Professor Rob L. Staples

Dr. Rob L. Staples
I've been using "Facebook" as a means of making contact with people from my Long Ago and Far Away.

I was very pleased to make contact with Dr. Rob Staples who taught me in several religion and theology classes when I was a student at Southern Nazarenen University (then Bethany Nazarene College). Dr. Staples was always a very warm, open-minded person who didn't mind the fact that we "young pups" had a lot of questions about our "recieved theology" in those days when all institutions were being challenged by the young.

Though I chose not to go into the business of religion, I have never regretted the course of study I persued at SNU. I feel that having a grounding in theology has helped me to be a better teacher, a better citizen, and a better person.
As the philosopher George Berkeley once said,

"Whatever the world thinks, he who hath not much meditated upon God and the Summum Bonum (what's ultimately important), may possibly make a thriving earthworm, but will certainly make a sorry patriot and a sorry statesman."

George Berkeley
Besides, being able to quote scripture and theology when one is arguing social justice with conservatives is just so much fun!

Dr. Staples has a very good blog that can be accessed here.

Statues on the Southern Nazarene University campus

I've been cleaning out a storage unit I have had since Cat and I merged our houses together. I'm trying to clear it out and close it down, so I can save the $85 a month it is costing me.

A big part of the collection is boxes and boxes of books. I am trying to force myself to give up all of them that I don't need and won't read, but it is tough to do.

Many of the books have to do with religion and literature. This comes from the fact that I studied for the ministry during my undergraduate years and even got a Master's in religion afterwards. Then I decided I'd go into teaching English at the university level.

Life happened, and I ended as a high school English teacher.

I am donating as many of my religion and English books as I can bear to part with. I still have a great interest in religion and theology, but there are many upper level works that might be of more use to some present religion or than they would be to me. The same is true with books dealing with the more arcane topics in literature like Deconstruction, Structuralism, and Linguistics. None of these are of much help when it comes to teaching reading and writing in an urban high school.

Today, I visited my Alma Mater to drop off some books for the English and Religion departments. It's always nice to visit the campus now and again. They've added some nice statuary.

"Do as I have done. . ."
This is a statue of Jesus depicting a scene from the Last Supper where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and commands that they do the same for others.

"A Cup . . . in His name"
This is one done by Scott Stearman who was at the college when I was there. He is quite a talented sculptor of religious art. Mom and Dad have a copy of this which I believe they got as a reward for service to others.

Dr. Fred Floyd
This statue is of particulary interest to me. The statue on the bench depicts Dr. Fred Floyd, a much loved professor of history at the college. Dr. Floyd taught at the college for several decades. He always claimed that his PhD dissertation was on "dirty stories." In reality, it was about the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. Note the stick in his hand. Dr. Floyd walked to and from the campus nearly every day with an "idiot stick" or a broom handle with a nail in the end so he could pick up trash that he found along the way.
Close up of Dr. Floyd's statue

My Advice to High School Graduates Going to College

Graduation Time!

'Tis the time for graduations both of the high school and college variety. Saturday was rather special. My Alma Mater, Southern Nazarene University, held its Commencement ceremony. I had a niece who graduated this year, and that was special enough, but what made this one very special was that my university gave an honorary diploma to my nephew Spencer Lee who died last year of Ewing's sarcoma cancer after a six year battle with the disease. His mother and father, my brother, was there as well as every member of my immediate family and several other relatives as well.

Afterwards, we went over to Bethany 1st Nazarene Church for a family luncheon. My father and mother who are 80 and 78 respectively were able to come down from Seattle to attend.

Sunday, my wife and I traveled up the turnpike to Tulsa to attend a graduation Sunday service and party for our niece from my wife's side of the family. She graduated from Union High School in Tulsa-Broken Arrow on Friday. On Sunday, her church, Tulsa Central Church of the Nazarene honored their graduates. Her parents, Ed and Cheryl, my wife's sister, hosted a reception her. She will go to the University of Oklahoma and major in Drama and Theatre Tech.

I have but one bit of advice for all high school graduates going to college: Study Scared. When I went to college, I assumed that everyone there was far more prepared for college than I was. I felt I needed to study twice as hard just to keep up with them. And that was about right.