River-Rat Reflections

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

MY BRAIN AGE IS GETTING YOUNGER!

This evening, thanks to my friend Darlene Cate, I have begun working on a brand new Nintendo DS with Brain Age-1 inserted. I started out on a little color test with a brain age of 80, but after giving my brain a real workout got down to a brain age of 30. My math skills are improving as well---got down to 33 seconds on one of the little tests. Darlene is 80 with a brain age less than half that. When we visited her and Kathy in Denver in September, they immediately recognized that we were good candidates for some serious brain exercise.

This afternoon Carlton and Kayla were with us for an early Thanksgiving dinner and nice hike in the woods. John and Carlton played pool---5 games; They are very competitive, but John manged to pull it off, winning the last 3.

Life is very good and VERY full these days. We've had wonderful October weather for the past 3 weeks which has allowed us to get a lot of work done outside---especially at Carlton Gardens. I've been out in the back cutting brush and love every minute of it. All 24 chapters of the church history text have been submitted to my Zondervan editor and I'm just waiting for him to reply; in the meantime I have been writing some encyclopedia articles that are due December 1.

Tomorrow we head up north to spend a couple of days at our little farm and do some hiking. Billie holds down the fort at Carlton Gardens when I'm gone.

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