Cambridge

June 28, 2011

Good class yesterday, and early enough in the morning that all sound was not dissipated by the whirring of fans.

Sat at the table in the back garden as evening came on, with the tame blackbirds and thrushes moving close around me. One thrush had five flies in his beak. I wondered how he managed that, unless he killed each and stacked them up before pursuing another. Gentle creatures, almost near enough to touch. Downtown with Rob and three students afterwards. It was a marvelous, carefree time, and made me consider how infrequently I have a marvelous, carefree time, and yet how much more often that is than most men beyond the age of thirty. For every complaint I have about my life, an onlooker can probably find a blessing. It is irritating. We laughed and shouted and staggered home. Cooked a pot of chili tonight for the same students, who claimed to have been deceived into not bringing enough money for suppers.

Presentations on Newton in class, a personality so complicated even so many perspectives don’t bring it quite into focus. The five math majors came very close to explaining calculus to me. Newton’s one recorded motion in Parliament was to have a window shut.

Continuing devastating news from outside, and yet the only salvation is good news from outside, so one cannot completely turn away.