Life Gets in the Way Travel 2016

In the first few weeks of the life of the podcast, I was able to crank out an episode a week.  Then came work travel and personal travel and a home building project, and more difficult subject matter, and things slowed to a crawl.

Life has been very good, though.  And these are all wonderful “problems” to have, and I truly feel blessed to have had an incredible 2016 thus far.  I thought I would share a little bit about the travel thus far, and some pictures of where I have been.

January meant travel to several cities in Texas, finishing in San Antonio, the home of the Alamo.  While I had been to San Antonio several times, each time I was thwarted in attempts to visit the symbol of the tenacious Texas spirit, a symbol of American stubborn defiance.  Finally, on this trip, I made sure I stayed at the hotel right across the street from the Texas Shrine.  After dinner, I walked by the iconoclastic edifice at night, formulating my plan for the morning.  Like a child the night before Christmas, I couldn’t sleep.  Early the next day, I was in line, and have to admit that I may actually have been the first in line when it opened.

Next was the trip to Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia.  I found myself on the road on Ash Wednesday, so although not at my home church, I found a beautiful church in downtown Savannah which made me feel welcomed.  You might recall from one of the episodes, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension is celebrating their 275^th anniversary this year.  Amazing to me; they started closer in time to Luther, than 2016 is to 1741.

Next came Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.  On that trip, taking the backroads from Tucson to Phoenix, I happened upon Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.  Built by desert inhabitants, this site likely dates to approximately 1350 A.D.  https://www.nps.gov/cagr/index.htm

There were many other trips, including a purely personal trip golfing with friends in North Carolina.  On one day, at Oyster Bay G.C., we had gallery of sorts.  We lost count at 12, but we were greeted by several alligators of varying sizes.  The largest was estimated at about 12 feet.  Although, I must admit, we really didn’t try to measure specifically!  I did get about 20 yards from this whopping specimen.  My ball had gotten close, and I went to hit the ball.  Somehow, I couldn’t get the idea of the proximity out of my head, and hit the ball into the water.  (I didn’t take a penalty on that hole!)

There was travel to Connecticut and Philly.  New York City and Washington D.C.  Montgomery AL and Nashville.

The the Las Vegas & Idaho trip was next; a mixture business and fun.   My wife had a business trip to Las Vegas, and for once, I was the spouse.  Initially a very cool idea.  Since Vegas is three hours behind my home office, I could get up at 3:30 or 4:00 every day, and get a lot of work done by noon Pacific Time.  I was going to work early every morning, which with the era of the internet and laptops made that a very doable idea.

Then came detour one.  As we were leaving I placed our luggage in the trunk of my trusty Ford.  It was just starting to rain, but got everything in.  Whew.  Then I backed, and suddenly an odd and unusual scratching sound.  MMmmmm…. What could that…Oh, no…  I leaped out, and realized that my briefcase hadn’t made it into the trunk.  My once used but good looking bag, was scratched and a bit mauled.  Suddenly the thought: my laptop…  And the inspection proved what I feared; the once shinny HP work laptop was in pieces.  Luckily my iPad was undamaged, so at the very least, I could do my work from Vegas.

Then detour two, this one I knew about going in.  Colleagues had seminars in Idaho and Montana planned for the same time I was to be in Vegas.  At one point, it became apparent that one more was needed for the Idaho portion of the trip.  No problem, I could get there; I’d drive the eight hours from Vegas to Twin Falls Idaho.  I’d see some really cool landscape; I had never driven that way before.  My plan was simple.  Pick up a rental car at the Las Vegas Airport, drop Ellen off in our hotel room at Caesars Palace, and head part of the way to Idaho.

My initial plan was to drive four or five hours, stop midway, and get a few hours of shut-eye.   Get up early, and make it the rest of the way.  At one point I realized, though, that there were not a lot of stops between Las Vegas and Twin Falls Idaho.  About half way, I decided there wasn’t a lot in Ely NV, filled up the gas tank, and continued.  A good thing I did.  A few miles outside Ely is the sign “Next Gas 124 Miles.”  I realized I was in for the long haul.  Eventually, I pulled into Twin Falls at 4:30 a.m.  There were no rooms at the hotel we were having the seminar, but a kind Tiffany at the Holiday Inn Express was kind enough to sell a room, and I got a couple of hours of sleep.

Later that evening, I was back to Las Vegas, this time flying from Twin Falls instead of the long drive.  No missteps there, just a much longer and darker trip than I had originally planned.

On the trip I was able to make my way on my own to Zion National Park.  A beautiful testament to the wild and rocky west.  The week in the west really all turned out well.  Good work.  Good food.  Good times visiting some friends from home who have a condominium in Las Vegas.  Jeff and Susanne were especially gracious.  We went home, tired in a good way.  A wonderful trip really.

Overall, this trip kind of proves the point though that it has been an unusually busy spring.  The week before Vegas I had been in Alabama and Tennessee.  As such, in two weeks I had lived in all four U.S. time zones.    I don’t know how our American presidential candidates do it, going from venue to venue in different states, and several time zones in one day, for months on end.  Proves they must be a little insane.

Whew, I am glad just to be home, and to get a chance to settle in and do my research and writing for the Life and Times.

Now back to the next episode!

Happy Listening!

Steve

Episode 10: Luther at a Crossroads-Mortality in the Middle Ages. We look at the Middle Ages, The Black Death (The Plague), and mortality in the Middle Ages.

Episode 9 is here! In this program we look at the methods of learning and the study of theology Luther would have been exposed to during his time at the University of Erfurt while working toward his Bachelors and Masters degrees.   Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Scholasticism, Nominalism and Humanism.  All parts of the university experience at the time.

This time we begin a brief overview of Martin Luther’s time at the University of Erfurt.  This is a shorter episode due to some time constraints, but the next episode will be back to the regular length you’ve grown accustomed to!  Net time we’ll look at the different philosophies which impacted Martin’s learning at Erfurt.

Happy Listening!!

Episode 7!

On this program, we begin discussing the what we know about Luther’s early days.  As before, there are some facts we know, a fair amount conjecture, and frankly a whole lot of myth.  This early life has been the debate of various biographers through the centuries.  There have been quite a bit of early missteps, which have gotten replicated over and over again, and as such, it is sort of like the “phone game” with bad facts.  Essentially, the data was wrong to begin with, and this bad fact got repeated over and over again, until some wrong facts became the staple of some of these earnest biographers.  Then there is a trend in the 20^th century to psychoanalyze Luther on the therapists’ couch from 400+ years away and without being able to interview the patient.

At first, some of the errant stories are strung together to generate an alternative history.  Then we rewind, and discuss what is known about the real history, and then discuss the viability of the psychoanalysis so far from the time and without a great deal of the actual facts.

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Episode 6: Saxony

This time we turn to Saxony, the place of Martin Luther’s birth.  This episode delves into an understanding of the who, the where and the what of Saxons and Saxony.  We meet Saxon leaders: Widukind, Henry the Fowler and Frederick  the Wise.

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On this episode, we’ll finish our survey of the Holy Roman Empire, taking us to the time of Luther. This will include the formalization of the Prince Electors, and then the rise of the final dynasty of the Empire, and the dynasty with the most longevity, the Habsburgs.   The episode ends with the death of Maximilian I in 1519.

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This week we meet Holy Roman Emperors Otto the Great & Henry IV.

Otto the Great                                              Henry IV

and Pope, Gregory VII

Gregory VII in wax effigy in Salerno

EPISODE 4 IS HERE!!

This time we’ll pick up with the sunset of Charlemagne’s reign, the demise of Carolingian dynasty and the rise of several other dynastic families, including Otto “The Great” who is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.  Later, there is increasing tension between  civil authority and the papacy,  which sets off the “Investiture Controversy” between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII.

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Hello!  Sorry it took a bit longer to get this one out.  But here it is:

Episode 3: The Holy Roman Empire (Part 1)

In this episode we leave Martin Luther after his birth in 1483, and go back to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, the rise of the Frankish Kings, culminating with the coronation of Charlemagne, the father of Europe.

Hope you enjoy, and please feel free to email me with any comments at: steve@martinlutherpodcast.com, or leave a comment here.

Thanks for listening!

In Episode 2 we learn the backstory to Luther’s family.

Good Morning!

Since I am definitely a “newbie” to the world of podcasting, I really didn’t know how to go about getting a show on iTunes.  All in all, it was easy, and relatively quick.   Yesterday late afternoon, I received word; The Life and Times of Martin Luther is now on iTunes!  So now, you can go over to iTunes, search for the show.  Look for the cover art, that will help, and download an episode. (Actually, I have added a link, so just click on Dr. Luther’s portrait below, and that will take you to the iTunes webpage.  Then, just go to view in iTunes, and you are there.) If your are feeling really brave, subscribe.  That way, when a new episode is published, and you open the app, it will download automatically, or at least, let you know that there is a new show.

Please listen, and please give “Five Stars!”  With more positive ratings and reviews, more people will be able to find the show.

Thanks for the support, and thanks for listening!!

Steve

This “pilot” episode details how and why this podcast is beginning, with an overview of the story arch and scope of the podcast. Namely, the life of Martin Luther, in tandem with the events of the Reformation.  The series will also capture many of the events, inventions, daily life and personalities of the 15th & 16th centuries.