rachel’s blog

As I write this, red and white lights are blinking outside my house. Unfortunately, they aren’t twinkling Christmas lights… and it would be more accurate to say that they’re flashing, not blinking.

They are the flashing lights of the rescue squad.

Last night some people from my church came over to go Christmas caroling with me to a few neighbors on my street. We sang songs like “Joy to the World” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and handed out small bags of cookies. One of the people we sang to was Bonnie, a sweet elderly woman who lives across the street from me. She came to the door in bare feet. Tonight the squad carried Bonnie out on a stretcher. The man who lives next to Bonnie said she was having trouble breathing.

Tonight the lights in Bonnie’s house will be on all night…

If you are a college student who is reading my blog instead of writing a paper or studying for an exam, rest assured that I understand your need for high quality tools of procrastination. Part-time seminary students dislike finals week almost as much as undergrads do…

Here’s a little final-exam story for your enjoyment. I found it online while I was, um, procrastinating.

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The story around Harvard was that there was a graduate math course whose final always consisted of, “Make up an appropriate final exam for this course and answer it. You will be graded on both parts.”

Then one year, a student answered as follows: The exam is: “Make up an appropriate final exam for this course and answer it. You will be graded on both parts.”

The answer is: “Make up an appropriate final exam for this course and answer it. You will be graded on both parts.”

His reasoning was that since that was the best exam the professor could write, it certainly ought to be good enough for a student. He got an A. The professor specifically prohibited  that answer from then on.

Several years ago I went with a group of folks from my church to sing Christmas carols for an elderly woman in our congregation who lived in a retirement community. Her name was Elizabeth.

After we sang and chatted, someone commented on a beautiful embroidered tablecloth in her apartment. Elizabeth told us that she had just recently finished it. She had started embroidering the tablecloth many years ago, but when Pearl Harbor was bombed, she was so upset by the tragedy that she stopped working on the tablecloth and put it away.

Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941 — 66 years ago today. I forget exactly which year Elizabeth pulled out the tablecloth and finished the embroidery, but it was more than 60 years after she set it aside. There’s hope for the rest of us who have unfinished projects!

While walking between two buildings on campus this morning, I was a few paces behind a middle-aged man who I had never seen before. As I was about to enter the building where I work, the man held the door open behind him and waited for me to catch up. A funky red, yellow, and blue beret-like cap sat on his head at an angle.

“Nice hat!” I said. “It’s really unusual… Is there a story behind it?”

There was. He told me that he takes the hat with him on his international travels, and he’ll often put on his clown nose and entertain the children, particularly in third-world countries. While he was telling me this, he pulled a red clown nose out of his coat pocket and momentarily put it on before it disappeared into his pocket again.

A lot of clowns tend to be frighteningly hyperactive. Not this man. His voice and demeanor were so gentle that I’m sure most children feel at ease with him immediately. He asked if I’ve ever done any clowning.

“No, why? Are you suggesting I look like a clown?!” I teased.

The man laughed and asked if I know Patch Adams. I said yes, and just as I was about to add, “Well, not personally,” the man said, “I know Patch.” He went on to say something to the effect that Patch thinks we all need to do a little clowning. And then our short conversation drew to a close and we parted ways.

I still have no idea who the man was, but I’m sure glad I asked about his hat!