I leapt out of bed this morning and rushed right to the computer to write things for pay, and now — taking a tea break for a minute here — I have nothing left to say. And more writing for pay to do.
I’ll just mention that I am astonishingly bad at bell ringing. I went back to bell choir last night, thinking that we would be doing the same pieces as last week, and I would be a step ahead. No such luck. We did completely different pieces. Now only were they bristling with notes (mine are, you may recall, in the imaginary section of the staff), but they also had cryptic notations like LV, TD, and special symbols that meant to knock the bell on the foam table. I was clearly a drawback to the choir as a whole, and the only reason they didn’t throw things at me and ask me to leave is that we were in church and it would have been unseemly.
In one piece, the final measure includes (indeed, from my point of view as a bellringer, consists of) two Cs, both half notes. I shared with the director that that measure was the only one I felt confident about in the entire folder of music. “You just need practice,” he said. This shows how desperate he is to have somebody, anybody, playing the B6 and C7.
I must try to put the whole sad episode out of my mind and get back to work.
Or maybe he sees something in you that you don’t quite see yet. RYC: Off to check out your November 7 – 9 posts.
RE: Nov 7 – 9 posts. Wow, what an excellent discussion and exploration of the topic. In my not-so-educated-about-this opinion, I believe that the idea of “morality” changes with time, geography, personal influences, etc. I am nearly 40 and the morality that I grew up with is different than the morality that my students have grown up with. The influences are different: media and technology are a huge part of my students’ lives, so is the power of consumerism. But can I say the same is true for someone who is living in the rural parts of the state? No. Their morality is probably influenced by other factors. My questions – and it is one that I ponder quite a bit as I work with a generation of students for whom I could be their mother – are: can there be one code of morality? Can there be one definition of “respect”? Can we define things that were true for us as true for others? If the answers to these questions are “no” then how do we get along? There’s the challenge.
Love this. I love this. Great conversation going on. FM: “I would answer that there really is one system of morality, though it has variations based on culture, time, etc. that cause the answer to question #2 to be “no.” And I would say the same for truth: there is an objective reality, but we interpret it and respond to it differently. And therefore, “how do we get along?” has to be answered with “Mostly we don’t.””
If there is one system of morality, but has variations, can we still call it “one system” of morality? DXTR and I were having a conversation earlier this week about being “right” and being “wrong” and how, in American society, heck, probably Western society, to be “wrong” is to be “bad” and to be “right” is to be “good.” I liken that conversation to ours in the way that one person’s/society’s/nation’s definition of “morality” can be interpreted as “right” or “wrong” based on another person’s/society’s/nation’s definition of “morality.” Is it “wrong” or just different? Is there a place where we can say “I don’t agree and here are the reasons why” and still get along? I know there are places where we can say “you are wrong” but try to work out an amicable solution and I know there are places where we can’t work out an amicable solution, but to say “let’s leave each other alone.”
My thoughts. Thanks for getting this conversation started. I hope others will join in.
Don’t fret about bells.
RYC: Oh, you know, I don’t really think of 40 as being old. I just like to “pump it up” for the sake of amusement. And, I am disgruntled at having to give up things I enjoy — even in moderation — for the sake of health.
A local church here has a hand bell choir. I have often thought it would be fun to join. They always say it is open to anyone. But your escapades give me doubt.
Of course they also practice the same night as Knit Night at the library, so it’s not like there’s really a choice there. Actually, bell ringing is on Tuesdays and the first two Tuesdays of the month are Knit Night, the third Tuesday is a board meeting I attend and the 4th Tuesdays I am going to eek in Aikido classes (like I did this week). It doesn’t leave much room for bell ringing.