get it moving out into the yard. That accomplished, he opened up all the downstairs windows.
Now he could relax. He walked his coffee out to the fire pit facing the lake, sat in one of the adirondack chairs. A few charred logs had been left in it from the last time it had been used. He guessed maybe a year. He didn’t notice what time it was, but judging by the lack of mist on the water and the height of the sun, it was after nine. On these writing retreats, he generally ignored bedtimes and wake up alarms. That was part of their charm.
He could get used to this view, that’s for sure. The water was a soothing dark blue, a nice contrast to the sky. The properties that bordered this part of the lake were set on rolling hills. Enough trees that he could see only a few traces of the other cabins. Except for the boat docks sticking out here and there, he could feel he had the lake all to himself.
Tapping an icon for a Bible app on his iPad, he spent the next few minutes reading the Proverb for the day. Something he’d done off and on through the years. Most months had thirty to thirty-one days and there were thirty-one chapters in Proverbs. Made it easy to know which one to read.
A singular theme emerged in today’s chapter that had to do with the wisdom of listening to others and getting counsel before making decisions. That seemed to confirm something he did last night before turning in. The main reason he was out here was to settle on the topic for his doctoral dissertation. Then to hammer out the basic outline. If possible, maybe even write the first few chapters.
As he’d told Rachel on the phone yesterday, he had narrowed the list down to three choices. She said she’d come out here and see him once he’d narrowed it down to one. Last night, Jack had crafted an email to send out to his students at Culpepper. Not all of them, just the ones who’d taken two or more of his classes the past year.
He’d explained his dilemma and asked for their help. He listed the three topics, wrote an intro paragraph to each and asked them two questions:
Which of these three subjects would interest you the most ?
Which of these three do you know the least about ?
He wasn’t looking for them to make the decision for him. He just wanted to see if the majority of students would pick the same topic he was leaning toward already. Setting his coffee mug on the little table in between the chairs, he tapped on the email app to see how many of them had responded.
His inbox was filled with responses already.
Over the next forty-five minutes, he read through them all and tallied up the votes. It wasn’t unanimous but something close. A clear majority had selected the Dresden topic as their main choice for both questions. That was the topic he had been leaning toward, too.
So it was official: he would write his doctoral dissertation on the Dresden bombings in World War II. He picked up his coffee, which had now grown cold, and headed back into the cabin to get his cell phone.
When he picked it up from the dinette table, he realized he’d forgotten to eat breakfast. There was the frozen breakfast meal unopened, sitting on the table. The box felt plenty cold, so he popped it in the microwave. Before hitting the start button he decided to call Rachel first.
Walking over to the recliner in the living room, he plopped down and tapped the screen to start the call. It rang three times. “Hey, Rachel. Can’t believe I got you, first try.”
“Am I that hard to reach?”
“In the mornings you are. Sometimes.”
“Well, you know I’ll always pick it up if it’s you, unless I’m in class. So, how was your first night in the cabin? Anything go bump in the night?”
Jack laughed. “No, but I got spooked by an owl for a few minutes. Till I figured out it was an owl. It is pretty dark out here. I just came in from that fire pit I told you about yesterday. Had a nice time out there. Really beautiful view in the morning.”
“Getting
Now he could relax. He walked his coffee out to the fire pit facing the lake, sat in one of the adirondack chairs. A few charred logs had been left in it from the last time it had been used. He guessed maybe a year. He didn’t notice what time it was, but judging by the lack of mist on the water and the height of the sun, it was after nine. On these writing retreats, he generally ignored bedtimes and wake up alarms. That was part of their charm.
He could get used to this view, that’s for sure. The water was a soothing dark blue, a nice contrast to the sky. The properties that bordered this part of the lake were set on rolling hills. Enough trees that he could see only a few traces of the other cabins. Except for the boat docks sticking out here and there, he could feel he had the lake all to himself.
Tapping an icon for a Bible app on his iPad, he spent the next few minutes reading the Proverb for the day. Something he’d done off and on through the years. Most months had thirty to thirty-one days and there were thirty-one chapters in Proverbs. Made it easy to know which one to read.
A singular theme emerged in today’s chapter that had to do with the wisdom of listening to others and getting counsel before making decisions. That seemed to confirm something he did last night before turning in. The main reason he was out here was to settle on the topic for his doctoral dissertation. Then to hammer out the basic outline. If possible, maybe even write the first few chapters.
As he’d told Rachel on the phone yesterday, he had narrowed the list down to three choices. She said she’d come out here and see him once he’d narrowed it down to one. Last night, Jack had crafted an email to send out to his students at Culpepper. Not all of them, just the ones who’d taken two or more of his classes the past year.
He’d explained his dilemma and asked for their help. He listed the three topics, wrote an intro paragraph to each and asked them two questions:
Which of these three subjects would interest you the most ?
Which of these three do you know the least about ?
He wasn’t looking for them to make the decision for him. He just wanted to see if the majority of students would pick the same topic he was leaning toward already. Setting his coffee mug on the little table in between the chairs, he tapped on the email app to see how many of them had responded.
His inbox was filled with responses already.
Over the next forty-five minutes, he read through them all and tallied up the votes. It wasn’t unanimous but something close. A clear majority had selected the Dresden topic as their main choice for both questions. That was the topic he had been leaning toward, too.
So it was official: he would write his doctoral dissertation on the Dresden bombings in World War II. He picked up his coffee, which had now grown cold, and headed back into the cabin to get his cell phone.
When he picked it up from the dinette table, he realized he’d forgotten to eat breakfast. There was the frozen breakfast meal unopened, sitting on the table. The box felt plenty cold, so he popped it in the microwave. Before hitting the start button he decided to call Rachel first.
Walking over to the recliner in the living room, he plopped down and tapped the screen to start the call. It rang three times. “Hey, Rachel. Can’t believe I got you, first try.”
“Am I that hard to reach?”
“In the mornings you are. Sometimes.”
“Well, you know I’ll always pick it up if it’s you, unless I’m in class. So, how was your first night in the cabin? Anything go bump in the night?”
Jack laughed. “No, but I got spooked by an owl for a few minutes. Till I figured out it was an owl. It is pretty dark out here. I just came in from that fire pit I told you about yesterday. Had a nice time out there. Really beautiful view in the morning.”
“Getting
Similar Books
