Sliding Otter Publications: The Writings of Dr. Joseph Langen
Blog Posts from Chats with My Muse (also available at www.slidingotter.wordpress.com)
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Second Seminary Reflection
The Seminary introduced new ways of doing things. The biggest difference was the degree to which our time was scheduled compared to life at home. As time went on, I felt further removed from the outside world. Other than family visitors, we seldom encountered anyone who did not live in the seminary. There were no…
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Leaving Home
Image courtesy of Pixabay I left my home and life so far in September 1956. I stayed overnight with my grandparents and all the relatives who stopped by to wish me luck with my new adventure. The next day I rode with my family the several miles to Holy Cross Seminary. I debated about whether…
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Playing At Mass
At one point I realized that going to the seminary was not just a fantasy. But speaking of fantasy, I played being a priest saying Mass. My mother helped me with this fantasy and sewed vestments to wear while I practiced celebrating Mass. Several of my friends played along with my fantasy as well and…
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A Major Decision
Holy Cross Chapel I became quite involved with my duties as an altar boy. I got out of class for funerals which took place during school hours. As I mentioned earlier, I was also receiving tips for such special events as funerals. In the process I also became familiar with the assistant pastors in St.…
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Making a Contribution
As I moved to the upper grades, I started to think that there must be something of consequence I should be doing. At the time, I had no name for this feeling and could not have replied intelligently if someone asked me about it. I had a sense that I should be making some sort…
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Old Friends
Image Courtesy of Pixabay When I lived on Rainier Street, I saw an older woman sitting on her front porch. I walked past her house on the way home from school and said hello to her in passing. Over time I continued to greet her. I knew her as Mrs. Muckle. She invited me to…
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The Cat Lady
Cat Lady One day after school, my friend Gene and I spotted a kitten with the same markings as one which had gone missing from his house. We followed it down a side street and into the yard of a house several doors from the corner. We could not see where it went, so we…
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The Portable
I survived my two-part fourth grade despite my move in the middle of the school year from Rainier Street to Maiden Lane and continued to struggle toward producing any intelligible writing with pen and ink. In fifth grade, the attempt to switch me to right-handed penmanship was abandoned. I was allowed to return to left-handed…
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Dirt Wars
I mentioned before that our home on Maiden Lane was in the fifth house from the country, mostly consisting of farmland and woods. It did not stay that way very long. Heavy equipment arrived and huge shovels began digging holes for house foundations in almost every direction. Trees were cleared from the woods behind our…
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Back to School
Image courtesy of Pixabay I was at a disadvantage in school for several reasons. Most of my classmates had known each other since they began school. In addition, I transferred to St Charles School in the middle of the first semester of fourth grade. I felt like a “fish out of water” or would have…