Janet's Blog

New Orleans, Louisiana. They call it the Big Easy, in comparison to New York City, aka the Big Apple. While New Yorkers live a rather frantic life style, life in New Orleans is much more laid-back, according to New Orleans gossip columnist Betty Guillard, who coined the nickname in the sixties. When I found out that Bill was being inducted into the Cable TV Pioneers at their banquet in New Orleans on October 2nd, I decided to go along to help him celebrate that great honor. Besides, I had never visited New Orleans, so I was excited to explore a new city. The sunset view from our room on the 33rd floor of the downtown Marriott. Bill attended a Cable Television conference at the convention center across town, so I was on my own most of the time during the day.  The first day we were there, though, after Bill registered for the conference, we were free to explore the French Quarter, and have a marvelous lunch and supper. The food was amazing. We savored the duck gumbo,...

When a Facebook friend posted a link to an article about a Lutheran pastor who was murdered this week in Fort Dodge, Iowa, outside his church, I clicked on the link to see what had happened. I didn't expect to know that particular pastor, so I was surprised to recognize his name, and see that he was the same age as I am. When the article further stated that he had attended Concordia College in Seward, I remembered that I had once known Al pretty well. We went to college together but, more than that, when we were freshmen, we sang together on the same folk worship team of eight or ten students. Our team, "Joyful Noise," was extremely active, traveling all over Nebraska, and even into Iowa, to sing and minister at worship services, youth group meetings, and retreats. As a group, we spent a lot of time together, practicing, and riding in a school van from one engagement to another. At least half of us played guitars, because more was always better in those days before easy...