You will have to forgive me, but I am playing around with my computer trying to learn a few new stunts. If a fellow was only smart enough it seems like there are endless amount of special things you can do with these gadgets, but I am thrilled if I can only turn the thing on and off and occasionally type a letter.
Yesterday was a banner day for me. Until recently I have been very fortunate in having access to NLL computer and printer. Until a few months ago I always used the NLL computer for checking E-mail, but I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a phone line put in my room. This got me on the Internet for the first time. This was a real advance, as I didn’t have to put everything on a floppy disk and send my mail off on the company machine. I could sit in my own room and handle everything direct. Then about a month ago the NLL computer became unavailable so one of the fellows brought the printer down to put it in my room. This brought up a new problem. Up to now I have always sat in a large chair with my feet up on my bed typing with my laptop on my lap. But with the printer on my desk I had to plug it in and out every time I wanted to print anything. Years of experience with electric tools has taught me that you will soon wear out a plug if you plug it in and out too many times. This meant I had to change my whole style of living. Of necessity, I had to design and build a computer desk where I could have my laptop and printer together so as no to wear out the plug. I thought a chaise lounge type of a chair would be the most comfortable and for weeks had in mind to try to make myself some kind of a chair like that. About a week ago I was in a home center and saw a fantastic zaiisu (legless chair) that looked almost like it had been an expensive car seat. It was richly padded, had a reclining back, and a swivel base. Best of all, I bought it for Y5,000. First I had to make a base to set this on. I made the base about three feet long and mounted in oncastors. Next I had to make another base to set the first one on to get it higher and made a fancy footrest. On one side of the footrest I fastened two sturdy legs and built a double level cantilever desk that was over the footrest. Then I made another desk that swung back and forth so I could put my computer on that and bring it right down on my lap as always to type. I know you can’t picture what this looks like, but suffice to say, it is the most incredible thing I have ever made for myself. This fabulous chair rolls back and forth on the second base so I can sit right up to the desk to type. But it swivels from side to side and reclines all the way down. I am in love with it! I call it my life center as I hope to spend a major portion of my free time sitting in this ultra-comfortable chair having devotions, reading books, and typing.
But to put it in my room required major changes. Some friends were planning on coming out here to visit NLL yesterday but cancelled out at the last moment. That gave me a free day to arrange my room. I started out by placing my life-center – which is nearly 5’ long – beside the window. To do this I had to move my bed and desk away. I decided if I was going to have house cleaning – WHY NOT HAVE HOUSE CLEANING? I took down everything but the wallboard and started heaping everything in a huge pile on the floor in front of the door. I went through EVERYTHING! I went through the drawers in my desk. Everything but the usable and essentials went. I went through my closet and threw out tons of clothes – some of which were 20 years old. People had given me furniture and a rug that I had never used but simply stuck in my room. It was unbelievable the amount of things I threw away. Man howdy, did that feel good! I have wanted to do that for years but lacked the courage or yaruki to do it. By evening when I was finished, the room was spotless and there was nothing left that was not functional. My truck is filled with garbage that I have to get rid of tomorrow but this is the first time in years that I have been able to look around my room with satisfaction and say, “this is exactly the way I want it”. This is the first time since Rosemary left 11 years ago that I have felt like I finally got organized. I like it so much now that I am looking forward to my next trip to SEA with a sense of mixed feelings like I am leaving something enjoyable behind.
Little can I express what your last letter, which came Wednesday, meant to me. You would not believe the lonely life I live and my total prayer letter list has been reduced to two – you and Millie Dennis. My total mail is about one letter a month. Millie is on E-mail and writes quite often, but you are almost the captain of my cheerleaders. Millie was positive in her response to the manuscripts I sent her of the Inverted Kingdom, but you have encouraged me more than any other source. I feel foolish in trying to write anything that would ever be published and am embarrassed at the poor way those little thoughts have been expressed. The only thing I can say is that the spiritual phenomenon is a fact and that can stand by itself. All they are are suggested topics for any reader to consider. NLL is going through a time of pretty stiff testing and I am concerned for the tremendous pressure on Roald. I wrote that one on darkness with him largely in mind and gave him a copy along with the first three or four chapters to give him an idea of what I am driving at. He had it for about two weeks but was too busy to look at it. Thursday I was talking with him and he said he had finally read it and thought it was worthwhile. He has to go to Bangkok for a meeting this week and asked if I had more manuscripts he could take along to read on the plane. He strongly suggested that we should get them reread and rewritten by someone who knew more about the English language than I do, and then do some serious pushing to see if we couldn’t get it put into print. Years ago I was involved in untangling a sordid mess that was made with the Joni book by Joni Erikson. Through that I met her a couple of times and went out to Grand Rapids to talk with Zondervan about her book. I have thought about writing Joni and ask if she would be willing to look at my poorly expressed thoughts and perhaps recommend this to Zondervan if she thought it was something that might be good to publish. If anything ever comes from this I will have to get you to write the forward or the cover comments. For that matter, I don’t care if we publish this in your name. I am rather reluctant to write anything and publish it in my own name. Tonight I just wrote one more on Princeton – Prison. Admittedly this is a bit of my personal testimony but I believe the truth is unassailable. I will send a copy of it to you.
I see it is getting close to 10 PM and I must close for now. Thank you for your graciousness in being my friend and the most encouraging letter. With much love and prayers;
In our worthy Lord Jesus, bill
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