday, Rachel and Darcy has some rather mundane tasks to accomplish. Meanwhile, I spend much of the day with a friend who runs a business that sells Amish-made leather goods. I visited with him two leather shops in one Amish settlement and then a grocery store, a laser-engraving shop (yes, an Amish laser-engraving shop), and a sort of dry goods/hardware store in a different Amish settlement. It was a fascinating day spent discussing the differences between Amish settlements and their surprisingly pragmatic and nuanced way of making decisions. The leather shops were in a Swartzentruber Amish settlement while the laser-engraving shop (run by a diesel generator) was part of a much more … progressive? … community that was similar in many ways to “English” society. Yet both communities are part of the Old Order Amish. There’s more to say here but it will have to wait for another day.

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Wednesday was declared a rest day. It was a day of TV, video games, and Chinese food. I spent a chunk of it migrating my notes from Ulysses to Obsidian and then setting up a zettelkasten style system based on Sönke Ahrens’ book How To Take Smart Notes. I based my setup in large part on this video. Still more work to do but I think it’s working well so far.

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The rest of the week is pretty open-ended. We have a few options for more to do but we’ll likely leave it up to Darcy to determine how busy she wants to be for the remainder of her spring break.

\n", "date_published": "2022-03-24T07:47:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/03/24/spring-break-thus.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/03/09/when-rachel-gave.html", "content_html": "

When Rachel gave me a record player for Christmas, she included with it an album of Big Band recordings because she knew that what I primarily wanted out of a record player was the romance of playing this music on it.

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There’s a reason for that. When we were first married, our Sunday night after-church ritual was to eat fast food with friends. (The iron-clad digestive system of youth…) But we had to keep an eye on the time because we needed to leave in time to catch “Big Band Jump,” a syndicated radio show on our local AM station which we would listen to on the drive home and while we got ready for bed. Then once we were in bed we would listen to an old-time radio show performing all sorts of mystery and thriller stories. (I can’t remember its name - maybe it was rebroadcasts of CBS Radio Mystery Theater?)

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While that story makes it sound like we were married in 1948 instead of 1998, it’s one of my fondest memories of those early days of our marriage. Big Band music already has a certain romance to it, but add to that two newlyweds in a small apartment listening to music and stories from their grandparent’s time and you have a sonic impression that lasts.

\n", "date_published": "2022-03-09T07:32:28-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/03/09/when-rachel-gave.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/03/06/that-there-is-a-fun.html", "content_html": "

That there is a fun ride.

\n\n", "date_published": "2022-03-06T19:02:00-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/03/06/that-there-is-a-fun.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/02/27/stopped-in-at.html", "content_html": "

Stopped in at the Gus Grissom Memorial at Spring Mill State Park today. He was the second American in space and died tragically in a fire aboard Apollo 1 during pre-flight testing.

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\n", "date_published": "2022-02-27T17:35:23-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/02/27/stopped-in-at.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/02/26/its-beer-and-waffles-day.html", "content_html": "

It’s Beer and Waffles Day! The first race of the season is one of my high holy days. 🚲

\n\n", "date_published": "2022-02-26T11:05:00-04:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/02/26/its-beer-and-waffles-day.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/02/20/yesterday-a-friend.html", "content_html": "

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Yesterday a friend and I visited the Warren G. Harding Presidential Sites in Marion, OH - mainly because it was about halfway between the two of us. Harding is not one of our most illustrious presidents. Although he was popular during his time in office (he died in 1923 before finishing his first term), corruption and multiple extra-marital affairs were later revealed that tarnished his reputation. The historical information at the site is clearly trying to rehabilitate him: there is more information in the exhibits about the family pets than the scandals.

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What was most interesting to me was that Harding’s home was in a regular neighborhood with nearby houses. It was nice but not particularly large or grand. The ten members of our tour group had to squeeze around each other upstairs. It looked like it could be any of the houses in my own small-town midwestern neighborhood.

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This struck me, I believe, for two reasons. First, because in modern times we associate wealth with US presidents. The Hardings were not poor, to be sure. They were, according to the tour guide, upper middle class. They traveled around the world. To give you a sense of comparison, he ranks 37 of 46 on this listing of US presidents by wealth. All of the presidents in my lifetime have been multimillionaires. The last time we had a president who was not a millionaire (adjusted for inflation) was Harry Truman. Whatever they may say, US presidents have not been, by and large, “just like us.”

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The second reason I was struck by the size and location of his home was that he, like three Ohioan presidents before him, ran a “front-porch campaign” for president, that is, voters and delegations of voters came to him and he gave speeches from the front porch of his house. Crowds of up to five or even ten thousand people would gather in his (not large!) front yard. The Republican National Committee headquarters moved into the house next door to him. One of the reasons we have such good records of those front door speeches is that his next door neighbor sat on her front porch and made notes at all of the events. She published them as a newspaper column called “The Girl Next Door.”

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Harding doesn’t deserve to be held up as a model for … well, anything really, but visiting the site did remind me of how much the United States presidency has changed over the past century.

\n", "date_published": "2022-02-20T06:47:00-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/02/20/yesterday-a-friend.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2022/02/18/june-was-a.html", "content_html": "

June 25-26, 2014, was a two-day window in which same-sex marriage was legal in Indiana. (More on the history here.) On June 25, the United States District Court struck down Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage. Licenses began to be issued that day and continued to be issued the next day. On June 27, the Seventh Circuit court brought the licensing to a halt while the case was appealed by the State of Indiana. The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal on October 6, 2014, which legalized same-sex marriage in Indiana. The Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage for the entire country came a few months later in June 2015.

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Our local public radio station has produced a podcast episode telling the stories of couples who were married in that two-day window. The final story is of a couple from my hometown, which the narrator correctly describes as not the most progressive town in the country.

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I remember those two days. We all knew that then-governor Mike Pence would appeal the decision and likely get a temporary stay. But the fact that it had happened in Indiana was truly exciting. On my drive home from work on June 25th, I came across a gay pride flag flying from the top of some apartments in my hometown of Bedford. In Bedford! I was amazed - and took this picture to capture the moment.

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\n", "date_published": "2022-02-18T10:24:02-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2022/02/18/june-was-a.html", "tags": ["Memories"] }, { "id": "http://jabel.micro.blog/2021/12/12/went-to-see.html", "content_html": "

Went to see Over the Rhine - the best band in the world - at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater last night.

\n\"\"\n", "date_published": "2021-12-12T07:30:40-05:00", "url": "https://jabel.blog/2021/12/12/went-to-see.html", "tags": ["Memories"] } ] }