Sunday Back to Teaching

Rising early from nightmares and asthma attacks was not the way to get ready for teaching Sunday School for the first time in years. I started the coffee and later moved my writing to the kitchen while I made grits. Cooking and writing do not go well together, but I managed to not burn the grits (just a bit of light brown stuck to the bottom of the pan), and while I made a 1/2 sized amount, it was still twice what I needed; that would be in the trash later (grits turns to rock-hard paste as it dry out), next time 1/4 in a smaller pan. Fortified with a banana, Zabar’s coffee, and grits with butter, I was able to complete the blog and get it published.

I showered and all that and soon was in a green sweater vest and white dress shirt. I wore a New Orleans tie. Old school lessons, if you want authority, you wear a darker knot near your throat. I needed everything I could get!

I moved the food and materials into Air VW the Gray. There were multiple trips of stuff, including plenty of sandwiches from Costco that I acquired on Sunday. I headed out and then, talking to Dondrea by text, realized I was an hour too early and returned home and read for an hour, more American Civil War (ACW) battle history.

I arrived a few minutes early and then unloaded. I got some help, and soon the food was in the fridge and the water was ready. The church service was a blur as I ushered, and it ran over by forty minutes, as this marked the start of new programs and planning. We also had communion with Ken, now licensed as a United Methodist Church pastor. I asked folks to put out the sandwiches; there were plenty, and I offered them as lunch to everyone as we ran over. There were enough for everyone (and I encouraged seconds).

We stayed in the fireside room as I had over ten people. I spent 45 minutes reviewing the material I had on biblical history, including actual archaeological finds and their connections to our understanding of the Bible. The idea is that these findings, now in museums, give a clear connection to history that is represented in the Bible. And while we do not have proof of many lives described in the Bible, we do have findings that can place the timeline and artifacts we do have.

It seemed well-received with one person saying, “I’ve never had a membership or bible study that used ‘secular’ history to prove what I believe. Makes you think differently. A Methodist way of viewing it.” Everyone seemed happy and wanted more.

I was tired and soon headed home.

I took a nap, watched that final episode of Wednesday, thought season 2 was excellent, and I’m glad there is a third coming, and read more ACW. I reheated the pizza and had that for a snack and later dinner. I picked up my laptop and started on the notes for my class on the 14th, which meant starting to read again about schisms and denominational history. I have a chart of this from Useful Charts, and anyone who wants to teach this kind of class should just get one. There are fewer charts in the public space, but for a few bucks, you can have a massive chart. The chart starts with the Nicene Creed, and I did some work on that. I have done this before, but I had to get all the words, dates, and places back in my head (and in my notes).

I found a strange movie, Pursuit of the Graf Spee (1956), that had some of the original ships recreate their roles in the WW2 1939 battle. It is low budget and skips over the suicide of the captain of the German Pocket Battleship, but, without comment, shows the actor playing the captain never giving a Nazi salute (which is accurate). It sticks to the still official story that the cruisers found the KMS Graf Spee by happenstance (something I still find hard to believe). I found it poorly done, and there are far better YouTube videos and books on the battle (and board games). Still, they had enlisted real WW2 ships (the USS Salem playing the German pocket-battleship, which is now a museum ship),  to recreate some of the moments, and that was worth it. Not recommended as it is an acquired taste. 

While I have not played this battle (I have some figures and rules for it), I have read that gamers believe the Nazi ship, KMS Graf Spee, should have changed its target from HMS Exeter to the other two British Cruisers once it was heavily damaged. Damage each one in succession. This would likely stop the damage to the pocket battleship that caused its loss. This also explains why most believe it was happenstance as had the captain of the German ship been a bit luckier, all the British ship would have been disabled, captured, or sunk. 

The battle echoes the problem that the KMS Bismarck would later face in the war; the Graf Spee‘s fuel filter was damaged/destroyed in the fight, making it impossible to run for more than 24 hours without significant repairs. This is the main reason the ship was scuttled (one of the better special effects in the movie); even if it could escape the perceived threat, it would be out of usable fuel in a day. The Bismarck in the Battle of the Denmark Straits takes a seemingly minor hit that damages its water system for its engines; it must return to port as it has only a limited time before its engines cannot operate. The only port is in France, and the ship is far away near Iceland. The Nazi ship is caught and sunk on its way back. The USA faced this too in WW2, having to scuttle damaged aircraft carriers as there was no large sea-going savage tug to get them to repair facilities. This problem is still not necessarily resolved in modern times. Those nuclear carriers are huge!

Returning to our story, tired from nightmares the night before, athema still making breathing, something not optional, not without effort (until I grab my inhaler), teaching, I head to bed early. I read more about the ACW and soon fell asleep, only waking once to check my hydration. Better.

Thanks for reading.