Three Taps of the Gavel!

And the season officially opened today with President Tom Becker giving his three taps of the gavel.  We sang at the morning church service and at the evening Sacred Song Service.  Sunday is our biggest singing day.  It's a little bit challenging to follow the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. . .especially on only two rehearsals for 10+ pieces of music.   We pretty much fly by the seat of our collective pants here.  The Mormon Tabernacle we aren't.  But we are Chautauqua!!!

Here's a nugget from the opening speech that I also posted on Facebook:    The juxtaposition of amnesia with deja vu is when you hear yourself saying,  "I think I forgot that before!"    Welcome to senior citizen-hood!

Here's a thing I love about Chautauqua. . . . .  I don't have a TV.  In years past this was a given, but this year I had a choice.  There's even a set tucked into my closet.  However, I declined the offer.  Now the people above me and the woman next door both have one and I can hear it through the walls.  But boy I don't miss it.  Whenever I get home from Chautauqua in the fall, it takes about a month for me to start turning on the set, and about 2 days for it to become routine.. .. .although I am MUCH more discerning about what I will and won't watch, and I often turn the set off rather than watch the drivel that is on today.   But boy is my life ever better without it.  I'm eating really healthy and controlled.  I don't think about food all day.  And I don't sit in front of the tube thinking I need to be stuffing something in my mouth all the time.  This is a constant struggle for me at home, and is a non-issue here!

This coming week's theme is Global Health and Development as Foreign Policy. . which to tell the truth sounded a bit stuffy to me.  But now I'm really looking forward to it. Tomorrow's speaker is Paul Farmer who I am just learning about.  He is a Harvard educated physician who has divided his time between  the slums of Boston and in Haiti.  I just bought Tracy Kidder's book about him in the book store today.  The book is called Mountains Beyond Mountains and I had to put the rest of Say You're One of Them on hold today while I at least got a start on this one before hearing Paul Farmer tomorrow.  A phenominal man. . . . Google him!   You just don't know when you get up here what new thing is going to jump out and grab your interest.

So I'm heading in to cram as much of this book into my head as possible before tomorrow.  Then I'll go back and finish up the other one prior to hearing the author on Thursday.  These are big, big people who make a difference, and I'm proud to be able to cross their paths.

Let the week begin!