David Harvey Eby
May 31, 1952 ― January 27, 2024 

Earlier in the month we got the sad news that David Eby, Nathanael's father-in-law, was told he had only six to twelve months to live.  His son Daniel flew to Washington to be with him.  Then his condition suddenly worsened.  His cancer was accelerating his decline.  Nathanael drove him back to the hospital.

Nancy and Annie got the news of his passing in the wee hours on the 27th.  It was the first thing I heard when I came up from the basement that morning.  He was 71 years old.

Daniel and David's wife Helen quickly organized a memorial service at her church.  Mission Woods Church in Milton (a PCUSA congregation) is eight miles west of the Sleight/Eby home in Auburn.  The service of witness to the resurrection was held on Tuesday, January 30th.

During the service, Daniel played his cello in a duet with his teacher who had driven up from Portland.  His cello itself was very special to him.  It was made by the same instrument maker that had made his teacher's cello.  David and Helen bought it for Daniel and David and Daniel had picked out the wood for it together.

Members of the Milton church attended the service as did David's brother and cousins and other friends and family members, most of whom were Mennonites.  Daniel's wife Brenda flew in from the east coast with their two young children, and all of our children and grandchildren were there as well.

Pastor John Murphy gave a sermon that was very meaningful to me.  Based on John 20:24-28, it focused on Thomas.  I shared my own story with him about that same passage when I read it for the first time back in September 1980.

After the service and a reception at the church, many of us returned to the Sleight/Eby house in Auburn for dinner.  Nancy and I had delivered our Weber charcoal grill there earlier in the day, and Helen's brother used it to cook a big beef roast Argentinean style. 

David Eby was a bright fellow.  He was an Oregon State graduate in Electrical Engineering and had his career with Tektronix, where he personally earned many patents.  Later he worked for Leupold.  He was also an accomplished singer and musician.

For my part, I am acutely aware that I am now the only grandfather for Jonathan, Reuben, and Isaac.

At the Sleight/Eby house, I sat with two older ladies from Helen's church.  One of them, Sharon, shared a story with me just before the two headed home.  I had prompted her willingness to share by a similar but far less amazing account of God's direct communication in my life.

Sharon had been in the hospital for back surgery.  A few days after returning home, she received a routine follow-up phone call from a nurse at the hospital.  Sharon admitted that she wasn't feeling all that well, but when the nurse asked about how she was feeling, Sharon answered, "Fine."  Suddenly, in her head, she heard a voice saying, "Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth."  But Sharon said goodbye and hung up the phone.  Immediately, that same voice began to say, "Call her back, call her back, call her back."  She then called the nurse back and an appointment was scheduled.  What the doctors found was lung cancer.

At this point in her account, I asked Sharon if the voice in her head sounded like her own.  "No," she said.  Was the voice male or female?  "It was male," she answered.  "Of course it was," I said. 

The upshot is that Sharon is now cancer free.  Had she not obeyed God's pleading, the outcome could easily have been deadly. 
As Sharon and her friend went out the door, I said to her, "That sure beats, 'Cross the street'," the words I had heard in my head. 

My own brush with cancer in 1992 had different miraculous aspects but the same joyful outcome.

January Birthdays in Berrydale

The whole gang headed for Covington to celebrate the birthdays of Nathanael, Alicia, and Irene.

I was happy that I finally got to hold Isaac.  Maybe all of the pandemonium with ten grandchildren had tuckered him out.

Lunch plus cake and cupcakes were enjoyed and Nate and Alicia opened gifts.  Irene had gotten her presents on the 5th.

As usual, planning to leave perhaps by 3:00 PM meant we got out of there by 5:00 PM.

#2 UW Huskies Defeat the #3 Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl 37-31, Move on to the National Title Game

NEW ORLEANS — Imagine having the game of your life, just to have it be an afterthought. That's almost what happened to Michael Penix Jr. at the Sugar Bowl on Monday night (January 1st).
 
With one second left on the clock, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers had the ball in the red zone with the chance to pull off one of the most miraculous comebacks in College Football Playoff history. Ewers looked for Adonai Mitchell — a former Georgia receiver who caught a touchdown pass in last year's national championship game — but the pass was broken up by Washington defensive back Elijah Jackson (right). The clock hit zero and the Huskies' sideline took a collective sigh of relief before rushing the field after the 37-31 win.
 

A victory that sweet wouldn't have been possible without Penix. The Heisman Trophy runner-up put on a clinic worthy of the Heisman Trophy, completing 29 of 38 passes (76%) for 430 yards with two touchdowns. He made six passes for 24 yards or more, one of which came in their opening drive.  Penix heaved a 77-yard bomb to Ja'Lynn Polk. One play later, running back Dillon Johnson, who later left the field with an injury, found the end zone on a
2-yard rush to give Washington an early 7-0 lead. The Longhorns, who never led in the game although it was 21-21 at half time, knew those kinds of shots were coming, but couldn't do enough about it. They prepared, talked about the Huskies' explosive passing game at length, and even had former Washington defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski leading the charge. But when they faced Penix in real life, he was unstoppable.  (#8 UW beat #25 Texas last year in the Alamo Bowl 27-20.) 

Because the game was on ESPN, Randy and I watched the game at Don and Judy's.

On the 8th, I listened on the radio to the unfortunate loss of the Huskies to Michigan 13-34 in the national title game.  Washington never led but kept the score close for three quarters.  Washington's vaunted passing game was not sharp in this their only loss of a great season.  The bigger loss was that of Washington Coach Kalen DeBoer leaving for Alabama after only two years at the UW following the sudden retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban.

The Boys in the Boat
at a Theater Near You

When Randy offered to take Susan, Nancy, and myself to see The Boys in the Boat as a Christmas gift, it was left to me to organize the trip.  We chose the 10:05 AM showing on New Years Day at the Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas.

It wasn't quite Chariots of Fire, but it was both entertaining and filled with emotional moments that drew tears from this former athlete and loyal Husky.

"Bow down to Washington . . ."

Irene Celebrates Her 1st Birthday with Grammy and Grampy

Irene's first birthday fell right on the heels of her first Christmas.  Bob and Kim Disher drove up from Oregon on the 4th with ample presents for both special days.

I baked more cookies on the 4th and Kim baked a cake on the 5th.

We were not surprised that Irene took this occasion to really start walking.   What was two or three steps here and there became a walk across the Great Room right on her birthday!

Dungeons & Dragons in Bellevue

On the 6th, the Library and Great Room each fulfilled the purposes for which they were designed.  While the children and their spouses plus Tramoya played Dungeons & Dragons on the first floor, the grandchildren and Nailani took over the Great Room above them.

Having Bob and Kim Disher still with us through the weekend helped mightily in the little kid management department.

I topped three pizzas for the adults.  Despite the Jalapeño pepper I added to one, Joel and Thomas poured even hotter spices on theirs.

After the playtime and dinner, we had a post-Christmas time for presents in front of the Christmas tree.  Due to not wanting to share germs in December, many presents had not been delivered by December 25th.

I switched from my normal 50mm FX prime lens to a 28-200mm DX lens in order to get a wider angle view and it worked well.

 
Pete Carroll Let Go as Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, Returns as Advisor

Nancy and I were surprised on the 10th when it was announced that Coach Pete Carroll had been let go as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.  We sat together as we watched his noon press conference. 

At age 72 and receiving a $15 million annual salary, Coach Pete is not in a bad position.  In this recently completed season, the Seahawks finished 9-8, just missing the post-season when the Bears dropped their final game to the Packers.  Seattle won their final game over Arizona 21-20 only because the Cardinals kicker, Matt Prater, missed two field goals, perhaps on purpose to secure a higher draft pick for Arizona with its 4-13 season record and its last place NFC West finish.

In his tenure as head coach in Seattle, Carroll and Executive VP/General Manager John Schneider constructed the best teams in Seahawks history over the past 13 seasons with a 128-81-1 record, back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014, posted 10-plus wins in five consecutive seasons (2012-16) for the first time in franchise history, and won five NFC West Division titles. The team reached the post-season in 10 of his 13 seasons as head coach. 

Earlier with USC, he won two national championships along with four Rose Bowls.

 

Statement from Jody Allen - Team Owner and Chair, Seattle Seahawks:

"After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organization as an advisor.

"Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, brought the city its first Super Bowl title, and created a tremendous impact over the past 14 years on the field and in the community.

"His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organization moving forward.

"Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family."

The Seahawks named Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, age 36, as their new head coach on the 31st.

EmeriTimes Newsletter Gets Published and Positive Reviews Roll In

Just after midnight on Tuesday, January 9th, I emailed out my first newsletter to the SPU emeriti faculty.  I had been working on it bit by bit since I accepted the job as the new editor last summer.  The first edition as Editor/Publisher allowed me to update the "look and feel" of the piece now in its 16th year of twice-yearly publication.

Nancy and Annie get credit as my talented Copy Editors as they cleaned up my grammar and spotted a few typos.  Jean also added a moving and important section about the late Rev. Dr. George Scranton, our recently passed Past President of the emeriti faculty. 

These early comments from a few of my emeriti colleagues seem to indicate that I'm on the right track with my contributions and updates to the newsletter.  The new design, ample inclusion of my photos, and my own taste in humor seemed to hit the right note.  My one remaining typo was the number 32 instead of 31 in the filename of the online copy.

2024 Republican Pooled Precinct Caucus

The election year got real for us on the 13th as Nancy and I attended the Republican pooled precinct caucus for the Eastside's 48th legislative district at Highland Middle School in east Bellevue.  Its main purpose was to elect delegates to the Legislative District Caucus and County Convention.  Most precincts did not have a PCO.  Nancy, as the Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) for BEL 48-0201, is an automatic delegate.  As the only other person from BEL 48-0201, I was elected as the 1st Delegate and we wrote in Annie as the 2nd Delegate.  After watching some of the Iowa debates, Nancy and I have agreed that we favor Nikki Haley for President.  She came in second behind Trump in the straw poll at this event on a frosty Saturday morning.

As PCO, Nancy is responsible for our small 99th avenue neighborhood, the walled
Vuecrest neighborhood just south of us, and another large area west of Vuecrest.

A Quick Trip on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Nancy has often wished that she could host a meeting of her PEO Chapter A women's group at our big house.  After 31 years, she finally got her wish.  It meant a rushed house cleaning with scores of boxes being moved to the master bedroom or carried down to the over-full basement.  But the living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, master bath, library, and hallways haven't been this clean and functional perhaps ever. 

Apparently, the PEO ladies raved about my lentil soup.  And using my laptop with my 43" TV worked well to display the day's video program.

I drove Thomas, Charis, and Valerie down to visit Joel and Galen as Jean drove north to attend the PEO meeting.  Galen was giddy having visitors.  When he napped, I took Charis and Valerie downstairs to visit the cats.  Glyph and Verin wanted nothing to do with the two noisy girls.  Thomas also suggested I walk down to Jenkins Creek and get a picture of the ice hanging on branches on the far side of the creek. 

Temperatures from the 11th through 15th have remained below 32 degrees but the snow promised a week earlier came as only a small trace when the cold snap first arrived. 

Bits and Pieces 

It's sad when we learn of the passing of the people we've admired, but at age 100, the death this month of British actress Glynis Johns stood out.  She acted on stage and screen for over sixty years.  She was most known for playing Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964), but we loved her especially as Maid Jean in The Court Jester (1955).

Mrs. Banks: [singing] "We're clearly soldiers in petticoats, and dauntless crusaders for women's a-votes! Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they're rather stupid."

 

Should Christians buy defense stocks?  On the 11th, I bought 80 shares of Raytheon (RTX) at $85.91 per share.  Later that same day the U.S. and Great Britain with the support of a coalition including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, and others launched strikes in the Red Sea against Houthi targets in Yemen.  Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants had stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks.  Raytheon is the sole supplier of the Tomahawk cruise missile.  RTX had been trading well below its high of $108.84 one year ago.  It closed at $91.12 on the 31st.


Better late than never.  I got my tomato seeds planted on the 19th.  We'll see how many of the dozen seeds each of four varieties come up in my grow space
under the basement stairs.  On the 25th I counted the first seven little plants coming up. 
By the 31st there were at least two dozen up.

Shadow remains my near-constant companion, at least when little girls aren't around.  She also seems to find her way to the basement where I sleep each night.  Nancy assures me that sorting and disposing of the many piles of papers and other odds and ends stacked in the master bedroom will commence "soon."

As January ends, I can report that at least the first of my four lectures on Paul's letter to the Galatians is complete.  There's nothing like a looming deadline to motivate a procrastinator. 

          As we’ll see, the Judaizers attacked Paul’s message of salvation and rescue secured by the Son’s sacrificial death and only by that –
          nothing else. The only things we contribute to our own salvation are the sins that so plainly reveal us as lost sheep who desperately
          need a Good Shepherd willing to lay down His life for us.

          And if the Judaizers couldn’t corrupt Paul’s message, the true gospel, they sure were happy to denigrate Paul the apostle,
          the messenger of that saving good news.

My Quote from January

Sweet Baby Jesus
Recorded by The Gatlin Brothers
Written by Mary Ann Kennedy, Pamela Rose, Pat Bunch

A child like face through a crown of thorns
A Child shall lead them a Child is born
In a Bethlehem stable Mary gave birth
In the cradle the hope of the Earth
The glory of heaven shone in from the light
Of the star of the King that first Christmas night

Sweet Baby Jesus
Child of God King of Kings
Sweet Baby Jesus
Let the Christmas bells ring

Now the Bethlehem stable is crumbled to dust
The nails they drove through His hands are all rust
Born to die a carpenter’s Son
On a Cross between thieves when His work was done
And kings and kingdoms have come and they've gone
But the Babe in the Bethlehem manger lives on

Sweet Baby Jesus
Child of God King of Kings
Sweet Baby Jesus
Let the Christmas bells ring