2014 Christmas Reflections
Dear Family, Friends, and Readers,
Nancy joins me in sending you all the warmest of season’s greetings, these the first to appear on the new blog [CAPeek.WordPress.Com]. A word of thanks right at the start to UNK’s Nanette Hogg, Department of Communications, for her generous assistance in showing me where and how to blog. If the blog turns out to be a nightmare to anyone, blame me; if you end up following it or just occasionally reading it, thank Nanette.
For those who may be new to our seasonal greetings, they appear at Christmastide and Eastertide and most often contain some musings that with any luck connect with the season, some family news (since the last season’s greeting), our contact information, and a poem. The “parts” are marked so you can skip whatever doesn’t especially interest you.
Whatever you read or skip, know that we are thinking of all our family and friends—the richest blessings of our lives—and wish you all the joy of whatever you celebrate at this season of the year.
This year’s musings:
I began preparations this year by sorting through a door of old cards we’d kept from many Christmases. We read them, remove any pictures for our bulletin board, and toss them—except for those that seem unusually striking or possible candidates for backdrops for our Advent Wreath or crèche display. Of the stack we’d kept, my retro vision caught some interesting things about a handful of cards I drew out at random.
For example, I noted a small blue, red card with gold filigree giving many of the titles of Jesus—this from the late B. David and Deb, Grayson, Leighton, Slade, and Colmie Sinclair;
Or there is the Fra Angelico Angel with Pipes from Fran and George Wheat;
Or the Bruges Madonna and Child with Virgins from Richard and Arlene Dupre;
Or the Book of Hours Nativity from the late John and Mariana, Will, and Ned Damon;
I always loved the portrait of a traditional Santa…that is, one with a Bishop’s crozier, with holly and ivy in the foreground from the late Bishop Rod and Marie Michel;
One of the most gorgeous shows a decorated pillar flanking an angel with a tree descending, and the inscription: Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy from Luke 2:10 and a cut out of music for Hark the Herald Angels sing…this one sent from the late John and the late Eileen Richardson;
And then I ran across a pastel panoply of animals from Heifer Project…a card sent when our family purchased a llama for someone’s farm—perhaps a village’s.
You may have detected one of the themes I sensed in this card review but could not have detected all of them. The obvious—how many of these beautiful greetings survived their senders!
Five are now deceased—we were at 4 of the funerals or memorials, I conducted 2 of them.
Of the people sending them, these interesting demographics: 6 were charismatic, 2 Methodist, 4 Quaker, 6 Episcopalian, and 1 non-denominational.
Or this: 1 played tuba, 1 played organ professionally, and 1 taught music; 2 taught literature; 1 is an artist, 1 a pastor and1 a bishop and one led a Quaker meeting, 1 a nurse, 1 an engineer, 1 a writer; 1 a social worker; 6 were youngsters,
Or this:
1 sent us weekly emails on his spiritual life as his life was coming to a close, 3 I visited in long periods of hospitalization, 2 were at Nancy’s father’s funeral, one got a position for which I had applied and made the most of it…and one became unhinged and spread lies about many of us.
9 of them were highly valued colleagues in teaching or ministry.
That is a remarkable microcosm, isn’t it! The mortality rate kept striking me as we watched HBO’s “Olive Kitteridge” the other night; but what strikes me more is the testimony here to the effects our lives have on others long after we are gone.
So while on that theme, here is our RIP list for the past year:
RIP:
Beloved Cousin Mary Margaret Link Goodman
Fr. Howard Schoech, Fr. Jim Massie, Fr. Scott Rathman, Fr. Robert Hewitt.
Colleagues and Friends: L. D. Brodsky, Edie Cunningham, Charlene Hoschauer, Kent Haruf, Lynn Nelson, Gary Zaruba
Former Parishioners: Botros Gebreial Eltahir, John Haeberle, Harold McClure, Maybelle McMaken, Sally Wengert, Gloria Wolbach
Emerson Sloan, with whom I trudged “the Happy Road of Destiny”
And with thanks for all the joy they gave us, Mike Nichols, Tom Magliozzi, and Robin Williams (Robin and I belonged to a couple of the same clubs!)
(In Ted Kooser’s inimitable words: “Fasten your seat-belts, we’re in for quite a ride!”
Something struck me the other night and prompted me to think through my years at NU getting a BA and MA in Philosophy—what reading stood out still, now, 50 years out? Here, for what it is worth, is the top ten list, my most valuable non-fiction reading from say 1962-1966:
St. Augustine, City of God; Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling; Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations; Edmund Burke, Reflections on the French Revolution; Phillip Wylie, Generation of Vipers; Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth; Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology; Joseph Wood Krutch, The Modern Temper, Whitaker Chambers, Witness, G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy.
Best reading the last half of this year: Susan Maher’s Deep Map Country, Leonard Koppett’s A Thinking Man’s Guide to Baseball, Ellen Bass’s Like a Beggar, and Charles Fort’s Mrs. Belladonna’s Supper Club Waltz. (I have work that appeared in Eclipse and is forthcoming in Cape Rock.)
Another Musing:
Following our elections, I’ve been struck by a question T. V. Golden asked when he was toiling to turn Northeast Nebraska into a prosperous locale for “the good life”: “Shall we hitch ourselves to the wagon of progress and assist in pulling the load, or shall we block the wheels by inertia, fault finding and denunciation?” (from Building a “Young Ireland”: T. V. Golden and Nebraska’s “Irish Capital,” 1880-1926 by Kay Golden in Middle West Review vol. 1, No. 1 Fall 2014, p. 52)
We seem bent these days on blocking the wheels, then wondering why we aren’t making progress! And, from where I sit, no one has fed the flames of “denunciation” more than the national press and the major political parties. [Expect more on this theme in future blogs]
Personal News
Dateline Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska: Brody turned 12, continues to acolyte at St. Augustine’s, played on two baseball teams last summer, and knocks it out of the park in video baseball; Rowan is focusing on his studies but helped his football team get to the play-offs for the first time in over a decade, as well as serving on the Diocese of Nebraska’s youth mission team to the Dominican Republic this summer and giving a talk at our teen event this fall. He will be co-Rector next fall. Noelle co-chaired the Diocesan summer camp at Camp Comeca this past summer and will be deputy from our Diocese at General Convention this coming summer—third generation of the family to be elected. Harlan’s school has increased its enrollment and the quality of its curriculum and facilities. The family took a panhandle outing when Noelle gave the Consecration Sunday talk at St. Francis, Scottsbluff, and we joined them all the day after Thanksgiving to celebrate Brody’s birthday at Ray and Jan Ptomey’s ranch—Harlan’s folks and Brody and Rowan’s other grandparents. Unexpected surprise there: helping to rescue a 1500 pound cow from nearly certain death. (NB: They also serve who only stand and watch!)
Dateline Milwaukee, Wisconsin: George made partner in his law firm, still runs regularly and leads a band on occasion. He played an Omaha festival in November to rave reviews. He manages to get in some fishing as well as serving on the board of education at the Lutheran school where Will and Greta attend; Laura is not only surviving being a stay-at-home Mom but thriving in the role; Will played T-ball this summer and continues with swimming and tennis lessons, Greta “met the requirements for being in pre-school” and for being Elsa (who else this year?) for Halloween (I’ll leave that to you “trainers” to fill in the details), and Huck began walking even while we were there this summer and soon after started climbing on the furniture…and, of course, falling off. (Truly the school of hard knocks!) Our discouraging election night was brightened by an audio tape of Will learning to sing matins from the cantor at Mount Olive LCMS—George says we could not see him swirling his batman cape as he sang! Yes, but we have seen the pictures of him rapt in his now “Little Passports” kit!
Nancy and I enjoyed a glorious ten days in Rome where I gave a paper at the Cather Symposium and we took in some gorgeous sites and great food. Two highlights: worship at All Saints (C of E) with the Archbishop of Canterbury celebrating and preaching, and joining one of the audiences with Pope Francis at the Vatican. On many of our memorable walks, we were companioned by Steve Shively and aided by the guide book Marilyn and Galen Hadley loaned us. We stayed in a very roomy basement apartment in Trastevere that we found on AIRBNB.
The Faulkner Conference was great fun this summer, the teaching Faulkner sessions went very well, and we found occasion to celebrate Grayson Schick (newly minted Ph.D.), Jennie Joiner (new chair), Colby Kullman (Tennessee Williams scholar of the year), Bev Carothers (new knee), and Jim Carothers (another stint as president of the KU faculty). From Oxford, we drove up to Keokuk, Iowa, to see the locks—that had been our honeymoon destination but the money ran out (long story for another time)—from there on to Davenport for lunch with John and Katy Hall and then to DeKalb, Illinois, to check in with my cousin Ted Peek.
We finished the summer with 5 great weeks in Milwaukee where we were included in a Bruss family dinner, took in what was apparently the last good Brewers’ game of the season, and tried out some new places to eat while enjoying our family and the two parishes where we worship (All Saints Cathedral, St. Paul’s).
Back in Kearney, Nancy joined the women’s Bible study at St. Luke’s while Chuck taught Nebraska Writing: Writing Nebraska for the Senior College and a short course on three short stories for OLLI in Lincoln. Fall brought a lovely lunch with Kay Horner and Barb Wood and a (pretty much annual) dinner at Lee’s with Mike and Jeanetta Cartwright, Don Cunningham and Olive Bucklin, and Gerry and Cathy Parsons, as well as the chance to catch up with old fraternity brother Rich Oehlerking and his wife and UNK alum and entrepreneur Rick Wallace.
Music: We enjoyed a tremendous organ recital by Marilyn Musick at St. Luke’s on the newly refurbished organ the parish installed while I was Rector. Gene Ward (priest, installer, organist, bookbinder) and I are writing up the history of that purchase and installation. Also, the Bold Nebraska concert at the Tanderup farm near Neligh, headliners Willie Nelson and Neil Young, show-stopper Lucas Nelson, and finally the Ukrainian Dancers and the Nebraska – Rutgers game with Ken and Linda Anderson.
Sadly, Fall also saw us traveling to Helena, Montana, for my cousin Mary’s funeral—beautiful trip up through South Dakota and across the Yellowstone Valley, and great to see Mary’s family (Sharon and Lester, Zack, Seth, and Ty; Tom, Lucy, Jessica, and Jason; Tim, Ranae, and Gib), my other Cousin Dottie (as near to a sister as I’ve got), and her daughter Jan—but sad occasion for all, especially Mary’s family who had all just lost their father a couple of months before.
Both summer and fall have given us great chances to walk…in Milwaukee, all along Brady Street and the lake front. I promised George’s brother-in-law James that I would mention that he invited us to the Yacht Club at the marina one of the nights he raced…very fun evening and snazzy club. Then back in Kearney, we’ve walked at our beloved Cottonmill Park and watched as summer turned to fall.
The weekly lunch of very wise people goes on now without its center, Gary Zaruba. A major presence in all our lives, Gary was (with Larry Peterson) the chief founder of the Museum of Nebraska Art, an artist in his own right, and a wonderfully warm and witty man. I was privileged to be asked to provide the remarks at the celebration of his life at MONA (where an endowment in his name is still open to contributions!).
One small suggestion of the ecumenical variety: The three family units in our immediate family could go on the road with a joint religious service that involved Bible reading, singing/chanting, and providing suitable homilies for various occasions. Some of us could usher! Let’s see what we’d call it—Luthcopal? Epitheran? Theralian? Iscoperan? Oh, how many great ideas have gone down in flames for lack of just the right name!
We enjoyed the last fine fall afternoon celebrating books with the Nebraska Center for the Book folks. Glad, though, none of you were with us the night before. Apparently the deer we took out last winter had suicide-crosser relatives in the eastern part of the province, one of whom totaled the car that the other deer had only damaged. Neither of us had as much as a bruise or a scratch—the dependable Subaru took all the shock. AAA was good once again—GEICO not so much, but we are in a new Crosstrek!
One more irony. The night Courtney Lewis married Matt Geschke we were flying back from Rome, encountered a storm near Omaha, and were diverted to Lincoln. Had to call Noelle and Harlan to pick us up…they were at the Lewis wedding festivities. The night of the suicide deer, we had just been to Courtney’s brother Nate’s wedding. Noelle and Harlan were still at those festivities when we called them again. We prefer the glass half full interpretation: Lewis family weddings are good for our survival of various perils!
This coming summer will see us back again at the Cather conference, this year an international seminar starting in Red Cloud and moving to Lincoln. (You can still give to the National Willa Cather Center project!) We’ll leave it a day early to get to McCook where I will emcee the Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival. There will be the Faulkner conference again, followed by an extended weekend with all the family in Kansas City to celebrate our 50th. Then another end of summer in Milwaukee and, when we return, my 55th class reunion and Heritage Days in McCook, where I’ve been asked to give the annual George Norris talk. I’m not sure why we call ourselves “retired.” I won’t be teaching Senior College or OLLI this coming year, but I will be planning a couple of classes for spring 2016.
Right now, Nancy continues to organize our “archives” of family clippings and photos while I work on some writing, including some material on spirituality and twelve-step programs.
Wish you could all have joined us and Mike Adams and Kate Benzel for Thanksgiving dinner or joined us after at the Ptomey ranch. But distance is still a fact of life, even in a shrinking world where American stocks go up and down based on manufacturing reports from China, so we’ll content ourselves this season, celebrated by so many faiths with festivals of light, by wishing you the brightest and best of holidays.
Warmest greetings,
Chuck and Nancy Peek
Contact:
Nancy: 308-293-3386 nancyjpeek@gmail.com
Chuck: 308-293-2377 cpeek.cp@gmail.com
2010 Fifth Avenue, Kearney, NE 68845
PS: latest discovery!
It was Nancy’s maternal grandfather, George C. Snow, who introduced the concurrent resolution in the (then bicameral) Nebraska legislature that created the position of Nebraska Poet Laureate and gave that position to John G. Neihardt! Nebraska Center for the Book will carry an article on this in an upcoming issue of their newsletter.
Poem follows—scroll down:
At the Gates of Heaven, Facing the Crowds, Searching Desperately for the Ways to Measure Grace on Judgment Day
once if memory served
there was a table of equivalencies
but now no one can seem to
lay their hands on it
so possibly the remembering will have to do
will (to get down to business) count the dirt under Sister Gardener’s nails
as a novena
o.k., possibly a no-brainer (unless you spoke with her Superior)
but then we can imagine that the high pitched sound
off the amped guitar chording hopes and losses
is surely godspeeding something
no matter at 36,000 feet or a ground zero
what then the wounded tongue of
the woman at the clinic,
bitten repeatedly
each time she’s accused
of killing babies
or the witness’s go-to-hell refusal to testify against his friends
while the cameras flash
his inquisitor’s photo for mass consumption
another song you could write, another hell to pay
was there anything in the book for those who
stand (add the usual prepositions: up or with or by)
can we count the stretching of the figures fading on the cave’s walls
must we protract the perimeters of the circles
of hell
how far do the outstretched arms reach
Kearney, Nebraska
November 6, 2014
capeek 