One of my friends, Dr. Frank Castellano sent me this poem by Englishman W.H. Auden

To James:

Stop all the clocks; cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.
Silence the pianos and with a muffled drum,
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message:
He is dead
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves
Let the traffic policeman wear black cotten gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song:
I thought that love would last forever:
I was wrong.

And I still love you

A year ago tonight I was getting ready to go to San Diego for a business trip. Around 3 am we were woken up by a phone call from Joseph (it was about 11 am at Joe's time). Ray was in a panic when he heard Joe's voice, and then he said "Do you know what time it is here", and then Ray said "no, no now that you have woken us what's the problem"?

Joe was worried about unauthorized use of his bank account (which never happened) - the stupid little details we worry about as mere mortals.

I have woken up to the following James Taylor song the last few mornings - and I still love him:
***************************************************************************


Well the sun is surely sinking down, but the moon is slowly rising.
So this old world must still be spinning round and I still love you.

So close your eyes, you can close your eyes, it's all right.
I don't know no love songs and I can't sing the blues anymore.
But I can sing this song and you can sing this song when youre gone.

It won't be long before another day, we gonna have a good time.
And no one's gonna take that time away. You can stay as long as you like.

So close your eyes, you can close your eyes, it's all right.
I don't know no love songs and I can't sing the blues anymore.
But I can sing this song and you can sing this song when I'm gone

Yankee fan

Joseph loved baseball. He did not play much, only on the Edgemont Rec teams and in his dreams. From the time he was a young boy he wore his Yankee gear with pride. At Fordham, it was a requirement to be a Yankee fan. When the Yankees won the world series the school gave the boys a day off.

When he went to Amherst he really became involved in the math of baseball. Fantasy baseball and statistics were right up his alley to being a sports fan. He did not watch the game very much but he avidly followed the team, play by play, on the computer. He ran two fantasy baseball teams, and talked incessantly about players and stats with his Ray and Kyle. Baseball and swimming. His two sports.

Galapagos

We went to Ecuador to see Kyle who needs to speak Spanish in order to graduate. He is behind on his spoken languages because he took latin and ancient greek in high school. He took a year of Spanish his freshman year, but language got dropped his second year because of Joseph's death.

Immersion Spanish in Ecuador is a great option (if you can afford it). Kyle is definitely fluent in spanish now and he'll take another year of spanish at georgetown.

We flew down to Ecuador to see Kyle in his new environment, and then over to the Galapagos - definitely an experience.

While on the boat, two families asked me, on two different occasions whether we had other children? Who would ask a family if there are other children? Only people who are attuned enough to realize their is something wrong in the family grouping.

It was uncomfortable - how do you reply - do you have any other children? I reply, "Yes, but it is complicated"

Scarsdale Inquirer July 23, 2010

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars

At Joseph’s funeral the reading chosen by Father O’Konsky and Kyle was one from the Book of Wisdom (4:7-14):

"But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest.

For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time, nor can it be measured in terms of years.

Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men, and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age.

He who pleased God was loved; he who lived among sinners was transported--

Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind or deceit beguile his soul;
For the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind.

Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career;

for his soul was pleasing to the LORD, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness. But the people saw and did not understand, nor did they take this into account."

Book of Wisdom (4:7-14)


One definition of Wisdom is

“the ability to perceive or determine what is good, true or sound.”

Every thought Joseph had was judged and analyzed and compared with others; every action was a pursuit of wisdom. Even his physical activities were in pursuit of goodness, or soundness. Joseph was a true intellectual and a striver.

Recently I came upon this poem which was the dedication from T.E. Lawrence’s book “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom”:

To S.A.
I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
and wrote my will across the sky in stars
To earn you Freedom, the seven-pillared worthy house,
that your eyes might be shining for me
When we came.

Death seemed my servant on the road, till we were near
and saw you waiting:
When you smiled, and in sorrowful envy he outran me
and took you apart:
Into his quietness.

Love, the way-weary, groped to your body, our brief wage
ours for the moment
Before earth’s soft hand explored your shape, and the blind
worms grew fat upon
Your substance.

Men prayed me that I set our work, the inviolate house,
as a memory of you.
But for fit monument I shattered it, unfinished: and now
The little things creep out to patch themselves hovels
in the marred shadow


What are the seven pillars of Wisdom?

The bible quote is:

“Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars”. The Book of Wisdom never defines the exact nature of the pillars. We all then get to define our own pillars?

To the adventurer T.E. Lawrence, the pillars were seven great Arab cities: Medina, Saudi Arabia; Damascus, Syria; Aleppo, Syria; Istanbul, Turkey (Constantinople); Smyrna (Izmir),Turkey; Cairo, Egypt; Beirut, Lebanon.

Often the Beatitudes are described as eight pillars:

"Blessed are:
The poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;
They who mourn, for they shall be comforted;
The meek, for they shall inherit the earth;
They who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied;
The merciful, for they shall obtain mercy;
The pure of heart, for they shall see God;
The peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God;
They who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:3-10

The Shia and Sunni Muslims have their own pillars (of faith or pray or community); five pillars for each sect:

5 Pillars of Shia Isalm
Monotheism
Day of Judgement
Prophecy
Leadership
Justice


5 Pillars of Sunni Islam
Profession of Faith
Prayers
Fasting
Giving of Alms
Pilgimage

Upon reflection, these are my seven pillars upon which I have built my "house":
1. Family
2. Knowledge
3. Faith
4. Community
5. Determination
6. Honesty
7. Optimism

In the last 7 months, essentially each and every one of my pillars has been destroyed, and I have no firm ground to stand on. Each day is a lesson on how to stand and go forward and I must put all my focus on that lesson.









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Special event for GST, and GST and Fordham Alumni

This is a fun swim. RSVP and let us know if you can get relays together to do the silly relays (t-shirt swim, etc.) from your childhood!

http://www.greenburghswimteam.com/special-event-on-july-30.php

Joseph Chow was a GST swimmer and coach who died in a tragic accident while working in Tanzania for the Peace Corps. Joe loved swimming and the Greenburgh Swim Team. Joe worked as a lifeguard and coach in Greenburgh from 2001 to 2006. When Joe was our coach in 2006, we won the Division I Championship. Our annual Color Wars Invitational will be a fundraiser for the Joseph Chow Scholarship Fund. Participants in this event will contribute an entry fee of $10. Additional contributions will be gladly accepted. All proceeds will go to the scholarship fund. GST Alumni will also attend. Afterwards, we will have a pizza party with music provided by a DJ. Please read the information about the scholarship fund. For $400, a student can study for a year in Tanzania. Please also read Donna Chow's incredible website about her son Joe. http://mwakaribishwa.blogspot.com/