[Magdalen] What a news day (& at least out here, it's only started).

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Judy Fleener

>You're proud of that right?   Like when my d-in-l asked me, "At least you
>believe in the ten commandments, don't you?"  I answered:  "I suppose they
>are fine if you live in a male dominated agrarian society." Thank you, Jack
>Spong.

The more liberal relatives keep me up to date on the ones only speaking through 
the exchange of Christmas Cards. My grandmother's "favorite" incident with the 
cousins was when they ran out of gas near Allegan and as it was Sunday, they 
coudn;t buy gas. So they flagged down someone without such religious scruples 
and persuaded him to buy gas for them. When visiting Uncle Dyke in Holland, it 
always irritated me that  I'd have to drive some distance to pick up the Sunday 
paper. Uncle Dyke had the NY Times delivered by mail for the news and the 
Holland Sentinel for laughs, as he put it.

He's the one who went to China as a Dutch Reformed missionary in 1923, and at 
some point realized that missionaries were not doing the Chinese people any 
favors, especially as they had to keep warlords and government functionaries who 
oppressed people happy. I have his letters -- including vivid descriptions of 
the gunfire outside their compound during the 1927 revolution, as well as a 
similar letter written during the 1949 revolution. His wife and their two kids 
were expelled by the Communists, but he stayed behind (assistant U.S. Consul) 
under House Arrest until getting out on a Korean War era prisoner exchange.

He taught at Columbia University for a year, then went on to head the political 
Science Department at Hope College for the rest of his work years; His son was 
head of the Physics Department.

In any case, I suspect the exchange of cards with the ultra-fundamentalists 
every year means it's not as if we're estranged -- just not so interested in 
talking to each other  <g>>

BTW -- I'm planning to visit Holland and Grand Rapids in the Spring to visit 
with some of the elderly (more liberal) cousins and to see family graves (I 
think Oak Hill near GR is the main one). My guess is we'll be staying in Moline 
with the widow of a first  cousin once removed who is one of my favorite people. 
She's volunteered the services of either her son or grandson to ferry us around 
(I don’t think she;s told them of the plans).

When the plans are more firm, Maybe we could arrange for lunch?

Cheers,
Jim