How I See It: Reflections on spirituality, technology, and the art of everyday life

The Symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea Copyright © 1988 By Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III What is symbolized by the encounter of the old man and the Fish? In Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea" MATTHEW 4:18–19 Now Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I saw in the old man a picture of what God must be like: an old man, full of life—one who loves everything, even the fish whom he must kill. “Everything about him was old except his eyes; they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” If I had to paint a picture of God, I do not know what shape I would make Him, or what color His eyes would be. I do know that He would be old and that His eyes would be young—and most of all, no matter how much He calls us and we refuse His love, He would never l...

Christmas Letter 1996 Copyright © 1996 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway III My Dear Friends, At this time of the year—apart from the usual thoughts about how much Christmas is costing and how much weight we’re gaining—our thoughts turn to old friends and getting back in touch with them. This year my life has been so full of joys and sorrows that, instead of sending you a card, I thought I would reconnect by letting you know about all the changes that have happened over the last twelve months. This has been a very busy 1996, and it looks like it will lead to an even busier 1997! The year started out with my buying my first home. It’s a lovely three-bedroom house in Vancouver, Washington, with a large yard and a stream running through the back. On summer nights you can hear the frogs singing in the water. Along with a new house came a new companion—a dog named Perezvon, from The Brothers Karamazov . Unfortunately, he turned out to be more of a dog than I could ha...

He was beautiful He was beautiful—that above all else is what is important! He was not just cute, he was beautiful! He was not just a hunk, he was beautiful! He was not just sexy, he was beautiful! A blind man could have seen it—and yes, many did. When they asked to see more, he would show them, and they would run in terror. The only thing wrong with him was his beauty. His mother had hoped that he would outgrow it. When he was young, she hid him from the world—not as one hides a great treasure, but as one would hide the fact that a family member had AIDS. What he had was far worse: he was beautiful. She would have made him wear a mask if that could have concealed his beauty, but nothing could. As he got older, he had to show the world how beautiful he was—not out of pride (that would not have been beautiful at all), but because he had to show the world the way the rain has to show us that it is wet, and makes us wet in the process. Yes, he was ...

A Valentine's Day Poem about "Beauty"! Happy St. Valentine’s Day! If someone came to me and asked me to create “Beauty,” I would be lost. For all that I could do is try to make a duplicate of you! I would try to make this “Beauty” as caring as you are. I would raise it near a stream, where it could go for walks with a cat and could learn humor and love. I would have this “Beauty” rescue the cat in a thunderstorm so it would learn compassion and passion. I would try to duplicate your upbringing, but I would never have the heart to temper this “Beauty” the way your pain has tempered you, or show it the ugliness that you have seen. And so, it would not be able to shine the way you do and could only be a piece for show — not a real living person like you are, and therefore it would not be truly beautiful at all. Through this education, this “Beauty” would develop a beautiful soul like the one I see radiating from you. Of course, I would connect that soul w...

Disciple or lover of God? Who am I Copyright © 1995 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway III Who am I? I am the prince turned into the spider—or maybe I am just the spider who thinks he could one day be a prince. I am sitting on the edge of the sink watching the young woman washing her hair. All I can do is stare up at that glorious sight, intoxicated by it. And when she tries to chase me away, because she knows that I could be hurt by the water she is using, I just sit there staring up until a drop of water flies off her hand and lands on me—burns me and crushes me. And as I lie there dying, I can see her concern for me, and as I die I hope that my death will bring me closer to her and turn me into her prince. Who am I? I am a baby lying in my crib crying, wanting, and needing. My mother gives me a rattle. I play with it and soon find that it is not what I want—it is not what I need. I quickly become bored and start to cry again. This time my mother gives me a pacifier, and...

How do I view myself as a priest? Copyright © 2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway III This is a paper I wrote and submitted to the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles when I was trying to join the priesthood. The title of this paper asks a monumental question—like asking a man here on Earth to step outside of the Milky Way and say what the galaxies look like. One can never really know what one looks like; one can only look around and try to see things in the universe that act like oneself, and see what they look like and what they are. For me, the decision to try to become a priest is one that I have tried to avoid for over ten years. I have many reasons not to be a priest—I am shy, I am introverted, I am … —but I have only one real reason for being a priest, and that reason is that something inside of me has been telling me to be a priest since I was in high school. For me, being a priest is not a choice of occupation or job—it is what I feel I am supposed to be. A dog is ...

Tom Lehrer: The Man, the Myth, the Music In this report I will introduce the reader to Tom Lehrer—mathematician and songwriter. First, the man: Where did he come from, who was he, what did he do, and where is he now? Next, we’ll look at Tom Lehrer the myth—his effect on the genre of satire and, through satire, on the world—along with some of the stories that have sprung up about him. Finally, we’ll look at Tom Lehrer’s music. Thomas Andrew Lehrer was born in New York City in 1928. As a child he took piano lessons, and at the age of 15 he entered Harvard University, majoring in mathematics. Around the same time, he began writing and performing sarcastic little ditties and parodies—quickly becoming a popular fixture at Harvard parties, especially freshman smokers. He received his B.A. in 1947 (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). In 1953 he took up performing in nightclubs and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show . That same year he took advantage of a new technology—the long-pla...