Father of Six

Tami and I met John and his wife Beth at the Downtown Littleton Light Rail Station and went to dinner at the Limelight inside the Denver Center for the Performing Arts complex.

We then saw a concert performance of Richard Wagner’s opera, The Flying Dutchman.

The performance was highlighted by James Morris singing the role of the Dutchman. Mr. Morris is considered the world’s leading interpreter of the Dutchman role.

I particularly enjoyed the performance of Stephen Costello as the Steersman, and Stuart Skelton as Erik. Mr. Costello’s voice was bright and lively, while Mr. Skelton seemed to enjoy performing the Wagner opera more than anyone else on stage.

It was a nice evening and we enjoyed the company of John and Beth.

After I finished my business at Valley Forge, I drove over to Gettysburg and went to the National Park there.

Gettysburg is a much different place than Valley Forge. Gettysburg is about struggle, courage, tragedy, and death. It is a very somber place.

Here is a photo of the plaque where Lincoln gave his address.

I went to Valley Forge 4/1 through 4/4. Whilst there, I went to the National Park. I think this is a very patriotic and spiritual place. This is the place where George Washington and the Continental Army licked their wounds, re-grouped, and trained to be better soldiers. By all accounts, it was a rough existence.

Here is a photo of the National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge.

Danielle and I signed up to take an Introduction to Fencing class. It is a six week course that meets every Tuesday evening from 7 to 8:30. We are taking the class at the South Denver Fencing Academy.

Our first class consisted of stretching, determining your vision dominance – which determines if you fence right or left handed (I’m left, Danielle is right) – how to get into the “en garde” position, how to move forward, how to move backwards, how to thrust your weapon, and how to lunge with your weapon.

We had a great time. The instructors seem to be full of knowledge and experience, and they have great senses of humor too.

“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

I went to Sunnyvale (San Jose) Monday through Wednesday this past week. Knowing in advance that I was going to take this trip, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the San Jose Opera was currently performing Verdi’s Opera, Rigoletto. I bought tickets for myself and the guy that was traveling with me. We went on Tuesday evening, and even attended the lecture before the performance. It was very powerful, and a fantastic production.

Here is a link to a review from the San Jose Mercury.

The marquee.

Our view of the stage from the second row balcony.

The program and my ticket stub.

A self-portrait reflection in the mirror in my hotel room after the performance.

The novel begins with an “editor’s” description of how he came to be in possession of a manuscript.

There are huge, chunky paragraphs pf Latin, largely untranslated, but deftly worked into the continuing narrative.

Here is a parenthetical example - but in French - again untranslated.

I’ve finished the first chapter, the story of the editor/translator and his now third edition of the manuscript original, written by Adso of Melk. I am slightly irritated at the untranslated Latin and French segments, and as I start the next chapter I am slightly aware that I might not be completely in grasp of the literary events.

I began the journey, the odyssey, of reading “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco on January 21st.

I purchased an “Everyman’s Library” edition with a gift card given to me by my Little League football team at our banquet last Saturday night.

Two things struck me as challenging as I read the Introduction, written by a certain David Lodge. It reads -

“It is recommended that first time readers of … do not read the introduction beyond the break on p. xiv until they have finished the novel.”

This footnote is a challenge - to read the book in order to return and read the rest of the Introduction. Right, this guy is so presumptuous that he is implying that his introduction is as important and majestic as the novel. Alternatively, it is also a temptation, of which I usually find difficult to avoid.

Secondly, in the last paragraph of this virginal part of the introduction, Mr. Lodge discusses the challenges most readers face within the first 100 pages, of which friends and editors of Eco’s recommend he shorten because they were “very difficult and demanding.”

Eco refuses, explaining that the pages were a “penance or initiation,” and those readers who were successful would “learn how to read the book, and would not be able to stop reading, having reached this point.”

One additional aspect of both Eco and the novel is that in some perverted way they intrigue me with the utter Catholicism of it all. Perhaps the what and why of the intrigue will be revealed in later discussion.

I intend these entries - T.N.o.t.R., Pt.x, etc. - to be a sort of commentary of my thoughts and ideas as I read this book. If anyone has comments, or has themselves read the book, please provide feedback and commentary as I go along. It is my intent to read, and thereby post every day until I have completed the novel.

I had the fortunate opportunity to visit the historic district of Philadelphia - primarily Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center - this past week while I was traveling on business.

Here is a view of Independence Hall.

And this is the Liberty Bell Center.

Why is it that every time I go to see some famous relic, that I’m surrounded by Japanese tourists? When Tami and I saw the Rosetta Stone in London, we couldn’t get a single picture without some Japanese tourist in the shot.

Same thing here with the Liberty Bell. And they all had to have their picture taken with the Liberty Bell.

So I waited. For about 25 minutes. And the light was all wrong from the front anyway. You can barely see the face, the famous crack, and in the background is the bell tower of Independence Hall where the bell once hung.

From the back the light was much better.

60. Rig my iPod to my car
I drive a 1997 Dodge Dakota 2-wheel drive, no power anything, no air-conditioning. The best thing about my truck, besides that it is a truck, is the stereo. I usually have my portable XM Radio plugged in, but I leave that at home in the summer so the family can listen while they are playing outside. I’d just as soon leave the XM system at the house, and have my iPod in the truck.

61. Rig my iPod to my Outdoor System
After saying the thing about the XM radio above, you might think I’m not sane. Well I don like my music, and I like options and variety. Having the iPod on the outdoor systems will give us the opportunity to have theme parties too.

62. Post the answers to these questions for 4 consecutive weeks.
What will I try to improve on next week?
What was I most proud of this week?
What was my biggest accomplishment this week?
What have I done to get closer to my life goals this week?
What was hard for me this week, and why?
What was my biggest waste of time this week?
What did I do this week that made me ashamed?

This may be a little too insightful, but I’ve going to give it a shot.

63. Try #62 a second time
I must be insane.

64. Play chess at least once a week for 3 months
I will probably do this in the winter. I’ll have to find a partner first.

65. See the Liberty Bell
This is one of the more unlikely entries. If I have to go to Valley Forge or Burlington, NJ, then I’ll definitely make the stop.

66. Read “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco
I’d like to start this sooner rather than later. It is a novel of a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327. Go here for a more in depth description of the book.

67. Have flowers delivered to ______ for no reason (10)
Oh, they will all love this.

68. Hike a 3-day portion of the Colorado Trail
I fell in love with backpacking when I first moved to Colorado from Louisiana. One of my first friends, George Arnott, and I would spend weekends backpacking in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains west of Pueblo.

69. Ride my bike 100 miles in one day
Just another one of those test your fitness level objectives.

Tami and I took Boomer to see Ratatouille last weekend. It was a very frenetic movie, but enjoyable nonetheless. (Even though Boomer looks like he wants a piece of my rear-end in the photo below, he did like the movie.)