Mín Englisc Blog

2010-12-16T02:03:00.003-05:00

Just finished with my last assignment for my last class of my first semester of grad school.

2010-11-03T00:29:00.002-04:00

Most of today was spent in various kinds of research: I worked nearly eight hours on paid market research as part of the job, and well over an hour after my evening class went to items of personal interest (entirely unrelated to my studies) in the main library. I'm happy to see so much Ohio history in this Indiana library, and I'm not making small use of it :-) Tomorrow will be my first time to get a paper or a test back from a professor — both are to be returned, although I know from Monday's session of the same course that both went rather well. I was surprised how fast she returned them, since she's had only about a week to do several dozen papers and several dozen tests, all while attending an academic conference out of state.

2010-10-19T22:59:00.002-04:00

Hmm, I really need to use this blog more often...
One thing that I won't miss about this first semester is the class load — although I may well be busier with homework and/or paying work in later semesters, I don't plan to take more credits. A full load for students in my program is nine credits (three classes), but because this semester's courses are so basic, I'm taking twelve credits (four classes). Even if next semester is busier, I'll not actually be in class for as long as I am now.

2010-09-04T01:13:00.002-04:00

Today saw two more successful trips through the IU Memorial Union. I'm just thankful that it's far wider than it is long — it's easy to get through when you can just almost see the doors on the other side. Very odd, however, is the front handicapped entrance. Since the main doors are accessible via steps, there's a small door to one side marked for handicapped entrance. And inside, as soon as you go through the change, you have to go up or down stairs.

2010-09-02T17:15:00.003-04:00

I have no Thursday classes, and I've not yet been assigned much homework, so I've been otherwise busy — I've made three job applications, and I'll be turning in a fourth before dinnertime.
One minor highlight of the day — I entered the Indiana Memorial Union (one of the biggest student unions in the country) by myself for the first time, and I exited where I wanted to, without getting lost at all :-)

2010-08-30T12:52:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm in the classroom for my first class of graduate school, waiting for the start time of 1 PM. I parked at least one mile away at Bloomington RPC, as I'm planning to do normally, walking up Grant Street for most of the way. It struck me as I walked north — how great the difference between Grant Street in downtown Bloomington and Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh! Here, it's lined by houses and small shops, while Pittsburgh's Grant Street lies at the heart of the commercial district and is the address for such significant buildings as major corporate headquarters and the National Historic Landmark-designated Allegheny County Courthouse.

2010-08-30T08:59:00.002-04:00

I'm somewhat settled in at Bloomington, having been here for part or all of seven days now. My first few days were rather difficult, as I hadn't expected some rather difficult discoveries, such as the fact that many library jobs are only for undergraduates. By this point, I'm doing somewhat better; I understand that part of the problem is that I wasn't trusting God sufficiently well.
Throughout the week, I'd been looking forward to yesterday and being able to go to worship, and it greatly encouraged me. Dr. Holdeman, the pastor here, preached from Ruth 2 — if God took care of Ruth and Naomi in a situation far worse than mine, why should I doubt htat he will take care of me? We sang part of Psalm 77, which also was encouraging:

Then I replied, "Such questions show
That I my weakness need to know.
The Most High has a firm right hand
That through the years will changeless stand."

The psalmist is in great distress earlier in the psalm, asking whether God has entirely forgotten his grace and replaced his mercy with anger; I know that my case is much less distressing, and I've never been driven near to the point of wondering whether I have God's love.

2010-08-24T09:18:00.001-04:00

About to leave for Bloomington. I'm moving in today, and my orientation begins on Thursday.

2010-08-23T15:14:00.000-04:00

I'm in the middle of packing — tomorrow I leave for Bloomington, and I begin my Indiana University orientation on Thursday.

2010-08-17T09:54:00.002-04:00

Most of yesterday was occupied with a trip to southwestern Ohio — Dad and I went to Oxford, where Miami University is located. I'd been there a few times before, but it had been several years, and I don't remember much from those trips. We made two historical stops along the way: one for an old Associate Reformed church a few miles north of Oxford, which was founded in the early nineteenth century and which possibly shared a graveyard with the nearby Beech Woods RP congregation, and one at Hueston Woods State Park. This bit was the only disappointing part of the trip; I wanted to photograph the Adena mound along a trail in the park, but although the trail was marked, it split, and I couldn't find the mound. Not likely that it's been destroyed; it's marked on the state park's current map, and nine-foot-tall mounds in state parks don't generally get removed without the park knowing about it.

2010-08-06T12:38:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning, I learned of the death of Dr. David Carson, who had been on session at Eastvale RP for sixty-five years. Before I began at Geneva, Dr. Carson wrote me a letter encouraging me to consider worshipping at Eastvale; although I was already strongly considering the congregation, this letter made me feel even more welcome. Throughout my time at Geneva, Dr. and Mrs. Carson were as grandparents to me, and as Dr. Carson's health declined during my last two years, it was very hard to see. I'm not entirely sure, but I hope to be able to attend his Monday morning funeral. He was a prominent Geneva professor for thirty years; accordingly, it's only appropriate that the funeral be held in the chapel at Old Main.

2010-07-11T19:44:00.002-04:00

Back yesterday from a trip to southern Ohio for a family birthday party. At the end of the winter, I'd visited seventy-nine of Ohio's eighty-eight counties; except for one in the north, all of the missing ones were in the southeast. When I visited Isaac in April, I passed through six of the nine, and I took a trip to the northern one a couple of weeks ago. Still remaining were the two in the far south, Gallia and Jackson; however, I visited both counties on Friday :-)
After the party (for my two-year-old cousin), I stayed overnight with my aunt and uncle, and I left midway through the morning to see various historic sites south of Columbus. I didn't have much time for the many sites; while I saw such impressive places as the Adena Mansion and Mound City, I didn't have time for extensive tours. Nevertheless, it was quite an impressive trip — the original Adena mound, the original Hopewell mounds, the largest Hopewell mounds and some of the largest Hopewell earthworks, and the site of Ohio's first capitol.

2010-07-01T00:37:00.002-04:00

Today was quite busy — I went along with Isaac, who was training on an older aircraft in the Cincinnati metro area, and I spent much of the day either in driving or in taking pictures. We left earlier than necessary in order to visit Fort Ancient, one of the most significant sites constructed by any of the mound building peoples. I'd wanted to go there for quite a while, but we'd never quite had the time. Isaac decided to go along to keep me happy, if I understood him rightly, but he left wishing that we'd left an hour earlier so that he would have had more time to hike around :-)
The fort is quite an amazing place. Built on a plateau more than two hundred feet above the nearby Little Miami River, it's believed to have been a ceremonial center built by the Hopewell tradition; the name "Fort" is derived from erroneous nineteenth-century beliefs that it was a city and used as defensive works. I'd like to post a picture; however, my photos came out sufficiently poorly to mean that the only picture I'll show is a map of the fort, below.

2010-06-22T00:07:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to my mother!

2010-06-15T01:00:00.001-04:00

The last few days have been busy. All of Saturday was occupied with a Scouting event — in my last days as a Boy Scout, I was able to join the Order of the Arrow, BSA's honor camping society. Although I was eligible to advance to the higher of its two common levels after less than a year, I'd never gotten around to it until Saturday, nearly five years later. I was able to pass it, although the requirements weren't as significant as I'd expected. Unfortunately, most of the day was wasted: they had us doing things only for a short period of the day, and we just sat around with nothing to do for several hours in the morning and several hours in the afternoon.
Today, I was a bit more active, going back to the vicinity of the Scout camp where the event was held. With nothing much to do after mowing was completed, I drove to Springfield and points south to get photos, and the number of sites I visited was more than I expected. Rain looked to be a major problem, but I'm thankful that it went around or otherwise missed where I was to a significant extent. Part of the trip included visiting an Adena mound in Glen Helen, a park near Yellow Springs; it was easy to see why Glen Helen has been recognised nationally as a significant natural area.

2010-06-07T13:25:00.001-04:00

What a surprise — I just got a Nigerian letter via Facebook. The emailer said that it was someone in my family; funny, he misspelled the name...

2010-05-25T12:50:00.001-04:00

While waiting at the repair shop, I took some pictures of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, located across the street from the shop. Here's my favorite.

2010-05-24T22:24:00.002-04:00

What a day. On Saturday, I bought a used car from a man in Lima, and this morning I had the title officially transferred. This afternoon, Dad and I decided to take a drive to the western edge of the state and take pictures of the huge Catholic churches out there; however, the car developed transmission problems. So here I am tonight, with my newly-purchased car in a shop in Coldwater, Ohio, and I've not yet taken a trip with it in which I returned to the place from which I started.

2010-05-14T01:00:00.001-04:00

We had planned to be gone over this weekend in Indianapolis, as Southside RP was scheduled to host a conference. So few people had signed up to attend that it was cancelled; because I now have a free weekend, I'm going to be visiting Bloomington to try to work out housing.

2010-04-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

Preparing to leave for a campout with my old Boy Scout troop — this is to be the first normal campout on which I've participated since before going to college.

2010-04-23T23:55:00.002-04:00

Last weekend went quite well: saw lots of historic sites, enjoyed visiting with friends I'd not seen in a long time, and worshipped at Eastvale. On my way home, I took some detours to see the site of an Indian village (I tried to see another, but the roads were very poorly marked, and I couldn't find my way) and to visit a relative. I keep track of where I've been throughout the country, and on this trip I passed through six of the nine Ohio counties that I'd never previously visited. All that's left is Jackson County (far south), Gallia County (immediately east of Jackson), and Huron County (north).

On a more sombre note, our next-door-neighbor died last night. He'd been in very poor health for quite a while, and (both to him and his wife) this is a relief; nevertheless, it's sad to see the death of someone whom you've known all your life.

2010-04-16T07:18:00.001-04:00

Today is to be exciting — I'm shortly to leave for Beaver Falls, and I'm planning to be there until Monday :-D

2010-04-10T22:31:00.003-04:00

Good news has just come in on Covienet — Christ RPC in East Providence, Rhode Island was organised yesterday. We've never had any congregations in Rhode Island before: although W.M. Glasgow's history discusses churches in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine and includes notes about preaching in Connecticut and New Hampshire, it says nothing about work in Rhode Island. We were once far stronger in New England than we are now: there were two very strong churches in Boston, an entire presbytery in Vermont, and our church in Houlton, Maine was once the only Presbyterian church in the entire state, but it's been nearly forty years since the closure of the Barnet, Vermont church left Cambridge RPC near Boston as the only congregation in New England. Since 1900, only one new congregation has been organized in the bounds of Atlantic Presbytery — Hazleton Area RPC in northeastern Pennsylvania. Let us pray that we can see the establishment of more congregations in the northeastern part of the country.

2010-04-01T23:07:00.000-04:00

For the first time in at over 130 years, the property located at 201 E. Buckeye Street in Belle Center, Ohio is no longer in possession of the Belle Center Reformed Presbyterian Church. After a couple years or so of effort, the building was sold today to a couple who wish to convert the building into a residence.

2010-03-30T12:14:00.003-04:00

Most of yesterday was occupied with a trip to visit Grandmother; she had a doctor's visit and imaging, and thankfully all went very well :-)

While Grandmother was meeting with the doctor, I borrowed the car and drove to a few sites to take pictures, including this Indian mound.

2010-03-27T12:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, I photographed some historic sites in Allen County to the northwest of here, including Lima. I'd planned to visit all of the places in the county on the National Register of Historic Places, except for one site that I visited back in November. Due to difficulty finding some sites, plus leaving later than I expected and needing to return home sooner than I expected, I wasn't able to visit many of the county's sites, but I've now gotten everything outside of Lima itself. Admittedly, Lima has 25 of the county's 30 sites, but the Lima ones are compact enough (minus a few on the edges that I was able to visit) that the remaining ones are all near downtown and shouldn't take too long to photograph when I get a chance to return to the city.

Pictured is the Isaac Rozell Round Barn in Elida, northwest of Lima.

2010-03-16T23:31:00.002-04:00

Today's highlight was a trip farther west, primarily to eastern Mercer County and western Auglaize County. I was able to visit several historic sites that I'd not previously seen, including the church pictured below. However, the most significant aspect of the trip is that I went myself — never before have I been able to drive somewhere by myself :-) I'm not yet able to go anywhere/anytime that I want and that my schedule and finances permit: because I don't own a vehicle, I'm subject to my parents' permission; however, it's quite a step to be able to go without their physical presence.

2010-03-15T08:39:00.002-04:00

Taking Isaac Back today for the end of his spring break. It's been good to have him back, even though for just a week. It's hard to believe my Colorado spring break trip last year was now a full year ago...

2010-03-13T16:24:00.002-05:00

I passed the driver's license test :-) I'm definitely older than the average new driver — not too many people get their license just a few days before they're 22½ years old — but then not too many people have to deal with epilepsy.

2010-03-12T11:23:00.001-05:00

Preparing to take my driver's license test this afternoon :-)

2010-03-03T17:29:00.003-05:00

I've just heard of a major development at Erskine College in South Carolina, which is affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. For the last few years, I've been hearing of movements among students who have been fearing that the college is straying from its biblical foundations. In response to these problems, the General Synod of the ARPC appointed a commission to investigate the situation; their findings were significant enough that a pro re nata meeting of General Synod has been called to meet, months before it was next scheduled to meet. If what I've heard is correct, the college's board has officially been removed by General Synod.
One report that I read online from a few days ago quotes an anonymous individual affiliated with the campus to say, "They [the unhappy students and the commission] are not traditionalists. I'm a traditionalist. They are extremists. I am not sure what they want except control." According to the article, he believes that the students and the commission don't understand church doctrine, only thinking that they do.
Such charges are one thing to make about a group of students, but they're quite another thing to make about a group of elders of the church of Christ. Somehow I expect that General Synod itself is well informed about the church's teachings.

2010-02-26T23:59:00.002-05:00

Today included a trip to Bellefontaine: it was slightly more exciting because of blowing snow the entire trip. I'm just glad that we're not in New England, where two or more feet of snow have fallen and where they've been battered by hurricane-force winds.
I've ordered a new battery for my laptop; it worked fine from the second semester of my junior year, when I bought the computer, until after graduation, but it suddenly stopped working well late last spring. It will be good again to have a normal laptop instead of a portable desktop.

2010-02-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

Just done with a rather new 1500-piece puzzle that I've been working on for a week :-) I think I had a harder time than other people would — there are many sections with subtle color differences that my eyes can't distinguish. Nevertheless, it's done, and that's the important think :-)

2010-02-11T23:04:00.002-05:00

Much of today was spent at the Logan County Historical Society. For the last several weeks, my time there has consisted of scanning photographs of old railroad depots in the county, but that job is now finished. Next job is a nineteenth-century history of Logan and Champaign counties — because of the different settings used for this document, the scanner was able to work faster than with the photos, and I got 300 pages scanned of this book today. It's good to be able to make lots of progress :-)

2010-02-09T15:35:00.001-05:00

More good news — I've just been told that I've been accepted to Indiana University as well! Now comes the time for decision-making...

2010-02-08T23:44:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was quite unusual: due to the effects of the winter storm that's covered most of the East with snow, we were unable to meet for worship. Quite odd to be at home instead of church; it brings to mind Psalm 122 and its eagerness to worship with the people of God.

Today was rather less abnormal; although Dad and I took a trip to Springfield, that's rather common anymore (although I must admit that I've never before been able to visit the city's downtown) and everything else was quite normal.

2010-02-03T16:12:00.003-05:00

Announcement — I just got an email telling me that Haloscan is about to be discontinued. I've used Haloscan since I set up this blog, nearly six years ago, so you won't be able to find what someone said about what I ate for dinner three years ago last Tuesday. You can leave comments with the Blogger commenting service; no registration will be needed.

2010-02-01T21:40:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to Frank Buckles! Now 109 years old, Buckles is the last living American veteran of World War I. He's always been much younger than most veterans of the Great War, because he enlisted at age 16.

2010-01-30T23:06:00.002-05:00

Back from visiting Grandmother — she got out of the hospital today and into a new room. As always, good to see her and to see others in my father's family; a pity we can't be down there more often to help, since distance means that some of Dad's family has to shoulder a heavier burden than we.

2010-01-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

Just in from the University of Pittsburgh — I've been accepted to their grad program in library and information science :-D

2010-01-24T00:20:00.003-05:00

Back to Belle Center after visiting Beaver Falls; my time at the Clinic went quite well, and we're definitely encouraged. I stayed with Isaac last night; his roommate was out, so I got to sleep in a bed. Interesting milestone — it was the first time since the seizures that I slept on the top bunk of bunk beds, since I wasn't allowed to be on top of bunk beds after the seizures, and last year after surgery, my ceiling was low enough that I couldn't stand up fully at my end of the room.
This morning, Isaac and I both went to Don Cox's funeral. I was glad to learn more of this man whom I'd known for a few years — I knew one part of his life quite well, but of course it was a very tiny part of his life. I had hoped to see other parts of Beaver County today, but that can be done at other times, and I didn't want to miss Don's funeral.
Even at this time of year, Beaver County is beautiful. I remember once reading a circa-1900 history of Geneva College that described the beauty of the Beaver Valley; this was early in my time at Geneva, and I remember scoffing at the idea that it was beautiful. No more. Perhaps it's a matter of love — as with so much else, as you love something or someone more and more, the object of your love becomes more and more beautiful. I'll close with two of my favorite Beaver County photos — one of the countryside, and one of an example of the county's many historic sites.

2010-01-22T08:14:00.002-05:00

Today, it's off to Cleveland for a neurologist's appointment, followed by a visit to Beaver Falls tomorrow. I'd hoped to see other parts of Beaver County while others were busy tomorrow, but I've learned that the funeral for Don Cox is tomorrow morning: I'd really rather not miss that.

2010-01-20T23:51:00.003-05:00

I had quite the unpleasant surprise today — an email from Geneva informed me of the death of Don Cox, who worked evenings at the Brig at Geneva. As an employee of the Brig, I saw a good deal of Don, who sat at the exit to run the cash register: it was a simple enough job that he was able to relax, chat with the other employees, jokingly chastise customers, and even watch television while fulfilling his tasks as effectively and quickly as necessary. Don was always quite the character, helping whenever he could see that help was needed, but rarely missing the opportunity for a little fun when it wouldn't hurt. My funniest memory of him was perhaps in the first semester of my senior year (my final semester of consistent work at the Brig), when it was time to refill the ice bin in the drink machine: while he was dumping buckets of ice into the bin, I took the scoop from the ice machine in the back to add a little more ice and to see what he'd do, and when he returned to the ice machine, his voice loudly proclaimed his confusion at its absence :-) I hadn't seen him since graduation — the times that I've been in at the Brig since last May have all been during the day — but I'll still miss his presence somewhat.

2010-01-15T01:07:00.002-05:00

Today, Friday the 15th, is the deadline for the submission of applications to both Indiana University and the University of Pittsburgh. I'm so thankful that I got them done last month, and that I'm not scrambling around today trying to write up everything!

2010-01-11T23:19:00.002-05:00

Back from Colorado as of 1½ weeks ago; the trip went well, but I've been busy enough since then that I've not gotten around to posting. Isaac is now back at school, beginning his first classes today; it was good having him home for a few weeks, even though I was gone for nine days of that time.
This weekend, I'm to be gone again at the College Winter Conference near Peru, Indiana — not sure what the place is like, since this will be my first time at the new conference center. I hope that it's less cramped than the old facility, but I know not to bother hoping that the view will be as nice as the last conference I attended: there's nowhere in Indiana that can compare to the Front Range at Denver :-)

2009-12-29T22:25:00.001-05:00

This week is quite busy for me: I've gone with some members of Second Indianapolis RPC to the Midwest Presbytery winter conference at Westminster RP near Denver :-) After driving from Indianapolis to the Kansas City area today, we're staying overnight with members of the Shawnee congregation, and we're preparing to go the rest of the way tomorrow. Conference lasts until Saturday, and we'll be returning to this area for church before going back to Indianapolis. I've really been looking forward to this week :-) It was good that I was able to drive from the St. Louis area to Shawnee; it's nice to drive in the open countryside, and I'm glad to expand on my tiny experience of city driving.

2009-12-27T00:16:00.002-05:00

Tonight is a milestone for me: I've submitted my grad school applications. Now we'll see how the acceptance process goes; we're praying for wisdom in the choosing process.

2009-12-24T23:09:00.002-05:00

It's almost Christmas!

Finally got to go flying again; with Isaac away, it's been several months since last I was able to get into the air. What's bad is that today was the first time in several months that he was able to get into the air. We ended up seeing much of the county: flying nearly to the eastern edge of the county, up to the northern edge, and into the counties to the west and northwest. I just love seeing everything from above; it help me better to appreciate how far I've ridden the bicycle on some trips.

2009-12-23T00:12:00.001-05:00

Not much going on these past couple of days: simply getting ready for Christmas and the days to come. We've finally had a congregational meeting relative to selling the church; the legal process for an unincorporated religious body to sell property is quite complicated, so even the people in the local courts appear to be rather confused.

2009-12-20T23:37:00.002-05:00

This weekend has been enjoyable: Isaac has been back, and he brought a friend — Luke Dinkledine, my junior-year roommate — with him. I've had precious few chances to spend time with any friends here in Belle Center, so having one stay two nights is quite a welcome event.

2009-12-17T23:44:00.001-05:00

This evening was tree-setup-time; we've not yet decorated it, but it's sitting in the traditional spot in front of the window.
Today was a milestone for me: late this morning was the first anniversary of my surgery. It's hard to believe that that day was now a full year ago — it's been a complete year since I last had any seizures! This year has gone so fast; sometimes it's been very hard, and sometimes it's gone so fast that I don't know what to think. My final semester at Geneva was weird: it seemed to end so quickly, but as I think back on it, I seemed to have been bicycling everywhere all the time, and I can't quite figure out how I got the time to go all those places. But I had the strength to go to them, and it was safe for me to ride even on major state highways, for I was healed — praise be to God for such a successful surgery!

2009-12-17T01:21:00.002-05:00

It's Christmas time :-) Today was finally tree-hunting day; we searched futilely through a field of Christmas trees (all were too fat or too tall, except for the occasional scrawny and crooked one) before giving up and getting one at a lot where trees are always sold.
Isaac is to be home by the end of the week; it's hard to believe that he's already 1/8 done with college. I'm looking forward (as always) to being in Beaver County, even though it will only be for part of a day.
I truly love Beaver County — it would indeed be a long time before I grew weary of the parts of the county that I know. The only reason that I wouldn't want to spend plenty of time in the familiar northern and eastern pieces of the county is that I've seen almost nothing of the southern region: I only three times crossed the Ohio River by bicycle while in college, and one of those was going from Ohio to West Virginia. While I know the Ohio River shoreline well, my knowledge of the county essentially stops at the Ohio: I've only rarely been through Monaca, only once into the rural areas of Potter and Raccoon Townships, and never to Aliquippa, Hookstown, or Frankfort Springs.

2009-12-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

Much of today was occupied with a trip: Dad and I went to visit Grandmother. Overall, a good visit, although she wasn't doing as well as we'd hoped. Still, it's good to be able to visit her and to see her face brighten as we arrive :-) I'm well aware that a large number of people my age don't have any grandparents yet living.

2009-12-07T23:51:00.002-05:00

Not much happened today, although I did spend a couple of productive hours at the county historical society scanning images. I've been in there to do similar work in the past few weeks, but I've now gotten the process down enough that I was able to be much more efficient than I have been previously. As well, I've all but completed the last piece of my first graduate school application, and once the first is done, the other shouldn't take long: they're rather similar.

2009-12-05T01:17:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting; not much has been going on.
I've just returned from witnessing a significant event in the history of the RPCNA: for the first time in 132 years, a new Reformed Presbyterian congregation was organised in Ohio. Fourteen communicants were present for the Presbytery of the Alleghenies' organisation of the Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church at a special meeting in Streetsboro, Ohio.
Before tonight's service, the last time a church was organised where none had been before was 10 April 1877, when Belle Center was organised. The last time that ''any'' congregation was first organised in Ohio was 2 April 1879, when the North Salem branch of Londonderry RPC in Guernsey County was made a separate congregation; and the last time that a congregation was organised in any way was 16 November 1881, when Brush Creek RPC in Adams County was reorganised. It's been forty years since the last time there were two Reformed Presbyterian congregations in Ohio: Youngstown RPC closed in 1970. At one time, there were approximately thirty congregations in Ohio, divided between three presbyteries — including one that was exclusively Ohio congregations — and encompassing hundreds of members. Today, it's simply two congregations, divided between two presbyteries, and encompassing perhaps fifty communicants. It's clearly time to work toward rebuilding Ohio, especially in Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery, which — until when I was a young child — was named Ohio-Illinois Presbytery.

2009-11-24T23:58:00.002-05:00

Today was quite interesting: Dad and I went driving to the northwest to see several historic sites. While a few buildings in Wapakoneta were nice, there were two more significant spots: the site of Fort Amanda and the Deep Cut on the Miami and Erie Canal. Fort Amanda was established during the War of 1812; although it was short-lived and is long gone, a memorial was erected on the site in the twentieth century, and a cemetery is likewise present. We were quite pleased to discover a three-part black granite monument: in 2006, a local Boy Scout fulfilled his Eagle Scout project by researching the names of all the soldiers who served at the fort and arranging to have placed the monument with all their names.
After leaving Fort Amanda, we continued on to the Deep Cut. This truly was an impressive site: when the canal was dug in the early nineteenth century, the engineers decided against building locks for a clay ridge one mile wide, so they simply dug through it. Imagine digging through a mile of clay, sometimes to a depth of more than fifty feet, and using only hand tools and black powder. It's amazing what could be done with the technology of the day! The canal is rather well preserved, and a path leads from the parking lot and memorial down to the canal bank.
Watersides were the most interesting part of the day's trip. Fort Amanda was built by the edge of the Auglaize River for a significant reason: it was the location of a military boat-building operation. A path still leads to the water's edge, a solemn and quiet riverside where nothing happens now: imagine what events occurred there in the past. Likewise, the edge of the canal is deserted except for the occasional historic tourist like me: how things have changed from the days when the Miami and Erie Canal was the leading transportation artery of the state!

2009-11-21T15:11:00.000-05:00

Coach RichRod, we in Ohio love you :-)

2009-11-20T00:56:00.002-05:00

Not much has happened during the past week — thus no posting. Dad and I visited Grandmother for a period of time on Monday; she was relatively little changed from how I'd last seen her. While we were down in the Cincinnati area, we had a little extra time, so we paused to take a quick detour into the village of Glendale, whose downtown is a National Historic Landmark district.
As I prepare for bed, an interesting thought strikes me. The first part of Psalm 119 (Aleph) has been running through my head for quite a while, and as the second stanza of the Book of Psalms for Singing translation came to me. "O that my ways were firmly fixed/To keep the statutes Thou hast made" — while we may truthfully say so many other things in the psalm, about loving God's law and following it faithfully, like the psalmist we can only say these things in generalities, because we're not perfect. This verse points to that quite well: if we were the perfect individuals toward which a literal understanding of much of the rest of the psalm would tend to indicate, we'd have no need of making such a wish, because we would already be as firmly fixed as we need to be.

2009-11-12T23:58:00.002-05:00

Today's trip went well. The funeral was conducted in a very respectful, very Christ-centered, and very understandable manner. At the graveside, his stepson spoke: he had led a wild life, but he was saved through Mr George's words in rather recent years. It was good to speak with Mr George's sister, who naturally grew up in the RPCNA as well: when we explained who we were and why we were there, she clearly was somewhat encouraged. She and her daughter told us how to find the Jonathan's Creek church building — just down the road from the cemetery, and although it's now a house, it wasn't hard to see that it was once a church.
Before and after the funeral, we visited places I'd never been before. The simplest route to White Cottage took us through Perry County, one of the ten Ohio counties (out of eighty-eight total) that I'd never previously visited, and I'd never before seen anything of Muskingum County (where White Cottage is) other than I-70 and the county seat of Zanesville. After the funeral, we drove into Zanesville, where I took some time walking around and seeing the downtown. It's quite a historic downtown: although an alarming number of historical buildings have been pulled down and the ground converted into parking lots in recent years, there is still a fine collection of historic architecture. It shouldn't be a surprise: after all, Zanesville was the capital of Ohio at one time.

2009-11-12T00:27:00.002-05:00

Planning to be gone for much of tomorrow at a funeral for a member of Belle Center RPC. This man, Richard George, was the last remaining member of the Jonathan's Creek RP in White Cottage, Ohio; when this congregation closed in 1963, it was the last remaining congregation of what was Ohio Presbytery of old, and Belle Center became the last Ohio congregation of what is now Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery. While his membership was transferred up here, he was rarely (if ever) up here for worship; after all, White Cottage is at least two hours' drive away, so it's obvious that he transferred his membership for the sake of remaining officially an RP member. I never had the chance to meet him, although Dad was able to visit him at least once.

2009-11-11T12:40:00.003-05:00

Back on Saturday, but hadn't gotten around to posting until now :-( My trip went well, and I had quite a useful time at IU. Now comes the time for applications...we'll see what it's like when decision-making time comes.

2009-11-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

About to leave for a few days — I'm to be visiting the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University and seeing friends in the Lafayette area.

2009-11-02T22:49:00.002-05:00

Today was a milestone for me: this morning I took the last of my Dilantin pills. Unless a disaster happens, I will never again take this kind of medicine. I was put on it in the ambulance on the way to the hospital on the morning of my first seizures, and except for the occasional time that I forgot it, I have taken this medicine every day since then — 3½ years. God willing, I'm done :-)

2009-10-31T23:23:00.002-04:00

These past few days have been quite productive: I've finished transcribing another book of session minutes, and I'm mostly done with proofreading.
Seeing the bright moon tonight reminded me: when I was little, I never realised how bright the moon was. I remember first observing — at a rather late age; I may have even been in high school — that I could see my shadow when there was a bright moon but no other light, whether in the sky or from the ground.

2009-10-29T15:49:00.002-04:00

I just found this great newly-posted photograph of a courthouse in rural eastern Nebraska. A good picture of a beautiful building on a great day :-)
Nothing much has been going on here since Monday. I did make some progress on Tuesday, finishing transcription of another book of session minutes (the final book for Morning Sun, Iowa), so I hope to be able to complete proofreading soon.

2009-10-27T23:59:00.001-04:00

This was the weirdest of yesterday's churches — while most of the old Catholic churches in the region are High Gothic with towering brick spires, St. Louis Church in the village of North Star (built in 1914; it's among the newest of these churches) is a stuccoed single-story Mission Revival structure. We virtually never see Mission Revival in this part of the country, and the contrast with the other churches makes this quite a significant building.
For the first time in several months, I can close the back door without pushing it closed. Our screen doors have now been replaced; as well as performing minor tasks, I essentially removed the old door from its hingest: quite the difficulty it is when the screws' heads are in tightly and are damaged enough that a screwdriver can't easily grip it.

2009-10-26T23:50:00.003-04:00

Dad and I went for a drive in the farthest western part of the state: not exactly to where I went on my birthday, but somewhat farther south.

This is St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, located in the countryside southeast of Versailles in northeastern Darke County, about 65 miles southwest of here via the (admittedly rather circutuous route) that we took to get there, stopping for pictures here and there. Built in 1850, it's no longer an organised congregation; the building is only used once annually.

2009-10-20T08:34:00.002-04:00

I have just learned via email of the sudden death of another retired RP minister: the Rev. Robert Tweed, Ph.D., who passed away between 8 and 9 PM last night. The pastor of three different churches and twenty years a Bible professor at Geneva college, he went the farthest from home of all of our ministers. Dr. Tweed was the only man to be the pastor of an RP church in Alaska, serving our former Anchorage church from 1979 to 1987, its entire existence.

Observed by him, and precious in the LORD's sight
Appears the death of all his saints each one.
Psalm 116.

2009-10-19T00:31:00.002-04:00

Dad preached today from near the end of John's gospel. Overall, quite the average day at church; because Isaac was home and his friend was here, we had arranged to have lunch at church, so that he could see more people. The best part of our social time was an impromptu new-psalter-practise session: Isaac and his friend have become familiar with some of its selections while at school, so they led us in some new selections. I've only twice been able to use the new psalter in worship — both times at Eastvale, just one selection per service — and we didn't try any selections today that I'd used before.

2009-10-18T00:31:00.003-04:00

Enjoying this weekend: it's Geneva's fall break. Accordingly, Isaac is here, along with one of his friends; the other guy lives much farther away than Isaac does, so it's impractical for him to go home.

2009-10-15T23:54:00.002-04:00

Slightly more has happened in the last two days. Today was mostly a day of mowing and online work. Yesterday, however, saw me go into Bellefontaine for a little work. I've signed up to be an alternate as a poll worker for next month's elections, and of course I have to have some training to understand what to do for said election, whether or not I'm called. Yesterday, therefore, was the training time; while there's plenty to remember, we were given checklists to follow and forms with directions for different situations. Everything seems quite orderly and sensible; if I'm called to work, I expect that I'll not have too difficult of a time.
This weekend is Geneva's fall break. Isaac and a friend from school are planning to come here for the weekend; it will be good to have even a tiny bit of society for a few days.

2009-10-11T15:02:00.002-04:00

In memory of
Rev. Prof. J. RENWICK WRIGHT, D.D.
Who departed this life
The 8th October, 2009
In the 91st year of his age,
And the 68th of his ministry.
He was a native of Ireland,
And for many years
Pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church
In this country.
"For him to live was Christ—
To die, gain."

2009-10-07T16:09:00.003-04:00

Just back from Marion, where I cycled today — 37 miles each way. I would not have gone such a distance, except for two contributing factors: (1) Today's wind was a strong western one, frequently reaching 20mph or more; and (2) Dad had agreed to pick me up in Marion, so that I did not need to ride home again :-) While in Marion, I visited several historically significant sites, including the home and tomb of President Warren G. Harding, a Marion native. With all the riding here and there in the city, I'm estimating that I rode approximately 40 miles today altogether. I took the camera and kept it busy: 139 pictures in total :-)

2009-10-07T01:14:00.003-04:00

Went down to the county historical society today, where I've been told that I'd be welcome as a volunteer. I was given more specifics about what I'd be doing if I'm able to volunteer, and it looks like I'll be spending a bit of time working away there.

2009-10-06T00:56:00.003-04:00

First post in ages, yes, I know. It was a difficult week — among other things, Grandmother was not doing well, and it was hard to see her and hear her words in a hard time. Other issues have popped up as well. Thankfully, at least some of these issues seem to have been resolved (or resolution is possible), and Grandmother is somewhat better.

2009-09-27T23:53:00.002-04:00

Today was the celebration of the Lord's Supper here at Belle Center. I believe that it has been nearly a year since I last participated in this sacrament, as Eastvale's spring communion was not held until after the end of the schoolyear.

2009-09-27T00:16:00.001-04:00

As usual, nothing significant today; I was able to go driving for the first time in well over a week, but only to do a couple of errands.

2009-09-25T00:43:00.000-04:00

Tons of mowing yesterday and today; between this and Grandmother's health, we're quite busy.

2009-09-23T18:05:00.001-04:00

Back from Cincinnati. Grandmother is now resting in the hospital, although there's a bit of a road ahead.

2009-09-22T21:13:00.003-04:00

Great visit to Pennsylvania :-) The celebration ceremony went very well: the church was filled almost to overflowing with visitors, and the speaker — who also preached at the morning worship on the next day — was former pastor Bob McFarland, who baptised both Mom and me. We picked up Isaac on Friday, and thus we were in Beaver Falls for a short time, but not enough. However, Isaac was happy to drive me down to Beaver Falls in time for the evening Bible study at Eastvale. It was well over a month ago that last I was at Eastvale, so a surprise visit there was enjoyed by all. Combine that with a chance to pop in at the after-worship fellowship that College Hill members sponsor, and it was a wonderful evening.
Today has been more sober — my Pockras grandmother was injured in an accident today, so we've been gone to visit her since mid-afternoon. So thankful that we can trust in Christ to work what's right...

2009-09-17T13:36:00.001-04:00

Leaving for Pennsylvania: Rose Point RPC celebrates its 175th anniversary this weekend (the anniversary was actually on 12 April), so we'll be there for the next few days. Not going to be in Beaver Falls for any significant period of time :-( but I'll be visiting the University of Pittsburgh, one of the places that I plan to apply for my master's program next year.

2009-09-16T18:10:00.004-04:00

During the last week, I've been a bit more busy. Our visit to Portage County went well; it was good to meet many of the people involved at Aurora, as well as seeing others whom I've not seen in quite a while.
Monday was my birthday. Weird: not having classes on birthday for the first time in five years.
Most interesting to me on Monday was that Dad had time to go driving with me — some time ago, he said that he planned to be able to go driving longer distances with me at some point or points, and that he really didn't mind the destination. We had time to go west, nearly to the Indiana line, to get photos of some of the largest churches I've ever seen in rural areas.

Mercer County, near the Indiana line, was settled primarily by German Catholics who built dozens of large churches. Every time that we go to north-central Indiana, such as Kokomo or Lafayette, we travel through this region, including its core community of Maria Stein. These churches are so tall and so close to each other that there are spots from which one can see several at once. Although I'm familiar with the churches to an extent, I've never really had a chance to stop and look at these buildings. Pictured is St. Anthony's Church in the crossroads community of Padua: other than the church and its associated school, there are virtually no buildings in Padua, but this church — like most or all of the rest — appears to continue to flourish.

2009-09-09T23:16:00.002-04:00

09-09-09: quite an unusual date.
Because of travelling and raining, today was our first mowing day of the week. Nothing spectacular with that, but it's good to get some work done.
This weekend will be something new: Dad's to preach at the Covenant Aurora RP mission church in Aurora, Ohio (just northeast of Akron). This, the first new RP work in Ohio since the 1880s, seems to be receiving many encouragements from all I hear, and it will be good to worship with them. It's been forty years since someone from Belle Center could worship at another RP congregation without leaving the state.

2009-09-08T16:23:00.002-04:00

Finally back to the blog. Yesterday consisted prmiarily of a trip to Cincinnati — we met most of the rest of Dad's family (only Isaac and our oldest cousin were missing) for an extended lunch. Quite an enjoyable time. Returning, I drove somewhat more than half of the journey, although heavy rain made driving difficult enough that I asked to be a passenger for two counties.

2009-08-31T22:40:00.003-04:00

Isaac went through his first classes today, doing quite well from all I understand, and getting a problem resolved :-)
This past week has been rather slow as usual; after returning from Pennsylvania, I didn't have that much other than lawnmowing and typing for Synod's Church History Committee. I made plenty of progress on the latter subject, completing transcription of the minutes of Conococheague RPC (Franklin County, Pennsylvania) between 1816 and 1839.
An exception was a wedding on Friday — a member at Belle Center RPC was married to someone from Virginia who, if I understand rightly, is in attendance at Trinity RPC. The wedding was in Fulton County, in Ohio's northwestern corner; I'd never visited Fulton, Henry (through which we drive to reach Fulton) or Williams counties, and after we left we made sure to take a little detour to cross the Williams line. I've now visited 78 of Ohio's 88 counties :-) Along the way, we passed through the city of Napoleon, where I was able to get good photos of the courthouse (quite an impressive building) and a few other historic buildings.

2009-08-24T00:27:00.002-04:00

We leave in the morning for Pennsylvania — Isaac begins his first Geneva classes on Monday the 31st. It's the first time in five years that I'm not.

2009-08-23T00:46:00.002-04:00

Progress: this morning I went to the local office of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, took and passed a computerised examination, and was granted a temporary learner's permit to drive. For the first time in four years, I was able to drive this afternoon :-) We'll see how long it takes for me to become comfortable driving (probably a decent amount of time), but it's definitely progress. My doctor's office says that they'll need to reëvaluate me in six months; hopefully they'll reduce the frequency after this.
What's funny is that Isaac passed all tests for his driver's license on Thursday. Little brother could drive by himself and big brother couldn't even drive with supervision...

2009-08-19T00:48:00.003-04:00

Where would I be without the love of Christ? Christ gives me support, he gives me purpose, he leads me in life, he holds safe my soul in life and stays my feet from sliding. When my foot is slipping, his mercy upholds me; when my anxious thoughts are many, his comforts cheer my soul. Yet evermore I am with him, he holds me by my right hand; he is my guide, and his counsel commands my way; and in after all is finished, he shall receive me in bright glory.

2009-08-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

Back, and have been back for a week now, but never got around to posting. All went quite well on Saturday: it was Christ-centered, and it's great to see two Christian friends marrying each other. Not to mention that I enjoy reading in the ceremony :-) Moreover, the reception was extremely enjoyable: I was able to see several friends with whom I graduated, as well as some whom I'd not seen for nearly a year. Among those present was my sophomore-year roommate, who transferred out of Geneva at the beginning of last schoolyear; it was good to catch up.
After the wedding, I stayed with a friend in Beaver Falls overnight — good to see him and some of our mutual friends there, but that wasn't the primary reason. I was able to worship with Eastvale for the first time since graduation, and except for the friend who hosted me, none of the members knew that I would be there. It's always good to worship at the house of God, and better to worship with friends whom one misses, but even better when it's a surprise! I had expected to return to my grandfather's house in Rose Point (where I stayed for the week), but I was invited to lunch with one family and was able to arrange to stay for the evening service. This change was made for a single reason: the Beaver Falls churches meet for joint evening worship services in the summer, which rotate between churches, and Eastvale was hosting — not something that I would want to miss! I was therefore able to hear preaching twice: once from Micah, of course, but also from Dan Drost (with whom I stayed part of last summer in Pittsburgh), who is interning at Eastvale for the summer.
The return trip was rather delayed: after waiting for a second bus to appear (there were too many people waiting for the route to fit on one bus) from Pittsburgh, we hit a large traffic jam east of Wheeling, and we had to wait well over an hour in Zanesville to switch drivers. At least Zanesville was enjoyable: because we had plenty of time, I was able to run around and get pictures of plenty of historic buildings downtown. Although it was once the state capital, the state capitol building is gone: unlike in Chillicothe, Ohio's first capital, neither the original capitol nor a reproduction yet exists.

2009-08-05T17:13:00.000-04:00

Last post for a while: I'm leaving for western Pennsylvania this evening, as I'm reading in a wedding on Saturday. Be back Monday.

2009-08-04T23:05:00.002-04:00

Lately, I've been putting plenty of time into transcribing the minutes of the session of the Conococheague RPC (Franklin County, Pennsylvania, just west of Gettysburg) from 1816 to 1839. It's been quite interesting reading — when possible, that is, because the handwriting is bad and the spelling horrid. In what other document do you read that someone "submited himself to the court", that the session "adjurned", or that an appeal was managed by someone appointed "to manaje the apeal"? Or where else do you find a paragraph in which the same man's name is spelled two different ways? Sadly, another difficulty is poor handwriting: as I typed the transcript of an 1823 meeting, I could only read about half of the words.

2009-08-03T10:14:00.003-04:00

Albino Indian Peacock

2009-08-01T14:52:00.002-04:00

This week has been a bit different: as he recovers from an illness, Isaac has finally been able to work at a nearly normal level, so I've not had more mowing work than normal.
Today is a milestone for me — for the first time since March of 2006, I've intentionally taken less than 400mg of one of my medicines. For the next month, I'll be taking a reduced level, than a smaller level in September, even smaller in October, and I'll be off one of them in November.

2009-07-25T01:15:00.003-04:00

The last two days have finally involved mowing: after weeks of little or no rain, we've finally received enough rain to allow the grass to grow. We're not flooded out, and we'll need more rain to keep it growing for much longer, but as for now, it's good.

2009-07-22T01:02:00.002-04:00

Back from Cleveland; everything seems to have gone well. Medicine levels should start to be reduced in a few dats. I hope to be able to drive; the neurologist's ffice will be reviewing my status and likely will grant medical permission for me to drive...then it's up to the BMV.

2009-07-21T07:06:00.003-04:00

About to leave for Cleveland for my seven-months-after-surgery appointment with my neurologist. If all goes as we hope, I'll start having my medicine levels reduced, and we'll learn the process for me to be able to drive. We'll see whether it really happens that way.

2009-07-19T00:55:00.004-04:00

So long since I last posted, I know. I've not given up blogging :-) I've just been occupied with other things: a wedding, occasional lawnmowing, another wedding, and preparations to go to a third wedding. And I'm to be in one in December. How many people I do know who are getting married this year!

2009-07-02T23:53:00.002-04:00

Since yesterday, I've been in the Pittsburgh area for Tony Mastris'/Bekah Troup's wedding. Tonight was Tony's bachelor party: dinner at an Outback Steakhouse, bowling, and ice cream — simply a great time of conversation between good friends. Had my first lobster (a bit expensive, but it's a special evening), bowled 115, and even met someone: the best man, who's a Cypriot whom Tony has known nearly all his life.
Yesterday was simple: Greyhound to Pittsburgh and getting fit in here (I'm staying with a family from Grace RPC, who are indeed being quite gracious!). Tomorrow should be a bit quieter: with nothing going on, I'll likely be spending a bit of time transcribing some early 19th-century documents for Synod's Church History Committee — the family have offered me the use of a bicycle, but the street are confusing enough here that I'd surely get myself lost, and I'd rather be productive than make them look for me! Saturday is the wedding, and I return home on Monday.

2009-06-26T23:20:00.002-04:00

While the recent death of Michael Jackson means nothing to me personally, my Internet interests have made it rather interesting. First off — so many people searched Google for information on him that the tech people thought that it was a denial-of-service attack, and required all searchers to type in a special code to be able to access anything about him. Many other sites crashed: AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and of course the Los Angeles Times. Over at Wikipedia — the Wikimedia Foundation servers crashed for a good while, and record statistics were noted. According to the New York Times, Wikipedia's article on Jackson registered nearly one million hits within one hour, a far higher number than on Palin's article after her nomination or Obama's article after his election. Internal statistics show an interesting contrast: in May, the page had somewhat more than 500,000 hits, but yesterday and today got 1.4 million and 5.9 million hits respectively. Even the misspelling of "Micheal Jackson" has received over 168,000 hits, and (perhaps most impressively) more people visited "Michael Jackson" than visited the Wikipedia front page!

CNN described this situation with a great phrase:
"Jackson dies, almost takes Internet with him".

2009-06-25T23:09:00.002-04:00

Today, we received the first case of The Book of Psalms for Worship. Using my recorder, I've gone through Psalms 1-104, playing the tunes that we don't use in the Book of Psalms for Singing. Many more tunes than in the previous volume use notes below middle C, which is the lowest that my instrument can play; consequently, I'm going to have to relearn proper transposition. I'm enjoying seeing many tunes that I've heard in other contexts, whether classical music (28A, using the theme from a Mozart piano sonata [K.331]), well-known hymn tunes (112B, using the tune from "For All the Saints"), or even Christmas (two different selections using "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and one using the Sussex Carol). Having no knowledge of the biblical languages, I can't opine on the translations, and having gone through the selections without looking at the texts, I can't speak of those either. The only exceptions are in Psalm 68, where "bars of silver ore" is changed to "silver bars" [one doesn't make bars of rocks that have bits of silver in them], and Psalm 83, where four Midianite rulers are named (as in the original text), rather than just two.
I am deeply disappointed with two selections — 19C and 24B. 19 uses a tune that I've heard before, using verse 6 of the psalm as a refrain. Since when was that verse in the text four times? 24, meanwhile, is the tune "St. George's, Edinburgh", which is in the previous Irish psalter: I love the tune and the setting (I coördinated a group that performed it at Calvin in 2004), but this setting includes a "Hallelujah" chorus [not Handel's] at the end. In the 1979 Irish psalter, this setting is the final selection of the entire book, placed in a section separate from most versions, so it's obviously clear; with this one, however, it's just in the middle, and if you didn't know the text, you'd think that the "Hallelujahs" were in the Hebrew.
Despite these objections, I'm eagerly anticipating using this book in worship. It's one reason (albeit a smaller one) that I've had trouble embracing this year in Belle Center, for the congregation likely won't be switching soon.