Broken things...

    It's not everyday that someone you know gets there very own ISBN!  And the lucky number is... 1-90655-734 which belongs to Now My Eye Sees You by Dr. Timothy Johnson.  For the past twelve years he has worked on getting this book published and today the Nashotah House celebrated with him this wonderful achievement.  Dr. Johnson teaches Hebrew and Old Testament and at the moment I have him for a class in Biblical Interpretation.  He's the kind of teacher who when you ask him a question in class always promptly responds with, "That's a great question."  and always has time to spend with students.
So when I saw him tonight at our Community dinner I asked him where all his books were.  Being the humble guy that he is told me he'd left some copies in the his office to which I replied,
"Your kidding right?"  He wasn't.  I then told him that I would ride back to his office and grab the copies and return and with some reluctance he removed his office key from his ring and told me how to turn the key.

     As I was heading out the door I heard him mention to, "Make sure you turn it to the right.  It's a little tricky sometimes." When I got to his office door the key slid in with little problem and I turned it to the right and initially nothing happened. So I turned it to the left...still nothing.  So I turned it to the right again and before I could resist the force of gravity the damage had been completed.  I took out the key minus the long extended part and then prayed to God for an open window.  Jumping on my back I headed back to Refectory and ran into Patrick.  If you're ever in trouble and you need some help, by all means run into Patrick.  He is one of the kindest souls and immediately was on the phone to Jeff who works in maintenance.  No one answered.  By the time we made it back to the Refectory I tapped Dr. Johnson on the shoulder and explained what had happened.  He, as well as several others, seemed to find some humor in the situation and I do too, but at the moment I was in somewhat of a panic mode.  Later at dinner we had some good laughs and enjoyed the turkey, mash potatoes, and stuffing just fine.  It is a great blessing to live in a community where the men who teach you can be the same people who you find eating with, laughing with, and being encouraged by.  And after a day like yesterday, there is no place I'd rather be.
ps and as of this writing Dr. Johnson remains locked out of his office...pray for him...and me...