Reading in the hall

Last night I took Jane to her class at Indiana Tech. It had snowed all day and was still snowing and the roads were kind of bad; plus I didn't have anything else to do. So while she was in class I sat in the hall and finished reading Reggie McNeal's 'Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders.' And, you know, even though I sat there from 5:30 to 9 pm, it was quite nice. It was probably better than sitting at home and reading by myself. Though I probably should have brought a second book, because I didn't realize I would get done with this one so soon. Or else I should have brought my laptop, so I could have blogged or written out the rest of my notes on the book (I'm reading it for the Missional Leadership Initiative, and I'm typing out my notes because Jane is supposed to read it too and I thought it might be helpful in case she doesn't get it all read - because she has enough reading to do with her schoolwork).

At any rate, this was a good book. It made me wrestle with a lot of things - and I likely will wrestle with them for some time (maybe forever). Perhaps the most difficult chapter for me was the one on mission. I admit, I have kinda-sorta lost my reason for being. Not that I am totally aimless, but I need to redefine why I do what I do. So that was good. Another good thing about this book was that - after I finished it - I actually felt pretty good about my leadership ability. Not that I am an "extraordinary leader," but I'm not as bad as I sometimes make myself out to be. I think my scorecard has changed over the years, and there is certainly much that I need to work on, but I feel like I am at least on the right track. So I'm really glad I read this book. There are a few things I will blog about it, but Jane took the book with her today so it will have to wait.

As far as reading in the hallway... again, I think this was good too. I might actually do it again. I was able to talk to several people. The security guard chatted with me a bit; someone asked me for change; someone asked for directions; and I got to observe some innaresting people. At one point there were three people in a row - when I looked up as they came by - all three of them smiled at me. That was nice. How often do total strangers smile at one another? There are a wide variety of people who take night classes at college. I think it would be great to teach in a context like this. Or even take classes. It was pretty nice just hanging out in the hall. I had a decaf coffee and a twix bar for supper from the vending machines (until we got home and I had a bunch of junk at 10 pm).

As far as the roads... they really weren't bad at all. They are so much better in town than in the country. Now if the wind just doesn't blow...