River-Rat Reflections: April 2009

Monday, April 27, 2009

Radio in Black and White

This morning my partner at Carlton Gardens and I were interviewed for a local live radio program Radio in Black and White. We told about our business partnership across racial lines and about our website Business Black and White. It was a good time. I'm used to doing radio interviews. Billie isn't, but she come off as a real pro!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Mountain Lion Lurking in my Woods

This morning when we opened our Grand Rapids PRESS, we saw this photo of a mountain lion west of Spooner, Wisconsin, my neck of the woods (where I spent the first 18 years of my life). My brother owns the farm now and from what I could find online it is hanging around within a mile or two of our farm, if not the property itself. My brother and his wife are planting trees there this week so they may spot it.

Someone asked me the other day why I hadn't posted for so long. I've been working virtually non-stop on the church history book, still playing catch-up from last summer. I was originally supposed to have it completed by now but it will be on into the summer before it's completed. John is a saint. He prepares wonderful meals, does my share of the yard and house work, AND edits chapters besides. We're planning a 2+ week trip out West in the fall, so the book's got to be done before then.

About Me

I am married to John Worst and have a son and granddaughter, Carlton and Kayla Tucker (now married to Ariel Sosa) as well as two step-daughters, Laura and Sarah and three more grand-kids, Mitch, Ashley and Zach. I did my doctoral degree in history and have written more than twenty books and have taught at colleges and seminaries for more than 30 years. John taught music at Calvin College for 35 years and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Besides reading and folk-art painting, my favorite activities (with John) are hiking, biking and kayaking. Most of our days are spent at our shop, Carlton Gardens, which we refer to as a "hobby gone wild."

My Calvin Seminary Story

I began teaching at Calvin Theological Seminary in 2000--the first full-time woman professor in the school's 125-year history. In 2003, less than 3 months after Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. was installed as the new president, I was, without warning, removed from tenure track and given a terminal appointment. I have repeatedly asked that all the evidence be opened only to be blocked by a dishonest cover-up. When independent mediators were retained by the seminary board in 2005, they called for "retroactive pay to 2003" and my appointment as full professor. They also stated that the charges against me were inflammatory and should be removed from the record. That report was buried. I finished my second terminal appointment on August 31, 2006, and shortly thereafter published my story here.

A Provocative Poem

PEDESTALS

Thousands
cheer,
chant,
and clap
as one of their own
is proudly carried toward the
lofty pedestal.
The audience
urges him
up the stairway,
step by step,
higher and higher,
far above the masses
on the prominent platform.
The media is there
with lights,
cameras
and prime-time coverage.
Publishers huddle
around the base,
for they know
pedestal-people
sell well.
The crowds
on satellite hook-ups
hang on
every last word,
for he seems
so close to eternity.
Yet he feels
unsure,
unworthy,
afraid
and very alone . . .
But at that height
no one notices,
no one questions,
no one confronts.
And so,
in a split second,
the trap door swings,
the noose tightens,
the crowd gasps.
Undeterred, the mob moves on
to build more pedestals;
to encourage another
of their own
up the starlit steps.
But mostly
to wonder
why those
at the pinnacle
keep falling
from the heights.
© 1988 James N. Watkins