The month of June has us catching with Doc Hadley, better known fondly as, “Slide Guy”. You will be reading this just after seeing his latest masterpiece with the Flower Communion slides. Each year he does a beautiful job of bringing the colorful diversity of flowers into our visual view. So, without further ado…… Here’s Doc –
Name: Doc Hadley
Position/s for Sunday Services: Slide Guy
What do you most like about your position/s: I very much enjoy learning to use new software tools and figuring out new ways to use old tools. My responsibilities have required me to stretch my abilities numerous times throughout the roughly 131 weeks I’ve been creating our Sunday service slides. Sorry, still working on mastering the humble brag.
What is one thing you would change: I fret a lot about climate change. Every time I fill my car with gasoline I wish I were driving an electric car, specifically a Tesla Model Y dual motor with 4680 structural battery pack and mega-cast front and rear chassis. Oh no, am I having a midlife crisis at my advanced age?!
What is your idea of perfect happiness: Bwahahahahaha. Good luck with that endeavor. Okay, if pushed to answer I’ll say it has something to do with falling into a vat of chocolate.
What is your greatest achievement: I’ve paid bills online so many times that I’ve memorized my debit card information totaling 23 characters. Order counts. They’d better never make me change it.
What do you regard as the lowest depths of despair: The long slow process of becoming a widower punctuated with periods of false hope just might qualify.
What is your greatest extravagance: I eat a plant-based diet. When I want to feel really extravagant I stroll down to Winco’s organic produce section and buy a big crown of organic broccoli and set it in my cart right next to the chemically drenched kale I bought in the regular section.
Who or what is the greatest love of your life: My life has had more than one phase and a different love of my life (LML) in each phase. I want to believe that my previous LML, lost to death, forgives me for having another. That’s what I want to believe but I’m a little nervous.
Who are your heroes in fiction: In SciFi, writer Larry Niven’s “Known Space” theme runs through his many stories. It includes a character named Nessus who comes from an alien species known as Puppeteers. Nessus can pal around with humans only because he is considered to be an insane risk taker by Puppeteer standards. Sane Puppeteers are far too cautious to go on crazy space adventures with humans. I’m both proud of Nessus for expanding his boundaries and I have a lot of empathy for the sane Puppeteers. You won’t catch me rocketing around in a hard vacuum.
Who are your heroes in real life: Carl Sagan is a hero to me. Among his thoughts on skeptical thinking he said, “It is precisely the mix of … two modes of thought [skeptical scrutiny and openness to new ideas] that is central to the success of science.”
What is a meaningful piece of music for you: Oh, thank goodness. At first I thought you asked for my MOST meaningful piece of music. I would have never had time to finish this questionnaire. At this moment I’m voting for “In My LIfe” by John Lenon. Of course Beethoven’s Ode to Joy is so wonderful. But then there’s the upbeat, “make you smile” feeling when listening to boogie woogie piano. Stop, stop, there is no logical end point.
Where do you like to go in nature to revive: It took me a few moves to get here, but I’m convinced that I now live in the best part of the world, western Oregon. Just visit any Willamette Valley park, the Columbia Gorge, Three Sisters mountains area, or take in the view literally anywhere along the Oregon coast. I feel so lucky to have all of these within easy driving distance.
Anything else: Thanks for entrusting me with making our UUCS slides
Until July, we remain yours in service, from – Behind The Chalice