President's Day Summary

I have just a few minutes before I have to head off to a finance committee for a local school.  But since it has been almost two weeks since the last time I blogged I thought it might be a good investment in my time this afternoon of President’s Day.

I just took Penny to the airport to fly back to California.  It sure was nice having her around over a weekend!  In fact I have spent the better side of a week and a half with her either here or in Seattle where I had some meetings to attend.  My meetings aligned with her teaching furlough time from work in California, thanks to Governor Brown.  She spent the remainder of her time off here in Scottsdale.

Last week was amazing in a couple of ways!  First of all, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I was able to attend some meetings in Seattle.  I must confess I am not even sure what the official nomenclature of the meetings was, but it had to do with Jesus and One.  Regardless of the name given, the theme was quite clear, which is why I chose to accept the invitation to go.  It was about placing Jesus squarely in the middle of all we do and preach in the Adventist Church.  That may seem like one of those things that we should take for granted in our system, but it’s not.  It needs to be.  I was blessed, together with my wife, my daughter, and my son-in-law, who took the time off work to join us for the meetings.  Around 700 people attended the “gathering,” which is what I believe they would rather be called—in short, a gathering of great and passionate praise experiences, powerful presentations, followed by great discussion and prayer.  Nothing else really mattered.

It did not matter at all that the whole time in Seattle was rainy and cold.  We did not do any sightseeing or visiting.  We just spent two days soaking in people who wanted more of their spiritual experience.  I only hope all will not fade away as so many other meetings before, but will lead to real and practical change in our church here in Arizona and beyond.

I had only a day to get ready for the weekend which included a marvelous 75^th anniversary celebration at Glenview Academy.  It began Friday night and went into Saturday night.  It was inspirational and encouraging.  Many accounts of the impact of Adventist Education were shared as well as some great preaching from our own Tony Anobile.  Oh yes, violinist Jaime Jorge gave some incredible renditions of some old classic hymns.  Somewhere in the middle of all that I was able to squeeze in a little Sabbath School In-Service on Sabbath afternoon.  I had a great time sharing a presentation entitled, “Seven Secrets to Ruin your Sabbath School Class.”  There was much discussion and many questions from the Sabbath School teachers that had come to the in-service.  The week promises to pick up the pace beginning tomorrow!  Gotta go.  Finances await! (226.2)

Thursday Brief

It’s been a couple of days since my last blog.  Other than my natural propensity to get carried away with peripheral tasks at the expense of ultimately more important matters, I was also a bit under the weather.  It crept up on me upon my return from my PUC meetings earlier this week.  I was swallowed up in the bowels of despair.  Suffice it to say that I was in no condition to blog.

The truth is that I had not had a morsel to eat for the better part of two days, but for a few tangerines I ate this afternoon.  They are not sitting well in my empty stomach.  In any case, I at least made it to work for the second half of the work day.  Considering I will be out the better part of next week and the lion’s share of the final week of this month on out of town meetings, it is important to be in the office as much as possible.  I plan on being in the office tomorrow although the office is closed officially.  (224.4)

Disappointment and Delight

I am in my hotel room in Calistoga, California.   Things are quiet on the home front.  Yesterday was not so.  As you recall I shared my culinary experience from Sunday morning.  It was epic.  But it led to a disappointment in another area which I had not experienced in a long time.  On the other hand last night, in this very hotel room, I did something I did not think I would ever do.  Let me share my first evening at my Superintendents’ Meetings at Pacific Union College in Angwin, California.

When last I blogged I was fresh off a monumental breakfast experience at my son, Ruben’s home.  As much as I enjoyed the guilty delight at my mother’s hands, I was not prepared for the disappointment I would suffer as the corresponding consequence later on that afternoon.  You see, what I had forgotten is the fact that Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday!  I guess you might say that bit of social disorientation was due to my media fast which is still progressing nicely even in early February.

Well, as you may well know, Super Bowl Sunday leads to Super Bowl Parties.  My extended family is no exception when it pertains to this tradition.  My brother-in-law Skip is famous for his parties, especially Super Bowl Parties.  He is a cook par excellence!  I cannot go into detail regarding the tasty treats he has previously prepared, for one because I did not eat supper tonight—I mean, not really….I was treated to a banquet of Italian food at the banquet I attended.  Enough said.

Well, in any case, my brother-in-law Skip loves to cook almost as much as I love to eat—thus we make a great team.  Since my boys have inherited my predilection for consuming delicious food in copious quantities, they too provide Skip with a sense of delight and satisfaction in seeing us devour what he dishes up.  Thus my disappointment….  You see, I realized too late that it was Super Bowl Sunday and that an invitation was coming from Skip’s house to come and join them for the festivities.  Upon arrival in the early afternoon my eyes and nostrils were not disappointed.  There was food in various stages of preparation.  I was first to arrive so I was asked by Skip if I was ready.  I did not know how to break the news to him that I had not recovered from my mother’s breakfast, so I just told him, “I haven’t recovered from my mom’s breakfast.”  I could not believe those words had emanated from my lips!  I could sense the disappointment in the air.  I went and collapsed on his sofa awaiting the start of the game, but really wondering what had just happened.

People began to arrive.  My boys eventually showed as well.  My shame was veiled somewhat.  The food took a beating from the hoard of people.  The aromatic smells of carefully created plates and mixtures of exotic and traditional dishes filled the air.  I could hear the food calling my name.  I did not move for some time.  It was a dark day in the annals of the Escalante tradition.  In the end I succumbed to the call of the wild—the wild amount of food in the house.  But alas, I could not eat with the gusto to which people has become accustomed.  I was a shadow of the man I had been but a few weeks ago.  I let my bother-in-law down.  I am sorry, Skip.   I will make it up to you somehow!

The evening in my hotel room was another story altogether.  I never thought I could do what I did.  I broke a record that has stood through the years of habitual travel and lodging in various places around the world.  It is a habit I have had as long as I can remember traveling.  As soon as I enter a hotel room, I seek out the remote (or the ‘On” button back in the pre-remote control days) and turn the TV on.  It is my addiction to noise and news that was my downfall.  But not this time!  I am in the midst of a media fast—half a Super Bowl game notwithstanding.  I have to say that I did not think I could do it!  But I am here to tell you that I fell asleep without a sound in the room—no music, no soundtrack, no script, and no jingles.  All I heard was the sound of an occasional auto racing down Highway 29 in Calistoga.

A new day has come!  I was alone with my thoughts for the evening and into my night’s slumber.  I monologued with God about sundry things.  Then I was alone with the silence of His response.  I can live with that for now.  I am not sure what I would do if I actually heard His audible voice!  But I keep listening.  I know He also continues to talk—I will keep searching for the channel He uses.  Good night.

Sunday Sumptuous Servings by Senion Seniora

Yesterday went well at the Maricopa Village Church.   The school kids sang and recited Scripture.  That was pretty awesome.  There were some guest musicians from Alaska.  They were a treat.  I got to sit with Margie, the matriarch of this small country church on the Gila River Indian Reservation.  I didn’t get up to preach until close to 12:00 p.m., but I got through it without major incident or heckling   Of course I was under some time pressure since I had left my “I-do-not-speak-English-while-telling-me-in-English” mother at the Phoenix Central Spanish Church.  I found her sitting in the lobby with the head pastor, whose last name is also Escalante.  I did not ask what they were talking about for all that time.

We hit the road to California immediately after picking her up and traveled with nothing more to eat than oranges, grapefruit, nuts, sunflower seeds, and of course, Snickers Bars—these treats, of course, meant to keep the driver alert.  My stomach is never a happy camper after one of these trips, but it made sense to get there early and spend the evening with the family before leaving the next day.  We had a great time.  It is always worth it!

The meetings I will be attending will be held on the campus of PUC.  In addition to education days, when the superintendents go and get to know the prospective teachers soon to be graduating, there are some accompanying administrative meetings that are bundled up to take advantage of the gathering.  These include some Ed Code policy meetings, superintendent and associate superintendent meetings.  I also have some homework due for a WASC visit to the Calexico Mission School and some editing for the Adventist Journal of Education.

My mom turns 80 this Thursday and I will not be here to celebrate it with her.  So today I am celebrating with her by enjoying one of her heart attack Sunday morning breakfasts.  I believe she is preparing some fresh home-made salsa, coronary infarction beans, scrambled cholesterol enhanced eggs with stuff mixed in to elicit more taste and arterial constriction, home-made flour tortillas (because corn tortillas are more healthy), home-fried potatoes, and of course Worthington Breakfast Links, because we need the artificial ingredients to preserve us a little longer after we succumb to the massive heart attack at the end of breakfast.  But seriously, I am eating healthier and in smaller portions since my mom came to spend some time with me in Phoenix.  That of course in in Arizona!  It is purely and simply a survival skill.  But this is California; I will enjoy it while I am here and run a few extra miles before the end of my day.

It’s 11:24 a.m. in California.  I just finished breakfast.  I feel like a beached whale.  I may have to make that a half marathon to balance out the ledgers.  No eating for me until Wednesday.  (223.6)

Friday Feasting

It’s Friday and all is well. I spent a busy day working in my home quarters.  This made my soon-to-be-80 years of age mother very happy, since according to her she does not see me at all during the rest of the week.  This of course is not true to a degree.  I am not home much, since I do work, at least more than I did when I was fourteen years old, the age at which I apparently have been frozen in time in my mother’s mind.  There is a second reason I am not home as much—you see my mother believes it is the duty of any good mother to feed her son every time she sees him.  At least this seems to be the case with my mom.

This morning, for instance, by the time I got up to prepare my usual “green smoothie,” as I do every morning, she had already been cooking for some time.   She had prepared chilaquiles (crispy fried corn tortilla strips mixed with spicy tomato sauce, chopped onions, and other condiments), beans (fried, of course), eggs (did I mention—fried), and guacamole (you already know what that is, except my mom’s version of guacamole has added ingredients such as Mexican cheese and other spices that double or maybe even triple the calories).  I could not talk my way out of it.  My compromise was that I ate the meal with a tall glass of my “green smoothie.”  I don’t think it negatively impacted the calorie count.

I spent a good share of the day doing my neglected household duties, like washing my clothes (under my mother’s protest—she wants to wash them!).  I found the time to meet with representatives from Maranatha and the AAF.  The meeting went longer than I had anticipated, but we made some inroads and resolved some apparent impasses.  It was a very worthwhile meeting.  A lot of work lies ahead before the main Maranatha troop arrives!

On a side note, I welcome the comments you send.  It’s nice to know that people are reading my blog.  The reason I chose to write it is to give the reader a sense of what takes place in the life a not-so-typical superintendent of education in the Adventist Church.  I am hoping it will provide a window into the dynamics of church work, especially as it pertains to education.  I would love to publish all comments.  I have chosen to only publish those that are positive, since I want my blog to be a positive experience for those who read it.  I have dealt with some challenges in the past year and a half, but I have tried not to be negative regarding people or situations.  I may become introspective at times, but that is a good thing.  I want to do what I can to edify and not to knock down.  I may not always succeed in convincing people that is what I attempted to do, but such is the challenge of working with the saints.  Pray for me.  I need your prayers.  I will pray for you.  Good night and have a great Sabbath. 

By the way I will be preaching tomorrow at the Maricopa Village Church.   I am looking forward to it.  (223.5)

An Unsolved Mystery

It’s Thursday night in the duplex.  It’s a quiet evening on the campus of TAA, in the distance I can hear the sound of a motorcycle revving up his small by high-strung engine for no apparent reason other than to have someone like me notice and maybe write about it in his blog.  I can hear the hum of the florescent light casting its eye-empowering light on the laptop keyboard serving as the medium of my evening’s communication to the number-challenged but mighty contingent of readers of my humble blog.

The day was mostly uneventful.  The president was sick most of the day.  He made an appearance late in the afternoon to take care of some indispensible work that apparently could only be cared for with his presence in the office.  I met with WT, who is the liaison with the Renaissance Network.  We had lunch together and had a meeting with the school business manager to discuss challenges that could possibly become problems if not addressed appropriately.  Some are simply growing pains related to a highly motivated, but independently confident group of volunteer workers who are doing some of the preliminary tasks prior to the arrival of the main Maranatha contingent of volunteers for the major project.  It’s funny to see interpersonal dynamics go awry over minor or otherwise solvable dilemmas.

The mysterious pictures that had appeared in the conference office over the last two days disappeared as suddenly as they showed up.  They went through quite a metamorphosis before they vanished.  It became the talk of the office and a lot of spontaneous laughter.  The first pictures were nothing but pirated photocopies of a black and white picture of my face sporting the bad haircut.  I removed that edition quickly but never pinpointed who was the culprit behind the unauthorized postings.

The next morning a totally different head shot of yours truly made an appearance.  This one portrayed me with what can best be described as a mane.  I was wearing a set of my signature Ray Ban Aviators.  There was a caption of the question “Is This Better?”  That one caused a stir since it was on the walls when everyone arrived in the morning.  Most people believed I was the one responsible for this bit of mischief.  If I was, I would not ruin it by admitting to it.  I just flowed with the punches.  My intent was to clear the walls of this less than flattering picture (as if such a picture exists) at a more opportune time.  This was not to be.

Upon my return from lunch I was bombarded by a third edition in the series—this one took the cake!  New variations of the first edition of portraits had been edited by an unknown artist into a broad variety of comical poses including but not limited to a rabbi, a hippie, a boy in a beanie, a pirate, a momma’s boy, a freak, and a pimple-faced, adolescent.  The cartoonish edits were done in color for a fuller effect.  The mystery was broadened to include many suspects but no indictments.

Then upon my return from my afternoon meetings they were gone.  No one was willing to break the code of silence that protected the guilty party.  I fear the series of creative portraits may appear again at a later date.  I am trying not to be paranoid.  I hope they don’t show up on Facebook!  I should go check…good night!  (225.0)

An Insightful Conversation

Wow!  The first day of February is already here.   I have been in the office almost the whole week.  But for a brief visit to the Red Rock School on Monday, it would have been the entire week.

On my way walking home yesterday after work I stopped to talk to good friend that used to be involved at one of our elementary schools in the area.  It was an insightful and sobering conversation.  It brought many unknown matters to my attention; some that I had not considered before.  I learned a lot from the conversation.  As a result I will have to be a bit more perceptive regarding things that are taking place around me that I may not even have noticed before.  It was a sobering moment.

Such a conversation does beg the question “why do people avoid talking to me about matters that I might be able to address before they escalate?  Am I unapproachable?  Am I irrelevant?  Am I ineffective?  It does make me wonder.  I am not deterred since I know that the worst thing for me to do is to do nothing at all as if paralyzed by the fear of failure.  Oh well, I keep learning more every day.

By the way, my bad haircut is getting quite a bit of exposure around the office since mysterious pictures have begun to appear posted in prominent places around the office of the new “doo” and even one of me with a full head of hair in a state of disarray.  I don’t know how or where this is going to end but it has provided quite a bit of good natured laughter around the office.  (226.6)