Update

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 Once upon a time , someone asked me if I would be happy working a job that was not at the university. Since my position at the university closed in 2020, I found myself doing exactly that— working in jobs not at the university. It has been a very difficult transition.  Recently, things shifted quickly and in unexpected ways. The short version is that I am leaving the hotel which I am currently working, having taken a position at another.  The longer version of the story is that I stopped by to see my good friend and former GM at his new hotel. While I was visiting with him, one of the owners came out and introduced himself and we got to talking. After a few minutes, he said he wanted me to meet his brother. Our conversation turned into a job interview and 48 hours later I accepted a new position as front desk, manager and assistant operations manager. After some negotiating, we reached an agreement and I start my new position on April 9. It’s a much nicer hotel and these...

Favorite Series

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My favorite book series is not a typical series. I was going to write how my favorite series is "Lord Of The Rings" and about all things "Tolkien"--but those books stand out as overly popular.

Next, I was going to describe how much I enjoyed Piers Anthony's "Apprentice Adept" series and imaginative blending of two worlds existing in the same place but in different dimensions--a truly fantastic series.

Instead I would like the highlight as my favorite series of books, "The Great Works of the Western World." Everything is here: religion, politics, poetry, science, ethics, philosophy, economics, mathematics, history, drama and more. A bible, if you will--books of books. In the Great Works one will experience a wide range of writings, from the Bible to Shakespeare, from Greeks to Germans, from tyrants to democrats, from the faithful to skeptics.

“This is more than a set of books, and more than a liberal education. Great Books of the Western World is an act of piety. Here are the sources of our being. Here is our heritage. This is the West. This is its meaning for mankind.” -Robert Hutchins

 "In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you." - Mortimer Adler

 There is some debate as to which books should be included in the canon of Great Works, but one list of available free e-books can be found here.

If I had it to do all over again, I would attend St. John's College or Gutenberg College where the Great Books are the curriculum for life-long learners who seek to make a significant contribution to their world. 

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