 Death
at the Tail of Summer
Bob Denver, TV's Gilligan, died on
September 2nd, at 70 of cancer. I'm old
 enough to have
enjoyed him in his earlier roll as Maynard G. Krebs, the bearded
beatnik friend in the ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,''
which aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. We love the people
who, by their art, help us escape the pain of life. I probably
watched Gilligan's Island more because of Mary Ann and
Ginger, but it was a family favorite that my own kids learned to
love as well.Delmer D. Owen, born November 4, 1918,
died peacefully September 2, 2005. Del had become a
friend of the Sleight family over the past few years. We
knew him as a Sunday School teacher at
 UPC
and when that ministry ended, his will to continue here died
away too. He especially enjoyed watching Annie graduate,
and sharing our Christmas with us this past December. We
took him to the Christmas Eve service at UPC and then brought
him over to Bellevue Christmas morning. A widower, he'd
been married 38 years but never had children of his own.
He attended Seattle Pacific College and had fond memories of
those years. I learned more about him when I visited him a
few times at Swedish Hospital in August. Nancy and the
girls visited him two days before his passing. Those
visits meant a lot to him. A simple man with simple skills
(he was a roofer by trade), God made good use of Del's passion
for His Son.
 Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who quietly advanced
the conservative ideology of the Supreme Court under his
leadership, died Saturday, September 3rd. He was 80. There
is something very special about staying at your post to the end.
He was one of the good guys.
Neil L. Boyd, 71, of Seattle, died Tuesday, September
13th. He was the husband of Jeanne (UPC friend of Nancy's)
and father of Andrew and Rachel who went through UPC with Annie
and Nathanael. Neal had been immobilized by ALS for
many years.
Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped
track down Nazi war criminals following World War II, then spent
the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and
prejudice against all people, died September 20th. He was 96.
 "Sorry
about that, Chief!"
Don Adams, Agent 86, the comedian who starred
as the fumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart in the 1960s TV spoof
of James Bond movies, "Get Smart," died also. He was 82.
I was a fan of his, and even more of actress Barbara Feldon,
Agent 99!
New Orleans and Katrina:
In my August journal entry I faulted the tragic victims of the
devastation in the Gulf Coast for "building on the sand."
But at the first Men's Bible study of the new season, I
commented that it was still the responsibility of those who
"built on the Rock" to take in those who had built on the sand.
 Mom's
meet on the long awaited move in day.
Nancy and I attended a number of parent sessions, yet I found
myself in the dog house for agreeing to help brother Randy with
a computer job (for which SL8.COM will be nicely paid) and
missing the Thursday night dessert with the President. |
Nathanael's Sophomore X-Country Season
Off
with a Bang
and a Bonk!
Bellevue Christian's Cross Country season has begun
and will be nearly half over by the end of the month.
Nathanael was expected to be one of the top four runners on the
team this year. Senior Noel Wang came down with Whooping
Cough during the second week of the season so the team has been
 weakened
early. Surprisingly, Nathanael finished
first for BCS in both of the first two races. September
8th, he broke ten minutes in a 1.75 mile relay race with a 9:58
time. On September 13th, at Lower Woodland Park, he came
from behind in the first regular 3.1 mile Emerald City League meet and
again finished first for BCS
 and
13th overall with a 19:06 time. His race on September 20th
at Lincoln Park (my old running home) found him running
without his Senior teammates who were at another school
event. He had a disappointing race. A sore hip from the
prior race, new spikes on a course better suited for flats, and
the fact that the Sophomore
 Biology
class had a field trip and hike on Mt. Rainier earlier that day
helped to explain his performance. Later we learned that he had
injured a hip flexor muscle. His race on Saturday, the 24th
was even worse. This was the Bellevue High School
Invitational at Lake Sammamish. He was put into the top race
of the day but could not perform. The doctor said the muscle
could improve with lots of stretching. I also discovered
that he had not been managing his H2O intake. He
was dehydrated before he even started. He will run on October 1st in Chehalis. As many as four
of the Varsity have been out with Whooping Cough now, but others,
like fellow Sophomore Martin Geier have had breakthrough races.
It will be an exciting, if anxious, October of racing. Only
three boy's teams will advance from Districts to State.Annie off to SPU
 Annie
has moved into Hill Hall along with her roommate Charlotte from
Redmond. She seems to be settling in well, even if I bring a few
more items from home for her each day. JB misses her as, I think,
does her cat Ginger. The house in Bellevue is a bit quieter and
perhaps a bit messier (if that is possible). At the New Student
Convocation I sat in the stands with Annie and Nancy until we sent
her forward to enter the circle formed by the faculty, a circle I
would have been in any other year. At the Opening Convocation she
joined me for the picture in my regalia.
Proof that the administration of this school is fouled up came
when, after withdrawing scholarships in August, SPU awarded Annie
a Valedictorian scholarship in September. The financial aid
office is apparently not staffed by our best and brightest. On
the issue of her scholarships, she wrote
a masterful appeal letter to Dr. Philip Eaton, the SPU
President, and my boss Jeff has hinted that it
 may
have had an effect when no faculty committees or upset parents and
students before her have been able to budge the administration. We
continue to pray for a just outcome. |
