Memoirs of an ulna

So, what do you say when the morning sun is squelched by eastern cloud cover and the humidity is 70% plus? When feelings are at stake, it is better to listen than to speak. Let me explain.

I couldn’t find it within myself to tell anyone that the humidity was from the snow - that melted and evaporated earlier in the morning. Besides, it’d break Arny’s heart to tell him that the easterly clouds that hovered over the Golan Heights (shielding us from the 6AM sun) were nimbostratus remnants that brought the snow in the first place.

The question that remains is, “Who’s the wise guy that bowed down to the inukshuk?”

It came to my attention that a colleague wrote “we told them that if we sacrificed 5 scorpions and prayed hard, it would snow the next day.” The author must have had a mouse in his pocket, because I didn’t say any such thing. My speech remained in the subjunctive form of make believe rather than in the indicative form of authority. Besides, I spent most of my time befriending the acribbim. Sigh! I guess there is more work to be done than I thought.

But the fact is that we experienced less hot temperatures (I will never use the word “cool” to describe the climate in Israel) that endured for most the day.

If that don't beat all - the Israel Antique Authority guys showed up today. I think they were fixing to inspect the site yesterday or Sunday. But in the background stood the powerfully silent Inuit inukshuk which didn't phase them. They probably looked at it and thought, "Poor Dr Schuler. He has a Canadian resident working for him."

And today, I figured I’d go directly to the dining hall for lunch as soon as I baled out of the bus… filthy, stinky and miserable. What convinced me is that other people were doing it and that it was more convenient for me. This overruled my desire to be comfortable and clean before I had lunch… how about that? Good thing the kids didn’t see me do that.

Father Patella gave a lecture on monasticism this evening. Interesting chap. I didn’t actually know he was a monastic monk until after his lecture was over. With the human bone identification from Glenn and Jay’s side of the site, I started to remember these names from grade school health. Clavicle = collar bone, scapula = shoulder blade etc. Without thinking, during pottery cleaning (which is usually what I do when I am cleaning pottery - except when it is necessary to elevate Dr Schuler's systolic/diastolic measurements) I made a reference to Father Kneecap. The silence and puzzled expressions made me aware of what I said. That I had to explain it to everyone assured me that nobody took it (or would take it) as a bad joke. It also made me aware of how we are stratified by language... even when we speak the same language.

I’ve been teasing Irene about how short I am – in the sense of military service. I’ve enjoyed the chats I’ve had with her. One day, Bob was talking about penguins while we were working in our square. I said, “They walk like they are bound at the knees” (there’s that knee reference again). Just then, Irene and Linda were walking past. Irene didn’t skip a beat and asked if I was making fun of the way they were walking? What a card!

Need I say “2 days and a wake up”?

That’s what kind of day it was today.

In Christ,
'o δοuλος