Saturday, July 03, 2010


I gave Rebecca a little talk about parallel education. I told her that school is very important but there is also something I call parallel education. Learning about roses in the garden and the history behind them is an example of stuff that will someday serve her well.

But regular school has its moments, too. I have told her that every couple of years I drain our garden pond by sucking into a length of hose that is at a lower level (the back garden). The pond drains very nicely. While I will admit that I did learn to read and write (and to count) at school, draining a pond is the most practical information I ever did learn there.

Sometime at the end of this month Rebecca and I will fly to Austin where we will break bread and live for three days at St. Joseph’s Hall which is the home of Brother Edwin Reggio CSC who taught me theology back in 1959 and a few more and older Brothers of the Holy Cross. We will swim in Barton Springs and visit the State Capitol. We will have Shirley Temples at that grand old dame of the 19th century, the Driskill Hotel. With Brother Edwin and a few of my former classmates we will dine (and particularly enjoy their home-made vanilla bean ice cream) at The County Line.

From Austin we will fly to McCallen where we will be picked up by a cowboy (complete with jingling spurs). We will be there for a few days to see how they raise cattle in South Texas. We will eat handmade tortillas and Rebecca will have to spruce up her Spanish as Mike East and his family speak mostly in Spanish.



A bit of the contemplative life at St. Joseph’s Hall (inside the campus of a highly regarded university, St Edward’s University) and a bit of ranch life should give Rebecca a good idea of the wonders and the delights of a parallel education. As for me I will simply enjoy watching her.

The pictures here I took with a new (really old but being sold again) Polaroid 100 Sepia Film which is rated at 1600 ISO. This means that I can take pictures in my garden with my Mamiya on a tripod and using the beautiful low contrast light of a waning afternoon.