http://goo.gl/maps/660fr

But more importantly, the question tells a story. The question came from a music grad student at Baylor with whom I’d worked in the past. Each Fall, for more than a decade, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the School of Music’s graduate research methods course, working alongside wonderful colleagues from the SOM who see the value of libraries and librarians and who are willing to share the stage with me to help guide their students through the morass of electronic tools and resources that can help them navigate through the metaphoric sea of information. More on that later.

Here’s the email I received (name withheld to protect the innocent) and below it, my reflections.

From: IDENTITY REMOVED@baylor.edu>
Date: April 11, 2013, 2:55:54 PM EDT
To: “Towers, Sha”
Subject: Google Reader is closing!

Hey Sha,
You got me hooked on Google’s RSS in Research Methods last semester and now they’re closing it! I’m heart-broken! It’s so sad. What am I supposed to use now? What would you recommend?

Anyway, I hope you’re having a great day!

As I thought more about this email, there were several things that stood out to me.

BTW, I told her to check out Feedly.com – where I just finished moving my own google reader universe.

So you if you’re still reading and you happen to remember (or glance back up at the title of this blogpost), you’re probably thinking I’m patting myself on the back for “making a difference” in the life of this student. But that’s only part of the story. The other part is that this email, this experience of helping people, this “being a librarian” is rewarding…fulfilling…meaningful. This email made me stop and realize that this work, this job, this vocation, makes a difference to me.

” . . . [I] felt my senses shift from desk-bound and stressed out to alert and alive.”

http://www.fastcompany.com/1838481/6-leadership-styles-and-when-you-should-use-them

Cranberry Squares

1.5 cups sugar
2 eggs
.75 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon almond extract
1.5 cups flour
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (if frozen, don’t thaw)
1.5 cup chopped pecans (optional- we don’t ever include this since our little guy is allergic to tree nuts, but i bet it’s good that way!)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 9×9 square pan (I recommend The Pampered Chef’s stoneware square baker). Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until thickened, about 2 minutes. Beat in butter and almond extract. Add flour and stir until well blended. Stir in berries and nuts – it will be very thick! Spread evenly in pan. Bake about one hour, until top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool, cut into squares, and enjoy!

(Bags of fresh cranberries, only available in the fall, can be frozen for later use, so stock up!)

In the 1970s, he collaborated with his wife, Iola, on the cantata La Fiesta de la Posada, reflecting the Mexican Christmas tradition commemorating the journey of Mary and Joseph and their search for lodging in Bethlehem.

Brubeck says about the musical tradition that inspired Fiesta de la Posada: This music “reflects those qualities I most admire in people…dignity in moments of tragedy, infectious high spirits in moments of joy, and an unshakable religious faith made evident in a strong sense of one’s own worth and a deep respect for the shared values of one’s group — family, church, village. These qualities, I think, are universal to people with a strong communal sense — an increasingly rare attribute in urban culture. It is this sense of sharing in an event which I have tried to capture in the simple retelling of the Christmas story.”
(source)

I had the wonderful opportunity to experience this cantata performed by Dave Brubeck and his trio in San Antonio in 1984.

From this cantata comes one of my most favorite “christmas songs” — God’s Love Made Visible!. Dave Brubeck incorporate the same 5/4 time signature used in “Take Five”, but here blends it with a joyful Mexican musical style (complete with claves, maracas with interjections from a celebratory pair of trumpets). Iola’s text beautifully sums up the the most central theme of Christmas:

God’s love made visible! Incomprehensible!
Christ is invincible! His love shall reign!
From love so bountiful, blessings uncountable
make death surmountable! His love shall reign!
Joyfully pray for peace and good will!
All of our yearning he will fulfill.
Live in a loving way! Praise him for everyday!
Open your hearts and pray. His love shall reign!

God gave the Son to us to dwell as one of us -
a blessing unto us! His love shall reign!
To him all honor bring, heaven and earth will sing,
praising our Lord and King! His love shall reign!
Open all doors this day of his brith,
all of good will inherit the earth.
His star will always be guiding humanity
throughout eternity! His love shall reign!

I started to wonder if San Pablo really was the most beautiful place in the world. I wasn’t sure my grandmother had ever been anyplace else, but I still thought she’d know.
“Grandma,” I said, is it?”
“Is what?” she said.
“Is San Pablo the most beautiful place in the world?”
My grandmother made a little face.
“The most beautiful place in the world,” she said, “is anyplace.”
“Anyplace?” I repeated.
“Anyplace you can hold your head up. Anyplace you can be proud of who you are.”
“Yes,” I said.
But I thought, where you love somebody a whole lot, and you know that person loves you, that’s the most beautiful place in the world.

The Most Beautiful Place in the World, by Ann Cameron