About

I was raised United Methodist in Alabama, but am now Eastern Orthodox. I sing baritone or ison in church choirs when afforded the opportunity.

I play the music of Michael Hedges on the steel-string acoustic guitar, and I play the music of J. S. Bach and Joe Pass on the nylon-string classic guitar.

I’m also learning to lift weights.

Sometimes my bank asks for my favorite food, so I now regard that as sensitive information. But I can at least tell you my staples: red lentils and oatmeal. Also, after Pascha I like to eat roast beef, cheddar, and horseradish sandwiches.

Some favorite recent nonbiblical writings from the West include Berry’s Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community, Blount’s Book of Southern Humor, Camus’s The Plague, Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Ellison’s Invisible Man, O’Connor’s Collected Works, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

At a friend’s request I also recently read The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. His recommendation cut me to the quick. I despised more or less every page of it, and am so glad I did.

I am still trying properly to absorb On the spiritual law by St. Mark the Ascetic.