Tag–I’m IT

I’ve been tagged for a blogging meme game (these are fun) by Rev. Bob Cornwall of Ponderings on a Faith Journey. 

The rules are:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Ten years ago, I was . . .

Teaching religion and philosophy at Spalding University and Simmons College (both in Louisville), while trying for a permanent, tenure-track position anywhere. I was also chairing the War and Peace interest group of the Society of Christian ethics. I was on the steering committee for the Louisville chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation . My oldest daughter was 3 and my second had yet to be born.

5 Things on Today’s “To Do” List;

1. Work on my book on progressive (peace and justice oriented) Baptist congregations.
2. Work on my novel about a liberal Baptist minister who solves murder mysteries.
3. Prepare Bible study on Mark’s Gospel for Sunday.
4. Call 10 people in rural KY for the Obama campaign.
5. Clean up dog poop in yard.

Things I’d Do If I Were a Billionaire:

Well, this will never be the case and daydreaming of it probably blocks more constructive work, but these are the rules.  I’d try to give away most of it to charities and causes I believe in–AIDS research and prevention, the environment, peacemaking, human rights, death penalty abolition and prison reform, poverty alleviation, etc.  And, since a billion goes a long way (except when fighting a quagmire of a war!), I’d also endow at least one chair of higher learning in a progressive Christian liberal arts college and/or seminary. I would pay off my dad’s mortgage.  Of course, I would really beef up my daughters’ education funds (though I expect both of them to win scholarships since they are both straight 4.0 students) and provide for my wife and myself in retirement (as of now, I don’t see how we can ever retire). I’d travel, too, and teach for free.  I might also start a business: a local bookstore to replace my beloved Hawley-Cooke Booksellers, bought out by (sigh) Borders.   I would NOT try for tax shelters or move my money off-shore, etc.

3 Bad Habits:

1. Interrupting people before they have finished speaking. I have been working on this my whole life, but still haven’t completely broken it.  It really bugs my wife, and rightly so.
2. Procrastination.
3. Late night refridgerator raids.

5 Places I’ve Lived:

1. Manassas Park, VA
2. Orlando, FL
3. Atlantic Beach, FL
4. Heidelberg, Germany
5. Louisville, KY–Longest place I have ever lived.  I was also born in Philadelphia, PA, but we were only there for my first 6 months of life.  Other places include Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, & Pasadena, CA.

5 Jobs I’ve Held:

1. Bailiff –Duval County County courthouse.
2. Outreach coordinator for a faith-based peace organization
3. Youth minister
4. Interim pastor
5. Religion/philosophy professor (I’ve also been a clerk in the U.S. Army–prior to becoming a conscientious objector, of course; held numerous restaraunt jobs, including cook, waiter, dishwasher; vetinary asst; asst. in the wet lab of the Marine Science Center, Mayport, FL; did computer mapping for Louisville Gas & Electric Co., chaplain at a nursing home; security/night watch at a different nursing home; library asst. a university and currently work at UPS for the insurance while trying to get back into either teaching or another peace & justice position.)

Tag, You’re It:

Dan Trabue

Kevin Borders

Texas in Africa

Aaron Weaver

Melissa Rogers