4/3/2023

JRB,

            This 1st day of spring quarter marks the beginning of the end of my department chair duties. Lately I have been engaged in a spirit led land acknowledgement inquiry. It’s full of surprises.

            Much like these letters.

I am never quite sure what direction they will go. It’s fun to see what emerges from my read of the news, your schedule & my mood.

            Today I am feeling like an “odd duck.” By the way, the phrase may come from the unusual offspring that emerge when Mallards mate with other species. Given that logic, I am the offspring of an odd duck, the daughter of a Russian man & a Dutch woman who could not have been more different. I deigress.

            I am feeling out of step with my oldest friends who I spoke with last night. They are spending their time flying here, there & everywhere & making jokes about their carbon footprints. As you know, I am critical of that behavior, but I didn’t say anything, so as not to upset the jovial spirit of the Zoom call.

My Quaker practices also diverge from most of my friends. I am not sure if, & how, they nurture their souls. I doubt many of them knew it was Palm Sunday & I suspect they would be surprised that I shared a message at my Meeting about my doubts about the resurrection story.

Do you ever feel like an odd duck? Maybe we all do from time to time.     

I hope your visit to MN goes well. What do you know about this electrolyzer they are building at the Cummins plant? A “fuel agnostic internal combustion engine platform that leverages a range of lower carbon fuel types” sounds promising but I have no idea how that might work.

Today’s news from Burma comes from “Anabaptist World” reporting that an aerial bombardment of a village in Chin State killed a dozen villagers March 30 including members of the Mennonite Church. WINTA

My friends on last night’s call were asking about what was going on in Burma so please do more to publicize the plight of the people there.

BYBS,