The Latest News On the Healy Household
. . . AND Beyond
Welcome to our News page. This is where you'll find the latest news on recent happenings in our lives, from the mundane to the special. We try to update the page weekly, but sometimes get a little busy. Right now I'm updating when I feel like it. I do leave a few of the previous news items up so you can catch up with us as you're able.
Merely to point to victory or defeat in battle is hardly to
advance a clear and indisputable criterion of the merits or
demerits of a given practice.
--Plato, Laws 638b
**Introducing The Healy Forum**
The Healy Forum is an online gathering place for our family and friends. I started it in November 2000 as an additional way for our family and friends to keep in touch with us. From time to time, we put out The Healy Forum Newsletter which chronicles the recent events and happenings in our lives, from the silly to the sublime. Okay, maybe more often the silly. But if you want an easy way to stay in touch with us and our friends and family members, just use the form below to enter your email address. The rest is simple, and free. See you in the Forum.
Update for the Months of 13 July 03-28 August 04
Our News:
Parenthood
On 14 August 2003, Anna and I became parents. As all the parents on this group will know, this is a deeply transformative experience. Our lives have dramatically and radically changed. And it's all good. Sofie is a pure joy--even when she's being a pill. (And yes, she can be a pill, hard as that may be for some doting grandparents to believe.) From my vantage point, Anna has just absolutely blossomed as a mom. All those qualities for which I fell in love with her have only been deepened and strengthened, and new ones have come to the fore. I never thought I could love Anna more than I did before Sofie was born--though I well realized I could love her less, God forbid. But amazingly, not only did my love increase and strengthen for Anna, somehow, in a great mystery to me, I found I could love Sofie with as passionate an intensity, though of an entirely different essence, as I loved Anna. Gentleman, I know you'll agree with me: wives just become absolutely more beautiful and sexy when they become moms. And that's the way it should be. God knows what he's doing.
We brought Sofie home on a hot, muggy August Saturday afternoon. So began the sleepless nights. Eventually, the nights, though riddled with tending to Sofie, settled into a routine, in which somehow our bodies grabbed quality sleep where quantity did not exist. And even these interrupted nights, after several months, were replaced with stretches of nights of uninterrupted sleep. (At least for dad. Momma still listened with an attentive ear in a lighter sleep.)
But from the moment Sofie began to raise her head up during "tummy time," to her rolling over, to her crawling, and now to her walking; from her cries and coos, to more intentional vocal sounds, to a few words, to intelligent, if unintelligible babble, and now to the semi-intelligible rudiments of sentences; from being picked up, to holding on, to wanting down--Sofie's development has been nothing short of continuous wonder to this dad. She's got her own blankie now. She loves riding her scooter. And climbing on the jungle gym out back. And going down the slide. And playing in the pool. And pretty much giving me heart attacks every few minutes. She kisses mommy each morning, and daddy occasionally. She kisses the icons at church. And her Cat in the Hat stuffed animal. And the blessing cross. She likes
bath time. And to be read to. She is God's gift to us, the answer to the prayers for us of the saints, especially the Mother of God. We don't always think so, but we never forget it.
Studenthood
I have reached a point in my PhD program where I have completed the requisite number of hours, and taken all the distribution requirements. My specialization is ancient
philosophy, Plato, Aristotle and ethics. My area of concentration (not as in-depth as specialization) is Kant. Beginning this fall
semester, I have enrolled in doctoral studies. I can take this for a maximum of two consecutive semesters, and it is designed to enable me to successfully complete and gain approval for my dissertation project. It involves writing a dissertation proposal and the
initial selection of a dissertation supervisor and the formation of a dissertation committee. Part of my challenge is going to be doing a dissertation in ancient
philosophy, when the department is heavily weighted to modern (which extends from the eighteenth century to the present). There are two professors who are ancient philosophers, and one more who can chair an ancient dissertation. But of those three, one of them I very much do not want on my committee, and the other has proven somewhat unsympathetic to my approach to my dissertation topic (which I discovered during a directed reading with her this past semester). I may be forced to alter the focus of my dissertation to include another philosopher (say, Kant), so as to round out my dissertation committee in a way more favorably beneficial to me. But more may become clearer to me as this semester (and the next?) progresses.
I have continued to teach regularly. Last summer I had an ethics course. Then I taught the introduction to philosophy course and a medical ethics course in both the autumn and spring semesters, and in the spring I taught yet another course on logic. I taught the ethics course again this summer. For this coming autumn semester (which has already started), I am teaching another introduction class and a class on business ethics. The first class (intro) is an intensive eight-week course. Four-hour sessions once a week for eight weeks. Then it's over. My other class (business ethics) is a more traditional once-a-week full semester course.
I've got to wrap up some incomplete papers, so my dissertation work will be delayed a bit. But hopefully--when I'm not typing up and sending out family newsletters--I can complete these papers by the end of September. My teaching--with work and being a dad--will make that difficult. But since it has to happen, somehow it will happen.
Church Life
After some two-and-a-half years in Chicago without a church home, in September (2003), Anna and I decided to make
All Saints Orthodox Church our home parish. Though it does not have the sort of contemporary-style worship that Anna most appreciates, it has the sort of doctrinal faithfulness and vibrant parish life that Anna and I both need and require. We began attending, as it happened, on my birthday. Though we have not become Orthodox, we have been included as much as is possible and made to feel as much a part of the church family as the founding members. Nearly the entire parish came from Protestantism to the Orthodox Church, so everyone very much sympathizes with where we're at, and with where we find ourselves wanting to go. Sofie has "made friends" with the many toddlers her age who share the back "crawl area" of the church with her. The families in the church range from college-age newlyweds, to families, many of them with more than 2.2 kids, to older "seasoned citizens" (to borrow the phrase of a conservative talk show icon). The church is active in outreach to the various poor in the city, as well as to young mothers in "crisis" pregnancies, and has both an active youth program, as well as various adult retreats and conferences. And the church has been very generous to this somewhat poor student family.
Professional Life
I'm still working at Northwestern University Library, though I've added a second part-time job to the one I've held for nearly three years now. This makes me full-time as far as benefits are concerned. That makes my take-home a bit more, of course, and decreases the amount of premiums I have to pay for family health and dental insurance. But this is hardly a profession, though it is a job.
Anna, on the other hand, reached the zenith of her career goals: she was elected to be a member of the 2004 Newbery Medal Award Committee. She read dozens of books. Attended a plethora of committee meetings--Sofie was taken on as an ex officio mascot/member. And ultimately voted with the majority to select Kate DiCamillo's book, The Tale of Desperaux, as the winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal.
Anna also has been involved in the local chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, both in chairing a monthly activity meeting, as well as being invited to be part of a couple of critique groups. But motherhood has limited her options there, so she has yet to formally join one. A critique group is where members share their writings and spur one another on to publishing.
But once Anna had hit the culmination of her career goals, she left the library to devote her full time to Sofie. She continued her Newbery Committee work, but once the book had been chosen in January, the remaining months till this summer, when the medal was awarded, were mostly taken up in the few finalization activities she took part in.
Blogging Life
By now you should be well aware of my blogs: This is Life!: Revolutions Around the Cruciform Axis
and Wisdom!: Readings from the Church Fathers. My attention to these online formats has taken away from my attention to our website
here, and our email newsletter. But this is natural. My blog (This is
Life!) is an outlet for my writing. Rather than a point of news for family members and friends, it is a forum in which to share my thoughts on the things that interest me:
philosophy and theology, and occasional forays into present-day culture. I have posted some of those writings here in the email group. But not everything. If you're online, take some time to read over what I've written on
This is Life! and feel free to offer comments.
Well, that's all for now. I have no inclination at this time to resume a regular weekly schedule for this news updates. But perhaps I can become more regular than I've been. Maybe every month or so. We'll see. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed this update. Till next time, Christ's peace to you all.
Update for the Week of 06-12 July 03
Our News:
Now the Waiting Begins
Thursday night was our last childbirth class. Part of the four-part class involved pre-filling out hospital paperwork so as to cut down on our "entrance interrogation" when we get Anna admitted. That was a nice plus. There was also a form which gave the hospital permission to go ahead and fill out a Social Security application for us--one less hassle to mess with while trying to adjust to a new life in our home.
The baby has begun dropping. Already, Anna's belly is noticeably more oblong, and she has noticed voila! she can breathe again. The due date is less than four weeks away. We've been told that once the baby begins dropping, birth could happen in two weeks. Hmmmm? Will this baby be early? Well, technically, not early. At 37 weeks, the baby's full term. But earlier than the due date. I certainly don't mean to keep Anna in discomfort, but considering the class I'm teaching ends on the 7th, it would sure be less of a headache for me if the baby came precisely on time! (Surely the first of many vain wishes.) Oh, well. It's not in my hands.
Back in December, shortly after getting the news, I had a brief afternoon fit of "freaking" when I began to consider all the financial obligations we would have to undertake for this kid: health insurance, college fund, clothing, food, shelter, you know. But that soon passed and I realized that, as long as we're responsible and diligent, those things will take care of themselves. Once the class was over, though, for me it was like, "Okay. Nothing more officially has to happen now." That sent me into a different sort of freaking out mode.
I will be the first, foremost and foundational understanding of fatherhood this kid will have. My relationship with the baby will be the first inklings she (or he) will have about God the Father. I am a custodian making sure this baby develops into the person God has created him (or her) to be. I am responsible for religious instruction. From me this kid will learn how to pray, how to worship, what to believe about God. Even baby animals instinctively know how and when to feed. This kid will have to be taught. Utter, complete helplessness. And I'm in charge.
Gulp.
Good News on the Teaching Front
Despite my Friday freaking out, I did get some good news. The professor in charge of handing out class assignments was able to give me my request: two classes. This ensures that our "worst case" scenario, our fall back plan--if I can't get adequate full-time work--will minimally get us financially to the end of the semester (first of December). We will have good health care. I can, as necessary, take advantage of Loyola's day care services; but will also be able to baby sit for Anna when she goes back to work (at this point minimally part-time). It will also give me more teaching experience for my c. v. And since both classes will be at Loyola, it will reduce the amount of time I traveling on city transportation. (That was the big problem with this past spring semester: I almost spent more time on public transportation than I did actually teaching the class.) This will mean more time for study (er, I mean for the baby), so hopefully I won't be in the same end-of-term bind with regard to papers as I was this past spring. (I still have to write my Hegel and Aristotle papers!) Oh, yeah. The classes I'll be teaching are: Introduction to Philosophy (how many times have I taught this class now?), and a class on medical ethics (having two applied ethics classes under my belt will do me very well).
A Saturday Wedding
On Saturday afternoon, Anna and I headed north to the affluent Chicago suburb of Lake Forest to attend the wedding of one of her co-workers. The congregational church building was a beautiful pristine white against a backdrop of a partly cloudy blue sky. A great day for a wedding. Unfortunately it was one long affair! Wedding at 3:00, reception at 5:00 (read 6:00, or when the bride and groom show up). It was a three course meal with festivities sort of reception. The ceremony had some Jewish elements (blessings, mainly), since the bride's family has some Jewish background; though most of the family is now Christian, and it was a very evangelical ceremony. (Yay!) But the groom's family is Korean, so at the reception, the bride and groom dressed in absolutely beautiful traditional Korean marriage garments and enacted a ceremony honoring the parents. With all that going on, we didn't leave the reception till after 9:00 o'clock. And there was still much going on. With Anna pregnant, and me not knowing anyone all that well (except for Anna), it was a nice if long day.
An Interesting Read
At the urging of my friend Tripp (he loaned me a copy), I read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code this week. It follows the thriller formula to a tee: short, terse chapters (which break right at the culminating action point forcing you to keep reading to figure out what crisis they just confronted or what puzzle they just solved), secret codes and word puzzles and cryptograms, alternate history (read conspiracy theories), tightly constructed chase scenes (actually the whole book is roughly one long international chase scene), and a little violence and death sprinkled in. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I like word games and the book is filled with them. It's like one long scavenger hunt in which the protagonists (one of whom is a university professor--woo hoo!) seek clue after clue in order to find, and I'm not kidding here, the Holy Grail. The Louvre is the main scenery for much of the first part, and so Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa play a prominent role early on (thus the title).
There are two flaws--at least I consider them flaws--with the book. The mythical backdrop which fuels the story involves the Grail Legends and the supposed coverup by the Catholic Church of the truth about Jesus. So the Catholic Church plays the historical villain (as does the traditionalist Catholic organization known as Opus Dei), with the pagan secret societies (all tied into the Grail story) playing the role of persecuted enlightener. Yawn. Too trite. Too often done.
But if you like secret codes, historical conspiracies, and international chase sequences--and if you want to while away a pleasant evening or two--then The Da Vinci Code is your book. But don't buy it. Check it out from your local library.
Update for the Week of 22 June-05 July 03
Our News:
More Childbirth Classes
Well, Anna and I now have only one more childbirth class to go. I guess once we graduate, instead of a diploma, they give us a baby. We'll see. It has been, to say the least, a learning experience. All I've been given, in books and at school, are the basic mechanics. Something like checking the oil, changing a flat, replacing washer fluid . . . maybe even something as involved as changing the air filter. But nothing like this. I now know more about childbirth--and little enough at that--than I ever wanted to know. Anna will truly be amazing, that's all I can say. The initiating phase of motherhood is about the most involved of human functioning as I could imagine. And to think, women have been doing this for millennia! And without modern Western science. Breastfeeding is a whole 'nother thing. Yep. I pretty much feel like an appendage.
Loretta Lynn in Concert . . . for FREE!
Since the first lady of country music isn't getting any younger, Anna wanted to make sure we hauled ourselves and our lawn chairs down to Grant Park and the Petrillo Music Shell on 28 June to hear her. It was a treat, that's for sure. But it seems to me her voice has lost some of its scintillating qualities. She was still great, but seemed less able to hit her former range. Her wit and humor was sharp as ever. I wasn't as impressed with her sister, or her daughters. They were good singers, to be sure. I'm not able to sing like that. On the other hand, they didn't compare to Ms. Lynn, nor to the opening act, Steve Azar. Then again, I did say it was a free concert.
My Summer Session Class Has Started
Last Monday, 30 June, I started teaching my second session ethics class. It's a small enough class, at 13 (my spring class was 39), though to hopefully get some dialogue going. We opened it up a bit last Thursday before the end of class, which gives me some hope that they'll become more talkative. But since it's a sixteen-week semester compressed into six weeks, things will start happening fast. Their first quiz is due this coming Thursday, and a week from Monday they have their first paper due. Thankfully, my grading load will be a fourth smaller than in the spring, between my two classes I taught then.
Fourth of July with Friends in Evanston
On Friday afternoon, the Fourth, we headed up to Evanston to hang out with some of our seminary friends, cooking, eating, and heading over to the lakefill on Northwestern's campus to watch the fireworks display. It was a good time. The Evanston fireworks are something else. The show lasts about forty-five minutes, and we figure they've got to have a couple million wrapped up in the fireworks and the professional timed launching device. The favorite, smiley faces, was back this year. And they had some new ones that looked either like glowing bacteria in the sky, or, as Anna preferred, as a huge mass of fireflies. After fireworks we sat in Jeff and Catharine's air-conditioning, ate some cheese cake, began dozing off, and so headed on home.
Putting Some of My Blogs Online
By now, you are inescapably aware of my blog. The archiving features for the blog leave a bit to be desired. There seems to be a rolling two-and-a-half month timeframe in which archives are not accessible. I've begun collecting some of those past blogs under similar topics, and posting them on the website. You can go to Clifton's Writing Page and scroll down to the second item, "General Essays," and see the blog topics I have posted there now (Thinking About Salvation, On the Church, Tradition, Relativism and Authority, and The Fatherhood Chronicles.)
Update for the Week of 18 May-21 June 03
Our News:
Family Reunions
The Memorial Day Holiday weekend found Anna and I traveling to the four-state area near Joplin. We started first in Oklahoma, visiting Anna's family, and Anna's foster sister who was graduating from high school. The next evening, Anna was thrown a baby shower by her two sisters, and some friends. She had about twenty people show, and we got some nice gifts. We packed up the "swag" and headed to Siloam Springs, getting in about midnight.
We got up Saturday morning in time to enjoy the traditional chuckwagon breakfast, cooked by my aunt's and uncle's ranchhand, Guy. Unfortunately for the day's agenda, it rained most of the afternoon. But this was a godsend, as it gave plenty of time for everyone to visit. After a good supper, we all settled down to sing along with my great uncle, Bill. We sang my favorite, Cigarettes, Whisky, and Wild, Wild Women. There didn't seem to be any takers on my quiet suggestion that we sing Amazing Grace to the tune of Gilligan's Island. But it was just as well. We headed back to the motel shortly thereafter, and got up the next morning to worship with everyone at the First Baptist Church.
We left right from the service to head to Joplin, to join my uncle John and Naomi and their family at yet another get-together. The weather was brutally cold for Memorial Day weekend in Joplin, but everyone held out like troopers till Anna and I arrived. We ate a quick meal and chatted briefly with all the shivering bunch. It was rather comical in that as soon as Anna and I were done eating, everyone scattered to the winds. They'd done their duty. It was not time to get home to warmth! We stayed with my cousin Jeremiah and his wife, Ruthanna. While they got stuff bought and prepped for dinner, Anna and I headed over to my grandparent's house, and there chatted with them and my two uncles for more than an hour. We then returned to Jeremiah's for the evening. They fed us real good, and we slept hard that night. The next morning, I headed over to my uncle John's publishing company and he and I chewed the fat for more than a couple of hours. Then Anna and I had a farewell lunch with my cousin, his wife, and their cute offspring, Savannah. After that, it was back on the road to Chicago and home.
Trip to El Paso
Only two weekends later, Anna and I were traveling again. This time to El Paso where Anna attended a professional conference, the Children's Literature Association's annual shindig. It was interesting, but since I'm only used to ALA, when it comes to tagging along with my wife to conferences, it was much smaller. And, let's face it, there ain't much to do in El Paso, except walk to Mexico to visit. Which we did. Twice. I got a chance to worship at an Antiochian Orthodox church just minutes from our hotel. But other than studying in our hotel or at the local public library, the trip was uneventful.
The plane ride back, however, was quite eventful. Anna got violently sick. It was horrible. But the flight attendants were even worse. Granted, dealing with vomit ain't pleasant for anyone. But they essentially handed us a handful of napkins and then avoided us the rest of the flight. Given that I had a brief moment of panic when Anna passed out and I thought she was choking, you may color me extremely pissed off at the cabin crew. They are trained to deal with stuff like this, and they just flat ignored us. I shudder to think what would have happened if Anna had been travelling alone. Needless to say, if I have any choice in the matter I will never again fly America West airlines or their subsidiaries, and I strongly urge anyone who reads this to avoid them as well.
Childbirth Classes
On a much more happy note, we've had two childbirth classes now. They are very informative, and I know that this knowledge will help us both in the delivery. It will make things less scary. Still, do they have to show so many videos of live births? Talk about queasy stomach!
This past week's class was a good one. We learned about positions that will both provide the most comfort for Anna as well as help the baby get positioned correctly in the birth canal. A definite plus that! There was some goofy self-hypnosis stuff that Anna and I both rolled our eyes at. But I seemed to be the one of us that took the breathing exercises more seriously. Anna says she figures that when the pain hits, no breathing in the world will help. I disagree, so I'm learning it. I think she'll need it.
Teaching Second Summer Session
In one week, I begin teaching my ethics course. It's a second session summer course, which means it lasts for seven weeks. Talk about fast-paced. I'll teach four days a week for a little more than two hours a day. I'm thinking I'll be assigning papers instead of exams. Exams are much more difficult and time-consuming to write than paper assignments. Plus, if I assign papers, then if I have to miss a few days for the birth, the instructor who fills in for me will only have to collect the papers and leave them in my box. I won't have to coordinate writing and copying the exams and getting them to the fill-in for distribution.
For texts, we'll be reading Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics (of course, right?), Immanuel Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, J. S. Mill's Utilitarianism, Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor (from The Brothers Karamazov), and Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. I'm getting the syllabus together this week, and planning the paper assignments. I may do a take-home exam or two, but if I do, it will be a short essay, and not any of this multiple choice, short answer or fill in the blank.
New Computer
This past week we finally gave in to more than two years of thinking about and procrastinating on getting a new computer. Our old one just was too out of date, and didn't have enough memory or hard drive space to handle just about any of the new software. Using the computer was an exercise in patience. Then, in the past few months, the monitor started giving out. It just literally, slowly faded to black. I started losing some sharpness in some colors around Christmas, but it was still quite usable. That is, until recently. Granted Anna and I would have preferred a laptop, but the financing just wouldn't have been smart for us right now. We already had some money set aside and Dell gave us a pretty good deal. So we ordered it on Tuesday, and it arrived Friday evening. You'll probably, therefore, see these updates a little more regularly through the summer now.
Hey, check out our local news and weather!
The Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Sun-Times
And here's some local events and tourism web pages:
Andersonville Chamber of Commerce (Our Chicago neighborhood website)
Centerstage Chicago (Where to go and what to do)
Whole Foods Market (One of our local grocery stores)
People's Market (Another of our local
grocery stores)
Trader Joe's (Our main grocery store)
PS--Let me know if you have any trouble with the links above. I'll try to fix it.
Send us an email
The Home Page
Anna's Page
Clifton's Page
The Politics Page
Our Friends' Web Sites Page
The Pilgrim's Page
This page has been viewed 
times since October 2001.
[This page last updated 29 August 2004]
